MARTIN SMITS, an enterprising and progressive agriculturist of Grand Chute, operating a fine tract of eighty acres, which he devotes to general and dairy farming, was born in Holland, January 16, 1869, and is a son of George and Marie (Rutten) Smits, farming people of Holland, who never left that country. Of their eight children, Martin was the sixth in order of birth. He received his education in the public schools of his native country, and at the age of twenty-one years started out to make his own way in the world, working for two years as a farm hand in Holland and then coming to America. He first located at DePere, in Wisconsin, where he worked in brick yards for seven years, after which he decided to devote his life to agricultural pursuits, and made his way to Outagamie county. For the first two years here he worked as a farm hand, and for a like period he operated a rented farm, but at the end of this time he had accumulated enough to invest in his present property, which he has since been conducting with very satisfactory results. He carries on general farming, and does some dairying, and has his eighty acres in a high state of cultivation, raising large crops annually. He has erected good, substantial buildings, and his property has the appearance of being conducted by a man of thrift and industry. Mr. Smits is a Republican, but he has never given much attention to political matters, having been too busy with his private interests, although he is always ready to help any movement which promises to be of benefit to his community. His religious connection is with St. Joseph's Catholic Church .

On November 7, 1905, Mr. Smits was married to Christina Nielen, who was born in Buchanan township, June 25, 1876. Her parents were born in Holland and came to America about 1860, locating in Milwaukee, where Mrs. Smits' father worked in a foundry for about ten years, and then removed to Buchanan township, Outagamie county. In 1876 the family moved to the farm where they now reside. Mrs. Smits was the third child of her parents' seven children. Mr. and Mrs. Smits have four children, born as follows: George, July 30, 1906; Marie, December 23, 1907; Dorothy, July 8, 1909, and Alice, January 20, 1911 .

CORNELIUS MEYER, one of the old and honored residents of Grand Chute township, who is now living practically retired in a handsome residence which he has just completed, was born in the Province of North Brabant, Netherlands, near the Belgium line, January 16, 1842, a son of Jacob and Johanah (Shoemacher) Meyer, the former born in North Brabant September 19, 1797, and the latter in Dordrecht, South Holland, December 15, 1798. Jacob Meyer nor his wife ever came to America, he following his trade of tanner in his native city, where he also served as clerk, and for a number of years was treasurer of a certain district. Cornelius Meyer received his education in the school of the place of his nativity, and was the youngest son of his parents and the next to the youngest of fourteen children. In 1868 Mr. Meyer came to America, whence two brothers had preceded him, and later another brother and three sisters came to this country. The four brothers became the owners of a tract of ninety acres of land, and after eleven years, Cornelius Meyer took forty acres on his own account, located in the northern part of Grand Chute township. This property was but partly improved, and during the first few years Mr. Meyer's time was principally devoted to putting the rest of the land under cultivation, working hard in clearing the land from brush and timber and getting it ready so that crops could be planted, but eventually this task was accomplished, and he continued to carry on farming there with great success until March 27, 1910, when he sold out and moved to his present place, which he had purchased three years previous. He has just completed building a concrete block residence, which is up to date in every respect and is equipped with all the most modern appliances and conveniences. He originally owned fifteen acres here, but has sold several building lots along the river front. His barn is also concrete and admirably constructed for the housing and care of domestic animals, farm produce and machinery, tools, etc. Residence and barn necessitated the expenditure of about $5,000. Here he and Mrs. Meyer expect to spend the remaining years of their lives .

On June 25, 1876, Mr. Meyer was married to Maria Elizabeth Von Beuningen Von Helsdingen, born in the Province of Gelderland, daughter of Reinier and Maria Katharine (Ormeling) Von Helsdingen, natives of Amsterdam, who never came to America. They had a family of thirteen children, Mrs. Meyer being the next to the youngest. Mrs. Meyer's father was a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. She came to the United States in 1876 and was met in New York by Mr. Meyer, who brought her on to Appleton, where they were married, June 25, 1876. They have had two children, the first of whom died in infancy, while the other, Jacob Cornelius, born October 10, 1878, resides four and one-half miles north of Appleton, and is carrying on farming operations near Apple Creek. He married Grace Collins, and they have had five children, of whom one is deceased. Mr. Meyer was a member of the Reformed Church in Holland, but since residing in America has been connected with the Congregational denomination. In political views he is a Republican .

ALBERT JOHN WEST. One of the best-equipped dairy farms in Outagamie county is that owned by Albert John West in Grand Chute township, an excellent tract of eighty acres which he has been operating for the past eight years. Mr. West was born at Kaukauna, Wisconsin, June 24, 1864, a son of Theodore and Wilhelmina (Hendricks) West, natives of Holland. Theodore West in early life was engaged in a mercantile business at Little Chute, but later became a farmer in Freedom township, where he resided until the death of his wife, in 1886, when he sold his farm, retired from activities and went to Kaukauna to live, but later removed to the home of his son, Albert John, with whom he now resides. He and his wife had a family of nine children: Albert John; George, a farmer of Grand Chute township; Henry, farming in Kaukauna township; Nellie, the wife of Jacob Ebben, a Freedom township farmer; Anna and Theodore, who are deceased; John, a papermaker of the State of Maine; Nicholas, who is deceased; and Peter, a carpenter of Kaukauna. Albert John West received his education in the common schools of Little Chute, and when he had passed his fifteenth birthday went to work in the lumber camps as assistant to the cook one winter, and during the eight years that followed engaged in dredging during the summer months and lumbering in the winters. After his marriage he was employed on the farm of Judge Meyer for about four years, after which he rented the farm until 1902, and in this year bought the place. He has eighty-one acres, all well cultivated, fully equipped with modern buildings which, in turn, are fitted throughout with the latest appliances and improvements with safeguards for cleanliness and hygiene. He keeps thirty-two head of fine dairy stock .

On June 28, 1887, Mr. West was married to Anna Meyer, born in Freedom township, Outagamie county, April 19, 1864, daughter of Albert and Mary (Vanderlinden) Meyer, natives of Holland, who came to the United States and located in Outagamie county. Mr. Meyer engaged in farming, and became the owner of a valuable property situated one mile west of Mr. West's farm. After residing there for about, thirty years he removed to Little Chute, where he is now living retired. He and his wife had ten children: Anna, the wife of Mr. West; Vincent, a farmer of Chili, Wisconsin, Jacob, who is deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Fred Volkman; Mary, wife of George West, brother of Albert John; John, who is deceased; Dora, wife of Peter Nieling, a furniture dealer and undertaker of Little Chute; Frances, wife of Theo Weyenberg, a papermaker of Little Chute, and two children who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. West have had seven children: John, born March 7, 1888, town clerk of Grand Chute, residing near his father's farm; Wilhelmina, born June 12, 1889, single and residing at home; Agatha, born February 5, 1892, an artist of much talent, residing with her parents; Theodore, born October 2, 1894; Mary, born July 19, 1896; Albert, born February 4, 1898; and Francis, born December 26, 1902, who died aged seven months. Mr. West is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Appleton, and is connected with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Catholic Knights. In political matters he is independent, and he has never aspired to public office .

JOHN VANDENBERG. The farming interests of Outagamie county are in the hands of efficient, capable men who have given to their labor that application of scientific effort that is bound to bring the best results. Years of observance of the best methods have brought the occupation of farming up to the standard of one of the sciences, and the constant improving of farming machinery has done wonders in making the harvesting of large crops a certainty. John Vandenberg, one of the scientific farmers of Grand Chute township, was born March 16, 1860, in Little Chute township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, a son of John and Mary (Vandenberg) Vandenberg. The parents of Mr. Vandenberg were both born in Holland, in which country they were married, and came to America in 1858, locating in Little Chute, where Mr. Vandenberg worked on the canal for a few years and then bought a little farm in what is called Brookstown, which he cultivated until his death in 1903, his widow surviving him but a few years. They were the parents of six children: Peter, a merchant of Marinette; John; Mary, the wife of Henry Van Gompel, a farmer of Little Chute; Anton, a farmer of Brookstown; Henry, a farmer of Buchanan township; and George, a motorman on the interurban line, Little Chute. John Vandenberg secured his education in the schools of his native district, and resided at home until his marriage, although he worked out among the farmers of Little Chute township. He then secured employment in the Little Chute mill, where he continued to work until 1907, and in that year purchased the farm which he now operates, a tract of fifty-two acres which he devotes to general and dairy farming. He is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs to the old Catholic organization known as Saint Johns. In politics he is a Democrat, but he has been too busy to engage actively in any matters of a public nature .

On October 11, 1886, Mr. Vandenberg was married to Miss Katie Verhagen, born in Brookstown, in 1864, daughter of Henry and Hattie Van Hammond Verhagen, early settlers of Brookstown and natives of Holland. Mrs. Vandenberg was left an orphan at a tender age, and she was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Vanroy, of Little Chute, with whom she made her home until her marriage. She had three brothers: John, a farmer of Grand Chute; Albert, an employe of the Kimberly paper mill; and Adrian, a farmer of Chili, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Vandenberg have had six children, namely: Mary, born June 8, 1888; Hattie, born November 11, 1890; Anna, born December 2, 1892; Henry, born February 12, 1895; Helen, born January 21, 1899; Tillie, born May 24, 1903 .

FRANK H. COLBURN, a well-known newspaperman of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, who is publisher of the Shiocton News and the Black Creek Times, was born August 11, 1870, in Merrillan, Jackson county, Wisconsin, a son of George W. and Harriet (Stiles) Colburn, natives of New York State and Vermont, respectively. They came to Wisconsin during the early days with their parents, locating in Walworth county, from whence they removed to Jackson county in about 1868, continuing to reside there for twenty years. In 1888 they went to California, where Mr. Colburn died in 1903, aged seventy-five years, while his widow survives him and makes her home there, she having attained the advanced age of eighty-four years. George W. Colburn was a wagonmaker and wheelwright by trade, occupations which he followed throughout a long and active life. Frank H. Colburn was the youngest of his parents' five children, and he secured his education in the public schools and the Black River Falls high school. After graduating from the latter institution, he was for four years engaged as bookkeeper for a lumber firm, and at the end of that time learned the printer's trade. In 1897 he came to Shiocton and established the Shiocton News, and in 1904 he purchased the Black Creek Times, both papers being now under his management. Mr. Colburn is a live, up-to-date newspaperman, with an inherent ability for securing news and the gift for writing pithy, opportune editorials. He is a Republican in politics, and served as clerk of the town board of Bovina for six years, and after the organization of the village of Shiocton in 1903 as clerk of the village for four years. He is now a member of the village board, and has also served as justice of the peace. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his family attend the Congregational Church .

In 1897 Mr. Colburn was married to Miss Margaret Stanfield, who was born August 4, 1870, daughter of J. F. Stanfield, a well-known resident of Waupaca, Wisconsin, and to this union there have been born two children: Harriet N. and James S., both attending school .

RUDOLPH D. FISHER, a well-known citizen of Shiocton, Wisconsin, where he is the proprietor of a large mercantile establishment, is a native of this village, born April 20, 1879, a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Kahn) Fisher, natives of Germany. They came to America as young people and almost immediately located in Wisconsin, where they were married, at which time Mr. Fisher engaged in the mercantile business. Mr. Fisher became one of the prosperous merchants of Shiocton, and the regard in which he was held by his fellow townsmen was indicated by his election to various township offices, including that of township treasurer for several terms, was a Republican in politics, and a popular member of the Odd Fellows fraternal order. Mr. Fisher died in 1888, when but forty-two years old, his widow surviving until 1898, when she died at the age of fifty-two, and both were buried in the Zion Cemetery at Appleton. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were the parents of five children, namely: Joseph, who is married and living in Dodgeville, Wisconsin; Rose who married Herman Hiller of Dodgeville, and has one child; Belle, who married J. F. Morse of Lewiston, Idaho; Rudolph D.; and Clara, who is single and living with her brother, Rudolph D .

Rudolph D. Fisher received his education in the public schools of Shiocton and graduated from the high school at New London in 1897, immediately after leaving which he entered the mercantile business established by his father, which was then being conducted by his mother. At the time of the latter's death, in 1898. Mr. Fisher took charge of the store, and four years later, in 1902, he bought the interests of the other heirs and has conducted it alone to the present time. This is the oldest established business in Shiocton, and under Mr. Fisher's able management has grown steadily, his policy of fair dealing and moderate prices having built up a large patronage. He is a Republican in political belief, and from the time the village was incorporated until 1911 he served as village trustee, a period of about seven years. He was reared in the faith of the Hebrew denomination, but is not at present connected with any particular church. Fraternally he has attained to the degree of Royal Arch Mason, and he is also a member of the Odd Fellows and the F. R. A .

CHARLES WITTHUHN, who has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Outagamie county for more than forty years, is now carrying on operations on a tract of 120 acres located in Bovina township. He was born September 24, 1849, in Germany, a son of Frederick and Mary (Walter) Witthuhn, natives of Germany who came to the United States in 1870 and settled in Outagamie county, where they lived until their deaths, the father passing away in 1876 at the age of seventy-eight years, and the mother in 1877 when sixty-nine years old, and both were buried in Greenville. Mr. Witthuhn was a wagonmaker by trade, at which he worked in the old country, but after coming to America he lived on the farm with his children. He and Mrs. Witthuhn had three children: Matilda, Ernest and Charles. Matilda married Ernest Greinert, in Germany, and came to the United States with her parents, dying in Wisconsin, November 28, 1878, when she left three children, all of whom are now living. When the family first came to Wisconsin, Ernest and Charles Witthuhn purchased 120 acres of land, where Charles Witthuhn now lives, it being raw and undeveloped and without buildings, but they immediately started to erect a home for the family, and soon had started the work of breaking the ground for the first crop. The farm is now one of the best of its size in this part of Bovina township, eighty acres being cleared and in a high state of cultivation, and the entire property well fenced, principally witlh barbed wire, although some woven wire has been put in. A large basement barn was erected by Mr. Witthuhn in 1902, and the other buildings have been kept in an excellent state of preservation. He makes a specialty of feeding fine Holstein cattle and does truck gardening and raises sugar beets. Ernest Witthuhn is married and resides in Shiocton, having retired from active pursuits .

In 1875 Charles Witthuhn was married to Miss Louisa Dikelman, who was born November 27, 1851, who came to America from Germany with her aunt, her parents, J. and Fredericka Dikelman, never leaving the Fatherland. Mr. and Mrs. Witthuhn have had seven children: Annie, who married Ernest Spoehr, of Bovina township; Antonia, who married William Immel, of Ellington township; Bertha, the wife of William H. Spoehr, of Bovina township, Amanda, who married Henry Krug, of Forest township, Fond du Lac county; George, who is married and in the hardware business at Algonquin, Illinois; and Henry and Arnold, who are single and living at home. Mr. Witthuhn is a Republican in politics and he has served two years as supervisor of Bovina township. He is a trustee and active member of the German Methodist Church, and the services up to the present time have been held in his home .

EDWARD PIERCE, an old and honored resident of Bovina township, Outagamie county, was for many years engaged in other occupations before he took up farming as a vocation, and during the comparatively short period that he has engaged in agricultural operations here has become one of the successful farmers of this section. He was born August 20, 1841, in Ireland, son of Edward and Mary (Wall) Pierce, natives of the Emerald Isle, who emigrated to Canada in 1856 and settled in County Huron, where both died. They had a family of nine children, and Edward, who was the third in order of birth, remained with his parents until he had attained the age of twenty-three years, at which time he commenced working for himself. Four years later he began shipping tanbark and lumber on commission from Port Albert, Canada, but after fifteen years spent in this business he came to the United States and settled in Oshkosh, where for nine years he was employed in the sash and door factory. He then engaged in teaming and contracting and in building streets for about six years, and in the fall of 1897 purchased the farm which he now owns, then all raw, undeveloped land. After building a small house, he commenced to clear his land, and he now has ninety-six acres, located in sections 9 and 16, all under cultivation and fenced with barbed and woven wire. In the spring of 1906 he built a fine basement barn. Mr. Pierce carries on general farming and stock raising, keeping Poland China and Chester White hogs and Holstein cattle; carries on dairying to some extent, separating his cream and selling it, raises cabbages and onions for the market, and also sells the fruit from his young orchard of 175 trees. In politics he is a Democrat, and he has served as justice of the peace for five years and as road commissioner two years .

In 1867 Mr. Pierce was married to Mrs. Mary Hawkins, widow of Henry Hawkins, born October 28, 1843, in Islington, a suburb of London, England, the second of the three children born to Thomas and Ann Joy, natives of London, who emigrated to Canada in 1853 and settled in Toronto, the father passing away in that city, while the mother died at Port Albert. Mrs. Pierce had three children by her first marriage, two of whom died in infancy, while the other, Ann G., married E. E. Beals, of Oshkosh, and has five children. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have had seven children, namely: Alice L., who married E. G. Grove, of Waukesha, and died in 1890, leaving one child; Harold; Edward V., who is single and living at home; Harry W., who married Bertha Schwalm, of Oshkosh, and has two children; Jeannette, who is single and living at home, being employed as clerk in a store at Oshkosh; George H., who married Margaret McIntyre, of Oshkosh; and William A., who married Jessie A. Cooley, of Outagamie county, and has two children. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce are members of the Episcopal Church .

WILLIAM P. MCCARTHY, whose excellent farm of 181 acres is located in Center township, is one of the well-known agriculturists of his section and a son of pioneer parents. He was born December 19, 1875, on his father's farm in Center township, a son of Stephen and Margaret (Stoffel) McCarthy. Stephen McCarthy was born in Ireland, in December, 1821, and in about 1848 left County Tipperary for the United States, landing at New York. After a period covering ten years spent in hard, faithful work on a New York farm, he had accumulated enough money to purchase a team of oxen, a wagon and several other necessities, in addition to sending money home to his mother in Ireland, his father having died when he was about ten years old. With his team and wagon he came to Outagamie county in 1858, having purchased the land three years before without seeing it, and here he built a log cabin and settled down to clear the farm from the wilderness. As soon as he was able he sent to the old country for his mother, who came and lived near him, on the land which now belongs to William P. McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy was married November 2, 1862, to Margaret Stoffel, who was born January 25, 1842, in Germany, daughter of Michael and Margaret Stoffel. Michael Stoffel walked from Milwaukee, whence he had come in 1854, to Madison, and then on to Outagamie county, finally settling in Grand Chute township, where he was engaged in farming until his death at the age of eighty years. Stephen P . McCarthy died August 11, 1891, but his widow still survives him and makes her home with her son, John .

William P. McCarthy received his education in the schools of his neighborhood and the Sisters' school at Mackville, attending during the winter months, while the summers were spent in the hard work of the home farm, as was the custom of farmers' sons at that time. He always worked at home for his father, and when the latter died he inherited 107 acres west of the present place. Here he resided until he was thirty-two years old, at which time he bought the farm which he now cultivates, a fine tract of 181 acres, where he has carried on general farming and dairying. Mr. McCarthy's sister, Mary, lives with him and takes care of the duties of the household. In his political views Mr. McCarthy is a Democrat. He is connected with St. Edward's Catholic Church at Mackville .

FRED W. HOEFER, city marshal of Appleton, Wisconsin, who has been connected with this branch of the public service since 1877, was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, October 1, 1847, and is a son of Thomas and Philipina (Knester) Hoefer, natives of Germany, who came to Wisconsin in 1841. Thomas Hoefer, who was a farmer by occupation, served as justice of the peace during his later years and died August 14, 1857, at Mayville, Dodge county, Wisconsin. Of his family of five children, one died in infancy and four sons grew to manhood. Fred W. Hoefer received a common school education and at the age of eleven years began working out as a farm hand. He came to Appleton in 1862, from whence in the fall of 1863 he enlisted in Company G, Third Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, being at that time but sixteen years of age, and served until the close of the war. After making an excellent war record and securing his honorable discharge at the close of hostilities, he returned to Appleton and worked in the factories until April 13, 1877, at which time he became a member of the Appleton police force. On January 1, 1882, he was appointed to the position of city marshal, or chief, resigning from that office on January 1, 1885, to serve in the office of sheriff, to which he had been elected. On April 19, 1887, he was appointed a patrolman, and on April 9, 1890, was again appointed city marshal and has served faithfully in this capacity, to the present time. Marshal Hoefer is the oldest city marshal (chief of police) in point of servitude in the ranks of police officials in the State of Wisconsin, and his service has always been such as to deserve the highest praise. In November, 1872, he was married to Augusta Krueger, of Appleton, daughter of Gottlieb Krueger, and to them have been born a family of seven children: Thomas A., of Pueblo, Colorado; Oscar H.; Lawrence E. and Laura P., twins, the former a resident of Spokane, Washington, and the latter residing at home; Mrs. E. H. Brooks, of Appleton; William E., a resident of Kansas City; and Charles, who died in infancy .

Mr. Hoefer is a member of George B. Eggleston Post, Grand Army of the Republic; the Modern Woodmen of America; the Equitable Fraternal Union; the Odd Fellows; and Waverly Lodge, No. 51, A. F. & A. M., and Appleton Chapter, No. 47, of the Masonic fraternity .

WILLIAM H. HACKLEMAN, who is well known to the citizens of Appleton as the proprietor of the jewelry establishment located at No. 1009 College avenue, has been engaged in this business here for some years, and has also a large practice as an optician. He is a native of Connersville, Indiana, born in 1881, a son of J. W. and Martha A. Hackleman, farming people of Indiana, the latter of whom is deceased. William H. Hackleman was the fifth of the six sons of his parents, and he received his preliminary education in the public schools of his native locality. Later he took a polytechnic course in the Bradley Institute at Peoria, Illinois, and later spent one year at Toulon, that state, as a student of horology. After being employed for two years at McGregor, Iowa, in the jewelry business, Mr. Hackleman came to Appleton in 1905, opening his present establishment, where he has since built up a large and lucrative trade. Mr. Hackleman was married to Miss Bessie Miller, of McGregor, Iowa, who died in 1907, leaving one son: John Willard Wesley, who is now four years of age. Mr. Hackleman is a member of the Equitable Fraternal Union. He is religiously connected with the Congregational Church, while his political belief is that of the Republican party .

EVERETT H. BROOKS, M. D., one of the leading members of Appleton's medical profession, who is a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, was born at Bloomington, Wisconsin, in 1872, and is a son of Jesse and Josephine Brooks. Jesse Brooks, who was a farmer and dealer in farming machinery, and who served as justice of the peace for a number of years, died at Bloomington, where his widow still survives. They had a family of five boys and two girls, and Everett H. was the fourth in order of birth. He secured a high school education in Bloomington, after which he attended Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago, being graduated therefrom in 1897. During the following year he was located at the hospital as house surgeon in Hahnemann Hospital, Chicago, and for two years thereafter was assistant medical director of the Mudlavian Springs Sanitarium, also later being engaged in a general country practice at Bloomington. Selling out his practice, Dr. Brooks made a trip to Germany, studying a special line of work at Vienna, and later going to London, and in April, 1902, returned to Appleton, where he has since been engaged in practice as a specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. His practice is not confined to Appleton, as his reputation has extended over an area that reaches as far as Chicago, which city he visits in a professional way a number of times each year. Dr. Brooks is a member of the County, State, National, City and Fox River Valley medical associations, and is a member of the Masons, the Eastern Star, the Elks, the Woodmen, the Mystic Workers, and the Appleton Golf and Appleton Boat clubs. In 1906 Dr. Brooks was married to Margaret Louise Hoefer, daughter of Fred W. and Augusta (Krueger) Hoefer, the former Chief of Police of Appleton, and they have had one daughter, Virginia Louise, aged three years. Mrs. Brooks is a member of the Christian Science Church.

MRS. DEBORAH COOLEY PRATT, one of the most venerable residents of Appleton and one of the most highly esteemed, whose long, useful and comparatively peaceful life has very nearly bridged a century, has been a resident of Wisconsin for many years, but is a native of New York. She was born at Attica, March 17, 1815, when a large part of her native state was yet an Indian frontier and when the main topics of the day were the close of the War of 1812, the introduction of steam, the invention of the cotton gin, and the possible building of the great Erie Canal across New York, which would be a wonderful piece of engineering. Mrs. Pratt saw that accomplished before her marriage to Miles Pratt, which took place in 1836. Seven children were born to this union, two of whom are still living: Mrs. E. R. Spaulding, of Appleton, and E. M. Pratt, of Milwaukee. Her eight grandchildren are: F. J. Harriman, F. E. Harriman, Dr. Harry K. Pratt and Miss Della Whitford, all of Appleton; Mrs. Flora Perry, of Pomona, California; Mrs. Carl Lord, of Keysville, Virginia; and Mabel and Alice Pratt, of Milwaukee . There are fifteen great-grandchildren and also two great-great-grandchildren. In the comfort, happiness and future of all these descendants the venerable lady is happily interested. Time has touched her with a light hand. In spite of her weight of years she is in excellent health of body and was never more vigorous in mind and not only enjoys social and family intercourse but preserves a lively interest in all that transpires in the great outside world. She looks back over a happy past and into the future with clear vision. She is affectionately known to everyone as "Grandma Pratt."

JOHN HARTSWORN, a prosperous and progressive young farmer of Center township, Outagamie county, is a member of a family that for three generations has carried on agricultural pursuits in this section of the country. His grandfather, Henry Hartsworn, was a native of Germany and came to the United States as a young man, settling with his wife, Mary, near Milwaukee, and later on removing to Center township, where he took up wild land and carried on farming up to the time of his death. His son, Frederick, the father of John Hartsworn, was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1850, and was married to Anna Sitts, a native of Center township. Frederick Hartsworn followed the example of his father and took up wild land, clearing it from the forest and making it into a good farm. He and his wife had eleven children, and of these John Hartsworn was born July 16, 1879. He was reared on the home farm, and when he could be spared was allowed to attend the district schools of his neighborhood. He was brought up to the hard work of the farm, and took that up for his life occupation, and in 1903, when his father died, he came into possession of the home place, which he has continued to operate to the present time. As a youth he had learned the carpenter's trade, a vocation which he followed for some time in conjunction with farming, but he now devotes all of his attention to his agricultural interests and has one of the well-cultivated, valuable and fine-appearing farms of Center township. Mr. Hartsworn belongs to the Reformed Church, at Dale, Wisconsin. His political faith is that of the Republican party, but he has never cared to spare time from his farming duties to engage in politics with the idea of securing public preferment. He has never married and resides on the home place with two sisters and a younger brother .

FERDINAND PURATH. In naming the representative citizens of any community, it is invariably found that among the most prominent are men who started in life with little or no advantages either of educational or financial nature and worked their way to the top through their own industry and perseverance. Ferdinand Purath, one of the self-made men of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, who is now engaged in operating a finely cultivated farm of 200 acres in Center township, is a son of Frederick Purath, a native of Germany. Frederick Purath was reared in his native country, where he served his time in the German army, and came to the United States at the age of thirty-two years. He came from New York to Milwaukee, where he remained three years working as a carpenter, and spent five years in like manner at Hartford, after which he located in Center township, where he bought land. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits here until he was about sixty-five years old, when he retired from active life and went to Appleton, where he died at the age of eighty-three years. Frederick Purath married Doretta Rietz, also a native of Germany, and they had a family of six children. Frederick Purath served as a soldier during the War of the Rebellion, being a member of the Forty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteers, from which he received his honorable discharge at the close of the war .

Ferdinand Purath was born July 13, 1858, in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and his education was secured in the district schools of Outagamie county, but when there was work to do on the home farm he was compelled to do his share, whether his education suffered or not. The farm was located in the solid woods, and the boys worked through the long summers and winters, from dawn to dark, helping their father to claim it from the wilderness. When but fifteen years of age, Mr. Purath began working out on other farms in his neighborhood, at first receiving fifteen dollars per month, and later, when he was a little older, being paid eighteen dollars and his board. When he was twenty-two years old he had accumulated enough money to justify his striking out on his own account, and he bought what is now a beautiful, well-cultivated farm, then but a mass of wild country covered with stones and stumps, but after years of unending, untiring labor he converted it into one of the best farms in Center township. When he bought the land there was a little frame house standing on it, and this was Mr. Purath's home for twelve years, when the present commodious residence was built. He carries on general farming, having 200 acres under cultivation, and has met with the success that has been due his earnest efforts .

In 1881, Mr. Purath was married to Miss Mary Gorges, daughter of Godfrey and Wilhelmina (Neiland) Gorges, natives of Germany, who came to Wisconsin and were engaged in farming in Center township. Mr. Gorges lost his life in the last battle of the Civil War, in which he was serving as a soldier in the Union army. To Mr. and Mrs. Purath there have been born seven children: Walter, born in 1895, who died at the age of one year, sixteen days; one child which died in infancy; Sylvia, born in 1887; Etta, born in 1889, and Elsa, born in 1891; Annie, born in 1893, and Elma, born in 1901. Of the living children all are at home except Elsa, who married Alfred Wirth of Center township. The family are members of the Evangelical Church in Center. In politics Mr. Purath is a Republican, and for six years served as treasurer of the district schools .

WILLIAM MEYER. In looking for a reason for personal success the seeker invariably finds that the men who rise above their fellows are those who have kept everlastingly at what, they started out to accomplish, and through sheer perseverance surmount all obstacles and work their way to the front. It is doubly hard for those who have had no advantages during their youth, for they find that the others have an early start over them, and yet it is found that some of our most successful men are those who have been compelled to make their own way from earliest youth. One of the self-made men of Outagamie county, who is carrying on agricultural operations on a tract of 160 acres lying in Center township, is William Meyer. He is a son of Frederick Meyer, who was born in Germany and came to the United States as a young man, landing at New York and going thence to Milwaukee, where he was engaged in butchering until 1859, when he came to Center township and bought twenty acres of land. Here he spent the rest of his life in farming. In 1855 he was married to Katherina P. Kohlie, who was born in Germany, and they had a family of four children .

William Meyer was born January 17, 1857, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he was three years old when the family came to Center township. He was reared on the home farm, and secured a good education in the district schools, the father insisting that the boys should have all the advantages that tuition could give them. As a youth, William Meyer preferred farming to any other vocation, but he was put at the carpenter's trade, and followed it for fifteen years, during which time he saved every cent he had and put it into land. His first purchase was a tract of two acres, on which he erected a house, and he gradually added to the land, little by little, clearing away the stumps and stones, and breaking the ground for crops. This steadfast, persevering labor was bound to accomplish results, and he is now the possessor of one of the finely cultivated farms of Center township, covering 160 acres. His present handsome home was erected in 1900, the other having been destroyed by fire, and the large barns were built in 1895, there also being a full number of other buildings on the premises .

On November 15, 1878, Mr. Meyer was married to Mary Nahls, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Russ) Nahls, of Center township. Mrs. Meyer, who was born in Germany, came to the United States with her parents when she was a small girl. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer, namely: Ida, who married Fred Boether, a farmer of Manitowoc county, has two children, Irene and Mildred; William, of Center township, married Mata Koepka, and has one child, Millie; Delia, who married Edwin Schroeder, of Black Creek, has one son, Lawrence; and Emma, who married Fred Bullard, of Escanaba, has a daughter, Chrystal. When still a young man, in 1890, Mr. Meyer was elected to the office of supervisor, an office which he held two years, and in 1895 was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, a capacity in which he acted for six years. He is a Democrat in politics, but it has been a case of the office seeking the man, rather than the man seeking the office. With his wife he attends St. John's German Lutheran Church .

OTTO KOEPKE, who has spent many years in Outagamie county engaged in agricultural pursuits, is now farming a property in Center township. He is a son of Ferdinand and Wilhelmina Koepke, natives of Germany, the former of whom served in the army of the Emperor Frederick William during the Franco-Prussian War. Mr. and Mrs. Koepke, with their two sons, Charles and Otto, started for the United States in 1872, but Charles died on the trip coming across the ocean, and the little party left New York for Milwaukee, where a short stop was made, then moving on to Dodge county. After another stop of a year, they came to Outagamie county, and settled in the woods of Cicero township, where the family resided for about fifteen years, and then the parents moved to Appleton. Mr. Koepke is now living in Oshkosh, his wife having died in 1904. They had a family of eight. children, of whom but four are now living .

Otto Koepke was twelve years of age when the family came to the United States, his birth having occurred March 17, 1860, and his education was secured in the schools of the Fatherland, and, to use his own words, "in the woods of Outagamie county, chopping wood." At the age of twenty-one years he was married to Mary Bergholtz, daughter of Charles and Sophia Bergholtz, and his father-in-law gave him forty acres of land due south from the family homestead. Here he built a little log house and took his young wife, this being their home for the ten years following, and he then rented his present property, operating it as a tenant for ten years, when he inherited it by will. He has brought it to a high state of cultivation and raises good crops, for which he finds a ready market. It is probable that Mr. Koepke will retire in a short time, feeling that his many years of hard labor entitle him to a rest in his fine home in Appleton, he having bought a residence there some time ago on Winnebago street. Mr. and Mrs. Koepke have had seven children as follows: Rosina, who died in infancy; Minnie, who married Gustave Shueller and has three daughters; Clara, who married Jacob Nolslegel, by whom she had two children; Mata, who married William Meyer and has one child, Milda; and Leo, Arthur and Malinda, all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Koepke are consistent members of the German Lutheran Church.

WILLIAM PINGEL, one of the progressive agriculturists of Center township, who has developed his farm into one of the best eighty acre tracts in his section of the county, was born June 23, 1868, in Greenville township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, the grandchild of John Charles and Dora (Zachow) Pingel, natives of Germany, who came to the United States when their son, William, was but two years old, settling in Greenville township. William Pingel was born in the '40s, and as a young man married Dora Dauck, but did not live long thereafter, his death occurring when he was but a young man, and his widow married Frederick Pingel, brother of her first husband, who is now living retired in Appleton, where Mrs. Pingel also makes her home. William Pingel was the only child of William and Dora (Dauck) Pingel, and was about three years of age when his mother and stepfather moved to Center township. He received all of his schooling in the district schools of this locality, and when he was old enough to manage it, his stepfather purchased a farm which William operated until 1895, at which time he purchased his present tract of eighty acres, then a partly improved farm, and little resembling the beautiful, highly-productive property of today. On October 19, 1892, Mr. Pingel was married to Ida Harm, daughter of John and Sophia Harm, of Center township, who were married in Germany. Mr. Pingel was born February 27, 1871, and went to the district schools of Center township. Mr. and Mrs. Pingel have had two children: Edna, born November 25, 1896; and Norma, born July 26, 1899.

Mr. Pingel has engaged quite extensively in dairying, and has made a number of improvements on his property along this line. His cow barns are fitted with cemented floors and partitions, and the utmost care is exercised to insure absolute cleanliness and hygienic conditions. He has also followed general farming and his efforts in this line have met with a well-deserved success, his large crops finding a ready and lucrative market. Mr. and Mrs. Pingel are consistent members of the German Lutheran Church.

FREDERICK A. MUELLER, a general farmer of Center township, who has been identified with the agricultural and educational affairs of this section of Outagamie county for a number of years, is a native of Wisconsin, having been born in the county of Milwaukee, November 15, 1868, a son of Christian F. Mueller. Christian F.Mueller was born February 13, 1824, in Germany, and came with his wife and one child, William V., to the United States in 1864. He went direct to Milwaukee, where for ten years he was engaged in working by the day, but in 1874 settled on a farm in Milwaukee county, and this he rented for a period of nineteen years. At the end of this time, in 1893, Mr. Mueller came to Center township, Outagamie county, and purchased the farm now owned by Frederick A. Mueller, at that time totally unimproved with the exception of a small log house. Mr. Mueller started in to improve his property, and soon erected a new house, and here he continued to reside until his death, in October, 1901, his wife having passed away before he came to this county. Three of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Mueller are still living.

Frederick A. Mueller received his education in the schools of Milwaukee, and always worked for his father during the latters lifetime. After his death, he purchased the share of his brother, and he has continued to operate the place to the present time, erecting good substantial barns and making other improvements. He has found the pasture land very good on his tract, and feeds fine cattle for dairy products, also engaging in a general line of farming. On April 23, 1893, Mr. Mueller was married to Caroline Lillge, daughter of Otto and Freda Lillge, and granddaughter of one of the earliest settlers of Outagamie county. Mrs. Mueller was born January 5, 1886, in Center township, and received her education in the district schools of the neighborhood of the Lillge homestead. She and Mr. Mueller have become the parents of the following children: F. Herbert, who was born May 15, 1907, and died September 19, 1909, being buried at St. Peter's Church Cemetery; Henry George, born February 21, 1904; Gertrude Elfrida, born August 4, 1905; and F. Willard, born February 21, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Mueller belong to the German Lutheran Church. He is a Democrat in politics, and has been district school clerk for five years and road superintendent for six years.

HENRY C. LILLGE, who is operating the old home farm in Center township, is one of the progressive and enterprising young agriculturists of this section, and is a member of one of the oldest families in Outagamie county, where his grandfather, Charl Lillge, was a pioneer settler. Charl Lillge came to this country soon after his marriage in Germany, and settled in Center township, where he started in a humble way and at the time of his death was a prosperous and well-known farmer. His son, Otto, born in Center township, followed in his father's footsteps, and had become prosperous and influential, when he met an accidental death, November 26, 1895, by the bursting of a large grindstone. Otto Lillge married Freda Berg, and they had a family of five children, among whom was Henry C., born March 24, 1884, on the farm which he is now cultivating. He secured his education in the neighborhood schools, after leaving which he learned the carpenter trade and followed that occupation for five years, two years of which he was working for himself. In 1910 he took charge of the home farm, which is one of the best places of the neighborhood, being highly cultivated, and well improved with all the buildings and accessories which go to make up a model farm of the twentieth century.

In January, 1907, Mr. Lillge was united in marriage with Gusta Schubert, who was born August 3, 1883, in Black Creek township, Outagamie county, daughter of Charl and Gusta Schubert, prominent farming people of Black Creek township and natives of the Fatherland. Mr. and Mrs. Lillge have been the parents of three children, namely: Norman, who was born in November, 1907, and died at the age of nine months; Marvin, who was born in December, 1908 and died when thirteen months of age; and Wilbert, who was born June 30, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Lillge are consistent attendants of St. Peter's German Lutheran Church. He is a Republican in politics, but has not cared for public preferment, although he takes a keen interest in matters pertaining to the welfare of the community and may be counted on to give his ready and willing support to every enterprise of benefit to his township.

JOHN S. SCHROEDER, who during a period covering more than forty years has been a resident of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, has taken an important part in the growth and development of this section, and is now engaged in agricultural pursuits on a fine tract of 160 acres located on section 29, in Black Creek township. John S. Schroeder was born in Mecklenburg Schwerin, Germany, March 14, 1843, a son of John and Louisa (Olmss) Schroeder, who were married in Germany and came to the United States in 1855, settling in New York State, where they lived for fourteen years. In 1869 the family came to Wisconsin, settling in Center township, where the mother died ten years later, at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. Schroeder died in Black Creek township at the age of seventy-seven years. Both are buried in Center township. John Schroeder, who died July 18, 1894, was a farmer by occupation, following agricultural pursuits all of his life, and he was honored and esteemed by the early settlers of this county and by those of the generation that came afterward. He had five children, and of these John S.was the second in order of birth.

John S. Schroeder secured his education in Germany and in the district schools of the early days in this country, and he remained at home with his parents until his marriage, in 1869, to Miss Mary Fiestedt, daughter of Daniel and Dorothy Fiestedt, natives of Mecklenburg Schwerin, Germany, where the father died. In 1868 Mrs. Schroeder came with her mother and brother to America and they settled in Outagamie county. Her mother died in 1873 in the town of Center. Mrs. Schroeder was the next to the youngest of her parents' four children, and was born August 22, 1839, and died December 27, 1904. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder, namely: Albert W., born September 5, 1868, married Edith B. Boller and is engaged in the retail drug business in Chicago, Illinois; August H., born January 13, 1870, married Freida Nickalous, who died February 13, 1907, leaving one son named Roland; Anna, who married Charles Emrich, of Black Creek township, has two children; and Edwin, who married Delia Myers, living with John S. Schroeder, has one child named Lawrence.

After his marriage Mr. Schroeder bought eighty acres of land in section 17, Center township, and lived there untiI 1892, at which time his father made his home with him, and he then sold out and bought the property on which he now lives, a tract of 160 acres, of which 110 acres were at that time subject to the plow. He now has 140 acres in a high state of cultivation, and the place has been ideally improved, being now fenced with rail and barbed wire, and equipped with a complete number of barns and outhouses. The dwelling on the property had been built when Mr. Schroeder secured the place, but he has erected the other buildings, including a basement barn, 150x46 feet. He engages in general farmnig, markets barley and dairy products principally, and also raises fine Poland China hogs and mixed Short Horn and Holstein cattle.In political matters he is a Republican, and he served for four years as supervisor in Center township and six years as treasurer of the school board in Black Creek township. Mr. Schroeder attends the Black Creek Lutheran Church.

BENJAMIN J. HARTSWORM, a popular hotel proprietor of Black Creek township, living at Binghamton, and the owner of seven and one-half acres of valuable property on section 32, is a native of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, having been born here on December 22, 1873, a son of Paul and Mary Hartsworm. Mr. Hartsworm's parents are natives of Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, and are now living in Black Creek township, the father having reached the age of sixty-seven years and the mother being sixty-four years old. They had a family of eight children, of whom Benjamin J. is the sixth in order of birth.

Benjamin J. Hartsworm secured his education in the district schools of Outagamie county, and grew up on his father's farm, making the old family home his residence until he was twenty-five years old, prior to which time he was engaged in various occupations throughout Black Creek township. In April, 1898, he decided to enter the hotel business, and subsequently purchased the hotel property at Binghamton, where he now has an excellent patronage. Mr. Hartsworm is an ideal host, with a pleasing and hospitable personality, and this, with the excellent service furnished by the hotel, has made his house one of the best patronized hostelries in this section of Black Creek township. On September 30, 1902, Mr. Hartsworm was united in marriage with Miss Antonia Werhman, daughter of Simon and Fredericka Werhman, natives of Wisconsin, who are now living in Appleton, the father being fifty-seven years old and the mother fifty-three. Mrs. Hartsworm, who is the fourth in order of birth of her parents' twelve children, was born January 7, 1884. Five children have been born to Benjamin J. and Antonia Hartsworm, namely: Delas, Ruth, Esther, Ethel and Dayton. Mr. Hartsworm is a Republican in politics, and he and Mrs. Hartsworm are consistent members of the Lutheran Church.

NOACK BROTHERS. Ernest and William Noack, who are carrying on farming operations on a well-cultivated tract of land on section 8, in the town of Seymour, are sons of August and Anna Noack, who are now living in the town of Maple Grove, on section 13, Shawano county, on a 100-acre farm, where they moved at the time the boys took charge of the Seymour township farm in October, 1910. August Noack was an early settler of Seymour township, locating at an early day on forty acres of wild land on which was an old sheep shed, the first family home. After building up this place and cultivating the land Mr. Noack sold the property and moved to the farm which the boys are now operating, originally an eighty-acre tract and now consisting of 120 acres. The buildings are substantial, spacious and well located and the farm presents an appearance that does credit to its owners. August and Anna Noack were the parents of the following children: Ernest, born December 25, 1886; William, born January 13, 1888; Emma, who lives wth her brothers and manages the household; Otto; and Alma, the last two named being at Maple Grove, Wisconsin.

AUGUST ROTHLESBERGER, one of the progressive, up-to-date farmers of Seymour township, who has made his own way in the world and made a place for himself among the successful men of his section through hard work and a determination to succeed, was born October 25, 1856, at Port Washington, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, a son of John and Matilda (Wachter) Rothlesberger, natives of Germany. The parents of Mr. Rothlesberger were farming people and their first property was located at Fredonia, where they resided seven years, then moving to Batavia. They continued to reside at this place until locating in Seymour township, settling on 120 acres of wild land, where they continued to live during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Rothlesberger's death occurred in 1898, when he was sixty-nine years old, and the mother passed away in 1904. They had the following children: August, George, William, Barney, Minnie, Lydia and Allie.

August Rothlesberger was the oldest of his parents' children, and as soon as he was able to reach the plow handles he was given his share of duties to perform on the home farm. He was reared to the life of an agriculturist and experienced all of the hard, unremitting toil of breaking in a new country, and no time was given him to acquire an education. Much observation, however, has given him a store of knowledge not to be gained in books, and he has never found that the lack of schooling interfered in any way with his ambition to succeed. When he purchased the old homestead it was graced with a little shanty and a log barn, but he soon added eighty acres to the original forty, built a fine house and a barn 40x100 feet, and settled down to general farming. Mr. Rothlesberger has one of the finest herds of Holstein cattle to be found in Outagamie county, and he makes on an average of 145 pounds of butter each week. His barn is equipped with all modern improvements as to sanitary needs and cleanliness, and includes the James patent stalls and stanchions.

In 1890 Mr. Rothlesberger was married to Josie Schimmelpfennig, daughter of August and Minnie Schimmelpfennig, and three children have been born to this union, namely: Ella, August and Hulda.

ADELBERT B. CARTER. One of the well-cultivated, highly productive farms of Seymour township is that owned by Adelbert B. Carter, located on section 18, where Mr. Carter has carried on operations since 1889. He is a native of Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he was born November 30, 1863, a son of Arnold and Jane Celestine (Wilson) Carter, natives of Jefferson county, New York. The parents of Mr. Carter were married in their native county, after which they emigrated to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and for three or four years were engaged in farming there, then removing to the State of Missouri. During the Civil War the family returned to Wisconsin, and Mr. Carter enlisted in Company 1, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, and after his service was completed he returned to the farm which he had purchased previous to enlistment in Osborne township, Outagamie county. There he erected a log cabin and stable and continued to carry on farming operations until his death.

Adelbert B. Carter was reared on the home farm, and secured his educational training in the district schools of his native locality, and after attaining his majority began working for himself. He was employed by his father until he reached the age of twenty-six, when he was married. He rented his father's farm for two years, after which he bought his present property, then consisting of sixty acres. There was a small log house on the place and eight or ten acres cleared. He used the log house for a barn the first year. He bought a frame house of one part and moved it a mile. He got out timber during the winter for a frame barn. He began clearing land and later added twenty acres to the original purchase, and the whole property is now in a fine state of cultivation. He has built on to his house until it now has eleven rooms. His first barn, which was 36x60 feet, and which was destroyed by fire, has been replaced by a fine structure 36x70 feet. Mr. Carter raises thoroughbred cattle, and is noted for the large and fancy broods of Plymouth Rock chickens which his incubators produce. A clean-cut, reliable and honest farmer, he not only has a large number of warm personal friends, but he is esteemed and respected by a wide circle of acquaintances.

In 1887 Mr. Carter was married to Carrie J. Tubbs, daughter of Peter Tubbs, of the Seymour Advisory Board, and they have had the following children: Edith, born November 7, 1888; Mildred, August 6, 1891; Clyde, October 1, 1894; Marion, August 25, 1897: Dorothy, August 14, 1899; Ellen, July 24, 1901; Ruth, April 6, 1902: and Robert, February 17, 1905.

AUGUST KARWEICK, who has been a lifelong resident of Seymour township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, was born in this township, October 12, 1877, and is a son of William and Johanna (Korsch) Karweick, and a grandson of Martin and Anna Karweick, farming people of Germany. The grandparents of Mr. Karweick had sevenl children, namely: William, Minnie, Gusta, August, Albert, Johanna and Herman. William Karweick was born in Germany, December 9, 1843, and came to the United States in 1869, locating at Appleton, Wisconsin, from whence he removed in 1876 to Seymour township. He took up eighty acres of land in section 20, and during the years that followed the wild and timbered land gave way to smooth, cultivated fields, producing large crops, and the little log buildings of the pioneer days became modern structures of substantial build, where Mr. and Mrs. Karweick are passing their declining years. Johanna Korsch was born in Germany, October 2, 1845, the seventh child of a family of eight, of whom the others were: John, Caroline, Henrietta., Mary, Tina, Henry and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Karweick had only three children: Herman, who is now deceased; August; and Lena, who married Otto Jaeger.

August Karweick received his education in the district schools of Seymour township and remained on the home farm assisting his father until his marriage in 1899 to Emma Court. For two years thereafter Mr. and Mrs. Karweick resided on the old family homestead, and in 1901 Mr. Karweick purchased the farm across the road from his father's place, a tract of eighty acres in section 19, partly improved. Here he erected a fine, twelve-room house, a barn 38x70 feet, good outbuildings and a steel tower windmill. and he has been engaged in general farming and stock raising to the present time. Mrs. Karweick was born February 11, 1877, in Cicero township, daughter of Charles and Minnie (Baker) Court. Charles Court was born March 25, 1844, in Germany, and was one of the early settlers in Outagamie county, coming to Greenville during the pioneer days and working for the farmers in this vicinity in order to get a start. Eventually he located on 160 acres of wild land in Cicero township and began life in a log cabin 26x20 feet, with one cow and a yoke of oxen as his livestock. By 1882 he had erected a barn 36x50 feet and in 1889 erected another 30x50 feet, and during 1890 a fine nine-room house was built. In 1874 Mr. Court was married to Minnie Baker, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, October 28, 1847, daughter of Christoph and Marie (Layman) Baker, who came to this country with their two children, Minnie and Caroline, and spent their declining years with Mr. and Mrs. Court, the father dying in 1905 at the remarkable age of ninety-eight years and the mother in 1901 when eighty-four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Court had the following children: Augusta, Emma, Albert, Bertha, Ida, Herman, Charles and Richard.

To Mr. and Mrs. Karweick there have been born two children: Gertrude, born January 7, 1905; and Harold, December 14, 1910. The family is connected with the Lutheran Church.

JACOB NICKOLAY, whose fine tract of 198 acres, Woodside Farm, is situated in section 13, Seymour township, is a native of Germany, born November 4, 1853, a son of Peter and Susan Nickolay. The parents of Mr. Nickolay were married in Germany and came to the United States in 1867 with their five children, Jacob, Mary, Peter, Anton and John, settling on forty acres of land in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, ten acres of which had been cleared. Mr. Nickolay, with the help of his sons, cleared the remainder of this property, and lived there twenty years, and his last years were spent at the home of his son Jacob, where he died in 1909, aged eighty-five years, the mother having passed away February 22, 1892, the day before her sixty-seventh birthday. Jacob Nickolay received his education in Germany, and was fourteen years old when the family came to the United States. During the year following their arrival, he remained at home, and he then went to work in the shingle mills until he was twenty-four, when he commenced farming, and in 1879 came to Seymour township, locating on a tract of sixty-seven acres. This land was virgin wilderness, not a stick having been cut on the property, but after he had erected a little log house and barn Mr. Nickolay began the work of clearing his property for cultivation, and after putting the original purchase in a productive state he bought thirteen acres adjoining, and he now has most of his land under cultivation. He built a fine brick house and a barn 84x70 feet, the latter of which was destroyed by fire, and he then erected a new barn, 36x106 feet, with a basement under all. He raises thoroughbred hogs of the Duroc Jersey breed, Holstein cattle and fine horses, and carries on extensive general farming operations. In politics Mr. Nickolay is a staunch Democrat and he has served Sevmour township as supervisor and as assessor for nine years.

In 1879 Mr. Nickolay was married to Mary Bur, who was born in Germany in 1854, daughter of Nick and Catherine Bur, natives of Germany, who came to the United States and died at Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Nickolay have no children, but have an adopted son, Raphael, who was born in 1891 in New York.

WOLF R. SIGL, proprietor of Oakland Farm, a well-cultivated tract of 120 acres of farming land lying in section 2, Seymour township, was born October 30, 1869, in Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of Sebastian Sigl, whose other children were George, Max, Teckla, Joe, John and Frank. Mr. Sigl cannot remember his mother, as she died when he was only four years old. Sebastian Sigl married again after his first wife's death, and the family came to the United States in 1876, stopping at Appleton, Wisconsin, two months and then moving on to Seymour township, two miles west of the present site of Oakland Farm. They located on ninety acres of wild land, on which Mr. Sigl erected a log house and barn, but a short time later moved across the line into Shawano county, where Mr. Sigl purchased 120 acres of wild land and again started in a log house. With the help of his sons he cleared the land from the wilderness, and erected good frame buildings, and at the time of his death, in 1890, when he was sixty-two years old, he was one of the substantial farmers of his community. By his second marriage he became the father of Wesley L., Charles A., Henry W., Edelia and Mary.

Wolf R. Sigl was seven years old when the family came to the United States, and his education was secured in the district schools. He grew up on the home farm, his boyhood being spent much the same as that of other farmers' sons at that time, and he was reared to the hard work of the uncultivated farm. When twenty-three years of age he started out for himself in the lumber mills, but in 1895 purchased forty acres of his present land, which was then in a totally uncultivated state. By hard work he managed to clear the land for cultivation, and when this had been accomplished he added another forty acres, and some time later forty acres more, and all this land has been cultivated to a highly productive state. He has a handsome farm residence, a 40x82 barn, with basement, and other good farm buildings, and here he carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Sigl has been uniformly successful in his operations and he is considered one of the good, practical agriculturists of Seymour township.

In 1895 Mr. Sigl was married to Mamie Meyers, who was born in Menominee, Michigan, in 1879, daughter of John Meyers. Mr. and Mrs. Sigl have had no children.

HENRY ALBERT. Among the representative citizens and good, practical farmers of Seymour township, Outagamie county, may be mentioned Henry Albert, whose well-cultivated farm of eighty acres is located on section 11. He is a native of Wisconsin, having been born in Dodge county, March 23, 1862, and is a son of August and Louisa (Baker) Albert. August Albert was a native of Germany, from whence, he came to the United States with his parents, who settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin. There Mr. Albert grew to manhood and engaged in farming all of his life, dying in 1905 at the age of seventy-three years, a substantial and highly respected citizen. His widow, who survives him, makes her home at Horicon, and has reached the age of seventy-three years. They had the following eight children: Henry, Louis, William, Mary, Emma, Minnie, Caroline, and one who. died in infancy.

Henry Albert received his education in the district schools of Dodge county, and grew up on the home farm, being reared to the life of an agriculturist from the time when he could first reach the plow-handles. He engaged in farming on his own account when he had attained his majority, and continued to farm in Dodge county until his marriage to Susan Zeiman, in 1888, when he came to Seymour township and settled on a farm which was located two miles south of the property on which he is now operating. He came to the latter place four years later, at a time when it was nearly all wild land, but he now has the entire place under cultivation and has one of the best-appearing and most productive properties in his part of the township. Mr. Albert has always taken a great interest in the cause of education, and is now serving as a director of school district No. 8. Mrs. Albert, who is a native of Hustisford, Wisconsin, was born November 6, 1868, a daughter of Henry Zeiman, an early settler of that locality. When she was two years old her parents removed to Racine county. The death of her mother left an infant brother to her care. Some years later Mr. Zeiman moved to Horicon, which has since been his home. He is now sixty-four years old and vividly recollects the hardships of pioneer times endured by his people. Mrs. Zeiman was born at Hartford, her maiden name being Christina Schultz, a daughter of Martin Schultz, who was related to the Alberts, pioneers of Milwaukee and at Hartford. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert, namely: Adaline, who married Myrle Little; and Cora, Clara and Harvey.

OTTO EISCH, who conducts a store and tavern in the little community of Isaar, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, was for a number of years engaged in farming in Seymour township, and is well and favorably known to the citizens of this section. Mr. Eisch was born in Bavaria, Germany, June 30, 1870, and at the age of sixteen years came to America and located in Seymour township, where he worked on a farm for ten years. He was here married to Anna Schmidt, who was born December 20, 1878, daughter of Peter Schmidt, a pioneer of Seymour township, and the young couple settled on eighty acres of wild land, on which was a frame dwelling, 18x24 feet, and a log barn. Later, Mr. Eisch sold this property and moved to another tract of eighty acres, on section 2, in the same township, and after cultivating this land for a few years purchased forty acres more and erected a fine basement and barn. Seven or eight years later Mr. and Mrs. Eisch located on their present large property, which is located in Seymour township, on section 11, and Mr. Eisch now conducts a general store and tavern, which he purchased in 1908. Mr. Eisch has held the office of treasurer of school district No. 6, of which he has been a director for some years, and he also took a prominent part in the building of the Catholic Church at Isaar, of which he is a leading member. He and his wife were the second couple to be married in this church. They have been the parents of eight children, as follows: Elizabeth, Otto, John, Ferdinand, Margaret, Robert, Henry and Eleanora, of whom Otto is now deceased.

HARRY K. PRATT, D. D. S., a well known member of the Outagamie dental profession, whose chosen field of practice is the city of Appleton, is a native of this city, born August 6, 1878, a son of Edgar M. and Henriette (Meitzner) Pratt, and a grandson of Miles Pratt. Miles Pratt, who was a blacksmith by trade, brought his family to Wisconsin from New York State in 1855, and located in Rock county, having a shop at Milton, from whence he came to Appleton in 1868. He was married in New York to Deborah Cooley, and among their children was Edgar M. Pratt, who was born at Alden, New York, in 1854, accompanied the family to Wisconsin, was a traveling salesman for many years, and is now engaged in the newspaper and tobacco business in Milwaukee. He and his wife, who was born in Germany, are still living, as are three of their six children: Alice and Mabel, who are teachers in the Milwaukee schools; and Harry K. Harry K. Pratt attended the public and high schools in Appleton, after leaving which he entered the Wisconsin College of Dental Surgery, and was graduated therefrom with the degree of D. D. S., in 1902. He immediately located in Appleton, where for about six months he was associated with Dr. Crawford, whose practice he eventually purchased, and since that time has been engaged in his profession alone. He is well known in his profession. has a large number of friends and acquaintances, and is popular in fraternal circles, belonging to the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor, the Odd Fellows, the Elks, and the Masonic fraternity. With his wife he attends the Presbyterian Church in Appleton, and his political principles are those of the Republican party. In 1904 Dr. Pratt was married to Elsie Sebold, of Plymouth, Wisconsin, and they have had two daughters, namely: Katherine and Henrietta.

LUTHER H. MOORE, D. D. S., practicing dentistry in the city of Appleton, Wisconsin, is one of the well known professional men of Outagamie county, where he has confined his efforts since 1907. Dr. Moore is a native of Clinton county, Ohio, born June 8, 1869, a son of Oliver and Ophelia (Coate) Moore, residents of Kansas City, Missouri. Luther H. Moore has one sister, Anna, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri, married to Dr. George C. Thompson. Dr. Moore secured his preliminary education in the public schools of Clinton county, Ohio, and he was fourteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Kansas. He completed his public school education there, and some years later decided upon the dental profession for his life work and subsequently entered the Western Dental College, of Kansas City, Missouri, from which he received his degree in 1905. During the two years that followed, he, was situated at Baxter Springs, Kansas, and in 1907 he came to Appleton, where he has since followed his profession with satisfactory success. Dr. Moore was married in 1906, to Miss Mary Olmstead, daughter of Lamar Olmstead, of Appleton, and they have had one daughter, Ellen. Mrs. Moore, who is a very talented lady, was a teacher of music in Baxter Springs College prior to her marriage. Dr. Moore is a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic fraternity, and his politics are those of the Republican party.

STILLMAN N. FISH, a successful business man of Appleton, Wisconsin, handling a full line of staple and fancy groceries at his modern establishment situated at No. 1011 College avenue, was born in the State of Connecticut, March 24, 1850, and is a son of Elisha and Sallie (Dais) Fish, natives of Connecticut of English descent, whose ancestors came to this country during Colonial days. Mr. Fish's father, grandfather and six uncles were all soldiers in the Union army during the Civil War, belonging to the Eighteenth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-first Connecticut regiments. Elisha Fish, who was a blacksmith by trade, followed that occupation throughout his life, and with the exception of the time during which he served in the Civil War never left his native state. Stillman N. Fish received his educational training in the public schools of Conneeticut, and in March, 1885, came to Wisconsin and located in Appleton, where he secured employment in the Kimberly-Clark Paper Mill. He had been associated with Mr. P. R. Thom for some time before coming to Appleton, and it was on the latter's suggestion that he settled in this section. He continued to be employed by this gentleman for fourteen years, and in 1901 embarked in the grocery business on Cherry street, this being his location until January, 1910, when increased business demanded more space and better facilities, and Mr. Fish accordingly moved to his present situation, 1011 College avenue. Here he has a building fitted in every way to meet the demands and satisfy the requirements of a large trade, and he carries a full line of the best grade of groceries. His business ability, strict attention to his affairs, and hard, untiring labor have made him successful in his chosen line, and he is considered one of the substantial men of his community. In 1869 Mr. Fish was married to Lula James, of Connecticut, who died in Appleton in 1886, and during the year following he was married to Tilda Nichols, of Appleton, who survives. Mr. Fish had a family of six children by his first marriage, as follows: Jessie, who married Orrice Nichols, of Appleton; Clark, a papermaker of Appleton; Bertha, who married Chris Casperson, a resident of Neenah; Stillman, a papermaker of Kansas City; Winfield J. ,engaged in papermaking in Ohio; and William, who is in business with his father. Mr. and Mrs. Fish are connected with the Congregational Church. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks.

ALBERT DAHMS, who is numbered among the leading business men and representative citizens of Appleton, Wisconsin, is the proprietor of a leading grocery store of the city. He was born in Germany, January 17, 1866, and came to the United States in 1884 with his parents, Fred and Augusta Dahms, who located in Dodge county, where Mr. Dahms engaged in farming. Albert Dahms received his early education in the schools of his native country, and later was given an English education in Dodge county. After leaving school he began to get his business training in a grocery store at Neenah, where he opened an establishment of his own in 1897, but decided to widen his field of operations in July, 1910, at which time he came to Appleton and bought out W. L. Rhodes' grocery, which he remodeled and improved in numerous ways. He now has a leading grocery in Appleton, with a store 25x140 feet, and caters to the best trade in Appleton. In 1889 Mr. Dahms was united in marriage with Ernestine Nehne, and they have had four children, namely: Elsie, Olga, Meta and Dorothy. Mr. Dahms is a consistent member of the German Lutheran Church, and is serving as trustee of the Lutheran Aid Association. In political matters he is independent, relying on his own judgment to tell him which candidate is best fitted for the office. His business is steadily growing, owing to Mr. Dahms' excellent methods of handling his affairs, and he is rapidly taking his place among the prominent business men of his adopted city.

PATRICK H. RYAN, a prosperous business citizen of Appleton, Wisconsin, where he is engaged in plumbing with T. J. Long as a partner, is a native of this city, where he was born August 27, 1864, and a son of John and Margaret (Grace) Ryan, natives of Ireland. The parents of Mr. Ryan were married in their native country, and in 1852 left the Emerald Isle for the United States, in that year landing at Northampton, Massachusetts. Two years later they came to Appleton, the trip being made in the winter and the family suffering much from the cold, as a great deal of the journey was made by stage coach between the railroad points, the lakes being closed. On first locating in Appleton, John Ryan settled in the Third Ward, where he first worked as a day laborer, and later took up railroad contracting and farming. He died here in 1903, and his wife in 1906, both being members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, of which they were among the earliest members. Eight children were born to John and Margaret Ryan, as follows: Lawrence, who died at the age of nineteen years; Ellen, who married Edward Murphy and resides in Appleton; James, who died when thirteen years of age; Richard, formerly engaged, in the grocery business in Appleton, and now connected with the International Harvester Company in Milwaukee; Kate, who married John Hawley and now resides at Neenah; John C., born in Appleton, May 9, 1861, the owner of an art store in Appleton, who married Helene Murphy; Margaret, who married Richard Dunn, a resident of Neenah; and Patrick H. Patrick H. Ryan received a high school education, graduating from the Appleton High School in 1882, after which he began driving a team for the C. C. Wayland Lumber Company. After two years of this kind of work, he was given charge of the yards for this company, a position in which he continued for four years. He then spent one year at DePere, and the next three and one-half years he spent as Deputy under Sheriffs James Golden and Richard Conlon. He then went to Bessemer, Michigan, and for a time was employed by the lumber firm of Hoxey & Mellor, and in 1891 came to Appleton and engaged in the plumbing business with Harry Nichols, to whom he sold his interest in 1898 and engaged in the same line with T. J. Long, with whom he has since been associated. These partners have built up an excellent trade in Appleton, both being experts in their line of work. In 1897 Mr. Ryan was married to Josephine Malone, of Appleton, daughter of James Malone. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and Mr. Ryan is a charter member of the Knights of Columbus.

MARTIN McDERMOTT. Almong the prominent farmers and representative citizens of Hortonia township, Outagamie county, may be mentioned Martin McDermott, the owner of a fine farming property, which was originally the home of his father, John McDermott. John McDermott, who was born in Ireland, came to the United States at the age of seventeen years, and from 1847 until 1865 lived in New York City. He was married in that city to Katherine Saul, also a native of Ireland, who was left an orphan and came to the United States when ten years old. In 1862 John McDermott enlisted for service in the Civil War, becoming a member of the Fourth New York Heavy Artillery, with which he served until the close of hostilities, when he received an honorable discharge. He was seriously wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and he never really fully recovered from the effects thereof. At the close of the war he came to Wisconsin, whence his wife and three children, George, Thomas and Michael (seven children having died in New York) had preceded him the spring previous, and when he located here he purchased the property that is now owned by Martin McDermott. This land was then covered with heavy timber, but after John McDermott had erected a little log shanty, he and his sons started to clear the property for cultivation. For eight years the family lived in the first little home, and Mr. McDermott then built a larger house, in which he died in 1901, aged seventy-two years, his wife following him to the grave in 1907. Martin McDermott's educational advantages were somewhat limited, as his help was needed on the farm during the summer months, and in the winters he worked in the logging camps, but he managed withal to gain a fairly good education, which has been supplemented by reading and close observation in after years. In 1882 he was married to Mary Cavanaugh, a native of Ohio, daughter of Michael and Bridget (McNicholas) Cavanaugh, who came from Ireland and settled in Ohio, from whence they came in 1858 to Wisconsin, settling in Hortonia township. Here Michael Cavanaugh took up land, and at the time of his death, June 3, 1911, he was one of the prominent citizens of his section. His wife died June 18, 1887, having been the mother of eight children. After his marriage Mr. McDermott came to live on his present property, where, by hard work and good management, he has added considerably to his acreage. Mr. McDermott's home is large and commodious, and the barns are modern and ample, all of these having been built by him, and the fine, prosperous appearance of the property testifies to its good management. Mr. and Mrs. McDermott have had six children: John Edward and two infants, deceased; Mary Ethel, born June 16, 1885, the wife of William Furman, of Winchester; Nellie Alicia, born August 9, 1889; and Martin Elias, born May 17, 1897. The family is connected with the Catholic Church at New London.

AUGUST KRAHN, a prosperous farmer and stockraiser of Outagamie county, Wisconsin, who resides in Section 9, Osborn township, owns two valuable farms, one containing 200 acres and the second one, situated farther south, containing 240 acres. He was born in Germany, December 3, 1853, and is a son of Gottlieb and Amelia Krahn. His mother died in her native land, after which the father and his children came to the United States. The large percentage of German settlers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attracted him to that place, where, after a season, he again married. August Krahn remained at home and worked in Milwaukee until 1881, and by that time had acquired enough capital to enable him to invest in two tracts of eighty acres each, in Section 9, Osborn township, Outagamie county. This land that now shows every evidence of careful cultivation, was then covered with woods and brush, a part of it being also swamp, while the only improvements were a little frame building used for a dwelling house and a small barn. Mr. Krahn had always been industrious and the appearance of the place in no wise discouraged him, and he immediately set about clearing it, having a yoke of oxen, a little wagon and two cows at that time. To know how well he succeeded, and in a comparatively short time, the visitor has only to look over his productive fields, note his orchards and his fine grade of stock. In place of the little frame dwelling there stands a fine modern residence, and his basement barn has measurements of 40x90 feet.

Mr. Krahn was married first to Lena Becker, who died in 1881, at the age of twenty-two years. She was the mother of three children: Charles, Clara and a babe that died. He was married secondly to Albertina Greinke, and they have four sons and four daughters: William, Fred, Albert, Eduard, Bertha, Anna, Meta and Louisa.

JAMES WOODS, who is now engaged in operating a magnificent farming property of 280 acres located in Greenville township, is one of Outagamie county's substantial agriculturists. He was born on the farm which he now owns, and is a son of Michael and Ellen (Cunneen) Woods, natives of County Limerick, Ireland. Michael Woods was born March 10, 1817, a son of Michael Woods, and his educational advantages were somewhat limited in his youth on account of sudden reverses in the family fortunes. His assistance was needed in supporting the family, and as a youth and young man he worked as a farm hand, also engaging in boating on the river Shannon. In 1846 he came to the United States, and after a short experience as a dock hand in New York City, he made his way West to Milwaukee. During 1855 he returned to New York City, and on October 4 of that year he was married to Ellen Cunneen. They then started back to Wisconsin, and on November 12 settled on a tract of wild land in the southwest quarter of Section 12, which Mr. Woods had purchased some time previously, and this he cultivated and improved, adding to it year by year until at the time of his death he was the owner of 425 acres of fine land. Farming was Mr. Woods' life work, and he never allowed other matters to divert his attention from it. Having started as a poor youth, he always appreciated the value of money, but, likewise, having felt the pinch of poverty, he never hesitated to help out those less fortunate than he. A good farmer, a public-spirited citizen, and a self-made man, Mr. Woods had the respect of his fellow townsmen, and his death was a loss to the community in which he resided. His first wife died August 16, 1864, leaving four children: John, who died March 15, 1911; Michael, also deceased, whose family are residing in Grand Chute township; Joanna, who died at the age of two years; and James. Michael Woods was married (second) to Kate Leahey, of County Cork, Ireland, and died April 12, 1892, being buried in Greenville cemetery.

James Woods has always been a resident of the old homestead farm, his education having been received in the schools of its vicinity, and since he was old enough to assume responsibility, he has been concerned in its management. He was in partnership with his brother John, after his father's death, and since John's death he has had entire control of the property, which now aggregates 280 acres. The railroad runs through this property. Although he hires help to assist him in working his large farm, Mr. Woods has not found time from his duties to interest himself actively in other matters, and as a consequence is not connected with any fraternal organization, nor is he engaged in politics. His religious connections are with St. Mary's Church, at Appleton. On April 25, 1911, Mr. Woods was married to Katherine Halloran, who was born in Ellington township, Outagamie county, daughter of Michael and Julia (Newcomb) Halloran, natives of County Cork, Ireland, and early settlers of Ellington township, where they spent the rest of their lives in farming. They were the parents of six children, all of whom are living, and of whom Mrs. Woods is the youngest.

HENRY L. HOH, who has been a life-long resident of Greenville township, where he now operates a farm of 160 acres, was born on the property he now owns, October 9, 1869, and is a son of Henry R. and Bertha (Eberhardt) Hoh, natives of Schwartzburg, Sanders Haufen, Saxony, where the former was born October 2, 1835, and the latter April 2, 1842. Henry R. Hoh came to America when nine years of age with his parents, the family coming direct to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they resided for a number of years, then coming to Outagamie county and locating in Grand Chute township. Mrs. Hoh came to America, when one year old, and with her parents also located in Milwaukee. Mr. Hoh resided with his parents until he had reached man's estate, at which time he began working for others, following the trade of cooper until 1861, when he married and moved to Grand Chute township and engaged in the cooperage business. He remained here until 1892, in which year he retired and moved to Appleton, where his death occurred in December, 1903. His widow, who survives him, still makes her home in Appleton. They had a family of five children, as follows: Lovina, the wife of Otto Younger, a grocer of Appleton; Clara, who married Charles Menning, engaged in farming in Greenville township; Henry L.; Sarah, the wife of Charles Meltz, of Menasha township; and Levi, residing on Second avenue, Appleton, within the city limits in Grand Chute township. Henry L. Hoh attended the Greenville township schools and also spent one year in the old Ryan High School, Appleton. He was married January 12, 1892, to Anna Woltersdorf, born in Columbus, Wisconsin, December 13, 1867, daughter of William and Bertha (Briese) Woltersdorf, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1867 and located at Columbus, where Mr. Woltersdorf died about 1888, his widow residing there until 1909, when she went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Hoh. Mr. Hoh has never left the old homestead farm. He assisted his father in clearing the land and in cultivating it, and at the time of his marriage he began renting it and working it on his own account. When his father died he bought the interest of the other heirs, and he now works 160 acres, engaging in farming along general lines, and in stock raising. He has also a tract of twenty acres of timber land in Grand Chute township. Mr. Hoh's farm is one of the best equipped properties in Greenville township, his buildings being large and substantial, including a barn, 36x117 feet. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and in political matters is independent, never aspiring to office. Mr. and Mrs. Hoh have four children, namely: Lorena, Ruth, Alfred and Clarence, all single and at home.

WILLIAM 0. CLARK, who is well known in the feed and grain business in Appleton, as a member of the firm of Comerford & Clark, was born in Hartford, Wisconsin, July 11, 1849, and is a son of Ozias and Lydia (Graves) Clark, natives of New York, who came to Waukesha county at an early day, and later moved to Hartford. Ozias Clark purchased Government land, which he operated until 1863, and in that year came to Appleton, removing later to Clayton, and two years thereafter to Chilton, Calumet county, where both parents died. They had a family of four children, of whom, one is now deceased. William O. Clark was educated partly in the public schools and partly in the school of hard work, his early youth being spent in the lumber woods, and at the age of twenty-nine years he came to Appleton, where he was engaged in the hay and pressing business. His first association with William Comerford, his present partner, was in the livery business, in which they continued for one year, and in 1893 the firm of Comerford & Clark was formed for the selling of hay and feed. The business has prospered from the start, and the concern has a high reputation in the grain and feed trade. In 1877 Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Ellen Carr, who died in 1890, leaving three children: Charles Louis, who resides at Ashland, Wisconsin; Eva Maude, a teacher at Medina, Wisconsin, who will be principal of the Dale School in 1912; and Elmer William, who is engaged in the mercantile business in Australia. Mr. Clark was married (second) in 1891, to Clara Cook, of Oshkosh, who was principal of the South Side School in that city, and to this union there was born one son: Ray, who died at the age of eight months. Mrs. Clark is a member of the Congregational Church. Her husband is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias, and has also been connected with public matters, serving as commissioner of the poor for three terms, and assisting in various movements for the benefit of Appleton. He is one of the conservative, responsible business men that add to the business strength of any community, while as a citizen he is public spirited in a large degree..

FRANK W. HAUERT, who was born in Brookfield, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, August 6, 1865, is one of Appleton's well-known business men, and is proprietor of the oldest grain and feed establishment in this city. He is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Reineman) Hauert, the former a native of Baden, Germany, and the latter of the same country, from whence she came with her parents. Jacob Hauert came to the United States as a young man and settled first in Milwaukee, from whence, in 1849, he traveled overland to California during the days of the discovery of gold. Having accumulated considerable means there, he returned by way of boat, and was married in Milwaukee, after which he purchased land in Waukesha county, where all of his children were born. Mr. Hauert started to come to Outagamie county about 1868, to loan money, and about 1874 he settled in Appleton and bought a half interest in the Charles Morey flour mill. Later Nicholas Weiland bought Mr. Morey's interest in the business, which still later became Wambolt, Hauert & Company, Incorporated, and eventually the Hauerts all sold their interest in the business and Jacob Hauert retired, living a quiet life until his death in 1905, at the age of eighty-four years, his widow surviving until January 22, 1909. Although not a member of any church Mr. Hauert was liberal in his contributions to church and charitable movements. He had a family of nine children, as follows: Henry, who is deceased, was manager of the flour mill and later with his brother, Jacob J., in the flour and feed business, and had a wife and one son, Robert; George, a retired farmer of Oshkosh, has a wife and two children; Jacob J., engaged in the hardware business in Appleton, is married and has five children; one child who died in infancy; Annie, who died at the age of 13 years; Julia, who married Henry Kossel, a resident of Oshkosh, engaged in the real estate business; Frank W., Appleton; Fred C., resident of Black Creek, Wisconsin, the proprietor of a general store, has a wife and two children; and Amelia, who married Henry Losselyong, a mail carrier of Appleton, has two children.

Frank W. Hauert received a common school education in the schools of Waukesha. county, and as a youth came to Appleton and went to work for his brothers, Henry and Jacob, who were engaged in the flour and feed business here. After the death of Henry Hauert, Frank W., on April 25, 1894, bought his brother's interest in the business, which he has since conducted alone with great success. The present store was erected by Mr. Hauert's father, in 1883, and is a two-story structure, 53x80 feet. Mr. Hauert is the leading flour, feed and seed merchant in Appleton, and his stand is the oldest in the city. On January 19, 1891, Mr. Hauert was united in marriage with Mary Bowhousen, and they have had four children.: May, who is deceased; and Helen, Ervin J, and Lorine, all at home. Mr. Hauert's fraternal connections are with the Woodmen and the Eagles.

RICHIE R. BLAKE, manager of the F. W. Woolworth Five and Ten-Cent Store, at Appleton, Wisconsin, and one of the progressive and enterprising young business men of this city, was born at Benton, Lafayette county, Wisconsin, September 13, 1880, and is a son of Stephen and Elizabeth Blake. Richie R. Blake received his education in the common schools of Lafayette county, and as a young man started to learn the trade of barber, although his father was a carpenter and contractor. Working as a journeyman, his trade carried him to various points in the country, and while working in Des Moines, Iowa, in February, 1906, he first became connected with the Woolworth stores. Later he was sent to the store at Freeport, Illinois, where he remained for a short time, and in February, 1908, he was sent to Appleton to take charge of the store here, which had been established and opened September 2, 1905. This establihment occupies floor space 40x90, the basement and back room being used as storerooms for the stock, and in addition to the manager eleven persons are employed. Nothing but goods costing five and ten cents are handled, and under Mr. Blake's efficient management the business has steadily grown. Mr. Blake was united in marriage, July 14, 1910, to Miss Mabel McGary, of Appleton, the estimable daughter of Benjamin McGary, a well known citizen of this place.

WILLIAM WENZEL, whose enterprising methods and progressive ideas have, stamped him as one of the up-to-date business men of Appleton, is engaged in plumbing, and in the manufacture of plumbing supplies and various articles of his own invention. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 31, 1854, and is a son of Anton and Agnes Wenzel, natives of Germany, who came to Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, in 1852, where Mr. Wenzel was engaged in farming all of his life. Two children were born to Anton and Agnes Wenzel, namely: William, and Mrs. Fred Lais, a resident of Chicago. William Wenzel received his education in the public and mechanical drawing schools of Milwaukee, where as a young man he learned the trades of locksmith, sheet iron worker, coppersmith, steam fitter, plumber and machinist, spending eight years in fitting himself for the business in which he was to become so successful in after life. In 1876 he came to Appleton, and during eight years was connected with the Kimberly-Clark Company, after which he opened a small plumbing establishment, which has since grown to generous proportions. Mr. Wenzel is now engaged in manufacturing filtering materials for breweries and glue factories, pumps, beer filters, water filters, filter mass washing machines, self-registering gasoline tanks, condensers and hydraulic vacuum systems for sulphide mills. Mr. Wenzel has the only testing machine for testing steam gauges in this part of the state, and he has protected all of his inventions by patents. His business operations now cover a wide area, and his trade includes some of the large business houses in Wisconsin. In 1878 Mr. Wenzel was united in marriage with Sophia Schultz, a daughter of Fred. Schultz, of Appleton, and they have had eleven children, of whom four are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel and their children are members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

EDWARD S. ZEH, general farmer and stock raiser of Greenville township, has spent his life in this section, where he now owns a well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, and where he is serving his seventh year as clerk of the school board. He was born July 27, 1880, in Greenville township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, a son of Henry Zeh and Hannah (Hoh) Zeh, natives of Saxony, Germany. Henry Zeh was born April 27, 1837, and his wife April 5, 1838, and they came to America at a very early date, settling in Milwaukee, where Mr. Zeh followed the trade of cooper. Some years previous to the Civil War the family came to Outagamie county, and Mr. Zeh purchased a farm, on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying in Greenville township, August 7, 1910, his wife having passed away July 6, 1903. Of their seven children, four are now living, as follows: William, a stock dealer, residing at Seymour; Lucetta, widow of W. S. Leppla, residing at Edgar, Wisconsin; Fred, a retired citizen of Appleton, Wisconsin; and Edward S. Edward S. Zeh received a district school education, and remained on the home farm with his parents until his marriage, at which time he purchased his present farm, a fine tract of eighty acres on which he has made many improvements, formerly known as the Tom McGhan farm. He operates along scientific lines, using the most modern power machinery, and is known as one of the practical farmers of his section. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen, in which he is very popular. On May 7, 1903, he was united in marriage with Josephine Schmit, daughter of Peter R. Schmit and Mary (Hoier) Schmit. The parents of Mrs. Zeh were early settlers of Outagamie county, residing in Ellington township until their retirement in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Zeh have had three children: Edward Earl, born December 29, 1903; Fayette Sylvester, September 10, 1905; and Chester Donald, December 2, 1906. Mr. Zeh is giving his children good school training, as he has always been a great advocate of the cause of education, and he is now serving in his seventh year as clerk of the school board. In political matters he is independent.

HENRY N. SCHLIMM, whose farm of 100 acres, located in Greenville township, is one of the finely equipped and well-cultivated tracts of this section, was born in Center township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin, May 22, 1879, and is a son of Henry and Susana (Martiny) Schlimm. Mr. Schlimm's parents were born in Belgium, and were married in Center township, whence Henry Schlimm came in 1863, after having spent a short time in Milwaukee. He engaged in agricultural pursuits, and continued to cultivate his farm until his death in 1888. His widow, who survives him, now makes her home with her daughter in Center township. Henry N. Schlimm's early education was secured in the township and Catholic schools, and in later years he took a short course at the dairy school at Madison. He remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he engaged in cheese making in Center township, but after one year went to Mifflin, Iowa county, Wisconsin, where he also spent one year. He next took a trip to California, where he spent two months, one month being on a big cattle ranch, and he then returned to Wisconsin, and for one year was connected with the Paine Lumber Company in Oshkosh. After severing his connections with this concern he went to Appleton, and for two years was in the employ of the paper mills, but left this concern to purchase his present Fox River farm, which he has since been operating and carrying on dairy farming. Mr. Schlimm is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and his political belief is that of the Republican party, but he has never aspired to public office. He was married June 16, 1908, to Miss Lena Hopfensperger, born in Harrison township, Calumet county, Wisconsin, October 16, 1885, daughter of Peter and Mary (Hartzheim) Hopfensperger, natives of Outagamie and Calumet counties, respectively. In early life Peter Hopfensperger was a butcher at Darboy, Wisconsin, and later he also engaged in the retail liquor business, but in 1908 sold out and moved to Buchanan township, where he is engaged in farming. Mr. Hopfensperger has held various township offices. Mr. and Mrs. Schlimm have had one child: Viola Helen, born July 17, 1909.

SIEGFRIED LEHRER who has spent his life in agricultural pursuits in Greenville township, where he now owns a fine farm of eighty acres, as well as forty acres of timber and pasture land, was born December 10, 1871, on his present farm in Greenville township, Outagamie county, Wisconsin. One of the children of Richard and Anna (Becker) Lehrer, natives of Austria. Richard Lehrer was born May 7, 1836, and his wife August 17, 1833, and they were married in Outagamie county, Mr. Lehrer having come to the United States in 1866 and settled first in New York, a short time thereafter coming to Appleton, where he was employed in a tannery for two years. He then moved to the farm in Greenville township, which he, in partnership with his father, had purchased some years previously, and there he resided until his retirement in 1899. He now resides in New London, his wife having died in Greenville township in 1894. They were the parents of five children, Siegfried being the third in order of birth. Siegfried Lehrer received his education in the schools of Greenville township, and started to work as a hand on the home farm as soon as he was old enough, and at the time of his father's retirement, in 1899, he rented the property from him. He farmed thus for a period covering six years, when he bought the home place, and he now has eighty acres under cultivation, and forty acres in timber and pasture land, two miles north. He carries on general and dairy farming, and makes a specialty of breeding Holstein cattle, devoting his entire time to his farm and its interests. His politics are those of the Democratic party, although he has never aspired to public office, and he and Mrs. Lehrer are devout members of the Roman Catholic Church. On June 26, 1900, Mr. Lehrer was married to Miss Rosa Bauer, born in Grand Chute township, daughter of Andrew Bauer, and to this union there has been born one daughter: Regina, born July 15, 1902, who is attending school. Mr. Lehrer is a member of the Catholic Knights, in which he is very popular, and he is known throughout this section as a good, practical farmer and public-spirited citizen.

MARTIN AUGUST SCHULZE, one of the old and honored residents of Greenville township, Outagamie county, now living retired after many years spent in agricultural pursuits, was born August 19, 1832, in the Province of Brandenburg, Prussia, and is a son of Daniel and Louisa (Beernd) Schulze, natives of the same country, where Daniel Schulze was born December 25, 1805, and his wife January 1, 1808. In 1839, Mrs. Schulze died in Germany, leaving five children: Ann; Charles, of Appleton; Martin August; Fredrick and Wilhelmine. Mr. Schulze was married again in Milwaukee in 1848, his second wife being a widow, Mrs. Henrietta Schmidt. In 1846 the family came to the United States, locating at once in Milwaukee, from whence, in 1853, they made their way to Outagamie county, settling in native woods in a rude, log cabin in Section 3, Greenville township. At this time Appleton was a little village, and between the towns of Greenville and Appleton there were but three houses His first few months in the new section were spent in clearing, that he might get started, and the remainder of his life was spent on this farm, he becoming a prosperous and well-known agriculturist and the owner of 460 acres of good farming land. He died in the faith of the Lutheran Church in 1879, and his interment took place in the Greenville cemetery. In politics he was a Democrat, but never wanted an office, owing to his inability to speak the English language. By his second wife Mr. Schulze had four children: August, of Ellington; Daniel, a farmer of Greenville township; Robert William and Frank, all engaged in farming. Martin August Schulze attended school at Tainzel, Prussia, and after three and one-half months of journey landed in Milwaukee in 1846 and went to work as a clerk in a Milwaukee hat and cap store. Later he went to work for another establishment for two years, then went to St. Louis, and later to Texas, where he was swindled out of his money. He really wanted to go to New Orleans only. While in New Orleans he concluded to go to Cuba, and accordingly joined a company organized to assist Lopez in the struggle against Spain. News came before their departure that fifty Americans had been massacred by the Spaniards, which so incensed the company that it destroyed a Spanish printing office, the Jenny Lind saloon, Fernandez tobacco house and the Spanish market. Fearing arrest and detention Mr. Schulze hastened his departure from that locality, discarded his uniform and took a boat, going to Memphis and later to Evansville, Indiana, and from there to Chicago, from whence he walked to Milwaukee. In the spring of the following year he came to Greenville township with his father and worked for him and others at farming during the summers and in the pineries of this state in the winters, but eventually bought the farm on which he now lives from the Government. He still later purchased the forty acres adjoining, and now has eighty-seven and three-quarters acres in his property, having given his son a tract of twenty acres for a building place. Mr. Schulze is now living retired, his youngest son attending to the farm. On July 21, 1859, Mr. Schulze was married to Paulina Steinke, born in Prussia, April 19, 1840, daughter of Francis Christian and Hannah Beate (Menge) Steinke, the former born in West Prussia in 1804, and the latter in Prussia March 21,1804. The family came to the United States in 1855, Mr. Steinke being by trade a blacksmith, an occupation which he followed near Maysville, Dodge county, where he died at the age of fifty-six years. His widow continued to reside there for some time, and then came to Outagamie county, and spent some years with Mr. Schulze, but later went to live with another son-in-law, August Frederick, in Appleton, where her death occurred in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Schulze have had six children, as follows: Emma Louisa, born February 12, 1862, wife of Herman Daw, of Portland, Oregon; William Martin, born August 8, 1863, residing on an adjoining farm in Ellington township; Clara Augusta, born July 20, 1866, wife of Charles Masche, residing two miles south of Hortonville; Edward Paul, born July 28, 1868, agent and operator for the Northwestern Railroad, at Michigamie, Michigan; Albert Franklin, born October 12, 1874, who is operating the old homestead; and Julia Paulina, born December 14, 1880, the wife of Henry Riesenweber, a farmer of Ellington township. Mr. Schulze is a Democrat in politics, and has served his township as road supervisor and clerk of the school board.

FERDINAND J. BLEICK. Among the representative self-made agriculturists of Greenville township, Outagamie county, none commands greater respect than this gentleman. He is a native of this township, born September 28, 1872, a son of John and Louisa (Brockman) Bleick, natives of Mecklenburg, Germany, where the former was born December 24, 1835, and the latter January 26, 1826. John Bleick was about fourteen years of age at the time he came to America with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Bleick, his brother, Ludwig, and his sister Dorothy, accomplanying them. Frederick Bleick was a laboring man in Germany, and thinking that he could better his condition and that of his family he started for Milwaukee, completing a long and perilous journey when the family arrived in that city by boat from Quebec, where they had come from Hamburg. After a year spent in Milwaukee, the family moved on to Outagamie county, traveling via ox-team, and settling on section 10 on land that had been pre-empted some time before by John and Ludwig Bleick. Here the parents spent the rest of their lives. John Bleick had received an education in the schools of his native country, but had no knowledge of the English language when he first came here, but he soon acquired enough information to be able to do business among the English-speaking people of the new section, and he was also strong and industrious and worked at whatever he could find to do, splitting rails, chopping cord wood, and making numerous trips to Appleton and other points, although these trips during the early days were not without danger, as he found out when he encountered a large black bear on one of his sojourns. On another trip he carried fifty pounds of flour on his back from the village of Little Chute to his home, although in that same month the few other farmers of the vicinity were sending their ox-teams to the village for their provisions, on account of the inclemency of the weather. In 1855, John Bleick was married at Greenville, to Louisa Brockman, also a native of Germany, and they located on an eighty-acre tract in Greenville township, which was very poor property, being nearly all swamp land, but at the time of his death, in 1902, he had acquired a farm of 227 acres, over 200 of which were in a state of cultivation. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and a Democrat in politics, being elected to various offices of honor and trust. His widow, who still survives, makes her home with her son Herman, who is a representative farmer of Greenville township. The other children were: Minnie, wife of C. A. Gielow, of Manitowoc; Charles, a farmer of Greenville township; Augusta, who married Gus Zuhlke, of Hortonville; Lizzie, wife of Ed Wigert, of Dale township; Ferdinand J.; and Ida, deceased.

Ferdinand J. Bleick attended the district schools of Greenville township and also spent a year in study at Hortonville, and at the age of twenty-two years began farming a part of his father's property. He now has 100 acres in an excellent state of cultivation, devoting the land to general farming, and also doing some dairying and stock raising. He devotes all of his time to his farm, and bears the reputation of being one of the good, practical agriculturists of his section. He is a member of Greenville Lodge, No. 9033, Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is present escort, is independent in politics, and connected with the Lutheran Church. In 1895 he was married to Miss Lena Luebben, who was born in Greenville township, March 4, 1875, daughter of Gerhardt and Sophia (Dayho) Luebben, natives of Luxembourg and Mecklenburg, Germany, respectively, the former born August 18, 1826, and the latter July 27, 1836. They came to the United States at a very early day, settling in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and later coming to Outagamie county, where they bought a farm, on which Mr. Luebben died March 24, 1897. His widow remained on the farm a short time, then going to Neenah for two years, after which she again resided on the home farm for a short time and then went to Appleton, where she now lives: She and her husband had twelve children, of whom Mrs. Bleick was the tenth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Bleick have had one child: John Gerhard, born May 17, 1896, residing at home.

JACOB J. HAUERT, one of the leading merchants of Appleton, Wisconsin, who is the proprietor of a large hardware business, is also well known in fraternal circles of this city. He was born in Brookfield, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, February 21, 1858, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Reineman) Hauert, both of whom are now deceased. Jacob Hauert was born in Baden, Germany, from which country he came to the United States in young manhood and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the year 1849, when gold was discovered in California, he decided to try his fortunes in the far West, and traveled overland to the goal of the gold seekers. He was more fortunate than a great many other prospectors, and soon had accumulated enough money to return by boat, and bought Government land in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, after his marriage in Milwaukee. Here, while he was engaged in farming, all of his nine children were born, as follows: Henry, deceased, who was engaged in business with his father and brother for some years, was married and had a son, Robert; George, a retired farmer of Oshkosh, has a Wife and two children; Jacob J.; one child who died in infancy; Annie, who died at the age of thirteen years; Julia, who married Henry Kossel, a resident of Oshkosh engaged in the real estate business; Frank W., engaged in the flour, feed and seed business in Appleton, is married and has three children; Fred, who conducts a general store at Black Creek, Wisconsin, has a wife and two children; and Amelia, married Henry Losselyoung, an Appleton mail carrier, and has two children. In about the year 1868, Jacob Hauert began to make trips to Outagamie county in order to invest his money in loans, and about 1874 he purchased a half interest in the Charles Morey flour mill, the firm becoming Morey & Hauert, which later changed to Weiland & Hauert, and Wamboldt, Hauert & Company, Incorporated, and eventually the Hauerts severed their connections with the concern entirely. Mr. and Mrs. Hauert came to Appleton to live in 1875, and his death occurred here January 19, 1905, at the age of eighty-four years, Mrs. Hauert passing away January 22, 1909. Mr. Hauert was always a supporter of church and charitable movements, and of anything that promised to benefit his community.

Jacob J. Hauert received a common school education, and at the age of sixteen years commenced to learn the trade of miller in the mill of his father. In 1881 Mr. Hauert and his brother Henry engaged in the flour and feed business in Appleton, and they continued together until 1888, when Jacob J. sold out to engage in the hardware business with William Hagen. In 1895 he bought Mr. Hagen's interest in the business, and during 1892 he erected the present building, a two-story structure with basement, 25x90 feet, and in July of that year established his business there. He has been very successful in his venture and is considered one of the substantial men of his city. On January 10, 1882, Mr. Hauert was married to Sophia Koehn, of Appleton, daughter of Henry Koehn, and they have had five children: Emma, who married Max Elias and resides in Appleton; Wilbert, who is engaged in business with his father, married Dora Polland; Alvin, connected with the Majestic Construction Company of Milwaukee; and Roy and Adeline, at home. Mr. Hauert is prominent in fraternal circles of Appleton, being a member of Rhine Lodge of Modern Woodmen, the Equita