It has been written that culture came to Wolf River with the arrival of Simon Hall and his wife Desiah, however they did not appear to be members of the Philolithean, a literary society. A little research on the word reveals three separate spellings. Each reflects a secret or private literary society focusing on such subjects as history, religion, ethics and politics. Wolf River's Philolithean appears to have primarily dealt with politics.
It was Joseph Anderegg who served as secretary of the short-lived society. At its first meeting on November 29, 1855, the attendees elected Samual Chapell as president, David Price as vice-president, Joseph Remington as secretary, Nelson Smith as corresponding secretary and Andreas Eveland as treasurer. L. Shepherd nominated Mary A. Price as editor and George Hines Scott was chosen to dedicate a paper which was to be "denominated," or named.
Shepherd, Scott, Alexander McLellen and Nelson Smith were chosen to draft the society's constitution and by-laws. When the above organizational business was concluded, the society needed a name thus choosing Philolethean to be "denominated as the Philolethean Society of Ahnapee."
At that first meeting Shepherd moved that subscriptions be taken to defray expenses between Kewaunee and Wolf River throughout the winter. Eleven dollars was collected. It was also decided to meet at Chapell's.
After considerable discussion at the Saturday, December 8 meeting, Mr. Chapell was elected as a prepresentative to the County Board. Next came offers by John Hughes and Mr. Rowse to carry mail between Kewaunee and Wolf River. Hughes was elected and was given a contract. There were other things to discuss. Chapell reminded the group that officers had been elected for the first meeting only and that an election was needed. Orin Warner was elected to the presidency. Eveland was chosen as vice-president and Anderegg was voted in as secretary. Then Scott requested to be excused from the consititution committee though he did not offer a reason that was recorded in the minutes. Mrs. Price read a poem and Shepherd read an article about life in Wolf River and the necessity for regular mail service. Shepherd planned to have it published in the Manitowoc Herald but Orin Warner objected. Warner moved to appoint Eveland's as the drop-off site for mail. Outgoing mail would leave town on Friday. By return route, incoming mail would be at Eveland's on Saturday. Then the men began taking subscriptions for the road to Kewaunee. Orin Warner was appointed to circulate road and mail subscriptions along both branches of the river. It was decided that 1/4 of the mail subscriptions would be paid into the treasury.
Organization of the Philoletheans provides a glimpse into Wolf River's early residents who were obviously able to read and write. Shepherd, Scott, McLellen and Smith do not appear on the Kewaunee County1860 census so apparently didn't live in the community very long. Joseph Remington is listed in Forestville on the Door County 1860 census. Interestingly, the society's name included Ahnapee when the hamlet was called Wolf River or, sometimes, Wolf River trading post. Wolf River became Ahnapee in 1859, four years after the society's inception.
As the county was organized judicially a few years later, roads, mail and the political questions discussed at meetings became the role of government. Philolethean faded from Wolf River though its residents continued to discuss politics which, in a few years, would strongly divide the fledgling community,
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Um-um Good: Adeline Schwenderman and Badenzer Cheese
When Mrs. Adeline Schwenderman died in March 1935, it was
thought to be an end of an era in cheese making. Few remember the name today that 80 years ago was as connected with cheese making in Kewaunee
County as Trega Foods, once Krohn’s, is today.
Angeline Federspile was born in Thiensville in 1846. As a girl, she began making cheese and was the originator the Badenzer cheese, which it is assumed was named for Baden-Baden, Germany, birthplace of her husband Joseph. She made the cheese for Alpine Dairy, located in the basement of the Soucek building at what is now 112 Steele Street in Algoma.
The late Hank Englebert remembered Mrs. Schwenderman years after her death. Englebert described her basement operation saying there were curing shelves on all four walls. Badenzer loaves were 2” thick, 6” long and about 3 pounds. During the four month curing period, each loaf was turned over and washed. Marketing was not aggressive and the public could stop whenever convenient to purchase the cheese delicacy.
Englebert told the story about a day Angeline gave him a loaf of cheese. He tucked it under his arm and carried it on his meter reading duties, barely unable to wait the two hours for noon. Englebert didn’t keep the prized cheese for himself, but took it to the Stebbins Hotel where Mrs. Jack Slaby helped Hank treat his noon companions. At the appointed time, Mrs. Slaby walked out of the kitchen with the wonderful cheese properly sliced and ready to enjoy. The aroma - some said odor - was safeguarded under a glass dome, and Hank was able to pull off his surprise. His friends never smelled the precious cheese coming.
Hank also told a Depression era story when a railroad man
often came to Algoma, trying to spend as much time as he could in the Soucek
basement. He even tried to help. After so many visits, people got suspicious
and felt he was after the recipe for use in the dining cars. Continuing to allow
the man into the basement seemed dangerous, and he was denied further entrance.
At Mrs. Schwenderman’s death, her daughter Rose continued producing the cheese. Over 100 years after its introduction, Badenzer cheese is a part of Algoma's history. Its recipe remains a closely guarded secret.
Note: Photo is taken from Algoma Record Herald.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Income Taxes and Edward Decker in the 1860s
April 15 looms as a day dreaded by many Americans. The day that offers so much debate is something most are used to because, in one form or another, taxes have always been around. Even the Bible recounts stories of taxes and loathing for tax collectors.
Ironically, taxation in the U.S. began not with U.S. imposed taxes but with protests against the British in the 1760s. School children remember hearing about the Boston Tea Party, orator Patrick Henry is remembered for delivering the line, "Give me liberty, or give me death," and "Taxation without representation is tyranny" became the cry of the American Revolution.
In Kewaunee County's early days, there were poll taxes, road taxes and property taxes. Poll taxes were at times worked off. County farmers maintained roads past their property, roads that had been surveyed as early as 1853 by County Board supervisors such as Orin Warner, Abraham Hall and John Hughes. Wolf River's first real surveyor, George Elliott, arrived a few years later. As for property taxes, they resulted in hundreds of foreclosures in the 1860s. Some lost property not knowing they were in arrears for only a few cents.
A U.S. income tax proposed during the War of 1812 never got off the ground. But it did during the Civil War, and it was levied on those, such as Edward Decker, whose incomes exceeded $800. A year or so after the law was enacted it was revised, and then eliminated in 1872. Twenty years later William Jennings Bryan was leading the Democratic Party when it advanced an income tax. Such a tax became part of the party's platform in the 1908 presidential election. This year - 1913 - marks the 100th anniversary of the income tax. The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and the U.S. has had an income tax without interruption ever since.
Kewaunee County's Edward Decker was paying income taxes before many of his fellow citizens even knew what such taxes were. Decker's income taxes of the 1860's have survived, thus providing a glimpse into the man and the U.S. Internal Revenue of the period.
Tax documents indicate that the yearly income taxes were to be paid before the first Monday in May. Shirking one's duty added 25% to the tax due. Guardians and trustees were also charged with filing the papers. Questions needed answering. Did one's wife or minor child have an income during the year? Did one have stocks, sell property, have gold or government securities, keep an account book, claim deductions and so on?
During 1865 Mr. Decker paid employees $2,300, and said he earned $100 on building rents for which he could deduct $25 in repairs. He reported earning $100 in profits from property sold but there was nothing about farming operations or livestock. Decker reported earning $800 from private business and $400 from his work as a government employee. He had an income of $950 that was a debt or income considered lost in a previous year and he paid tax on that. Decker's real estate investments lost $500 and he paid out $275 in interest. Decker was also able to deduct $200 as a salary paid out to a person in the U.S. military. It is likely this was paid to Edward Carl, his Civil War substitute who served in the 22nd Infantry.
When filling out a list of taxable articles, Decker declared a tax of $2.00 on his gold watch as his was "wholly or in part of gold or gilt, kept for use, and valued at above one-hundred dollars." His tax would have been a dollar had the watch been worth $100 or less.
Decker did not report any kind of carriage, or pianofortes, organs, melodeons, a billiard table, gold or silver plate or a yacht. And when he had the papers filled out, his signature attested to his truth under the laws of the United States. For an unidentified reason, Mr. Decker was assessed $3.89 payable on the last day of March in 1869. Had he not paid the tax by that time, 5% would be assessed with an additional 1% per month. Edward Decker paid Internal Revenue's Special Tax for the year ending on May 1, 1871. This $10 tax was due from the milling business at Tisch Mills owned and operated by Decker and Voyta Stransky.
No doubt there were a few other Kewaunee County men who paid income taxes during the Civil War. If their papers did survive in the recesses of an attic, they could have easily gone out during the paper drives supporting the World War ll effort, a time when so much personal history was lost.
As for gold watches, carriages, pianos and other luxury items, they showed up on census forms. One census showed Kewaunee County having very few gold watches, prompting the Door County Advocate to question the accuracy of the reporting as it felt Kewaunee County was much wealthier than Door and surely had many more gold timepieces. Not much has changed in 150 years: everybody wants to be rich, but nobody wants to pay taxes.
Sources: Decker Collection, ARC, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; An-An-api-sebe:Where is the River?; Door County Advocate.
Ironically, taxation in the U.S. began not with U.S. imposed taxes but with protests against the British in the 1760s. School children remember hearing about the Boston Tea Party, orator Patrick Henry is remembered for delivering the line, "Give me liberty, or give me death," and "Taxation without representation is tyranny" became the cry of the American Revolution.
In Kewaunee County's early days, there were poll taxes, road taxes and property taxes. Poll taxes were at times worked off. County farmers maintained roads past their property, roads that had been surveyed as early as 1853 by County Board supervisors such as Orin Warner, Abraham Hall and John Hughes. Wolf River's first real surveyor, George Elliott, arrived a few years later. As for property taxes, they resulted in hundreds of foreclosures in the 1860s. Some lost property not knowing they were in arrears for only a few cents.
A U.S. income tax proposed during the War of 1812 never got off the ground. But it did during the Civil War, and it was levied on those, such as Edward Decker, whose incomes exceeded $800. A year or so after the law was enacted it was revised, and then eliminated in 1872. Twenty years later William Jennings Bryan was leading the Democratic Party when it advanced an income tax. Such a tax became part of the party's platform in the 1908 presidential election. This year - 1913 - marks the 100th anniversary of the income tax. The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and the U.S. has had an income tax without interruption ever since.
Kewaunee County's Edward Decker was paying income taxes before many of his fellow citizens even knew what such taxes were. Decker's income taxes of the 1860's have survived, thus providing a glimpse into the man and the U.S. Internal Revenue of the period.
Tax documents indicate that the yearly income taxes were to be paid before the first Monday in May. Shirking one's duty added 25% to the tax due. Guardians and trustees were also charged with filing the papers. Questions needed answering. Did one's wife or minor child have an income during the year? Did one have stocks, sell property, have gold or government securities, keep an account book, claim deductions and so on?
During 1865 Mr. Decker paid employees $2,300, and said he earned $100 on building rents for which he could deduct $25 in repairs. He reported earning $100 in profits from property sold but there was nothing about farming operations or livestock. Decker reported earning $800 from private business and $400 from his work as a government employee. He had an income of $950 that was a debt or income considered lost in a previous year and he paid tax on that. Decker's real estate investments lost $500 and he paid out $275 in interest. Decker was also able to deduct $200 as a salary paid out to a person in the U.S. military. It is likely this was paid to Edward Carl, his Civil War substitute who served in the 22nd Infantry.
When filling out a list of taxable articles, Decker declared a tax of $2.00 on his gold watch as his was "wholly or in part of gold or gilt, kept for use, and valued at above one-hundred dollars." His tax would have been a dollar had the watch been worth $100 or less.
Decker did not report any kind of carriage, or pianofortes, organs, melodeons, a billiard table, gold or silver plate or a yacht. And when he had the papers filled out, his signature attested to his truth under the laws of the United States. For an unidentified reason, Mr. Decker was assessed $3.89 payable on the last day of March in 1869. Had he not paid the tax by that time, 5% would be assessed with an additional 1% per month. Edward Decker paid Internal Revenue's Special Tax for the year ending on May 1, 1871. This $10 tax was due from the milling business at Tisch Mills owned and operated by Decker and Voyta Stransky.
No doubt there were a few other Kewaunee County men who paid income taxes during the Civil War. If their papers did survive in the recesses of an attic, they could have easily gone out during the paper drives supporting the World War ll effort, a time when so much personal history was lost.
As for gold watches, carriages, pianos and other luxury items, they showed up on census forms. One census showed Kewaunee County having very few gold watches, prompting the Door County Advocate to question the accuracy of the reporting as it felt Kewaunee County was much wealthier than Door and surely had many more gold timepieces. Not much has changed in 150 years: everybody wants to be rich, but nobody wants to pay taxes.
Sources: Decker Collection, ARC, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; An-An-api-sebe:Where is the River?; Door County Advocate.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Kewaunee County Gold, Silver & Oil: Dreams of Riches
Kewaunee County was set off from Door County in the spring of 1852, however government employee Joshua Hathaway had started surveying the southern part of what would be Kewaunee County in the mid-1830s.
Before long rumors of gold were flying. Today it is almost unfathomable to believe such rumors actually prompted a rivalry between Kewaunee and Chicago. At a time when Chicago had a few people but Kewaunee didn’t have one non-native American, there was speculation about which would be the greater area. Multi-millionaire John Jacob Astor was the richest man in the United States at his death in 1848. Acreage in the middle of the Kewaunee swamp was selling for 500 to1,000 dollars when Astor invested in 2,625 acres, bought through his agent Ramsay Crooks. Land speculator and later Territorial Governor James Doty was another of the prominent people who invested in Kewaunee land. Green Bay streets are named for other speculators including Joel Fisk, Peter
Grignon, Daniel Whitney and Ferdinand Suydam.
What happened with the '48ers, Sutter's Mill and the great California gold rush is in the history books. As for the gold in Kewaunee 14 years earlier, the only gold there was that which John Jacob Astor and others paid for the land. The stuff was really pyrite.
What happened with the '48ers, Sutter's Mill and the great California gold rush is in the history books. As for the gold in Kewaunee 14 years earlier, the only gold there was that which John Jacob Astor and others paid for the land. The stuff was really pyrite.
About the time of the California gold rush, the U.S. Treasury adopted strict hard-money standard, doing business only in gold or silver coin. Accounts of the federal government and the banking system were legally separated. The rate of gold to silver overvalued silver in relation to the demand for gold to trade or borrow and that drain led to the search for gold. The clamor for silver remained.
By 1869 Monarch Gold and Silver Mining Company of Indianapolis was disposing of its Kewaunee County land in Section 1 of Montpelier. As early as December 1866, Edward Decker was asked by the company to examine the land and render an opinion. Decker was asked if the land was timbered and its best market value. He was told he would receive a draft for expenses and fees for survey. Decker had the land surveyed by the county surveyor and told the company that it was heavily timbered though it was so far from market that the lumber was virtually worthless. He went on to say the only timber of worth in "this locality" was white pine, and the particular land didn't have any. Decker did say that half the land was good farming land but since there was a low demand, such land sold for two - four dollars per acre. Why did a gold and silver company purchase Montpelier land about which they knew nothing? At first glance the land appears to have been public land, the sales of which promoted public works' projects. Monarch's was not public land, however Fox and Wisconsin Co. owned Montpelier public land at the same time. It was Spencer Day who patented the Section 1 land in 1855 and his brother Henry Day who sold it in October 1866. When Monarch sold, it did not make money. The company purchased the land for $3,000 and sold to John Duvall in February 1876 for $1,800. Duvall was one of the Kewaunee County people with an income greater than Decker's in 1869.
Then there was the oil. By 1920, there had never been a barrel of crude oil produced in Wisconsin, but there were those who were sure it would happen. For months a group of Scarboro and Luxemburg men were working to organize a drilling company. There appeared to be some evidence of gas and oil near the Scarboro cheese factory and the men had incorporated a company with stock capital of $25,000. They felt that if the 25 thousand wasn't enough, they'd raise 50 or even 100 thousand dollars.
December 1920 saw geologist Ira Bell examining what was then called the Green Bay Structure, several thousand acres running parallel to the shoreline of the bay of Green Bay. Bell felt the oil field would be about 40 rods upriver from the Scarboro bridge in Section 25 in the Town of Luxemburg. A well alongside John Hrabik's store was even producing oil.
Residents were so sure there was oil, and stockholders knew they'd make money. While the company was still raising money eighteen months later, there were stories of river rocks so saturated with oil that they would burst into flame at the touch of a match.
Just as the gold in Kewaunee turned out to be the gold that had been paid for the land, the most oil found in Scarboro would be that in tractors, autos and eventually home heating oil. As for the gold and silver mining in Montpelier, the silver and gold showed up in the gorgeous fall colors of the maple trees, which, in the days of a clamor for white pine, were worth little.
Sources: Map from Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee Co.; information from Kewaunee Enterprise, Advocate, Decker collection and private files of J.Z.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Death and Disease in the Civil War
At the beginning of the Civil War, Wisconsin was still a semi-frontier. Political and social control was largely determined by New Yorkers and New Englanders, although Germans and Scandinavians were beginning to make an impact. The pine forests were intact, there was little manufacturing or dairying, fishing was minimal and mining was on the decline. Looking back, it would seem as if Wisconsin had little to offer the war effort, but as Reuben Gold Thwaites wrote in 1905, "No northern state has as credible a record in the Civil War as Wisconsin." Wisconsin and New York were #1 and #2, respectively, in supplying men for the war.
When the war was over, of the 408 men from Kewaunee County who had served, 65 - or 13% - were dead. Almost twice as many died of disease as were killed in battle. In a county with a population of 7,039, 1 in 17 was sent, willingly and unwillingly. The struggling pioneers of 1861-1865 raised $20,692.87 in taxes for war at a time when a private's pay was $13.00 per month. County citizens invested in 2 1/2 million dollars worth of Liberty and Victory bonds paying 4 - 4 1/2% interest.
In total, Wisconsin saw 3,794 of its men killed in action or mortally wounded. Disease that was rampant took 8,022 and accidents of all kinds took another 400. One in 13 veterans was an amputee. Louisa May Alcott later wrote that men went to war prepared to die for the cause. But, were they prepared to kill? Was anybody prepared for the number of casualties and the horrific wounds? Who would have thought disease could have taken such a toll?
Early muskets that took minutes to send off a shot, often caused injury to the soldier himself. Initially some of the cavalry had sabres. It was thought inhuman to sharpen the entire thing so only about 6" was sharp. The blunt end was used for breaking arms and injuring; the sharp end was for stabbing.
Wounds, other injuries and disease were unimaginable. Seventy-five percent of surgeries were amputations and 26% of the amputees died. Infected flesh wounds led to amputation by the surgeons who cut the flesh and sawed off the bone with a hack saw before tying off the limb with silk thread. Chloroform was the anesthetic if it was available. Alcohol was used to numb the pain, and to help anesthetize when the chloroform ran out, but often the surgeons drank it. Ambulance drivers also had alcohol for the wounded, but they were known to drink it too. At the second Bull Run,there were ambulance drivers who left with the alcohol. As many as 7,000 were unattended for three days. At five days, there were still 600 left without food and water.
Hospitals were worse than battlefields and hastened deaths. Tents, churches, homes and other buildings served as such facilities. Sanitation was an issue. There was malnutrition, but it was surely a step above the rats that helped Confederates survive at Vicksburg. Disease was spread by feces and the piles of rotting limbs, and typhoid that came from contaminated water. Bacteria had yet to be understood and surgeons used spit to moisten thread. They sharpened knives on the bottoms of their boots. Sterilization was unheard of and little soap and water was available for operations. Doctors went from patient to patient without washing their hands. Doctors had two years of school and surely no experience in the kinds of treatment necessary. Maybe that was why some men preformed amputations on themselves
Is it any wonder there are stories of the men who shot off their trigger fingers so they could go home?
Henry Baumann arrived in Wolf River in the mid-1850s. Magnus Haucke joined his family there after the war. Magnus married Henry's daughter Amelia years later. Both were robust, healthy German immigrants when they entered service, Magnus as a volunteer in Co. E, 4th Wisconsin Cavalry and Henry as a draftee in Co. E, 17th Wisconsin Infantry. Both were in military hospitals and both lived to tell about it, but both died too young. Ezra B. Austin, Co. E, 14th Wisconsin, was wounded at Shiloh and then pinned to the ground by a fallen tree. A Confederate officer lifted the tree and gave Austin water, but he died a few days later on April 12, 1862. Park Elliott, Co. C, 10th Wisconsin, was shot in the head at Chaplin Hills and was buried on the battlefield. His brother David died of typhoid at Nashville and Mark Fay, also of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin, died of disease at Memphis. Samuel Gokie was wounded. Though he survived physically, his emotional health was questionable. Within two years of his return to Kewaunee, he died in a jail fire that he set. Gokie was also a member of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin.
Captains Charley Ross and John McDonald both left the sea to farm sometime before the war began. By a strange coincidence both men left their farms and went to Chicago to join the 88th Illinois, also known as the Board of Trade Regiment. Capt. John, a hero at Mission Ridge, lost his "good" right arm there. Capt. Charley lost his "good" left arm at Stone River. Both men survived and went on to productive lives. Leopold Meyer was a Corporal in Co. H, 24th WI. He was shot through the right side and thru the right arm. He too survived and became a tinsmith.
Joseph Bunder and Charles Clark died of malaria in Arkansas. William Doyle never made it home from Arkansas after being discharged for permanent disability. He died of malaria on the way. All three were from Co. A, 27th Wisconsin. John Metzner, of the 9th Infantry, died of disease at Little Rock. Doctors of the era felt disease fed on what was in the body, therefore it had to be emptied. It was felt that the liver was the source of disease and a mercury compound called calomel was a great healer. Mercury poisoning is recognized today, however the effects of the poisoning was thought to be healing even while patients were dying. It was said that to have disease was a death sentence in itself. How much calomel Bunder, Clark and Doyle might have had is any one's guess.
Homer Bacon, Co. K, 21st Wisconsin was wounded at Perryville and crippled for life at Chicamaugua. Conrad Arnold and Conrad Plinke were wounded at Jenkins Ferry. Both were from Co. A, 27th Wisconsin, and both died. John Henry, another from the 27th, was wounded there but he lived. John Baumgartner of the 14th Wisconsin never made it home. Conrad Martin and Edward O'Hara were members of Co. A 27th Wisconsin who might have been lucky: they were reported to be mortally wounded at Jenkins Ferry but were taken prisoner and remained at a Rebel prison camp until the the war's end. Comrade Robert Dalziel's wife learned he had died when a letter came back with the note, "Your husband is dead." Dalziel died of disease.
Peter Simon, who fought with Co. K, 21st Wisconsin, was wounded at Perryville on October 8, 1862 and taken prisoner. After a 113 day imprisonment, he rejoined the Army at Murfeesboro, Tennessee in March 1863. From there he went to Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and was on the campaign from Atlanta to the sea. He went through South Carolina swamps to North Carolina and participated in the last battle of Bentonville. Simon went on to be truant officer in Green Bay. Simon must have been a man of iron.
*The Ahnapee Record, 9/3/1885 says, "The pension laws provide that soldiers who have lost a leg at the hip joint or an arm at the shoulder joint in the service of the country, shall be entitled to pensions at the rate of $37.00 per month. It has been the custom of the pension department to construe this law strictly. There are less than a dozen cases on the pension rolls where the amputation has taken place exactly through the joints as mentioned." After test cases it was ruled that if the amputation was so near the hip or shoulder so as to "render the stumps unserviceable," the pensioner would be allowed the higher rate.
When the war was over, of the 408 men from Kewaunee County who had served, 65 - or 13% - were dead. Almost twice as many died of disease as were killed in battle. In a county with a population of 7,039, 1 in 17 was sent, willingly and unwillingly. The struggling pioneers of 1861-1865 raised $20,692.87 in taxes for war at a time when a private's pay was $13.00 per month. County citizens invested in 2 1/2 million dollars worth of Liberty and Victory bonds paying 4 - 4 1/2% interest.
In total, Wisconsin saw 3,794 of its men killed in action or mortally wounded. Disease that was rampant took 8,022 and accidents of all kinds took another 400. One in 13 veterans was an amputee. Louisa May Alcott later wrote that men went to war prepared to die for the cause. But, were they prepared to kill? Was anybody prepared for the number of casualties and the horrific wounds? Who would have thought disease could have taken such a toll?
Early muskets that took minutes to send off a shot, often caused injury to the soldier himself. Initially some of the cavalry had sabres. It was thought inhuman to sharpen the entire thing so only about 6" was sharp. The blunt end was used for breaking arms and injuring; the sharp end was for stabbing.
Wounds, other injuries and disease were unimaginable. Seventy-five percent of surgeries were amputations and 26% of the amputees died. Infected flesh wounds led to amputation by the surgeons who cut the flesh and sawed off the bone with a hack saw before tying off the limb with silk thread. Chloroform was the anesthetic if it was available. Alcohol was used to numb the pain, and to help anesthetize when the chloroform ran out, but often the surgeons drank it. Ambulance drivers also had alcohol for the wounded, but they were known to drink it too. At the second Bull Run,there were ambulance drivers who left with the alcohol. As many as 7,000 were unattended for three days. At five days, there were still 600 left without food and water.
Hospitals were worse than battlefields and hastened deaths. Tents, churches, homes and other buildings served as such facilities. Sanitation was an issue. There was malnutrition, but it was surely a step above the rats that helped Confederates survive at Vicksburg. Disease was spread by feces and the piles of rotting limbs, and typhoid that came from contaminated water. Bacteria had yet to be understood and surgeons used spit to moisten thread. They sharpened knives on the bottoms of their boots. Sterilization was unheard of and little soap and water was available for operations. Doctors went from patient to patient without washing their hands. Doctors had two years of school and surely no experience in the kinds of treatment necessary. Maybe that was why some men preformed amputations on themselves
Is it any wonder there are stories of the men who shot off their trigger fingers so they could go home?
Henry Baumann arrived in Wolf River in the mid-1850s. Magnus Haucke joined his family there after the war. Magnus married Henry's daughter Amelia years later. Both were robust, healthy German immigrants when they entered service, Magnus as a volunteer in Co. E, 4th Wisconsin Cavalry and Henry as a draftee in Co. E, 17th Wisconsin Infantry. Both were in military hospitals and both lived to tell about it, but both died too young. Ezra B. Austin, Co. E, 14th Wisconsin, was wounded at Shiloh and then pinned to the ground by a fallen tree. A Confederate officer lifted the tree and gave Austin water, but he died a few days later on April 12, 1862. Park Elliott, Co. C, 10th Wisconsin, was shot in the head at Chaplin Hills and was buried on the battlefield. His brother David died of typhoid at Nashville and Mark Fay, also of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin, died of disease at Memphis. Samuel Gokie was wounded. Though he survived physically, his emotional health was questionable. Within two years of his return to Kewaunee, he died in a jail fire that he set. Gokie was also a member of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin.
Captains Charley Ross and John McDonald both left the sea to farm sometime before the war began. By a strange coincidence both men left their farms and went to Chicago to join the 88th Illinois, also known as the Board of Trade Regiment. Capt. John, a hero at Mission Ridge, lost his "good" right arm there. Capt. Charley lost his "good" left arm at Stone River. Both men survived and went on to productive lives. Leopold Meyer was a Corporal in Co. H, 24th WI. He was shot through the right side and thru the right arm. He too survived and became a tinsmith.
Joseph Bunder and Charles Clark died of malaria in Arkansas. William Doyle never made it home from Arkansas after being discharged for permanent disability. He died of malaria on the way. All three were from Co. A, 27th Wisconsin. John Metzner, of the 9th Infantry, died of disease at Little Rock. Doctors of the era felt disease fed on what was in the body, therefore it had to be emptied. It was felt that the liver was the source of disease and a mercury compound called calomel was a great healer. Mercury poisoning is recognized today, however the effects of the poisoning was thought to be healing even while patients were dying. It was said that to have disease was a death sentence in itself. How much calomel Bunder, Clark and Doyle might have had is any one's guess.
Homer Bacon, Co. K, 21st Wisconsin was wounded at Perryville and crippled for life at Chicamaugua. Conrad Arnold and Conrad Plinke were wounded at Jenkins Ferry. Both were from Co. A, 27th Wisconsin, and both died. John Henry, another from the 27th, was wounded there but he lived. John Baumgartner of the 14th Wisconsin never made it home. Conrad Martin and Edward O'Hara were members of Co. A 27th Wisconsin who might have been lucky: they were reported to be mortally wounded at Jenkins Ferry but were taken prisoner and remained at a Rebel prison camp until the the war's end. Comrade Robert Dalziel's wife learned he had died when a letter came back with the note, "Your husband is dead." Dalziel died of disease.
Peter Simon, who fought with Co. K, 21st Wisconsin, was wounded at Perryville on October 8, 1862 and taken prisoner. After a 113 day imprisonment, he rejoined the Army at Murfeesboro, Tennessee in March 1863. From there he went to Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and was on the campaign from Atlanta to the sea. He went through South Carolina swamps to North Carolina and participated in the last battle of Bentonville. Simon went on to be truant officer in Green Bay. Simon must have been a man of iron.
*The Ahnapee Record, 9/3/1885 says, "The pension laws provide that soldiers who have lost a leg at the hip joint or an arm at the shoulder joint in the service of the country, shall be entitled to pensions at the rate of $37.00 per month. It has been the custom of the pension department to construe this law strictly. There are less than a dozen cases on the pension rolls where the amputation has taken place exactly through the joints as mentioned." After test cases it was ruled that if the amputation was so near the hip or shoulder so as to "render the stumps unserviceable," the pensioner would be allowed the higher rate.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Saloons, Beer, and Old Kewaunee County
Blood alcohol levels and concern about operating under the influence have changed the way society thinks. In some respects, such issues have changed a whole way of life.
Surprising as it might be today, taverns and saloons were an integral part of society and culture among the hard working German, Bohemian and Belgian immigrants of Kewaunee County. Saloons were found at nearly every important crossroad. Quite often there would be a blacksmith, cheese factory or a church nearby. Perhaps a store. Sometimes saloons were part of a larger establishment that included a hotel and hall. In the days before telephones and daily newspapers, the tavern was the source of news, gossip and some even held the post office. The tavern was where one stopped after taking milk to the cheese factory. The tavern was where a family stopped after Sunday mass. While children played, the women sat outside together enjoying the company of one another, leaving the men to drink beer and discuss politics, crops, weather and more inside.
Women did not usually frequent a taproom though they did have their own entrances in such places as the Wisconsin House on the southeast corner of 4th and Steele in Ahnapee. There women could relax in the ladies' parlor - sometimes with a cigar or maybe even a pipe - with the whiskey that was brought to them. Boedecker's Wisconsin House as well as Bastar's, Nesemann's and others had "sample rooms" where spirits were served. Such rooms were places in which a traveling man's wares would be set out for inspection by local merchants.
Homemade beer whet many a whistle at early Wolf River and Ahnapee dances and celebrations. During the short time in 1866 that James Defaut was operating his 2nd Street store, sarsaparilla was in big demand. Newspapers of the era recommended purifying the blood with Ayres sarsaparilla and Ahnapee residents seemed to feel the need for such a medicinal product to sustain them. Some felt sarsaparilla kept one in good humor. Obviously it did as Defaut sold so much that his charge accounts were averaging an astonishing dollar every two weeks. George Powell was brewing during 1866 and George Laux and Mathias Simon opened another short-lived brewery in 1867. Ahnapee Brewery was built the following year. From then on, the community was supplied with good Ahnapee lager.
As important as beer was to Ahnapee, one of the village's first arguments came about because of beer and spirits. On May 2, 1877, yearly retail liquor license fees were raised from $25 to $150. Wholesale license fees were set at $40. A week later, William Bodecker showed up before the board with a delegation petitioning review of the new fees, but the board would not reconsider. Such discussions surfaced again a few years later when saloon keepers were directed to prevent minors from purchasing alcoholic beverages by prohibiting them from playing pool or billiards in the taverns.
As population grew, so the the number of saloons and taverns. That required more product. Henry Schmiling took Ahnapee Lager north aboard the Whiskey Pete. Rahrs' Green Bay beer went by schooner and then wagon to such places as Bay View and Dyckesville. Rahrs' beer became an Ahnapee staple after the village's brewery closed.
John Veeser ran a small brewery in Casco. It was either Wenzel Hlawacek and Wenzel Holup's or Anton Langenkamp's brewery in Carlton that prompted a request to the U.S. Post Office Department to rename Carlton Mills* as Pilsner. It didn't happen. Anton Mach started a brewery at Stangelville and went into partnership with Joseph Langer. Stephen Berni was well known and the Bavarian Brewery was a Kewaunee fixture for a time. Borgman and Deda were brewing in Kewaunee before 1884 when the company was sold to Wallner and Deda. Woyta Stranksy and Rufus Wing had a small brewery at Stransky's milling operations in what became West Kewaunee. One of the Marchants brewed beer in the early days of Red River.
Obituaries in early papers pointed out deceased who were "fond of the drink" and the heartache they caused their families. The papers told about men going home at the close of the evening only to slip into basement entrances in the boardwalks. Horse transportation often meant slippery streets, however one who was sober could have found himself in a similar predicament! One inebriated man was known to light a 4th of July cannon with a cigar in his mouth.According to the Record, he escaped with only a few powder burns.
Habitual drinking was frowned upon, but yet it was accepted. Groups, such as the Good Templars in Ahnapee, were a temperance organizations which faded from the scene. Years later Prohibition came to Kewaunee County as it did to the rest of the country. But, that's another story.
*Carlton Mills is Tisch Mills today. The picture is taken from the 1876 Kewaunee County Plat Map.
Surprising as it might be today, taverns and saloons were an integral part of society and culture among the hard working German, Bohemian and Belgian immigrants of Kewaunee County. Saloons were found at nearly every important crossroad. Quite often there would be a blacksmith, cheese factory or a church nearby. Perhaps a store. Sometimes saloons were part of a larger establishment that included a hotel and hall. In the days before telephones and daily newspapers, the tavern was the source of news, gossip and some even held the post office. The tavern was where one stopped after taking milk to the cheese factory. The tavern was where a family stopped after Sunday mass. While children played, the women sat outside together enjoying the company of one another, leaving the men to drink beer and discuss politics, crops, weather and more inside.
Women did not usually frequent a taproom though they did have their own entrances in such places as the Wisconsin House on the southeast corner of 4th and Steele in Ahnapee. There women could relax in the ladies' parlor - sometimes with a cigar or maybe even a pipe - with the whiskey that was brought to them. Boedecker's Wisconsin House as well as Bastar's, Nesemann's and others had "sample rooms" where spirits were served. Such rooms were places in which a traveling man's wares would be set out for inspection by local merchants.
Homemade beer whet many a whistle at early Wolf River and Ahnapee dances and celebrations. During the short time in 1866 that James Defaut was operating his 2nd Street store, sarsaparilla was in big demand. Newspapers of the era recommended purifying the blood with Ayres sarsaparilla and Ahnapee residents seemed to feel the need for such a medicinal product to sustain them. Some felt sarsaparilla kept one in good humor. Obviously it did as Defaut sold so much that his charge accounts were averaging an astonishing dollar every two weeks. George Powell was brewing during 1866 and George Laux and Mathias Simon opened another short-lived brewery in 1867. Ahnapee Brewery was built the following year. From then on, the community was supplied with good Ahnapee lager. As important as beer was to Ahnapee, one of the village's first arguments came about because of beer and spirits. On May 2, 1877, yearly retail liquor license fees were raised from $25 to $150. Wholesale license fees were set at $40. A week later, William Bodecker showed up before the board with a delegation petitioning review of the new fees, but the board would not reconsider. Such discussions surfaced again a few years later when saloon keepers were directed to prevent minors from purchasing alcoholic beverages by prohibiting them from playing pool or billiards in the taverns.
As population grew, so the the number of saloons and taverns. That required more product. Henry Schmiling took Ahnapee Lager north aboard the Whiskey Pete. Rahrs' Green Bay beer went by schooner and then wagon to such places as Bay View and Dyckesville. Rahrs' beer became an Ahnapee staple after the village's brewery closed.
John Veeser ran a small brewery in Casco. It was either Wenzel Hlawacek and Wenzel Holup's or Anton Langenkamp's brewery in Carlton that prompted a request to the U.S. Post Office Department to rename Carlton Mills* as Pilsner. It didn't happen. Anton Mach started a brewery at Stangelville and went into partnership with Joseph Langer. Stephen Berni was well known and the Bavarian Brewery was a Kewaunee fixture for a time. Borgman and Deda were brewing in Kewaunee before 1884 when the company was sold to Wallner and Deda. Woyta Stranksy and Rufus Wing had a small brewery at Stransky's milling operations in what became West Kewaunee. One of the Marchants brewed beer in the early days of Red River.
Obituaries in early papers pointed out deceased who were "fond of the drink" and the heartache they caused their families. The papers told about men going home at the close of the evening only to slip into basement entrances in the boardwalks. Horse transportation often meant slippery streets, however one who was sober could have found himself in a similar predicament! One inebriated man was known to light a 4th of July cannon with a cigar in his mouth.According to the Record, he escaped with only a few powder burns.
Habitual drinking was frowned upon, but yet it was accepted. Groups, such as the Good Templars in Ahnapee, were a temperance organizations which faded from the scene. Years later Prohibition came to Kewaunee County as it did to the rest of the country. But, that's another story.
*Carlton Mills is Tisch Mills today. The picture is taken from the 1876 Kewaunee County Plat Map.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Kewaunee County and the Civil War: Enrollments
An article appearing in the May 24, 1862 Door County Advocate pointed out the desirable pay for those who felt they could recruit men for the war between the North and South. Continuing saying Governor Salmon had called for another regiment, the paper said anyone who felt he could raise men was invited to apply as soon as possible. Kewaunee merchant Charles Cunningham did just that. Prior to being accepted as an Enrolling Officer, Cunningham was required to to take an oath and send the signed form to the Enrollment Board. Compensation was $3 per every day spent taking care of duties.
Officer Cunningham was appointed by the Board of Enrollment at the Headquarters of the Provost, which provided instructions to be followed. Men between 20 and 45, whose legal domicile was in the district, were to be enrolled, even if they could claim an exemption. If the men were sailors, college students, traveling merchants, or otherwise away, they were to be enrolled in their respective districts. The intent to become a citizen and the filing of a Declaration of Intent was to be noted. Enrolling officers had to make judgements from information given, however exceptions were decided only by the Enrollment Board. Widowers between 35 and 45 were to be enrolled in Class 1. Officers were admonished that names be "plainly written and correctly spelled" when the lists were sent as often as regulated by the Provost.
Red River residents Michael Bradael and Louis Marchant were two of those appointed to serve the notices at each enrolled man's home. The lists appeared on forms which had space for the town in which the notice was served, the date of serving, and remarks. Pierce Town residents Andrew Laubenstein, Peter Lauscher and Joseph Smeyler were not home on December 1 when their notices were served and left there. Francois Leblanc, Louis Boucher and Constant Martin were three of the Red River men who received the notices personally. Kewaunee's Peter Haney was not to be found. Neither were Louis Chaleck or Sauve Vordeker of Casco.
On further examination, it was often learned that the man, such as Michael Knapp, who could not be found no longer lived the specific town or that nobody had ever heard the name. In one Town of Carlton case, the man who was to receive the draft notice, Peter Mathiewson, had died. Sometimes residents relocated to other towns, or even out of the area. Henry Decker's notice was left at his last residence in Carlton.
Exemptions were given for a variety of reasons. Some with political clout - such as Edward Decker, his family members and friends - were able to purchase substitutes or secure an exemption. Francois Leblanc and his brother lived in Red River. Since they were full blooded Indians, they were exempted. Clement Tombal was over age as was David Frisque of Casco, but Franklin's Casper Kineck was too young. Herbert Frisque was the father of a motherless child. Robert Richmond of Ahnapee had heart disease and Nicholas Stoffels of Kewaunee was the son of aged parents. Louis Strela of Carlton had a dislocated hip and John Liebeck of Montpelier had malformed feet. B.D. Hills and S.L. Keeth were exempted by loss of teeth. Loss of a thumb kept Hover Hoverson in Franklin. Albert Fenker had epilepsy.
Curious is Hubert Lauscher, a young Pierce Town resident. Proving he was not yet 20 was a challenge. Hubert's father, Peter Lauscher, filed an affidavit saying the family had come from Prussia where Hubert was born in 1845. Lauscher went on to say that while they were living in the Town of Lake, Milwaukee County, in March 1856, their home was destroyed by a fire in which they lost all documents and records. Attorney Lyman Walker, who became the county school superintendent, notarized Lauscher's account. Walker also took statements from Frank Miller and Mr. Dominick who swore they knew Hubert was underage as the families came from the same place, Aachen in Prussia. Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, an online digital book from the Wisconsin Historical Society Library says Hubert Lauscher eventually served with Co. A, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry. His tombstone at St. Mary's Cemetery in Alaska indicates he was born in 1834 and died in 1888. It further says he served in Co. C, 21st Wisconsin Infantry.
The list of deserters was exceptionally long, but not all on the list actually deserted. Henry Schock of Kewaunee was on the list but he did not desert. He paid for a substitute. George Wing's Civil War list points to a number of deserters whose names do not appear on the Enrollment Board's list. Several, such as Lincoln's John Andre, served and was honorably discharged. Andre, in fact, initially received two pensions. He was a young Frenchman who arrived with the Belgians and lived in the Rosiere area. His story was the same as a number of other men in his company. The Belgian men were living in the wilderness with a wives less than 20 years old. In most cases, there were toddlers and the wife was pregnant. In the case of Andre, and others in the group from Lincoln, the men left Fond du Lac at Christmas to walk home to Rosiere to ensure their wives had firewood and meat. Two weeks later, the men were back in camp. AWOL, but not deserters.
Springfield, Illinois was the site of the Government Military Claims Office. Established in April 1861, the office serving the western states was supposed to be the final bureau for claims against the government. Printed information indicates that men serving two years would receive the $300 bounty thought discharge papers had to be first found in order. Soldiers discharged because of wounds were to receive $100, however it was felt that Congress would eventually enact legislation putting the wounded on an equal footing. Claims for horses were accepted as were property claims of loyal citizens in border states. Processing fees were prescribed by law. Widows, fatherless children, mothers, fathers and invalids were provided with claim instructions. Those who were unable to collect their premiums got them through the Military Claims Office.
Unauthorized and irresponsible attorneys and agents were offering to prosecute claims. There were scam,s and soldiers were cautioned to wait until they got home to apply for any monetary claim.
Technology has greatly reshaped our world, yet one hundred fifty years after the Great War, some things never changed. The idiom "jumping through hoops" tells as much about the world today as it did then.
Officer Cunningham was appointed by the Board of Enrollment at the Headquarters of the Provost, which provided instructions to be followed. Men between 20 and 45, whose legal domicile was in the district, were to be enrolled, even if they could claim an exemption. If the men were sailors, college students, traveling merchants, or otherwise away, they were to be enrolled in their respective districts. The intent to become a citizen and the filing of a Declaration of Intent was to be noted. Enrolling officers had to make judgements from information given, however exceptions were decided only by the Enrollment Board. Widowers between 35 and 45 were to be enrolled in Class 1. Officers were admonished that names be "plainly written and correctly spelled" when the lists were sent as often as regulated by the Provost.
Red River residents Michael Bradael and Louis Marchant were two of those appointed to serve the notices at each enrolled man's home. The lists appeared on forms which had space for the town in which the notice was served, the date of serving, and remarks. Pierce Town residents Andrew Laubenstein, Peter Lauscher and Joseph Smeyler were not home on December 1 when their notices were served and left there. Francois Leblanc, Louis Boucher and Constant Martin were three of the Red River men who received the notices personally. Kewaunee's Peter Haney was not to be found. Neither were Louis Chaleck or Sauve Vordeker of Casco.
On further examination, it was often learned that the man, such as Michael Knapp, who could not be found no longer lived the specific town or that nobody had ever heard the name. In one Town of Carlton case, the man who was to receive the draft notice, Peter Mathiewson, had died. Sometimes residents relocated to other towns, or even out of the area. Henry Decker's notice was left at his last residence in Carlton.Exemptions were given for a variety of reasons. Some with political clout - such as Edward Decker, his family members and friends - were able to purchase substitutes or secure an exemption. Francois Leblanc and his brother lived in Red River. Since they were full blooded Indians, they were exempted. Clement Tombal was over age as was David Frisque of Casco, but Franklin's Casper Kineck was too young. Herbert Frisque was the father of a motherless child. Robert Richmond of Ahnapee had heart disease and Nicholas Stoffels of Kewaunee was the son of aged parents. Louis Strela of Carlton had a dislocated hip and John Liebeck of Montpelier had malformed feet. B.D. Hills and S.L. Keeth were exempted by loss of teeth. Loss of a thumb kept Hover Hoverson in Franklin. Albert Fenker had epilepsy.
Curious is Hubert Lauscher, a young Pierce Town resident. Proving he was not yet 20 was a challenge. Hubert's father, Peter Lauscher, filed an affidavit saying the family had come from Prussia where Hubert was born in 1845. Lauscher went on to say that while they were living in the Town of Lake, Milwaukee County, in March 1856, their home was destroyed by a fire in which they lost all documents and records. Attorney Lyman Walker, who became the county school superintendent, notarized Lauscher's account. Walker also took statements from Frank Miller and Mr. Dominick who swore they knew Hubert was underage as the families came from the same place, Aachen in Prussia. Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, an online digital book from the Wisconsin Historical Society Library says Hubert Lauscher eventually served with Co. A, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry. His tombstone at St. Mary's Cemetery in Alaska indicates he was born in 1834 and died in 1888. It further says he served in Co. C, 21st Wisconsin Infantry.
The list of deserters was exceptionally long, but not all on the list actually deserted. Henry Schock of Kewaunee was on the list but he did not desert. He paid for a substitute. George Wing's Civil War list points to a number of deserters whose names do not appear on the Enrollment Board's list. Several, such as Lincoln's John Andre, served and was honorably discharged. Andre, in fact, initially received two pensions. He was a young Frenchman who arrived with the Belgians and lived in the Rosiere area. His story was the same as a number of other men in his company. The Belgian men were living in the wilderness with a wives less than 20 years old. In most cases, there were toddlers and the wife was pregnant. In the case of Andre, and others in the group from Lincoln, the men left Fond du Lac at Christmas to walk home to Rosiere to ensure their wives had firewood and meat. Two weeks later, the men were back in camp. AWOL, but not deserters.
Springfield, Illinois was the site of the Government Military Claims Office. Established in April 1861, the office serving the western states was supposed to be the final bureau for claims against the government. Printed information indicates that men serving two years would receive the $300 bounty thought discharge papers had to be first found in order. Soldiers discharged because of wounds were to receive $100, however it was felt that Congress would eventually enact legislation putting the wounded on an equal footing. Claims for horses were accepted as were property claims of loyal citizens in border states. Processing fees were prescribed by law. Widows, fatherless children, mothers, fathers and invalids were provided with claim instructions. Those who were unable to collect their premiums got them through the Military Claims Office.
Unauthorized and irresponsible attorneys and agents were offering to prosecute claims. There were scam,s and soldiers were cautioned to wait until they got home to apply for any monetary claim.
Technology has greatly reshaped our world, yet one hundred fifty years after the Great War, some things never changed. The idiom "jumping through hoops" tells as much about the world today as it did then.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Major William Henry: Kewaunee County's Most Distinguished Civil War Soldier
Forty-one year old William Henry was one of the Ahnapee and Forestville men boarding the Comet in Ahnapee on October 13,1861. The men joined the Manitowoc and Kewaunee Rifles, which came to be known as Co. E, 14th Wisconsin Voluntary Infantry. It was not long before the men were on the Civil War battlefields, many on the lists of killed or wounded. Some died of disease. Others came home. Though Henry enlisted as a Private, the old fisherman provided leadership. Maybe it was because Henry was a bit older than many of the men on the Comet that day. Perhaps it was as some said: He was a dour Scotsman who "knew what had to be done and he did it".
Kewaunee recruits were picked up earlier in the day, but it was at Ahnapee where the men were really given a "send off." Recruits, wearing badges of red, white and blue, marched through the city while the band played and banners and handkerchiefs waved amidst the loud cheering. In its next edition, the Enterprize* commented, "May they all have pleasant times, a short campaign, a brilliant victory and a safe return to their families." Little did the paper know what would come next. Sometime later one identified only as Lottie of Mishe-Nahma published a poem, "A Parting Tribute to the Ahnapee Volunteers."
The 14th went to Tennessee and saw action at Shiloh, also known as Pittsburg Landing. Overshadowing the news regarding men of Kewaunee County was that Governor Louis Harvey died. Harvey was taking medical supplies to Wisconsin troops, wounded at Shiloh and being cared for in hospital boats. On an overnight stop near Shiloh, Harvey was stepping from a tethered boat to a moving steamboat that was returning North when he fell into the Tennessee River and drowned. It took two weeks for his body to be found 65 miles down river.
William Henry was a part of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin during the battle at Shiloh and many credited him with saving lives. Lt. Waldo was the company's only officer killed. Ezra Austin had chest and leg wounds and died a short time after. J. Wintermayer had a bullet to the back of the neck and John Lovell had other injuries.
Later it was said that the 14th did such a credible job at Shiloh "due to the stand of the grizzled old fisherman from Wolf River." Henry led much of Co. E. and part of the regiment without even being aware of it. He was silently directing battle by his advances and retreats. When his comrades realized what he was doing, they felt it was good to "tie to" and followed his lead. Henry advanced to captain. He and his men served with the same distinction at Vicksburg and Corinth they had shown at Shiloh.
With a three-week furlough in January 1864, Co. E joined family and friends in Kewaunee County. William Henry spent time recruiting to fill ranks, although most of his men had re-enlisted, thus getting both the $402 bounty and the furlough. Ranks were partially filled by those too young to go the first time, and the re-enlistees looked clean and neat. Then leave was extended. A February snowstorm blocked roads, preventing a return to Madison. The delay meant Co. E could not join the Red River expedition only to be organized under Major Worden to march with General Sherman in the famous March to the Sea. Co. E went through the Carolinas and to Washington, D.C. before rejoining their regiment at Montgomery. At the war's end, Co. E was in camp at Mobile, Alabama facing the prospect of being sent to the Mexican frontier. Things changed and Co. E was mustered out at Mobile 1865.
Henry's leadership was recognized and he became Kewaunee County's most distinguished soldier, advancing to the rank of major.
Note: Henry was an 1854 arrival in Wolf River. He occupied the log home on Rosier Place, now the southwest corner of Lake and Jefferson Streets in Algoma. Following his discharge at Mobile in October 1865 Henry returned to Ahnapee then living on the bluff on the north side of the river on the point at which the Ahnapee River meets Lake Michigan. It was at that point where Henry began building ships. As a shipwright he was much in demand.
*Enterprize became Enterprise in 1861. Ahnepee and Ahnapee were used interchangeably until 1873 when the village was incorporated.
Kewaunee recruits were picked up earlier in the day, but it was at Ahnapee where the men were really given a "send off." Recruits, wearing badges of red, white and blue, marched through the city while the band played and banners and handkerchiefs waved amidst the loud cheering. In its next edition, the Enterprize* commented, "May they all have pleasant times, a short campaign, a brilliant victory and a safe return to their families." Little did the paper know what would come next. Sometime later one identified only as Lottie of Mishe-Nahma published a poem, "A Parting Tribute to the Ahnapee Volunteers."
The 14th went to Tennessee and saw action at Shiloh, also known as Pittsburg Landing. Overshadowing the news regarding men of Kewaunee County was that Governor Louis Harvey died. Harvey was taking medical supplies to Wisconsin troops, wounded at Shiloh and being cared for in hospital boats. On an overnight stop near Shiloh, Harvey was stepping from a tethered boat to a moving steamboat that was returning North when he fell into the Tennessee River and drowned. It took two weeks for his body to be found 65 miles down river.
William Henry was a part of Co. E, 14th Wisconsin during the battle at Shiloh and many credited him with saving lives. Lt. Waldo was the company's only officer killed. Ezra Austin had chest and leg wounds and died a short time after. J. Wintermayer had a bullet to the back of the neck and John Lovell had other injuries.
Later it was said that the 14th did such a credible job at Shiloh "due to the stand of the grizzled old fisherman from Wolf River." Henry led much of Co. E. and part of the regiment without even being aware of it. He was silently directing battle by his advances and retreats. When his comrades realized what he was doing, they felt it was good to "tie to" and followed his lead. Henry advanced to captain. He and his men served with the same distinction at Vicksburg and Corinth they had shown at Shiloh.
With a three-week furlough in January 1864, Co. E joined family and friends in Kewaunee County. William Henry spent time recruiting to fill ranks, although most of his men had re-enlisted, thus getting both the $402 bounty and the furlough. Ranks were partially filled by those too young to go the first time, and the re-enlistees looked clean and neat. Then leave was extended. A February snowstorm blocked roads, preventing a return to Madison. The delay meant Co. E could not join the Red River expedition only to be organized under Major Worden to march with General Sherman in the famous March to the Sea. Co. E went through the Carolinas and to Washington, D.C. before rejoining their regiment at Montgomery. At the war's end, Co. E was in camp at Mobile, Alabama facing the prospect of being sent to the Mexican frontier. Things changed and Co. E was mustered out at Mobile 1865.
Henry's leadership was recognized and he became Kewaunee County's most distinguished soldier, advancing to the rank of major.
Note: Henry was an 1854 arrival in Wolf River. He occupied the log home on Rosier Place, now the southwest corner of Lake and Jefferson Streets in Algoma. Following his discharge at Mobile in October 1865 Henry returned to Ahnapee then living on the bluff on the north side of the river on the point at which the Ahnapee River meets Lake Michigan. It was at that point where Henry began building ships. As a shipwright he was much in demand.
*Enterprize became Enterprise in 1861. Ahnepee and Ahnapee were used interchangeably until 1873 when the village was incorporated.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Co. A, 27th Wisconsin: Men of Kewaunee County
War fever and the excitement following the firing on Fort Sumter, prompted 90- day enlistments, though the eager men could hardly be trained, equipped and armed in so short a time. Northerners, as well as their Southern counterparts, felt they'd surely whip the other side in those three months. What is often forgotten is that the Militia Act of 1795 was still in effect thus limiting federalization of state militias to 90 days. When President Abraham Lincoln, by executive order, called for three-year volunteer in May 1861, there were those who felt he was in violation of the Constitution which granted Congress exclusive authority to raise and support and army and to provide and maintain a navy.
Two months later, on July 22, Lincoln signed a bill calling for the enlistment of another 500,000 men for up to three years. The Battle of Bull Run on July 21 was the first major battle of the war. It forced both the North and South to acknowledge that the war would be bloodier and longer than anticipated.
During early July 1862,Wisconsin Governor Edward Salmon called for volunteers to fill regiments in the field and to raise five additional regiments. Those filling the regiments received a $3 premium, $25 of a $100 bounty before leaving the state, and one month's pay in advance. Volunteers for new regiments received a $2 premium, rather than the $3, even though their enlistments would be for 3 years. Money was a problem, however, as gold was in short supply and there was little faith in currency. There was neither a bounty nor a choice in company or regiment if one was drafted. It was in this way that Co. A, 27th Wisconsin, the only all Kewaunee County military to serve in the Great War, was organized.
Kewaunee County's first draft was set to raise 304 men on August 11, 1862. Forty-nine enlisted. Active recruiting began and within 20 days there were 109 men, however the quota was still short. Kewaunee merchant Charles A. Cunningham went to Madison where he was authorized to raise a volunteer company. Cunningham was the son of a Boston ship owner who had gone to China on one of his father's tea ships. He had served as chair of the Kewaunee County Board in 1860. He had unique experiences and was well known.
Cunningham raised men by running a newspaper ad in the Enterprize* urging men not to wait for the draft by saying volunteering was a way to increase income. He was reported to be taking enlistments on the porch of the Steamboat House where he told the men he would go with them as their captain. Cunningham was commissioned on August 19, 1862. When Co. A went to Milwaukee, the company stood at 118 men. The original group mustered in on August 15, 1862 and mustered out at Brownsville, Texas, on August 29, 1865. Joseph Peplinsky was one who joined the men a week later.
Before Co. A left for Milwaukee, Aaron Cory, Joseph Boutin and Milton McKinnon were chosen as corporals. In most regiments, the men elected their company officers. Governors selected the field officers such as colonels, lieutenant colonels and majors while the president appointed the brigadier and major generals who were confirmed by the Senate. Few field officers or company officers had any training.
On March 13, 1863 the 27th - with Co. A - left Milwaukee for Columbus, Kentucky. Thomas Grover died of disease the following week week. Two months later, the men were attached to the District of Columbus, a part of the Department of the Tennessee. By August, the 27th was a part of Kimball's Division attached to the Division of Eastern Arkansas. Joseph Trudell died of disease on August 18th. It was only a few weeks before the swamps of Arkansas caused disease and death among the men of Co. A.
Robert Dalziel died of disease on October 2. Four days before Barney Nadeau and John Winterbottom were discharged due to disease on October 26, Timothy Priest died.
Others died of disease after leaving Arkansas but whether or not their illnesses had their start in the Arkansas swamps is any one's guess. David Lonegren died of disease. Conrad Plinke lasted until October 1864. Charles Baldwin was discharged with a disability on January 1, 1865. August Boedecker enlisted in Co. A on February 20, 1864 only to die of disease four months later on June 17. Albia Hawkins enlisted a week after Boedecker and died on July 30. Nathaniel Wickham died in early May.
Safra Villet was the first of the men to be killed in the Camden action on April 3, 1864 and Lawrence Dickenhort was killed on the 30th. Frank Trudell died of wounds in April 1865, just three months before his brother Alexander was transferred from Co. A. John Borland's wounds prompted his discharge on July 12.
Milton and Isaac McKinnon, Reuben Cory, John McNally, John Arendt, Duffy Boutin, Joseph Boutin, Gottfried Bohne, John Dishmaker, Valentine Hoffman, Jacob Thayer, Peter Stoffels. Adolph Duval, John Gonyon and Ignatius Scammon were some of those who enlisted on August 15, 1862. They mustered out and left Brownsville for home on August 29, 1865.
Captain Cunningham also mustered out that day but he never returned to the area. W.S. Finley, who eventually served as draft commissioner, purchased Cunningham's interest in the lumber and mercantile business known as Taylor and Cunningham in May 1863.
When Finley was appointed Kewaunee postmaster on August 31, 1861, the post office was moved to his store. Although the year does not appear in the postmark, it must have been between March 1862 and March 1864, reflecting Finley's tenure. Finley's signature is the cancel with a concentric circle stamp in addition to the circular date stamp.
Two months later, on July 22, Lincoln signed a bill calling for the enlistment of another 500,000 men for up to three years. The Battle of Bull Run on July 21 was the first major battle of the war. It forced both the North and South to acknowledge that the war would be bloodier and longer than anticipated.
During early July 1862,Wisconsin Governor Edward Salmon called for volunteers to fill regiments in the field and to raise five additional regiments. Those filling the regiments received a $3 premium, $25 of a $100 bounty before leaving the state, and one month's pay in advance. Volunteers for new regiments received a $2 premium, rather than the $3, even though their enlistments would be for 3 years. Money was a problem, however, as gold was in short supply and there was little faith in currency. There was neither a bounty nor a choice in company or regiment if one was drafted. It was in this way that Co. A, 27th Wisconsin, the only all Kewaunee County military to serve in the Great War, was organized.
Kewaunee County's first draft was set to raise 304 men on August 11, 1862. Forty-nine enlisted. Active recruiting began and within 20 days there were 109 men, however the quota was still short. Kewaunee merchant Charles A. Cunningham went to Madison where he was authorized to raise a volunteer company. Cunningham was the son of a Boston ship owner who had gone to China on one of his father's tea ships. He had served as chair of the Kewaunee County Board in 1860. He had unique experiences and was well known.
Cunningham raised men by running a newspaper ad in the Enterprize* urging men not to wait for the draft by saying volunteering was a way to increase income. He was reported to be taking enlistments on the porch of the Steamboat House where he told the men he would go with them as their captain. Cunningham was commissioned on August 19, 1862. When Co. A went to Milwaukee, the company stood at 118 men. The original group mustered in on August 15, 1862 and mustered out at Brownsville, Texas, on August 29, 1865. Joseph Peplinsky was one who joined the men a week later.
Before Co. A left for Milwaukee, Aaron Cory, Joseph Boutin and Milton McKinnon were chosen as corporals. In most regiments, the men elected their company officers. Governors selected the field officers such as colonels, lieutenant colonels and majors while the president appointed the brigadier and major generals who were confirmed by the Senate. Few field officers or company officers had any training.
On March 13, 1863 the 27th - with Co. A - left Milwaukee for Columbus, Kentucky. Thomas Grover died of disease the following week week. Two months later, the men were attached to the District of Columbus, a part of the Department of the Tennessee. By August, the 27th was a part of Kimball's Division attached to the Division of Eastern Arkansas. Joseph Trudell died of disease on August 18th. It was only a few weeks before the swamps of Arkansas caused disease and death among the men of Co. A.
Robert Dalziel died of disease on October 2. Four days before Barney Nadeau and John Winterbottom were discharged due to disease on October 26, Timothy Priest died.
Others died of disease after leaving Arkansas but whether or not their illnesses had their start in the Arkansas swamps is any one's guess. David Lonegren died of disease. Conrad Plinke lasted until October 1864. Charles Baldwin was discharged with a disability on January 1, 1865. August Boedecker enlisted in Co. A on February 20, 1864 only to die of disease four months later on June 17. Albia Hawkins enlisted a week after Boedecker and died on July 30. Nathaniel Wickham died in early May.
Safra Villet was the first of the men to be killed in the Camden action on April 3, 1864 and Lawrence Dickenhort was killed on the 30th. Frank Trudell died of wounds in April 1865, just three months before his brother Alexander was transferred from Co. A. John Borland's wounds prompted his discharge on July 12.
Milton and Isaac McKinnon, Reuben Cory, John McNally, John Arendt, Duffy Boutin, Joseph Boutin, Gottfried Bohne, John Dishmaker, Valentine Hoffman, Jacob Thayer, Peter Stoffels. Adolph Duval, John Gonyon and Ignatius Scammon were some of those who enlisted on August 15, 1862. They mustered out and left Brownsville for home on August 29, 1865.
Captain Cunningham also mustered out that day but he never returned to the area. W.S. Finley, who eventually served as draft commissioner, purchased Cunningham's interest in the lumber and mercantile business known as Taylor and Cunningham in May 1863.
When Finley was appointed Kewaunee postmaster on August 31, 1861, the post office was moved to his store. Although the year does not appear in the postmark, it must have been between March 1862 and March 1864, reflecting Finley's tenure. Finley's signature is the cancel with a concentric circle stamp in addition to the circular date stamp.
*The Enterprize became the Enterprise in 1865. Names are spelled as they appear in military records. The postcard appears in Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, C. 2008, and is in the author's collection.
The Goettinger Murder: A Kewaunee County Who Done It?
Some said it was the ghost of John Goettinger. Others said it was phosphorus in low lying areas. Still others said it was a low hanging lantern seen only at night, and only between 9:00 and midnight at that. For some reason there seemed to be a mysterious light in the evening sky along the river over the ashes of the little log home that once stood on the Goettinger property. On July 31, 1878, the nearly unrecognized corpse of John Goettinger was discovered. The body was burned to a crisp. But how?
John Goettinger and his wife Margaret settled in the Town of Ahnapee in 1855, beginning their life in the new world in Section 9 up river from the hamlet then called Wolf River. Goettinger was known to be a hard man as many of his generation were. He enlisted and physically survived the Civil War. Though he won respect for his courage, in today's world his emotional stability might have been called into question.
At the time of his murder, Gottinger was living alone. His wife had moved in with their daughter and son-in-law, a man with whom John was on unfriendly terms. At first his son-in-law and the hired man were suspected of murder.
On Monday morning July 22, 1878 townsfolk heard the news that Goettinger's house had burned and that he was missing. It was generally well known that Goettinger's disposition had gotten worse in the preceding months and that he was even worse at home before his wife left. He drank to excess and was also involved in several lawsuits. What left people wondering was why John himself didn't come into town to report the fire. Where was he?
Finally Judge Stransky sent the Coopers to investigate, and when they arrived at the farm the men met two boys who had just found a corpse. John Cooper guarded the scene while James Cooper returned to town. Justice J.R. McDonald quickly empaneled a jury that returned to the farm. It was learned the victim had been in town paying bills a day earlier. As some payments were paid with silver, it was believed he had about $15 in silver in his pocket. He had been seen working in the fields later, about 6 PM. As it was evening, the investigators couldn't do much but did spend the next two days speaking with witnesses and examining the rubble. Goettinger had been wearing his Civil War tunic - nobody would throw away perfectly usable clothing even though the war had ended - and the buttons were there. The silver was not. The jury decided John was dead before the fire started and that robbery could have been a factor.
Mrs. Goettinger had begun divorce proceedings, however the remains were turned over to her for burial as she said she would pay for it. Investigations and cross examinations continued. Even the hay field in which Goettinger was last seen was examined for blood. By August 13 the jury was completely baffled and decided that Goettinger came to his death by persons unknown.
The murder festered in the minds of residents and in the minds of those who might have had a hand in it.
Four years after the murder, in March 1882, Goettinger's wife Margaret, his daughter Catherine and her husband Jacob Blarnek were arrested on a warrant issued by Justice Shea of Kewaunee. New evidence came to life when Blarnek's employee Jacob Kozina said it was Mrs. Goettinger and her daughter Catherine Blarnek who killed John Goettinger. Kozina said that during an angry quarrel, one of the women stabbed Goettinger below the belt with a pitchfork. He said they covered the body with hay until they could return it to the Goettinger home after dark. All were required to post bail. Kozina didn't have the money and some Ahnapee residents furnished his bail. Kozina said he had not come forward earlier because Jacob Blarnek threatened to kill him if he ever told what he saw. The knowledge became more than he could bear.
On May 5, 1882 the Enterprise reported that the only jury case for the term was that against Jacob Blarnek and wife in the murder of John Goettinger. Margaret Goettinger had been found dead. Jury selection was difficult as the state had 12 peremptory challenges and the defense had 48. It wasn't long before the panel was exhausted. Seventy-five more were called. Few, if any, from the Town of Ahnapee were listed among he final jurors. William Timlin was the prosecuting attorney while R.L. Wing offered the defense. The Enterprise hoped for a quick verdict as it felt the whole thing had been festering too long.
Jacob Blarnek and his wife Catherine were acquitted. A new trial was set as it was felt Catherine might have been prejudiced because of enmity between her husband and and her father John Goettinger. Such evidence would not have been permissible had she been tried alone.
Years later the case again came to light because Margaret Goettinger was found to be buried beneath the fence around St. Mary's cemetery. Speculation was that the property had been resurveyed. But because the tombstone appeared flat, and therefore considered undignified, some felt character might have been called into play.
Margaret Goettinger's body was found floating face down in the Ahnapee River while she was out on bail, before the case went to court in 1882. Did she fall into the river and drown? Did she suffer a stroke or heart attack? Or could she no longer live with the guilt only to commit suicide? Nobody knew. By burying Margaret under the fence, the church covered its bases. In those days, those who had committed suicide were not buried in consecrated ground. Margaret Goettinger was a little bit in and a little bit out. Did she, or didn't she. Nobody knew.
John Goettinger and his wife Margaret settled in the Town of Ahnapee in 1855, beginning their life in the new world in Section 9 up river from the hamlet then called Wolf River. Goettinger was known to be a hard man as many of his generation were. He enlisted and physically survived the Civil War. Though he won respect for his courage, in today's world his emotional stability might have been called into question.At the time of his murder, Gottinger was living alone. His wife had moved in with their daughter and son-in-law, a man with whom John was on unfriendly terms. At first his son-in-law and the hired man were suspected of murder.
On Monday morning July 22, 1878 townsfolk heard the news that Goettinger's house had burned and that he was missing. It was generally well known that Goettinger's disposition had gotten worse in the preceding months and that he was even worse at home before his wife left. He drank to excess and was also involved in several lawsuits. What left people wondering was why John himself didn't come into town to report the fire. Where was he?
Finally Judge Stransky sent the Coopers to investigate, and when they arrived at the farm the men met two boys who had just found a corpse. John Cooper guarded the scene while James Cooper returned to town. Justice J.R. McDonald quickly empaneled a jury that returned to the farm. It was learned the victim had been in town paying bills a day earlier. As some payments were paid with silver, it was believed he had about $15 in silver in his pocket. He had been seen working in the fields later, about 6 PM. As it was evening, the investigators couldn't do much but did spend the next two days speaking with witnesses and examining the rubble. Goettinger had been wearing his Civil War tunic - nobody would throw away perfectly usable clothing even though the war had ended - and the buttons were there. The silver was not. The jury decided John was dead before the fire started and that robbery could have been a factor.
Mrs. Goettinger had begun divorce proceedings, however the remains were turned over to her for burial as she said she would pay for it. Investigations and cross examinations continued. Even the hay field in which Goettinger was last seen was examined for blood. By August 13 the jury was completely baffled and decided that Goettinger came to his death by persons unknown.
The murder festered in the minds of residents and in the minds of those who might have had a hand in it.
Four years after the murder, in March 1882, Goettinger's wife Margaret, his daughter Catherine and her husband Jacob Blarnek were arrested on a warrant issued by Justice Shea of Kewaunee. New evidence came to life when Blarnek's employee Jacob Kozina said it was Mrs. Goettinger and her daughter Catherine Blarnek who killed John Goettinger. Kozina said that during an angry quarrel, one of the women stabbed Goettinger below the belt with a pitchfork. He said they covered the body with hay until they could return it to the Goettinger home after dark. All were required to post bail. Kozina didn't have the money and some Ahnapee residents furnished his bail. Kozina said he had not come forward earlier because Jacob Blarnek threatened to kill him if he ever told what he saw. The knowledge became more than he could bear.
On May 5, 1882 the Enterprise reported that the only jury case for the term was that against Jacob Blarnek and wife in the murder of John Goettinger. Margaret Goettinger had been found dead. Jury selection was difficult as the state had 12 peremptory challenges and the defense had 48. It wasn't long before the panel was exhausted. Seventy-five more were called. Few, if any, from the Town of Ahnapee were listed among he final jurors. William Timlin was the prosecuting attorney while R.L. Wing offered the defense. The Enterprise hoped for a quick verdict as it felt the whole thing had been festering too long.
Jacob Blarnek and his wife Catherine were acquitted. A new trial was set as it was felt Catherine might have been prejudiced because of enmity between her husband and and her father John Goettinger. Such evidence would not have been permissible had she been tried alone.
Years later the case again came to light because Margaret Goettinger was found to be buried beneath the fence around St. Mary's cemetery. Speculation was that the property had been resurveyed. But because the tombstone appeared flat, and therefore considered undignified, some felt character might have been called into play.
Margaret Goettinger's body was found floating face down in the Ahnapee River while she was out on bail, before the case went to court in 1882. Did she fall into the river and drown? Did she suffer a stroke or heart attack? Or could she no longer live with the guilt only to commit suicide? Nobody knew. By burying Margaret under the fence, the church covered its bases. In those days, those who had committed suicide were not buried in consecrated ground. Margaret Goettinger was a little bit in and a little bit out. Did she, or didn't she. Nobody knew.
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