Biographies from The History of Columbia County,
Wisconsin, 1880 


Contributed by Carol carolann612@charter.net
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm


From The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin, 1880,
publ. by Western Historical Company, Chicago, Page
911-912

ALEXANDER McDONALD, one of the four oldest settlers of
Columbia Co., was born in the parish of Kilmarnock,
near the bridge of Spean, Inverness-shire, Scotland,
April 23, 1817; parents both McDONALDS.  Mr. McD. came
to America in July 1836, and for a year traveled in
Canada and the United States; in 1837, engaged with
the Government survey in Michigan; in December 1838,
he came to Madison, Wis., where he was ill about a
year; in June 1839, removed to Ft. Winnebago, and was
present when Gen. Scott had a conference with the
Winnebagoes to induce them to remove to a reservation;
in 1840, he joined the Government survey in Wisconsin;
took up 160 acres in Caledonia, a portion of which he
still owns; was a contractor in the C. & N. W. Ry. at
"Tunnel 1," and other points; was Sheriff of Columbia
Co. in 1851-52, and is now giving his attention, in
addition to carrying on his farm, to an agency for the
sale of sewing machines.  Mr. McD. married in the town
of York, Livingston Co., N.Y., April 5, 1853, to Mary
A. CRAWFORD, born in Freedom, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y.,
who died May 25, 1861, leaving four children - Jane
Elizabeth, born Feb. 9, 1854; James Alexander, born
Nov. 11, 1856; Mary Ann, born Feb. 14, 1859; John C,
born April 22, 1861.  Mr. McD. married Margaret
ROBERTSON, of Caledonia, June 13, 1862.  They have
three children living - Jeanette M, born April 9,
1863; Elizabeth, born Jan. 10, 1865, and Glengarrey W.
born Dec. 26, 1872, and have lost two.  Mr. McDONALD
has seen Columbia Co. and Wisconsin changed from an
Indian hunting ground to a cultivated, thickly settled
and wealthy State.  He was appointed by Gov. Dodge as
Major of militia; has been Supervisor and Chairman of
the County Board; was proprietor of the Ellsworth, now
Corning House for eight years.

Page 912

DEWITT C. McDUFFIE, express messenger between Portage
and Ashland, on the Wis. Cent. R.R; born in Lafayette,
Wis. on the 15th of November 1848.  He came into
Columbia Co., with his parents in 1853; they settled
on a farm in Springvale, where they lived twenty
years; in 1873, they sold the farm and moved into Rio.
Dewitt began railroad life as a clerk in station
office at Rio, on the C. M. & St. P. R.R., in 1870; he
was express messenger in 1871 between Portage and
Horicon, and then he was two years at Portage as
telegraph operator and express agent; he served a year
and a half as engineer of a quartz-mill at Silver
City, Nev.; since fall of 1876, he has been express
messenger on Wis. Cent. R.R.  He was married on the
28th of August, 1879, to Miss Harriett S. RACE, of
Portage.  He is a Republican.  Lives in brick house
near St. Paul depot.

P. McGINN was born in County Monahan, Ireland, in
1829; came to America in 1846; resided in Vermont, New
York, Ohio and California, prior to locating in
Portage in 1857; was engaged in mining while in
California; learned the molder's trade in Vermont;
began the grocery business in 1857, in which he has
continued ever since.  His present wife, Catherine
GAFFNEY, is a native of East Canada.  They have five
children - Mary, aged 11; Catherine, aged 10; John T.,
aged 8; Margaret Celia, aged 7, and James, aged 4.
Mr. and Mrs. McGINN are both members of St Mary's
Catholic Church.

MICHAEL McKENNA, coppersmith at Portage, machine-shops
of the C. M. & St. P. R.R.; was born in January 1818
in Dublin, Ireland; served a seven year apprenticeship
in Dublin; he came to the United States in 1849, and
settled in Buffalo, N.Y., where he remained five
years; working at his trade; then spent five years in
Detroit, and after that two years for M. C. R.R. at
Marshall, Mich.; spent one year in Chicago and located
in La Porte, Ind., where he remained eleven years in
the employ of the M. S. R.R.; in fall of 1872 he came
to Portage and began work for C. M. & St. P. R.R. Co.,
and has been in their employ continuously to date.
Before leaving Ireland, he was married, December 1843,
to Miss Mary DOLAN, who died in 1878, leaving one
daughter, Catherine D. McKENNA, who is established as
milliner and dressmaker on Cook street, Portage; she
also keeps a stock of fancy notions; she has "more
than a dozen employees;" before starting her business
this season, she made a visiting tour of England and
Ireland.  The family affiliate with the Catholic
Church.  He belongs to no society except the "Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern Insurance Association."
He is the only coppersmith in the employ of the
railroad company at Portage, and is reported as a
first-class mechanic.

D. A. McKENNEY was born in Malone, Franklin Co., N.Y.,
July 13, 1836; resided there until he was 18 years of
age, then came to Berlin, Green Co., Wis.; remained
there until he came to Portage in the fall of 1861;
while at Berlin, he was employed as a clerk in a
store; after coming to Portage, he was in the
photograph business until 1863, when he went to
Washington, D. C., where he remained until 1864 - in
the Government service one year - connected with the
construction of buildings there and in that vicinity. 
In 1864, he returned to Portage, and has been, most of
the time since then, with P. S. HOLLENBECK, furniture
dealer, being employed as finisher and salesman.  Mr.
McKENNEY was married at Berlin, Wis., Jan. 1, 1859, to
Miss Elizabeth BEHAN; she was born in Syracuse, N.Y.
They have four children - Charles T., Wm. D., Clara,
and George.

Submitted by Carol