Example newsletter: January 2016 - Winnebago County Historical

First Quarter 2016 COUNTY FARE
Newsletter of the Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society
Happy New Year!! Morgan House available to rent for small events and photo shoots New for 2016, we’re making the Morgan House available for small events and photo shoots. Our first wedding ceremony will be this year and we are VERY excited for the Bride and Groom! Spread the word! We’ve intentionally kept rates very reasonable. If you’d like more information, please send an E-­‐mail to winnebagohistoricalsociety@gmail.com or call Anne Anderson at 920-­‐819-­‐5456. Help needed with Pie on the Porch Pie on the Porch, is our most successful fundraiser. We earn between $900 and $1,100 every Saturday we are at the Farmer’s Market. We have been doing this for over 10 years and have become “a destination”. We are looking for additional people who want to be apart of a fantastic fundraiser. Can you help in any of the following ways? ☐ Saturday mornings between 7:00am and 10:00am -­‐ to setup up & get the day started. ☐ Saturday 11:30 – Noon -­‐ to tear down. ☐ Be an organizer to schedule the individuals who help setup and tear down. ☐ Be an organizer to help call pie bakers. If you are interested, please send an email to: Jeanne T. at: pieontheporch@gmail.com or call WCHAS Board Member Anne Anderson at 920-­‐819-­‐5456. We have lots of other opportunities if you’d like to lend a hand! Late in 2015, we re-­‐organized our committees and are already seeing positive results. If you would like to participate in one of our committees, we surely welcome your support. Our committees are: ❖
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Property Committee Members (Julie Johnson, Chairman) Collections Committee (Philip Marshall, Chairman) Exhibition & Events Committee (Austin Frederick, Chairman) Outreach Committee (Brittany Martinez, Chairman) Historical Markers & Sites Committee (Steve Cummings, Chairman) Revenue Development (Anne Anderson, Chairman) Strategic Planning (Chairman to be determined)
If you would like to be apart of any committee, please send an E-­‐mail to winnebagohistoricalsociety@gmail.com or call WCHAS Board Member Austin Frederick at: (920) 960-­‐6430. 2 The Story of Little Caspar Partridge Part 2: Whose child is this? By researched and written by WCHAS Board Member Patti Yana Our story of the missing Caspar Partridge continues… Life moved on for the Partridge family. Their farm prospered. Another daughter (Amelia) was born. North of Vinland, in what was called Waupaca Falls (near Weyauwega in Waupaca County) a band of Menominee Indians had set up camp. Alvin Partridge’s sister, Maria Partridge Boughton, lived nearby. She was the aunt of the missing little Caspar. Several white community members noticed a young child among the Menominee who appeared lighter skinned than the rest, and spoke a bit of English, unlike his three siblings. Suspicion emerged that this was the missing white child from Vinland Township. Word soon spread to Caspar’s aunt, Maria Boughton. In the fall of 1851, almost 18 months after Caspar disappeared, the child, whose name was Oakaha was spirited away to a house in Waupaca for Maria to examine him. Although Maria had never actually met Caspar, she was convinced it was her nephew, having noticed a scar on his foot that she had heard of. The child was questioned intensely. He would nod his head or respond in limited English. He was a child who appeared malnourished and was plied with food to get responses. Maria’s husband, Myron Boughton, trekked to Vinland Township to fetch his brother-­‐in-­‐law to positively identify the young boy as Caspar. He announced his finding of the young boy in Alvin’s church. Caspar’s father Alvin, Alvin’s brother Frederick, and a party of others headed to Waupaca County. Because they arrived at dusk, they waited until morning to examine the child. Alvin did not recognize this emaciated child as his own. However, Frederick insisted that the little boy was indeed Caspar. His examination of Caspar’s skull through his own study of phrenology was all he needed to convince everyone that this was his missing nephew. The child’s Indian mother, Nahkom was talked into accompanying the whites back to Vinland Township where Caspar’s mother Lucia could identify her son. Lucia and a large crowd had gathered for this examination. She washed him thoroughly, hoping to make him a bit lighter than he appeared. Although he had features similar to Caspar, even his own mother was not convinced it was her son. He spoke Menominee, which made questioning him difficult. Ultimately he was sent back with the Indians, who were now settled in Poygan. Father Bonduel protested how the whites had “illegally” handled the situation and was outraged. His assistant Mrs. Dousman was equally indignant at the behavior towards Nahkom and her son. However, Caspar’s uncle Frederick was adamant the child was in fact his nephew. He insisted they retrieve the child immediately. A writ of habeas corpus (to return the child to the Partridges) was sworn out by Judge Jedediah Brown in the name of William Partridge (another of Caspar’s uncles). The Partridge family chose to put William’s name on the document purposely. If they lost in court and were made to pay costs, William lived with his parents and owned no property. Alvin’s farm would be saved in the event they lost this court case. The sheriff appeared at the Indian camp with the writ and Nahkom was forced to relinquish the child. Little Oakaha was to stay with Sheriff Kendrick Kimball until the case came to court. Because this case attracted so much attention, it was agreed the trial needed to be held in a larger venue than the courthouse in Oshkosh. The Methodist Episcopal Church was chosen to hold the trial, which began February 12. Next issue: “The Trial Begins”. Research notes and citations for this series are in the 2015 Fourth Quarter County Fare newsletter. 3 … from the desk of the Historian Dean Sandeman, WCHAS Board Member, is the Historian of the First United Methodist Church in Oshkosh. For over 5 years, he has been writing ½ page articles for his Church’s newsletter. Below are two of his articles. We’ll be featuring more from Dean in upcoming newsletters. THE LIFE OF CLARK DICKENSON “Clark Dickenson, one of the government farmers at Winnebago Rapids (Neenah), had been in the habit of visiting the Oshkosh people quite frequently, and generally would harrangue (sic) the crowd duly assembled in the ferryman’s bar-­‐room. Dickenson was not a regularly ordained preacher; not even in deacon’s orders, but appears to have taken great interest in religious matters, particularly in the moral well-­‐being of the Oshkoshians with whom he finally took up his lot in 1842; entering that year a small claim south of Wright’s Point on which he lived for many years thereafter. It was in 1838 that Clark Dickinson preached his first sermon in Oshkosh; … and the attendance scarcely equaled a baker’s dozen. Webster Stanley and David Evans were the choisters (sic) upon this and many subsequent occasions, and no doubt lined off the doxology with due fervor. Notes and Documentation: 1. Twaites, Rueben G. The History of Winnebago County and the Fox River Valley, 1544-­‐1877, Page 63. Assembled from the Oshkosh Times in 1877 as a typewritten manuscript under the leadership of James P. Coughlin, Winnebago County Executive and with the help of his secretary, Linda Wolfe, February 15 1984. This passage may have come from “The Recollections of W. W. Wright”, but Twaites did not credit the source that resulted in The Oshkosh Times article. Twaites was a reporter in 1877 for The Oshkosh Times and later became head of the Wisconsin State Historical Society. 2. Spellings differed in 1877 from what today’s spell checker prefers, i.e., harrangue. The Historian suspects that the word choister is a typo and should have been printed “choirister”. 3. The above quote “ the croud assembled in the ferryman’s bar-­‐room” is a clearly stated fact that Oshkosh’s first Methodist church began in Webster Stanley’s bar-­‐room! THE SERMONS OF CLARK DICKINSON “Dickenson was not what would pass in the fastidious audiences of this modern day as a successful preacher. He was neither handsome in person, elegant in manners, nor eloquent of tongue. His discourse was harsh and dry, as a matter of fact, like many other exhorters whose hearts are in the work, though their heads were not born to it; he never looked at his audience. His great broad face beamed with an earnestness truly remarkable, but a large mouth jerked open and shut during his discourse like an automatic fly-­‐trap and tossing his head around, most seriously marred the effect, and was more apt to inspire the genius of fun in the younger people than the lessons of piety. We have said he never looked at his audience: beg pardon, he did look at his audience, that audience was long string of red peppers hung over the bar-­‐room stove, and toward it directed his most earnest exhortations. Whether those red peppers were to his mind suggestive of the warm place to which inattentive listeners are consigned has never been revealed.” Notes and Documentation: 1. Twaites, Rueben G. The History of Winnebago County and The Fox River Valley, Page 63, 64. Assembled by James P. Coughlin, Winnebago County Executive and his secretary, Linda Wolfe as a manuscript printed February 15, 1984. The source was a series of articles written by Twaites for The Oshkosh Times in 1877 as the above selection was probably from a manuscript by W. W. Wright an eye-­‐witness and mischievous youth at the time of Dickenson’s sermons. 4 Remembering Omro’s Blue Bell School Part 1: A One-­Room Schoolhouse By researched and written by WCHAS Board Member and President, Randy Domer Less than a century ago, one-­‐room schoolhouses were numerous in rural areas and Winnebago County certainly had its share. Although now vacant, many still stand as a reminder to the days when they provided a much-­‐needed service to folks living well outside our cities, towns and villages. Farm communities relied on these small but important institutions to educate their children during a time when transportation was in its early stages, particularly in the undeveloped, rural areas. One such school was located just outside Omro near the intersection of what today is County Trunk E and Highway 116. The Blue Bell School was built in 1866 and opened its doors to the first class that fall. It’s originally proposed name was “Bell School”, but that couldn’t be used because Winnebago County already had another Bell School located in the western part of the township. Local historian and resident of nearby Pickett, Bernie Egan, remembers attending class at Blue Bell School in the 1940s. His father, Gerald, recalls riding his horse to school each day, then slapping it on the rump sending it back home alone. It also was common back then for school to close for one day to allow students and their families to attend the Winnebago County Fair. In 2010, a committee of folks from the Omro area who attended this school published their remembrances. You can find their stories in the book “BLUE BELL SCHOOL – Memories of a one-­room country school”. Some of those remembrances will be included in future newsletters. Records indicate the site on which the school was built, rented for $1. It was eventually purchased for the sum of $30. In 1869, another quarter of an acre of land was purchased for $25; added as the playground. Teachers the first year included Mrs. Tuttle (14 days), C.H. Marshall (3 months) and Miss Luther who taught summer classes. The community worked to furnish and make improvements to the school; a well was dug by hand and purchases made of new desks, curtains, a flag with staff, blackboard, bookcase, and fencing for the schoolyard. In 1929, the bell used to start the school day and call the kids in from recess was added. Over the years, there were occasions when there weren’t enough students to hold class. When this occurred, what students there were, attended classes at Omro and Waukau schools. Due to low enrollment, the school actually closed in 1906 and reopened in 1918. Class sizes at Blue Bell School varied from year to year, averaging between six and eleven students until 1931, when enrollment rose to seventeen and then twenty-­‐four for the next term. Classes were taught through the 8th grade level. Many grades only had one pupil so some lessons were combined.
5 WCHAS Donation toward repairs of the Peniel Welsh Chapel in Fond du Lac County In the fall of 2015, the WCHAS was approached by the Peniel Gymanfa Ganu Assn. asking if we would consider a donation for needed renovations to the Peniel Chapel. At the November Board meeting, the Board voted to donate a gift of $200. The Peniel Welsh Chapel (The name Peniel is defined as "The face of God") was built in 1856, one of the five churches of the original Oshkosh Welsh Settlement. It is located in Fond du Lac County (Zoar Rd/County Rd FF is the Winnebago County line, intersecting with Hwy. 26 north of Rosendale). Only two of the original churches remain, Peniel and Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Ring. Peniel closed for regular worship services in 1977. Bethesda still continues with an active congregation. Peniel is in what had been the southern part of the Welsh settlement. The Bethesda Church in Ring only a couple miles to the north. The settlement was mostly in Winnebago County and reached as far north as Neenah. The Peniel Gymanfa Ganu Assn. has owned the property since regular worship services ended in 1977. There are at least six Gymanfa Ganu associations currently in Wisconsin. After closing, Peniel remained open for a few meetings and weddings, as well as the annual Gymanfa Ganu (Welsh/English song gathering). 2015 marked the 93rd Gymanfa Ganu! It is always celebrated on the 4th Sunday in August, and is one of seven held in Wisconsin each year. The Peniel Gymanfa Ganu Assn. holds monthly summer outreach events, May through September that began in 2014 and continued through 2015. They’ve sponsored the Fond du Lac Women’s Chorus, Scott St. Puppeteers and Puppet Patrol from Ripon, Joe & Kim Corbin and company with their Cowboy Church from Reedsburg, The Pretty Trio from Fond du Lac, Chosen young adult group from Ripon and area communities, and the Peniel Quartet. The Peniel Gymanfa Ganu Assn. also sponsored event-­‐themed activities and food, including chuck wagon and Welsh meals. They are currently planning their events for 2016. Renovations to the Peniel Church began in 2011 and continue slowly as money is donated. Renovations include replacement of concrete and wooden stairs leading into the building, a new roof and repairs to the dining room/kitchen ceiling, each quite costly. If you would like to offer a donation toward renovations of this Chapel, we can assure you, your gift will be immensely appreciated. You may send your tax-­‐deductible donations to the Peniel Gymanfa Ganu Association, Jean White, Treasurer, 1769 Creek Vu Dr., Fond du Lac, WI If you have questions, please contact Carolee Schultz 920-­‐748-­‐3090 joynjesus4you@yahoo.com. For photos and more information, please visit the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin (WGGAW) web site at: www.wggaw.org/peniel-­‐renovation 6 Wallpaper Repairs at the Morgan House 2015 saw many upgrades to the Morgan, each of them very unexpected. A storm early in 2015 presented the Board with unexpected opportunities for both research and preservation. Two of our upstairs bedrooms were damaged from water. The walls and ceiling in these rooms needed renovation. A select team of WCHAS Board members immediately began researching appropriate paint colors and wallpapers for this renovation. The WCHAS was very fortunate that insurance paid the vast majority of repair costs and allowed us to install top-­‐of-­‐the-­‐line wallpapers. "Beautiful" doesn't even begin to describe how absolutely stunning the finished rooms are. The photo to the left is from one of the ceilings. When you see these in full color, it’ll blow your mind! Look for an announcement this Spring for an open house we'll be having to showcase these rooms. You won't want to miss it! Additional repairs at the Morgan House Additional repairs to the Morgan house include an electrical update, a complete replacement of our boiler and the installation of a new liner in the chimney. We’ve dipped into our bank account for these, as none of them were covered by insurance. 7 Have you renewed your WCHAS membership for 2015? There is still time! Thank you! -­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­ 2015 Membership Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society
(Please Circle One) (Please Check One) $15 Individual ______ New Member $25 Couple ______ Renewal $35 Family $5 Student $250 Life Membership Name(s): __________________________________________________________________ Street Address: __________________________________________________________________ City: __________________________________ ZIP: ____________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________ Email Address: __________________________________________________________________ Please mail renewal/check to the WCHAS at 234 Church Ave., Oshkosh, WI 54901. Thank you! Donations Monetary Austin & Molly Frederick Heaney Family Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation The John E. Kuenzl Foundation Inc. Items Photo slides were received from the historical society of Chaska, MN. They originally belonged to Myrtle Sell who was a teacher in Oshkosh. The slides are of various landmarks and school of the city of Oshkosh. New Memberships Douglas Henkle, new lifetime member Board Members and Officers (in alphabetical order by first name) Anne Anderson Austin Frederick – Vice President Brittany Martinez Denise Blaze Eben Johnson – Treasurer Emily Berger Julie Johnson Dean Sandeman Steve Cummings Matt Kroening Patti Yana Randy Domer – President Philip Marshall – Secretary Mission Statement -­ The Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society will represent, serve and involve community members in preserving the history of our area. The County Fare is published quarterly by the Winnebago County Historical and Archaeological Society, Inc. Email any submissions or correspondence to winnebagohistoricalsociety@gmail.com, or mail us at W.C.H.A.S., 234 Church Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54901. Phone: (920) 267-­‐8007. Editors: WCHAS Outreach Committee & Board Members: Anne Anderson, Julie Johnson, Austin Frederick, Brittany Martinez. 8 Winnebago County
Historical & Archaeological
Society, Inc.
234 Church Avenue - Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901