Joshua L. Johns & Kewaunee County Liberty Loan Drive

During the days of print media, prominence was often judged by the “ink” one got. Joshua Johns got so much ink that he could have gone swimming in it!

Joshua Leroy Johns was a small town boy who was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin and never forgot his roots. Perhaps it was those roots that propelled him toward a life of community service. Perhaps it was those roots that propelled him politically towards the progressive movement.

As Wisconsin's 8^th District Congressman in the late 1930s and early ‘40s, Johns’ stance on neutrality was nationally known. That almost seemed like a contradiction. Earlier, during World War l, he led the Victory Liberty Loan efforts in Kewaunee County. It was his leadership that put the county first in Wisconsin to “go over the top” and exceed quotas. While Kewaunee County achieved 101% of its quota, Sauk County was the nearest to it, achieving 73.36% Dane and Milwaukee were numbers 14 and 15, with 5.11% and 4.85% respectively.

Johns’ bond, or loan drive, was carefully orchestrated. In April 1919, a War Train came from Green Bay to Kewaunee and then Algoma before going north to Sturgeon Bay. Hundreds – some accounts estimate 3,500 – came out at Kewaunee to view the three black, green and yellow camouflaged flat cars containing war equipment and the two Pullman sleepers for speakers, soldiers and sailors. The flat cars were filled with captured German military equipment. The point was made that the equipment was captured while those in attendance maintained their relatively comfortable lives at home. Gas masks and revolvers were one thing, but there were machine guns and German canons. A Fokker type airplane was a hit. The most interesting was a whippet baby tank that traveled around the city at speeds of 20 miles an hour. Besides its speed, the 6-ton tank was easily maneuvered. Covered with 5/8” thick steel armor, it had a 62 hp motor and two 37 millimeter guns. The tank made a big impression in Kewaunee.  

Severely wounded soldiers and sailors riding in the Pullmans were placed on the platform for effect. Algoma’s Quiren Groessl was one of them. When he wrote his memoirs years later, he told of being “used.”  Of course a band was also aboard the Pullmans, and stirring, patriotic music was a part of the event.

During the stop at Kewaunee, there were speeches at the Sokol Hall (left) which was filled to overflowing.

As effective as the stop was, there was more. Lt. Charles R. Wing and Lt. Ray P. Birdsall were two of six Wisconsin flyers who’d graduated as expert instructors at the military flying school in Texas. Johns had put in a request to have them fly in Kewaunee County, but the military had other plans for them. Johns did manage to secure a seaplane, which surely caused excitement in 1919. School children all over the county had the day off so they too could witness the events. Duty had been impressed upon the kids as well and they were to understand their part.

Still, there was more. “Lest We Forget” was a play presented all over the county, providing easy attendance. Leading citizens and returning service men took parts at Nickolai’s in Duvall, Kraynik’s at Bolt, Ratajczak’s in West Kewaunee, Entringer & Hucek’s in Lincoln, Folks’ in Carlton, Okrush’s in Luxemburg and in tens of other halls and schools around the county.

Johns was always most public spirited. From Richland Center High School, he went on to Yale and then Grant (which was renamed Chattanooga) College in Chattanooga to earn his law degree. That was only the beginning.

Sources: Kewaunee Enterprise and Johns' papers; Quiren Groessl's Big Boy; postmarked 1916, the postcard is in the blogger's collection.

 

 

Kewaunee County: Co. K, 21st Wisconsin at Chickamauga

Edward Salomon became Wisconsin’s Civil War governor in 1862 upon the accidental drowning of his predecessor Lewis Harvey. Almost immediately, responding to a federal request, Salomon called for more volunteers and set up a draft. His plan included dividing the state into five recruiting sections and putting Col. B.J. Sweet in charge of District 4, which included Kewaunee County.

Sweet was a cousin and law partner of Ahnapee’s Rufus Wing, a man who, with other members of his family, rose to prominence in Kewaunee County. Wing continued his law practice in Ahnapee, but it was in Chilton, Wisconsin where he had lived and practiced with Sweet.

Sweet was commissioned to raise a company at about the same time Kewaunee merchant Charles Cunningham was organizing Co. A, 27^th.  Though it was said Sweet was an honorable, high-minded, qualified man whose regiment would be a good one in which to enlist, Sweet was not successful recruiting, raising only 14 Ahnapee men. His efforts were joined by Cousin Wing who had also received a recruiting commission. On August 14, 1862, the men left Ahnapee for Oshkosh where they became part of Co. K, 21st Wisconsin Infantry.  A week after mustering into federal service, the 21st left for Cincinnati and on October 8 fought in the Battle of Perryville, only to loose heavily. One newspaper article reported Sweet faring better than most, even though he was kicked by a horse, but the report didn’t have all the information. As it was, Sweet, who had contracted malaria, led his men into battle. A ball to the right arm ended that part of his military career. Though his arm was paralyzed for life, it didn't prevent him from a political life and remaining in the employ of the federal government. Following his recuperation, Sweet was put in charge of Camp Douglas in Chicago. History tells us he foiled a Confederate prison breakout designed to attack Chicago just before the 1864 presidential election. Ironically, Col. Harrison Hobart, Sweet’s successor in the 21^st , had a prison break of his own.        

Of the 14 men leaving Ahnapee that day, some saw plenty of action in Tennessee. Others died before they got there. Joseph Bowden was killed in action at Chaplin Hills, also known as Perryville, Kentucky, Manual Londo died on October 29, 1863 from wounds suffered there. William Perry was taken prisoner there and discharged for disability in March 1863. Peter Simon was also taken prisoner. He got back to his regiment and was mustered out in 1863.  John Sartell also died before arriving in Tennessee. He died of disease at Bowling Green in January 1863.

After arriving in Nashville in June 1863, the 21^st was assigned guard duty. A month later, they were sent to Chattanooga. The Tennessee River winds itself around Chattanooga - going from Tennessee, into Georgia, back into Tennessee and  on to Alabama - being fed by numerous Tennessee and Georgia creeks surrounded by valleys and mountainous ridges. Chickamauga Creek, including East and West Chickamauga Creeks and the main branch, was where the Ahnapee men of Co. K. saw action. The men were near a gap at Missionary Ridge in front of one of the Chickamauga fords during much of the battle. For both the North and the South, the battle was one of confusion. History points to turmoil and uncertainty among the leadership, with much of the muddling due to the jealousies of those in command. Nobody was sure of where the next unit was and there was “friendly fire.” History tells us the part of the line held by the 21^st never faltered and when the retreat order was given, the 21^st never got it. By the time they realized other units were falling back, they were being surrounded by Confederate soldiers. Hobart and 70 officers and men were captured.

That was not the last of Harrison Hobart. How many of the 70 were sent to Libby Prison, a Richmond hell hole, is unclear, but Hobart was indeed there. Libby was thought to be a fortress. An old warehouse in downtown Richmond, the prisoners were kept on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors. There were escapes here and there, and men were shot for just looking out the windows. There are stories about the prisoners who got into the basement and began digging a tunnel. The time came when 100 men escaped through the tunnel. Hobart led them.

Wisconsin saw its 1^st, 10^th, 15^th, 21^st and 24^th Infantries and 1^st Cavalry, and 3^rd, 5^th and 8^th Light Cavalries at Chickamauga, but the men from Kewaunee County were primarily those from Ahnapee. Others had been in some of the other units but had transferred out or had not made it that far.

Of those serving on that battlefront, Homer Bacon was badly wounded at Chickamauga and crippled for life. John Goettinger, George W. Warner and Thomas Allen were in bad health. Though he wasn’t in the 21^st, Ahnapee’s John McDonald said he lost his good right arm at Missionary Ridge, part of the same campaign. A Civil War list says it happened at Stones River. Charles Ross, who was serving with an Illinois unit, also lost an arm at Missionary Ridge. Spencer Dunham, George Foss, Benjamin Fowles and Pierce’s Hubert Lauscher remained healthy. If they shared the horrors of Chickamauga, it was not chronicled.

When the 21^st was mustered out on June 17, 1865, it had  lost 305 men. More than – 183 – died of disease. At Chickamauga itself, the Union loses were 16,351 killed, wounded or missing. The action was said to be a narrow Confederate victory, although their loss stood at 18,999.

Note: It was Spymistress by Madison author Jennifer Chiaverini that aroused an interest in Libby Prison. I wondered if any Kewaunee County men had endured its horrors and might have escaped with Hobart. It is fascinating that when Hobart was called from Mississippi to take the place of the wounded Sweet, he was taking the place of one he knew from the very small community of Chilton, Wisconsin. Then there is Rufus Wing’s tie-in. Certainly there remains an additional story. Wing’s son George later prepared the list of those serving from Kewaunee County and without him much would be lost. It is said Wing prepared the military list from his memory and that of others. Anyone using it would also be well advised to check other resources, especially where there are notes indicating desertion. There are errors.

Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River, c. 2001; George Wing’s list of the men of Kewaunee County and their units, compiled by this blogger; Chickamagua’s Park Rangers; E.B. Quiner, Military History of Wisconsin: A Record of the Civil and Military Patriotism of the State in the War for the Union, c. 1866; William De Loss Love, Wisconsin in the War of Rebellion, Vol. 2, c. 1866; Steven E. Woodworth, Six Armies in Tennessee, c. 1998; Jennifer Chiaverini, Spymistress, c. 2014.

The Painting - Longwood Plantation at Natchez, the ironclad USS Cairo, blockade runners, soldiers, offices, guns and death are part of a Civil War oil painting collage used with permission of the artist at NLJArt.

 

 

 

Father Joseph Rene Vilatte and the Peninsula's Old Catholic Movement

If there was ever a Wisconsin clergyman about whom volumes have been written, it was Joseph Rene Vilatte, simply known as Father Vilatte. Father Vilatte was leading the Old Catholic Belgian congregations in the late 1800s, but the February 19, 1898 edition of Catholic Citizen noted that the “Old Catholic Archbishop was left flockless.” Vilatte obviously didn’t agree because on June 20, 1905, he signed his name as “Archbishop Vilatte, Metropolitan of America.”

The Old Catholic order came about around 1870 following the First Vatican Council and the Decree of Papal Infallibility. It was a time when Napoleon was trying to make the church subservient to himself while the Germans were trying to empower the bishops at the expense of the pope. Germany and France were at war, bringing an anti-Christian commune to France and an empire to Germany. A German sect opposing papal authority, called Old Catholic, had its origins years before, but it became increasingly more protestant. There were issues with transmitting Episcopal powers and the Bishop of Deventer was one who did just that. Old Catholics were primarily German, but as the movement spread to other countries as well, it was the beginning of the movement in the Belgian settlement.

Arguments concerning locations of new churches split congregations. It happened with the Belgian Catholics of Rosiere and Misiere, it happened with the German Lutherans of Forestville and Kolberg and it happened with others. Within the Belgian settlement, the most prominent reason  for one split – and probably the most detrimental – was the recovery of Mrs. John Everts, wife of a tavern keeper. After feeling she was cured by a spiritualist, she pressured her husband saying he too could heal if he only stopped selling rum. When John Everts began holding séances with the dead, the area priest, Reverend Stevnard, said if he was there, nobody could talk with the dead. Stevnard failed to show up when a Mr. Duchateau bet $1,000, however he denounced the heretic (Everts) who, by then, led 40 families to start a church. Enter Vilatte.

Old Catholics in America tells us Vilatte was born in Paris on January 24, 1854. The son of a butcher, he was raised in an orphanage and went from being confirmed at Notre Daem to Methodist and Presbyterian practices. It was a time of much anti-Catholic writing. One who left the priesthood – Charles Chiniquy – was one Vilatte met. Chiniquy was raising havoc as early as the 1850s writing about clergy drunkenness, the horrors of confession and more. He even blamed the Jesuits for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Vilatte befriended him and a bit later became a Presbyterian minister in Green Bay.  Vilatte seemed to be almost constantly traveling and about 1884 befriended the renowned Paris Carmelite Father Hyacinthe Loyson. Loyson was "streamling" Catholic doctrine and was asked to modify his language, which he would not. Hatred of authority prompted his leaving the church.

When Vilatte met Loyson, Loyson encouraged Vilatte to contact the nearest Episcopal bishop, which was Hobart Brown in Fond du Lac. Vilatte did that and then went to Switzerland for ordination, returning to Fond du Lac, where, on June 5, 1885, he was ordained as a missionary. Beginning work among the Belgians, he established Precious Blood congregation in Gardner, so named because he felt communion should be received under two species. Vilatte’s assistant there, John Gauthier, later became pastor of Blessed Sacrament in Green Bay.

By then Vilatte was presiding over three small congregations. He felt the Belgians needed a bishop, but the Episcopal bishop didn’t share the opinion. That opened the door for advice from both Old Catholic orders. In 1891 then Episcopal Bishop Grafton tried to remove Vilatte who said that since he had always been Catholic, Grafton was powerless to remove him.

It seems as if trouble was every place Vilatte was. His ordinations and consecrations are hard to follow around the world. They took place not only in Europe, but in places such as Ceylon and India. Vilatte was not a man of wealth, but somehow there was always travel money.

Vilatte established his St. Louis Cathedral in Green Bay, St. Joseph at Walhain and St. Mary’s, Duvall. In 1898 he had to get rid of St. Louis for lack of money and lost St. Mary’s at the same time. He lost funds through Episcopal missionary aid to the Gardner church. St. Mary’s was organized in 1888 as an “unorganized” mission of the Episcopal Church. St. Joseph’s was short-lived, being established in 1893, but the property was actually Vilatte’s.

Vilatte tried to “look Catholic" while keeping the title of an Old Catholic. He published catechisms and wrote numerous articles – some for the Green Bay papers – questioning papal authority. While the Old Catholic movement never made huge inroads within the Belgian community, those who left were welcomed back to the faith by the Premonstratensians (often called White Fathers) and Father Pennings who established a church at Namur. Pennings and the others preached in French, the peoples' language, and did not attack Vilatte.

Wisconsin’s Polish were often classed as German, Austrian or Russian and by the 1870s, there were religious rifts among the Polish people. Vilatte was there. He ordained, but at a price. He kept the entanglements while he kept watching Europe and ordaining in many other countries. In 1890, Vilatte said he’d return to the Roman Catholic Church if he was met halfway. Green Bay Bishop Frederick Katzer (3^rd Bishop of Green Bay 1886-1891) began investigating, though what is written offers confusion for the next few years. One thing is certain: in 1894 the people of Duvall wrote to Bishop Sebastian Messmer (4^th Bishop of Green Bay 1892-1903) about their good priest while also letting the bishop know they hated the Vatican.

The Church's part of "halfway" was telling Vilatte he had to study in France. Vilatte questioned sincerity and refused to go, feeling he’d be barred from reentering the U.S. He wanted Rome to evaluate his orders. Rome would not. Within the mountains of papers dealing with Vilatte, there are letters to the newspapers, one of which was signed by the Trustees of the Church at Dyckesville. It was written to the Green Bay Daily State Gazette, dated November 11, 1890. The lengthy letter characterized the pious, zealous Vilatte, however on examination* of the letter, it was decided that none of the Dyckesville trustees was capable of writing such a letter. There were other letters, including one in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, piles of letters from church leaders and others, some indicating secret meetings. There are articles describing Christmas masses at St. Joseph and St. Mary’s. St. Joseph’s had a high altar and two side altars, one to Our Lady and one to St. Joseph. The church had its first resident pastor in 1898, but the church did not last long. Father Basil, whose given name was George Reader, was from England and ordained by Vilatte to be Walhain’s rector. St. Mary’s Christmas services were also described in 1897. Vilatte called himself Archbishop and the messages he sent both churches in 1897 were not unlike a pastoral letter from the bishop today. Duvall’s congregation numbered 316 while Walhain’s was 84. It was not clear if the number was of families or individuals, which would make a huge difference. There are articles in the Door County Advocate and The Independent, another Door County newspaper, about Vilatte’s intentions for building a seminary in Sturgeon Bay. For which order is not clear. Later editions reported that plans changed as the timing was not right because of Vilatte’s perception of ill feelings. That prompted The Independent to examine the issue of bigotry in Sturgeon Bay. When Vilatte wrote to the Daily Advocate of Green Bay asking forgiveness for his enemies, he signed the letter as J.R. Vilatte, Orthodox Old Catholic Archbishop. Bishop Vilatte, Metropolitan of America was the signature used on a June 20, 1905 letter.

As for the Polish in Kewaunee County, it was Rev. Joseph Rous who was instructed by Bishop Fox to unite the three parishes in Montpelier. Fox wanted to drop the three names and call the merger St. Joseph. That church remains in Pilsen, though it is part of St. Therese parish. The last mass at St. Anne, Montpelier was said on June 26, 1911, however the membership opposed the closing and called themselves Old Catholic. They were led by Rev. Miller, Rev. Tichy and Rev. Gauthier who served at several times. The last pastor was Rev. Gross, a married man. Gross and most members went on to join St. Joseph, and St. Anne - often called St. Anna - eventually closed.

Since Vilatte's death in 1928, volumes have been written about him. With advances in technology much more is surfacing. This article does not begin to even scratch the surface of the life of the clergyman who assumed more church authority than any other in Northeast Wisconsin.

*It is not clear who examined the letter for authenticity.

Information for this article comes from the ARC at UW-Green Bay and the newspapers mentioned.

Ahnapee Harbor and Johnny Doak - Straight Out of the Movies

A walk along Lake Michigan on Algoma's boardwalk on a warm summer's eve is a walk out of a romance novel. Add the glow of the lamps - reminiscent of the gas lights of an era long gone - casting reflections on the shimmering water of a moon lit night and the twinkling lights of returning fishing boats on the horizon, and the walk seems straight out of a movie.

If a movie had been made from scenes recreated from 130 -140 years ago , the view would have been equally breathtaking. There was no boardwalk then and gas lights had not yet been introduced in Ahnapee. The river's entrance was almost at the foot of Michigan Street from which it meandered in somewhat of an S curve to join the main channel. Before the U.S. Engineers straightened the channel and added the piers, a sand bar almost always caused problems for the boats trying to enter the river. But what a scene it must have been to stand on the lake bank seeing 15, 20 or even 25 sailing vessels  riding at anchor at once. It was the days of steam ferries and wind ships. There were piers, but not as they are known today.

Captain Frederick Pabst worked for Manitowoc's Goodrich company, ferrying passengers aboard such ships as the Cleveland and Comet, in the early days. The Enterprise mentioned Pabst being a favorite of the traveling public. It was always said Pabst made such good time as he was courting the daughter of Milwaukee brewer Jacob Best. He eventually married Miss Best and headed the brewery that won the blue ribbon at the World's Fair - Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Ahnapee was a popular port full of sailing vessels loading shingles, ties, posts, wood products, grain and more. As soon as stores were offloaded at one port, stores destined for another were loaded back on. Hard as it is to believe today, the sailing vessels were known to save the lives of ship-wrecked men whom they had found while criss-crossing Lake Michigan. That says something about the lake's commercial traffic.

One-armed John McDonald was one of those captains. He might have lost his good right arm at Missionary Ridge, but he continued sailing and doing the work of men with two arms. Captain William Henry's Lady Ellen lies today in her watery grave just west of the 2nd Street bridge. William Armstrong's Wren or John W. Wright, Mark Wenniger's William Finch, Capt. James Tuft's Mary Mills and Albert Sibilsky's Hinsdale were only a few of the local boats in port. Captains Zeb Shaw and Charlie Fellows captained numerous vessels, just as the others did. All the above have recognizable names in today's Algoma. Though his name faded from the community, it was Capt. Johnny Doak who was by far Ahnapee's most colorful captain. His boat, the Ella Doak, was frequently referred to as "the queen of the beach." That's where she often was! Whether or not Doak was as dashing as old movie heart throb Errol Flynn, Flynn could have done credit to Doak's exploits.

To read newspaper accounts and other histories, it would appear that perhaps Johnny Doak was the most foolhardy of captains, however that depended on one's perspective: Johnny was either a good one or a bad one. To read between the lines, it appears that Doak was more comfortable and more at home on the Great Lakes than anywhere. Add his favorite crew - his brother Alec, Sea Star Sibilsky, whose baptismal name was Albert, and Orange Conger - and there wasn't much the men didn't tackle.

Capt. Doak was something of a Robin Hood who made money in what only could be called salvage. He claimed rights to foundered ships that sometimes had saleable cargoes such as iron. Other times it was wet grain that was salvaged. Capt. Doak was not adverse to selling damaged goods, but was generally long gone before the buyers knew what they had. Author Fred Neuschel quoted an article from an early 1870s Racine Weekly saying that  to the Ella Doak all seasons were alike and that she "never furls her wings." While other captains spent the winter on land, Doak continued sailing, even when the rigging and sails froze. There were times when the vessel was frozen in the ice for days. Doak's ability was put to the test during the terrible winter of 1871-72 when he and his three-man crew carried hay, seeds, tools and other supplies to Peshtigo fire victims. As Neuschel points out, it was Doak's finest hour. One hundred and forty years later, there are those who are here today only because of Capt. John Doak's efforts in keeping their Red River and Lincoln Town ancestors alive.

During the summer of 1872, the Ella Doak was carrying a load of lumber for Hall's Mill when she sprung a leak. The lumber was thrown overboard. Sometime later, when loaded with brick, the Ella hit a sandbar near Port Washington. In October she was loading wood at Ahnapee and went ashore. A few days later she dragged anchor and went ashore again. Just a few days after that, still loaded, she hit Hitchcock and Mashek's pier in Kewaunee when winds blew her ashore. The mizzen mast was lost and the boat was hung up offshore. The tug Hagerman towed the boat to Milwaukee where damage was put at 600-700 dollars. Damage to the pier was about the same.

Ella Doak was in a collision in the Chicago River in fall and then a month later was aground at South Manitou Island. A year later she was approaching Sheboygan in a storm and hit the pier. It was in August 1875 that the boat met its demise. There were those who felt she'd come back so many times that she would then too. But it was not to be.

It was Capt. Johnny Doak who proved something to the residents of Ahnapee, something the optimistic had known all along. Residents knew the Ahnapee harbor was one of the finest on the western shore of Lake Michigan, but the sand bar at the mouth of the river was always a problem, hampering vessels from entering the river. In July 1873 those near the harbor could see a boat coming toward the harbor "hell bent for election." It was the Ella Doak coming in, jumping the sandbar and mooring near the brewery dock. Johnny brought the boat in for repair and painting. The point brought home was that if ships could enter the river, they didn't have to dock at the piers extending into the lake. If they didn't have to use those piers, they didn't have to pay exorbitant prices changed by the likes of  Charles Boalt, Ed Decker and their ilk. As it happened, harbor construction as we know it today began in 1873. Doak had another first that year. His boat was the first to over winter in the river since Capt. John McDonald's Amelia in 1856.

Doak's feat made the fledgling Ahnapee Record when it happened in July, however nearly 50 years later when George Wing, who wrote the first article, wrote his history, he told the story a little differently. He told about the terribly cold Christmas Day in 1873 and how the Doak came riding the crest of a wave to jump the bar of the Wolf. Wing told of using his marine glasses to watch the men in the cockpit, the icicles on the beards on the faces of the men set in pure determination as the boat was almost propelled toward the river. People talked about it as the Christmas miracle. It's a good story, but it really happened in July. George Wing said Johnny was trying to make it home for Christmas dinner, but reality is that when he tied up near the brewery, it was for repainting and repair.

The Record said Johnny Doak furnished more news than any other captain. He survived the wreck of the Ella Doak by 9 years, dying at Ahnapee on February 25, 1885 at age 45. At the announcement of his death, harbor flags were lowered to half-mast. The Doak brothers were all sea-related. The Ella, Lizzie Doak and Kate Doak were owned by the family. One of the boats was built by them. Alexander Doak captained the Evening Star and was a long-time lake captain. George sailed for years before dying of alcoholism. Robert drowned near Sheboygan.

Walking on the boardwalk on a summer evening is what dreams are made of. The dreams were just a little different in 1880. Move over Errol Flynn - Johnny Doak played Robin Hood first.

Sources: Viewed from starboard in the picture above, it appears Capt. William Armstrong's Wren is loaded with posts or ties.  The photo is a family picture, used with permission, from the files of Amstrong's great grandchild N.J. Harvey, Information comes from  An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001 and microfilmed copies of Ahnapee Record and Door County Advocate.