"Sligo" is the name of a county in northeastern Ireland, overlooking the Donegal Bay to the north; a stretch of old Erin, bounded by County Mayo on the east, Roscommon on the south, and Leitrim on the west, with seventy-five or eighty miles of ragged coastline bordering the bay. It is a very small county, not more than thirty miles across at its greatest breadth. We are in doubt as to why its name was selected by the earliest Irish immigrants as the one to be applied to the locality they settled, in the town now known as Dellona, yet it was, and many settlers of recent memory knew Dellona in its early days as Sligo. And the fact that that name was given to the locality bears well when we recall that a man in that locality, was, at an unknown date, made postmaster, and that mail came to the Irish settlers addressed to Sligo. Nor do we know when the "post office" was discontinued. But the postmaster was Mr. Patrick Hickey, said to have been the first settler in the present confines of the town of Dellona.

The first character to be introduced then, in telling the story of pioneer days in Dellona, will be Mr. Patrick Hickey. This gentleman, a native of Ballycroy, County Mayo, Ireland, was born in 1809, son of Martin and Mary (Barrett) Hickey, and came to America in company with his brother Michael, in 1837. In New York, Maine and Chicago, they found employment for several years, but they were tillers of the soil, and in 1845 set out, with a party of land-seekers, from Chicago, with the Baraboo Valley as their ultimate destination. At that time there were but two settlements in the locality (James W. Babb and Don Carlos Berry were here) and they had no difficulty in selecting a suitable homestead. They chose a tract in the west central part of Dellona, what is still known as the Hickey farm and occupied by a daughter, Miss Anna Hickey, of Dellona. Here, on this unimproved homestead, they camped two weeks, during which time they erected a rude shanty, the first dwelling in the township. The rest of the party, not believing in the future of the Baraboo Valley, returned to Chicago. This was the first settlement in Dellona, and the death of Michael Hickey, into the 27th year of his age, on the 14th day of June, 1850, was the first mortality in the town. His body was buried on a part of the Hickey farm, which part was afterward given to the All Saints Catholic Church for a building site and cemetery.

Patrick Hickey improved his tract and built a home; then he married Catherine Crowley, daughter of Dennis Crowley, in 1855, and reared a family of six children, four representatives of which, Mary (widow of William Hayes of Dellona), Martin and John of Reedsburg and Anna, on the home place, have long been influential personages in the life of Dellona and Reedsburg.

Possibly the next family to settle in Dellona was that of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Horkan. Peter Horkan was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1825, and resided there until his immigration to the Untied States. His wife, whom he married in Ireland, was Bridget _______, born in 1816 and died December 25th, 1894. They came first to Toronto, Canada, and there their first child, George, was born. During the season of 1846 they removed to Sligo (Dellona), settling there shortly after on the Hickey family, on the farm now owned by Mrs. John Horkan of Reedsburg, where the remainder of their years were spent. He died April 3, 1872. They were the parents of six children, George, Ellen, James, Mary, William, and John. The first named married Bridget Davenport, and located on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Glen Horkan, in Dellona; besides Glen, George and Ellen Horkan, had eleven children: James Horkan, who married to Catherine Timlin, resided on the homestead, now occupied by their son, Glen; Frank Horkan, who, married to Catharine Welch, occupies the farm formerly owned by James Riley, in Dellona; Mary, wife of Edward Donahue, resides on the old Donahue farm in Dellona; Steve, married to Theresa Hayes, now living in Baraboo; George, married to Helena Welch, residing in Reedsburg; Nellie, wife of Nelson Winnie, (deceased); Adelia, Carrie, and Theresa of Chicago; and Katharine, wife of John H. Croal, deceased, formerly of Reedsburg.

James Horkan, son of Peter and Bridget, married Mary Gallagher, daughter of James and Mary (McHugh) Gallagher, and located in Winfield on the farm now owned by John and Patrick Horkan, sons. They had four other children: James, Mina, Peter and Patrick. Peter J. Horkan married Nellie McCabe, daughter of Edward and Mary (McConen) McCabe, of Winfield, and located on the Michael McCabe farm in Winfield, Edward and Michael McCabe, being brothers.

John, youngest child of Peter and Bridget Horkan, married Mary Ellen Mullarkey, and settled on a part of the Peter Horkan farm in Dellona, where their eleven children were born, four of whom live in the locality; William, married to Alice Taylor of Mauston, and residing on the O'Malley farm; Walter, married to Lorine Houghton, residing on his father's farm; and Joseph, residing on the Charles Pelton, Jr., farm and Francis.

Dennis Donahue, Sr., grandfather of Edward Donahue, previously mentioned, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, and is said to have settled in the Sligo settlement, simultaneously with the Hickeys and the Horkans, and to have come hither from Old Erin in company with the family of Dennis Crowley, 1846. His daughter, Mary Crowley, born in Ireland, at an early date married Dennis Donahue, Sr. and they settled in Western Dellona. They had a numerous family, and among others, three sons, Michael, Dennis Jr. and Edward.

Michael Donahue married Anna Carey, and located on the farm now owned by his son, Edward Donahue. They had nine children: Edward, married Mary Horkan; John; James; Francis; Mary, now Mrs. James Small of Mukwonago, Wisconsin; Anna, wife of Dr. John Mortell of Oshkosh; Seta, a teacher of Salt Lake City, Utah; Bon, of Houston, Texas; and Zina, wife of Smith Ivis, of Redfield, S.D.

Dennis Donahue, Jr., married Margaret Mulligan, and resided upon the old Donahue homestead in Dellona. For an account of the descendants of this couple see family sketch printed elsewhere in this volume.

Several families appear to have come to Sligo during the following year, 1847, but we are able to make mention of only two: that of Mrs. Margaret Hooben, a widowed woman, who brought her family hither from County Galway, Ireland. A granddaughter, Mrs. Frank Darrenogue, now resides in Reedsburg. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Timlin also came that year, 1847. The year of 1848 brought two other families into Sligo, those of James Slaven and Patrick Mulligan. Of these, possibly the Slaven family were first, for one record states that they came as early as 1847, while another places the date as 1848.

James Slaven, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, was of French ancestors, who to escape the persecutions, fled to Ireland, during the early 1600's, where for several generations, they remained, and the man whose name introduces this paragraph was the only one of his name to come to Sauk County. He was born December 25, 1788, and died April 28, 1872. His wife, whom he married in Ireland, was Mary Denny. She was born August 15, 1818, and died October 11, 1873, and was a native of Kings County, Ireland. The family came to America at a very early date, and settled in Dane County, Wisconsin, prior to coming to Dellona. They located on the farm later owned and occupied by their son John Slaven. They were the parents of five children, three of whom, Mrs. Casey, Lyndon, John, just mentioned and Mary, who became the wife of Francis Burns of Ironton, were lifelong residents of this community.

The first representative of the Mulligan family to come to Dellona was Mr. Patrick Mulligan. He was a native of County Mayo, Ireland, born in 1810, and came to America in 1837. He came in company with a party of relatives, and they located near Caledonia, Ontario Province, Canada, where they dwelt for a number of years. The party consisted of his brother and wife, James and Margaret (Mulligan) Mulligan, Eliza, sister of Margaret Mulligan, and Mathew, their brother. The ladies had a brother, Anthony, who had preceded them to Ontario, and it was with him that they first stopped. Mrs. Mulligan, mother of the ladies, was also in the party.

Shortly after coming to Canada, Mr. Patrick Mulligan married Eliza Mulligan, previously mentioned, and in 1848 (according to the best authority) brought his family to Dellona, where they settled and afterward made their home. His family consisted of his wife, and three sons: Thomas, John and William. Two children were born in Dellona, Eliza and James. John, married Ellen Hurley, and still resides in Dellona. His children are: Mary, married Eugene Murray, and died in early life; Frank, of Dellona,; Elizabeth (Mrs. Ed. Murray); Catharine, who became the second wife of Eugene Murray; Theresa, married Mr. Thomas Foley, Janesville; Margaret, Dellona. Eliza Mulligan married George Donley and lives in Dellona. James married Mary Ann Hurley, daughter of Thomas and Isabelle (Dockery) Hurley. They always resided in Dellona where their five children were born: William P., married first, Clara Stein, and second, Catherine O'Keefe, and now is president of the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank at Kilbourn; James, Kilbourn; Ellen (Nellie), married Spencer (S. C. ) Fish of Winfield; Thomas married Marion Murray and resides in the town of Delton; Arthur, Dellona.

In 1863 James Mulligan, the immigrant, moved his family to Dellona locating on the farm which was later occupied by Charles Pelton, Jr., and at the present time by Joe Horkan. There were in this family eleven children, all natives of Canada: Mary; Thomas; Ellen; James; John; Eliza; Jane; Frank; (Reedsburg), Margaret, who married Dennis Donahue and who now, widowed, makes her home in Reedsburg; Anthony; William, married Maud Raymond and went to Loyal, Clark County, Wisconsin.

Possibly the first of eastern settlers to come to Dellona was Silas James Seymour. He was a native of Pompeon, N.Y., his parents being James and Susan (Ostrander) Seymour. In May 1849, leaving the civilization of the East behind, he came to Fort Atkinson where he had an uncle living. From there he set out for the Baraboo Valley and reached Portage, or as it was then known, Fort Winnebago. From there he was able to command a view far across the great reaches of eastern Sauk County, and selected a row of tall pines far in the distance, as his destination. (These were the pines which grew on the bluff known later as Pine Knob, northeast of the Seymour farm.) Duly arriving in the vicinity he went to the house of Patrick Mulligan where he took his first meal in Sauk County. After searching several days in Winfield, on Babb's Prairie, and in Dellona for a desirable location, he selected land in Glen Valley, and departed for Mineral Point to enter same.

While enroute he was thrown in contact with a gentleman riding overland horseback to enter land for some speculators. Reaching their destination together, Mr. Seymour went immediately to the land warden's office where he entered his claim, while his mounted companion went to a tavern to dispose of his horse. A few minutes later, the latter entered the office and stating the description of his desired locations, mentioned first the identical tract that the warden had just written a grant for in favor of Silas J. Seymour. Which proves its better sometimes to be afoot than horseback!

Mr. Seymour spent the winter of '49-50 in a log shack six by eight feet, east of the present boundary of the farm, but from an old letter, it is evident that he started to build upon the present homestead that same fall. In the spring of 1851 he went back to New York and married, returning to Dellona with his bride in August, of that year. His wife's maiden name was Mary Ann Conine, and she will be remembered as a woman of considerable learning.

Mr. and Mrs. Seymour were the parents of five children: Ellen Augusta; Ida Jane; Merton Eugene, married Blanche Jeffries of Baraboo, and occupied the homestead, where he still resides; Walter F., who became a Presbyterian Medical Missionary and spent thirty-five years in China, where he was shot during the Revolution of 1928; Arthur, who is a noted scholar and at the present time at the head of the foreign language department of the Woman's State College, Tallahassee, Florida.

Another family of 1849 was that of Mr. and Mrs. William Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery was a native of Courtland County, New York. The Montgomery family located in the extreme southern part of the town, most of their land lying across the border in Excelsior. Mrs. Montgomery was William Montgomery's second wife. The Montgomery family consisted of several members and two sons, Lyman B., by the first marriage, and John by the second, who have always been representative farmers, are widely known for their local residences. Lyman married Achsah Peck, daughter of Newman and Sarah (Cone) Peck, very early pioneers of Excelsior, just south of the Dellona-Excelsior boundary line; they were the parents of three children: Lyman Eugene, of Dellona; Charles of Excelsior; and Sarah Achsah, widow of George Fish, Kilbourn, of whom personal sketches appear elsewhere in this volume. John Montgomery married Lucy Hirst and now resides in Winfield; sketch also.

Andrew Camp was a settler of 1849. He was born in Canada West and came to Sauk County in December of that year. Three years after his arrival he married Jane E. Buck, also, of Canadian birth. Their children were: John A., James E., Francis H., and Freeman L. After the death of his wife, Mr. Camp married Miss Juliette Brown, a niece of John Brown of Harper's Ferry renown.

Some of the Settlers of Upper Dellona

Other Irish immigrant settlers who play an active part in Dellona history were the McHugh brothers, James and Francis. Both natives of County Ballycroy, Ireland, James was born November 20, 1820, and died May 28, 1880, and Francis born 1822, and died July 15, 1883. They were sons of John and Bridget McHugh. James married in Ireland, Honora Hickey, whom he was to leave behind in 1850 when he and his brother Francis came to America, but who was to join him two years later in the New World. The brothers came directly to Sauk County and took up land, Francis in the town of Winfield, James in Dellona, the land later owned by his son Jerry McHugh. They were accompanied here by James Gallagher and son, Owen, who took up land which is now owned by Mary and Ann Gallagher. Owen McDonnell also came that year and settled the McDonnell farm on Dell Creek, the farm now owned by his grandson, John McDonnell. Owen's brother, Enos, came likewise at that time. Patrick Murphy, another Irish immigrant settler of northern Dellona, came to America about 1830, and spent twenty years in the East. There, in New York, he married Catharine Rewan, and in 1853 moved his family to Dellona, settling the farm now owned by Charles Weir. Shortly after coming here, his daughter, Mary, at the age of sixteen, married Francis McHugh. To Mr. and Mrs. McHugh were born eleven children, one of whom, Bridget, is the wife of Michael Gleason. They (the Gleasons) occupy the farm that Platt Fish homesteaded at an early date, and Mrs. Gleason is the only member of her father's family residing in Sauk County.

Mr. Owen Gallagher married Margaret Casey, daughter of Patrick and Mary Ann Casey. The Casey family were, also, Irish settlers and occupied the farm now owned by P. F. Healy in Winfield. Mr. and Mrs. Owen Gallagher settled on land in La Valle, the farm now owned by their son John Gallagher, who resides thereon. To them were born several children, Annie, wife of Professor Gahagan of Madison; Mrs. Jake Fix, deceased; Mrs. Albert Ficks, Ableman; John, La Valle; Mary, wife of Frank Rogers, Madison, Wis.

Later History of Dellona

Another settler prominent in the early annals of Dellona pioneering was Stillman Bass, founder of his name in this section of the country. He was born in St. Lawrence County, New York in 1816. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia Butterfield, was a native of Vermont. In 1851 the family moved to Dellona, locating on Section 35, where they afterward resided. They had twelve children: Chester, Laura, Luconda, Charles, Stillman, William W., Clarissa, Mary F., Melissa, Hattie, Julia, and William A. William W. and Stillman, Jr., were members of Co. G, 49th W.V.I., and served during the Civil War. This Stillman was married to Miss Agnes Bass.

C. P. Davenport was, also, an early settler of Dellona. The date of his arrival is given as 1854. The next year he was married to Miss Mary Gillespie, a native of Scotland. Thomas Gillespie, brother of Mrs. Davenport, came to Dellona in 1856. He was a native of Scotland also, and came to America in 1842 with his parents. In November 1879, he was elected to the State Legislature and served as a member of that body for several years. His wife was Miss Martha Simpson, a native of Vermont. The Gillespie children were: Mary, William, Hattie, John, Nellie, Carrie, Thomas, Bertie, Earl and Ed.

Another family we are able to mention is that of Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Catlin, the latter having been a relative of Admiral Perry, hero of the War of 1812. They had a number of children, three of whom are: Nettie, Claude, and Emmet, who married Emma Fish of Winfield, now resides at Elkhorn. John Foss, John Heimer, J. L. Dryer and Henry Radwell were also among the settlers of the early days.

John Foss, a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, came to America in October 1850, with his father, Christopher Foss, locating near Milwaukee, where they resided until 1863, when they came to Dellona. His wife was Miss Minnie Springer, a native of Baden, Germany. They had four children: Albert, who married Miss Augusta Rupp, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Rupp of Portage, and resided in Dellona until retiring to Reedsburg; Jonk; Mary; Frank, married Helen Harris of Spring Green, and became one of the most successful business men of Reedsburg, remembered as a senior partner in the firm, Stolte, Dangel & Foss Company.

Another German settler of this township was John Heimer. He was a native of Bavaria, Germany, coming to America in 1852, locating in Ohio first, in Sauk County in '54, and Dellona in 1860. His wife was Mary Knadler.

J. L. Dryer, who was a native of Madison County, New York, settled in Dellona in August 1865. His wife was Adeline Richardson, a native of Tioga County, New York. Their children were: Helen J., remembered as a prominent Sauk County school teacher; Etta J.; Bertha J.; John W.; Grant; Eva; George W. Grant, of lamented memory, was one of the most prominent citizens of Sauk County at the time of his death, and was for a number of years County Sheriff; his widow, nee Blanche Weidman, resides in Reedsburg. The Dryer farm is now tenanted by their son Clifton Dryer.

We would make mention of the Hayes family, old residents of Dellona. William Hayes, a native of Ireland, was the first of his name to settle here. He came to America in his early years, stopping for some time in the East. It was there that he married Catherine Fullan. About 1855 the family came west and settled on land in the central part of the township. Their children were: William, married Mary Hickey, resided in Dellona; Mary Ann; John; James; Catherine.

Miscellany

"The land now included in the town of Dellona, originally to the town of Baraboo, which also embraced the territory composing the towns of Winfield, Reedsburg, Excelsior, and the eastern part of the towns of Ironton and La Valle. In 1850 the present town of Dellona was set aside. In January 1857, the town of Excelsior was organized and it was at that time that the Dellona-Excelsior boundary took its present form." This is from the Sauk County history of 1880.

The first birth in the town was that of a daughter, Bridget, to Mr. and Mrs. James Slaven in 1847.

The first death was that of Michael Hickey, June 4, 1850. He was buried on a knoll on the farm of Patrick Hickey. The tract of land containing the grave was given to the All Saints Catholic Church in 1857, to be used as a cemetery and churchyard.

In 1851 a log schoolhouse was erected on Section 20 and a district school established, a Miss Wheeler being the first teacher. The Postoffice of Sligo was established at a very early date and was changed to Dellona in 1850. In addition to the early settlers who have been mentioned in the foregoing pages, we would add the name of Platt Fish. He homesteaded the farm now occupied by Michael Gleason, and lived there for many years.

 

Excelsior

Captain Joseph H. Finley

Reference was made on page one of Captain Joseph H. Finley, and his settlement in the town of Excelsior in the summer of 1839. This was the first settlement in the whole upper Baraboo Valley, and there was possibly but one settlement earlier than this in all Sauk County - that of Jonathan Hatch on Sauk Prairie in 1838. The captain was "a hard working, intelligent, much respected bachelor," wrote the historian William Canfield in 1872. He was a native of Tennessee, and is said to have been prominent in military affairs during the War of 1812. However, he did not remain upon his Excelsior claim very long, but sold his farm and went into the lumber business on the Lemonweir river. "We have a sad record to make of Captain Finley," continued Mr. Canfield; "after a series of financial misfortunes, he had a leg amputated, and I understand, is now (1872) an inmate in the poorhouse of Clark County. His old farm is where Edward K. Hill now ('72) resides."

Two years later the family of James Christie came into this region, March 1841. "The Indians the year previous had been removed by the United States Dragoons, yet there was standing in Dandy's (a Winnebago chieftain's) village two lodges. Into one of these he moved his family and made a stable of the other and this season gave the adjoining Indian cornfields a white man's culture," say Canfield. The Christie tract was later known as the Baringer place. Mr. Christie hailed from Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Christie were the parents of a large family of children; they enjoyed a wide circle of friends, and their house, like many of the first settlers was "a semi-public inn, where hospitalities were as free as the spring water that flowed by the door." In 1852, after a residence of nearly eleven years, at a time when most settlers were just beginning to come, the Christie family moved to Newport, then a noted lumbering town on the Wisconsin river a few miles below Kilbourn. His daughter, Eliza, later Mrs. Henry Snider, was the first white child born in Excelsior. Like Captain Finley "we have at last a sad record to make of our old and much respected friend," continued the historian of 1872. "He was murdered and his body cast into a pond near Kilbourn."

The next settlements in this town were made in 1847. Elias H. Hubbard, who came to Sauk Prairie in May 1845, and remained there until 1853, took up a claim in this town that year. Don Carlos Barry, pioneer of copper note, town of Reedsburg, had a claim on Section 7, Excelsior, also this year; but with the discovery of copper on Barry's Reedsburg claim, Section 7 was returned by the government officials as mineral land. George Handy is supposed to have come this year, also. He erected a large frame house just south of the Narrows, near the Baraboo river, which was used as a tavern and was widely known as the Massachusetts House, so named from the circumstance of the proprietors Bay State nativity. Jonathan Knowles was another settler of 1847, and the death of his wife the next year 1848, was that of the first white woman in the Upper Baraboo valley. Her death was the second in the community, a Mr. Farrington preceding her in 1846.

The next year Seneca J. Lamberton opened a farm. He was a native of Ashtabula Co., Ohio, born in 1823. His early years were spent there but at an early date came to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and was married there in 1844, to Eliza Huntington, daughter of William J. and Laura (Kuler) Huntington. In 1845 the family moved to Delavan, and in 1849 to Baraboo. While living in Delavan he located his Excelsior claim. About 1853 he sold a clothing store, which he had opened in 1849, the first store in Baraboo and located in this town. Mr. and Mrs. Lamberton had five children, Adelbert M.; William A.; Frank W.; Percy C.; and Chas. W.

In 1848 Colonel S. V. R. Ableman laid claim to the village site of Ableman, to the Narrows, and adjacent countryside.

The settlers of 1849 were numerous. The family of Isaac W. Morley came that year. Mr. Morley represented a long line of Colonial forbearers, tracing his descent from Isaac Morley, Mayflower pilgrim. His parents were Thomas and Lillis (Russell) Morley, and his grandparents Thomas and Lucy Morley, and Mr. and Mrs. Abel Russell. Isaac Morley was a native of Mentor, Ohio, born in 1820. In 1845 at Kirtland, Ohio, he married Maryette Smith, daughter of Elijah and Rachael Smith. Their children were: Mary, wife of Rufus C. Cole, of Redwood Falls, Minnesota; Alvin H.; Lucius W.; Thomas E., who married Addie Craker and resides in Reedsburg; Harvey W., for many years an Excelsior farmer; Leaphe, Minnie E.

The Reuben Butterfield family arrived here June 4, of that year. (1849). The family of John Johnson came that same month from Connecticut. Ira, James and Jessie Smith and William C. Cady came also, that year. Ira Smith's wife was Lucy Post and their daughter, Esther, born in New York, was a prominent school teacher in the early days, and the first teacher in School District No. 1, Winfield. She married Jonathan Nye and Mrs. Enoch Shultis and Mrs. Montrose Pelton of Reedsburg are her daughters. The family of Alworth Cole were also settlers that year, coming from New York. Mrs. Cole's maiden name was Hannah Lewis. The Cole family consisted of several children, two of whom were Pamelia, pioneer school teacher of Winfield; and Rodney, who married Anna Maria Beebe and remained an Excelsior farmer during his lifetime; Mrs. Ernest Reztlaff, Reedsburg, is his daughter.

The year of 1850 brought a number of permanent settlers to Excelsior. The Isaac Metcalf family came that year. Mr. Metcalf, son of Richard and Hannah (Cooper) Metcalf, was a native, 1826, of Kilbourn, Yorkshire, England, where he grew to manhood. In 1847 he came to the United States and for three years resided in Dutchess County, N.Y., where he married, in the spring of 1850, Mary Ridings, daughter of William and Martha Ridings. In June, following, he and his bride came to Wisconsin, locating in this town, where he entered 120 acres of government land. Here they built a log house, but soon erected a commodious frame dwelling house. Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf had eight children: Martha, Hannah, Margaret Ellen, Frank H., who married Pet Rose; Fred, who married Elnora Rose, daughter of Elias and Betty (Shultis) Rose, and was a prominent farmer of Excelsior; Chas. W., Emma; and Louis married Mabel Weidman, residing near Plain.

The family of George Townsend came in July 1850; also William Dubois and family. Mrs. Dubois was before her marriage Cynthia Eighmie. Among their children were: Chas. E., for many years a prominent farmer of the town, who married Emma A. Young, daughter of John and Mary Young; John Henry, who was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, in 1864; Mary A., who married T. R. Young, for many years a Reedsburg merchant - Fred Young and Edna (Mrs. D. O. Stine, Reedsburg), were her children. Henry Dubois, brother of William, was another early settler of the town and Sylvester Dubois of Baraboo and Mrs. William Daniels, Reedsburg, are his children.

Among the settlers of 1851 were the families of Rueben Kipp, H. G. Jones, Benjamin Holt, S. V. R. Ableman, C. S. Hitchcock. The Weidman family came also that year. Thomas Metcalf, brother of Isaac Metcalf, previously mentioned, was a native also, of England, and was married in Coxwold, England, to Mary Ann Brassinfton, who came with her husband to Excelsior in 1851 Their children were: Richard, Alice, Ellen (the late Mrs. Herbert Dano, Reedsburg), Margaret, and Jane; two others died in early life. Mrs. Metcalf died in 1859. Mr. Metcalf later married Jane Hannah, a native of Gallowayshrie, Scotland.

Other settlers that year were Mr. and Mrs. N. M. Burt, who came hither from Dane County, Wisconsin. Mr. Burt was born in 1809 in Wilbraham, Mass., but in 1817 his parents, Samuel and Amelia (Searl) Burt, removed to Connecticut where N. M. Burt grew to manhood; from there in 1832 the family removed to Medina, Ohio. In 1834 N. M. Burt married Eliza Hull, daughter of Austin Hull, and in 1850 removed his family to Dane County, Wisconsin. Among the Burt children were: Newton M. and Milton A., twins; and Gertrude, who married E. F. Barker.

The next year brought the family of Michael Leifer, also the Barnes family, of which H. M. Barnes was a representative. Settlers of 1853 were the Kingslands, Watsons and Chatmans.

It was that year that Elias H. Hubbard moved his family hither from Sauk Prairie. Mr. Hubbard, son of Hiram and Hannah (Archer) Hubbard, was born in Burke, Caledonia County, Vermont, in 1824. In 1833 the family moved to Canada, but in 1841 returned to Vermont. The next year Elias H. went again to the Dominion but shortly afterward located in Wayne County, Michigan. Returning later to Vermont he joined his parents and came with them to Wisconsin locating on Sauk Prairie (1845). In 1850, Elias H. Hubbard was married to Catherine Barringer, daughter of Henry and Abigail Barringer. Their children were Elias, Celista, Mary, Stephen, Theresa, Irenne, Alice.

Among the settlers of 1854 was T. W. Harrison. He was a native of Hunterdon County, N.J., son of Higgins and Margaret (Williamson) Harrison. In 1861 Mr. Harrison married Mary Minott, daughter of James and Nancy (Sheaf) Minott. William T. Hudson and family were other settlers that year; also, S. J. Jopp and family; and the Osburns, and Jonathan J. Nye.

1855 - John Terry, J. T. Gourgas, William Montany, Sydney Holt, E. C. Watson, Chas. Hengsler, Gottleib Hengsler, A. B. Case, Wm. Peers, Isaac Hartvet.

Mr. and Mrs. John Terry were natives of Ireland. E. (Ebenezer) Watson hailed from Boston, but was previously of New Hampshire. He came to Sauk City as early as 1850, located in Baraboo late that fall; and in May, five years later came to Ableman. Edward C. Watson, later hotel keeper of Ableman, was a representative of this family. He married Laura E. Ableman; daughter of the Col. S. V. R. Ableman.