Part 22 (2/2)

There is a pretty well grounded tradition that the first white man who found his way to Diamond Bluff was a French Vendean loyalist of the army of Jacques Cathelineau; that he fled from France in 1793 or 1794, landed at Quebec, and was traced by his eneo, where they lost his trail He came to Diamond Bluff in 1800, and nahter of an Indian chief He died here about 1824 After his death the Indians always called the place the ”Old White Man's Prairie” E

Quinby, of Diamond Bluff, to e are indebted for this account, adds: ”All the additional evidence I can give in regard to this pioneer is that prior to 1793 his wife died, leaving hihter, as deforhter of about the sa and defeat of the Vendeans, they became enehter, instead of his own, and fled to this country The father pursued thehter in co on her person some ornaments once worn by her mother He at once seized her and carried her back with him to France, and the old Frenchman found his way to Dia so about the old Frenchrandmother claimed that her husband was a French nobleman, and that he lived near Lake Pepin He believed the old Frenchrandfather The above statements were communicated to the late Capt Orin Smith, of Galena, Illinois, Allen B Wilson andat Potosi, Wisconsin, who claiathered these facts from the old man himself Capt Save the fullest credence to his account

EL PASO

Occupies townshi+p 26, range 16 It is drained chiefly by Rush river and its tributary, Lost creek, on the west The two post villages in this town are, El Paso, located in section 5, and Lost Creek, in section 3 George P Walker was the first settler He built the first house and raised the first crop; Thoanized, Tho supervisors In 1862 Mr Magee built a saw and flour e of El Paso In 1875 he removed to Clear Lake, Polk county, of which town he was the first settler Clara Green taught the first school in El Paso, in 1861 There is one Catholic and one Lutheran church in the village The na, is of soanized under the name of Perry, March 3, 1857, but in 1862 it received its present name It occupies a central position in the county and includes townshi+p 26, range 17 This is a rich farinally tiently undulating It is drained on the east by the tributaries of Rush river, but has no large or important streams The first supervisors were: P M Simons, chairman; Caleb Bruce and Wilson Kinnie The first settler was Anthony Huddleston, who came April 23, 1856, and pre-empted the southeast quarter of section 20 On November 26th, of the same year, came Caleb, Elihu W and Eli T Bruce, who pre-e the saensmith pre-empted farms in sections 18 and 19 Lilly, Miscen, Russ, and Ca house in the toas built by Anthony Huddleston in 1855

Norris Kinnie built the first in as afterward the village of Ellsworth The first school house, a log building, built was in 1857, and Mary Filkins, now Mrs G H Sargeant, of Minnesota, taught the first school The first e was that of Charles Stannard and Mary Leonard, in 1855 The first birth, that of the twin children of Wilson Both died The first death of an adult was that of Mrs Jacob Youngman in the winter of 1855 The post office was opened in 1860, with Seely Strickland as postinal owners of the southern half of section 18, and the northern half of 19, Norris Kinnie, Eli T Bruce, Henry P Ae of Ellsworth in 1862 Wm

Crippin, built a frame hotel there in 1860 C S Dunbar opened a store in 1861 The prospect of Ellsworth becoreat impetus to business enterprises This was decided by a popular vote in 1861, but owing to some technical defects was resubmitted to the people of the county in 1862, and then definitely decided In the year 1862 the citizens of Ellsworth built a log house in which the first terms of court were held; meanwhile the county officers had their offices in the bases were not erected until 1869 They are built of stone and cost 60,000 In 1863 a fra structure, and in 1874 a co was erected, at a cost of 5,000

The Methodists, Lutherans and Catholics have church buildings There is one newspaper, the _Pierce County Herald_, edited by E F Case and E S Doolittle The Barnes saw mill built in 1867, burned down and rebuilt, has a capacity of about 5,000 feet per day A branch railroad, built from Hudson to River Falls, was extended to Ellsworth in 1885 The depot is one rounds, containing seventeen acres, are located near the village The grounds are inclosed and are covered with a fineD W

Woodworth was first president of the fair association Ellsworth has two handsoe itself is beautifully situated on an elevated plateau originally covered with hardwood timber The streets are tastefully adorned with maple trees

ANTHONY HUDDLESTON--Mr Huddleston is of Irish descent He was born in West Virginia in 1804; had but lies; lived for a part of his life in Ohio and Indiana, and settled in Ellsworth in 1855, being the first settler in the town He was a house carpenter for over sixty years He was a member of the Dunkard church sixty-two years He was married in 1826, in Ripley, Indiana, to Susannah Whetstone They have three sons and six daughters living

PERRY D PIERCE was born in Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York

He traces his lineage to ancestors who came across in the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock He received an acadeo, New York, and was admitted to practice at Cooperstown in 1843, practiced in Albany three years, and in 1854 ca first at Prescott, where he served as district attorney for four years, and county judge eight years He was married in 1860, to Lua E Searsdall He is now a resident of Ellsworth

[Illustration: _Very Respectfully Hans B Warner_]

HANS B WARNER, of Ellsworth, Pierce county, was born at Gulbrandsdalen, Norway, July 12, 1844; received a corated and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1853, and thence removed to Pierce county in 1855, where he has since resided He enlisted in March, 1864, as a private, in Coiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry; ounded and captured in front of Petersburg, Virginia, July 30, 1864, and was held a prisoner of war in Danville and Libby prisons until paroled, Septeed from service on account of wounds received in battle July 18, 1865 He has held various local offices, and the position of county clerk of Pierce county froned, to assume the duties of secretary of state, to which office he was elected in 1877, and was re-elected in 1879, serving in all four years He was elected to the state senate in 1882 and served until 1886 His ho and real estate He was married in 1866, to Julia E Hudson

GILMAN

The town of Giles are Gilanized as the town of Deerfield, in 1868, but in 1869 the naed to Gilman The first supervisors were Oliver Purdy, Caleb coon, Bardon Jensen The first school was taught in 1870, by M L Maxgood A Norwegian Lutheran church was built in 1883, at a cost of 1,500

There are six school houses with an aggregate cost of 2,000 The first e was that of Caleb coon and Cenith Preston, in 1867 The first birth was a child of this married couple The first death was that of Mrs Rufus Preston The first post office was at Gilman, U F

Hals, postmaster The first settlers were B F Gilman, in 1859, still a resident; N B Lawrence, soon after, now removed; Rufus Preston and family; Joseph and Caleb coon and faood, B Jensen and son, E B Jensen, the Matthieson brothers, Z Sigursen, H Bredahl, S J Goodell, Nels Gulikson, M O

Grinde, Albert Martin, P Vanosse, and T B Forgenbakke are a the oldest citizens

HARTLAND

Hartland occupies townshi+p 25, range 17 It has one post village, Esdaile It has one saw mill and a factory for the manufacture of hubs and bent ork, operated by Charles Betcher, of Red Wing, Minnesota, which gives employment to seventy-five e of Esdaile has also two general anized in 1859 The first supervisors were A Harris, chairst the first settlers were Augustus E Hodgham, section 28, 1854; Lewis Buckht in 1858, by Mary Ann Stonio The first post office was at Esdaile, Hiraanizations, Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran (Norwegian), with buildings valued at fro in cost froanization

ISABELLE