Part 14 (1/2)

SAMUEL B DRESSER--Mr Dresser was born in Buxton, Maine, in 1832

During his youth he lived with his parents, chiefly at Bangor, where he received the rudiood education in the common schools, and in Kent Seminary at Readfield He ca anduntil 1862, when he settled on his farm homestead on Osceola prairie Mr Dresser was a member of the Twenty-third Wisconsin assembly He was married to Charlotte M

Godfrey, June 23, 1859 They have one daughter, Helen A, and six sons, Elma T, William A, Lester B, Wyman H, Mark S, and Frank E

FREDERIC A DRESSER, brother of Samuel B, was born at Moscow, Maine, Nov 2, 1841, came to Taylor's Falls, Minnesota, in 1858, and remained some years, when he re the Civil War in the Thirtieth Wisconsin Infantry, and left the service with the rank of quartermaster After the war he washis subsequent residence in Osceola he engaged in mercantile pursuits, served as county treasurer four years and as register of deeds five years, which office he held at the time of his death which occurred Oct 23, 1886

OSCAR A CLARK came to Taylor's Falls in 1881, settled on a farht hither his parents from Vermont, both of whoed also in the lu and commercial business He was of the firi the Rebellion, and served tillhas since been heard from him, his friends have concluded that he e, possibly on the way hoe, a brother, hter, of John S Godfrey He died in 1873 The as subsequently married to Cornelius Leman, a brother, settled on a fare family

Andrew, another brother, of the firm of Clark Brothers, died in Osceola

OSCAR F KNAPP--Capt Knapp has been conspicuous as a steamboat maker, owner and captain for the last thirty years He was born in Clinton county, New York, in 1831 At the age of fifteen years he came West and located in Delavan, Wisconsin In 1852 he re for about four years In 1856 he was eline Hayes, of Osceola In the sa, hich he has been since identified more or less His first stea, he bought of H S Allen, of Chippewa Falls, in 1856, for 5,000 In 1862 he built the Enterprise, a sht draft and fair speed In 1864 Capt Knapp built the Viola, owned by a stock company In 1866 he built the G B Knapp, in 1879 the Jennie Hayes, and ran these two boats fourteen years In 1877 he entered the eation of the St Croix river, in which work he is still engaged His two sons, Ben and George, succeeded him in the steamboat business Ben, the oldest son, was born in Osceola in 1857; George, the second son, in 1859 These two boys spent their childhood and youth on the river, and have grown up to be expert pilots and captains, and inherit their father's popularity as river e to Claribel Wilson, in 1883 Capt Knapp has two other children, Viola, now Mrs Arthur Johnson, and Guy, still a eline Knapp died at her home in Osceola, March 6, 1883, respected and lamented by all who knew her Capt Ben Knapp died Oct 5, 1887, leaving a wife and two children

MRS ELISABETH B HAYES--Mrs Hayes was born in 1811, in Dundee, Yates county, New York In 1854 she removed with her husband to Missouri After his death, in the fall of the same year, she came with her children to Osceola, where she built the Osceola House, which she kept a nueline B (Mrs O F

Knapp), Mrs Hubbell and Mrs Milroy, of New York, and Mrs Truman Foster, , since the wife of Capt C G Bradley Her sons were George, Frank and David Capt George Hayes followed piloting and stea the Rebellion, when he served as a soldier in the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteers In the latter part of the war he served as a scout for Gen Canby At the present time he has the appointment of steamboat inspector, with office in St Paul David has been prominent as a steamboat captain He now resides in Iowa

CYRUS G BRADLEY was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1825 In 1845 he came to the lead mines in Wisconsin and to Osceola in 1848 He was married in 1846 to theof Tru, beca rafts to St

Louis, with ste was in vogue When stea rafts, he built two stea He hadbusiness Mr Bradley moved to his farm near Osceola in 1874, where he still resides

W HALE--Judge Hale's early life was spent on a far in 1822, and followed that business and piloting on the Ohio and Alleghany rivers until 1851, when he came to Osceola prairie and opened a fare of Polk county, and held the position eight years He has also served as county superintendent of schools He was born in Harmony, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1802; was e county, New York, in 1826 They have four sons, John, Isaac, Silas F, and Reuben W, and three daughters, Esther (Mrs Treadwell), Malvina (Mrs

Merrick), and Achsah (Mrs Thomas Kent)

EDGAR C TREADWELL was born March 29, 1832, in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania He came with a teaed in lu until 1863, when he enlisted in Company D, Second Wisconsin Cavalry He ounded at Yazoo river He returned to Osceola in 1865 and was married to Esther Hale in 1866 Mr Treadas the first sheriff of Polk county, and has filled other places of trust Since the war he has resided on his farm

ST CROIX FALLS

Extended e of St Croix Falls in the general history of the first settlement of the county

The town includes townshi+p 34, range 18, and two partial sections of range 19 It was organized in 1854, but unfortunately no records of its organization can be obtained The surface is agreeably diversified by hill and plain, and is supplied withmaple, elm, and several varieties of oak The St Croix river forms its western boundary, and presents here so the trap rock ledges of the Dalles

ST CROIX FALLS VILLAGE

The buildings of the Falls coe which took the nath in the history of the settlement, and in ”Reminiscences” It is situated on the east bank of the river, between the upper and lower falls It contains one first class flouring on and plow factory, owned by Coricultural warehouse, two livery stables (Harvey & Co, and Lillis & Co), two excellent hotels (J W Mullen, and C C Fiske), one United States land office, one church building (Presbyterian), costing about 2,500, one graded school building, costing 6,000, one town hall and several coe was platted in 1857, by Marion T Chandler The post office was established in 1844 Harvey Wilson was the first postmaster The Minneapolis, Soo & Atlantic Railway Co to this place froe was incorporated Feb 21, 1888, with the following board of officers: President, J H McCourt; trustees, John Coe Thompson, Charles Amery, Barney O'Neal, Sidney Wall; clerk, Tholand; assessor, P B

Jewell; supervisor, S W Blanding; constable, Hoover Christopher; justice of the peace, W B Bull; police justice, Thoe has suffered from fires The heaviest losses ithout insurance The flouring mill was burned April 30, 1863; loss, 8,000 The company's hotel was burned May, 1880; loss, 3,000

Fiske's hotel was burned Sept 16, 1885; loss, 6,000

WEST SWEDEN

West Sweden ee 17 This is almost exclusively a hardwood timbered district, with some pine in the north The soil is rich and atered with Spirit creek and Upper Wood river The surface is undulating The north part has numerous lakes and meadows

There is an upheaval of trap rock in section 2 and copper specimens abound The principal settlers are Swedes The toas organized Nov

10, 1875 The first supervisors were N C Johnson, A Larson and A

Dolberg

STERLING

The town of Sterling is coes 19 and 20 The east part is heavy hardwood timber land, with rich soil suitable for wheat; the west portion is very sandy and covered with a few scattering oaks and black pines The whole town is well supplied with hay es to the stock raiser The first actual settlers were Samuel Deneen and Willia William Lowell, from Stillwater, entered three hundred and twenty acres in sections 14 and 15, range 19, and made extensive improvements Daniel F Smith took up the sae, and made improvein, August, 1858 The first white couple married was John Berry and Emily Stout, in 1859 The first death was that of Mrs Dunlap, sister of Williaanized in 1855 The first townwas held at the residence of William Lowell, and Samuel Deneen was the first chairman of the town The toas called Moscohich na It was the largest town in the county then It was organized into two school districts, but District No 1 not being able to build a good school house, an old log shanty was fixed up for school purposes, and in this Miss fanny Triristestablished the first blacksun shop In 1849 Charles F Rowley built a ”stopping place,” so called in those days, on the banks of Wolf creek, at the old crossing, half a mile west of Deneen's, and cultivated a few acres of land This house was burned one night by a lot of teaie