Ozanne, Mrs Minnie Grimshaw Teacher in Somers starting 1887

 

(Source:  August 6, 1946 Kenosha News)

Ozanne Family

1877 partial map of Somer Township
Ozanne parcels, Section 9 and 10
Peter Ozanne, James Ozanne, Dr. James Ozanne, E.G. Ozanne, H.A. (Helena Ozanne) Hitler, A.C. Ozanne

James Ozanne
James and Rachel (Thoume) Ozanne were natives of Guernsey.  They were the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter, namely:  James, Peter, John and Rachel of whom John died at the age of fifteen years, and Rachel died in childhood.  James Ozanne and his family came to America, landing at Racine, Wisconsin June 18, 1842.  On July 4th following, he bought 326 acres on land, located in Somers Township, Kenosha County, later dividing a portion of this land between his sons, James and Peter, and passed the balance of his life here, dying age at 72 years.
He was twice married, his first wife being the mother of  Peter and James.  After her death, he went back to Guernsey where in 1847 he married Mary Carre, who lived in Somers Township  four children were born to this union:  Helena, widow of H.A. Hitler of Somers Township whom she had one children, Clinton; Alfred, who died in Tempe, Ariz in 1916, leaving three children; Miss Emma, of Somers Township, and Edward G., also of Somers Township.
(Source:  Biographical Record of Prominent and Representative Men of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, J.H. Beers & Co., 1906)

Dr. James Ozanne
Dr. James Ozanne (son of James and Rachel Thomne Ozanne) was born on the Isle of Guernsey May 21, 1825.  He was a physician.  He was a graduate of Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, 1862.  He married September 21, 1851 in Princeton, Wisconsin, Miss Marie Fidelia Kellogg, the daughter of Austin Kellogg, one of the first pioneer settlers in Somers, Township and Kenosha County, also Kellogg's Corners neighborhood in Somers Township.  Dr. James Ozanne died in Somers July 24, 1891.  His widow, Maria, moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin with her son.  To this union six children were born: James Thoume Ozanne, Rachel Amelia, Walter Henry, Gail Austin, Irvine Eugene, and Herbert Giles.
(Source:  "The Kelloggs in the Old World and the News, Volume 2, by Timothy Hopkins, published in San Francisco, California 1903).

Peter Ozanne (son of James and Rachel Thoume Ozanne)
"Peter Ozanne was born on the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel on March 27, 1827, and died March 6, 1905, lacking but twenty-one days of being seventy-eight years old.  He was one of the pioneers in this section of Kenosha County and for many years was a very prominent and influential man in Somers Township.
James and Rachel (Thoume) Ozanne, the parents of Peter Ozanne, were natives of Guernsey.  They were the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter, namely:  James, Peter, John and Rachel of whom John died at the age of fifteen years, and Rachel died in childhood.  James married and reared a family; he became a physician.  James Ozanne and his family came to America, landing at Racine, Wisconsin June 18, 1842.  One July 4th following he bought 326 acres of land, located in Somers Township, Kenosha County, later dividing a portion of this land between his sons, James and Peter, and passed the balance of his life here, dying aged seventy-two years.  He was twice married, his first wife being the mother of our subject.  After her death he went back to Guernsey where he married Mary Carre, who still lives in Somers Township; she has been blind for some years.  Four children were born to this union:  Alfred C. of Tempe, Ariz.; Helena, widow of H.A. Hitler of Somers Township; Miss Emma, of Somers Township; and Edward G., also of Somers Township.
On March 28, 1849, Peter Ozanne was married to Miss Mary Ann LeMessurier, who was born April 17, 1832 in Guernsey, and six children were born to them, as follows:  Mary Ann, Pierre T., Lawrence E., Clarence F., Rosa A. and Charles H.  Mary Ann died aged five months.  Pierre T. is single, and lives on the old homestead with his brother Lawrence E.  Clarence F. twin brother of Lawrence E. died in 1884, aged twenty years and three days.  Charles H. died in 1877 aged nine years, eleven months and twenty-four days.  Rosa A. married Fred L. Holmes, lives at South Haven, Michigan and has five living children: Bertrand M., Harry R., Fred B., Beatrice R. and Mary L.
For a period of nineteen years Peter Ozanne was Somers Town Clerk continuously; for a number of years he was Somers Town Treasurer; was Clerk of School District No. 7; and for a few years was Secretary of the Somers Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
The farm which Mr. Ozanne originally owned in Somers Township, a gift from his father, contained eighty-seven acres, two acres having since been sold.  To have lived in one locality for sixty-three years and to have, during that time, gained the respect and esteem of one's fellow citizens and preserved it to the end, is a pretty fair test of a man's quality, and such was the case with Peter Ozanne.  His remains rest in Oakwood Cemetery.  He was a member of the Methodist Church.
Mrs. Ozanne, who still survives, is much esteemed in Somers Township where she is well known for her many admirable qualities of mind and heart.  Her parents were Abraham and Mary (Le Prevost) Le Messurier, and her maternal grandparents were Daniel and Elizabeth (La Huray) Le Prevost, the family evidently being of French descent.  The three daughters of Abraham and May Le Messurier were:  Mary Ann, Mrs. Ozanne; Margarate, deceased, formerly the wife of Thomas Le Poidevin; and Matilda, widow of Fred Graham, now residing in Racine.
The father of Mrs. Ozanne died in Guernsey (where he was born) aged thirty-nine years.  He was by trade a boot and shoe manufacturer, but gave up much of his time to music, for which he had considerable talent, being a fine performer on the cornet and the clarinet; his services were frequently in demand in musical organizations.  After his death his widow came to America, in 1847, settling in Racine, Wisconsin., where she died in 1886, at the age of seventy-five years.  She married (second) William Graham, who had been a soldier in the Mexican War.  He was a ship carpenter by trade and lived at Racine for many years, dying aged about seventy-nine.  The two sons of Peter Ozanne carry on the farm, both being capable agriculturists and good citizens."
(Source: Biographical Record of Prominent and Representative Men of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, J.H. Beers & Co., 1906)

Peter Ozanne
He served 19 years as Somers Town Clerk and also several years as Somers Town Treasurer.  He was served a number of years as Secretary of the Somers Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

"Mrs. Holmes (nee Rosa Ozanne) and children of Chicago are visiting with her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Ozanne."
(Source:  Racine Journal, July 11, 1900)

Edward G. Ozanne (son of James and Mary Carre Ozanne)
Edward G. Ozanne, who was engaged in farming in Section 10, Somers Township, was born August 30, 1854, in the township where he now resides, his parents being James and Mary (Carre) Ozanne, who were natives of the Isle of Guernsey, whence they came to the United States in 1842.  Edward went to local school until 16 years old.  he has since inherited a portion of his father's farm and has purchased the interest of the other heirs in the property.  Later he sold off part of his land but at present owns 80 acres. In 1881 Edward G. Ozanne married Miss Ida Clemens, who died in 1895, leaving two children, Edward C. and Mary E.  The former is married and has two children.  Mr. Ozanne was married again October 6, 1898, the lady of his choice being Miss Minnie A. Grimshaw, daughter of Joseph and Bessie (Lee) Grimshaw, the former a native of England.  The mother, who was born in Somers, is still living in that town.
(Source:  The City and County of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Volume II, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916)

"E.G. Ozanne has put up a windmill for the purpose of cutting feed.  It is one manufactured by the Winship Co., of Racine.
(Source:  Racine Journal December 3, 1896)

"E.G. Ozanne left on Tuesday fro Beatrice, Nebraska where Mrs. Ozanne is spending a few weeks for the benefit of her health."
( Source:  Racine Journal Aug. 18, 1905)




Isle of Guernsey - About
"Off the northern coast of France lies Guernsey, from which many early settlers came to Racine and Kenosha Counties.  The island is high-cliffed and topped with living green and lies amid the swirling tides of the English Channel.  It was called Sarnia by the Romans.  Guernsey has an area of about 25 square miles, much less than a standard township in the state of Wisconsin.  It is about 5-1/2 miles at its widest point and 9-1/2 miles in length.  Its inhabitants are dairy and garden farmers who have acres of greenhouses where the choicest garden crops are raised.  Famed are the White Pinks and other flowers raised for the English  markets.
The little isle is the home of "a beautiful streamlined creature, straight of back and clean of limb" - the famous Guernsey cow.  In 1831 Capt. Prince of Boston brought two heifers and a sire back with him from Guernsey and sent them to his brother on a tiny island in Lake Winnepesaukee.It was questioned whether these imported cattle could stand a more severe climate, but they proved to have endurance and adaptability.
Tragedy came to the isle in 1940 when the Germans invaded it.  Many of the natives were evacuated but others refused to abandon their cows-most of these gentle-eyed creatures disappeared into the conquerors' stew pots.  America is making plans to return this breed of cattle to native soil."
(Source:  Plight of Guernsey in Dark Days of War Revealed in a Letter to Lawrence Ozanne. Article written by Minnie Ozanne, Racine Journal Times, published September 28, 1945).

Minnie Ozanne

(Photograph Courtesy of  Minnie Ozanne from her book "My Memoirs")

"Surreys and buggies were the vogue in transportation when Miss Minnie Grimshaw, now Mrs. E.G. Ozanne, began writing news and "personals" for the Racine Journal-Times and its forerunners.
At 85, Mrs. Ozanne is a living history book.  Her memory is as keen as her interest has been all her life in the everyday events going on about her in Somers Township.  Although her "beat" hasn't been of spectacular nature, her faithful recording of the daily events has produced thousands of newspaper clippings which overflow more than 10 scrap books.
Mrs. Ozanne has lived all her life among the friends who have produced the daily gist for the copy which she began submitting to the Racine Journal in August, 1896.  At the time she was teaching in the one-room Burr Oak School after returning from Nebraska where she completed high school and had taught for several years.
Her first teaching job was offered to her while she was still in high school.  But, as now, teachers were in short supply and the county superintendent certified her and Miss Grimshaw lengthened her skirt and put up her hair and took the job.  She was boarded for $1 a week on a 600 acres cattle ranch where part of her chores included getting up early enough to wash the breakfast dishes before leaving for school.  After supper she also had to clean up the kitchen.
After three months teaching to complete the spring term, Miss Grimshaw moved to Jefferson County, Nebraska, and a one-room school isolated in the center of a corn field with the only entrance a footpath.  "My superintendent was an Indian," recalled the sprightly reporter.  "I was afraid of him, although I'd never seen him.  I sent my credentials in to him and they were returned in due time.  But one day while I was teaching, in he walked.  He was a tall man, the tallest man I think I've ever seen.  He sat in the back of the room and never said a word.  After school was over he came up to my desk and his only criticism was that I stood up too much while teaching.  I never saw him again."
Back in Somers Township, Miss Grimshaw took up her teaching job at Burr Oak School where she had attended as a youngster.  Three years later she was married to E.G. Ozanne, who died in 1936.  She continues to live on the Ozanne Homestead on Highway 31, south of the entrance to Petrifying Springs.  The homestead includes the site of the first log cabin in southeastern Wisconsin.  The homestead dates from 1842 and often is visited days by members of neighboring historical societies in their study of early Wisconsin history.
since the death of her husband her only companions have been her canaries and a dog which she now has outlived.  But life has never been dull.  She also is a notary public and secretary of the Somers Cemetery Association.
A few years ago she published her first book, "My Memoirs" which records the early history of her area as she lived it and knew it firsthand.  Until this summer, Mrs. Ozanne took care of her own lawn and the many flowers which surround her home.  A fall earlier this year, however, has cut down on her physical activity.  "And,", she observed, "the work for the newspapers seems to be getting to be more and more, and, I'm quite busy without taking time out for the yard."
Her present handicap annoys her.  She pointed out she had been ill only twice in her life.  Once was with the measles and the other was with whooping cough.  Both times were while she was teaching and after she cam down with each illness, "the whole school got it."
Like the poem, Mrs. Ozanne has lived her life by the side of a road.  The Green Bay Road has had a historical past, significant in the movement of the nation from east to west.  The road is marked with a bronze plaque, noting that it was established in 1832.  Over it moved the early settlers and pioneers who opened up the vast expanses of the rich Midwest and prairie lands.
From her home, Mrs. Ozanne has watched "the march of progress."  Not all of it has please her, either.  Probably the most severe blow was several years ago when the need for a wider roadway cut keep into her front yard.  Highway engineers took off 60 feet and brought the edge of the road to within a stone's throw of her front door.
Among modern inventions, Mrs. Ozanne has no time for television and she never has been in an airplane.  Inf act, she isn't sure all the new mechanical devises and gadgets have made life any pleasanter than her early days."
(Source:  Racine Journal Times, publication November 4, 1956.)