Sylvania School in Yorkville

Sylvania School in the Town of Yorkville, Racine County, Wisconsin
Toase, Drinkwater, and Smith family of Somers, Wisconsin are all related.
(Photo courtesy of Jim Smith)

School District No. 14 - Kelloggs Corners School

(A joint district of Pike (later Somers), Mt. Pleasant, Yorkville, and Paris Townships)

A meeting was held at the house of Chauncey Kellogg in Mt. Pleasant on May 18, 1844, to have and organize a school district to be called the Sylvania School District.  The first school building constructed of logs and timbers hewn from the woods nearby, was built about a quarter of a mile south of the corners.  After a time, this building was sold and moved to the Daniel Coughlin farm just west in Paris Township.  A new site near the Methodist Church was purchased and a new building was erected.

Judge Roy Burgess, now of Racine, was an early student and Attorney Peter Meyers as well.  The water system at the Sylvania School was the "old oaken bucket", the moss covered bucket that hung in the well at the rear of the A.T. Gould home.  Children loved to "go for water" and stop at the A.T. Gould blacksmith shop which stood at The Corners for 70 years.

Kellogg's Corners Pioneer Families

Heidersdorf, Christian and William

Varney

Lee, Richard

Gould, Amon T.

Kellogg, Chauncey

Kellogg, Helmont

Kellogg, Austin (son of Helmont)

Kellogg, Seth (son of Helmont)

*If information for these families is not on this site, please browse the Oakwood Cemetery website.

Methodist Episcopal Church of Somers

(Source:  "My Memoirs" by Minnie A.G. Ozanne. Copyright 1948)

First Methodist Church in Wisconsin Built in Somers
(Source:  Racine Journal Times, December 21, 1927)

"The first Methodist Episcopal Church building in the State of Wisconsin was erected in the year 1840 with a congregation made up of the families who had settled in the center of a wilderness that is now the Town of Somers, seven miles northwest of Kenosha.

Positive identification of this little group of pioneers is established with the discovery of some of the early "minutes" of the little congregation of immigrants who decided to go beyond the settlement of Pike Creek, now Kenosha, and go further inland to a little patch in the woods that had been leveled by a forest fire a year before.  Many of the interesting facts concerning this discovery are told by Mrs. E.G. Ozanne, of Somers, who is preparing an interesting history of the early days in the settlement of Somers.

While the first building to house a Methodist Episcopal congregation was built in 1840 the formation of the church organization came three years before when a prayer meeting was called in one of the rude log cabin houses constructed in the section by the first family to arrive.

The establishment of the church came immediately after the arrival of the three Kellogg brothers, Chauncey, Seth, and Thaddeus, and their families who had come with ex team and covered wagon from New England in August 1837.  In New England the three brothers had been prominently identified with the church, and one of their promises was to form a congregation as soon as they should settle.  In six days the brothers had helped construct six log cabins and during that time their group had been joined by twelve more families.

Seth Kellogg, the oldest of the of three brothers, called a prayer meeting for the seventh day and ten persons met in one of the cabins that bright Sunday morning.  A Sunday School was formed in which all ten enrolled, and Mrs. Seth Kellogg was named the first superintendent.

The result of this meeting bore its first fruit a month later when the sum of $200 was received as a gift by one of the Kellogg sisters who raised the funds in Sunday School in New York.  With this money to furnish such materials as were available by stage from Chicago and Milwaukee, the building was begun.  Chauncey Kellogg had been a carpenter in the east and he gave all his spare time to the erection of the church.  Austin Kellogg, another member of the original family, had been a blacksmith and he made the nails and braces for the building.

No one who worked on this building during the next two years accepted pay.  The timbers were hand hewn out of solid oak.  Benches and pews were planed from trees cut down at the edge of the clearing.  With all other work that required the attention of these pioneers church workers, the new building proceeded slowly.  when completed in the spring of 1840, the congregation had grown to 35 families.  At its large dedicatory service there were visitors from miles around.

The first regularly ordained minister who served the church, as available records show, was the Rev. Julius Field, who had married one of the Kellogg daughters.  He assisted in the building of the church and officiated at the consecration of the building.  Later he became Pastor of the First Methodist Church in Racine in 1845.  Ebenezer Washburn came to the village in 1843 to make his home with his daughter, Electa Washburn Kellogg, wife of Seth Kellogg.  He, known as "Father Washburn" was one of the early pastors.  He built a home for himself at the point that has since been known as Kellogg's Corners in the Town of Somers and lived there until 1850 when he moved to Racine.  He died in 1857.  Among the early ministers there were Rev. James Ozanne, Father Washburn, John Collett and Joshua Collier.

Among the ordained pastors were:  Delos Hale, George Parsons, A.J. Benjamin, E.L. Eaton, William Rollins, E.D. Kohlsted, M.L. Norris, and A.M. Sanford.  Rev. P.J. Lawson in 1910 was the last to occupy the pulpit.

Among the Sunday School superintendent were:  Mrs. Seth Kellogg, and Amon T. Gould, who operated a blacksmith shop at Kellogg's Corners for many years, and who held the superintendency of the Sunday School over a long period.

In 1860 a Sunday School festival was held with 300 present, most of them children of that original group of pioneers who founded the First Methodist Church in Wisconsin.

In 1916 the building was sold, taken down, and used in the building of a barn on a nearby farm.  The original lumber and timbers were found to be in an almost perfect state of preservation.

The day commemorating the 104th anniversary of that first prayer and Sunday School, following the arrival of these Kellogg brothers and their families, to that little patch in the woods that later became known as Kellogg's Corners, some sixty of their descendants met in reunion on the site of this first church.  A beautiful feature of this reunion was the dedicatory service of a large boulder that was one of the original corner-stones of the church foundation.  The unveiling was by two boys, Donald Mann, of Los Angeles, California, and James Beall, of Chicago, both descendants of the Kellogg's.  This boulder is beautifully engraved, and permanently set - a grand tribute to those early pioneers who came."

Cornerstone of the Methodist Church at Kellogg's Corners.
(Source: "My Memoirs" by Minnie A.G. Ozanne. Copyright 1948)

Austin Kellogg

Burgess, Alonzo

Alonzo Burgess
(Photo Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Racine and Kenosha Counties Citizens
Lake City Publishing Co. 1892)

Alonzo Burgess, a pioneer of Kenosha County of 1836, and an early settler of Racine County, now a resident of the City of Racine, was born in East Bennington, Bennington County, Vt., August 27, 1820.  His parents were Benjamin and Rebecca (Chase) Burgess, who were also natives of Bennington County.  His father was a farmer by occupation and was married in his native county.  In 1825 he moved with his family to Oswego County, New York, and settled in the Town of Hannibal where he resided until the spring of 1836 when he emigrated from New York to Wisconsin Territory.  He located on a tract of Government land adjacent to the Village of Southport, now Kenosha, March 5, of that year.  At that time the Territory in which Southport was situated was in Milwaukee County.  In 1836 it was set off as Racine County, and the later division left Kenosha County as it now exists.

Benjamin Burgess was twice married.  His first wife was Rebecca Chase, as given above, and by their union were born four sons and three daughters:  Sylvia died when a young lady; Nehemiah married Sophia Hulbut and both are now deceased; Benjamin wedded Sophia Gardner and is a farmer of Brighton Township; Julia, widow of Nicholas LePoidvine, resides in Beatrice, Nebraska.  After the death of the first wife the father married Amanda Foster by whom he had four children, as follows:  William E., a successful farmer of Somers Township, Kenosha County; Martha, deceased, was the wife of Charles Ticknor; Belinda, widow of Thomas Dow, resides in Racine; Cyrus was drowned at the age of eighteen.  Mr. Burgess was engaged in the saw-mill business until his death, which occurred in March 1838, only two years after locating in Southport.

Alonzo Burgess removed to Oswego County, New York, with his parents when five years of age and came to Wisconsin with them in March, 1836, being then a lad of fifteen years.  Soon afterward he went to work with his uncle, William Foster, with whom he remained five and a half years.  He then engaged in the manufacture of brick near Kenosha and bought a farm of eighty acres in the Town of Somers.  On the 6th July, 1844, he was married in that town to miss Artemesia Kellogg, daughter of Arthur and Armena (Howe) Kellogg.  She was born near Oswego Falls, New York, and was an earnest Methodist in religious faith.  Five children were born of their union:  Adelia A., wife of Richard Warner, of Beatrice, Nebraska; Emeretta who wedded L. Cook of Somers, Kenosha County' Frederick A., who married Cordelia Foster and is a farmer of Mt. Pleasant; Carrie A., wife of E.L. Cook, of Somers, and Martha, who died at the age of eighteen years.   Mrs. Burgess died on the 8th of May, 1863, in the prime of womanhood.

On the 1st of July, 1867, Mr. Burgess was married in Kenosha County, to Miss Mary A. Buswell, who was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, February 16, 1829, and is a daughter of Ezra and Judith A. (Judkins) Buswell.  She became a teacher in girlhood, teaching in a High School in Ohio and also in the Kenosha and Racine High Schools.  Her career as a teacher included an experience of many years and was distinguished by superior ability and a conscientious discharge of duty.  She came to Kenosha County with her parents in 1842 when thirteen years of age.  Her father was a highly respected pioneer of that county, was born in Grantham, New Hampshire, April 27, 1793, and died in Paris Township, Kenosha County, November 14 1863.  Her mother was born in Concord, New Hampshire, December 19, 1800, and died in Mt. Pleasant Township, Racine County, February 14, 1876.

Mr. Buswell was a man of more than ordinary ability and of fair scholastic training.  After coming to Wisconsin he took an active part in local affairs, serving several years as Township Supervisor.  His marriage to Miss Judkins occurred in Warner, New Hampshire.  Until his removal Westward he was engaged in conducting a tannery and shoe establishment.  His object in coming to Wisconsin was to locate his sons on farms.  He therefore left New Hampshire in 1842 for Southport, now Kenosha, but the lake was so rough the vessel could not land and hence went on to Chicago.  By team, Mr. Buswell came to Paris Township, where he entered three hundred and twenty acres of land from the government, to which he added by purchase.  He gave the eldest three sons farms, and lived to see all his children become respected members of society.  He had five children, as follows, Moses C., a farmer of Somers Township; Edmund D., a farmer died in 1885; Mary A.; John S., a veteran of the late war, who lost his health in the service, resides in Union Grove, Wisconsin.  In politics Mr. Buswell was a Democrat until the rise of the Republican party, to which he afterward adhered.  Both were members of the Baptist Church, to which society their daughter also belongs.  Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Burgess in the town of Mt. Pleasant, Racine County; M. May, born May 17, 1869, and E. Roy, born September 13, 1872.

Mr. Burgess made his home in the part of Racine County since made into Kenosha County until 1842, when he removed to the present Racine County and purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he increased by subsequent purchase to four hundred and twenty acres.  He became one of the leading farmers of Racine County and was an extensive grower of sheep and Durham cattle,  He continued to conduct his farm until April, 1880, when he removed to Racine City, partly on account of securing better educational advantages for his young children.  He still owns his farm of two hundred and fifty acres which is situated near the southwest corner of the Town of Mt. Pleasant and which is one of the most valuable farms in the county.  He began for himself in life a poor boy and has become one of the substantial men of his township.  His start in life was made by molding brick, at which he worked most industriously.

Mr. Burgess is a Republican in politics and has served two years as Supervisor of Mt. Pleasant Township.  He is a thoroughly practical farmer and has by industry and judicious management accumulated a fine property.  It is now fifty-six years since he became a resident of Wisconsin and his course in life has been distinguished by integrity, honor and fairness in all his relations with his follow- citizens.
(Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Racine and Kenosha Counties Citizens
Lake City Publishing Co. 1892)


Burgess - In The News

"A short time ago Wm. Burgess received a case of honey from his son in law, Clayton Reas of California."
(Racine Weekly June 1, 1899)

"Burdett and Robert Burgess of Chicago are spending a few days at their father's home in the village.
(Racine Daily July 18, 1900)

Mrs. L. Cool and her brother, Fred Burgess, departed for Mt. Clemons, Michigan on Monday, where Mr. Burgess will take treatment for rheumatism.
(Racine Weekly Sept 1, 1895)

Mrs. W.E. Burgess of Chicago had a tumor removed from her left side on Tuesday last.  Her many friends here will be pleased to learn that she is getting alone as well as expected.
(Racine Weekly Jan. 27, 1898)

"A very pleasant reunion was held at the home of William E. Burgess on Christmas Day.  His six sons were home - Charles of Bristol, Edward and his family, Will, Burdette and Robert of Chicago and George and his family of Somers.  The family presented their father with a beautiful upholstered rocker."
(Racine Daily Jan. 1, 1900)

"Robert Burgess went to Chicago Tuesday where he accepted a position with an ice company."
(Racine Weekly May 25, 1899)

"George and Robert Burgess hauled two loads of flax straw to Franksville Thursday morning."
(Racine Daily Feb. 8, 1899)

"Miss Maggie Sinclair and George Burgess were united in marriage at the Presbyterian Church on Thursday afternoon, Rev. Henry Brown officiating."
Racine Weekly Oct. 28, 1897)

"No clue has yet been obtained to the party who placed a baby boy on the steps of Alonzo Burgess."
(Racine Daily Oct. 23, 1900)

"Mr. Fred Burgess is very sick with typhoid fever."
(Racine Daily Oct. 21, 1896)

"George Burgess is moving to the Flett farm which he will work the coming year."
(Racine Journal Jan. 9, 1903)

"Charles Burgess, a resident of the Town of Somers, was very badly injured in this city about 1 o'clock this afternoon.  While attempting to drive his team of horses attached to load of hay on the market back of the chemical engine house, he drove them too near the building,resulting in the wagon capsizing.  Burgess was precipitated on the stone pavement, falling a distance of several feet.  He was picked up unconscious.  Dr. Nott was summoned and after making a temporary examination ordered that the man be taken to the St. Luke's hospital in the patrol wagon.  At the hospital the physician made a complete diagnosis of the case and found him suffering from the effects of a severe concussion.  It is also thought that the man's skull is fractured.  he had not regained consciousness up to three o'clock this afternoon."
(Racine Journal Aug. 13, 1901)

"A brilliant wedding took place at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon April 15, at the home of Mr. Wm. Burgess when his daughter Hattie was united in marriage to Clayton B. Reas in the presence of nearly one hundred friends of the contracting parties.  Miss Edith Lewis acted as bridesmaid and Burdette Burgess, brother of the bride was best man.  As the wedding march was being played by Miss Mae Burgess the bridal party came into the parlor preceded by Rev. George J. Rea and took their places on the white fur ring underneath a handsome arch decorated with evergreens and Easter lilies.  The ceremony was short but impressive, at the close of which the young couple received the party congratulations of their many friends.  The bride was attired in a white India linen gown trimmed in lace and satin ribbons, wore white slippers and carried a bouquet of white Roman hyacinths.  The groom was wearing the same flower.  A rose bowl with daybreak carnations was a beautiful center piece.  The refreshments were delicious and nicely served by young ladies and gentlemen, superintended by Miss Mary Rhodes, in her usual capable manner.
After the supper, music and sociability were participated in, a solo "The Oak Oaken Bucket" was exquisitely rendered by Mrs. Owen (nee Florence Spencer) the audience joining in the chorus.  It was a great pleasure to listen to Somers' former sweet singer again.  Then came the announcement that the young ladies should gather in the front yard as the bride was about to throw her bouquet into the crowd and the young lady fortunate enough to catch it would be the first to be married.  One of our popular young ladies carried off the prize.  The presents were numerous and elaborate, betokening the high esteem in which the young couple are held by their friends.  Mr. and Mrs. Reas left on Friday afternoon April 17 by way of Northern Pacific to Portland, Oregon from which place they will go by ocean steamer to San Francisco; then by rail to Porterville, near which place Mr. Reas owns a fine fruit farm.  The best wishes for their future prosperity and happiness will follow the young people through life's journey."
(Racine Weekly April 23, 1896)









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).

1877 Map and Minnie Ozanne Somers History

Partial Plat Map of 1887 Somers Township

The purpose of this blog page is to identify (1887 Map) some of the earliest settlement in Somers - along the Green Bay Trail.  The Green Bay Trail can be identified on the map above as the center north-south road in the middle of the map.  The intersection showing the "M.E. Church" is Highway E or Somers Road.
A few historical building photographs are shown below and are considered some of the oldest evidence of our historic settlement.   Although the landscape and structures have changed, you can take a ride and see for yourself where our history began.  I hope you enjoy finding the names on the map!

Click on this link to read Somers history written by Mrs. E.G. (Minnie) Ozanne, one our pioneers,  published in "Souvenir, Kenosha County Court House: and bits of yesterday, foundations of today" by Otis L. Trenary. 1925.

"Among the early settlers of Somers (1835) were Benjamin Felch, Hugh Longwell, Griffin and William Allen, Charles Leet, and William Smith.  Jacob Montgomery and his two sons built a log cabin near the present site of E.G. Ozanne's residence, the first in the town and in the county.  In the southeast part of the town Cephus Weed began his farming and on Pike River, Thomas Parsons built a sawmill (near Berryville).  This early immigration followed the Indian Trail which later became the Green Bay Road.  The plank road running from Racine and connecting with the plank road west out of Kenosha followed part of the old Green Bay Trail and ran near Petrifying Springs in Somers.  A toll gate was placed near the present home of George Leet.

In 1836 a weekly stage began to run from Chicago to Milwaukee over this Green Bay Trail, and the first Post Office was established at Willis's.  This tavern was located in the southwest corner of what is now the intersection of the Prairie Avenue Road with the Green Bay Road, Maxwell's Corners.  In this year, too, the first school taught by Miss Brizee was held in the Hugh Longwell house.  In the spring of 1837 the Kelloggs' - Chauncey, Seth H., and Thaddeus - with their families built their shanties and held their first religious meetings.  The result of the first Sunday School is shown when in 1860 a festival was held with an attendance of 300 children.

The Methodist Episcopal Church completed in 1840 was not only the first in the town of Somers, but we believe, the first in the state.

A Government observatory was built in 1860 on the William Robinson farm to a height of 72 feet.  This is on the present John Salentine farm on the hill about one mile south of the Somers Cemetery and Town Hall.  It is the highest point between Chicago and Milwaukee on the Green Bay Trial.  A pile of stones shows today where the tower stood.

The first frame barn built in the town was built for Rev. James Ozanne, and a part still stands.  By act of the state legislature, the town was named "Pike", April 15, 1843.  In 1851 "Pike was changed to "Somers".

On May 1, 1843, the first town meeting was held in the house of Charles Leet.  Joseph P. Hurlbut was chosen moderator of this meeting and Oscar Hurlbut, Clerk.  Tax raised in 1843 - $372.39; 1924, $96,594.  A farm of 88 acres in Somers in 1836 was valued at $1,040, the amount of taxes on this farm was $10.79."

Charles Leet Home
Contributor:  C.E. Dewey
This home was built in 1842 and it is believed that this picture shows the house in its original state.  It was remodeled in the 1860's at the close of the Civil War.  This property had been in the Leet family for one hundred years at the time this slide was produced. (1940).
(Source:  Photo Courtesy of Minnie Ozanne Family)

The Longwell House, residence of Hugh Longwell.
Southern Wisconsin's first public school building, erected in Somers Township in 1836, was held in the Longwell home with a Miss Brizee as the teacher.  In 1846 the Pike River school district was formed.  A new school building was constructed and opened in 1849.  Mr. Hugh Longwell, the first settler of Somers made a claim in March 1835 and settled where he resided with his family until his death.
(Source:  Minnie Ozanne Family)

Hugh Longwell Biographical Sketch

Hugh Longwell was born in New York about 1798.  He married his wife Letta in New Jersey and the couple had six children.  Hugh Longwell's sister, Sarah Maria Longwell, was born in Somers Township in 1841 and married William Toase (a neighboring land owner in Section 2).  William's mother married a second time to George Haigh of Somers Township, a substantial farming family in Section 8.

Methodist Episcopal Church
Built by Austin Kellogg and his brothers around 1837 and was completed in 1840.  An addition was added at the front of the building some years later.  The church was torn down around 1910.  The timbers were hand-hewn out of solid oak.
(Source:  Photo Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Historical Images)