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
924-925

JOHN W. SARGENT, freight engineer on main line P. &
M.; born in Lake Village, Belknap Co., N.H., Oct. 21,
1838; his father, William T. was proprietor of the
hotel at Lake Village; at the age of 14, he began
railroad life as a water boy on a gravel-train on the
B. C. & M. R.R.; at the age of 16, he was given the
position of fireman on the same gravel-train; after a
years' experience, he was sent on to a passenger
train, and continued there until fall of 1856, when he
came West; he landed in Milwaukee on Christmas, 1856,
and on Dec. 28 he began firing on a freight running
between Milwaukee and Fox Lake, on C. M. & St. P.; in
spring of 1857, the road was opened through to
Portage; he was for a while engine-dispatcher at
Portage and afterward the same at Milwaukee; in the
fall of 1858, while on a visit to New Hampshire, he
came near death's door with typhoid fever; this
detained him till spring of 1860, when he returned and
took his old position of fireman, and that fall he was
given an engine, which he run till the time of his
enlistment; Co. F, 2d W.V.I., was formed entirely of
railroad men.  He enlisted in that company Aug. 21,
1862; and was honorably discharged on surgeon's
certificate of disability after about one years'
service; on his partial recovery, he was given his old
situation on the railroad; he was four years on the
W.W., two of which was while the St. P. ran it, and
the last two years by request of W. W. and consent of
St. P., and he has been in continuous engineer service
to date - part time freight, and sometimes passenger.
Mr. SARGENT has been longest in engineer service of
any now living in the county.  He was married Feb. 22,
1868, to Miss Julia B. SNOW, of Watertown, Wis.; they
have no children; he belongs to the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers; they have boarded since marriage
until this season.  Mrs. F. N. SNOW, his wife's
mother, lives with them; the family are social and
respected.

Page 925

CHARLES SCHARIEN was born in Mecklenburg, Germany,
Dec. 5, 1852; came to Portage, stopping three weeks in
New York on his way from Europe, in March 1878, where
he has since been engaged as bookkeeper for HAERTEL's
brewery.  Mr. S. is a member of the Odd Fellow's
Lodge, Turner's and Leiderkranz Societies and Hook and
Ladder Company.  He was married in Mecklenurg Feb. 15,
1875, to Carolina KOPCKE, born in Mecklenburg; they
have three children living - Amelia, Charles and
Louis, and have lost one - Hulda, who died at Portage
in July 1878, aged 2 years; before engaging with the
HAERTELS, Mr. S. was with SCHUMACHER & SCHULZE two
months.

MISS MARIA SHAUB, first cook at the Corning House; was
born in Waterford, Racine Co., Wis., in 1855; her
father is a furniture dealer in Waterford; has worked
seven years in private families, and two and a half
years in the hotel.  She is a Catholic.  To her
skillful hand can be traced the well-prepared
substantial which so attract the hungry traveler to
the Corning House.

FRANK SCHERBURT was born in Prussia March 12, 1856; is
the son of Christoph and Mary SCHUBART, who emigrated
to America when Frank was 11 years of age, locating at
Portage, where they still reside; has worked at cigar-
making for about eight years, and has been in business
for himself during the last four and a half years as
manufacture of cigars and dealer in tobacco and
smokers' articles.  He is a member of the Turner
Society and Hook and Ladder Company

Submitted by Carol

[Transcriber's Note:  It is the author who spells the
name Scherburt a second way - Schubart.]