Migration and Early Residents

of the White Mound area in

 Sauk Co., Wisconsin

Mar 8, 1906; "Weekly Home News", Spring Green, Sauk County, Wisconsin

"Some Early Sauk County History"

Extracted by Connie Spindel; Jan 23, 2003

Arrivals to the Honey Creek Twp.

1842 Mr. & Mrs. Turner (Mr. Turner died and she married Mr. Williams shortly after his arrival to the area.)

August 1844 Mr. Williams arrived from Shot Tower

Spring 1846 Arrived several early settlers from Richland Co., OH [The unnamed editor of the Weekly Home News being one of them], settling in and near Harrisburg on Honey Creek. Already present were John Wilson, Thomas Williams and Thomas and James Watson who were both unmarried. In Bear Creek lived two families, William and Robert McCloud.

May-July 1846 Arrived Thomas Wells and Dewit Slaughter, both from IN.

Spring 1847 Arrived Dan Held, John Specher and Nick Danutzer (both German), settled on the north side of Honey Creek. Others followed and soon there was a large German settlement.

Summer 1847 Evan Jones moved back from Dodgeville, living in Honey Creek before and had already established land. Shortly his son Thomas moved over and opened the first store on this side of the river, on the bank of the Wisconsin River known as High Bank.

1847-1854 Arrived the following, all from either Bloomfield or Troy Twp., Richland Co., OH John Rulan, Oliver Ward, Henry Balflech, Stephen Miller, Henry Claymna, John Feller, Andrew Bear, Nathaniel Matchell, brothers William, Pearson and John Young, John Bear, Samuel Davis, brothers Elijah, George and Willaim Bonham, Samuel Walsten, Arthur Dickinson, Henry Bear, brothers George, Jerry, Adam and Soloman Cramer, George Morgan, Henry Dickerson, brothers Daniel, Jerry, Jason, Tim, Isaac and John Carpenter, Thomas Dickerson, George and Abram Nickey, Joseph Seiders, Simon Spyken, Jacob and William Keifer. Arriving from a county adjoining Richland Co., OH were J.W. Hows, Jacob Rainey, D.B. Young and Smith Love.

Fall 1848 the Log School House on Section 7 was built, Andrew Bear being the principal builder. Tom Daley's house was nearby. Andrew Bear taught the first classes then Mina Cass and after her was Tom Watson.

Bear Creek, Spring Green and Honey Creek were already named by 1846 but Franklin and Troy were named later. Henry Keifer proposed the name of Bloomfield or Troy for the new settlement in honor of so many settlers from these townships in Richland Co., OH. The name Troy was chosen.

Cassell Prairie was not established until shortly after 1846. First residents were Dr. Cassell, Messrs, Ansdell, Caldwell, Regan, O. Thomas, Alexander Stewart and others. First minister was Mr. Fullerton coming from Helena shot tower through Spring Green Prairie. The next was Mr. Bunce.

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My additional comments

Searching the Richland Co.,OH USGenWeb web site, I have located several marriages which took place in Richland Co. of some of the families mentioned in the extract above. Some were listed with small spelling variations of the surname, which I have where if known for certain, corrected (below) for clarity. If all these are the very same people (as above) I can't say for sure, as I have not researched them all, but the likelihood is fairly great.

The Joseph Robison-Rachel Dickerson marriage I have confirmed through my research. Marriage Certificate.

I am currently researching the marriage of James Robison (brother of Joseph) and his marriage to Elizabeth Dickerson. Elizabeth Dickerson 1st married James Sharrock Oct 1834, in Richland Co., OH and were the parents of one known daughter Lucinda Sharrock. Elizabeth 2nd married James Robison in Jun 1847 in Richland Co., OH.

Rachel Dickerson is the daughter of Asa Dickerson and Margaret Logan (dau of Thomas and Margaret Logan), all of Bloomfield and Sandusky Twp., in Richland Co. I believe Elizabeth Dickerson (aka Mrs. James Sharrock) who married James Robison is likely the daughter of Asa and Margaret and a elder sister of Rachel, though not yet fully confirmed, the likely hood is very great. If I'm correct, the Robison brothers married the Dickerson sisters.

While NOT mentioned in the article, I do know James Robison/Robinson and his brother Joseph with their respective families, removed from Sandusky Twp., Richland Co., OH to White Mound, Sauk Co., WI. in between the fall of 1854 and the spring of 1855. They settled in the same township as Thomas and Henry Dickerson (Twp 10N which is the White Mound area in Franklin Twp.). Rachel Dickerson-Robison's brother Joshua Dickerson and his wife Nancy Filloon (married Apr 17, 1851 in Richland Co., OH), removed from Sandusky Twp., Richland co., OH to Franklin, Sauk Co., WI between 1859-1863

Dewitt Slaughter who is mentioned in this article as arriving from IN in 1846 with Thomas Wells was the husband of Malinda Wells, (daughter of Thomas and Mary Wells). Dewitt and Malinda were married Sep 15, 1844 in Lake Co., IN. and were the parents of 2 known children (John C. & Mary E.). Both the Dewitt Slaughter family and Thomas Wells family (Malinda's parents and siblings) moved together to Sauk Co., WI. Malinda became the 2nd wife of James Robison (his 1st wife Elizabeth Dickerson died Jan 23, 1861 in Sauk Co., WI). Malinda and James were married in Franklin, Sauk Co., WI Feb 1863 and were the parents of one child, Alice Ann Robison.

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Information sent to me via e-mail on Feb 11, 2003 by Phyllis Dearborn a noted Sauk county researcher and author:

“The Carpenter brothers mentioned are in a "Carpenter Family History" written by a descendant and he says only Isaac, Daniel, Jeremiah, Timothy, and Justin came in 1853. John H Carpenter did not come until after he had served in the Civil War for Ohio. The book says he did not come until the winter of 1863-64 and then he actually served for Wisconsin in the Civil war until its close. This Carpenter family history also mentions that these brothers left from Morrow Co, not Richland Co, Ohio.”

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From the "The History of Sauk County", 1888; pg 665

..."One day, after they had been here two or three weeks [in the spring of 1846], Mr. Sprecher went out for a ramble, when, what should he discover, but the wagons of a party of new arrivals, camped on Section 18, on a branch of Honey Creek. These were Thomas Wells, J. W. Harris, Dewitt Slauter and J. Kifer. They came from Ohio. J. W. Harris made a claim at what was considered an eligible point to start a village, and we learn he did not wait long thereafter before laying out a plat. The remainder of the new-comers drove their stakes in the immediate vicinity, and thus the little party were finally settled. Mr. Harris put up a comfortable house, and opened, within a year or two, as tavern-keeper. Of these four families, not a single one is living here now, as, the village project not proving a success, they sold and emigrated to another town."...

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