Dane County WI Archives History - Books .....The British Temperance Emigration Society - Chapter I 1900
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Book Title: Mazomanie -History Of The Township And Village

CHAPTER I.
THE BRITISH TEMPERANCE EMIGRATION SOCIETY.
1843-1850.

  The first settlement in Mazomanie was made by Charles Wilson, Joshua Rhodes
and Alfred Senier in 1843. These three men arrived about Christmas of that year,
and for some weeks lived in a deserted Indian wigwam which was located about
three miles southwest of the present village. Charles Wilson was the duly
authorized agent of the British Temperance Emigration Society which had been
formed in Liverpool, England, the previous year.

  The country into which they came was almost an unbroken wilderness. The
nearest settlers were at Cross Plains, ten miles southeast. When Wilson, Rhodes
and Senier came from Milwaukee by way of Madison, they stopped at the log houses
of Berry Haney and John Thomas at Cross Plains. Only a few other families were
in that vicinity, and the first settlement had been made there only three years
before.

  Madison had been laid out and named in 1836, and seven years later was a
scattered village of less than four hundred people. In June, 1843, a census
showed there were three hundred and forty-two inhabitants, seventy-one
buildings, four church organizations and two printing offices. Three years later
the population was six hundred and twenty-six.

  Blue Mounds was twelve miles south of the settlement now started by Charles
Wilson. Ebenezer Brigham had settled at Blue Mounds in 1828. A postoffice was
established there the same year, and in 1832 a fort had been built to protect
the settlers from the Indians during the Black Hawk war. A military road from
Fort Wimiebago, now Portage, ran west to Prairie du Chien. In 1848 four-horse
mail coaches, carrying from ten to fifteen passengers, passed Blue Mounds each
way daily. Richard Wade kept a hotel called the Wade House, and he named the
place "Pokerville" on account of the popularity of the game of poker among the
miners.

  A considerable settlement in 1844 had been made at Sauk City and the country
to the north and west. Mineral Point was then a thriving village of some five
hundred inhabitants, and was the center of the mining region. It had three main
hotels, and there were a number of smelters for the hundreds of mines in the
adjoining hills. The United States land office was located here, a distance of
thirty-five miles from the English settlement in the present town of Mazomanie.
On the west the nearest settlement was near Helena, fifteen miles distant.

  Between Helena, Sauk City, Cross Plains and Blue Mounds was a territory twenty
miles square that did not contain a single white settler in 1842. Bands of
Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes wandered over the country hunting and fishing.
There was an abundance and variety of game. Deer, ducks, geese, partridges and
fish existed in vast numbers. Countless song-birds filled the forest every
summer. Flocks of pigeons numbering millions were often seen. Bears, foxes,
wolves, mink, otter and muskrats were common.

  Before the first English settlers arrived in 1843, it is evident that various
white men had seen the present township of Mazomanie. In 1673 Father Marquette,
Joliet and five other Frenchmen passed down the Wisconsin river. In September,
1766, Jonathan Carver, who was born in Connecticut in 1732, visited the Indian
town of the Saukies, now the site of Prairie du Sac. He wrote later: "Whilst I
stayed here I took a view of some mountains that lie about fifteen miles to the
southward and abound in lead ore. I ascended on one of these and had an
extensive view of the country. So plentiful is lead here that I saw large
quantities of it lying about the streets in the town belonging to the Saukies."
During the Black Hawk War in 1832, Major James Henry, just after the battle of
"Wisconsin Heights" at Sauk City, took a company of soldiers from the scene of
the battle to Blue Mounds, and they must have crossed the town of Mazomanie,
perhaps east of the village. In 1835 Jefferson Davis, who was then a lieutenant
in the United States army at Prairie du Chien, often visited Helena and made
frequent trips up the river to Portage. During the thirties a few settlers on
the Sauk prairie took their grain across Mazomanie on their way to the mill at
Blue Mounds.

  The British Temperance Emigration Society was organized December 26, 1842, at
Samuel Roberts' Temperance Coffee-House in Liverpool, England. The men who had
most to do in organizing the society were Robert Gorst, Charles Wilson and
Charles Reeves. These three men were employees of a Mr. Frodsham who kept a
large establishment for the manufacture and sale of nautical instruments and
apparatus. Coming in contact with sailors from various parts of the world, and
reading the London and Edinburgh papers, they formed the plan of an emigration
society to secure land and homes in the United States. They talked the matter
over in Frodsham's place of business and held frequent consultations at the
house of Robert Gorst.

  At the meeting on December 26, 1842, at Samuel Robert's Temperance
Coffee-House, an elaborate constitution was adopted, and officers of the society
were elected as follows:

Trustees—Lawrence Heyworth, Peter George Heyworth, John Thompson. 
President—William Dyke. 
Vice-President—George Roberts. 
Treasurer—Lawrence Heyworth. 
Sub-Treasurer—Samuel Roberts. 
Money Stewards—Edward Lovelady, Thomas Gorst. 
Secretary — Robert Gorst.

  In 1844 the record shows that Thomas Ashton was president. Lawrence Heyworth,
a member of Parliament from Liverpool, was a wealthy gentleman who gave his
influence to the plan of emigration. He does not appear to have taken an active
part or invested any money in the operations of the society. The full name of
the organization was "The British Temperance Emigration Society and Savings
Fund." The word "temperance" seems to have been chosen on account of the general
interest then taken in that subject and to show that members of the society were
of good character.

  The general management of the affairs of the , society was vested in the
president, vice-president, secretary, two money stewards, three trustees, one
estate steward, and one deputy estate steward who held office during good
behavior. Besides this general board of control, the constitution provided for a
committee which should hold monthly meetings and which should consist of the
president, vice-president, secretary, and five others elected by the society.
Two of these five members elected were to go out of office at the end of the
first year, two at the end of the second year, and one at the end of the third
year. The officers and committee were elected on December 26, 1842, and no woman
was allowed to hold an office. The committee could appoint agents for the towns
in England as it saw fit. In case of a vacancy in any office the place was
filled by the committee on direction by the society at its monthly meeting. The
committee could order the treasurer to pay out money if not above £10. At their
monthly meeting five made a quorum to transact business.

  The trustees were made the legal custodians of all the property of the
society; and were empowered to pay all sums above £10. All contracts for
property and all conveyances "shall be made and taken in the name of the
trustees," and all deeds and mortgages entered into by the trustees were to be
valid "without the concurrence therein of any other officer or member of the
society."

  The president was required to attend the meetings of the society and was fined
if not present. He was obliged to call special meetings on the request of fifty
members. The vice-president performed the duties of the office in the absence of
the president. The treasurer received all moneys from the money stewards and
paid the amounts ordered by the trustees or by the committee. For attendance at
each meeting of the society, the president, vice-president, sub-treasurer and
money stewards were allowed one shilling each, the members of the committee six
pence each, the secretary one shilling for each share, and the estate steward
one shilling six pence per year for each share. The surveyor was allowed twenty
shillings for each share of eighty acres of land surveyed.

  The constitution contains some miscellaneous provisions that deserve notice:
The declared object of the society was to raise a fund by weekly contributions
to buy land in the state of Wisconsin and to secure to each settler a farm of
eighty acres with improvements, the whole not to exceed the value of £40. Each
share costing £25 could be purchased by the payment of one shilling per week by
the holder and was transferable. When, sufficient funds were paid in to purchase
land and make the necessary improvements, the names of those wishing to emigrate
were to be put in a bag and lots were to be drawn for the limited number of
chances to secure land in Wisconsin. The society was to fence, cultivate and sow
five acres of land and to build a house on each farm of eighty acres.

  Charles Wilson, the duly authorized agent of the society, was sent to
Wisconsin, and he, accompanied by Joshua Rhodes and Alfred Senier, arrived here
December 25, 1843, and for some time took possession of a deserted Indian wigwam
which was located about sixty rods northeast of the old school-house at Dover.
Before the next spring they had built log houses for themselves and for the
settlers who were to arrive from England.

  In the spring of 1844, Charles Wilson, Joshua Rhodes, Alfred Senier, John
Hudson and Frank Ranyard were breaking up land and putting up a few log houses
for the new comers. These houses (14 by 20 feet) were a story and a half in
height. Each farm consisted of eighty acres, five of which were cultivated and
put into crops under the direction of the agent, Charles Wilson. In May Wilson
lived three-fourths of a mile northwest of the old school-house at Dover, Rhodes
where James Greening now lives, John Hudson and Frank Ranyard just across the
creek from the present school-house in Mazomanie. Alfred Senier was a single man
and worked around. Wilson bought the land for $1.25 per acre at the United
States land office at Mineral Point, and on his return surveyed each farm. He
employed Rhodes, Senier, Hudson and Ranyard. Charles Wilson was clearly the
prime mover in the first settlement of the present township of Mazomanie.

  In the spring of 1844 the following persons arrived from England. The names
are taken from the annual reports of the society and verified, as to the number
in each family and their actual arrival here, by Thomas Wilson and John M.
Wilson, who came over in 1844 and are now living in Mazomanie:

William Thompson, 4.
Richard Somerville, 7.
John Kerr, 9.
John Royston, 2.
Robert North, 4.
Christopher Bennett, 1.
John Wrigglesworth, 6.
Francis Wilson, 7. 
William Wrigglesworth, 2.
Charles Reeve, 8. 
William Robinson, 6.

  The above families, comprising fifty-six persons, all settled in the present
town of Mazomanie, on sections 17 and 18 and on the section directly west in
Iowa county. Besides these there came over the same summer the following three
families who settled near Cross Plains: Thomas Haines, 7; Thomas Harland, 9;
Edward Bell, 7. Robert Leach, an Irishman from New York, came from Milwaukee to
Gorstville with the settlers. Gorstville then meant the present townships of
Mazomanie, Berry and Black Earth. Reeveville designated in a general way the
present township of Arena.

  These eighty-four persons were all from England and came over mainly in two
vessels. After landing at Boston they came through Albany to Buffalo and around
the lakes to Milwaukee, and then with ox teams to Gorstville.

  The following advertisement appeared on October 10, 1844, in The Argus, a
paper published in Madison:

  "The British Temperance Emigration Society are desirous of receiving tenders
for the building of thirty log houses on their settlement between this and the
first day of April, 1845. Full particulars may be obtained by applying to the
agent, Mr. Charles Reeves, after the 20th of October, at the English settlement,
Gorstville, near Cross Plains."

  The next week an editorial in the same paper, headed "Emigration Companies,"
attacked such societies for ill-treatment of the passengers.

  A large number of settlers from England were sent out by the Society in 1845.
On May 15 the Milwaukee Sentinel quoted from a New York paper that seventy
families, sent over by an English emigrant society, had just arrived in Boston
and were going to Wisconsin. The article stated that each member got eighty
acres of land, a log house and five acres fenced and cultivated. Other details
were given. David Harrop and wife, now living in Mazomanie, state that they with
seventy families left Liverpool in March, 1845, in a sailing vessel called the
St. Petersburg, and after a voyage of forty-five days landed at Boston. They
took the usual route by way of Buffalo and the lakes to Milwaukee. But not more
than half the number arriving at Boston came to the settlement along the
Wisconsin river.

  In 1845, 1846 and 1847 eighty-two members of the society arrived at the
settlement. The names are taken from the annual reports of the society, and the
actual arrivals with the number in each family have been verified by Henry
Powell, Joseph Bennett, David Harrop, Robert Gillette, Thomas Davis, Joseph
Knight, Thomas Wilson and John M. Wilson, all of whom now live in the village of
Mazomanie. Some names on the printed list have been rejected because the
above-named gentlemen know nothing of them, and because old letters show that
some of them returned to England after a few weeks' stay in Gorstville. Great
care has been taken in giving the exact number in each family, and each number
includes only those who came from England and excludes the children born in
Wisconsin.

1845.
MAZOMANIE.
William Powell, 5.
John Huntington, 8.
John Lees, 5.
John Darlington, 4.
Jonathan Carter, 4.
John Tasker, 1.
David Handley, 4.
Thomas Williams, 6.
Thomas Hastie, 4.

BLACK EARTH.
Henry Charlesworth, 4.

BERRY.
George Draper, 2.
John Bowman, 2. 
Joseph Bowman, 2. 
John Wightman, 6. 
Samuel Hawley, 9.
John Watts Ford, 6. 
John Medd, 2. 
George Smith, 1. 
James Smith, 1. 
George Stevens, 9.

DANE.
William Green, 1.
William Blakeley, 7.

SPRINGFIELD.
Mr. Riley, 2.
William Bardsley, 5.

VERMONT TOWNSHIP.
Mr. Bell, 1.

ARENA. 
David Harrop, 2. 
Robert Gorst 6. 
Dr. Wm. Bishop, 7. 
James Copley, 6. 
Samuel Fletcher, 5. 
Chris. Mabbott, 11. 
R. Mabbott, 4. 
William Bywater, 1. 
Charles Sutcliffe, 1. 
John Goodlad, 7. 
Thomas Hodkinson, 2.
Charles Porter, 8.
George White, 1.
William Stringer, 3.
Mr. Newhall, 1.
John Leesom, 4.
John Lumbley, 2. 
John Cole, 1. 
J. Dawson, 4. 
John Bates, 4. 
Thomas Harrison, 7. 
Charles Lockwood, 1.

Isaac Hobbs, 1, and James Fluker, 1, came to the settlement somewhere; Mr.
Griffiths, 5, settled in Madison, and James Simpson, 6, in Cross Plains.

1846.

MAZOMANIE.
Charles Cottrell, 4.
George Robins, 1.
Rowland. Hill, 2.

BERRY.
George Gillette, 7.
John H. Roberts, 11

VIENNA.
James Melville, 3.
John Placket, 10.
Mr. Heywood, 2.
Jonah Poyner, 4.

SPRINGFIELD.
Thomas Hall, 2.
Benjamin Hilliar, 4.
Mrs. Fletcher, 4.
H. Dowler, 3.
James Bull, 4.
Charles Clarkson, 4.
John Tims, 2.
Mr. Clark, 2.
James Carter, 2.

ARENA.
John Caldwell, 9.
Dr. Wm. Wallace, 2.
William Smith, 1.
William Raynor, 7.
William Watson, 6.

  During this year William Boyer, 2, came to Westport; Mr. Sheesby, 3, to Cross
Plains; John Stringer, 3, to some place in the settlement.

1847.
MAZOMANIE.
Gilbert Stewart, 5.
John Jones, 4.

BERRY.
Henry Carden, 2.
Edmund Ellis, 2.

ARENA.
Benjamin Wooler, 3.

  But a large number of settlers from England came out during the same year.
Many of these may have been members of the society, but they did not enter land
under the society. The following named persons, with the number in each family,
arrived at Gorstville mainly during the years 1845, 1846 and 1847. A few came
out in 1848 and 1849. The number in each family and the actual arrivals have
been verified the same as the foregoing list.

MAZOMANIE.
John Greening, 5.
Mrs. Fowler, 7.
Henry Howarth, 5.
Charles Hill, 1.
James Hayes, 8.
John Homes, 1.
Fred. Diment, 3,
Thomas Watford, 1.
Benjamin Fowler, 4.

BERRY. 
Samuel Hawley, 8. 
Edward Whitman, 1. 
George Cutler, 5. 
William Crowther, 3. 
William Bowman, 2. 
John Gray, 1. 
George Diment, 6. 
William Seston,.4.
James Cutler, 5. 
Henry Hooker, 4. 
John Saville, 1. 
James Crowther, 3, 
Samuel Barber, 2. 
Edward Barber, 1. 
Thomas Barber, 1. 
George Bates, 1.

SPRINGFIELD.
Daniel Archer, 2.
John Niffin, 4.
Robert Fletcher, 4. 
Edward Kay, 2,
Ralph Heap, 1. 
John Froggatt, 2. 
James Riley, 3. 
William Lees, 1.
Isaac Henderson, 1. 
William Bullock, 4. 
John Williams, 2. 
Henry Andrews, 4. 
Thomas Woldridge, 2.
Hilton Tinker, 3.
Henry Cooper, 1.

DANE. 
William Ellsworth, 14.
William Groves, 6.
Samuel Groves, 8.

VIENNA.
Jabez Weston, 5.
Starkey Lester, 2.
William Weston, 2.
William Lester, 2.
Joseph Knight, 1.
Mr. Arnold, 8.
Richard Knight, 1.
Mr. Storer, 2.
John Maw, 2.

ARENA.
John Linley, 4.
John Hand, 4.
Robert Lyman, 2.
Mr. Blackhall, 2.
Richard Hodgson, 10.
William Schimmins, 1.
John Renyard, 1.
James Boardman, 4.
Robert Bruce, 2.
George Lockwood, 6.
Soloman Harris, 6.
James Blakey, 6.
Henry Pilling, 5.
John Blackhearst, 4.
Samuel Batty, 4.
John Colston, 2.
Benjamin Bywater, 1.
John Green, 2.
Samuel Binks, 4.
Samuel Norton, 4.
Joseph Cooper, 1.
William Dawson, 6.
Joseph White, 2.
Robert Emory, 4.
John May, 4.
Henry Linley, 3.
John Trener, 5.

BLACK EARTH.
Samuel Charlesworth, 3. 
Joseph Rogerson, R.
Charles Turk, 2.
Thomas Davis, 1.
Henry Wilson, 2.
John Fitton, 1.
John Fitton, 2.
Mr. Somerside, 2.

   These six hundred and ten persons, together with the first settlers and the
families of the members who entered land under the society, comprised a total
population of six hundred and ninety-one persons who came from England during
the years from 1843 to 1850. The number given in each case includes only those
born in England.

  John Gorst, who lives four miles southwest of the village, has a list of nine
hundred and thirty-seven members of the society, and a report in his possession
shows that one thousand shares were sold in less than three years.

  Of the total number, ninety-two are known to have settled in the present
township of Mazomanie, twenty-two in Black Earth, two hundred and fourteen in
Arena, one hundred and ten in Berry, seventy in Springfield, thirty-six in Dane,
forty-four in Vienna, and twenty-two scattering. These numbers have been
carefully made out from the positive statements of the old residents now in
Mazomanie in reference to the number in each family from England.

  On August 2, 1848, the legislature organized what is now the townships of
Berry, Black Earth and the south half of Mazomanie into one township called
"Farmersville." Two days later another law attached to Farmersville the north
half of the present township of Mazomanie. In 1850 Berry was made a separate
town. The census of 1850 shows that Farmersville, comprising the present
townships of Mazomanie and Black Earth, had a population of one hundred and five
males and one hundred and one females. From 1843 to 1850 one hundred, and
fourteen English people are known to have settled in the two towns. Hence, not
far from one hundred and fifty out of the total population of two hundred and
six were English and about fifty were Americans. The population of Mazomanie
apart from, Black Earth could not have been far from one hundred and sixty-five.

  The old residents have been able to give the counties in England from which
four hundred and ninety-six persons came to Gorstville and Reeveville. Yorkshire
sent 184; Lancashire; 135; Derbyshire, 39; Worcestershire, 23; Lincolnshire, 17;
Wales, 15; Berkshire, 12; Leicestershire, 45; Scotland, 7; Shropshire, 5;
London, 4; Nottinghamshire, 2; Cheshire, 2; Kent, 5; Isle of Man, 1. The two
counties in northern England first named thus sent about two-thirds of the
settlers.

  From 1835 to 1850 about seven thousand Cornish people came from England and
settled around Mineral Point. During this period there was no connection between
the emigration from Cornwall and that which was made under the British
Temperance Emigration Society. So far as can be known not a single person from
Cornwall was a member of the society. The two English settlements at Mineral
Point and Mazomanie, only thirty miles apart, have remained separate groups
during the sixty years which have elapsed since the first settlers, only two
hundred miles apart in England, came to Wisconsin. Very few families have
removed from one settlement to the other.

  The land on which the members of the society were located extended from Mill
Creek and Mounds Creek in Iowa county east across the present townships of
Mazomanie, Berry, Springfield into Westport and Dane. From the southwest
settlement on Mill Creek to the few farms located on section 31 in Dane township
stretched a distance of thirty-three miles. The land purchased by the society
extended along this distance in an irregular broken line not over a mile wide in
any place. In 1847 the society published their annual report which contains a
map showing the land located by the agents of the society. This shows that the
society had purchased ten eighties on Mill Creek, twenty eighties along Mounds
Creek, five eighties on. section 18 of the township of Arena; eight eighties on
section 18, six eighties on sections 8 and 17, four eighties on section 9, eight
eighties on section 10, four eighties on section 11, four eighties on section 12
of the township of Mazomanie; two eighties on section 7, three eighties on
section 8, four eighties on section 9, five eighties on section 10, one eighty
on section 3 of the township of Berry; two eighties on section 22, two eighties
on section 15, four eighties on sections 10 and 15, eight eighties on sections
11 and 14, four eighties on sections 12 and 13, four eighties on section 12 of
the township of Springfield; eight eighties on section 7 of the township of
Westport, eight eighties of section 81 of the township of Dane. This gives a
total of nine thousand six hundred acres which, according to a note to the map,
were purchased by the society. But the same note states that part, of the land
was purchased, but not paid for. In another part of the same report the "List of
Land Purchased" is given as eight thousand four hundred and thirty-eight and
five-tenths acres, costing $10,548.87; and the "List of Land Selected and
Improved, but not Purchased" as two thousand seven hundred and twenty acres,
costing $3,400. Patents from the United States land office at Mineral Point and
now in the possession of John Gorst show that society in 1848 bought one
thousand six hundred and seventy-two acres of land on sections 11, 12, 13 and 14
of town 8, range 4 east, in Iowa county, for the "City of Heyworth." On December
14, 1847, Charles Wilson reported to England that the society owned property to
the value of $18,893. In proof of this he cites a number of farms sold, and
carefully estimates that each farm belonging to the society was worth $5 per
acre or $400 per farm. There were then forty-three farms for sale. During the
four years from 1843 to 1846 the society paid Reeves £7,315 11s. 7d. Reeves, as
estate steward, paid out the money for land, improvements and taxes.

  This land was located by Charles Reeve and surveyed by Charles Wilson. These
men were instructed by the officers of the society to select land that was well
watered and near the Wisconsin river. Obeying these instructions, most of the
land was so purchased that each eighty was near some stream of water. This
explains the location of the settlement along the several streams of Mill Creek,
Mounds Creek, Black Earth Creek and Half Way Prairie Creek, and through the long
distance of thirty-three miles. It was fully expected that the Wisconsin river
would become a great highway of commerce down which would be carried the
products of the country.

  To provide a town for this trade one thousand six hundred and seventy-two
acres of land were bought by the society, and on this the "City of Heyworth" was
laid out on the south bank of the Wisconsin river near the recent station at
Helena. The blocks and lots were surveyed and staked out, a few lots were sold,
and a steam saw-mill and a few houses were put up.

  In the annual report of the society for the year 1847 appeared the "Prospectus
of the British Temperance Emigration Mill Company. Capital, £2,500, in shares of
£1 each. Lawrence Heyworth, Esq., Treasurer, Liverpool." It was stated that "The
design of this company is to erect a substantial corn and saw mill on the
British Temperance Emigration Society's estate near the Wisconsin river, to
enable the farmer to obtain the best cash price for his flour." The mill was to
be centrally located, and the company was to consist exclusively of members of
the society. Its management was to be under a board of directors, who were to
report to England. John Tasker of Sheffield was the agent On December 7, 1846,
Charles Reeve wrote Tasker that he had purchased a site with forty acres of land
on Black Earth creek. By January 17, 1848, only £126 had been paid in, and the
directors raised the question of the further continuance of the mill company. It
must have been dropped, as the old residents now living say no such mill was
ever in actual operation.

  Complaints began to be made against the agents of the society in 1846. Charges
and counter charges were made, and numerous letters were written to England
about the action of Reeves, Gorst and Wilson. The agents here were under plain
and positive instructions to collect the rents and protect the general interests
of the society. They were expected to purchase land, erect houses, make
improvements on five acres of each eighty, and pay the taxes. To do this prompt
payment of rents and subscriptions was necessary. Many of the members arriving
at the settlement were without money and found themselves in a country where
money was scarce, and even when farm produce was raised the markets were distant
and the other wants of the settlers were numerous and pressing. Besides this
very many were sick in 1846, and in November of that year Reeves wrote to
England that in the settlement there was "no medicine, no provisions, no money,
and whole families lying sick not able to help each other. The county
commissioners have aided the poor. We have many deaths here." Most of the
settlers, having been trades people in England, knew little or nothing of
farming. John Hobson and a Mr. Davey came to the settlement, but returned to
England and made complaint against the agents in Gorstville. Peter George
Heyworth, one of the trustees, and the son of John Thompson, another trustee,
came to the settlement in 1846 and reported favorably for the agents. On
December 13, 1847, Francis Williamson, of Sheffield, England, wrote to Lawrence
Heyworth, treasurer of the society, asking for the money which he as a member
had invested. He further wrote: "The accounts are very unsatisfactory. The funds
are either wasted or purloined. The agents are oppressors." But the Sheffield
branch of the society soon met and "Resolved, that this meeting regret
exceedingly to hear of Mr. Williamson having sent a letter to L. Heyworth, Esq.,
containing sentiments of which this meeting entirely disapprove." By 1846
fifteen farms were abandoned, and the number of withdrawals became so great in
1847 that the committee resolved, "That no more withdrawals be paid until our
debts are paid in Wisconsin." On November 23, 1846, the committee "at their
general meeting" resolved "That Mr. Reeves be instructed to make application
for, and to receive notes of hand from those members on the society's estate,
who are unable at present to pay their arrears. The said notes of hand to be
drawn payable on demand. And that legal measures be immediately taken to recover
what debts are due to the society from those members who refuse to pay or give
their promissory notes."

  Reeves, Gorst and Wilson had great difficulty in carrying out the orders of
the society. On October 16, 1847, Reeves wrote to Samuel Roberts, the secretary,
in England, that "if I could realize only one-half of what I have laid out and
what is owing me by members, I would immediately leave Gorstville for some other
place where I should not live in continual dread of injury for doing only what I
am bound to the members in England by duty to do. I am not alone in this
feeling—Mr. Horst is so disgusted with the people, not the place, that he has
determined to leave in the spring either for England or some other place in
America. Mr. Wilson is thinking of removing to Madison." On the same date Reeve
wrote Peter George Heyworth, "I firmly believe there are many men here that
would not scruple to sacrifice either me or Mr. Wilson in the event of us
turning them off their farm—in fact we have been frequently threatened with it —
a proposition was made at one of their meetings to assemble a force to attack
Mr. Wilson and me for the purpose of drawing us off the Prairie, it is but
justice to state it was negatived. Since you were here we have had a great many
of the lowest Americans from Illinois come in amongst us, they have taken
claims, or as they term it, 'squatted on the prairie' between us and the
town-site; these men have pursued this plan all their lives, setting down on
government land, improving until they find a purchaser, and removing to other
claims — they are averse to pay for anything— enemies to us because we purchase
the land that would otherwise be left for them to settle on; they get among our
members and persuade them it is a great shame to pay rent in a free country, and
promise them their assistance in repelling any attempt to turn them off the land
justly forfeited, you may judge of our situation and feelings amongst such a
nest of hornets."

  Some litigation grew out of the trouble. Some members in Northwich, England,
began an action in the county court of Cheshire to recover the money which they
had paid in. The trial came off on October 25, 1847, and the plaintiffs were
defeated. In November, 1847, the agents at Gorstville began actions in court at
Madison to recover payment for goods supplied. In 1851 the trustees had a suit
in chancery with Charles I. Kane. The circuit court at Madison, in October,
1851, decided that there was due to Kane $1,344, and also $50 for attorney's
fees. The decree in Kane's favor ordered the sale of section 10 and the east
half of section 9 of the present township of Mazomanie. The 960 acres of land
thus ordered for sale comprises part of the present territory of the village
together with the section northeast of the village. The land was sold by the
sheriff soon after, and the circuit court decided in 1852 that there was still
due to Kane $482.87, for the payment of which further execution against the
property of the society was granted. The society had other suits as follows:

  The Trustees v. John and Eliza Jones, 1848.

  The Trustees v. John and Harriet Caldwell, 1848.

  The Trustees v. George and Sarah Cutler, 1853.

  The Trustees v. William and Ann Goodland, 1855.

  The Trustees v. William and Martha Rayner, 1855.

  The Trustees v. Rowland Hill, 1861.

  Charles Clarkson v. The Trustees, 1851.

  Charles Wilson v. The Trustees, 1851.

  On October 19, 1847, Alex. L. Collins, a lawyer at Madison, gave to Charles
Reeve a written legal opinion concerning the operation and rights of the
society. He held that members could not be ejected from the society's estates by
any proceedings on the part of the society. He advised that the society be
dissolved and that the trustees should file a bill in chancery to close up the
affairs of the society. Reeves, Gorst and Wilson wrote numerous letters to the
officers in England urging the dissolution of the society, giving definite plans
to secure that end and sending Judge Collins' opinion to the officers. The
committee in England submitted their proposition together with the opinion of
Judge Collins to the several branches of the society throughout England. Notice
of a general meeting of all the members and branches of the society was
published in the Liverpool Mercury on April 13, 20 and 27, 1849. This meeting
was called to consider the means to do justice to the members and to end the
operations of the society. It was held at the house of Samuel Roberts, 17 Button
street, on Monday, May 7, 1849, and George Cutler was made chairman of the
meeting. It was voted unanimously that Robert Gorst and George Cutler should be
trustees in place of Lawrence Heyworth and Peter G. Heyworth, who had resigned.
It was further voted that all books and papers in Wisconsin belonging to the
society should be kept by Robert Gorst, and that Cutler should be sent to
Wisconsin to co-operate with Gorst in closing the work of the society. Gorst and
Cutler were given full power to effect this result by the following motion,
which was voted unanimously: "This meeting hereby invests them with unlimited
powers to wind up the whole of the society's affairs." It is not clear just when
the society terminated. A careful inspection of the court records from 1846 to
1865 shows no decree or judgment of dissolution. On January 14, 1858, Robert
Gorst wrote to John Thompson in England, resigning as trustee; yet in 1861,
Gorst joined with the other trustees in an action against Rowland Hill.

                    GORSTVILLE, Dane County, June 25, 1846.
Dear Father, Brothers and Sisters:
  I arrived at my log house at one o'clock on Sunday, the 14th June. We sailed
from Liverpool at eight o'clock on Tuesday, the 7th April, and were seven weeks
and three days before we arrived at New Orleans. We had a very good passage;
there were but two days that were rough — Good Friday and Easter Monday; but we
were very often short of wind. It was very hot at New Orleans; we were not able
to wear our clothing (except some few who were prepared for it); we were obliged
to buy others. I gave two dollars for a coat, 1 1/2 dollar for a pair of
trousers, and thirty ceants for a straw hat. From New Orleans to St. Louis,
1,200 miles' passage, three dollars each, with 100 lb. weight pf baggage free;
the rest charged 25 cents, for every 100 weight, eight days in going it. From
St. Louis to Galena, 480 miles' passage, 1 1/2 dollar, with 50 ft. weight of
luggage free; over that charge 20 cents per 100 weight, three days going it.
From Galena, we came by waggons, distance eighty miles, which cost £1 10s; the
waggons do not carry more than 15 cwt. each. It cost me, on the whole, from
Ashton to here £8, including 6s 6d which I paid for a town share. They who came
by New York say it cost them about £10 each; they have to come by waggons from
Milwaukee, 120 miles. The house is very pleasantly situated. The high road will
be alongside of the land, four miles from the postoffice, and fifteen miles from
Madison, the county town of Wisconsin. There are five acres of fall wheat as
good as most; there will be about sixty measures. The land has plenty of timber
on it, not one tree of any kind but oak, what they call table land. Very near
all the land can be cultivated, and will bring plenty of wheat, oats, peas, and
potatoes. There are plenty of all kinds of garden things growing here, more so
than in England, and we shall have very good neighbors. I, and another, named
Roberts, are amongst the last years' settlers; the rest are six miles from us;
and all those that have got a few things about them, seem to live and work very
easy. Mary will want to know what sort of windows and floors we have:— sash
windows, ten-inch square of glass in, and boarded floors. The house is ten feet
by twelve, and the room the same. I do not think of having a stove, but as soon
as I can get some money, I will have some stones drawn, and have a chimney built.

  The country is very delightful to look at in its wild state. The grass is not
so good as I expected, but the cattle feed and do well with it. I am making a
garden, and have set peas, beans, shalotts, potatoes, pumpkin, melons, and
tobacco. The wheat will be ready to cut by the middle of July and then plow and
sow it again in August; and I think of getting five acres more broke for spring.
There is no danger of doing well here, when once we have got a start, and the
sooner you can make it convenient to come the better. Bring with you a churn and
milk sieve, two timber chains, three pairs of pikles, with grains and hoops, and
a small mattock and haze, and four pairs of hinges, for the window shutters—get
some hooks made for them. Bring some nails, an engine to turn with, or any small
tools, as all kinds of things made of iron are very dear here. Bring my casting
book. Cottons and calicoes are not much dearer here than in England. Muslin and
flannel are very dear. Bring some blue, for it is very dear. Butter is 6 1/2 d
per lb.; beef 2d per lb.; potatoes 1s 7d per measure; flour l 1/4 d per lb. The
iron ringer and horses gear will be of no use at all.
                    From your affectionate son,
                            THOMAS MOUNTFORD, 

Mr. Mountford; Ashton, near Nantwick, Eng.

  On September 5, 1844, the Madison Argus quoted coffee at 11c, tea 25c to 75c,
saleratus 9c, axes $1.00 each, calico 8c to 15c.

  On September 24, 1845, the Milwaukee Sentinel quoted wheat at 70c, flour
$3.50, oats 22c, barley 32c.

  In 1846, Henry F. Newell wrote to Mr. Pinchin of Bradford, England: "The next
day was Sunday, and we arrived at Mr. Reeve's in the afternoon. We found him a
nice gentlemanly kind of man; he received us very kindly, and invited us to stay
at his home the day out. We accepted the invitation, and he brought us in his
own waggon the next morning to our farm, a distance of four miles.

  "But I must endeavor to give you some description of this place. The country
is indeed beautiful, and equals the description given of it in the letters from
Wisconsin. It is wonderful to see a country so beautifully formed, and planted
by nature's God. The grass in many places is so high that it will take one up to
the middle, and decorated with every description of flowers, such as roses, and
numbers of flowers such as grow in the gardens in England. There are quantities
of wild strawberries, which are very good, and other fruit not yet in season.
The country is not so flat, but on every hand you may see what are called bluffs
here, some thickly, others partly covered with trees, while the other parts of
land, with the exception of here and there one, there is not any wood to be any
obstruction to cultivation; While I sit and write with the door open, the tall
grass waving before me, to the right there is a beautiful grove of trees and
before me is a bluff, there are more, and on every hand there are some, which
gives it a very beautiful and picturesque appearance. There is another thing in
its favor, the water is exceedingly good, running in a serpentine direction
through Wisconsin; it is about twenty-one yards from the door."

  He wrote that provisions were scarce and dear, flour three cents a pound, pork
ten cents, soap both dear and bad. Newhall lived about seven miles southwest of
the present village of Mazomanie.

            "GORSTVILLE, November 7, 1846. 
Dear Brother:
  I received your welcome letter and was happy to hear that you were all well,
as this leaves us. Thank God for all his mercies.    .    .    .

  You wish to know the state of our farm; we have about 21 acres under
cultivation, we have 5 acres of oats, 8 acres of Indian corn, 1 acre of
potatoes, 2 acres of turnips. Our fall wheat was killed with the frost. We sowed
5 pecks of spring wheat, our Indian com has yielded about 50 bushels per acre,
oats about 4 quarters to the acre, potatoes about 240 bushels, turnips about 300
bushels. We have 15 heads of cattle, 1 yoke good oxen, one yoke of steers coming
three years old, 1 yoke coming 2 years, 1 stirk coming 2 years, 4 milk cows, 2
calves. We have seventeen sheep and 22 pigs. You must bring some good warm
clothing for winter, and light clothing for summer. Bring your churn, cheese
vats, 6 cow chains, spades, shovels, and garden tools, augers, gimblets, saws,
crop cuts, as much earthenware as you can, it's very dear here.
                               R. NORTH." 
To Mr. Thomas North,
Sheffield, England.

  Dover was the only village of the settlement from 1845 to 1850. During this
period it had a population of about one hundred. There were two or three'
stores, one hotel and a blacksmith's shop. Many of the old buildings are still
standing on the site about three miles southwest of the present village of
Mazomanie. There was no postoffice nearer than Madison or Blue Mounds until
about 1850, when a postoffice was secured at Dover.

  To Dover many young people used to go to attend dances which were held in one
part of the hotel. They often came with ox teams and from miles around. There
was some drunkenness in the settlement, but card, playing was despised by the
people, who were very religious. There were a number of local preachers, among
whom were John W. Ford, Robert Gorst, George Cutler and Amos Ellis. Very few, if
any, were members of the Episcopal church, while nearly all were members of or
in close sympathy with the Primitive Methodist church. Services were held in the
log houses of the settlers, and revivals were often held. It was the custom for
one family to spend the entire day at some neighbor's, and there was good
fellowship and a feeling of equality in this interchange of hospitality. In
manner, customs, dress and language the settlers were noticeably English. They
were mostly in sympathy with the Whig party, and became adherents of the
Republican party after 1854. About 44 are now living of the 691 who came out
from 1843 to 1850. They are:

Henry Powell and wife.
Mrs. Grose.
Joseph Bennett.
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Kerr.
David Harrop and wife.
James Greening.
John M. Wilson.
Fred Diment.
Thomas Wilson.
William Seston.
George Gillette and wife.
Mrs. Ellsworth.
George Ellis and wife.
Richard Knight and wife.
Mrs. Lindley.
William Coldwell.
Mrs. Dodge.
Thomas Robinson.
Mrs. Craney.
Sarah G. Madison.
Joseph Knight and wife.
Mrs. John Bywater.
N. H. Ellis.
Mrs. Catherine Ledford.
John Maw.
Thomas Barber.
John Renyard.
Thomas G. Ellis.
Harry Caldwell, 
Samuel Caldwell. 
John Gorst and wife. 
Thomas Hayes. 
Mrs. George Reeve.
Charles. F. Greening. 
Mrs. Goodlad. 
Mrs. Leach.

All but the last 16 now live in Mazomanie.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE
MAZOMANIE
BY

WILLIAM KITTLE

MADISON, WIS.:
STATE JOURNAL PRINTING CO.
1900


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