Iowa County, Wisconsin
Biographies
Iowa County, Wisconsin
Biographies
Francis Vivian Comfort
Little Sketches of Big Folks in Minnesota (Publ. 1907) Transcribed by Liz Dellinger
COMFORT Francis Vivian. Stillwater. Res 1204 3d av S. office 226 E Myrtle st. Lawyer. Born Aug 7, 1853 in Mineral Point Wis, son of Amzi W and Eliza (Vanorman) Comfort. Married Sept 20, 1883 to Elise T Hebenstreit. Educated in the common and high schools Portage Wis. Moved to Stillwater 1872 and studied law in the office of Hon R R Murdock. Admitted to bar 1878. Began practice with O H Comfort under the firm name of O H & F V Comfort which firm continued until 1880; Comfort, Gregory & Comfort 1880-82; Gregory & Comfort until 1885 ; practiced alone 1885-86; Comfort & Comfort 1886-87; alone until 1894; Comfort & Wilson 1894-97 and has been engaged alone since that time. Former city atty Stillwater. Member Washington Light Guards of Stillwater 1879-81; member American Minnesota State and Washington county Bar assns and Sons of the American Revolution.
Henry Dodge
THE first Dodge in America settled on Block Island, a portion of Rhode Island, in 1660, and is down in the records as Trustrome (Tristram) Daudge. Israel, father of Gov. Henry Dodge, settled in Kentucky during the bloodiest period of the Indian massacres, and built the first stone house at Bairdstown. He erected large mills at St. Genevieve, Mo., and during one of his journeys between his house and that place with his wife, was intercepted at Vincennes, Ind., where, on Oct. 12, 1782, Henry was born. The name Henry was bestowed in honor of a gunsmith named Moses Henry, who, when a savage had seized and was about to dash the child's brains out, by an extraordinary exhibition of intrepidity, saved its life.
A little later the Dodges moved to St. Genevieve. Henry's education was completed in a log school house at Bairdstown, but later he read law a little and at twenty-one was appointed Sheriff of St. Genevieve County, Mo. When the War of 1812 broke out, he enlisted as a subaltern and successively filled every intermediate rank to that of brigadier-general, which he received in 1814.In 1820 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of Missouri, and appointed United States Marshal. In 1827 the discovery of lead in Wisconsin having created considerable excitement, he emigrated to the lead region, settling at Dodgeville, Iowa County which was named in his honor. Here he erected the first smelting works and for some time carried on with great energy the business of mining and smelting, going in person down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers on flatboats to New Orleans with cargoes of lead.
Soon after reaching what is now Wisconsin, the Winnebago Indians began raiding the feeble settlements, killing and scalping men, women and children. The settlers chose Gen. Dodge to lead them, who, after erecting block houses and forging spikes for defense, started in pursuit of the leaders of the uprising. His great energy and full knowledge of the peculiarities of savage warfare so surprised and terrorized the Indians that they surrendered the originators of the raid, who, though tried and convicted, were pardoned by President J. Q. Adams.
Gen. Dodge's name became widely known through the Black Hawk War. The Sacs had yielded the lead regions to the Government, and agreed to remove across the Mississippi into Iowa. Black Hawk contended the treaty had been improperly signed and refused to move. Finally in 1831, United States troops forced him across; but calm, brave and patriotic; he recrossed in April 1832, with 500 warriors and 1,500 women and children, to recover his villages and country. Immediately 2,000 troops were raised Dodge recruiting the Mineral Point "free rangers," a fearless, rough-and-ready and well armed body of men, who with their commander, commissioned Colonel by the Governor of Michigan, pursued Black Hawk until he was finally captured.
There is an immense amount of bragging and falsehood in the popular accounts of the Black Hawk War, but Gen. Dodge rendered valuable service by terrorizing the Winnebago's, whose treacherous and sneaking character he seemed to understand, thus keeping them in subjection.
In 1833, Gen. Dodge was placed in command of 1,000 mounted rangers, raised by special act of Congress, for the protection of the frontier. At the end of a year of this precarious service, he was placed in command of the first regiment of dragoons ever enlisted into the army of the United States, and sent towards the head waters of the Arkansas River for the purpose of reclaiming whites held in captivity by the Comanche's, Kiowa's and other hostile tribes.
In 1835 he penetrated the wild country at the head of the Platte River and formed treaties with more than thirty tribes of Indians. On his return Congress ordered the journal of his expedition, a rare and interesting volume now out of print, to be published.
Wisconsin having been created into a territory in 1836, Gen. Dodge was nominated by President Jackson to be its first Governor and Superintendent of Indian affairs.
A "grand independence celebration" having been arranged at Mineral Point, on July 4, 1836, Gen. Dodge was invited to be present and as part of the ceremonies solemnly subscribed to the oath of office in the presence of the people, and made a brief speech. It was the most democratic inauguration ever held in Wisconsin.
The first election having been held, Gen. Dodge convened the Legislature at Belmont, now in La Fayette County, on Oct. 25, 1836. His message, delivered in person to both Houses, was comprehensive. He wished Congress to clear the Rock River of its obstructions, but thought that railways must furnish the future means of transportation, and asked the Government to construct a line from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan.
He also recommended "the propriety of asking from Congress a donation of one township of land
to be sold and the proceeds of the sale placed under direction of the Legislative Assembly for the establishment of an academy for the education of youth." This embodies precisely the principle of the plan on which Universities were established in Wisconsin and other States, by grants of lands from Congress.
There was a certain mixture of dash, self-conceit, energy and insight into the ways and wants of the pioneers that made him popular. Besides, he had recommended the "right of pre-emption, graduated prices for lands according to values," and that the Government put a stop to "speculation in land, the immediate gift from God to man." He was re-appointed in 1839.
On March 4, 1841, the Whigs came into power, under William H. Harrison and John Tyler, and Gov. Dodge was removed to make room for James Duane Doty. Thereupon the Democrats made him their nominee for delegate to Congress, and he was elected over Jonathan E. Arnold, of Milwaukee; and he was re-elected in 1843, over Gen. Hicox.
In March, 1845, the Democrats, under James K. Polk assumed national control and Gen. Dodge was re-appointed Governor of the Territory and continued to serve as such until Wisconsin was admitted as a State in 1848.
The new State Legislature met in June and on the 8th elected Gov. Dodge and Isaac P. Walker to the United States Senate; and in casting lots for the long and short terms, Gov. Dodge drew the former. He was re-elected in January 1851 for the term ending on the 4th of March 1857. This closed the public career of Henry Dodge.
Though not an educated man he found delight in certain branches of-literature, especially during the latter part of his life in careful perusals of "Scott's Bible" and its notes, and at his death, which occurred on June 19, 1869, at the home of his son, Augustus C. Dodge, in Burlington. Iowa, he was a member of the Episcopal Church. His last years were passed mostly at Mineral Point in a state of complete rest and peace, in emphatic and beautiful contrast to the privations, warfare and stormy activity of his earlier life on the frontier and far into the heart of the Indian country.
In 1870 the Legislature of Wisconsin appropriated $2,000 for Knowles' marble bust of Gov. Dodge, which stands in the Capitol at Madison. No other citizen was ever thus honored at public expense. [Source: "Portrait and Biographical Album of Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara"; By Acme Publishing Co., Chicago; Publ. 1889; Pgs. 112-114; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
Oscar Hallam
Little Sketches of Big Folks in Minnesota (Publ. 1907) Transcribed by Richard Ramos
HALLAM Oscar, St Paul. Res 743 Goodrich av, office 64 Court House. Judge of dist court 2d Dist Minn. Born Oct 19, 1865 at Linden Wis, son of Joseph and Mary (Wood) Hallam. Educated in the Wisconsin district schools Dodgeville Wis High School and Univ of Wis graduating in the classical course with honors 1887 and from the College of Law of same 1889. Instructor in College of Law St Paul. Member Commercial and Minnesota clubs, St Paul; member local, state and national bar assns.
Ole H. Hellekson
Source: Progressive men of Minnesota. Published by The Minneapolis Journal (1897) submitted by Diana Heser Morse
O. H. Hellekson is a member of the firm of Erickson & Hellekson, dealers in hardware, lumber and machinery at Wheaton, Minnesota. His father, Hellek Hellekson, is a farmer in Iowa County, Wisconsin, and in fair financial circumstances. He emigrated from Norway in 1841, coming to Wisconsin and settling on the farm where he has resided ever since. He served throughout the Civil War and has an honorable war record. His wife, Julia Loftsgaarden (Hellekson), the mother of the subject of this sketch, was also born in Norway. Ole H. Hellekson was born on the farm in Iowa County, Wisconsin, on January 13, 1859, where he lived until he was twenty-one years of age. He received his early education at the common schools of his district, attending them as much as of the time as could be spared. When of age he borrowed sufficient money to enable him to take one term at college, after which he taught school for two terms, returning to college to take the commercial course with the money that he had earned. In 1885 he came to Minnesota and located at Wheaton, commencing work as a clerk at the salary of fifteen dollars a month. Later he was promoted to the position of bookkeeper, and finally became manager in 1886. He bought a quarter interest in the business the following year, and in the two years following purchased enough more to get a one-half interest in the present business, that of dealing in hardware, lumber and machinery, under the firm name of Erickson & Hellekson. Mr. Hellekson owes his success in business to his close attention to the same and to his strict adherence to the principles which produce business success. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, and he takes an active interest in local affairs, having served as president of the village council for three successive terms. His church connections are with the Lutheran church. He was married February 24, 1887 to Lena Olson Dokken. They have three children living, Cora Francis, Minnie Henrietta and Spencer Howard.
Judge William S. Pardy
He was born in Carlisle, Sullivan County, Ind., Aug. 28, 1822. His father died when he was eleven years of age. Previous to this time, his opportunities were limited to subscription schools. From this time he assisted his mother, who was left with insufficient means to support a large family of children. At the age of fifteen he commenced to learn the saddler's trade, which vocation he followed for about eleven years. He came to the Territory of Wisconsin in 1845 after spending all his money in mining, he worked in Mineral Point, at his trade, for about six months. He married in Indiana, and settled in Highland, Iowa County, this State, where he remained for one year. He removed to Bad Axe, Crawford County (a portion of which now constitutes Vernon County), where he has since resided. He followed farming for ten years, when he was elected clerk of the circuit court; which position he held for eight years. He represented Crawford, Richland, and Vernon Counties in the senate for one year. While on the farm, he filled nearly all the different town offices. In 1839 he was admitted to the bar. He was elected county judge in 1869, and is now serving his second term. He was married, in 1846, to Jane E. Lemen. He has buried two children, and has two girls and six boys living. He was a member of the Whig party while it was in existence. He is now a Republican, and has always been an active politician.
[Source: "An Illustrated History of the State of Wisconsin"; By Charles Richard Tuttle; Publ. 1875; Transcribed and donated by Andrea Stawski Pack. ]