Part 17, pp. 1201-1272

ANDREW J. BEACH

ANDREW J. BEACH, one of the prosperous business men of Deer Creek township, who is the proprietor of a flourishing mercantile establishment at Welcome, Wisconsin, was born July 10, 1868, at Menasha, Winnebago county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Andrew J. and Hattie (Bullen) Beach, natives of New York State and England, respectively. Mr. Beach traces his ancestry on the paternal side back to Welsh immigrants who came to this country about the time of the American Revolution, while his mother came to America from England at sixteen years of age and settled in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, later moving to Woodville, Calumet county. Andrew J. Beach, the father, came to Wisconsin in 1843, when seventeen years of age, settling in the Fox River Valley, and in 1860 was married and moved to Menasha, where he was engaged in engineering on the river. He died in Glenwood, St. Croix county, in August, 1904, at the age of seventy-nine years, and his wife died on the 28th of the same month and year, being sixty-seven years of age. Andrew J. Beach of Welcome was the seventh of a family of nine children, and received a common school education. He remained at home until he was sixteen years of age and then commenced working for wages at the cooper trade, and several years later engaged with the Menasha Wooden Ware Company. About the time he was twenty-four years old he began river driving and lumbering, continuing that for twelve winters, while he spent his summers in coopering. He then moved to Deer Creek township and rented a farm for two years, at the end of which time he decided upon a business career and subsequently established himself in the mercantile business in the village of Welcome, where he has been engaged in business since the fall of 1902. He has displayed good management and marked business ability, and his venture has proved a decided success and proved the wisdom of his choice. In 1894 Mr. Beach was married to Miss Elizabeth Rockstroh, who was born February 14, 1870, the fifth of the seven children born to John F. and Anna Margaretha (Riess) Rockstroh, natives of Germany. Mr Rockstroh came to America at the age of nineteen years, and his wife emigrated to this country with her parents when she was fifteen. They were married in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in 1859, and lived there for four years, then moving to Appleton, where Mr. Rockstroh died April 26, 1892, aged sixty-seven years, Mrs. Rockstroh having passed away December 8, 1885, when forty-six years old. Both are buried in Riverside Cemetery, Appleton. Mr. Rockstroh was a baker by trade as was also his brother, his father and his grandfather. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Beach: Theodore E., born March 2, 1895, now attending school. Mr. Beach is a member of the Equitable Fraternal Union and is independent in politics, having served two terms on the village board of trustees. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Welcome, Mrs. Beach having been church treasurer for six years, as well as being a teacher in the Sunday school and a member of the Ladies’ Aid Society.

JULIUS H. BOELTER

JULIUS H. BOELTER, senior member of the firm of Boelter & Zuehlke, proprietors of the Riverside Greenhouse, is one of the enterprising young business men of Appleton, Wisconsin, and is well known in the greenhouse trade in this section, having spent all the years of his business activities in that line. Mr. Boelter was born in Germany, September 29, 1880, and was brought from that county to America when he was ten years old by his parents, William and Augusta Boelter, who are now living retired in Appleton. Mr. Boelter received a common school education in Appleton, and later attended business college, then entering the truck gardening and greenhouse business and at the same time attending evening school. In 1903, in partnership with B. J. Zuehlke, he bought the Riverside greenhouse, one of the oldest stands in its line in this section of the county, it having been established by Judge Harriman in 1870, and here they have continued to carry on operations to the present time with unquestioned success. On taking up this property, which comprises one acre of land, they erected all new buildings, placing them in convenient manner and fitting them with every modern appliance, and immediately took their place among the leading firms in this line. They deal both in wholesale and retail, command the services of seven employes and have a trade in cut flowers, ferns, shrubs, trees, bulbs, seeds and floral supplies that demands the operation of two delivery wagons, while their special pieces and made-up designs are in constant demand at gatherings of a social or fraternal nature. Both young men are possessed of much business ability, their rapidly growing business being sufficient proof for this statement.

HENRY W. CARTER

HENRY W. CARTER, one of the old and honored residents of Grand Chute township, who is engaged in operating a fine farm of 100 acres, is a native of Concord, New Hampshire, where he was born December 14, 1826, a son of Aaron and Eliza (Hazelton) Carter, also natives of that place. Aaron Carter, who had been a farmer and also worked in a ship yard in his native state, came to Wisconsin about 1843 and settled in Racine, where he was employed in a ship yard until he lost his health, and then moved to Waupaca county and engaged in farming, being thus occupied at the time of his death, in 1855. Mrs. Carter continued to live on the property for about ten years, after which she came to live with her son, Henry W., and when she died, about 1904, she was over 100 years of age. Aaron Carter was a well-known man in his community, and was elected to various local offices. Henry W. Carter is the only surviving child of the five children born to his parents, and he secured his education in the public schools of his native place. He was about sixteen years of age when his parents left for the west, and was engaged in tending stage horses at Concord for the carrying of the government mails for about four years, when the railroads came in, and he was employed at construction work for two years. He then drove a team in the city of Nashua, New Hampshire, for seven years, and worked in a livery one year and in a saw mill three years. At this time he decided to come west, and subsequently located in Waupaca county, where he was engaged in farming for nine years, and during the next two years worked in a Calumet county brickyard. In 1876 Mr. Carter came to Grand Chute township, buying a brick yard, and four years later purchased the property adjoining, and until 1909 he worked both the brick yard and the farm, but since the year mentioned has given his whole attention to agricultural pursuits. He has 100 acres of finely cultivated land, on which he carries on general and dairy farming, making a specialty of Jersey cattle. He has added largely to the improvements on this place, being the second owner since it was homesteaded. Mr. Carter has always been a great lover of horses, and he is considered one of the best judges of horseflesh in the county. He has always kept a number of fine animals with him, his fondness for them dating back to the time when as a boy he cared for the stage horses in the east. Mr. Carter is a Democrat in politics, but he has never cared to hold public office. On February 3, 1853, he was married to Mary E. Bixby, who was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire, March 24, 1833, daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Griffin) Bixby, natives of that state, where Mr. Bixby was a boatman and lumberman. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter: William H., born in New Hampshire in March, 1854, engaged in farming on a tract near that of his father; and George A., born in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, operating a grain ranch in California. Mr. Carter has long been a member of the Odd Fellows.

AUGUST PAUL, JR.

AUGUST PAUL, JR., a substantial farmer and public-spirited citizen of Deer Creek township, who owns and cultivates a farm of 120 acres in section 27, is a native of Germany, and was born July 24, 1887, a son of August and Wilhelmina Paul, natives of the Fatherland. They came to America in 1869, settling in Watertown, Wisconsin, where they lived until 1875, then moving to Outagamie county and purchasing forty acres of land in Maple Creek township, where they have since added forty acres by purchase. Mrs. Paul died on this farm, October 8, 1907, aged sixty-nine years, and is buried in Maple Creek Cemetery, while Mr. Paul still resides on the old homestead and is seventy-one years old. On first locating on this land Mr. Paul, with the aid of his sons, chopped down trees, made logs and built a log house 16×16 feet, and a log stable. He had a yoke of oxen, two cows, a wagon, plow and drag, for his equipment, and with these crude implements developed his land into a good farm. Later he bought modern machinery and erected a large frame house and a 34×56 barn, as well as outbuildings and a barbedwire fence. August Paul, Jr., remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he commenced working for wages, and so continued until marriage, December 15, 1891, when he was united with Miss Paulina Tesch, daughter of Julius and Johannah Tesch, who were also natives of Germany and came to America in 1872, settling in Caledonia township, Waupaca county, where they have resided ever since, Mr. Tesch being sixty-two years old and his wife the same age. They had seven children, and Mrs. Paul, who was the second in order of birth, was born while on the ocean, April 23, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Paul have had six children: Frank, who died when six months old; Clara, Martha, Irvin, Edward and Leona. After his marriage, Mr. Paul continued to work for wages for three years, and he then purchased eighty acres of land in partnership with his brother-in-law in Liberty township, but after a year and six months, in 1899, sold out and moved to the property on which he now resides. There had been but thirty-five acres cleared of timber at that time, and a log house 14×24 feet stood on the property, and a post shed for cattle, and Mr. Paul now has seventy acres under cultivation completely fenced with barbed wire, a ten-room frame house, which he built in 1907, a frame barn 34×68 feet, built in 1901, and a number of substantial outbuildings. He does general farming, raises Jersey and Durham cattle, Poland China hogs and Percheron horses, and markets dairy products. He is independent in his political views, and served as a member of the school board for five years. He and his family are members of the Lutheran Church of Maple Creek township.

JOHN ASHMAN

JOHN ASHMAN, deceased, who was for many years connected with the contracting and building interests of Appleton, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 13, 1846, and died June 26, 1892, in Appleton. Mr. Ashman was a son of John Ashman, who came to Wisconsin from North Carolina in 1846 and settled in Milwaukee. John Ashman, Jr., came to Appleton in April, 1866, after having served through the Civil War, during which he was for thirteen months a prisoner in the Confederate stockade at Andersonville, and on first locating in this city worked as a carpenter, contractor and millwright, occupations which he followed throughout his life, being the builder of many large structures and putting up numerous machines in.different parts of the city. Mr. Ashman was married April 22, 1872, to Anna Wichert, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Arndt) Wichert, natives of Germany, who came to the United States and located in New London, Wisconsin, where Mrs. Ashman was born September 13, 1856, five months after the family’s arrival here. Mr. Wichert was employed in a mill on first coming to New London, but later engaged in a bakery business, and was so occupied at the time of his death, June 25, 1907, when he was eighty-four years old. Mr. and Mrs. Ashman had a family of eleven children, as follows: Henriette, who married Al Keaters, of Appleton; William, a farmer of Minnesota; Oscar, who resides at Shawano; Elmore, deceased; John H., residing in Appleton; George, deceased; Henry, who lives in Appleton; Emma, who married Herbert Wing, a resident of Omaha; Harrison; and Meta, May and Florence, residing at home.

In 1905 Harrison Ashman established a greenhouse, which he now operates with the assistance of his mother, and they are making an assured success of the enterprise, the business growing steadily and bringing excellent returns. The family residence is located at the same place, and, surrounded by lawns and flowers, is one of Appleton’s beautiful residences. The family is connected with the Congregational Church, of which Mr. Ashman was long a member. He was identified with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Odd Fellows, while all the boys of the family are members of the Woodmen.

PATRICK McGLONE

PATRICK McGLONE, who owns and operates a farm of 160 acres situated in section 24, Deer Creek township, is a native of County Mayo, Ireland, and was born in April, 1849, a son of Michael and Mary (Cunningham) McGlone, the former of whom died in the old country about 1869, while the latter came to America in 1873 and lived with her children until her death, July 11, 1902, at the age of eighty-two years. Patrick McGlone, who was the third of a family of ten children, came to America in 1870, locating at once in New London, Wisconsin, where he worked for wages for about three years and then bought the place on which he now resides, a wild tract to clear which he had only his ax. He first felled trees and built a small log house and barn, and one year later bought a pair of young steers which he broke to the yoke. As time passed by he added modern machinery to his outfit, and in 1895 he built his present residence and in 1902 a modern barn, 40×80 feet. He also built a number of outbuildings for the shelter of his stock and grain, and his property is all under the plow and finely fenced with barbed wire. He does general farming and stock raising, markets dairy products, hogs and cattle and keeps Poland China hogs and Percheron horses. Mr. McGlone was married in 1877 to Miss Ellen McMyler, daughter of Patrick and Mary (Jennings) McMyler, natives of Ireland, who lived and died in the old country. Mrs. McGlone was the seventh of a family of eleven children, and was born about 1853. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McGlone: Michael, who lives at home; Mary Ann, who married William J. Conlon of Deer Creek township; Hannah, who married Matt McGinness of Deer Creek township; William, living at home; Patrick, of Deer Creek township; Edward, who died at the age of seventeen years; Francis, who resides at home; and two children who died in infancy. Mr. McGlone is a democrat in politics, and for two years served on the board of supervisors of Deer Creek township, as well as being a member of the school board for nine years. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church, and hold membership at Helena, a mission of St. Mary’s Church at Welcome.

AUGUST RADEMACHER

AUGUST RADEMACHER, who during his active career has always been connected with the grocery business, is now the proprietor of a first-class establishment at No. 820 Richmond street, Appleton. Mr. Rademacher has been a life-long resident of Appleton, having been born in this city July 5, 1875, and is a son of Herman and Annie (Torborg) Rademacher, natives of Germany. Mr. Rade- macher’s parents left the Fatherland for the United States in the late ‘6Os, and on locating in Appleton, Herman Rademacher found employment at his trade of mason, an occupation which he had followed in the old country. He made this his work in Appleton during the entire time of his activities here, and accumulated a competency, enabling him to spend his latter years in comfortable retirement. He and Mrs. Rademacher are both living in Appleton. They had a family of seven children, as follows: Peter, who is engaged in the grocery business in Appleton; John, who is deceased; August; Richard; Herman, who met his death in a railroad accident, and two daughters who died in infancy. August Rademacher was given the advantages of a good education, attending both the public and German schools, and as a young man was employed in a grocery store. Later he became a partner in the business of his brother, at No. 801 Superior street, Appleton, but in February, 1910, sold his interests there and opened an establishment of his own at No. 820 Richmond street, where he carries a full line of staple and fancy groceries and caters to some of the best trade in Appleton. He is a man of progressive ideas and much business ability and is steadily increasing his patronage by his fair methods of dealing and his policy of handling nothing but first-class goods. On September 22, 1909, Mr. Rademacher was united in marriage with Ida Tilly of Appleton, daughter of Charles Tilly. Mrs. Rademacher is a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

GUSTAVE LAUERSDORF

GUSTAVE LAUERSDORF, a prominent German-American citizen of Grand Chute township, whose well-cultivated farm of eighty acres is situated on Appleton Rural Route No. 1, was born in Brandenburg, near Berlin, Germany, August 28, 1855, and is a son of Ferdinand and Wilhelmina (Schmidt) Lauersdorf. Gustave Lauersdorf’s parents were both born in Germany, his father May 28, 1828, and his mother September 29, 1832, and the former spent his life in that country, his occupation being that of a wharfman. After his death his widow came to the United States, in 1883, to reside with her son, and she died at his home in 1887. Gustave Lauersdorf attended school in his native country and at the age of twenty-seven years came to America, settling first in Appleton, where for two years he worked at the mason’s trade. He then began working on farms, and for eleven years was employed by the farmers of this vicinity, at the end of which time he purchased the property which he is now operating. He has made numerous improvements on this land, and his fine, new modern residence is one of the best in this part of the township. He also has a large, substantial barn and other farm buildings, and his property is well fenced, well graded and presents a fine appearance. Mr. Lauersdorf is independent in politics and has never found time to engage actively in political matters, his duties on his farm demanding all of his time and attention. He is a consistent member of the Lutheran Church. On January 26, 1883, Mr. Lauersdorf was united in marriage with Augusta Webber, who was born in Germany, March 3, 1855, daughter of Fred and Ernestina (Beckman) Webber, the former of whom died in Germany, while the latter is making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Lauersdorf. Two children have been born to this union: William Gustave, born September 22, 1884, who married Amelia Timm, a native of Herman, Shawano county, Wisconsin, born December 10, 1883; and Martha, born June 3, 1894, who is single and resides with her parents, being a skilled milliner.

A. G. DOWNER

A. G. DOWNER, The grocery interests of Appleton are represented by men of ability and progressive ideas, and during the last few years largely by men of the younger generation, whose success in their chosen line has proved that this line of endeavor is a profitable one if handled in the right manner. A. G. Downer, who conducts a flourishing grocery business at No. 732 Lawe street, belongs to this class of Appleton business men. He is a native of Seymour, Wisconsin, born September 15, 1886. His early education was secured in Seymour. He later attended the Appleton High school, after graduating from which he immediately entered the employ of a wholesale grocery house, with which he continued five years. He gained valuable experience as a salesman on the road for this company, and in February, 1906, embarked in his present business venture, which has proved most successful. On September 15, 1904, A. G. Downer was married to Rowena M. Babb, daughter of Willis M. and Mary (Miller) Babb, and to this union there have been born three children, of whom a son and daughter survive. Mrs. Downer is a consistent member of the Congregational Church. Her husband is a popular fraternal man, belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic order, and to the Knights of Pythias.

GUST KONRAD

GUST KONRAD, one of the good farmers and reliable citizens of Deer Creek township, operating eighty acres of land in section 35, was born in Germany, May 22, 1854, a son of John and Caroline Konrad, who lived and died in the Fatherland. Gust Konrad emigrated to America about 1885, first settling in Page county, Illinois, where he remained one year and then located in Wisconsin, where for about fourteen years he worked for wages, during which time he saved enough money to purchase the place which he now operates, which was wild land, Mr. Konrad receiving his patent from the state. During his first year on the property, Mr. Konrad built his house and barn, although about his only equipment on first coming here was his ax. His residence is in two parts, 18×28 feet both ways, and consisting of ten rooms, while his barn, originally 40×66 feet, has been remodeled and now is 40×90 feet in dimension. All but five acres of this property is under cultivation, and it is neatly and substantially fenced with barbed wire. Mr. Konrad’s chief occupations have been general farming and stock raising, although he also markets dairy products, hogs, cattle, and some grain, but feeds all of his hay. He has graded Holstein cattle, Chester White hogs and a fine breed of horses. In political matters Mr. Konrad is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church. In 1901, Mr. Konrad was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Paul, daughter of August Paul, an early settler of this’section. Mrs. Konrad was the youngest of a family of six children, and was born May 27, 1875. She and her husband have had one child: Leonard.

ALBERT A. BREITUNG, SR.

ALBERT A. BREITUNG, SR., one of the venerable citizens of Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was for a long period engaged in the blacksmith and wagon making business, is a veteran of, the Civil War, and was born in Prussia, November 11, 1835, a son of August and Amelia (Leonhart) Breitung, the former born in the same country in 1804 and for three year a soldier in the Prussian army. Mr. Breitung’s grandfather, Frederick Breitung, was a farmer and hotel keeper. In 1829, August Breitung and Amelia Leonhart were married, a union that resulted in the birth of ten children, and in 1848 they came to America, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where August Breitung died in 1850. Two years later his widow married William Breitung, and her death occurred in 1885. Albert A. Breitung secured his education in the common schools of his native country, and worked on the home farm in Milwaukee county until his mother’s second marriage, at which time he started out in life for himself, the next few years being spent in learning the business of manufacturing fanning mills. In 1854 he purchased the interest of his brother’s partner, Norman Bucks, in the fanning mill business, the firm having been established in 1853, and after following that occupation in the winters and carpentering in the summers for a few years, the brothers moved down the river, and in 1859 rented a shop and continued in business until 1863. In that year Mr. Breitung enlisted in Company G, First Wisconsin Cavalry, under Captain Charles Robinson, attached to the Army of the Cumberland, and on July 28, 1864, he was captured at the battle of Atlanta while his regiment was making a charge. He was sent first to Andersonville, later to Charleston and eventually to Florence, but after imprisonment of seven months and seventeen days, on the near approach of Sherman’s army, he was released and sent to Richmond, and thence down the James river to General Butler’s camp, from whence he was sent to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri. From March until May, 1865, he remained at home sick, and then returned to his regiment, and was finally discharged August 2, 1865, after having participated in a number of desperate struggles, in all of which he displayed the greatest bravery and loyalty to his country. On completing his army service, Mr. Breitung resumed his work as a carpenter, and in 1868 formed a partnership with Christ Heinz and engaged in wagon making and blacksmithing, purchasing his partner’s interest in 1872 and continuing the business alone on a large scale until his permanent retirement, since which time he has lived a quiet life at Appleton. In April, 1856, Mr. Breitung was married to Miss Jane Ketchum, a native of Onondaga county, New York, and they had eleven children, as follows: Edwin E., Henry A., Hattie E., Albertina, Frank, Ralph, Amelia, William and three who died in infancy. In 1879 Mrs. Breitung died and two years later Mr. Breitung was married to Emilie A. Klene, three children being born to this union: Albert A., Rudolph C. and Emilie A. Mr. Breitung is a Democrat in his political views, and he has served in various township offices. He was for a number of years a prominent Odd Fellow, holding positions of honor in that lodge, and was also connected with the Sons of Hermann in an official capacity. He has spent many years in this part of the country, and has taken an active part in the growth and developments of Appleton and Outagamie county.

ANDREW FISCHER

ANDREW FISCHER, Outagamie county is indebted to Germany for many of her loyal and substantial citizens, and among these Andrew Fischer, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Center township, takes high rank. He is a son of Martin Fischer, who came to this country at the close of the War of the Rebellion, bringing his wife and son, the latter then nineteen years old. Mrs. Fischer who bore the maiden name of Thullia Fischer, died when Andrew was a youth, and Mr. Fischer had married again. Landing at New York, the family came direct to Outagamie county, where Martin Fischer purchased seventy-four acres of land in the woods of Center township, on which a log house was located. This property has now become one of the fertile, productive farms of the township, and the numerous improvements have caused it to advance in value year by year. Beginning as a stretch of heavily timbered soil, on which it was next to impossible to plant a paying crop, a part was soon put under cultivation by Martin Fischer and his son, and when once the start had been made the advance was rapid. Substantial buildings have been erected, fences built and the land graded and drained, and is now considered one of the valuable tracts of Center township. Martin Fischer lived on this property until his retirement in 1897, at which time he moved to Mackville, and there his death occurred in 1907.

Andrew Fischer was born June 14, 1847, in Germany, and he secured all of his schooling in his native country. Since coming to America he has always worked on a farm, and has been energetic and progressive, still carrying on the active duties of the home place despite the fact that he was injured severely in a runaway accident several years ago. His good management of the affairs of the farm have made possible the adding to its acreage, and he is considered a representative farmer and good citizen. In 1877, Mr. Fischer was married to Elizabeth Schmidknuz, daughter of Charles Schmidknuz, a farmer of Center township, and they have had seven children: Annie, Theresa, Charles, Frank, Louise, Joseph and Emma. Mr. and Mrs. Fischer belong to St. Edward’s Catholic Church at Mackville.

FRED BOHL

FRED BOHL, who during a. long and active career was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Outagamie county, has now retired and is living in Appleton in the enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of labor. Born in Germany, June 6, 1849, he is a son of John and Marie (Schroeder) Bohl, natives of the Fatherland who came to the United States with their family in 1866, and located in Outagamie county. John Bohl purchased land in Center township, and after clearing his property from the timber, moved to Ellington township ,where he spent the remainder of his life in farming. He was very successful in his agricultural operations, and became one of the substantial farmers and much esteemed citizens of his section. Four children were born to John and Marie Bohl, of whom one is deceased, and Fred was the second in order of birth. Fred Bohl received his education in the schools of Center township, and as a youth worked on his father’s farm, being reared to the life of an agriculturist which he followed during all the years of his activity. In 1881 he took charge of the home place in Center township, and in 1894 accompanied his parents to Ellington township, where he was engaged in general farming until his retirement in 1907. In 1911 he disposed of this excellent property. Mr. Bohl was married in 1873, to Amelia Winters, who was born in Germany and came to the United States with her parents. Of the nine children born to this union, four are deceased, and those surviving are as follows: John, August, Annie, Charles and Fred. Mr. and Mrs. Bohl are members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. He is very much interested in educational work and has given his influence to any movement of an educational nature that has been forwarded in this section. For a number of years he was a member of the township board in Ellington township.

JOSEPH ELLENBECKER

JOSEPH ELLENBECKER, a prominent farmer of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, who in partnership with his brother, Louis, is operating a tract of 200 acres of land, of which sixty acres are located in Grand Chute township and 140 in Greenville township, was born on his present farm, February 26, 1867, a son of John and Margaret (Pommes) Ellenbecker, natives of Belgium, where the father was born in 1809, and the mother in 1836. They came to the United States in 1861, and for a few months resided in Appleton, at which time John Ellenbecker bought a farm of forty acres of wild land, which was the nucleus of the present fine farm of his sons. He died on that property, to which he had added an additional forty acres, in 1893, and his widow followed him to the grave, January 24, 1910. They were the parents of nine children: William, who is deceased; Nicholas, residing in Greenville township; Joseph; Anna and Lizzie, deceased; Louis, residing with Joseph; Sophia, the wife of Nicholas Weyland, a farmer of Grand Chute township; Mary, single, living in Marshfield; Theresa, the wife of Paul Hine, a cheesemaker of Greenville township. Joseph Ellenbecker attended school in Grand Chute township, and when eighteen years of age began working in the lumber woods during the winter months, while his summers were spent in farm work. He continued thus for about eight years, and then returned to the homestead, also buying another forty acres which he afterwards sold, in Greenville township. He has added to his farm from time to time, and the brothers are now in possession of one of the handsomest properties in Grand Chute township. General and dairy farming have been engaged in here, together with stock raising, and improvements have been made from time to time, old buildings being replaced by new, and crude machinery by the best to be had. Mr. Ellenbecker bears the reputation of bing a practical, scientific farmer, and is known as a citizen that can be depended upon to support any movement which has for its object the betterment of his community in any way. On January 26, 1909, Mr. Ellenbecker was married to Mary Biersteker, who was born in the North of Holland, February 7, 1869, daughter of Adrian and Mary (Langedyk) Biersteker, natives of that country, where the father was born October 7, 1821, and the mother September 12, 1829. The family came to the United States in May, 1886, first settling at Marinette, Wisconsin, where the boys were employed in the saw mills. Two years later they removed to Fort Atkinson, and after two years spent at that point went to Depere, where three years were spent. At this time they removed to Little Chute, and there the mother died in 1893, and Mr. Biersteker went back to Depere and lived with his children until his death, May 13, 1909. He had been a farmer in his native country, but after coming to the United States lived retired. He and his wife had these children: Jacob, residing retired in Little Chute; Cornelius, a farmer of Morrison township, Brown county; Anna, the wife of John Hogeland, residing in Canton, Price county; Nellie, the wife of John Beemster; Sophia, the wife of Jean DeBruyer, of Depere; Peter, a farmer of Amburg, Wisconsin; and Mary, Mrs. Ellenbecker. Mrs. Ellenbecker attended school in her native country, and also spent six weeks in school at Little Chute. She and her husband are members of the Roman Catholic Church at Little Chute. He is independent politically.

JOHN KRONER

JOHN KRONER, one of the old and honored residents of Seymour township, Outagamie county, who has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in this section for upwards of forty years, is deserving of more than passing mention for the part he has taken in the development of this locality. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, January 4, 1838, a son of Mike and Mary (Chealphalberg) Kroner, who spent their lives in Germany, the father dying there in 1870, at the age of seventy years, and the mother in 1874, when sixty-seven years of age. They had seven children, namely: Lawrence, Joseph, Mike, John, Jacob, Andrew and Mary, of whom John, Jacob and Andrew survive. John Kroner was married in Germany in 1868, and in the year 1872, with his brother Mike, he came to the United States, another brother, Andrew, following them here two years later. Mr. Kroner and his family resided at Appleton, Wisconsin, for one year after coming to this country, and then moved to the property on which he now resides. Seymour township at this time was one vast wilderness, the roads being but blazed trails and land boundaries vague, and uncertain, and it took men made of stern stuff to brave the dangers and endure the hardships incident to the clearing of this then new section. John Kroner first made a little clearing on his property and built a log house for his family and a log stable for the few head of live stock which he possessed, and then settled down to clear the forty acres which were his original purchase. After this had been accomplished he added another tract of forty acres, twelve of which had been cleared, and still another forty acres were purchased later on. All of the land is now under cultivation with the exception of twenty acres, and there is a twelve-room residence and 40×70 foot barn, in addition to other substantial buildings on the property. He has met with success in his agricultural operations, and his livestock is considered of a superior quality. Mr. Kroner is a Democrat in politics, but he has never found time to hold public office.

Mr. Kroner was married in Germany, in 1868, to Teckle Drisile, who was born April 3, 1843, daughter of Nick and Teresa Drisile, who spent their lives in the old country. They had four children: Max, Teckle, Teresa and Francis. Mr. and Mrs. Kroner have had the following children, of whom the first three were born in Germany: Teresa, now Mrs. Hartl of Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Joseph; Mary, who is deceased; Anna, who married Jake Kushaal; Katie, who married Joseph Linesmyer; Frances, who married Joe Ulmer; Agnes, who married Frank Stuckart; John, who married Agnes Kalhofer; and Mike, who married Anna Weininger. The family are members of the Catholic Church.

FRANK FISCHER

FRANK FISCHER, one of the influential citizens of Center township, who has been prominent in local matters, and especially in securing good roads for this locality, is residing in the log house on the farm first settled on by his father, in the early ’60s. The father, Joseph Fischer, was a native of Germany who came to the United States with his wife Margaret, and his seven children. Landing at New York, he at once made his way to Outagamie county, settling in the woods of Center township, where he built the log house and settled down to clear his land. The excellent state of preservation which the house is still in is something by which the character of this sturdy German pioneer can be judged. Thoroughness, excellence of work and stanch building, together with an admirable ability for securing the best materials, made this structure one that could defy the ravages of time and go on, year after year, performing its duty as a comfortable and ample shelter for members of the family. Joseph Fischer spent the rest of his life on this property and died in 1898, his widow surviving him but three years.

Frank Fischer was born in 1868, on the farm which he now owns, and his education was secured in the district schools of Center township. After completing his studies he settled down to farm work, and he and his brother, Antone, are now operating this excellent property, carrying on general farming and dairying, and also engaging in stockraising to some extent. Mr. Fischer has always been a hard worker, and has not confined his hard work to his own interests, as his success in securing better roads for Center township will testify. He is a consistent member and liberal supporter of St. Edward’s Catholic Church at Mackville.

PATRICK COTTER

PATRICK COTTER, who belongs to a family that numbers among its representatives some of the earliest settlers of Outagamie county, is himself a pioneer of this section, and is now living retired in Appleton after a long and useful career spent in agricultural pursuits. His uncles, David and Patrick Barry, were the first two white settlers of Outagamie county in the Center township section, one purchasng a Mexican War veteran’s land warrant and the other entering land from the Government, both in section 37, probably as early as 1848. Patrick Cotter was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, February 19, 1836, and is a son of James and Margaret (Barry) Cotter, natives of Ireland, who came to the United States in 1820 and located first in Pennsylvania, later moving to Ohio, and coming thence to Outagamie county in 1850, settling in Center township, where Mr. Cotter entered land. The remainder of their lives was spent in this section, Mr. Cotter being engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the years of his activity. He had a family of eight children, of whom three sons and one daughter came to Outagamie county, and the daughter is the only survivor of the family besides Patrick Cotter. The latter was educated in the public schools of Columbiana county, Ohio, and was reared to an agricultural life, working on his father’s farm in Outagamie county until entering the lumber woods, where for twelve years he worked at driving logs on the river and at kindred occupations. At the age of twenty years he purchased a farm in Freedom township, which he later sold to purchase a property in Center township, and here he carried on farming until 1901, when he retired and moved to Appleton. He sold his farm to his son in 1906. In addition to farming, Mr. Cotter was engaged for many years in raising Holstein and Jersey cattle, and also did a large business in the line of dairying.

On May 31, 1866, Mr. Cotter was married to Sarah Rodgers, who was born in Ohio, daughter of Joseph Rodgers, who died May 28, 1886, leaving ten children: Mary E., who lives with her father; John, a resident of Kansas City; Margaret, who married John Long, of Chicago; Joseph, James and William, who are deceased; Thomas, residing on the old home farm in Center township; Anna, who married Frank Krause, of Chicago; Katherine, who married Charles Heibig, of West Bend, Wisconsin; and Alice, who married John Hahn, of Sauk City, Wisconsin. Mr. Cotter has always been a great advocate of education, has given his children a fine training, and for twenty years was clerk of the school board in Center township.

JOSEPH STEVEN ULLMER

JOSEPH STEVEN ULLMER, clerk of Seymour township, secretary of the Ullmer Cheese Factory, and one of the energetic and progressive young dairy farmers of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, was born in Howard township, Brown county, Wisconsin, October 8, 1885, a son of Joseph and Mary (Reinhardt) Ullmer. Joseph Ullmer was born in Baden, Germany, where his father had died when he was three years old, and at the age of fifteen years he came to the United States alone, following the blacksmith trade, which he had learned in his native country, for the seven years following his arrival in this country. After his marriage, he located on a farm on Duck Creek, in Brown county, but after twelve years returned to the blacksmith trade, eventually taking up farming again after a short period and continuing agricultural operations on Duck Creek until his death in 1910, at the age of fifty-seven years. Mrs. Ullmer, who still survives, is fifty-five years old. Their children were: Louis, Henry, Joseph, William, August, Charles, Leo, Mathias, Lawrence, Emily, Louisa, Mary, Clara and Cecil all being now alive except August.

Joseph Steven Ullmer was educated in the district schools of Brown county and the Green Bay Business College and later took a course in dairying at the Madison Agricultural. College. He then began work as a butter and cheese maker, which he followed at various places for about eight years, and in 1911 located on his dairy farm on section 2, a tract of eighty acres with fine pastures and cleanly, well-kept dairy barns. The cheese factory has a capacity of 10,000 pounds, and the business is growing steadily. Mr. Ullmer is treasurer of the Catholic Church at Isaar, and in 1910 he was elected to the office of clerk of Seymour township, a position which he still holds. Mr. Ullmer was married in 1896 to Frances Kroner, a daughter of John and Teckle (Drisile) Kroner, natives of Germany, and to this union there has been born one son: Norbert.

EMIL W. SCHARMANN

EMIL W. SCHARMANN, one of the enterprising young agriculturists of Center township, Outagamie county, who is cultivating an excellent tract of 120 acres, was born October 27, 1880, on the old family homestead farm in Black Creek township, a son of John and Caroline (Mesabach) Scharmann. John Scharmann was born in Germany, from whence he came as a young man, and after landing in New York came directly west to Milwaukee. He followed the trade of blacksmith in the Cream City for some years and then moved to Black Creek township, Outagamie county, where he purchased wild land, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his active career, his death occurring in 1896. Mrs. Scharmann, who survives her husband, resides in Appleton. They had a family of twelve children.

Emil W. Scharmann attended the district schools of Black Creek township until he had reached the age of fourteen years, and from that time on until he was seventeen, he was engaged in working around the home farm. When he was seventeen he decided to become a carpenter, and subsequently learned the trade, which he followed until his marriage, in 1905, to Minnie Pingle, daughter of Fred and Dora Pingle, farming people of Center township. After marriage, Mr. Scharmann removed to his present farm, a finely developed tract of 120 acres lying in Center township, which he has brought to a highly productive state, and here he has carried on general farming to the present time. Mr. Scharmann believes in farming along scientific lines, and uses the latest improved machinery in his operations. He keeps good, healthy cattle and hogs, and uses good draft horses in his farm work. He has always found a ready market for his dairy products, their cleanliness and excellence having recommended them to a large patronage. In political matters Mr. Scharmann is independent, voting rather for the man than the party, and not being inclined to seek public preferment for himself. With Mrs. Scharmann he attends the German Lutheran Church at Center, of which both are active and liberal members. They have had two children: Wilbert, born April 27, 1906; and Emil, born July 23, 1910.

ROGER HARRISON WILLIAMS

ROGER HARRISON WILLIAMS, deceased, who for a period of thirty years was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Bovina township, died October 8, 1911, after a long life filled with usefulness. Born October 22, 1847, at Freedom, Ohio, he was a son of Thomas G. and Eunice P. (Clark) Williams, natives of Ohio, and he came from that state to Wisconsin in 1869, locating at Hortonville, where for about nine years he was engaged in the drug business with Dr. Stratton. He then moved to Bovina township, Outagamie county, and during the remainder of his life he was engaged in tilling the soil. He retired on a comfortable competency in 1907 and took up his residence in Appleton, where his death took place and where his widow still resides. Mr. Williams was married October 16, 1883, to Flora Skinner, born in Bovina township, daughter of William and Louise Skinner, of Freedom, Ohio, who came to this county at an early day and are now deceased. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, as follows: Eunice, a graduate of the Appleton High school, and Tessiem, Cora and Grace. Mr. Williams was a member of the Baptist Church, but his widow and children are connected with the Congregational denomination. He was well known in fraternal circles, being for many years a popular member of the Woodmen.

CHARLES CHRISTOPHERSEN

CHARLES CHRISTOPHERSEN, a well-known resident of Seymour township, Outagamie county, who in addition to carrying on farming operations on section 29 is discharging the duties connected with the position of sexton of the Seymour City Cemetery, was born in Shawnee county, Wisconsin, August 3, 1870, and is a son of Christ and Sarah (Helgesen) Christophersen. Christ Christophersen was born in Norway, and as a young man came to Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where he worked at the tanner’s trade until locating on an eighty-acre farm in Shawnee county. Like so many of the early settlers, his first home here was a log cabin, which was later replaced by a good frame dwelling as soon as the land had become productive, and the rest of his life was spent on this farm, where he died in October, 1901, aged sixty-three years. Mrs. Christopherson still lives in Shawnee county. Thirteen children were born to this worthy couple, namely: Charles, Edward, Anna Mary, Anton, Hans, Albert, Martin, Clara, Selma, Otto, Oscar Marion and one who died in infancy.

Charles Christophersen received his education in the district schools of Shawnee county and worked at home until he had reached the age of twenty-five years, when he began working in the woods during the winter months and spending the summers on the home farm. Eventually he acquired a tract of sixty acres of partly improved land in Shawnee county, which he tilled until 1903, and in that year purchased twenty-eight acres in section 29, Seymour township, to which he has subsequently added seven acres. He carries on general farming and gardening, and has charge of the cemetery for the city of Seymour. In 1899, Mr. Christophersen was married to Matilda Christensen, a native of Shawnee county and daughter of Walter Christensen, and three children have been born to this union, namely: Elma, Chester and Marvin.

ROBERT TIEDT

ROBERT TIEDT, Outagamie county is noted for its men who have a thorough knowledge of agricultural conditions and the science of raising stock. Probably the conditions in this part of the state are as near ideal as anywhere for the raising of large crops of grain, while the fertile pasture lands afford excellent grazing grounds for the cattle, and make Wisconsin’s dairy products known all over the country. One of the successful farmers of Outagamie county is Robert Tiedt, who is farming the old Tiedt family homestead, in Center township. He is a son of Charles Tiedt, a native of Germany, who came to the United States when a young man, with his wife, Augusta, and three children. Locating in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, he purchased wild land in Black Creek township, on which he remained for four or five years and then came to Center township, living on his farm here until his death in 1907. His wife still survives him. Robert Tiedt, who was one of a family of six, was born December 5, 1873, in Black Creek township, and received his education in Center township and one term in the Ryan High school at Appleton. After completing his education he returned to the home farm, which he helped his father cultivate, and then moved to the property adjoining that of Charles Tiedt. This he farmed until 1911, and in that year bought the original family homestead in Center township, on which he has been carrying on operations ever since. His land is one of Center township’s good farms, and it is kept in the best of repair, being neatly and thoroughly fenced and equipped with a full quota of farm buildings, a, large barn and a substantial residence.

In 1895, Mr. Tiedt was married to Liza Cannock, daughter of Henry and Minnie Cannock, natives of Germany, who became farming people of Center township. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Tiedt, three survive: Salina, born in 1896; Alvin, born in 1900, and Hilda, born in 1902. William died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Tiedt are members of the German Lutheran Church of Black Creek.

JOHN SCHWAMER

JOHN SCHWAMER, who is serving in his fourth year as chairman of the township board, is one of the public-spirited citizens and representative agriculturists of Center township. He was born February 6, 1868, in Germany, a son of Carl and Lotta (Matthews) Schwamer, who came from Germany to the United States in 1872 with their two sons, August and John, and settled in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where Carl Schwamer was employed by the month on farms for six years. At the end of this time the family came to Center township, Outagamie county, where Mr. Schwamer purchased land, and this he farmed until 1904, in which year he moved to Ellington township, and there his death occurred in 1909, when he had reached the age of sixty-eight years. Mrs. Schwamer still survives her husband and makes her home in Ellington township. They had a family of seven children, of whom four still are living.

John Schwamer received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood of the family home in Center township, having to give up a high school education on account of his father being seriously injured by the fall of a tree, which made it necessary that young Schwamer should devote his time and attention to the duties of the home farm. He was engaged in cultivating this tract until he reached the age of twenty years, at which time he decided to become a carpenter, and subsequently learned the trade, but after following it for six or seven years, he went back to the farm, where he has since been carrying on very successful operations. He raises large crops of grain, and also ships hogs and cattle to the markets, where they find a ready sale. Mr. Schwamer has a well-cultivated, neatly-kept tract, with good substantial buildings and a fine residence. On April 26, 1891, he was married to Ida Heiden, who was born in Center township in 1872, daughter of Carl and Henrietta (Bauer) Heiden, and seven children have been born to this union, of whom Laura died aged eight years; Orie died when one and one-half years old, and Irene passed away when two years of age, while Arnold, Walter, Zelma and John reside at home. Mr. and Mrs. Schwamer are members of the German Lutheran Church of Ellington township. In political matters Mr. Schwamer is a Republican, and he has served as supervisor several years and as assessor for three years, while he is now serving for the fourth year as chairman of the township board of trustees.

MARTIN STRIEGEL

MARTIN STRIEGEL, one of the early settlers of the vicinity of the town of Mackville, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, justice of the peace, proprietor of a general store and for many years a prominent man in public affairs in this section of Center township, was born about seventeen miles northwest of Milwaukee, in the town of Germantown, October 8, 1849, a son of Martin Striegel. The parents of Mr. Striegel, who were natives of Germany, came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when that city had a population of less than 1,000 inhabitants, took up land under the Government homestead laws, and here died when the young Martin was but five or six years of age. He accordingly went to live with his uncle, Andrew Striegel, and attended the district schools for four months, securing the rest of his education in the church school. At the age of thirteen years he went to work for himself for six months, and he was then bound out to another farmer by his uncle for a year. At the end of this time he learned the blacksmith’s trade, which he followed for three years in the same shop in which he had served his apprenticeship, and during several years thereafter worked in various shops in the country. In 1870 he was married to Barbara Scherl, daughter of John and Barbara Scherl, natives of Germany who came to the United States and settled in Milwaukee, where Mrs. Striegel was born October 24, 1853. After his marriage, Mr. Striegel opened a shop of his own at Binghampton postoffice, where he had a farm of sixty-four acres, part being in Black Creek and part in Center township, and stayed there fifteen years, the first two years of which his brother Simon was his business partner. When he left there he was the owner of 148 acres of land, and he also purchased the seventy-four acre tract which he now owns, and on which he has erected a fine residence, good barns and other buildings. Here he is now conducting a general store. During the first year he came to this property, he operated the cheese factory located on the land, but this is now being conducted by other parties who rent from Mr. Striegel. This property forms a part of what is now known as Mackville, of which town Mr. Striegel was postmaster for four years, his term expiring when the rural free delivery service came into effect. He was town treasurer for seven years, school trustee for several years and for the past twelve years he has been justice of the peace. He was also treasurer of the church for many years. He and Mrs. Striegel belong to St. Edward’s Catholic Church at Mackville. He was one of the earliest settlers of this part of the country, and has seen the country develop from a wilderness into a land of prosperity. During the many years that he has lived here he has done his full share in helping this development, and he is honored and esteemed as one of Center township’s representative men and good citizens.

Of the twelve children born to Mr. and Mrs. Striegel, nine are now living: Margaret, who married John Deml, of Grand Chute township; John, who married Rosa Kohl, of Grand Chute township; Mary, who married Joseph Griesbach; Andrew, who married Theresa Breidenbach of Black Creek township; Catherine, who married Antone Decker, of Seymour township; Regina, who married William Kohl, of Grand Chute township; and Joseph, George and Peter, residing at home.

JAMES D. O’LEARY

JAMES D. O’LEARY, who has been a resident of Appleton for nearly a quarter of a century, is now engaged in business here with John P. Ritze. He was born at Cambridge, Washington county, New York, in September, 1863, and is a son of James and Abbie E. (McGrath) O’Leary, natives of Ireland, who were married in New York. Mrs. O’Leary died in New York, and in 1866 James O’Leary brought his six children to Wisconsin, locating first at Hortonville, and removing later to Oshkosh, where he married Mary Hollahan, of Hoboken, New York. In later years he removed to Appleton, and eventually went to Milwaukee where the last years of his life were spent in quiet retirement, and there he died July 10, 1900. The children born to James D. and Abbie E. O’Leary were as follows: William, who is living in Sydney, Australia; Mrs. Thomas Ward, a resident of Milwaukee; Mrs. Susan Brown, who lives in Tacoma, Washington; Mary Ann, who is deceased; James D.; and Martin, who lost his life in a street car accident. James D. O’Leary spent most of his early years in Oshkosh, from which city he went West for seven years and came thence to Appleton in 1887, having resided here ever since. For nine years he was located at the Sherman House, and in 1896 he engaged in a saloon business on Appleton avenue, which he has carried on successfully to the present time, admitting John P. Ritze as a partner in July, 1910. Mr. O’Leary is a self-made man, is possessed of much business ability and is very popular with his patrons. He was married January 1, 1896, to Catherine Vaughan, of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, daughter of William and Margaret (Cox) Vaughan, and to this union there have been born four children, namely: James, Mary, Margaret and John.

ORRIN JOHNSON

ORRIN JOHNSON, a general farmer and stock raiser of Seymour township, whose property is located on section 30, was born May 29, 1869, in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Edward and Martha (Gibbs) Johnson. Edward Johnson, who is a native of the state of New York, came to Waukesha county, Wisconsin, prior to the Civil War, in which he served as a member of Company F, Seventeenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry for over two years. In 1884 he located in Seymour township, on a tract of eighty-seven acres, and after selling this property to his son, he moved across the road, where his death occurred November 21, 1910, his wife still surviving him and living there. Their children were: Elery, Emery, Orrin and Jeanette.

Orrin Johnson was educated in the schools of Waukesha county, and when he had reached manhood he purchased the farm in section 30 from his father. He has continued to reside on this property to the present time, engaging in farming and raising valuable stock, and his land is well cultivated and equipped with good buildings. He was married in 1898 to Blanche Sherman, who was born in Cicero township, daughter of David Sherman, an old settler of that township, and to this union there have been born two children: Norman and Elton.

NICHOLAS REILAND

NICHOLAS REILAND, one of Center township’s good, practical agriculturists, whose present finely-cultivated farm was a waste of stones, stumps and brush not many decades ago, was born February 10, 1860, at Menominee Falls, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, a son of Michael and Anna Catherine (Coster) Reiland. Michael Reiland was born in Germany, and came to the United States when a young man, first settling near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he spent four or five years in agricultural pursuits. He then moved to Minnesota, where he has since resided. Mrs. Reiland, also a native of the Fatherland, passed away in 1906. Nicholas was the only child of his parents, and his education was secured in the district schools of Waukesha county. As a youth he commenced working out on the farms of his neighborhood, by the month, and by industry and economy had accumulated enough in 1885 to take up his present farm, which was then wild and uncultivated. He immediately started in to clear it from the brush, and soon had a crop planted, and as the years passed by each found him with more of his property under the plow, until he now has the entire tract in a high state of cultivation. He has a fine home, substantial barns and other good buildings, and his property presents a neat and pleasing appearance.

In the fall of 1885, Mr. Reiland was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Moder, the estimable daughter of Andrew Moder, of Appleton, and to this union there have been born five children, namely: Katherine, who is living in Appleton; and George, Anna, Mary and Louise, all single and living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Reiland are constant attendants and well known members of St. Edward’s church of the Catholic faith, at Mackville.

WILLIAM H. TAGGART

WILLIAM H. TAGGART, a member of one of the old, well known families of Outagamie county, is a son of John Taggart who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1837. When a young man John Taggart came to the United States, and in New York state met and married Mary Ann Tatrow, who was a daughter of Francis Tatrow, a native of France. In 1868 Mr. Taggart came to Outagamie county, Wisconsin, and located on a farm in the town of Kaukauna where he now resides. William H. Taggart was born in the state of New York on May 23, 1868, and is one in a family of eleven children. His education was acquired in the district schools and, as he says, “in the woods.” As a lad he worked on his father’s farm, and after he was sixteen years old spent some time in lumbering in the woods. In 1894 he married Miss Christiana Lambie, born June 2, 1875, on the old Lambie home farm in this town, a daughter of William Lambie. To Mr. and Mrs. Taggart nine children have been born, as follows: John, Mary, William, Carl, Melvin, Gerald, Margarette, Marion and Lillian. After his marriage Mr. Taggart moved to the farm given him as a wedding present and which was then but slightly improved. By intelligent cultivation and industry he has greatly improved his property with modern conveniences and equipment, and he is conceded to be one of the progressive and enterprising men of his town.

PETER MAES

PETER MAES, deceased, whose accidental death occurred September 13, 1893, while in the performance of his daily tasks in the paper mill of the Badger Paper Company, at Kaukauna, Wisconsin, was a quiet, industrious and self respecting man who had been in the paper manufacturing industry for seven years and was much respected by his employers. He was born at Little Chute, Wisconsin, August 2, 1863, and was a son of Peter and Joanna Maes. The father is deceased but the mother still lives and resides at Kaukauna. Peter Maes was a member of the Holy Cross Roman Catholic church at Kaukauna. He belonged also to the Catholic Knights and carried insurance in the Oshkosh Accident Insurance Company. Peter Maes was married in 1883 to Miss Anna Joosten, daughter of Walter and Minnie (Ebben) Joosten. The father of Mrs. Maes is a retired farmer and the family was a pioneer one in Outagamie county. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Maes: John, Peter, William and Harry. All have been afforded good educational opportunities. With their mother they attend St. Mary’s Roman Catholic church at Appleton.

HERMAN LECKER

HERMAN LECKER, who ranks among the well-to-do agriculturists of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, is the owner of a fine farm of eighty acres situated in Center township. He is a native of Germany and a son of Frederick Lecker, who was born in the Fatherland during the early ’30s and came to the United States in 1853, settling in Milwaukee, where he lived for about fifteen years. He then purchased land in Granville, about seven miles north of Milwaukee, to which he brought his wife, Christina, and four children, Hannah, Gottlieb, Paulina and Herman, who had been born in Germany, and four other children born in Washington county, Wisconsin. Mr. Lecker continued to reside on this property until after the close of the Civil War, when he removed to Grand Chute township, Outagamie county, buying 120 acres of land, on which he spent the remainder of his days in agricultural pursuits, and died in 1890. At the time of his death he had cleared the entire property, although when he located there only thirty acres had been cleared. He had also made many improvements, including the erection of a residence and good barns, but the latter have since been torn down, and Mr. Lecker’s brother has built one of the finest barns in Outagamie county.

Herman Lecker was born in Germany, September 22, 1851, and was two years old when the family came to the United States, his education being secured in the schools near Milwaukee. He was reared to the occupation of a farmer, and his youth was spent in working on various farms until his father secured the tract in Grand Chute township, on which he worked until his marriage, in 1883, to Hermina Schilling, daughter of David and Caroline Schilling, one of the oldest and best-known farming families of Grand Chute. Mrs. Lecker was born in 1855, near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. After his marriage, Mr. Lecker received forty acres of land for his services to his father, and to this he added the forty acres adjoining, but after five years he sold this property and bought the eighty acres that comprise his present farm. Here, in addition to making extensive improvements to the residence, he has erected a large, new barn. He is engaged in general farming, and is considered one of the good, practical farmers of his section. Mr. Lecker has two children: Nora, born May 14, 1889, and Amos, born January 1, 1888, both residing at home, the latter being a graduate of the Appleton Business College. Mr. and Mrs. Lecker are members of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church of Center township, and in political matters he is a staunch supporter of the principles of the republican party.

FRANK J. HARTZHEIM

FRANK J. HARTZHEIM, an enterprising and progressive young farmer of Buchanan township, who is operating forty-three acres of valuable farming land situated in section 34, is now making his home with his uncle, Fred Hartzheim, who lives in Calumet county on the line opposite the land now being cultivated by Frank J. Hartzheim. The latter was born July 24, 1882, in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Andrew and Lena (Miller) Hartzheim, natives of the fatherland who were married in Wisconsin and after marriage settled in Buchanan township, where Mrs. Hartzheim died in 1889. Andrew Hartzheim is living in Shawano county, having reached the age of sixty-one years. Frank J. Hartzheim was the oldest of a family of five children, of whom one other child is living: Sophia, who is single and a resident of Appleton. After his mother’s death Mr. Hartzheim was reared until he was twelve years old in the Orphans’ Home, and at that time began to work to support himself, continuing to work at various occupations for wages until 1906, when he rented his father’s property of forty-three acres in section 34, where he has continued to operate ever since. He carries on general farming, in which he has been satisfactorily successful, and he has maintained the respect and esteem that have been his as a self-made man. Mr. Hartzheim is single. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, votes with the democratic party, and attends the Holy Angels church at Darboy, Wisconsin.

MICHAEL JOHN McCARTHY

MICHAEL JOHN McCARTHY, the owner of a fine farm of 170 acres, located in Grand Chute township, which he devotes to the breeding of fine live stock, was born in Center township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, October 3, 1865, and is a son of Stephen and Margaret (Stoffel) McCarthy, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Bavaria, Germany. Stephen McCarthy came to the United States during the early ’50s, and for ten years was employed as a farm hand in New York State. He then came to Center township, settling on a farm which he had bought three years before without seeing it, and there he continued to farm until his death, August 20, 1901. He rose to a position of prominence in his community and was elected to various local offices by his fellow townsmen. His widow, who survives him and resides on the farm, is one of the well known and much beloved ladies of that section. They had the following children: Helena, the wife of Michael Farrell, residing at Menasha; Michael John; Timothy, who lives in Grand Chute township; Etta, deceased, who was a Sister in the Good Shepherd Convent, St. Louis; Stephen, a foreman in a rolling mill at Milwaukee; William, a Center township farmer; Katherine, deceased, who was a Sister in the Good Shepherd Convent; Mollie, single, living with her brother William; Joseph, deceased, who was a dentist in Milwaukee, and Johnnie, who is living on the old homestead with his mother. Michael J. McCarthy received a limited education in the public schools of Grand Chute township, his help being needed on the home farm when he was a boy. He remained with his parents until he was thirty-two years old, and was then married and moved to the farm which he now operates, which he had purchased some time before. He now has 170 acres of land, 155 acres being under cultivation and the rest in timber, and he operates this as a stock farm, making a specialty of Holstein cattle, registered stock, bred for dairy purposes, of which he keeps a large number on hand continually. He devotes his entire time to his stock raising, and has a farm equipment that is thoroughly up-to-date in every respect. Mr. McCarthy is an independent democrat in politics, and is a member of the Roman Catholic church at Mackville. He was married July 18, 1898, to Miss Theresa Stoffel, who was born in Grand Chute township, June 21, 1878, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Pfeifer) Stoffel, natives of Bavaria, the former being born in 1832 and the latter in 1855. Mr. Stoffel came to Outagamie county in the early ’50s, buying a, farm in Grand Chute township, where he continued to live until his death in 1893. By a former marriage he had five children, and to this union with Anna Pfeifer there were born two children: Mrs. McCarthy, and Bertha, the wife of Michael Myers, a restaurant proprietor of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy have had seven children, as follows: Marie, born September 8, 1899, who died in infancy; Loretta, born May 23, 1900; Kathryn, born August 22, 1902; Florence Elizabeth, born August 15, 1904; Mabel Margaret, born September 28, 1906; Josephine Louisa, born November 25, 1908, and Michael Stephen John, born February 28, 1911. Mr. McCarthy is a member of the Holstein-Fresian Breeders’ Association, and is well known among stock men in Outagamie county.

WILLIAM FOCKEL

WILLIAM FOCKEL, who is engaged in farming and stockraising operations on section 5, in the town of Seymour, is one of the practical agriculturists of Outagamie county. He is a native of Upper Canada, born July 22, 1852, a son of John and Elizabeth (Nau) Fockel, natives of Germany who were married in Canada. John Fockel was a shoemaker by trade and followed that occupation in Milwaukee, whence he had come from Germany, but secured better employment in Upper Canada, where he resided for some years, then returning to near New London, Outagamie county, where he was an early settler. He followed shoemaking there for a short period and then went to Young’s Corners and later to Stephensville, and in 1871 located in the town of Seymour and purchased eighty acres of wild land on which he erected a log cabin and log stable. After a time, he removed to Black Creek, Wisconsin, where he followed his trade for several years, but eventually returned to Seymour, where he was engaged in shoemaking up to the time of his death, in about 1891, when he had reached the age of sixty years. Mrs. Fockel passed away in 1907, aged seventy-five years. Five of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Fockel grew to maturity, namely: William, Mary, Betsy, Tillie and Charles.

William Fockel secured his education in the common schools, and when he had attained manhood took over the homestead farm, which he improved in many ways, erecting an eight-room house and a barn 36×64 feet, with a basement under all, and here he has carried on general farming and stock raising, paying particular attention to the breeding of fine draft horses and high-grade cattle. In 1880 he was married to Minnie Kline, born in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, daughter of Ernest Kline, who emigrated from Germany to America and became an early settler in Wisconsin. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fockel, namely: Ella, who married Richard Eike; Cora, Mattie, who is the wife of Emery Gardner; Clara, who married Sam Hess, and Laura, Eddie and Anna.

HENRY SCHAFER

HENRY SCHAFER, a prosperous agriculturist and extensive land owner of Buchanan township, Outagamie county, whose magnificent farm of 224 acres is situated in section 30, was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, April 18, 1859, and is a son of Henry and Margaret (Zimmerman) Schafer, natives of Germany who were married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Later they settled in Calumet county, where Mrs. Schafer died about 1891, while her husband is living at the home of his daughter in Cleveland, Wisconsin, and is eighty-six years old. Henry Schafer was the oldest of a family of three children and remained at home until he was twenty-five years of age, at which time he began to work for himself and for the ten years following rented the homestead. He then settled on the property which he is now operating and has met with unusual success. He now has about 195 acres under the plow, all fenced with barbed and woven wire, carries on general farming and stock raising, markets dairy products, hogs and cattle and some hay and grain, cabbages and potatoes, and milks twenty-five Holstein, Jersey and Short Horn cows. He also keeps Poland-China and Chester White hogs and does quite a large business in poultry. He built his present residence in 1895, a. modern frame structure of fourteen rooms not including clothes presses, halls or pantries, and two years later erected a substantial barn 104x100x36 feet. He has numerous other buildings for the shelter of his large crops of grain, his fat and well-fed cattle and other stock and poultry, and his modern power farm machinery. In political matters he is a democrat, and his religious connection is with St. Joseph’s Catholic church of Appleton. On November 7, 1886, Mr. Schafer was married to Miss Christina Miller, born June 3, 1865, the second of a family of six children born to George and Catherine Miller, natives of Germany. They were married in Wisconsin and settled in Buchanan township, and this was the family home until Mrs. Miller’s death in 1894. Her husband, who still survives, is sixty-three years old. Mr. and Mrs. Schafer have been the parents of fourteen children, of whom two are deceased, the survivors being: Margaret, George, Henry, Catherine, Anna, Gertrude, Nicholas, Marcus, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth and Peter.

MICHAEL PAQUIN

MICHAEL PAQUIN, who for a number of years was engaged in wagon making near Appleton, Wisconsin, was born in Canada in 1838, a son of Conrad Paquin, who took his family to New York at an early day. Michael Paquin learned his trade in that state, and as a young man came to Outagamie county, locating in Appleton, where he followed his trade until his death. August 19, 1872. He was married JuIy 17, 1857, to Philomena DeMars, who was born in 1838, near Montreal, Canada, daughter of H.N. and Angelina DeMars, both of whom died in the Dominion, Mrs. Paquin coming to Outagamie county as a girl in 1855. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Paquin, as follows: Salinda, who is living at home with her mother; Delia, who married Henry Hartman, a resident of Neenah, Wisconsin; Theodore, who resides in Kaukauna; Selemore and Frederick, who make their home in Michigan; George, who lives in Oshkosh; Louis, who is a traveling salesman of Chicago, and one child who died in infancy. The family is connected with St. Mary’s Catholic church at Appleton, of which Michael Paquin was a faithful member for many years. He built up an excellent business from a small beginning, and at the time of his death was able to leave his family in comfortable circumstances.

JOHN C. BAUER

JOHN C. BAUER, who is operating the old Bauer homestead farm of seventy acres, located in Grand Chute township, has resided on this property all of his life, his birth having occurred here December 31, 1883. He is a son of Andrew and Katharine (Dreisang) Bauer, natives of Bohemia, the former born March 4, 1846, and the latter March 18 of the same year. Andrew Bauer came to the United States with his parents, who resided for two years in Milwaukee and then moved to Grand Chute township, where Andrew followed farming until the fall of 1903, and then retired from active pursuits and moved to Appleton, where he is now living at 1259 West College avenue. He and his wife had a family of nine children, John C. being the seventh in order of birth. He attended the district schools of Grand Chute township, also spending five years in the German school at Greenville, and after completing his education took up his duties on the old homestead which he has never left. When his father retired, he took over the management of the place, and he now has a well improved and finely equipped property, where he carries on general and dairy farming, also raising some stock for his own use. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church at Greenville, and in political matters is a democrat, although not actively engaged in public matters. Mr. Bauer was married November 28, 1905, to Miss Mary Becker, who was born in Ellington township, April 16, 1886, daughter of John and Anna (Kreutzberg) Becker, the former born in Germany, March 17, 1856, and the latter in Ellington township, in June, 1851. John Becker came to the United States with his parents when a small boy, locating in Ellington township, where he became the owner of a large tract of land, on which he still resides. He and his wife, who is also living, had nine children, Mrs. Bauer being the fourth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer have had one child: Leonard Andrew, born October 25, 1909.

PATRICK GARVEY

PATRICK GARVEY, who was a resident of Outagamie county for more than half a century, and during most of this time engaged in agricultural pursuits, was born in Ireland in 1824, and came to the United States in 1847. He located first in the State of Pennsylvania, but a number of years prior to the Civil War made his way west to Wisconsin, and in 1853, was married at Hollandtown, this State, to Mary Slattery, of County Clare, Ireland, whose father was a pioneer of Wisconsin. During the early days Patrick Garvey was employed in the building of the Canal, and later he purchased a large farm, on which he spent the remainder of his life. From the wide stretch of timber, brush and swamp land which he had purchased, he made an excellent farm, and at the time of his death was a prosperous farmer and highly esteemed citizen. He and Mrs. Garvey had a family of eight children, seven of whom are now deceased, a daughter, Miss Mary of Appleton, being the only survivor of this sturdy old pioneer family. She is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, with which her parents were also connected, and Mr. Garvey was connected with the Catholic Knights, the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters. His death occurred in 1899.

HENRY J. DALKE

HENRY J. DALKE, While the soil of Outagamie county is very fertile, water plentiful and easily obtained and weather conditions nearly ideal, good crops cannot be raised unless the land is properly worked and scientifically conditioned, and the high standard set by the agriculturists of the county is therefore of great credit to them. One of the farmers of Center township who is operating along scientific lines is Henry J. Dalke, who was born October 24, 1888, in Center township, a son of John and Emma (Schimmelpfennig) Dalke. His grandparents, Henry and Lucy Dalke, came from Germany at an early day, and the former became one of the leading farmers of Outagamie county, retiring with a comfortable competency in 1904, from which time until his death, in 1909, he resided in Appleton. The grandmother still survives and makes her home in that city. John Dalke was born in Germany, and was seven or eight years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States. He was reared to the life of a farmer, and was so industrious and hardworking in his youth that he was able to purchase a farm with his earnings long before other lads of his day had accumulated enough to do so, and this same industry and hard work enabled him to quickly clear his farm from the wilderness that encompassed it when he first became its owner. The brush, stumps, stones and timber soon gave way to flowing fields of grain and farm produce, and when he retired in 1909, to live in Appleton, he turned over to his son the magnificent farm, equipped with large, substantial buildings, nicely fenced and highly cultivated. Henry J. Dalke has inherited many of his father’s admirable characteristics, having been brought up to the life of a farmer ever since leaving the district schools of his neighborhood. He has had charge of the farm since his father’s retirement, and the large crops that have been raised and marketed by him leave no room for doubt as to his ability to manage it properly. In 1908 he was married to Ella Stecker, daughter of Henry and Ellen Stecker, of Center township, and to this union there has been born one son: Gordon, February 22, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Dalke are members of the German Lutheran Church. Thus far he has found no time to engage in matters of a public nature, being too occupied with the duties of his farm.

CHARLES KRAHN

CHARLES KRAHN, who during the past ten years has developed an exceptionally well cultivated property in Seymour township from what was once wild brush land, is now engaged in extensive farming and stock raising operations on section 14. Mr. Krahn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 22, 1877, and is a son of August and Lena Krahn, residents of Osborn township, Outagamie county. Mr. Krahn has one sister, Clara. Charles Krahn was educated in the district schools and remained at home on the family farm in Osborn township until coming to his present property in 1901. He took up eighty acres of wild land and went to live in the little log house which, with the exception of the ramshackle barn, was the only building that graced the desolate stretch of apparently worthless property, which Mr. Krahn had purchased two years prior to moving upon it. He at once started to cultivate the land and in a short time was able to plant a crop, and since that time the advance in improvements on the place has been rapid. He has built a building 40×70 feet, with basement under all, in which he keeps blooded stock, and his land has proved to be very productive under proper treatment. In 1901, Mr. Krahn was united in marriage with Amelia Martin, daughter of William Martin of Seymour township, and they have had five children: Herbert, Lena, Elmer, Dora, and Laura, the last two being twins.

CHARLES G. ADKINS

CHARLES G. ADKINS, is a native of the State of New York, born in Oswego county in the year 1822, and was there educated in the common schools and reared to manhood. Early in life he learned the mercantile business and for a time followed that line of endeavor at Stockbridge, New York. He married Eloise Woodward, and in 1853, with his wife and oldest child, Charles V., came west and located at Appleton, Wisconsin, then but a backwoods village. Their old home was situated at what is now Kimball and Allen streets, and here they had to clear land before erecting their humble dwelling. They subsequently moved to Lawrence and Morrison streets, which is now occupied by Peabody Hall of Lawrence University. Mr. Adkins opened a general store shortly after his arrival and for a great many years was one of the foremost merchants of Appleton. He was engaged for nine years in a similar business in Antigo, but returned to Appleton and retired from active commercial pursuits. His wife died in September, 1903. They were the parents of three children: Charles V., Adelbert and Lillian A. (Mrs. James E. Hubbell), the daughter being the only one now living. Mr. Adkins was one of the organizers and first president of the old Manufacturers’ National Bank, and at the time of his death was a director in the present Commercial National Bank. For over forty years, the longest period ever served by any one man in a similar capacity, he was trustee of Lawrence University, and in religion he was a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being for many years an official of that church in Appleton. Immediately after his wife’s death he went East with his married daughter, and died at Syracuse, New York, on the last day of December, 1903. He was a man of sound principles, absolutely honest, and in so far as he was able contributed in an unostentatious way to deserving charitable objects.

Charles V. Adkins, the oldest son of Charles G., whose biography immediately precedes this, was born at Stockbridge, New York, February 25, 1850, and was but three years old when brought to Appleton by his parents. He was educated in the public schools of the city and at Lawrence University, and subsequently was employed in his father’s stores here and at Antigo. On February 2, 1892, he was united in marriage with Miss Alice A. Mills, daughter of Alonzo S. and Eunice (Vaughn) Mills, who were natives of Jefferson county, New York, and the parents of five children. In 1854, Mr. Vaughn and family moved to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and from there in 1858 to a farm in the Town of Dale, Outagamie county, where Mr. Mills died in 1894. Charles V. Adkins died October 10, 1906.

LOUIS REIS

LOUIS REIS, who is the owner of an excellent tract of eighty acres of farming land, situated in section 10, in Seymour township, is a native of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, having been born June 1, 1879, a son of John and Catherine (Seil) Reis, the latter a native of Scott township, Sheboygan county. Jacob and Mary Reis, the grandparents of Louis Reis, were natives of Germany who came to this country and spent their lives in tilling the soil in Sheboygan county. John Reis came to Seymour township in 1879 and located on eighty acres of virgin land on section 16, to which he added another forty acres, and later eighty acres, and subsequently secured 120 acres of good land in Cicero township. He erected two barns, 36×64 and 40×50 feet respectively, and a fine nine-room house, and at the time of his death, May 19, 1910, when he was fifty-five years old, he was one of the prosperous self-made men of his community. He was a. democrat in political matters, and was called upon to fill various township offices. Catherine (Seil) Reis was born in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, March 26, 1860, daughter of Nick and Susan (Smith) Seil, the former a native of Belgium and the latter of Alsace Loraine. They came to the United States as young people and were here married, settling in Sheboygan county, where both died, the father in 1874 and the mother in 1886. Their children were: Ellen, Catherine, Mary, Anna, Mandris, Nick and Joseph, of whom Ellen, Anna and Mandris are deceased. The children of John and Catherine Reis were: Louis; William, born May 24, 1883; and Jacob, born May 12, 1888.

Louis Reis came to his present farm of eighty acres in 1900, ten acres then having been cleared, but there were no buildings except a small granary. He erected a basement barn, 36×64 feet, where he houses a fine grade of stock, and he has carried on successful farming operations. In July, 1902, Mr. Reis was married to Pearl Hegal, born in Osborne township, Outagamie county, daughter of Jacob Hegal, and they have had four children: Myra, born June 1, 1903; Goldie, July 10, 1905; Hazel, September 4, 1907; and Vernon, January 3, 1910.

EDWARD JANSEN

EDWARD JANSEN, who for more than forty years has been closely identified with the agricultural interests of Outagamie county, is the owner of a fine farm of eighty acres situated in section 26, Buchanan township. He was born October 11, 1832, in Holland, and is a son of Jacob and Christina Jansen, who came to America about 1853, settling near the village of Little Chute, Outagamie county, where they purchased forty acres of land. Jacob Jansen built a log house in the woods, for which he and his sons cut the trees and hewed the logs, and on this property the father died in 1871, aged seventy-one years, having increased his holdings to sixty acres. The death of his widow occurred in 1898, when she had reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years, and both were buried in the Little Chute Cemetery. Edward Jansen was the second of a family of twelve children, and remained with his father until the age of twenty-five years, after which he spent about fifteen years in working for wages. At the end of this period he purchased his present tract from Henry Hewett, for whom he had worked about ten years, and he has continued to reside on this land ever since, a matter of upwards of forty years. He was married in 1855 to Miss Ann Dunn, who was born January 1, 1834, the next to the oldest of the five children of John and Catherine Dunn, natives of Ireland, who, about four years after their marriage in Canada, came to America and settled in Vermont. They resided there until 1854, in which year they came to Wisconsin, buying land in Clayton township, Winnebago county, and resided there until Mrs. Dunn’s death, December 12, 1859, at the age of eighty-two years, at which time her husband came to live with Mr. and Mrs. Jansen, at whose home he died in 1864, aged eighty-one years. Both were buried in the Little Chute Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Jansen have had five children: Edward, the eldest, of Deer Creek township, is married and has four children; Catherine, married Thomas Clune of Buchanan township and has three children; Emma, married John Doyle of Vandenbroek township; William of New London, is married and has seven children; and John, residing on the homestead with his father, is married and has one child. Mr. Jansen has sixty-five acres under cultivation, all fenced with barbed wire, and he carries on general farming and markets dairy products, hogs, cattle and some grain and hay. He is a democrat in his political views and he and his family are connected with the Catholic Church of Kimberly.

JAMES R. SCOTT, M. D.

JAMES R. SCOTT, M. D., physician and surgeon in active practice at Appleton, Wisconsin, is a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He was born at Appleton in 1874, a son of Robert and Anne (Ward) Scott. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in New York, the Scotts coming to Rochester, Wisconsin, and the Wards to Eden, Wisconsin, about 1851. In 1866 Robert Scott and wife came to Appleton, where he started the Outagamie Flour Mills and operated them for some years and later embarked in the mercantile business at Appleton, from which he retired in 1892, after conducting it for twenty-six years. The parents of Dr. Scott now live retired at Madison. Of their nine children four are deceased and Dr. Scott is the only surviving son.

James R. Scott completed the High School course at Appleton and then entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, where he was graduated in 1900, locating afterward at Hortonville for practice. In 1902-1903 he took post-graduate work in New York City along the special line in which he has since been particularly interested, and since then has been in practice in this city. He is a member of the county and state medical bodies and keeps up with the times in all scientific progress made by his profession. He is a member of the Wisconsin National Guards, being connected with the medical corps, with the rank of Captain, and during the Spanish-American War in 1898 was a member of the hospital corps detailed for duty in Texas. On November 27, 1900, he was married to Miss Laura Erb, a daughter of Herman Erb. The family belongs to the Congregational Church. Dr. Scott is identified fraternally with the Masons, being a Knight Templar, and with the Elks.

JACOB REIS

JACOB REIS, who is engaged in operating the old Reis homestead in Seymour township, on section 16, was born in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, and is a son of John and Catherine (Seil) Reis, the latter a native of Scott township, Sheboygan county. Jacob and Mary Reis, the grandparents of Mr. Reis, were natives of Germany, and spent the latter years of their lives in Sheboygan county, where they carried on agricultural pursuits. John Reis came to Seymour township in 1879 and located on eighty acres of wild land on section 16, later adding to his property from time to time and continuing to engage in farming until his death, at the age of fifty-five years, when he was one of the substantial men of his community. Mrs. Reis was born in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, March 26, 1860, daughter of Nick and Susan (Smith) Seil, natives of Belgium and Alsace Loraine, Germany, respectively. They were married in the United States and settled in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, where both spent the remainder of their lives. Their children were: Ellen, Catherine, Mary, Anna, Mandris, Nick and Joseph, of whom Ellen, Anna and Mandris are deceased. The children of John and Catherine Reis were: Louis, William and Jacob.

Jacob Reis was educated in the district schools and remained at home with his parents, succeeding to the management of the original farm on section 16, which he now operates. His mother resides with him, and they are well known and highly esteemed in the community in which the Reis family has been located for so many years.

GEORGE KISPERT, JR.

GEORGE KISPERT, JR., One of the progressive and enterprising young business men of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, who, although not long past his majority, has already built up a flourishing business in this city, is George Kispert, Jr., the proprietor of a plumbing and steamfitting establishment. Mr. Kispert is a native of Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was born October 26, 1889, and is a son of George and Mary (Murphy) Kispert, and a grandson of Philip Kispert, who was one of the early pioneers of Outagamie county and a miller by occupation. George Kispert, who was also a native of Appleton, is a papermaker by trade, and now holds the position of superintendent of the Outagamie Paper Mills at Kaukauna, with which large concern he has been connected for a quarter of a century. George Kispert, Jr., was the second in order of birth of the eleven children born to his parents, and he received his early education in the public schools of Kaukauna, after leaving which he at once began to learn the plumbing trade. He started in business on his own account when he was only nineteen years of age, and his venture proved successful from the start, his busines operations now being of such an extent as to necessitate the employment of from five to ten men. On May 29, 1911, Mr. Kispert was married at Kaukauna to Miss Ella Ditzler of this city, daughter of John Ditzler. Mr. and Mrs. Kispert are members of Holy Cross congregation of the Catholic Church, and he holds membership in the Knights of Columbus.

PETER JONEN

PETER JONEN, an enterprising and progressive agriculturist of Outagamie county, who is now engaged in cultivating a fine farm of eighty acres situated in section 35, Buchanan township, was born in this township, November 22, 1871, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Haupt) Jonen. Mr. Jonen’s parents, who were natives of Ger:many, came to the United States in early life and were married in Buchanan township, settling on 160 acres of wooded land, where Mr. Jonen first built a log house, the logs for which he cut and hewed himself. He lived there and was engaged in clearing and developing his land until his death at the age of sixty-nine years, May 25, 1887, and his widow still survives him and makes her home there, being sixty-eight years of age. Peter Jonen was the sixth of his parents’ eleven children, and he received his education in the district schools of Buchanan township. He was married September 13, 1898, to Miss Dora Van der Wyst, who was born October 13, 1877, the eleventh of a family of nineteen children born to Henry and Mary (Strick) Van der Wyst, natives of Germany who came to the United States in 1883 and settled in Outagamie county. They are now living in Kaukauna, the father having attained the age of seventy-three years and the mother being seventy. Mr. and Mrs. Jonen have had seven children: Odelia, Clara, Retta, John, Alma, Harry and Arthur, the latter of whom died at the age of two years. Mr. Jonen has forty-six acres of his land under cultivation, all fenced with barbed and woven wire, and he carries on general farming, marketing dairy products, hogs and cattle, and some hay, grain and potatoes. He milks six graded Holstein and Shorthorn cows, and keeps Poland China and Berkshire hogs. His two-story frame residence was erected in 1898, and he intends to enlarge his 36×58 barn, which he erected in 1904. He has excellent water for all purposes from drilled wells. Mr. Jonen is a democrat in his political views, but he has never aspired to public office. He and his family are consistent members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church of South Kaukauna.

JOHN HENRY HEIDEMANN

JOHN HENRY HEIDEMANN, one of Bovina township’s good, practical agriculturists, who is carrying on successful operations on a tract of eighty acres located in section 32, is a native of Prussia, Germany, where his parents, Henry and Annie G. (Benning) Heidemann, were also born. They came to the United States in 1847, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where both died, Mr. Heidemann having been engaged at various occupations in the Cream City. John Henry Heidemann was one of a family of seven children, and as the family was in rather humble circumstances, his education was cut short at the age of fifteen years, when he started out to work for himself. During the next twenty years he followed farming for wages, and he then rented a tract near Milwaukee, continuing to cultivate this property until 1888, when he purchased the land on which he now lives. At that time there was a little house, 16×20 feet, situated on this farm, and about fifteen acres of the property had been cleared, but through industry and perseverance Mr. Heidemann has succeeded in clearing and putting under cultivation fifty-five acres, and now has a fertile, productive property, on which are located good, substantial buildings and modern improvements. He has engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been uniformly successful in his operations. In 1865, Mr. Heidemann was married to Miss Jane Lynch, who was born August 1, 1845, daughter of Charles and Mary (Kelly) Lynch. Mrs. Heidemann’s parents were born in Scotland and came to the United States about 1850, locating in Boston, where they remained until their death, the mother passing away when Mrs. Heidemann was but eight years old and the father dying after her marriage. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Heidemann, as follows: John, who is single and living at home with his parents; Joseph of Outagamie county, married and has six children; James of Taylor county, who is married and has three children; Mary, who married William Tyler of Shiocton and has two children; Annie, who married Henry Sommers, living in Outagamie county, and has six children: Jane, who married John Canavan, living in Outagamie county, and has three children; Ellen, who married Ferdinand Brotts, also a resident of Outagamie county; Sophia, who married Thomas McCormack of Seymour, and has two children; Addie, who married Fred Pebbles of Outagamie county, and has one child; and Clara, who is single and living with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Heidemann are members of the Roman Catholic Church. He is independent in politics.

PATRICK McCARTHY

PATRICK McCARTHY, who has been operating his farm of sixty-four acres, located in Grand Chute township, for upwards of forty-seven years, is one of the old and honored residents of this section, and has won his present position through many years of hard and persistent effort. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, March 17, 1834, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Gleason) McCarthy, natives of the same county. Mr. McCarthy’s father died when he was a small boy, and in 1860 his mother, with his brother Tim, came to the United States, Patrick following them three and one-half years later. They located on a farm in Center township, where Mrs. McCarthy died about 1891. Of her five children, Patrick is the only one living. He attended school in County Tipperary, and on first coming to the United States he worked for three and one-half years for a farmer near Rochester, New York, then coming direct to Outagamie county, where he and his brother Tim bought a farm in partnership in Center township, but after his marriage Patrick McCarthy sold out his interests to his brother, and settled on his present farm in Grand Chute township. He now has sixty-four acres in this farm and six acres one-half mile east, and he operates the land as a general and dairy farm with the assistance of his son and some hired help. During his long residence here he has become well and favorably known as a progressive and practical farmer, a public-spirited citizen and a kind neighbor. He is a faithful member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Appleton, and in his political belief is independent. Mr. McCarthy was united in marriage to Margaret Maloney, who was born in County Carey, Ireland, who came to the United States about the same time as Mr. McCarthy, and with her mother lived for a time at the home of her cousin in New York City and later with a brother, who was engaged in the blacksmith business there. She then came on to Chicago, to which city Mr. McCarthy went for her, and they were there married, after which they settled on a farm in Center township just across the line from Grand Chute township. Mr. and Mrs. M.cCarthy had four children, but of these only one is now living: Joseph, born in 1875, who resides with his father and assists him in the farm work. Mrs. McCarthy’s death occurred May 3, 1911. She was well known in the vicinity of her home, where she was known as a kindly, Christian woman, and she was loved by all who knew her.

FRANK TILLMAN

FRANK TILLMAN, one of the leading agriculturists of Buchanan township, whose fine property of 120 acres is situated in section 31, was born in Little Chute, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, March 15, 1849, and is a son of John and Mary (Vandebrook) Tillman. Mr. Tillman’s parents, who were natives of Holland, came to the United States in 1848 and settled at Little Chute, where Mr. Tillman secured employment in the construction of the canal at that point for the government. Later he bought forty acres of raw wood land from the government, on which he erected a log house from poplar trees which he cut himself, and split the shingles for the roof. Mr. Tillman continued to cultivate this land until his death; which occurred some fifteen years later, his widow surviving him about three years. Frank Tillman, who was the youngest of four children, was fifteen years of age when he commenced working for wages, and he continued to do so for about fifteen years. He then purchased fifty-four acres of partly-cleared land in Buchanan township, on which had been erected a log shanty, and there he spent the next twenty-five years of his life. Having improved this property, he sold it at a handsome profit and purchased the 120-acre tract where he now lives, and now has ninety acres under the plow. General farming has claimed his attention, and he also markets dairy products, milking ten graded Holstein cows. His buildings are in an excellent state of repair, and include a two-story frame residence equipped in modern style, and a substantial barn, 110×38 feet. A plentiful supply of water for all purposes is secured from drilled wells. In political matters Mr. Tillman is a democrat. He and his family are connected with St. Francis Catholic Church of Hollandtown. Mr. Tillman was united in marriage in 1878 to Miss Clark, daughter of Patrick and Catherine (Murphy) Clark, natives of Ireland who came to the United States some years after marriage and settled in Hollandtown, Brown county, Wisconsin, on a farm, on which they spent the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Tillman was the youngest of a family of four children, and was born in 1848 and died in 1896, being buried in the cemetery at Hollandtown. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tillman: Frances, who is married, lives in Milwaukee and has one child; Peter, who is single and living in Montana; and Albert, who is married, lives with his father on the homestead, and has three children.

STEPHEN SCHNEIDER

STEPHEN SCHNEIDER, superintendent of the Kaukauna Fiber Works, at Kaukauna, Wisconsin, who is well known in the paper manufacturing business in this section, is a native of Campbellsburg, Wisconsin, where he was born in 1879. At the age of nine years, in 1888, he located in Appleton, and there completed his education in St. Joseph’s parochial school, after leaving which he began to learn the trade of stationary engineer. He at once secured employment in the paper mills of Outagamie county, and in 1908 became connected with the Kaukauna Fiber Works, with which he has been associated to the present time, now holding the position of superintendent.

LEON KENNEDY

LEON KENNEDY, who is operating eighty acres of fine farming land in section 36, Bovina township, is one of the enterprising young agriculturists of this section, where he was born May 3, 1882. He is a son of John and Mary (Stein) Kennedy, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Ohio, who were married in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, in 1870. Mr. Kennedy died in 1907, at the age of seventy-three years and is buried in Bovina Cemetery. John Kennedy enlisted during the Civil War in Company K, One Hundred and Third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for a year and one-half, being then transferred to the navy, where he completed his service, being mustered out in Kentucky after a meritorious service on the gunboat Merrimac. He was an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic, under the auspices of which he was buried. During his early life he had been a carpenter, but in his latter years was engaged in farming, an occupation which he was following at the time of his death. He and his wife had a family of four children: Elton, who died at the age of twenty years; Alnetta, who married Howard Andrews of Outagamie county and has five children; James, who married Marie Hinson and has two children, and Leon.

Leon Kennedy, who has always lived at home with his parents, is operating the property of his mother, who lives on the farm at the age of sixty-one years. He carries on general farming and stockraising, having fifty acres under cultivation, and the land is thoroughly fenced with barbed wire. Mr. Kennedy’s father purchased this farm in 1877 and erected all of the buildings, but since his death various improvements have been made. Mr. Kennedy is a member of the F. R. A. and is a republican in politics, at present being a member of the school board. With his mother and wife he is a consistent attendant of the Congregational Church of Ellington. Mr. Kennedy was married in 1905 to Miss Finetta Brooker, who was born February 8, 1883, daughter of Frank and Sarah (Arnen) Brooker, natives of England who were married in Wisconsin and are now living at Minocqua, Vilas county. Mr. Brooker, who is a farmer by occupation, has reached his sixty-eighth year, while Mrs. Brooker, is fifty-one. They have had a family of eleven children, of whom Mrs. Kennedy was the seventh in order of birth. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy, namely: Eldra, who died in infancy, and Marion and Adla.

AUGUST BOHL

AUGUST BOHL, who is engaged in general farming in the township of Freedom, Outagamie county, where he owns an excellent tract of 137 acres of land, is a native of Germany and a son of John and Mary Bohl, both of whom were born in the Fatherland. In 1875 John Bohl brought his wife and four children to the United States and came direct to Outagamie county, Wisconsin, settling in Center township, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in 1898, some years after the death of Mrs. Bohl. Four children were born to this couple in Germany, and after they located in the United States they had two more children. August Bohl was born in Germany, May 1, 1869, and was six years of age when the family came to the United States. He attended the district schools in the neighborhood of his father’s farm, and at the age of thirteen years began working out as a farm hand, sending home the money earned to his father. When he was only sixteen years of age he began working in the woods in the winter months, and his wages for this work also went to his parents. He was twenty-one years old when he started out in life for himself, taking up a homestead in Brule county, South Dakota, which he proved up and resided on for six years, but the drouth of the last summer ruined the crops, and Mr. Bohl, with many others, was forced to sell out and leave the country. He subsequently went to Appleton, and for the next three years was employed in machine shops and at other work, and he then purchased a farm in Grand Chute township, on which he lived for twelve years, after which he traded it for the fine 137-acre farm in Freedom township which he is now operating. In 1889 Mr. Bohl was married to Mary Winters, daughter of Martin Winters, of Center township, and five children have been born to this union: Emma, Frederick, George, Minnie and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Bohl are members of the German Lutheran Church of Freedom township. Mr. Bohl is known among his fellow townsmen as a public-spirited citizen who can be counted upon to do his share when movements are organized for the good of his community.

THEODORE KNAPSTEIN

THEODORE KNAPSTEIN, president of the Knapstein Brewing Company, of New London, Wisconsin, has long been identified with the business interests of this city, and has also been chosen by his fellow citizens to represent them in various places of honor and trust on numerous occasions. He was born in Prussia, Germany, November 12, 1848, a son of Mathias and Marguerite (Kretzberg) Knapstein. Mathias Knapstein was born in Alfter, Kreis Bonn, Prussia, Germany, March 21, 1825, and in his native country was engaged in farming and harness making. In April, 1855, he started for the United States with his wife and three children, Theodore, Anna and Henry. The voyage to New York consumed 104 days, and during this time there was another child born, William on shipboard. The remainder of Mr. Knapstein’s life was spent in agricultural pursuits in Greenville township, Outagamie county, although one and one-half years prior to his death he went to New London to live with his son Henry, and there he died August 25, 1894, his wife having passed away in 1893. Five other children were born to this estimable couple in Wisconsin: Peter, Elizabeth, Barbara, Margaret and Conrad. Theodore Knapstein received his education in the district schools of Greenville township and worked on his father’s farm until he was twenty-one years of age. In September, 1869, he went to New London, where in company with Edward Becker and Anton Beyer he purchased the small brewery which was being operated by Joseph Lechner. At that time New London had less than 400 inhabitants, but the business has grown with the city’s growth. In 1875 Mr. Beyer died and Mr. Knapstein purchased Mr. Becker’s interests, admitting his brother Henry into partnership, and the latter sold out in 1908 to Theodore Knapstein’s son, the firm now being known under the style of the Knapstein Brewing Company, being incorporated. The officers of the company are: Theodore Knapstein, president; Henry Knapstein, vice-president; and Mathias W. Knapstein, secretary and treasurer. The plant, which was started with a capacity of 500 barrels, now has a product of 10,000 barrels annually. On December 13, 1875, Mr. Knapstein was married to Frances Werner, daughter of Franklin Werner, of New London, and they have twelve children, as follows: Margaret, Magdaline, Mathias W., Frances; Henrietta; Irene, Henry, William, John, Theodore, Raymond and Loraine. Mr. and Mrs. Knapstein belong to the Catholic Church. In 1872 Mr. Knapstein was elected to the then village board, and he was then a member of the city council until 1884; was mayor in the latter year and president of the council in 1885; member of the assembly in 1889 and re-elected in 1890, and elected sergeant-at-arms in 1893; in 1894 appointed postmaster, and held that office for a number of years. In filling the duties of his numerous offices, Mr. Knapstein brought to them the methods that have made him successful in business, and he gained a reputation for integrity of character and honesty of purpose.

OTTO TECHLIN

OTTO TECHLIN, a worthy representative of one of Freedom township’s old and honored families, who is now operating the old Techlin homestead, was born February 11, 1882, on the farm he now conducts, and is a son of Frederick and Sophia (Rusche) Techlin, natives of Germany. Frederick Techlin was born in Prussia, June 11, 1838, and came to the United States in the fall of 1857, sailing from Hamburg on the sailing vessel “Hobart,” and reaching New York after a voyage of more than fourteen weeks. For a little over a year he worked for a farmer in Rockland county, New York, and then came west to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the vicinity of which city he found employment among the farmers until he was joined by his parents, with whom he came to Center township, Outagamie county. He first acquired forty acres in Center township, but after making a few improvements sold it and bought fifty-seven acres in Freedom township. This land was all in the timber, Mr. Techlin’s implements were an axe and a hand-spike and the first house was an old log cabin, but after many years of hard and unremitting toil these gave way to 137 acres of finely cultivated farming land, a full and modern set of farming machinery and an excellent brick house, and here Frederick Techlin spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1905. On September 14, 1865, he was married to Sophia Rusche of Milwaukee, and they had a family of nine children, of whom six are now living. The mother still lives on the old homestead. Otto Techlin received all of his schooling in the district schools of the neighborhood of his home, and he has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits there. He has never left the home place, and at the time of the death of his father he took charge of the property which he is still operating as a general farm. On January 15, 1905, he was married to Hattie Krueger, daughter of Charles Krueger, of Freedom township, and four children have been born to this union: Adaline, Hilda, Harold and Edwin. The family belongs to the German Lutheran Church of Freedom.

DANIEL J. CROWE

DANIEL J. CROWE, vice-president of the Merchants’ and Farmers’ Bank of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, and one of the well-known and highly esteemed retired residents of that city, was for a long period engaged in railroad work, and is well known to railroad men of this part of Wisconsin. Mr. Crowe is a. native of Pennsylvania, born May 10, 1846, a son of Cornelius and Mary (Garvey) Crowe, natives of Ireland who came to the United States in 1842 and settled in Pennsylvania, where they remained until 1866, and then located in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, three miles north of Appleton. There Cornelius Crowe became a successful farmer and continued to reside until his death, his wife also passing away on the farm. Mr. Crowe voted the democratic ticket, but was not bound down by party ties and cast his vote rather for the man than the party. He and his wife had nine boys and one girl, and three are now deceased, one son dying while a prisoner in a Confederate prison at Salisbury, North Carolina, during the Civil War. Daniel J. Crowe remained on the home farm until he was twenty-eight years of age, at which time he started out for himself, and during the next two years had charge of the Brewster hop farm in Outagamie county, but decided at that time that farming was not the line he desired to follow through life, and subsequently became connected with the Northwestern Railroad. During the next thirty-two years he was in the service of this company, being an engineer for twenty-seven years and for twenty-four years of this time being in charge of a passenger train. He retired April 13, 1907, and located in Kaukauna, whence he had first come in 187–. He was married in this city in 1880, to Mrs. Catherine Goelor, who was born at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Mrs. Crowe had four children by a former marriage. Mr. Crowe is a well-known and popular member of the Elks.

CHRISTIAN SCHRADER

CHRISTIAN SCHRADER, who is carrying on extensive farming operations in Center township, is a son of Johim Schrader, a native of Germany who came to the United States when he was twenty-one or twenty-two years of age. He landed at New York, from whence he came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, soon finding employment in the quarries near the Cream City, where he worked in order to earn the means with which to buy a farm. In 1871 he came to Outagamie county and purchased land in Freedom township, but after living on this land one year he went back to the quarries and spent about five years. Returning to Freedom township at the end of this time, Mr. Schrader bought another farm, on which he continued to live until his retirement, becoming a well-known and prosperous farmer. Before coming to America Mr. Schrader married Christina Saverine, whose parents never left Germany, and to them there were born two sons and three daughters, all of whom are married and living in Outagamie county. Christian Schrader was born in Germany, December 19, 1862, and was a baby when his parents came to this country. His education was secured in the district schools of Milwaukee county, and at the age of nineteen years he started out to make his own living, becoming a lumber “jack” in the woods, an occupation which he followed for ten years. At the end of this time he purchased a farm in Freedom township, on which he lived for fourteen years, and then purchased his present beautiful farm in Center township. He has made many improvements, including the remodeling of his already good house and the erection of new barns. He has carried on mixed farming and dairy work, and his labor has met with well-merited success, placing him among the substantial farmers of his township.

On November 30, 1888, Mr. Schrader was married to Bertha Hafabacker, born May 10, 1865, daughter of John and Amelia (Freuning) Hafabacker. She came to the United States when a baby and received her education in the schools near Oshkosh, in the vicinity of which place her parents had settled on coming to this country. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schrader, namely: Clarence, who was born January 15, 1897; Nora, October 14, 1898; Harry, December 7, 1900, and Erma who was born August 18, 1902, and died in 1909. Both Mr. and Mrs. Schrader are members of the German Lutheran Church of Center.

EDWIN JAMES FREDERICK THIEL

EDWIN JAMES FREDERICK THIEL, whose eighty-three-acre tract, Sugar Bush Farm, is situated in Seymour township, is one of Outagamie county’s good practical farmers, and has spent his entire life here. He was born in Cicero township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, February 21, 1882, a son of William and Almira (Krueger), Thiel, old residents of Cicero township. Edwin J. F. Thiel received his education in the district schools of his native township, after leaving which he worked out among the farmers until he had reached the age of twenty-six years, and on February 14, 1908, he bought his present property, a tract of eighty-three acres which he has placed under a state of cultivation. He raises large crops, farming along general lines, and he has also engaged actively in stock raising. Mr. Thiel’s mother died when he was seven years of age, leaving four children: Edwin James Frederick; Benjamin, deceased, who was born February 27, 1883; Arnold George, born December 6, 1886; and Reuben Alfred, born September 13, 1892. Mr. Thiel’s father was married a second time to Kate Wolfinger and to this union were born three children: Florence Hattie, born July 25, 1894; Leland Walter, born July 24, 1897, and Raymond Frederick, born July 28, 1900. On March 12, 1908, Edwin J. F. Thiel was united in marriage with Miss Emma Zick, who was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, March 17, 1880, and to this union there have been born two children: Verona, February 23, 1909, and Luella, July 23, 1910. Mr. Thiel is considered a good, scientific farmer, and stands high in the esteem of his fellow citizens. . .

JOSEPH H. DOYLE, M. D.

JOSEPH H. DOYLE, M. D., a well known medical practitioner of Little Chute, Wisconsin, who bears a high reputation among the members of his profession in Outagamie county, was born in 1870, at Chilton, Wisconsin, and is a son of Peter and Anna (Turner) Doyle, natives of Ireland and early settlers of Wisconsin. Peter Doyle, who has been an agriculturist all of his life, is still living, his home being at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and he has reached the advanced age of ninety-one years. His wife is deceased. Joseph H. Doyle received his early education in the schools of Chilton, Wisconsin, later attending the Chilton High school and the Oshkosh Normal school. He taught school for several years after leaving the latter institution, and then, deciding upon the practice of medicine as a life profession, he entered the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1897. He next enrolled himself as a student at the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons, and in 1898 came to Little Chute and engaged in practice, this having been his field to the present time. Dr. Doyle is a member of the County, State and National Medical Associations, and during 1910 was president of the first-named body. He is a charter member of the Appleton division of the Knights of Columbus, and he is also connected with the Foresters, the Woodmen, the Equitable Fraternal Union and the Royal Neighbors. In 1907 he was one of the organizers of the Bank of Little Chute, and he is now a director of that institution.

Dr. Doyle was married in 1904, to Christina Jansen, a native of Buchanan township, Outagamie county, and daughter of George and Sophia Jansen, early settlers of this section. One daughter, Grace, has been born to this union. Dr. and Mrs. Doyle are faithful members of the Catholic Church.

B. N. BOWMAN

B. N. BOWMAN, who is manager of one of the large enterprises now engaging the attention of a group of capitalists in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, this being the developing of 400 acres of land located on the Oneida Reservation, the plan including the establishing here of a thoroughbred stock farm, together with the setting out of hundreds of cherry trees. The climate is suitable for the growing of this desirable fruit and this feature of the proposed enterprise is the main one and will give the name of Cherryville to the place, the Oneida Commercial Cherry Orchard Company being now in process of organization. The capitalists interested are: Storm Brothers, Fred Hoosman, Percy Silverwood, C. P. Cornelius and B. N. Bowman, the latter being a stockholder and manager. He was born at Shenandoah, Virginia, March 1, 1861, and throughout his entire business life has been connected with nurseries. The above mentioned farm was originally owned and operated by J. W. Wilcox, who made the excellent improvements which include a large double silo and one of the finest barns in Outagamie county, which was designed by C. P. Cornelius. The dimensions of this barn are 40×120 feet, while its main construction is of cement. Development and progress along any line is more or less interesting and instructive to the average person, and there is no doubt but in the present enterprise Outagamie county will have one of its most important industries.

HERMAN TIMM

HERMAN TIMM, has done his share in building up and advancing the development of Outagamie county, as the greater part of his life has been spent in cultivating what was formerly a barren stretch of country into a beautiful and productive farm. Mr. Timm, whose operations are carried on in Center township, is a son of August and Caroline (Kanute) Timm, who came to this country from Germany in 1864 and settled near Milwaukee. August Timm worked on farms in the vicinity of Milwaukee for monthly wages until he had accumulated sufficient money to purchase a farm, when he came to Black Creek township, Outagamie county, and there spent the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits, his death occurring January 1, 1911. His wife had passed away in 1908. Herman Timm was born in 1859, in Germany, and was five years old when his parents came to the United States. His education was secured in the schools of Milwaukee county, and as a mere youth was put to the hard tasks that fell to the lot of the pioneer farmers. When he was twenty-four years of age, his industry and economy had enabled him to save enough money to buy half of his father’s land in Black Creek, but eight years later he came to Center township and bought his present farm, which was then in very poor condition. He at once began reclaiming the soil, which he soon had in a fertile condition, and replaced the buildings one by one until he had one of the best-appearing farms in his section of the township. His life has been spent in hard work, but he has accomplished much and can look back over a well-spent and useful career. General farming, dairy work and stockraising have taken his attention, but he has not been too busy to be a consistent attendant of the German Lutheran church of Center, of which he is an active and liberal member.

On July 6, 1883, Mr. Timm was married to Minnie Neimaum, who was born May 30, 1856, in Greenville, daughter of Frederick Neimaum, a well-known farmer of Center township, and she died March 31, 1902, leaving a family of these children: Anna, who married Edward Sax, of this county, and has one child; Ida, who married Charles Sax, and has one child; Clara and Elsie, who live in Appleton; and Herman, Lena, Tilda, Edward and Viola, all of whom live at home.

GEORGE A. CUFF

GEORGE A. CUFF, the owner of a fine farming property in Hortonia township, and one of that section’s representative citizens, was born March 12, 1859, in this township, and is a son of Alexander and Maria (Cuffe) Cuff, natives of Ireland. Alexander Cuff was born in 1824, in County Sligo, and in 1847 came to the United States, first locating in northeastern Ohio, and in 1849 came to Hortonia, taking up land on section 6. He was married in 1851, and in 1854 settled on a farm in section 31, which at that time was completely covered with timber, and the remainder of his active life was spent in clearing and cultivating this land. In his later years he retired and moved away, and his death occurred later. He and his wife were the parents of six children, namely: Margaret, who died in Detroit, Michigan; Charles Richmond, a farmer near Manawa; Rebecca J., who married E. H. Stimson, an Appleton photographer; George Alexander, and Letitia Lilly and Emma Jane, twins, the former of whom married W. Shaler Patterson, and the latter Arthur W. Millard, business men of Appleton and New London, respectively. Alexander Cuff was an independent republican in politics, and was greatly interested in matters of an educational nature, giving both of his time and means in supporting movements along that line. George Alexander Cuff received his education in the district schools of his native locality, and remained on his father’s farm until he was twenty-one or twenty-two years old, when he purchased his present farm from his father. He has made many improvements on this land, and now has one of the finest farms in the township, fully equipped with handsome, substantial buildings. On January 11, 1881, Mr. Cuff was married to Miss Minnie L. Patterson, daughter of Orens and Margaret (Martin) Patterson, and they have had nine children, as follows: Margaret and Charles, who died in infancy; Edna, George, Orens, who is taking the agricultural course and is now a senior of the four-year course at the State University at Madison; Fanny, Clarence, Arthur and Neita. The family is connected with the Congregational church of New London. Mr. Cuff has for a number of years served on the school board as a director.

ROBERT GRANDY

ROBERT GRANDY, who is now operating an excellent farm of 240 acres situated on section 26, Maine township, was born February 23, 1845, in Ontario, Canada, and is a son of John and Catherine (Cooper) Grandy, natives of Ireland, who emigrated to Canada as children with their parents and spent their entire lives in the Dominion. Robert Grandy was the youngest of a family of five children, and at the age of sixteen years he commenced serving an apprenticeship to the cabinet making trade at which he worked in Canada until he was twenty-three years of age, when he went to California and spent three and one-half years. He then located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he worked in the furniture factories for about five years, later being employed in the same line in Appleton, Wisconsin, and in the sash and blind works, and subsequently became superintendent of Walker’s Toy Factory. He went from Appleton to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he was foreman for the Payne Lumber Company and the Morgan Company, spending altogether about sixteen years. He then moved on to the farm on which he now lives, which he had bought some years before, locating on it about 1901, and he now has about sixty acres under cultivation. When he first located there he built a frame house which was destroyed by fire, and he later erected a larger and more modern house, and during the summer of 1911 built a basement barn, the lumber for both buildings being cut and sawed from his own property. In 1872 Mr. Grandy was married to Miss Jane Erratt, who was born June 23, 1845, in Ontario, Canada, a daughter of Irish parents who died in Ontario, at which place, prior to her marriage, she was a teacher in the public school. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grandy: Eleanor Erratt, a teacher in the public schools of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Arthur Robert, who is single and living in Oshkosh, and Mable, a public school teacher in Chicago, Illinois. All three children are full-course graduates of the State Normal School at Oshkosh. Mr. Grandy is a republican in politics and for three years was chairman of the board of supervisors of Maine township. He and his wife are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Oshkosh. Mr. Grandy served during the Fenian Raid of 1866, as a non-commissioned officer of the Volunteer Field Artillery of Ontario, Canada, being a member of that organization for two years. For services rendered during that struggle he was granted 160 acres of land in New Ontario, which he still holds today. His son is a veteran of the Spanish-American War, serving in the infantry in Porto Rico, and being mustered out of the service at Oshkosh at he close of the war.

ABEL ESKMAN

ABEL ESKMAN, one of the leading agriculturists of Maine township, Outagamie county, who is carrying on operations on sections 3 and 10, has lived in the United States since he was thirty-two years old, his parents having spent their lives in Sweden. Landing at New York City, he came to Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1872 and worked for wages on a farm near there during the first year, and during the next two years was an employe of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, working one year on the section and one year at grading. For seven years he was employed in the woods at logging, and he then purchased eighty acres of the place which he now operates, which at that time (1884) was all wild land. Here he has made numerous improvements, building a fine residence and good barns and outbuildings, has his place fenced mostly with barbed wire, and has about sixty acres under cultivation, on which he carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Eskman was married in Sweden in 1867, and his wife died in December, 1872, leaving two children: Oscar, who is married and living in Chicago, and August, who is single and a resident of Idaho. In 1884 Mr. Eskman was married (second) to Miss Louise Mongerson, a native of Sweden, who was born April 25, 1847, and to this union there has been born one child: Albert, who is single and lives at home helping his father. Mr. Eskman is independent in politics, and the religious connection of the family is with the Congregational church.

G. H. DeWALL

G. H. DeWALL, who is well known to the traveling public as the proprietor of the DeWall’s Hotel, in Black Creek, Wisconsin; was for many years engaged in agricultural operations in the vicinity of his present residence. He is a native of Germany, born February 26, 1855, a son of Frederick and Johannah (Shroeder) DeWall, who came to America in 1871 and settled in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, in 1874. Frederick DeWall, who followed farming throughout his active career, died in 1905, while his widow still survives, making her home in Black Creek, at the remarkable age of ninety-four years.

G. H. DeWall was the youngest of his parents’ five children, and he accompanied the family to the United States, when he was sixteen years old, his education being completed in this country. He remained on the home farm, assisting his father, until he had reached the age of twenty-one years, and then started to farm on his own account on forty acres of wild land in Seymour township, Outagamie county. He resided there for three years, and then traded this property for forty acres in Black Creek township, and during the eighteen years following, he continued to reside here and to add 127 acres to his tract. This he sold in 1899 and bought two acres in the village of Black Creek and forty acres just outside of the village limits, and he has continued to hold and operate this property to the present time. On April 1, 1905, he purchased the hotel he now owns, and moved into it at once, and since then he has made this one of the most popular hostelries of this section.

In 1875, Mr. DeWall was married to Miss Amelia Melchert, who was born June 5, 1857, the youngest of a family of seven children, and a native of Outagamie county. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. DeWall, of whom seven now survive, as follows: Louisa, who married Frank DeWall, now residing in Appleton; Matilda, who married John Prevey, living in Black Creek, having had five children; Frank, who is married and living in the town of Cicero, having two children; Emma, who married Charles Myer, residing in Black Creek village, the mother of two children; Elmer, who is married and has one child; Edward, of Black Creek, who is also married and the father of one child, and Margaret, who is single, living at home. Mr. DeWall is a republican in politics, and he is now a member of the township board of trustees. With his family, he attends the Lutheran church.

PETER A. GLOUDEMANS

PETER A. GLOUDEMANS, president of the town board of Little Chute, Wisconsin, cashier of the Bank of Little Chute, and the leading merchant in the town, has during the past fifteen years been closely identified with the business and public interests of this section and stands high in the esteem and confidence of his fellowcitizens as an able business man and conscientious public official. Mr. Gloudemans was born near Little Chute, in what was then Kaukauna township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, January 17, 1869, a son of Adrian and Johanna (Van Roy) Gloudemans, natives of Holland. The father came to the United States in 1854, locating at Little Chute, and later removing to Appleton, where he was engaged some time in a mill business with a Mr. Schmutte, until his marriage to Johanna Van Roy, who had come to this country in 1855 with her father, Peter Van Roy. After his marriage Mr. Gloudemans bought forty acres of wild land in this section, but was later compelled to sell ten acres of this, although the purchase price had been but $1.25 per acre. From this inauspicious beginning, Mr. Gloudemans became one of the leading agriculturists of his part of the county, and after twenty-six years of farming he retired, in 1883, being at that time the owner of 365 acres of excellent farming land. He is now living in Little Chute, having attained the advanced age of ninety years, while his wife passed away here in 1910. They had a family of eight children, as follows: John A., who is engaged in a hardware business in Little Chute; Martin, who died about 1871; Arnold, who is carrying on operations on the old homestead farm; Peter A., Henry, engaged in a mercantile business in Appleton; Hattie, deceased, was the wife of John Hermsen, a farmer of Vandenbroek township; Dinah, who married Arnold Van der Loop, a farmer; and Mary, who married George Gurts, an agriculturist of Little Chute township.

Peter A. Gloudemans received a common school education, and later attended Mount Calvary College, after which he was for ten years a clerk in Pettibone’s store in Appleton, where he gained experience that has been very valuable to him in a business way since. In 1896 he decided to enter the business field on his own account, and with his brother, Henry, purchased a location and opened a twostory and basement department store, 88×100 feet, the largest store in Little Chute, where he carries a full line of dry goods, groceries, clothing, hats, caps, boots, shoes, notions, feed, etc. In 1910 Henry Gloudemans sold his interests to Peter A., and the latter has since carried on the business alone. At the time of the organization of the bank of Little Chute, Mr. Gloudemans, as one of the leading business men of the town, was called upon for his influence, and financial support, and was prominent in the founding of this financial institution. H. J. Verstegen was elected president; William Geenan, vice-president, and Peter A. Gloudemans, cashier; and these gentlemen, with Dr. J. H. Doyle and Henry J. Mullen, now form the board of directors. The bank was organized in 1907, with a capital stock of $15,000, and is now on a sound financial basis and has the confidence of the people of the town. Mr. Gloudemans is also serving as president of the town board, and is prominent fraternally as a member of the Foresters, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Equitable Fraternal Union. With his family, he is connected with the Catholic church. In 1891, Mr. Gloudemans was united in marriage, with Theresa Moder, of Dale township, daughter of Anton Moder, and they have had a family of seven children, of whom two are now deceased.

CHARLES W. SCHROEDER

CHARLES W. SCHROEDER, a prominent farmer-citizen of Center township, who is the owner of a well-cultivated property in section 25 and vice-president and director of the Apple Creek Farmers Telephone Company, was born June 16, 1871, in Center township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, son of Louis and Bertha (Wage) Schroeder. Mr. Schroeder’s grandparents were natives of Germany who came to the United States and settled in New York, the grandfather working on the lake boats which plied out of New York until coming west to Wisconsin. Here the grandfather bought land and spent the rest of his life in farming, his death occurring during the early ’70s. Louis Schroeder was fifteen years, of age when his parents brought him to the United States from Germany, and he had reached young manhood when they settled in Wisconsin. For a time he was employed on his father’s farm, and he then purchased a property of his own in Center township, and here he lived until his retirement, since which time he has been living on the north side of Second avenue, between Dirke and Morrison streets, in Appleton. Charles W. Schroeder received his education in the district schools of Center township, and from the time that he left school until he was twenty-one years of age he worked on his father’s farm. In 1893 he bought the farm which he now cultivates, and he has brought the land to a high state of cultivation, it producing large crops and furnishing excellent pasture land. He has a large modern house, substantial, commodious barns and other good buildings, and his farming is done with the most highly-improved farming machinery. In political matters he is a republican, and for the past fifteen years he has served district No. 3 as clerk of the school board. He and Mrs. Schroeder are members of St. John’s Lutheran church of Center, and during the past twelve years he has been a member of the church committee. He is vice-president and director of the Apple Creek Farmers Telephone Company, and during the past ten years has served as agent for Center township of the Cicero Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

On October 7, 1892, Mr. Schroeder was married to Carolina Tecklin, who was born October 1, 1872, in Center township, daughter of William Tecklin, a retired farmer of Center township, who has served as school director and treasurer. Her mother died in 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder there have been born four children: Hulda, who was born September 22, 1893; Amanda, born August 23, 1899; Omer, born June.4, 1906; and Lillie, who was born December 28, 1910, and died in April, 1911.

OSWALD BREITUNG

OSWALD BREITUNG, who has spent all of his life in agricultural pursuits in Freedom township and is now operating the Breitung homestead, is one of the good, practical farmers of his section. His father, Rheinholdt Breitung, who was a native of Saxony, came to the United States when seventeen years of age with his parents, his father, Leopold Breitung, settling in Milwaukee county where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. Rheinholdt Breitung came to Outagamie county in 1853, and for the next seventeen years was engaged in selling farm machinery and operating a meat market in Appleton. In 1870 he came to Freedom township and purchased land, but eventually sold his first purchase to buy the present Breitung, property, which was his home until his death, September 22, 1906. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Christina Umbehaur, was born in Germany and came to this country when seventeen years of age, and her death occurred October 25, 1910. Oswald Breitung was one of a family of eight children, and was born July 28, 1869, in Appleton. He was an infant when brought to Freedom township, and his education was secured in the district schools and St. Paul’s school in Appleton. He was reared to the life of an agriculturist and never left the home place, which he purchased at the time of his father’s death from the other heirs. He now has a, well-developed, neatly-fenced property, and is successfully carrying on general farming and stock raising. His father built the outbuildings on the farm, but Mr. Breitung has made numerous improvements since coming into possession of it, and now has one of the fine tracts of his district. He is known as a good farmer and public-spirited citizen and at present is serving as treasurer of his school district. He has never married, but his nephew, Rheinholdt Krabe and his wife are making their home with him.

FRANK PETIT

FRANK PETIT, justice of the peace and leading agriculturist of Liberty township, whose excellent farm is located on New London Rural Route No. 5, was born August 21, 1847, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, a son of Frank and Elmyra (Bellamer) Petit. Joseph Petit was born in Quebec, Canada, and when a lad of fifteen years came to Fond du Lac with his father, Lambert Petit. At the time the Green Bay Railroad was built, about forty years ago, he moved to Outagamie county and purchased the property which is now being operated by his son Frank. He married Elmryra Bellamer, and they had nine children. Mr. Petit served as a soldier during the Civil War, in a Wisconsin regiment, from which he was honorably discharged at the cessation of hostilities. Frank Petit attended school for a short time in Fond du Lac, but the major part of his education was secured in the district schools of Liberty township, and the greater part of his youth and young manhood was spent on the home farm, with the exception of four years when he was in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, where he operated the first hotel and ferry boat. At the age of twenty-five years, Mr. Petit returned to Outagamie county and worked on land that he had bought near the home place, living there until about eight years ago, when his father retired from active life and Frank bought the home place, which he has operated with much success ever since. In June, 1870, he was married to Laura Young, daughter of Peter Young, of Maple Creek, and they have had two children: Edward and Louis, both at home assisting their father. The family is connected with the Catholic church at New London. Mr. Petit has been justice of the peace for more than twenty years and several years ago served very acceptably in the office of township treasurer.

JOHN GROAT

JOHN GROAT, general farmer and dairyman, and during the past nine years clerk of the school board of Freedom township, is the owner of a fine farming property. His father, Louis Groat, was born in Prussia, Germany, and came to the United States in 1874 with his wife, Mary (Jaacks) Groat, and his four children: Lena; William, now a resident of North Dakota; Anne, and John. On landing in America, Louis Groat at once brought his family to Outagamie county, and for two years lived in Greenville township, at the end of that time removing to Osborn towniship, where he bought farming land and lived thereon until his death in 1896, his wife having passed away during the previous year. John Groat was born in Germany, July 25, 1866, began his education in his native country and completed it in the district schools in the vicinity of his father’s farms. With the exception of five years when he was engaged in doing carpenter work throughout this part of Outagamie county, he always worked on the home farm as a boy and youth, and at the age of twenty-two years he purchased his present property, known as the old Wiese farm. At the time he bought this land there had been but few improvements made, but Mr. Groat has brought the land up to a high state of cultivation, erected a comfortable home, large barn and substantial outbuildings, and made his property one of the finest of its size in the township. He farms along scientific lines and engages extensively in dairying, his product finding a ready sale in the markets adjacent. In 1888 Mr. Groat was married to Miss Emma Wiese, who was born on Mr. Groat’s present farm, daughter of Frederick Wiese, a native of Germany. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Groat, namely: Mabel, Clemence, Walter, Julia, Roland and Harry. Mr. Groat is at present serving in the capacity of school clerk of Freedom township, and that he makes a very satisfactory official is evidenced by the fact that he has held the office for nine consecutive years. With his wife and family he attends the Moravian church of Freedom township, and has been prominent in church and charitable movements.

HERMAN BONNIN

HERMAN BONNIN, chairman of Liberty township, and one of the leading agriculturists of this section, has been closely identified with public and agricultural affairs here for a number of years. He is a son of William Bonnin, who was born in Germany and came from that country to the United States in 1857, with his wife, Rosa (Klaveter) Bonnin, and four children, and located in Milwaukee, where the family lived for two years. A short stay was then made in West Bend, Wisconsin, and Mr. Bonnin then took up wild land in Liberty township, which he cleared and converted into a fertile farm, and there he spent the remainder of his life, dying December 10, 1902, his wife having passed away ten years before. Four more children were born to this couple in America. Herman Bonnin was born in the village of West Bend, Wisconsin, September 26, 1858, and as a boy worked on his father’s farm and for other farmers, in the lumber camps and on the railroads, bringing the money earned home to his father until he was twenty-one years of age. For four or five years after attaining his majority Mr. Bonnin continued to work this way saving his money carefully until he had accumulated enough to purchase his present farm. In 1886 Mr. Bonnin was married to Lena Rader, daughter of Frederick and Mary Rader, natives of Germany, who came to Outagamie county and settled in Maple Creek township. Mrs. Bonnin was born in Milwaukee. She and her husband have had ten children: Martin, Charles, Arthur, Alma, Herman, Harvey, Clara, Walter, Lawrence and Lorena. Mr. Bonnin served as town treasurer for four years, school treasurer six years and health official six years, and at present is township chairman, having also served on, the township board for several terms. His brother, Christian Bonnin of Shawano county, was a member of the State Assembly. Mr. and Mrs. Bonnin are consistent members of the German Lutheran Church of New London.

WILLIAM J. LAIRD

WILLIAM J. LAIRD, who was born November 8, 1880, in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, is one of the enterprising young farmers of Bovina township, where he is serving as treasurer of the school board. He is a son of James and Mary A. (Moore) Laird, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Wisconsin. James Laird came to the United States in boyhood with his mother, and settled in Outagamie county, where he spent many years in agricultural pursuits and died in 1890, aged fifty-eight years. His widow, who survives him, is living in Outagamie county, and is fifty-three years old. They had five children, namely: William J.; Mary, who died at the age of fourteen years; Anna, who married Lewis Sykes and lives in Outagamie county; James A., who is single and taking a course in agriculture at the State University at Madison; and Emma, who married Thomas Henry of Ellington township. William J. Laird received his education in the public schools, after leaving which he started to work on the home farm. At the time of his father’s death he took over the management of the place, operating it for his mother, and when the children became of age he bought their interests and now has full control. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of dairying, and milks on an average of ten cows the year around. About seventy acres of the home farm are under cultivation, the remainder being in timber. The buildings are substantial and well kept and the property is entirely fenced with barbed wire. Mr. Laird is a member of the F. R. A., and is a republican in politics, being the present treasurer of the Bovina township school board. He and Mrs. Laird are members of the Ellington Congregational Church.

On June 23, 1909, Mr. Laird was married to Miss Jessie Ham, who was born March 27, 1883, the second of the six children of John D. and Sarah (Moore) Ham. Mr. and Mrs. Laird have no children.

JOSEPH E. KOMP

JOSEPH E. KOMP, one of Outagamie county’s progressive and enterprising young agriculturists, who is devoting his attention to the cultivation of the Komp homestead in Liberty township, was born March 7, 1880, in Washington county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Herman and Katherine (Frieberger) Komp. Herman Komp was a native of the Fatherland, and came to the United States as a young man, moving immediately to Washington county, Wisconsin, where he purchased land. He married Katherine Frieberger, a native of that county, whose parents were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Komp resided on the Washington county farm until eighteen years ago, when they moved to Outagamie county, and Mr. Komp purchased land in Liberty township. He was actively engaged in the cultivation of this tract until two years ago, when he retired and moved to Stephensville. He and his wife had a family of ten children. Joseph E. Komp received his education in the district schools of Liberty township, and he has always worked on his father’s farm, as has his brother, Edward, who was born April 3, 1882. In 1909 these two brothers took charge of the farm, renting it from their father, and they have been very successful in their operations, having a well-equipped and well-cultivated tract. The buildings are in excellent condition, and the land is well graded and neatly fenced. In 1909, Joseph E. Komp was united in marriage with Miss Lauretta Day, the estimable daughter of William and Elizabeth (Holleran) Day of Greenville township, and one child was born to this union: Milo, born September 1, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Komp are consistent members of the Catholic Church at Stephensville. Mr. Komp is a man who always has the interest of his community at heart, and is willing to lend his support to any movement that promises the advancement of his township in any way.

ERNEST MOEHRING

ERNEST MOEHRING, who is the owner of 289 acres of fine farming land in Bovina township, has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Outagamie county for a period covering thirty-seven years. He is a native of Germany, born May 12, 1850, a son of Carl and Christina Moehring, who spent their lives in the Fatherland. Ernest Moehring, who was the third of his parents’ eight children, came to the United States when he was nineteen years of age and first settled in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he spent five years at the cooper’s trade. He then located in Outagamie county, purchasing forty acres in Bovina township, on which he built a log house and barn, and during the seven years that he lived on this property he cleared and put under cultivation twenty-five acres. Selling the first farm, he purchased 160 acres, a part of the farm he now owns, about twenty-five acres of this land having been cleared and a log house and barn standing on the premises. He has been engaged in farming here to the present time, and has added to his property by purchase at various periods, now owning 289 acres in section 4, of which 100 acres are cleared and fenced with barbed and woven wire. In addition to this he also owned a forty-acre tract which he deeded to his son, the latter now being engaged in farming it. Mr. Moehring has remodeled both the barn and the house, making them modern, substantial structures, and has also erected other buildings and installed a ten-horsepower gasoline engine to do the pumping of water, grinding of corn and operating the separator. He has engaged in general farming, and specializes in dairying and hog raising, having the genuine Poland-China breed.

In 1871, Mr. Moehring was married to Miss Josephine Moehrle, who was born April 26, 1851, in Wisconsin, whence her parents had come from Germany at an early date. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Moehring, namely: George, who married Mattie Nagle, residing in Outagamie county; John, who married Ida Kobern living in Evanston, Illinois, the father of one child; Josephine, who married Gust Schiebe, also of Evanston, having three children; Lena, who married Robert Henry, living in Outagamie county, to whom have been born two children; Martha, who married Frank Minck, living in California, the mother of two children; Jennie, who married George Brown of Outagamie county, having two children; Bernhardt, who is single and living at home; Richard, who married Mary Green, living in Outagamie county; and Alfred, who is single and living with his father. Mr. Moehring is a republican in politics and has served as assessor and road commissioner a number of times. The family are members of the Luthearn Church at Shiocton.

SAMUEL G. RUPPLE

SAMUEL G. RUPPLE, a well known citizen and prosperous business man of Medina, Wisconsin, where he is the proprietor of a general mercantile establishment, is a native of Outagamie county, and was born August 20, 1863, a son of John and Elizabeth (Baker) Rupple, natives of Germany. Mr. Rupple’s parents were married in Canada and came to the United States about 1855, settling in Dale township, where they purchased forty acres of raw land and engaged in farming. Mr. Rupple died in Dale in 1896, aged sixty-five years, and Mrs. Rupple passed away in August, 1890, when fifty-nine years old. When Mr. Rupple first came to his property he had nothing in the world to clear his land with but an axe, but the axe was backed by a pair of strong and willing hands and a sturdy heart, and at the time of his death Mr. Rupple had an excellent farm of seventy-three acres, all in a high state of cultivation. Both are buried in the Medina Cemetery. Mr. Rupple enlisted in the Union army during the latter years of the Civil War, was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and was buried with military honors. Samuel G. Rupple was the seventh born of a family of ten children, and at the age of seventeen years began working at the carpenter trade, continuing thereat for ten years. He then purchased 120 acres of land in Dale township, on which he engaged in farming for sixteen years, and in February, 1907, sold out and engaged in the mercantile business, which he has since carried on. In April, 1899, Mr. Rupple was married to Miss Elizabeth Earle, who was born January 2, 1867, the eldest of the four children born to Allen and Lucinda (Mitchell) Earle, natives of New York State, who came to Wisconsin in 1870 and settled in Outagamie county. Mr. Earle died in 1904, and his widow still survives and makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Rupple. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rupple: Ethel, Earl and Jennie. He is a member of the Equitable Fraternal Union. In politics he is a republican, and he has served three terms on the township board and sixteen years on the school board, being treasurer all of the time while a member of the latter. With Mrs. Rupple he attends the Methodist Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM G. BLAKE

WILLIAM G. BLAKE, a scientific farmer and stock raiser of section 28, Cicero township, was born April 10, 1880, on the farm which he now occupies, and is a son of Joachim C. F. and Adaline (Maschinsky) Blake, and a grandson of Carl and Dorothy Blake, or “Bleek,” as the name was originally spelled in Germany. Mr. Blake’s grandparents were natives of Mecklenberg, Germany, from whence they came to America in 1866 and settled in Greenville township, moving to Cicero township two years later, where Mr. Blake bought 120 acres of wild land from the Fox River Company. The first residence of the family was a log cabin, and at the same time a log barn was built large enough to accommodate the teams of lumbermen in that vicinity. During the remainder of his life Carl Blake was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and at the time of his death, in June, 1886, he had an excellent property. His widow followed him to the grave during the following spring, and both were buried in the Lutheran Cemetery at Black Creek. Joachim C. F. Blake received his education in the German schools, and after coming to America engaged in working for wages, mostly in the lumber woods, during seven winters, and then worked on his father’s farm. In 1876 he was married to Miss Adaline Maschinsky, a native of Germany, who came to America in 1871, her parents first settling in Dodge county and two years later moving to Outagamie county. They bought forty acres of land in Cicero township, and here Mr. Maschinsky died in the spring of 1883, at the age of sixty-one years. His widow, who was born November 15, 1825, is still living on the old homestead in Cicero township. Mrs. Blake was the third of a family of nine children, and was born February 26, 1852. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Joachim C. F. Blake, namely: Emma, who married Fred Pantzloff, lives in Cicero township and has two children; William G.; Mary, who married Amos Sharman of Black Creek township, has three children; Caroline, who married Julius Sassmann, also lives in Black Creek and has three children; and Walter, is single and lives at home, being a carpenter by trade. After his marriage, Mr. Blake engaged in farming for himself on eighty acres of land in Cicero township, to which he later added eighty acres more, and of this he has ninety acres under cultivation. All of the improvements, including the buildings, have been done by him, and the entire farm is fenced with barbed and woven wire and cedar rails. His son, William, is now living on the place, but has purchased a farm of 152 acres in Black Creek township, to which he expects to remove, and Mr. Blake will then move onto his own farm with his youngest son and re-engage in farming and stock raising. At present he is living quietly at his own residence in the village of Black Creek, where he also owns two building lots. Mr. Blake is a republican in politics and has served as assessor of Black Creek, and as assessor, supervisor, chairman of the town board and treasurer of the school board. With his family he attends the Lutheran Church.

William G. Blake received his education in the public schools, and later took the agricultural course at Madison, where he learned the benefits to be derived from scientific farming and stock raising. He has been engaged in these lines all of his life, and is now engaged in breeding thoroughbred Holstein cattle, Duroc and Poland-China hogs and Percheron horses. In 1905, he was married to Miss Mary Hoffman, who was born March 25, 1882, at Maple Creek, daughter of Jacob and Henrietta Hoffman. One child has been born to this union: Elwin C., August 13, 1906.

LAMBERT VANDENBERG

LAMBERT VANDENBERG, one of the self-made men of Outagamie county, who has become successful as an agriculturist through the force of his own industry, hard work and perseverance, backed by a strong determination to win, was born on the farm which he now occupies, June 14, 1864, and is a son of John W. and Mary (Sass) Vandenberg. John W. Vandenberg was born in Holland and came to the United States when about thirty-five years of age, bringing with him his mother and a brother, Gilbert, and two sisters, Harriet and Anne. He settled first for a time in Washington county, Wisconsin, and then came to Freedom township, Outagamie county, buying wild land, which later was developed into the flourishing farm now occupied by his son Lambert. The children were born here in the little log house and Lambert Vandenberg, although possessed of an intense desire for a good education, received only meager opportunities, what little tuition he secured being received in the little red schoolhouse in Freedom, which he attended during a few months in the year when there was nothing to do on the farm. His principal school, however, was the school of hard work, and when still a little lad was given almost a grown man’s work to accomplish each day, but this probably instilled in him the traits of thrift, economy and perseverance and fitted him for the struggle that was to come afterwards and which was eventually to lead him to success. At the age of eighteen years he left home and went to Iowa, where for two years he worked on a farm, and then returned home. He was married July 10, 1894, to Miss Elizabeth Scholl, daughter of John Scholl of Freedom township, and to this union there have been born fourteen children, of whom three are deceased, the living being: John, Ellen, Joseph, Theodore, Johannah, Minnie, Vincent, Agnes, Rosella, Elmer and Angeline. When he was first married, Mr. Vandenberg rented the home place for three years and then bought the property, on which he has carried on general farming ever since. He is known as a public-spirited citizen, and during the past few years has served his township as postmaster. He and his wife belong to the Catholic Church in the village of Freedom.

LAWRENCE HEHMAN

LAWRENCE HEHMAN, one of the progressive and enterprising agriculturists of Maple Creek township, is the owner of a farm of 126 acres situated on section 6, the old Hehman homestead, on which he was born April 7, 1874, a son of Garret and Margaret (Ruckdashel) Hehman, natives of Holland and Germany, respectively. Garrett Hehman came to the United States when but thirteen years old with his parents, who first settled in Shawano county, Wisconsin, where they spent their lives. Mr. Hehman’s mother was fourteen years of age when she came to America, her parents being early settlers of Waupaca county, just across the line from Maple Creek, and they both died there more than thirty years ago. When Garrett Hehman was married he purchased the farm now owned by his son Lawrence, from his wife’s brothers, and there his death occurred in August, 1905, when he was sixty-six years of age. His widow is now living with her son Lawrence, who was the fifth of a family of seven children. Mr. Hehman was reared on the old farm, and at the death of his father it was deeded to him. The eldest of the family was Margaret, who married George Grieshamer, and died in 1900, leaving three children; Clara, next in order of birth, married Adolph Meyer, and they now live in Eau Claire and have four children; Henry Hehman married Myrtle Otis, and lives in Waupaca county, having one child; Elizabeth married Willard G. Mansfield, and lives in Deer Creek township, having two children; Lawrence was next in order of birth; Martha married William Brummond.and now lives in one of the Dakotas; and John died at the age of thirteen years. Ninety acres of Mr. Hehman’s farm is in a fine state of cultivation, the property is fenced with barbed wire, and in 1907 Mr. Hehman built a modern residence of eleven rooms, and a barn 32×50 feet, although most of the buildings and improvements were built during his father’s life. Mr. Hehman is engaged in general farming and stock raising and markets dairy products and hogs. He feeds all of his hay and grain, and specializes in Durham cattle and Poland-China hogs. In political matters he takes an independent stand, voting rather for the man than the party, and he and his mother are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Welcome, Wisconsin. Mr. Hehman is unmarried.

FREDERICK KRESSIN

FREDERICK KRESSIN, a young agriculturist of Freedom township, who through hard and conscientious effort is making a success of his farming operations, was born on the homestead farm in this township, March 18, 1884. His father, John Kressin, came to the United States in 1870 with his wife, Frederica (Buss) Kressin, and their child, Elizabeth, and the family settled in Appleton, where Mr. Kressin was employed by the day for several years. He then rented a farm in Freedom township, where he resided for five years, and at the end of that time purchased the farm that is the home place of Frederick Kressin. At that time it was all raw wild land, but Mr. Kressin brought it into a high state of cultivation, making one of the best farms in his part of the township, and on it erected a large brick house, substantial barns and good outbuildings. He added to his land holdings until he became one of the leading agriculturists of his township, and rose to a position of prominence among his fellow townsmen, serving as township chairman for several years and as township treasurer and clerk. He retired from active pursuits in 1909, and is now living a quiet life, having reached the age of sixty-three years, while his wife, who is also living, is sixty-seven years of age. Frederick Kressin was one of a family of nine children, but was the only boy in the family to attain years of maturity, and as a consequence his services were needed continually on the home farm. He has always been a hard, faithful worker, and he is now operating both of the Freedom township properties, which he rents from his father. That his enterprise and energy are being well repaid is evidenced by the fact that he is raising large and prosperous crops, and that his farms are in the best of condition in every way. In addition to general farming, he carries on some stock raising, principally for his own use, and also markets dairy products. On February 23, 1909, Mr. Kressin was married to Selma Moss, who was born August 12, 1888, in Black Creek, daughter of John Moss. Mr. and Mrs. Kressin are both members of the German Lutheran Church of Freedom.

WILLIAM J. BLAKE

WILLIAM J. BLAKE, one of the progressive and enterprising young agriculturists of Greenville township, who is using scientific methods in developing his fine farm of 120 acres in section 28, was born in March, 1885, at Stineloff, Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, a son of William F. and Mary (Rads) Blake. William F. Blake was born in Mecklenberg, Germany, February 26, 1849, and came to the United States as a young man. Later he was married to Miss Mary Rads, who was born July 9, 1858, and who came to the United States with her parents, Gottlieb and Gustavie (Fogel) Rads, settling in Manitowoc county. After marriage William F. Blake and his wife settled on the present Ganzel farm, on section 33, Cicero township, where they had eighty acres of land with a small clearing, and here erected a small log cabin and log barn, remaining eight years. Selling that property, they then went to Stineloff, Wisconsin, but after three years moved to Chilton, Calumet county. After four years spent in the latter place, Mr. and Mrs. Blake came back to Cicero township, buying 160 acres in section 31, which was partly cleared, and on which stood an old log building. During the years that followed, Mr. Blake became very successful in his farming operations, erecting new and substantial buildings on his property and buying another tract of 112 acres nearby. His death occurred January 11, 1906, he having been the father of six children: Alvina; Bertha, who married Henry Koall; Henry, residing at home; Charles, a resident of Black Creek; William, and Louis. William J. Blake secured his present fine property of 120 acres from the estate of his father, in 1906, and here he has added a number of improvements, including the latest farming machinery. He operates his land along scientific lines and finds that the benefits to be derived therefrom are many. In June, 1909, he was united in marriage with Mary Mineschmidt, who was born December 11, 1885, in Black Creek township, Outagamie county, daughter of Charles Mineschmidt, and they have had one child, Elmer, who died January 21, 1911, aged nine months, seventeen days.

HENRY PETERS

HENRY PETERS, one of the old and honored residents of Black Creek, Wisconsin, who is now living retired after many years spent in business activities here, was born in Holstein, Germany, February 29, 1840, and is the son of Karsten and Margaret Peters, who spent all of their lives in the Fatherland. Henry Peters was given a good education in both the German and English languages, and was twenty-five years of age when he came to the United States, his first employment being in a retail grocery establishment in New York City, where he remained for about three and one-half years. He then came to Wisconsin and settled in Outagamie county, where he secured work in the woods at logging and river driving, but eventually came to the village of Black Creek and established himself in a mercantile business, which he continued to conduct for a period covering twenty-one years, handling general merchandise and grain. During this time he served as postmaster of the village for seventeen years. In 1891, Mr. Peters sold his business interests and removed to Milwaukee, but in about one and one-half years he returned to Black Creek, and here he has lived practically retired to the present time. He is a director and stockholder in the State Bank of Black Creek, and in addition to his own residence, owns a business block and residence combined. In politics he is a stanch republican, and he has served as town clerk for four years and as a member of the school board for a like period.

In 1870, Mr. Peters was married to Miss Augusta Rahdes, who was born in September, 1853, in the Province of Pomerania, Germany, and came to the United States in 1867, her parents settling in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where both spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Peters have been the parents of two children, of whom one died in infancy. George H. Peters, the other child, is cashier of the State Bank of Black Creek and a resident of the village. He married Miss Ida Schultz, and they have had two children.

ALBERT MATZ

ALBERT MATZ, a thrifty and industrious farmer of Maple Creek township, who owns eighty acres of good land in section 17, and forty acres in section 10, is a native of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, and was born January 1, 1865, a son of John and Caroline (Kiekhofer) Matz, natives of Germany, who were married in the town of Hortonia, Outagamie county, and three or four years later came to Maple Creek township. Here they purchased 120 acres in section 7, and Mr. Matz labored with his axe, the only tool with which he had to make a start. He first erected a log cabin, and one year later built a log barn, and here persistence, hard work and economy triumphed, and he succeeded in making a fine home from the wilderness which had first confronted him. He died in the spring of 1908, at the advanced age of eighty-three years, while his widow still lives and is seventy-two years old. Albert Matz was the third of a family of eleven children, and at the age of twenty-one years commenced working in the woods in the winter months and on the home farm during the summer seasons. He was married February 15, 1899, to Miss Amelia Ziehm, daughter of William and Gusta Ziehm, natives of Germany and early settlers of Dale township, Outagamie county. In 1901 they sold their property and moved to Marion, where Mr. Ziehm died June 24, 1904, aged fifty-six, while his widow still survives and is sixty-three years of age. Mrs. Matz was the eldest of eleven children, and was born September 29, 1872. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Matz, namely: John, Alfred, Hilda and Leonard. After his marriage, Mr. Matz was given $1,000 by his father, and he moved to the farm which he now occupies, and which he had purchased two years before, there being at that time a log house 20×30 feet on the place. He has labored hard and faithfully, and has succeeded in developing an excellent property, seventy acres being subject to the plow and under a high state of cultivation, while the whole farm is fenced, principally by barbed wire. His basement barn, 34×72 feet, he erected in 1902, and in 1906 he built a fine modern house of nine rooms. He has a large driven well with windmill pump, which furnishes an inexhaustible supply of the purest water, and his outbuildings for the shelter of stock, machinery and grain are large and well built. General farming and stock raising have demanded his attention and his marketing consists of dairy products, hogs and cattle, feeding most of his hay and grain. In political matters Mr. Matz is a republican and he has served two terms as a member of the board of supervisors. The family is connected with the Lutheran Church.

CHARLES SYLVESTER

CHARLES SYLVESTER, who has been a resident of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, since 1869, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits in section 26, Cicero township, but is now living retired from active farming. He was born December 21, 1839, at Krest, Pomerania, Germany, a son of Charles and Henrietta (Klancus) Sylvester, the former a schoolteacher and farmer who never left Germany. Charles and Henrietta Sylvester had eight children, as follows: Wilhelmina, deceased; Johanna; Henrietta; Augusta; Bertha; Ferdinand, who died aged seven or eight years; Charles, and Gottlieb. Charles Sylvester came to the United States in 1869 and stopped with his brother Gottlieb, at Appleton, for a short time, then spending a year in Osborn township. He then returned to Appleton, where he was engaged in driving a team for seven years, and in 1877 came to Cicero township, settling on sixty acres of wild land, which he cleared and later added twenty acres more. Iis first residence on this property was a log cabin, 20×28 feet, and his first barn, also constructed of logs, was 20×30 feet in dimension. In 1903 he erected a modern farm house, 32×32 feet, with eight rooms, and also a new frame barn, of modern make, 36×70 feet. Mr. Sylvester is now retired from active farming, but still lives on the old homestead, which is being conducted by his son Sanford. In politics Charles Sylvester is a republican, and he has served as treasurer of the township of Cicero for sixteen years and as chairman of the town board for ten years. He was married (first) in Germany, to Caroline Kantrok, who died in 1869, leaving two children: Herman, residing in Chicago; and Amelia of Milwaukee. In 1876, Mr. Sylvester was married (second) to Barbara Werner, daughter of Matt Werner, an early county treasurer of Outagamie, and she died in 1908, when fifty-five years old, having been the mother of seven children: Walter, who is engaged in school teaching; Edwin, who is deceased; Sanford, who is operating the homestead farm; Alfred, Oscar, Gilbert and Sarah. In addition to raising large crops of a general nature, the Sylvesters breed high-grade cattle, and both father and son are ranked among the good practical agriculturists of their locality.

JOHN A. GLOUDEMANS

JOHN A. GLOUDEMANS, a prominent citizen of Little Chute, Wisconsin, who is engaged in the hardware business, was born in Kaukauna township, Outagamie county, in February, 1857, and is a son of Adrian and Johanna (Van Roy) Gloudemans. Adrian Gloudemans was born in Holland, and came to Little Chute in 1854, and Mrs. Gloudemans came to this country during the following year with her father, Peter Van Roy. Adrian Gloudemans was a millwright by occupation, and conducted a mill in Appleton with a Mr. Schmutte, but after his marriage bought wild land in Outagamie county, at $1.25 per acre. He farmed for twenty-six years, at the end of which time he had increased his original purchase of forty acres to 365 acres, and retired in 1883, locating in Little Chute, where he has since resided. His wife died in 1910. Their family consisted of the following children: John A.; Martin, who died in 1871; Arnold, residing on the old homestead farm; Peter A., president of the village board and cashier of the Bank of Little Chute; Henry, a merchant of Appleton; Hattie, who married John Hermsen, a farmer; Dinah, who married Arnold Van der Loop, a farmer; and Mary, who married George Gurts, residing on a Kaukauna township farm. John A. Gloudemans received a common school education, and was reared to the life of an agriculturist. As a young man he rented property, and in 1895 bought a farm in Kaukauna township, later adding to his holdings until he had over 150 acres, which in 1910 he sold to his sons. In that year he came to Little Chute and established himself in the hardware business, and now carries a full and up-to-date line of hardware, harness, paints and oils, and has one of the leading business establishments of the village. During five years he was township assessor, and he also served four years as township chairman. In 1883, Mr. Gloudemans was married to Johanna Hietpas, of Outagamie county, and they have had six children, of whom four survive, as follows: Henry and Adrian, who are operating the old home farm; Peter, who is engaged in business with his father; and Martin, who also assists his father in the hardware business. The family is connected with the Catholic Church.

WILLIAM SCHROEDER

WILLIAM SCHROEDER, It is a noticeable fact that the agriculturists of any section who have the best farms are those who take the most pride in the prosperity of their community and the most active part in the upbuilding and development of the section in which they reside, and this is true of the farmers of Outagamie county. One of these representative men of Cicero township, who is always prominent in any movement that will likely be of benefit to his locality is William Schroeder, the owner of a farm of 120 acres in section 24. He is a native of Germany, born January 4, 1846, in Pomerania, a son of John Schroeder, whose wife died when William was only thirteen years of age, leaving four children: August, Charles, Albert and William, Charles being deceased. John Schroeder was a blacksmith by trade, and taught this occupation to his sons, William learning it with the others. In 1873, William Schroeder was married to Augusta Rush, born May 13, 1851, and during the same year came to the United States, the trip requiring sixteen days. Mr. Schroeder first settled in Winchester, Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where he worked for one year, and then went to Seymour township and was engaged in farming for two years, after which he located on his present property, a tract of eighty acres at that time on which there had been but a small clearing made, and two frame shacks on the place, one a log cabin 14×16 feet, and the other a log stable, 20×28 feet. After clearing and cultivating this original purchase, Mr. Schroeder purchased forty acres of land covered with pine stumps, and he now has one of the finest farms of its size in Cicero township, having erected a large and handsome dwelling, a basement barn 40×80 feet, and other good buildings. He carries on general farming, raises a general grade of livestock, and is looked upon as one of the successful agriculturists of his part of the township, his success having been due to long years of hard, unremitting labor. Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder have had four children, namely: Albert, Ida, William and Frank.

LOUIS VOSTERS

LOUIS VOSTERS, Prominent among the farmers of Vanderbroek township may be mentioned Louis Vosters, a reliable citizen and energetic farmer who has been identified with agricultural affairs in this locality for many years and now the owner of an excellent farming property. He was born in a log cabin on his father’s farm in Vandenbroek township, Outagamie county, October 6, 1861, and is a son of Joseph and Hattie (Hendrix) Vosters, who came to this country in 1855 from Holland. Mr. Vosters’ parents settled first in Little Chute, where Joseph Vosters found employment on the Government canal, and continued to work there for fifteen or twenty years. He then purchased land just a mile north of the village, erecting a cabin in the woods, which was later replaced by a more comfortable dwelling, and he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits, adding from time to time to his acreage, until his death, March 17, 1893, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years. His widow survived him until March 21, 1911, and was eighty years of age at the time of her demise. Louis Vosters was one of a family of eleven children, and his education was secured in the district schools of his neighborhood, which he attended when he could be spared from his duties on the farm. He continued to work for his father until he had attained his majority, at which time he went north into the woods and spent seven winters there, the summers being spent on the home farm, and he also was for one year a resident of Minnesota, working at threshing and in the brick yards. On August 26, 1887, Mr. Vosters was married to Katherine Johnson, who was born in Vandenbroek township, daughter of John Johnson, and after marriage Mr. Vosters purchased eighty acres of partly cultivated land. He erected a house and other buildings and put the property in good condition, and when he sold it some years later he did so at an advance of 100 per cent. He then purchased property in the village of Kaukauna, but during the following spring purchased his present farm, on which he has resided since 1898. He carries on general farming, and his hard and persistent labor has brought its reward, as he has one of the highly productive and valuable tracts of his township, his buildings being in excellent condition, the property well fenced and graded, and presenting a neat appearance in general that testifies to the presence of good management. Mr. and Mrs. Vosters have had two children: Joseph and Herman. They are consistent members of St. John’s Catholic Church of Little Chute.

MATHIAS KITZINGER

MATHIAS KITZINGER, who is carrying on agricultural operations on section 20, Black Creek township, where he has a fine 100-acre property, was born May 20, 1849, in Germany, and is a son of Frank and Elizabeth Kitzinger. The parents of Mr. Kitzinger came to the United States in 1860, settling in Washington county, Wisconsin, and in 1874, came to Black Creek township, Outagamie county, where Mr. Kitzinger died in September, 1895, aged sixty-nine years, while his wife passed away in September, 1906, at the age of ninetytwo, both being buried in Black Creek Cemetery. When Frank Kitzinger came to Black Creek township, he located on the property now owned by his son Mathias, and succeeded in clearing about sixty acres of the land. There are now about eighty acres under cultivation, and the log house, which was the original family home has been replaced by a handsome frame residence. The barn was built in 1896, and other buildings erected from time to time, and the farm is now considered one of the excellent tracts of this section. It is entirely fenced, well-watered and graded, and here Mr. Kitzinger carries on general farming, marketing dairy products and raising and shipping Poland-China hogs and Durham cattle.

Mathias Kitzinger was married in April, 1885, to Miss Margaret Doarfler, daughter of John and Frances Doarfler, natives of Germany who came to America about the same time as the arrival of the Kitzinger family, and settled in Outagamie county, where Mr. Doarfler passed away, the mother still surviving and living in Appleton at the age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Kitzinger, who is the eldest of her parents’ ten children, was born August 16, 1860. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kitzinger, namely: William, who married Annie Leiskane, residing in Waupaca county; Francis, a resident of Appleton; and Peter, Elizabeth, John, Lena, Margaret, Mary, Annie, Caroline and Hilda, all single and residing at home. Mr. Kitzinger is a democrat in politics, has served three terms as supervisor of Black Creek township, and is now discharging the duties of the office of member of the school board, a position of which he has been an incumbent for many years. He and Mrs. Kitzinger are members of the Black Creek Roman Catholic Church.

CHARLES TAGGE

CHARLES TAGGE, one of the self-made men of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, who is engaged in farming and stock raising on a farm in section 12, Cicero township, is a native of Germany, born January 30, 1857, a son of William and Minnie (Weisner) Tagge. There were six daughters and seven sons in William Tagge’s family, but only two of these, Charles and Tena, were born in Germany. The little family started for the United States in 1857, by sailing vessel, which after encountering numerous storms which drove it many miles off its course, and after much suffering by the passengers, finally landed, eleven weeks later, at New York. Coming to Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, the family located on Newhouse Hill, where Mr. Tagge rented a property, the family home being a little shanty which stood on the property. Later Mr. Tagge secured a twenty-acre property in Slaswick township, where the family resided until the mother’s death, and Mr. Tagge, who is eighty-two years of age, now makes his home with his children. Charles Tagge received only a meager education, beginning to work on the home farm and those of the farmers of his section, at the age of fourteen years. Reared to the life of a farmer, he had also been taught the value of economy and frugality, and this lesson of thrift had so impressed him that he was able in a comparatively few years to take up a farm of 120 acres in Slaswick township. After remaining there for ten years he sold out his interests and came to Outagamie county, where, in 1895, he purchased a forty-acre tract of wild land in Cicero township. He first built a log cabin and log shack for a stable, but was soon in a position to erect better structures and he now has a barn 40×54 feet, a wagon shed 22×36 feet, a substantial granary, and a good, modern farm dwelling. In addition to carrying on general farming he has given attention to stock raising, and has been successful in both ventures. In 1884, Mr. Tagge was married to Katherine Ruthman, who was born July 5, 1860, and they have had three children: Anna, who married Herman Abel, of Cicero township; and Ella and John, who are residing at home.

GERRIT JANSSEN

GERRIT JANSSEN, a substantial citizen and good, practical agriculturist in Vandenbroek township, who is successfully operating a well-cultivated farm on Little Chute Rural Route No. 9, is a native of Holland, where he was born December 4, 1850. He is a son of Jacob Janssen, who came to the United States in 1853 with his wife, Christina, (Maasen) Janssen, and eleven children, namely: Jacob, Edward, Christina, Allen, John, Henry, George, William, Albert, Mary and Gerrit. The family settled first in Little Chute, Mr. Janssen renting land for about six years and then purchasing it, this property becoming the family homestead, and here Jacob Janssen died February 13, 1871, when seventy-one years of age. Mrs. Janssen survived until June 17, 1898, and also passed away on the old home place. In 1892 the original family home, a log structure, was torn down and a new, modern house erected by Gerrit Janssen, who, has greatly improved the property. He received his education in the public schools of Little Chute, and at the age of twenty-two years took charge of the farm which he is now operating. In October, 1876, he was married to Annie Haremson, who was born in Vandenbroek township, daughter of George Haremson, who came to the United Stafes a few years later than the Janssen family. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Janssen, namely: George, Annie, Christina, Elizabeth, Jane, Edward, John, Jacob, Peter, Henry, Sophia and Agnes. Mr. and Mrs. Janssen belong to St. John’s Catholic Church of Little Chute. Both are well known and highly esteemed in their community, Mr. Janssen being numbered among the substantial men of his township. His farm is highly productive and presents a neat and pleasing appearance, being well fenced and equipped with adequate buildings of a substantial character.

JOSEPH VERSTEGEN

JOSEPH VERSTEGEN, One of the leading industries of Little Chute, Wisconsin, is the Little Chute Lumber and Fuel Company, formerly the Miller Lumber Company, which was first established in Appleton about 1893 and bought in 1899 by Joseph Verstegen and Martin Hotchins. In 1906 Mr. Verstegen purchased his partner’s interest in the business and in 1908 the firm was incorporated with Mr. Verstegen as president and treasurer; Annie Verstegen, vicepresident; and Cornelius Van Gompel, secretary.The company handles a full line of lumber, wood, coal, cement, plaster, brick, lime and builders’ supplies, and does the leading business in Little Chute. Joseph Verstegen was born in Little Chute, October 3, 1878, and is a son of Arnold and Katherina (Von der Ahe) Verstegen, the former born December 23, 1820, in Holland. Arnold Verstegen was married in 1844 to Mary Biemans, and in 1850 came to America first engaging in farming on wild land in Little Chute, for which he paid $2.50. an acre, and later engaging in the flour mill business which was his occupation at the time of his death in 1900. His first wife died in 1865, and he was married (second) in 1867, to Katherina Von der Ahe. By his first marriage he had these children: Katherine, Mrs. Martin Coonen, of Buchanan township; Mary, Mrs. John Hoyman, of Freedom township; John E., a retired business man and city marshal of Little Chute; Herman J., president of the Little Chute Bank; and Jane, Mrs. John Von der Weynelenberg, of Wrightstown. Mr. Verstegen had the following children by his second union: Frank, who is engaged in the hardware business in Little Chute; Dinah, Mrs. Martin Harties, of this village; Nellie, Mrs. Ed. Johnson, of Deer Creek township; Joseph; Arnold, a farmer of Little Chute; Peter, also engaged in farming here; and Cornelius, a resident of this township. Mrs. Verstegen still survives her husband and makes her home in Wrightstown, Wisconsin.

Joseph Verstegen received his early education in the schools of Little Chute, and until he was nineteen years of age worked at farming. He then engaged in the flour milling business, and after leaving that worked at paper making until entering his present business. On February 10, 1903, Mr. Verstegen was married to Annie Van Grumple, daughter of Nicholas and Regina Van Grumple, pioneer agriculturists of Outagamie county, now living retired, and five children have been born to this union: Lester, Clarence, Regina, Robert and one that died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Verstegen are members of the Catholic Church, and he is connected with the Knights of Columbus and the Foresters.

THEODORE WEYENBERG

THEODORE WEYENBERG, whose agricultural operations in Vandenbroek township have covered a long period of years, is a good, practical farmer and a worthy representative of one of Outagamie county’s old and honored families. His grandfather, Theodore Weyenberg, was born July 26, 1810, in Noordtproven, Holland, and came to the United States with his wife, Mary (Hendrix) Weyenberg, and seven children: Martin, Henry, William, John, George, Hank and Cornelius. Theodore Weyenberg first settled in Brown county, but after one year came to Outagamie county and settled in the township of Kaukauna, becoming a large land holder in that part that is now known as Vandenbroek township, where he died November 18, 1903. His wife, who was born May 3, 1803, died December 7, 1883. George Weyenberg, father of Theodore of this sketch, was born September 4, 1840, in Holland, and just remembers attending the schools of his native land. He was about eight years of age when he accompanied the family to this country, and attended the district schools in the neighborhood of his father’s farm, on which he worked during the summer months, while working in the northern woods in the winters. On February 11, 1868, he was married to Mary Gloudemans, who was also a native of Holland and a daughter of Martin Gloudemans, and after his marriage resided on his father’s farm for two years. He then purchased the land which he is now operating, and which he has developed from a wild, unimproved property with no buildings into one of the finest farms in the township. During the first fifteen years that he resided on this tract, he lived in a little log cabin he had himself built from logs cut on his own property, but he now has a modern, substantial residence, in addition to good barns and outbuildings. He and his wife had thirteen children, namely: Theodore, Mary, Peter, Annie, John, William, Henry, Nellie, Katherine, Rose, Hattie, Dora and George, of whom John, Henry and Dora are deceased. Mr. Weyenberg is well known to the citizens of Vandenbroek township, and has served as school clerk for twenty years. He and his wife are members of the St. John’s congregation of the Catholic Church of Little Chute and are highly esteemed by all who know them. Theodore Weyenberg was born December 20, 1868, on the old homestead, and he received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood, his boyhood and youth being spent in work on the farm with the. exception of seven winters, when he was employed in the northern Michigan woods. In 1894 he was married to Georgiana, Jansen, who was born in Vandenbroek township, January 1, 1874, daughter of Mathew and Anna (Harchiss) Jansen,. and received her education in the neighboring district schools. After his marriage, Mr. Weyenberg bought the farm which he is now operating, and through hard and unremitting effort has brought it into a high state of cultivation. He has greatly improved the buildings, has fenced his farm neatly, and now ranks high among Vandenbroek township’s substantial farmer-citizens. He and his wife are devout members of St. John’s Catholic Church of Little Chute. They have had nine children, of whom two died: Mary, whose death occurred in infancy, and Gertrude, who passed away when two years old. The survivors are: George, Annie, Mary (II), Rose, Mathew, Dora and Hattie. Mrs. Weyenberg is also of Holland descent, her parents having come from that country in 1865 and settled in Outagamie county.

FRANK VERSTEGEN

FRANK VERSTEGEN, one of the progressive and enterprising business citizens of Little Chute, Wisconsin, who is the proprietor of an up-to-date hardware store, was born in this village in 1869, a son of a pioneer of 1850, Arnold Verstegen, who was born in Holland in 1820. On first coming to Outagamie county, Arnold Verstegen settled on a wild prairie farm in Little Chute township, which he cleared and made into a valuable property, and in 1862 went into the flour milling business, which was his occupation at the time of his death in 1890. He was married (first) in 1844, to Mary Biemans, who died in 1865, leaving the following children: Katherine, who married Martin Coonen of Buchanan township; Mary, who married John Hoyman of Freedom township; John E., who is a retired business man and village marshal of Little Chute; Herman J., president of the Little Chute Bank; and Jane, who married John Von der Weynelenberg of Wrightstown. Mr. Verstegen was married (second) in 1867, to Katherina Von der Ahe, by whom he had children as follows: Frank; Dinah, who married Martin Harties of Little Chute; Nellie, who married Ed. Johnson of Deer Creek township; Joseph, president of the Little Chute Lumber and Fuel Company; Arnold and Peter, farmers of Little Chute township; and Cornelius, who is also a resident of this township. Mrs. Verstegen still survives her husband and makes her home at Wrightstown, Wisconsin. Frank Verstegen received his education in the public schools of Little Chute and until 1895 worked in the flour mill with his father, also representing the firm on the road as a traveling salesman. In 1895 he opened his present hardware and implement store, which he has conducted very successfully to the present time. In 1896, Mr. Verstegen was married to Miss Annie Golden, who was born in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, daughter of Patrick and Anna (Golden) Golden, who came to Outagamie county in 1866 and engaged in farming during the remainder of their lives. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Verstegen: Willard, Francis and Myrtle. All of the members of the family are devout worshipers at the Catholic Church, and Mr. Verstegen is connected with the Foresters and the Modern Woodmen of America.

WILLIAM MARTIN

WILLIAM MARTIN, The biographer often finds, in writing of the lives of the representative men of any community, that those who have become successful in their chosen line and prominent in their section are men who started out in life with little or no advantages, and that the prominence and success which they have attained has been won only through perseverance and energy and the exercise of an inherent ability. Outagamie county has many examples of the self-made man, and among them may be mentioned William Martin, who owns and operates an excellent property in section 12, Cicero township. Born in Mecklenburg, Germany, January 3, 1849, Mr. Martin is a son of Christian and Sophia (Schroeder) Martin, and a brother of Christian, Fred, Minnie and August Martin, of whom August is the only survivor. The family came to the United States in 1865, on a sailing vessel which required nine weeks to make the journey across the ocean, the trip being a rough one and especially hard upon the emigrants, who were having their first experience on the water. Eventually making their way to Milwaukee, the family lived in that city for twelve years, during the greater part of which time the support of his parents fell upon the youngest, William, his father being practically an invalid for a long period. William Martin secured work as a teamster, and after three years spent in Fond du Lac, came to Outagamie county and settled on a farm in Osborn township, where he cleared eighty acres from the wilderness and built a log cabin, 16×24 feet, and a log stable, 24×44 feet. Later he built a new frame barn, 40×70, and a new house, 16×24 feet, and with these improvements sold the farm for $5,000, and came to his present property in Cicero township, an eighty-acre tract on which is located a handsome modern house, as well as a basement barn, 40×70. He has been successful in general farming, and his operations in stock raising have also been gratifying in their returns, and the competency thus gained brings all the more pleasure for the fact that it was honestly earned and is highly deserved. Mr. Martin was married (first) to Minnie Dittman, who died five years later, leaving one child, Gusta, who married August Kollat. His second marriage was to Paulina Schultz, who bore him one child. Mrs. Martin died three years later. Subsequently Mr. Martin married (third) Mary Gonzell, and they have had five children: William, who died at the age of seven years; and August, Martha, Albert and Adolph, all living at home.

WILLIAM H. DIFFORDING

WILLIAM H. DIFFORDING, In naming the prominent citizens and representative farmers of Black Creek township, Outagamie county, extended mention should be given the name of William H. Diffording, who resides on a fine property of 120 acres in section 32, Black Creek township, and also owns a tract of 105 acres in section 5, Center township. He was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, October 12, 1867. Cornelius and Elizabeth (Foal) Diffording, the parents of William H. Diffording, were natives of Germany, where they were married, and came to America in 1861, locating in Milwaukee. In about 1863 they came to Outagamie county and settled in Appleton, but after a short period went to Grand Chute township, where Mr. Diffording rented a farm for three years. At the end of this time he purchased a forty-acre tract in the same township, but five years later sold this to buy eighty acres in Center township, on section 8, and here he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in February, 1909, when he was seventy-nine years of age. Mrs. Diffording died in March, 1893, when sixty-seven years old, and was buried in St. Edward’s cemetery, Mackville, while her husband was laid to rest at Twelve Corners. When Mr. Diffording first purchased his eighty acres in Center township, the land was wild and uncultivated, but he had put about seventy-five acres under cultivation by the time of his death, had fenced the entire farm with barbed wire, and had erected a log house and barn. He was one of the energetic and hard-working men of his time and was esteemed and respected by all who knew him. He and his worthy wife were the parents of seven children, William H. being the fifth in order of birth.

William H. Diffording was twenty-one years of age when he started out in life for himself, and for one year he worked for wages on a farm, then taking up carpenter work for four years as an employe and then working at the bench on his own account for ten years. During this time he managed to save enough of his earnings to invest in a farm of 105 acres in Center township, then wild timber land, and on this, in 1893, he erected a frame house and barn, into which he moved. So steadily and earnestly did he work during the following years that by February, 1908, he had put about seventy-five acres under cultivation, and made extensive improvements, including barbed-wire fencing. In January, 1908, he had purchased his present fine Black Creek township property, and during the following month he moved on to it, where he now carries on general farming, marketing grain and dairy products and shipping hogs and cattle, in addition to breeding blooded horses. He is a republican in political matters, and is now serving very acceptably as clerk of the school board. Mr. Diffording and his family are members of the Lutheran church of Ellington township.

In March, 1892, Mr. Diffording was married to Miss Annie Riehl, a, native of Outagamie county and daughter of William and Mary (Best) Riehl, and she died in February, 1897, aged twenty-four years, being buried in the Lutheran cemetery in Ellington township. Two sons were born to this union, namely Orrin and Elmer, both single and residing at home. In March, 1899, Mr. Diffording’s second marriage was celebrated, when he took for his wife Miss Emma Pollex, daughter of August and Minnie (Sitloff) Pollex, natives of Germany. She was born in this county and died at the age of twenty-seven years, in February, 1903, burial taking place in the Lutheran cemetery. Two children, Nolan and Arlow, both at home, were born to this union. In July, 1905, Mr. Diffording was married (third) to Hilda Johnson, daughter of John and Helen (Olson) Johnson, natives of Sweden and Norway respectively. Mr. Johnson died in the fall of 1903, while his widow still survives. Mrs. Diffording, who was the youngest of a family of five children, was born July 20, 1881, and came to America in May, 1903. There have been three children born to this union: Evelyn, William and Charles.

JAMES F. FITZGERALD

JAMES F. FITZGERALD, one of the public-spirited citizens of Black Creek township, who is at present serving in the offices of member of the school board and superintendent of highways district No. 6, is cultivating a fine farm of 107 acres on section 7. Mr. Fitzgerald has been a resident of Black Creek township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, all of his life, his birth having occurred here October 23, 1874, and he is a son of John and Mary (Devlin) Fitzgerald, natives of Ireland and Canada, respectively, who came to the United States in 1870 and settled in Outagamie county. Here the father died during the fall of 1898, at the age of sixty-two years, while Mrs. Fitzgerald died in August, 1901, when she was fifty-nine years old. They had a family of eleven children, of whom James F. was the first in order of birth.

James F. Fitzgerald received his education in the district schools of Outagamie county, and was reared to the life of the farm. At the age of thirteen years he went to live with his uncle, Patrick Devlin, in Black Creek township, and here he continued to reside until Mr. Devlin’s death, at which time he inherited the farm. Mr. Fitzgerald has eighty acres of the property under cultivation, and he has been busily engaged in making improvements since taking over the active management of the property. He engages in a general line of farming, his principal market goods being barley and dairy products, while in his livestock operations he makes a specialty of Chester White hogs. In his political views he is a democrat, and he is serving as a member of the school board and as superintendent of highways for district No. 6. He was also for two years incumbent of the office of deputy sheriff under Sheriff M. Laughrey. Mr. Fitzgerald is a consistent member of the Roman Catholic church of Black Creek.

On January 31, 1910, Mr. Fitzgerald was married to Miss Johanna McGarrity, born September 18, 1885, a daughter of John and Johanna (Sheehan) McGarrity, natives of Ireland and Canada respectively. Mr. MeGarrity died in the latter country in 1895, at the age of sixty-seven years, while his widow survives him and makes her home there. They had nine children, and Mrs. Fitzgerald was the sixth in order of birth.

HANS PETERS

HANS PETERS, who has been engaged in farming and stock raising in Cicero township for nearly thirty-five years, is now the owner of a well cultivated tract of land in section 1. He was born in Holstein, East Prussia, Germany, August 31, 1852, and is a son of Hans and Christina Peters, the former of whom died in Germany, when Hans was three years old, his children being: George, John, Hans and Anna. His widow was married (second) to John Rotman, by whom she had two children, Mary and Katherine, and the entire family came to the United States in 1862, locating in Milwaukee, from whence they moved to near Newburg. After two years they went to the copper mine district in Northern Wisconsin, but subsequently returned to Manitowoc county, where Mrs. Rotman died aged seventy-five or seventy-six years, and the father came to Outagamie county, where he lived retired with his daughter until death. In 1877 Hans Peters came to Cicero township, buying eighty acres of land, on which a small clearing had been made, and here he erected a log shanty with a basswood bark roof, covered with the same bark on the sides, 24×16 feet in size, and also erected a log stable of the same dimensions. He started with one cow and a yoke of oxen, and began clearing his land from the heavy timber and brush with which it was covered, soon having a profitable, highly productive property. He now owns a fine, modern home, and a new basement barn, 36×70 feet, and is considered one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of his township. In 1875, Mr. Peters was married to Minnie Rasler, who was born in Pomerania, Germany, in 1856, and she died in 1902, leaving the following children: Hans, Henry, Charles, William, Lillie, Eddie and Otto. In 1903, Mr. Peters was married (second) to Rosa, the widow of Henry Burmeister, and to this union there have been born four children: Elsie, Minnie, Herbert and Luella.

EMIL VON GRUNIGEN

EMIL VON GRUNIGEN, the owner of one of the most valuable farms in Black Creek township, Outagamie county, a magnificent tract of 300 acres lying in sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, and a man who takes an active interest in all movements of a progressive and beneficial nature, was born May 8, 1848, in Switzerland, a son of John and Charlotte (Kistler) Van Grunigen. The parents of Mr. Von Grunigen were married in their native Switzerland, and about the year 1856 the father came to America. Ten years later he had accumulated enough money to go back and get his family and he brought them to Jefferson county, New York, where Mrs. Von Grunigen died in 1878, aged sixty-four years, and her husband at the age of sixty-seven years, in 1886. They had five children, of whom Emil was the third in order of birth. At the age of twenty-one years, Emil Von Grunigen left New York and went to California, where he remained only about three years, and at the end of that time came to Wisconsin, engaging with his brother in the working of cheese, in Dodge county, Wisconsin. This continued to be his occupation for about fifteen years, when he went to Milwaukee county, but subsequently, two years later, he came to Outagamie county, and in 1904 purchased the present family home. He has been engaged in farming on this property, and now has all of the land with the exception of thirty acres under cultivation. Grain, hogs, cattle and and dairy products are shipped from this property in large quantities, and he also milks forty cows. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and with his family attends St. John’s Evangelical church. In political matters he is a republican, and in 1891 he was a candidate for the General Assembly from Dodge county, but political conditions at that time were against him, and he was consequently defeated by William Schwifel.

In 1882, Mr. Von Grunigen was married to Miss Emma Boieng, who was born June 12, 1856, daughter of Emil and Julia (Voss) Boieng, natives of Prussia who came to America about 1847 and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where the father died in 1884, aged sixty-nine years. Mrs. Boieng is still living, at the age of eighty-four years, and makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Von Gruningen.

WILLIAM ROLOFF

WILLIAM ROLOFF, Among the progressive, well-to-do farmers of Cicero township, Outagamie county, there are not a few who are natives of the Fatherland, and of these the gentleman here named is a prominent representative. He was born February 9, 1864, son of John and Henrietta (Scham) Roloff, natives of Germany, who were married in that country and had there two children, William and Lena, and one child after they came to this country in 1869, Emma. On first coming to the United States, the Roloff family settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and after three years removed to Seymour village, that place being their home until 1876, at which time they came to Cicero township, buying a tract of eighty acres of land, of which ten acres had been cleared. Mr. Roloff built a log cabin and two log stables, 18×28 and 10×20 feet, respectively, but these have since been replaced by a basement barn 36×90 feet. with basement under all, and with cement floors and patent staunchions, a wagon shed 20×48 feet, a hay barn 20×48 feet, and a fine, modern, eight-room house. The parents are still living on the old homestead, each being eighty-two years old. William Roloff took charge of the home property twenty-one years ago, and since that time he has made many improvements on the place, in addition to adding to its size by purchasing forty acres. He has been engaged in farming all of his life, and the present condition of his property is but the just reward of thrift and industry properly directed. In June, 1881, Mr. Roloff was married to Mary Henning, who was born in New York, September 15, 1859, and to this union there have been born four sons and one daughter: Robert, Walter, Otto, Menda and William, all living at home.

J. N. FELTON

J. N. FELTON, The manufacture of cheese and butter has become of late years one of the large business industries of Wisconsin, conditions seeming ideal in this part of the country for this occupation, and one of the manufacturers of these staple products in Black Creek township, Outagamie county, is J. N. Felton, the owner of three-quarters of an acre of land on section 21. Mr. Felton was born April 15, 1879, in Germany, of which country his parents, Peter and Margaret Felton, were also natives. They came to the United States in the fall of 1879 and located in Outagamie county, where Mrs. Felton died in February, 1908, aged seventy years. Peter Felton, who throughout his life has followed farming as an occupation, is still living, and makes his home in Black Creek township.

J. N. Felton, who was the youngest of the seven children of his parents, was nineteen years of age when he commenced teaching school, having been educated in the public schools and the high school, attending the latter for two years. After spending one year as an educator, he secured employment in a butter and cheese factory, in which he worked for two years, and at the end of that time established himself in the same business. Since 1902 his business has grown steadily, the excellence of his product and its cleanliness and reasonable price recommuending it to a large patronage. In May, 1907, Mr. Felton was married to Miss Mary Stingle, who was born April 13, 1883, the youngest of the nine children of Mathew and Mary Stingle, natives of Germany, who came to America shortly after their marriage and settled in Outagamie county. They are now living at Appleton, Wisconsin, the father being seventy-three years old and the mother seventy. Mr. Stingle was a farmer by occupation, but since 1906 has been living a retired life, One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Felton: Oliver, born February 5. 1908. Mr. Felton is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics is a republican, he being the present incumbent of the office of clerk of Black Creek township. With his wife he attends the Roman Catholic Church of Black Creek village.

WILLIAM HOLZ

WILLIAM HOLZ, a representative farmer of Black Creek township, Outagamie county, who is living on an eighty-acre farm on section 21, and who also owns twenty acres in section 22, is a native of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where he was born August 15, 1875, a son of Charles and Annie (Maylahn) Holz, natives of Germany who came to America in 1870 and settled in Black Creek, Wisconsin. Mrs. Holz died in 1888, at the age of thirty-six years, while her husband survives her, and lives in Center township, aged sixty-two years. William Holz was the eldest of his parents’ children, and his education was secured in the public schools of his native vicinity. As a young man he learned the trade of carpenter, and when he had attained his majority he went to work as a journeyman, following that occupation until 1901, when he was married to Miss Mary Mau, who was born April 6, 1877, daughter of Fred and Maria Mau, natives of Germany. Mrs. Holz’s parents came to the United States in early life, and were married in Outagamie county, where Mr. Mau purchased the farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Holz. He continued to live on this property until his death in 1907, at the age of seventy-two years, and his widow died the year following, being sixty-four years old. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Holz, namely: Elsie, Elmer, Walter and Sylvia, Elmer being now deceased.

After marriage Mr. Holz settled on his father-in-law’s farm in Black Creek township, which he rented for five years and then purchased. Since locating here he has built a large machine shed, windmill and well, but all of the other buildings had been put up by Mr. Mau. He has about sixty acres in a good state of cultivation, and raises large crops of general farm products, marketing dairy products, and shipping hogs and cattle. In his political belief he is a republican. Mr. and Mrs. Holz attend St. John’s Evangelical Church of Black Creek.

JOHN HAMMEN

JOHN HAMMEN, the genial proprietor of the oldest hotel stand in Little Chute, Wisconsin, has been a resident of Outagamie county all of his life, having been born in Vandenbroek township, October 23, 1862, a son of Henry and Antoinette (Van Handel) Hammen, natives of Holland who came to Little Chute in 1849 and 1853, respectively. They were married here in 1854, settled down to farming, and here spent the remainder of their lives, Mr. Hammen dying in July, 1905, and his wife twenty years before. They had a family of seven children, of whom only three survive. Mrs. Jamison of West Depere; George, a prominent farmer of Buchanan township, Outagamie county; and John. John Hammen received a common school education, and in later years opened his present establishment, operating it as a saloon and hotel, and he caters to some of the best trade in this section. He has a modern, well-kept house, fitted with numerous conveniences, and his trade is large and steady. Mr. Hammen was married in May, 1885, to Katherine Schumacher, also a native of Vandenbroek township, who died in 1887, leaving one son, John P., who is engaged in the ice business in Little Chute. In 1888 Mr. Hammen was married at West Depere to Ellen Williamson, daughter of John Williamson, who now lives in Alabama, but formerly a resident of Little Chute, whence he had come in 1848, and where Mrs. Hammen was born. Two children were born to this union, but both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hammen are members of the Catholic Church, and he is connected with the Foresters. Mr. Hammen has been prominent in public affairs, serving as the first treasurer of the village of Little Chute, as a member of the school board for nine years, as a member of the county board for two years, and as president of the village during 1906 and 1907.

FRANK STENGLE

FRANK STENGLE, who has been a lifelong resident of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, has for a long period been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Black Creek township, where he now owns a fine property of 120 acres in sections 34 and 35. His parents, Mathias and Margaret Stengle, came to America in 1869, and settled near Hortonville, Outagamie county, and they are now retired from farming activities and reside at Appleton. Frank Stengle was born October 14, 1870, in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, and he was educated in the district school near Hortonville, which he attended during the winter months, his summers being devoted to the duties of the home farm. He remained at home with his parents until his marriage, in 1897, to Miss Maggie Felton, who was born in 1875, the youngest of the family of seven children born to her parents. She was the daughter of Peter and Margaret Felton, natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Stengle became the parents of six children, namely: Antone, Annie, Alexander, Virginia, John and Harold.

After his marriage Mr. Stengle moved to his present property, which he had purchased a few months previously, and at that time but thirty acres of the land had been cleared. He now has seventy acres under cultivation, raising large crops of grain and hay, and breeding cattle and hogs for the market, which he also supplies with dairy products. His farm is in excellent condition, and he has made many improvements since taking over the management, including the remodeling of the residence, the erection of a handsome new barn, 36×88 feet, and the fencing of the entire tract with barbed wire. Mr. Stengle is independent in political matters, preferring not to bind himself by party ties. With his family he is a consistent attendant of the Catholic Church at Black Creek.