Toase

Henry Toase was born in Lancashire, England about 1798.  He came to America in May of 1846.  He was married to Miss Mary Croft, daughter of John and Dorothy Croft.  They had a son, William, and a daughter Mary Ann.  They lived in Mt. Pleasant Township, Racine County.  Henry died December 10, 1868.  Mary (called Ann) married again to George Haigh, a recent widower, on July 16, 1871 in Racine County.  Mary died on September 2, 1893.  Both Henry and Mary are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.


William Toase

William Toase funeral photo
(Photo courtesy of Jim Smith)

Children of Henry and Mary: William Toase. 

Born April 24, 1836 at Lancashire, England, William Toase married Sarah Maria Longwell who was born December 2, 1840 at Yorkshire, England.  Sarah was the daughter of Hugh and Letta Maria Longwell of Somers Township.  William registered for the Civil War in June 1863. He was very musical and organized many programs in the community.  William adopted Sarah's sister's child May, who was born November 22, 1878, who married Horace Lee as his first wife on September 10, 1898.
Sarah died September 2, 1893 and William died March 28, 1903 of diabetes, which caused gangrene to set in.  Both are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.


Mary Ann (called Ann) Toase.  

Born July 15, 1838 in England.  She married William Drinkwater (his second wife) on December 26, 1860.  She died April 28, 1893.
(Source:  Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)


Partial 1887 Somers Township map, Kenosha County
Section 2 shows S. Toase.  Notice the Toase property is adjacent to 2 parcels owned by the Longwell's.

William Drinkwater

William Drinkwater funeral photo
William Drinkwater was born in Manchester, England November 1824.  He came to America with his parents in 1842 and settled in Sylvania,  Town of Yorkville, Racine County, Wisconsin.  On December 25, 1847, he married Elizabeth Smith in 1830 in England, daughter of Samuel Smith of the Town of Mt. Pleasant, Racine County. They had one daughter, Sarah Jane.  William left for the Gold Rush in California with Isaac Bowers, Richard Lee and Edward Lee.  While he was there, he received word that his wife was very ill and he should hurry home.  She died September 22, 1857 before he arrived home.  William married again on December 26, 1860 to Mary Ann Toase, daughter of Henry and Mary Toase.  Sarah remained with her grandparents and later became a schoolteacher.  William and Mary moved to a farm on the Racine-Kenosha County Line Road in the Town of Yorkville.  Mary Ann died April 28, 1893 and William died April 1902.
(Info from Sylvania Cemetery, Exploring Family Ties, by Mary Anne Culshaw Falk)
Photo taken by W.G. Powers in Union Grove, Wisconsin
(Photo courtesy of Jim Smith)

More About Toase
"The woods owned by the later William Toase was swept by a fire on Sunday afternoon supposed to have been started by some careless hunters.  The wind was in the south which fact alone saved the surrounding timber from one of the most disastrous fires that could take place.  As the flames worked against the wind the progress was not very rapid although several acres were burned over during the afternoon.  Help arrived in the evening when thru hard work the fire was extinguished."
(Source:  Racine Journal, publication date November 13, 1903)


"Professor William Toase wishes to announce he has leased his farm and will devote his time to his profession.  Professor Toase is one of our ablest singing teachers.
(Source:  Racine Journal, publication date November 17, 1898)


"Prof. William Toase, of the town of Mt. Pleasant, one of the oldest residents of the county and who has been a singing master for over 40 years, is dying at his home a few miles southwest of Corliss, of blood poisoning.  One of the professors feet has become so bad that it has nearly rotted off.
Prof. Toase is about 70 years old.  He came to this county over fifty-five years ago, his father having settled here when the county was only a wilderness.  Early in life the son took to music and became famous as a singer and organizer of singing classes.
Almost every singing class of note in Racine and Kenosha counties the professor has organized handled in competition.  He has also arranged hundreds of concerts and sang times without number at the annual reunions of the Racine Count Old Settlers' society and Kenosha County society.
He is, or was, a very large and powerful man, of fine appearance and known to every farmer in the southern section of Wisconsin.  His large number of friends will be pained to learn of his condition."
(Source:  Racine Journal March 27, 1903)


"At 2 o'clock this morning, William Toase, the oldest and best known singing master in Racine County, in fact Southern Wisconsin, died at his home of blood poisoning. Prof. Toase was born in Yorkshire, England, April 24, 1835, and with  his parents settled in Racine County when but 8 years old.  When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted September 21, 1864, in the First Wisconsin, Heavy Artillery, and was promoted to Corporal of his company, in a very short time.
Mr. Toase served three years and made a good brave soldier.  After the War he returned to his home and resumed the study and teaching of music, principally vocal lessons were given.  He possessed a remarkable clear voice and he was in demand at every gathering of note where a musical program was to be given. One daughter survives.  Funeral will take place on Monday afternoon at 1 o'clock from the house in Mt. Pleasant.
(Source:  Racine Journal)


"The adopted daughter, Mrs. Horace Lee, objects to Probating that of late Professor William Toase.  In the county court this morning objection was made to probating the will of the late Prof. Toase, of the town of Mt. Pleasant.  The objections were made by Mrs. Horace Lee, an adopted daughter, through her attorneys.
In his last will Prof. Toase, after the customary provisions for his funeral expenses, makes the following bequests: First - To Fanny Blackburn, his niece, he wills his farm of 80 acres, and all personal property except mentioned later.  To George Blackburn, his horse, cart, harnesses and carpenter tools.  Second - To his adopted daughter, Mrs. Horace Lee, $300 in cash, one bureau and its contents and other household goods. The farm willed to Mrs. Blackburn must not be sold for a period of ten years after his death.  Fanny Blackburn is named as the executrix.

The step-daughter objects to the allowance and probate of the instrument propounded by Fanny Blackburn as the last will and testament of William Toase, upon the following grounds:  First - That said instrument was not duly executed by the said William Toase, deceased, as his last will and testament in the manner provided by law.  Second - That at the time of said execution of said instrument, the said William Toase was not of sound mind and had not sufficient mental capacity to make a will.  Third - That the execution of said instrument was procured by undue influence exercised over and upon the said deceased by said Fanny Blackburn.

Some testimony was heard by Judge Heck, but the hearing was adjourned to May 14.  It is said that in the bureau willed to the nice there was found certificates of deposit amounting to $1,200.  The 80 acre farm is worth $50 per acre.
(Source: Racine Weekly, publication date May 8, 1903)

More About Ann Toase
Obituary for Wm. Drinkwater.
"Wm. Drinkwater died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Henry Blackburn on April 28, 1902, aged 77 years, of cancer of the throat, and was interred in the Sylvania Cemetery on May 1.
Mr. Drinkwater was one of the earliest settler in Racine County, having come to this county from England, in 1844.  He was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Smith in 1847, and her death occurred four years later, one child, now Mrs. M.J. Smith was born of this union.
In 1851 he traveled across the then hostile country to California in the search for gold, returning three years later, being only partly successful in the gold fields.  In 1858 he married again, his bride being Miss Ann Toase, sister of Prof. Wm. Toase of Sylvania.  They made their home on a farm northwest of Windsor Station, now Sylvania, for over twenty years, going from there to a large farm on the County Line Road, formerly owned by Jerry Slater.  Here several years ago, Mrs. Drinkwater died.
Eight children were the fruit of the second marriage, viz: Mrs. Albert (Mary Rosette) Murgatroyd, Mrs. Geo. (Fanny Ida) Blackburn who married a second time to Samuel Bowers, son of Isaac Bowers; Mrs. Henry (Ella May) Blackburn, Miss Cora Drinkwater who married Paul Wilkins in Milwaukee, and William H. married Laura Blaine, Charles who married Margaret Myers, James Abraham married Marie (Mame) Rasmussen, and Frank R. Drinkwater who ended up living in Atwater, Ohio.
(Source:  Racine Weekly May 13, 1902 and Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)


More About Drinkwater, Bowers, Lee, Myers
James Drinkwater was born in Manchester, England in 1798.  He married Jane Phelps and had a son William.  They came to America in 1842 and took up a government claim in Yorkville Township, Racine County.
William Drinkwater was born at Manchester, England on November 8, 1824.  He came to America with his parents in 1842 and settled at Sylvania.  On december 25, 1847 he married Elizabeth Smith who was born April 8, 1830 in England.  She was the daughter of Samuel Smith of Mt. Pleasant Township, Racine County.  They had one daughter Sarah Jane.
William left for the Gold Rush in California with Isaac Bowers and Richard Lee and Edward Lee.  While he was there, he received word that his wife was very ill and he should hurry home.  She died on Septembe 22, 1857 before he arrived home.  William married again on December 26, 1860 to Mary Ann Toase, daughter of Henry and Mary Toase.
Sarah remained with her grandparents and later became a schoolteacher.  William and Mary Ann had 8 children. 
(Source:  Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

Baker

Myron A. Baker
Myron A Baker, the pioneer attorney, who is yet a successful and prominent practitioner of Kenosha, was born in Cuyahoga County, New York, October 26, 1839, and is the son of Elisha and Adeline R. (Bailey).  Bakers, natives of New York, were married there and reared a family of four children, all of whom are yet living, as follows:
Laura B., now the wife of A.T. Gould of Somers Township
Myron A. (this biography)
Frances A., wife if F.B. Dunning of Madison, Wisconsin
Warren E. a carpenter, living in Somers Township.

Elisha Baker was a cashier of a bank in Syracuse, New York for many years.  After coming to Wisconsin he engaged in farming.  Both Elisha and his wife's remains rest in the cemetery at Sylvania, Racine County where a monument has been erected to their memory.  Mr. Elisha Baker was a stanch Republican and took a very active part in local politics.  He held the office Township Clerk for several years and at the time of the uprising of New York against Canada was Colonel of the regiment called the Silver Grays.  He was a personal friend and schoolmate of Millard Filmore, also of William H. Seward, Secretary of State under President Lincoln.  A man of sterling worth and integrity he had a host of warm friends and his death was mourned by many.
We now take up the history of Myron A. Baker who is well and favorable known throughout this county.  he acquired his education in the district schools until sixteen years of age, when he entered the Kenosha schools, and finished the common branches of learning.  Having spent some time at the State University of Madison, he returned home and further continued his studies in the law office of E.W. Evans and later of J.J. Pettit, being admitted to the bar in May, 1862.
Some time previous he had completed his studies but his enlistment for service in the late war interfered with his admission to the bar.  He was one of the first volunteers in Wisconsin, becoming a member of company G, First Wisconsin Infantry, in April, 1861.  On a certain Sunday in that month on returning from church, he found a notice tacked on office stairs which told him that war had begun.  Hastily eating his dinner, he in company with Levi Howland started out in the county to find men to form a company and by Monday night, had secured forty recruits.
An incident or two connected with Mr. Baker's first experience as a soldier are especially interesting and go to show the metal of the man.  Before going to Milwaukee to be sworn into service he was told that he would not be accepted on account of a sightless eye.  Not wishing to be rejected from the service, he went to Chicago , had an oculist put in an eye and then repaired to Milwaukee where he was examined by a regular army examining officer who prided himself upon his skill in detecting blemishes.  Mr. Baker was examed, pronounced sound and sworn into service.  The facts in the case soon reached the examiner's ear, and he recalled Mr. Baker to ascertain if it could be possible.  On finding that it was even true, he replied that he could not reject him then and if he could he would not.  He realized that a man with such grit would make a better soldier than one with perfect vision lacking courage.
After being mustered into service the regiment remained at Milwaukee for four weeks, drilling and preparing for the field.  One evening several of the regimental officers drove out to try the boys on guard duty.  Of course the order to the guards was to let no one pass without giving the countersign.  After driving past several guards they came to Mr. Baker's beat and on his demanding the countersign they feigned to be indignant that a private should make a demand of this officer.  He was threatened with arrest and finally the Lieutenant Colonel alighted from the carriage and started to pass the line anyhow whereupon Mr. Baker promptly prodded him with his bayonet.  The countersign was then given and away the officers rode leaving threats behind them.  Mr. Baker began to have some misgivings as to whether he had done right, but somehow he felt that "no one" meant them.  The next morning two men were sent to arrest him and take him to headquarters.  What was his surprise to find that a banquet and complimentary speeches were in reserve for him instead of punishment.
Mr. Baker served for three months as a private and received a gunshot wound in the first battle in which he was engaged, and then returned to his home, remaining until 1864, when he went to Memphis, Tenn., the location of the Thirty-Third Wisconsin Infantry, to visit his brother Warren E. who served for three years as one of the boys in the blue.
Continuing there until after the fall of Vicksburg, Mr. Baker returned to Kenosha on the 6th of July, 1864 and resumed practice as a lawyer.  In 1866 he formed a partnership with Judge Webster, which connection continued until the election of Mr. Baker as District Attorney in 1870.  He served his full term, was re-elected and served for the two succeeding years.  After an interval of two years he was again elected District Attorney, which position he has held altogether for twelve years.  At the same time he continued the practice of law and in 1873 resumed partnership with Judge Webster, their business relations continuing until the death of the latter.
On July 1, 1868, Mr. Baker married Rachel F. Burgess, who was born in Salem Township, Kenosha County, on May 30, 1843, and is a daughter of Daniel C. and Sylvia (Maynard) Burgess.  Her parents were of English extraction and were natives of the Empire State. Emigrating westward in 1837, they became pioneer settlers of Kenosha County, where Mr. Burgess followed farming.  He died in 1876 and his wife in 1889.  He and his wife were prominent and highly respected people.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Baker have been born seven children:  Myron B. who is now a student in Harvard College, preparing for general literary work; Norman L. graduated from the Kenosha High School and is now studying law with this father; Robert V. was also graduated from the High School of Kenosha; Almeda L., Addie B., and Portia Eudora complete the family.
Socially Mr. Baker is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Knights of Pythias.

More About Elisha Baker
Elisha Baker was born about 1811 in the State of New York.  He married Adeline R. Bailey who was born in New York about 1814.  Adeline R. Bailey was the sister of Norman Bailey.  Their daughter Laura and son Myron (2nd Myron) were born in Owasco, Cayuga County, New York.  Elisha was a cashier in a bank in Syracuse, New York for many years.  He was a captain in the New York state militia.  He came to Wisconsin in 1838 and became a farmer in Paris Township and owned an additional 40 acres in Somers Township, Section 7 West.
Two children were born in Wisconsin:  Frances A. (Abigail) and Warren E.
Elisha died on May 6, 1857.  His wife died June, 1889.  Both are buried in Sylvania Cemetery.  There is no stone with her name on it anymore.  It is not known who Deborah Baker was, this stone is almost illegible, and it could be Elisha's mother, because she came West with the Baker family.
Elisha's father was a Revolutionary War solider and died in New York.  His mother Lois came West and died in Kenosha County.  Adaline's father also served in the Revolutionary War.  Mr. Bailey married Abigail Price who came to Wisconsin and died in Kenosha County.  Abigail (Price) Bailey, mother of Adaline, could also be buried here.  She lived with her daughter on the farm in Parish Township.  She died on April 13, 1866 at the age of 65.

1861 Partial map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
See Section 7 - lower left - 40 acres of Baker.
Click on map to view larger.

Varney and Shepard

Nathan F. Varney
Nathan F. Varney was born in Vermont on October 7, 1802.  His wife Mary was born in Vermont on January 20, 1805.  The Varney's evidently came to Wisconsin by way of Illinois because a daughter was born there about 1841.  Nathan Varney settled in Section 5 of Somers (see two parcels on map below).  Nathan F. Varney died on April 1, 1872 and his wife Mary on June 6, 1888.  The are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
Known Children of Nathan F. and Mary Varney:
Mary Adelaide.  Born March 1835 in Vermont.  Married Chester C. Shepard, son of Reuben and Sarah Shepard on February 22, 1853 in Kenosha County.  Died August 27, 1857 at the age of 22, possibly in childbirth.  Left one son, Gaylord R. Shepard.
Ann Marah.  Born about 1841 in Illinois.  Died March 1860.  Buried in Sylvania Cemetery.
Helen A.  Born January 2, 1846 in Wisconsin.  Died February 6, 1870.  Buried Sylvania Cemetery.
Frank George.  Born 1846 in Wisconsin.  Died 1864.  Veteran Gravesite "U.S. Army Civil War" at Sylvania Cemetery.   Possibly a twin to Helen A.
Other
Rhoda Linsley Bean, Mary Varney's mother, lived with the Varney family ever since they came to Wisconsin.  Rhoda is buried at Sylvania Cemetery.  She died November 8, 1861 at the age of 87.

1861 Partial Map of  Somers Township, Kenosha County
Two 40 acre parcels owned by Varney in Section 5

About Gaylord Shepard
Gaylord R. Shepard was born On January 16, 1854 in Kenosha County.  He was raised by Nathan Varney, his grandfather.  Gaylord's mother died when she was 22.  See above.
Gaylord farmed in Somers Township and Mt. Pleasant in Racine County.  On June 28, 1880, Gaylord married R. (Rowena) Estella Clemons (also known as Estella Rowenta or Stella R.), who was born April 11, 1854.  She was the daughter of Hosea Clemons.  Estella died on March 29, 1909.  Gaylord married again to Emma N.  He died on June 26, 1928.  Gaylord and his two wives are buried in Mound Cemetery, Racine.
(Source: Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

The US 1880 Census shows Mary, Gaylord's grandmother, lived with him on the farm in Somers.
The US 1900 Census shows that Gaylord lived in Racine with his wife, Stella R., his children: Helen who was born May, 1883 and Chester who was born May, 1887.

Velma Shephard
Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Shepard of Somers Township, suffered a sad bereavement when their beautiful little girl Velma died on the evening of November 4, 1895.  The discovery of the fatal disease, tuberculosis of the spine was so sudden and its development so speedy that there was short time for reconciliation to her death.  She was only 3 years old, but she had the rightful place in their loving hearts of an immortal personality, full of promise and hope in the possibilities of magnificent attainments.  Their loving plans and purposes for her life in this world have been thwarted, but she herself only passed into the spiritual realm of activity.  The services occurred at the home Wednesday morning November 6 and with a following of many relatives and friends.  She was taken to Oakwood Cemetery to be buried.
(Source:  Racine Weekly Journal, November 14, 1895) 

1908 Partial Map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
Gaylord Shepard parcels
Section 5 and Section 4

More About The Shepard Family
March 2, 1899 Racine Journal
"Gaylord Shepard is taking treatments at a hospital in Chicago.  Mr. Shepard has suffered with rheumatism for some time."

June 15, 1899 Racine Journal
"Friday evening of this week the Epworth League will give a strawberry festival at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F.R. Shepard."

June 21, 1899 Racine Daily
"The lawn festival given at the home of Mr. F.R. Shepard on Friday evening was a success in every way, there being about 125 people present."

January 13, 1898 Racine Journal
"The Pike Grove Bible society held their annual meeting at the M.E. Church.  Officers were elected.  G.R., Vice President."

July 19, 1899
"Chester Shepard was kicked by a colt Monday evening but received no serious results."

September 21, 1899 Racine Journal
"Gaylord R. Shepard having rented his farm will sell his stock, farm implements, etc. at auction on Friday of this week."

About Chester C. Shepard
Chester C. Shepard was a well known farmer of Bristol Township and gained a gratifying measure of success in his chosen occupation.  A native of Oswego County, New York, he was born on the 14th of January 1830, of the marriage of Reuben and Sarah (Whitcomb) Shepard, who removed with their family to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1844.  Our subject received a good common school education in New York, and as his father died a short time after the family came to Wisconsin he early assumed a man's responsibilities.  He farmed for a short time in Racine County but subsequently came to Kenosha County, where he purchased forty acres of land.  He added to his holdings as his resources increased and continued to follow agricultural pursuits until 1906.  He then removed to Bristol, where he passed away January 27, 1907.  He was not only an industrious and practical farmer but was also a man of good business ability and so managed his affairs that he accumulated more than a competence.
In 1852 Mr. Shepard was united in marriage to Miss Adelaide Varney, by whom they had a son, Gaylord, who resides in Racine and is married and has two children, Helen and Chester.  Mrs. Shepard died in 1856, and eight years later Mr. Shepard married Miss Agnes Carver, and to this union three children were born, namely: Edwin, a resident of Kenosha, who is married and has two daughters; Will, of Spokane, Washington, who is also married and has two children; and George.
Mr. Shepard was a stanch Republican and served acceptably as a member of the school board.  His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his daily life was guided by the teachings of Christianity.
George Shepard, who was born in Bristol Township on the 30th of December, 1867, attended the common schools until he was eighteen years of age, and then continued his education in the Whitewater Normal School at Whitewater.  After putting aside his textbooks he returned to the home farm and has since devoted his time to its operation.  He has erected a fine modern home, uses up to date machinery in his work and is progressive in his methods.  He is generally recognized as one of the prosperous farmers of the county and has found agricultural work both profitable and congenial.  On June 24, 1896, he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Gunter, a daughter of William and Emily Gunter.  In politics he is independent and his religious faith is that of the Congregational Church.
(Source:  City and County of Kenosha Record of Settlement by Frank h. Lyman, Vol II, Chicago, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1916)

About Reuben Shepard
(Although Reuben Shepard did not live in Somers, information is included here for family research purposes because Reuben Shepard was Chester C. Shepard's father, Mary Varney's father-in-law.)

Reuben Shepard was born in New York in 1804.  He was married to Sarah Whitcomb who was born in 1807 in New York state.  She was the daughter of Eli and Ruth Whitcomb.
Six of their children were born in Oswego Co., New York.  This family came to Wisconsin in 1844.  Their son, Francis was born in Wisconsin in 1845.  The Shepards lived in the SW quarter of Section 32, Mt. Pleasant Township, Racine County. 
Reuben Shepard died on June 12, 1850 and is buried at Sylvania Cemetery.  his wife Sarah married again to Theodore Woodworth on January 25, 1853.  Theodore was a carpenter and joiner from Bristol Township.  After Reuben died, his son Chester C. Shepard seems to have occupied his farm, later acquiring more land in Paris Township, Kenosha County.
Children of Reuben and Sarah Whitcomb Shepard:
Chester C. Shepard.  Born January 14, 1830 in Oswego Co., New York.  Married Mary Adalaide Varney, daughter of Nathan F. and Mary Varney at the Varney home in Somers Township on February 22, 1853.  The were married by the Rev. Ebenezer Washburn of the M.E. Church of Kellogg's Corners.  Mary Varney Shepard died on August 27, 1857, possible in childbirth.  She is buried at Sylvania Cemetery.  Chester and Mary had a son, Gaylord, who was born January 16, 1854.  He was raised by Mary's parents, Nathan and Mary Varney.  Chester Shepard married again in 1864 to Agnes Carver and had three more children:  Edwin, Will and George.  Chester died at Bristol in Kenosha County on January 27, 1907 and is buried at North Bristol Cemetery.
Sarah Shepard.  Born about 1832 in Oswego Co., New York.  She died February 16, 1848.
Mary C. Shepard.  Born about 1835 in Oswego Co., New York.
Edward R. Shepard.  Born about 1839 in Oswego Co., New York.  He was in the Civil War and died at Nashville, Tenn. on March 25, 1865.
Marinda R. Shepard.  Born about 1841 is Oswego Co., New York.  She became a schoolteacher.  Married Gilbert O. Vincent, son of Owen and Elisa Vincent, on March 12, 1872 in Racine County.  Gilbert was a farmer from Bristol who was born in Onondega Co., New York.
Esther Shepard.  Born about 1843 in Oswego Co., New York, schoolteacher.
Francis Shepard.  Born about 1845.  Possibly in Racine County.  Died February 8, 1847 and buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
NOTE:  Ruth Whitcomb was the mother of Sarah (Mrs. Reuben) Shepard.  She was born in 1771 and died on March 27, 1849 at the age of 78.  She is buried at Sylvania Cemetery.  Ruth was the widow of Eli Whitcomb
(Source: Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

Sniffin

Solomon Sniffin
Solomon Sniffin was born in Coxsackie, Green County, New York state about 1820.  He was the son of David Sniffin.  His wife was Sarah G. who was also born in New York state about 1819.  They came to Wisconsin with brother, Ebenezer and wife Almira in 1850.  Their farm was located in Somers Township, Section 6 West, also known as the Kellogg's Corners area.
Solomon and Sarah had eight children.  Solomon died January 27, 1883 and Sarah died on August 20, 1890.  Both are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
Children of Solomon and Sarah Sniffin:
Kitty Sniffin.  Married Josiah D. Merritt, a lawyer from Chicago, Illinois on June 26, 1877 in Kenosha County.
Emma Sniffin.  Born October 29, 1850 in Somers Township.  Married Charles T. Coonley, son of Edward & Ulellia Coonley, on April 5, 1868 in Kenosha County.  He was born on April 10, 1846 at Stephensville, Greene County, New York.
Mary Ann J. Sniffin.  Born about 1853 in Somers Township.  Married Francis A. Hunter, son of John and Esther Hunter, on March 22, 1864 in Racine County.
Reuben N. Sniffin.  Born about 1855 in Somers Township.
Sarah E. Sniffin.  Born about 1861 in Somers Township.
C. Sniffin.  Born about 1668 in Somers Township.  Married Lydia J. (Raines) Watkins, daughter of John and Ellen Raines, on December 31, 1883 in Racine County.  He was a farm in Somers Township.
David L. Sniff.  Born about 1869 in Somers Township.

More About the Sniffin Family
Ebenezer Sniffin is included in this posting because he is Solomon's brother.  Ebenezer resided for a short time in Somers Township but eventually purchased a parcel in Mt. Pleasant, Racine County.
Ebenezer Sniffin married Almira J. Titus in the fall of 1846 in New York state.  They moved to Wisconsin with Solomon Sniffin, Ebenezer's brother.  They moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1866 where they farmed.  They had four children.  Almira died November 21, 1881 and Ebenezer died on September 7, 1886,  They bare buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
Children of Ebenizer and Almira:
Mary F. Sniffin.  Born February 27, 1850 in Green County, New York.  Married Rufus Sniffen, son of Reuben and Mary Ann Sniffin, in Kenosha County, on Spril 5, 1868.  He was a carpenter who was born in Coxsackie, Green County, New York.
Edwin S. Sniffin.  Born about 1853 in Somers Township.  Died at the age of 18 years on May 19, 1871. 
David Sniffin.  Born about 1854 in Somers Township.
Harvey E. Sniff.  Born about 1862 in Somers Township.
(Source:  Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

1861 Partial Map of Somers Township, Kellogg's Corners area
Sniffin two (2) parcels in Section 6

Burgess, William E.

William E. Burgess
William E. Burgess (father) was born in Oswego County, New York in 1830.  His father, Benagh Burgess, who was a native of Vermont, came to what is now Kenosha County in 1836.  He engaged in business in a saw-mill located on Pike River, in what is now the Town of Somers.  He was engaged in this business until his death, in the spring of 1838.
As a young boy, William (son) entered the milling business with his father, which he followed up to 1850, when he went to farming.  Mr. William Burgess has been Assessor the Town of Somers for the past two years, and has held the office of Somers Town Treasurer.
He married, in the Town of Somers, in 1850, Miss Jane Leet, a native of the State of New York.  She was the daughter of one of Kenosha County's earliest settlers, Mr. Charles Leet, who died in Somers Feb. 11, 1874.
William and Jane (Leet) Burgess has ten children.  Mr. Burgess' mother, Amanda Burgess, formerly Miss Foster, is still living.  She was born in the State of New York in 1799.  Her father, Mr. Alfred Foster, was one of Kenosha's first settlers, having been one of the exploring party who came to Wisconsin in 1835.  He built the first saw mill, called Foster's Mill, located near Berryville on the Pike River.  Mr. Burgess is the owner of 247 acres of land.
(Source:  The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, Chicago, Western Historical Company, 1879)


Obituary
Again the Death Angel has entered and taken from our midst one of our pioneer citizens.  William E. Burgess, aged 73 years, departed this life Saturday afternoon, April 9, after a long illness from lung trouble.  The deceased was a man who was honored and respected by all who know him.  In 1836, he with his parents came to Wisconsin.  October 17, 1850 he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Leet.  Eleven children were born to them, of which number ten survive: Mrs. Frank Cogswell and Charles of Salem; Mrs. Charles Buswell of Winona, Minnesota; Edward, William E. and Burdette of Chicago; Mrs. Clayton Rease of Portersville, California; Jennie, George and Robert of Somers.  Mrs. Burgess died June 3, 1901.  The family have the sympathy of the entire community in this their hour of sadness.  The funeral services were held from the Methodist Church Saturday afternoon, conducted by the Rev. Stockham.  Interment at Oakwood Cemetery.
(Source: Racine Journal April 17, 1903)

Partial 1887 Map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
Section 8 showing the W.E. Burgess parcel

More About the Burgess Family
See the "DeLong and Reas" posting in this blog.

DeLong and Reas



Horace De Long Farm
Somers Township, Section 6 west
(Source:  Illustrated Atlas of Racine and Kenosha County Wisconsin, H.O. Brown & Co., Publishers 1887)





1887 Partial Somers Township Map, Kenosha County
Section 6 DeLong parcel
Section 4 Reas parcel
Section 8 W.E. Burgess parcel

 George DeLong
George and Pamela (Farrington) DeLong arrived in Wisconsin from their native New York in 1838.  George DeLong was born on February 8, 1807 in New York and Pamelia (Farrington) DeLong was born on November 13, 1806.  They took up farming in Somers Township, Kellogg's Corner area, with their son Horace.  (George DeLong owned two parcels in Somers Township, Section 6,  in 1861: 46 acres and 135 acres). Pamela died on January 22, 1880 and George died on December 31, 1891.  Both are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
Children (2) of George and Pamela DeLong:
Matilda DeLong born October 14, 1834 in Utica, New York.  She died September 16, 1905.
Horace T. DeLong born June 20, 1837 in Utica, New York.

Horace T. DeLong Family
Horace T. Delong came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1838. He married Miss Mary Reas, daughter of Peter Reas on October 13, 1861. Mary (Reas) DeLong died in Chicago, Illinois on February 14, 1927 and is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Racine, Wisconsin near her son, J. Edwin DeLong. It is not known where or when Horace died.
Children of Horace and Mary (Reas) DeLong:
Carrie DeLong born August 16, 1862 in Mt. Pleasant Township, married William E. Burgess, the son of William E. and Jane Leet Burgess, on December, 1891; died Dec. 8, 1941, buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Somers, Wisconsin.
James Edwin DeLong, buried at Graceland Cemetery, Racine.
Willard DeLong, died June 1870
Alton B. DeLong, buried at Graceland Cemetery, Racine.
(Source: Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

Horace DeLong
(Source:  Photo by The Bush Family Tree, Ancestry.com)

Mary Reas DeLong
(Source:  Photo by The Bush Family Tree, Ancestry.com)

Peter Reas
Oakwood Cemetery
(Source:  Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson.  Copyright October 2011)

Peter Reas
(Source:  Photo by the Bush Family Tree, Ancestry.com)

Catherine Reas
Oakwood Cemetery
(Source: Photo by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson. Copyright October 2011)

Catherine Reas
(Source:  Photo by The Bush Family Tree, Ancestry.com)

James Edwin Reas
(Source:  Photo by The Bush Family Tree, Ancestry.com)

About D.W. Reas

Daniel W. Rease was born in Cortland County, New York, in 1837.  His father, James Rease, came to Wisconsin in 1839, returned East, and in 1840, brought his family and settled in what is now Somers.  He engaged in farming until the death of his wife in 1846 when he engaged in a sign and house painting business until 1861.  He then went to California leaving Daniel to manage the farm.  Daniel also went to California but only remained a year when he returned to the farm in Somers.  He is a Member of the Presbyterian Church.  He married in Cortland County, New York in January 1865, Miss Maria A. Brooks, also a native of Cortland County,  They had three children:  Clayton B., born April 9, 1866; Harvey V. born Feb. 28, 1873; amd Edith M. Jan. 21, 1877.

(Source:  The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, Chicago, Western Historical Company, 1879)

Heidersdorf, Christian and William

1861 partial map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
Northwest Corner historically known as Kellogg's Corners
Location today I-94 and Racine Kenosha County Line Road
Heidersdorf parcel, Section 6 West, Somers Township

Heidersdorf, Christian
Christian Heidersdorf, Sr. was born in Prussia on Feb. 22, 1813.  He was the son of Conrad and Minnie (Griese) Heidersdorf, both of whom died in Germany.  He worked for several years in the mines in Germany.  After serving his time in the German Army, he came to America in June of 1849 with his brother, William.  They settled first at St. Louis, MO, but when an epidemic of Cholera broke out, they came to Wisconsin and settled in Somers Township.  This family farmed in Paris and Somers Townships.
Christian married Miss Margaret Myers on the Heidersdorf farm on February 15, 1857. Margaret was born December 29, 1836, in Hessen-Homburg, Germany. They had ten children:  5 boys and 5 girls.  Christian died May 5, 1878 and Margaret died September 18, 1913.  They are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.

Children of Christian and Margaret:
William E. married Alice Murray
Christian E. married Caroline Biehn, daughter of Heinrich and Margaret (Myer) Biehn
Frank C. is twin to Frances (Fanny)
Frances (Fanny) Emilia is twin to Frank.  Married Henry Biehn some of Heinrich & Margaret (Meyer) Biehn
Margarette (Maggie) married to William Coughlin.
Harriett (Hattie) is twin to Adaline.  Married Frank Holmes of Kellogg's Corners.
Adaline (Addie) is twin to Harriet.  Married Myron A. Gould, son of Amon T. and Laura (Baker) Gould.  They had four children:  Loren Jay, Max A., Gladys Tabbert, and Gernice, who died in infancy.  The lived in Somers Township.  Gould was a blacksmith at Somers Station.
Wilhelmina (Minnie).  Married to John Woodward.
Henry Walter married Elsa Augusta Alma Reck.
John.  Not married.
(Source:  Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)

More About Christian Heidersdorf
Christian Heidersdorf (deceased) was one of the excellent farmers and upright citizens of Somers  Township, where he had accumulated a large property through his own exertions.  He was born in Prussia, Germany, January 13, 1813.  He was the son of Conrad and Minnie (Griese) Heidersdorf, both of whom died in Germany.  They had two sons and two daughters, the one survivor being Lizetta, widow of Jacob Barnes, of Paris Township, Kenosha County.
Christian Heidersdorf received a good common school education in his youth, but as his father died when he was still small he was obliged to begin work at an early period in his life.  He worked for several years in the mines in Germany, and later became a mine superintendent.  After serving out his time in the regular army, according to the laws of his land, in 1851 he came to America and settled with his brother William at St. Louis.  When the cholera broke out there they left Missouri and came to Wisconsin, settling in Somers Township.  There he and his brother bought sixty-seven acres of  land, the same on which Mrs. Heidersdorf still lives, and here they built a small frame house.  Later Mr. Heidersdorf added fifty acres to his first land, and later bought ninety acres in Paris Township, and ten acres of woodland.  William never married but lived on this land until his death, and in this home our subject died two years later, in 1878.  He was a man much respected by all who knew him, kind in his family and helpful to his neighbors.  Politically he was a Republican.  He was a member of the Lutheran Church.
On February 14, 1857, on the farm on which his widow now resides, Mr. Heidersdorf was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Meier, who was born in Hessen-Homburg, Germany, December 29, 1835, daughter of Peter and Margaret (Rohr) Meier, the former of whom died in 1842, when his daughter Margaret was seven years old.  Mrs. Heidersdorf was reared in Germany, and came to America with her mother, two brothers and a sister when eighteen years old, and they settled in Parish Township, where the mother died aged eighty-nine years.  Her grandfather, Jacob Meier, was a farmer in Germany, and both he and wife died there, the parents of five sons and one daughter.  Mrs. Margaret (Rohr) Meier was a daughter of Anton and Elizabeth Rohr, farming people who lived to be about seventy-five years old.
To the marriage of Mr. and  Mrs. Heidersdorf were born five sons and five daughters:  William; Christian; Frank and Fannie, twins; Margaret; Hattie and Addie,  twins; Minnie; Henry; and John.
William, was a merchant at Chapin, Paris Township, married Alice Murray, and they have two children, Edna and Harold; Christian, a farmer in Yorkville married Caroline Biehn, and they have three children, Frances, Ethlyn and Alvin; Frank, unmarried, carries on a threshing machine business; Fannie married Henry Biehn of Paris Township and they have two children, Camilla and Howard; Margaret is the widow of William Coughlin of Paris Township, and has two children, Frances and Stanely; Hattie married Frank Holmes, of Yorkville and they have two sons, Ross and Roy; Addie married Myron Gould, a blacksmith of Somers Township, and they have three children, Jay, Max, and Gladys.  The others live at home with the mother in the old homestead in Somers Township.  They are members of the Lutheran Church.
(Source:  Biographical Record of Prominent and Representative Men of Racine and Kenosha County Wisconsin, J.H. Beers & Co., 1906)

More About Heidersdorf
"Frank Heidersdorf and his brother Chris, left for Rush Medical College in Chicago on Saturday morning.  The later had his right limb injured just above the knee several years and and it will be examined by the surgeons."
(Source:  Racine Journal, News Feb. 6, 1895)

"Frank C. Heidersdorf and the Frederick Brothers have purchased new corn shredders."
(Source:  Racine Journal, News Nov. 14, 1900)

"Heidersdorf Bros. made good use of the wind on Friday, sawing twelve cords of wood with their wind mill."
"Messrs. F.S. Heidersdorf and J. Biehn will attend the poultry show in Chicago this week."
"Mr. and Mrs. M.A. Gould of Somers visited at the home of her mother, Mrs. Heidersdorf last Sunday."
(Source:  Racine Journal ,January 23, 1902)

"Philip Horning, who is the employ of the W.E. Heidersdorf of Chapin, erected a Swanson windmill for the F.E. Holmes last week."
(Source:  Racine Journal, June 3, 1902)

"Heidersdorf Bros. will extend their telephone line to Heinry Biehn's this spring."
(Source:  Racine Journal, May 1, 1901)

"Henry Heidersdorf is the happy possessor of a new buggy."
"C.E. Heidersdorf and family attended the Biehm-Adams wedding in Paris on Wednesday."
(Source:  Racine Journal, May 24, 1900)

"Mr. and Mrs. William Coughlin and John Heidersdorf attended the social at Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Smith's of Union Grove last Thursday evening."
(Source:  Racine Journal, February 21, 1901)

"Heidersdorf Bros. shipped some fancy bronze turkeys to Gray, Iowa, the first of the week."
(Source:  Racine Journal, March 27, 1901)

"Henry Beihn, Frank C. Heidersdorf and Frank Holmes returned from a successful deer hunt in Northern Wisconsin on Saturday evening, bringing the evidence of their efforts in the form of three fine bucks."
(Source:  Racine Journal, November 19, 1901)

"Mr. Christian Heidersdorf of Somers moved to the Grimshaw house."
(Source:  Racine Journal ,March 30, 1905)

Sorenson, Peter



Partial 1899 Map of Somers Township, Kenosha County
Map focus is Kellogg's Corners area located in the Northwest section of Somers.
Today's location is I-94 and Racine-Kenosha County Line Road.

Peter J. Sorenson
Peter J. Sorenson was born in Denmark on November 10, 1858.  He immigrated to America in 1878 (US Census 1910).He was married in 1887 (US Census 1900) Miss Christina Johnson who was born August 27, 1865 in Denmark.  Peter and Christina had three daughters and one son.  See the Sorenson parcel in Section 6 on map above.
According to Ella Sorenson's obituary (Peter's daughter), the house on the Sorenson farm was built in 1837 and was the original parsonage for the Kellogg's Corners Methodist Church.  Peter died on May 25, 1923 and Christina died on June 24, 1935.  They and their three daughters are buried at Sylvania Cemetery.
Children of Peter and Christina:
Amelia.  Born June 12, 1887.  Died September 12, 1887.  Twin to sister Ella.
Ella.  Born June 12, 1887.  Died November 12, 1989 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Ida.  Born November 30, 1889.  Died August 12, 1953.
Raymond F. 

Inscription on Elizabeth Sorenson grave:
Born at Torpenholt Sjalland
February 3, 1872.  Died at Racine, Wisconsin June 12, 1895
(She may have been Peter's sister.  She was a dressmaker in Racine.)
(Source:  Mary Ann Culshaw Falk and the Sylvania Cemetery Trustees)


Sorenson "In the News"
Ray F. Sorenson, 1501 West Blvd. is in an excited and nervous state of mind today.  He asserts that masked men, on two occasions, have made threats against him unless he quit work on the farm of his father in Somers Township, Kenosha County.
This afternoon a Journal-News representative interviewed the young man and got his story of the treatment he has received at the hands of the mysterious individuals.
"My father," said Sorenson, "is at the Sunny Rest Sanitarian suffering from tuberculosis.  For the past two months I have been working on the farm solely to keep things going.  I never knew there was any objection to my being on the farm until about two weeks ago."
"I was driving from my home to the farm when an automobile was driven in front of my car and the highway blocked.  Two men, wearing masks, got out of the auto and walked to my car and warned me to leave the farm as my father was perfectly able to hire a man.  They said I should return to my family in Racine."
"Without further parley they re-entered their car.  I think there were two or more men in the machine at the time.  They drove off and I hurried to the farm and passed off the incident as a joke of the part of some one."
"This week, Wednesday night I drove in from the farm to my home and left for the farm about 11 o'clock p.m.  Shortly after I saw an automobile following me, but soon lost tract of it.  Arriving at the farm I drove the automobile into the garage and had just stepped out when two men, masked, one armed with a gun, confronted me.  The man with the gun shoved it against my ribs and ordered me to come with him, and said if I failed to leave the farm I must take the consequences."
:I replied that if I was to be forced off the farm I should be allowed to get my clothing.  They escorted me to the door of the house and then rushed me back to the auto and drove away.  I think I was in in the machine more than an hour and a half when they stopped, ordered me out and point out the way to Racine and again warned me not to return to the farm.  I arrived home at 3 o'clock Thursday morning.  I did not know any of the men and I cannot imagine what harm I am doing in working on my father's farm.  I do not know whether or not I shall return to the farm.  They did not threaten to kill me, but simply said if I continued to work there I must stand the consequences."
(Source:  Racine Journal April 14, 1922)

Cabbage by Raymond F. Piper

Introduction by Jackie

It is common to see fields of cabbage crops in Somers Township.  It was a crop that made many farmers very wealthy.  Most of us have knowledge of cabbage that is limited to sauerkraut and cole slaw.  By the time you have finished reading this article, you will have an entirely different view and respect of the cabbage growers of Somers Township.

CABBAGE

by Raymond F. Piper

(Source:  Racine Journal Times, publication date December 16, 1905)

The cabbage in some of its forms has been cultivated from prehistoric times.  The common cabbage is said to have been introduced into England by the Romans, but was little known in Scotland until brought into that country by Cromwell’s soldiers.  The wild cabbage is a native of Britain, but is much more common on the shores of the Mediterranean.  It is a comparatively insignificant plant, growing from one to two feet high.

The cabbage varies in its several varieties from the kohl rabi to the common cabbage and the cauliflower.  The cauliflower has the highest vegetative character and development of the cabbage family.  Other varieties are:  broccoli, Savoy, turnip. Kale or borecole, collards, Brussels sprouts, Jersey, or tree cabbage, and Portugal cabbage.

The tree or cow cabbage, which is grown in the Channel Islands and Northern France, attains gigantic proportions for a vegetable. The stalks frequently grow to heights of 12 or 16 feet.  These stalks are used as rails for fences and as rafters for the thatched roofs of farm buildings.  Short ones are made into umbrella handles and walking sticks, which are much in demand as curiosities among tourists.  The cow-herd of the gentlemen who introduced this sort of cabbage asserted it to be so prolific that five plants or it per day are, with proper management, sufficient for ten oxen or one hundred sheep.  The Portugal cabbage is a variety remarkable for its delicacy.

The ordinary varieties of cabbage are often called White Cabbage as a general term to distinguish them from the Red Cabbage; which is chiefly used for pickling, for which purpose it is much esteemed.  The common cabbage are again grouped according to the shape of the head, as spherical, oblong, conical and flat.  About one hundred varieties of the common white cabbage are known and cultivated in the United States.

The first cabbage grown in this section of the state for market were raised by an old German who had a few acres of land within the present city limits of Kenosha.  He grew cabbage for some years, shipping his crop south, where he received enormous prices for it, and made a small fortune.

Mr. Ben Bones perhaps began growing a few cabbages in the beginning of the 70’s.  He sold some in Racine, but shipped the bulk of his crop.  In about 1875, Ed Hansche grew about a third of an acre on his farm on the Lake Shore Road midway between Racine and Kenosha.  He peddled as many of the cabbage as he could in Racine, but he had so large a piece that he was unable to dispose of them all, and had to let some rot in the field.

A year after this, Augustus Piper, another pioneer farmer, began raising a small piece each year, enlarging it to supply his potato customers with cabbage.  One year he had a ton more than his customers could use,  and this he sold to F.W. Gunther, who made sauerkraut of it in a building situated on the southwest corner of Villa and Sixth Street.  Mr. Gunther’s business grew rapidly, and he was soon crowded for room in his building on Sixth Street. The odors also soon became noticeable.  He removed to his present location near the Junction.

Since these small beginnings, there has been a slow but sure development of the cabbage industry to its present magnitude.  Now the farmers of two counties are engaged in growing this crop.  Surrounding Berryville practically all the farmers of six townships devote their farms to a greater or less extent to cabbage farming.  Two of these townships, alone, report an aggregate yield of 23,448 tons of cabbage.  This crop, valued at $160,533.00 was raised on 2,324 acres.  This valuation perhaps seems low, but far exceeds the returns realized from any other crop.

The success of cabbage farming in southeastern Wisconsin is partly due to the soil and the ideal climate.  The soil for the most part is a mixture of loam and sand.  Artificial drainage is often necessary to get the best results.  Lake Michigan moderates the cold and winter and the heat of summer.

Rapid and direct freight movement has also been an important factor in the success of the cabbage growers of this section.  There will be still better and increased freighting facilities when the electric railway, now being constructed between Milwaukee and Chicago, and passing just west of Racine, is completed.

We will now try to learn something of how the cabbages are grown.  The fertilizing and plowing of the land, as everyone knows, is the first step.  To get the best results, one car, that is about 15 ton, of manure should be used per acre.  Most successful growers do use this amount.  The manure is shipped from Chicago.  The short distance from that city to this section makes it possible to get the manure at a low figure.

If the ground is plowed in the fall, as it often is, it must be loosened up, which is done with a disc harrow, before planting in the spring.  Up to date farmers, having large fields, use the sulky plow.  If planting is delayed for any cause, the soil must be gone over with a harrow several times, to keep it in the proper shape.

The cabbage seed is sown from the 15^th of April to the first of May.  The best soil possible is selected for growing the plants.  A hand-drill is used for sowing the seed.  The rows are about eight inches apart.  In the seed bed the cabbages are, on an average, cultivated three times.  This is also done by hand.  Some seasons it is necessary to cultivate them after each rain, in order to keep the soil from becoming hard.

The plants are transplanted to the field in the last half of June, there being at this time three or four leaves.  The first week in July is not too late if the season is favorable.

When transplanting time arrives, the plants can be pulled from the seed bed if the ground is moist.  At dry times, it is necessary to loosen them with a spade, or water them before pulling; otherwise the roots are stripped off.  As soon as pulled, the plants are put in the boxes to be transported to the field.  They are kept covered and thoroughly watered until they are removed from these boxes.

A team and three men, two droppers and a driver are required to operate the cabbage planter.  Considerable skill is necessary on the part of the driver in order to make straight rows, especially if the rows are half a mile in length.  One man is also engaged in pulling plants, and another man and team in hauling water and drawing the plants to the field.

Eight thousand plants are required to plant an acre.  The rows are thirty inches apart, and the plants are twenty-four inches apart in the row.  With the planter, three to four acres can be planted per day.

About a cupful of water is ran upon each plant.  The amount of water used however, ranges from six to twenty barrels per acre, according to the moisture in the ground.

In the field the cabbages are cultivated on an average of three times.  But, as in the seed bed, a dry season may make more times necessary.  Sulky cultivators are used with satisfaction by some.  Little hoeing in the cabbage patch is done.

The harvest of the crop begins the first of September and lasts until the first of November, or a few days later.  The average yield of cabbage per acre is fifteen to twenty tons.  Higher tonnage than this per acre is not at all uncommon, but in years when the rot is bad, the yield may be as low as six tons or less.

The prices vary from $3.00 to $55.00 per ton.  The cabbage crop has brought more cash into the hands of the farmers of southeastern Wisconsin than any other crop that has ever been raised.

The weight of the cabbage in a wagon load averages from two and one-half to three tons.  One of the largest loads in this part of the country contained 7,400 pounds.  There are five hundred average cabbage in a ton.  If small, 700 or 800 are required and if large, perhaps 300.

For the first month and a half of the harvest, cabbage is shipped.  The number of cars sent out from Berryville and Racine at the height of the shipping season ranges from five to twenty cars per day, although the number has been as high as twenty-five cars.  One grower alone reports that he has sent out as many as eleven cars in one day, but this did not occur every day, and was unusual.  The minimum car contains twelve tons.  The cabbage are shipped chiefly to states in the central part of the country, among them Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and Tennessee.

The storing of cabbage begins the middle of October, but shipment never ceases.  As soon as all cabbage are out of the field, removal from the storehouses begins.  For a month after storing there is little waste, but after this there is considerable.  It is sometimes the last of March before cabbage are removed from all storehouses.  There has also, like the cabbage industry itself, been a long, steady growth in the manner of storing cabbage, from the pit to the present storehouses, but space will not permit details.

Neither is there room to go into details pertaining to the diseases that the cabbage grower has to contend with, and also the insects, but  more mention might be made.  The little cabbage maggot or flea early attacks the seed bed and destroys thousands of young plants annually.  The damage of the caterpillar, of the cabbage moth, which feeds upon the leaves, is slight.  The greatest foe of the crop is the rot.  One of the most destructive rots is the early or yellow rot which makes it appearance immediately after planting, and is especially active if there is rainy weather and high temperature.  Thousands of plants are taken down in a short time by this rot.  Another form of rot also appears later when the head is nearly developed.

In cabbage growing there are some jobs that are not the most pleasant.  For instance, it is very hard to toss cabbage from a wagon to the upper part of a large store house.  Nor is it a very pleasant job to trim rotten cabbage in the winter time back in a dark, cold stall with a light. 

1876 "Pioneer Life in Kenosha County" by H.M. Simmons

To My Blog Readers:

I found found this twenty one page historical sketch, written by H.M. Simmons, July 4, 1876, one of the most personal and interesting histories written about Kenosha County.  He writes, in detail,  about the first settlers of the County in 1835 and mentions Somers and our early settlers.  I especially like that it was written in 1876 when the information was current and pioneers were still around to be interviewed and tell their stories.  In my opinion, you won't read a better history story!

Below is a link to the web site that provides a digital copy of the entire twenty one page story.  I hope you enjoy!

Jackie

Click here to read "Pioneer Life in Kenosha County" by H.M. Simmons, date 1876

H.M. Simmons
Contributor:  Unity Magazine
Henry Martyn Simmons served as superintendent of schools in Kenosha and as minister of the Unitarian church of Kenosha from 1871 to 1879.  During his tenure at the church, the first lending library for the city of Kenosha was organized.
Photograph Courtesy of Kenosha County Historical Society and the C.E. Dewey Collection

Reasons That Triggered Immigration and Land Surveys

Wisconsin did not become a state until 1848.  You may ask, "how could our early Somers pioneers build a house, church or school in the 1830's"?  Truthfully, the early European settlers "squatted" on native land which understandably provoked conflict. 

In 1833 the Indians ceded land to the the U.S. Government
Indians occupied this area until they ceded their land to the U.S. Government.  In 1833 the Potawatomi sold the last of their land in northern Illinois and all land in southeastern Wisconsin to the United States at a treaty council in Chicago in 1833. During the treaty council, the Potawatomi living north of Milwaukee at Manitowoc and Sheboygan protested that the Menominee had improperly sold Potawatomi lands to the United States in 1831.  They argued that the Menominee had no rightful claim to the lands along Lake Michigan's western shore.  The United States treaty commissioners agreed and included a provision in the 1833 treaty promising to pay the Potawatomi for these lands as part of the overall treaty agreement.
In exchange for signing the 1833 treaty, the Illinois and Wisconsin Potawatomi were given $5 million acres of land in Iowa, $100,000  in goods and provisions, $14,000 in cash every year for twenty years, $150,0000 to set up grist mills and buy agricultural implements, and $70,000 for establishing schools.  Additionally, the government paid off $250,000 of debts the Potawatomi incurred with local fur traders.
According to the terms of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, the Potawatomi had to leave Wisconsin by 1838.  Many did so and ultimately went to a reservation in Kansas.  However, others moved into northern Wisconsin, specifically Forest County.
(Source: "Potawatomi Treaties and Treaty Rights at wwww.mpm.edu)

1836 U.S. Land Survey Creates Land Parcels for Sale
After the 1833 Treaty of Chicago was signed, the U.S. Government conducted a Land Survey of this area which was completed in February 1836.  The surveys served two purcpoases, both related to the sale of land.  First the land was virtually an unknown wilderness and description was necessary to plat parcels into management pieces for sale to the growing number of Europeans who were eager to buy land and settle here.  People interested in buying land would go to the Federal Land Office, located in Milwaukee.  There they would study the plat map and read the surveys or notes.  The map and notes would describe the property of intrest  in detail:  rivers, streams, marshes, swamps, prairie and oak savannahs, hills, shorelines, waterways, transportation routes, Indian trails, wagon roads, cabins, trading posts, streets, and general topography.  All this correslated to the land sale.  If the land was purchased, a Land Patent document was issued as proof of purchase.  These surveys triggered the opportunity to own land and thus opened the floodgates for European immigration to the Wisconsin Territory.
(Source:  U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management)

1859 Somers Town Hall

1859 original Somers Town Hall
located on the original site - Highway 31 and Highway E
The background is the Oakwood Cemetery
(Source:  Photograph Courtesy of Kenosha County Historical Society)

History
"Somers records show that the first meeting in the old Town Hall was held on April 5, 1859, but for 16 years prior to that, town meetings were held at the home of Charles Leet, great-grandfather of Leverett Leet, Somers Treasurer (1967).  As of 1967, Leet still resided in the historic family home on Highway 31.
The carefully kept minutes of the first town meetings in the Leet home were dated May 1, 1843.  Town officials were elected at that first meeting, and major business including the adoption of fines for letting stallions run at large.  Town officials were voted a salary of 75 cents per day for their services, and the board appropriated $25 for the poor.
Somers was known as the Town of Pike at that time and was included in Racine County.  The first mention of Kenosha in the records was in 1850, according to Frank Newman, Somers Town Clerk.  A division was made in the counties but no reason is given for the change.  It was at about this time that the Racine Courthouse burned down, and many records were destroyed.
The name Pike was changed to Somers in 1851, but, again, the records do not give any reason for the change, Newsman said.
The elder Leet's home was a stage stop and inn, a stop-over point for travelers bound for Milwaukee and Green Bay.  The house was apparently a natural meeting point for the town board, but eventually members recognized the need of some sort of town hall.
At the annual meeting of 1857, a committee was named to secure a permanent lease to use the basement of the Presbyterian Church across from the Leet home for meetings.  This proved unfeasible and a number of special meetings followed to consider plans for building a town hall.
After a period of turmoil, during which building plans were adopted and rescinded, another committee selected the Highway 31 site.  The land was donated by Billy smith, who gave three-quarters of an acre for the town hall and the adjoining property for a cemetery (Oakwood Cemetery).
The board met at the Charles Leet home as usual on April 5, 1859, but before any business was transacted, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting to the new town hall.  Members then walked to the new building and began its official use which continued for 108 years until the final session on September 11, 1967."
(Source:  Kenosha News article , December 1, 1967)

(Source:  The Kenosha News, September 12, 1967)

1859 original Somers Town Hall
Moved and meticulously restored on a new site 1 mile to the north of the original site
at Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary & Arboretum
(Source:  Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

Rennovation
"Now that the old building has been moved to a new home, it will be restored to its original condition, removing any of the modernizing features which been added during the years.  Contractor Peter Ploskee, who will do the restoration work, reported that he was "amazed" at the sound condition of the old structure."
(Source:  Kenosha News article, December 1, 1967)

1859 original Somers Town Hall - Side View
located at Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum
(Source:  Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

1859 original Somers Town Hall
Interior View
(Source:  Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

1859 original Somers Town Hall
Interior View
(Source:  Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

1859 original Somers Town Hall
Interior View
(Source: Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)

1859 original Somers Town Hall
Interior View - Voting Booths
(Source: Photograph Courtesy of Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson)