BIOGRAPHIES: Collins BISHOP, Arcadia, Trempealeau Co., WI

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Collins Bishop was a type of the noblest ideal of the American pioneer. 
Lofty of purpose, keen of mind, kindly of heart, rugged of body, strong of 
personality, resourceful of disposition, he represented those noble 
traditions which are infused into the very soul of our national life, and in 
defense of which so many a noble patriot has given his all. His 
contemporaries whom he met in the stress and toil of every-day life 
delighted to do him reverence and honor, they regarded him as the possessor 
of every moral and manly excellence, with character and life that were well 
nigh flawless. 

The spirit of the whole community which took his name, also took on something 
of the aspect of his high worth, and his excellencies and influence were 
woven into the very warp and woof of the community's growth. Citizen, friend, 
patriot, pioneer, soldier, farmer, official, husband and father, in every 
capacity of life he did his highest duty, and nobly fulfilled his loftiest 
destinies. The halo and heritage of honor which he left has been passed on 
not only to his family, but also to the entire population of that prosperous 
county in whose founding he had so important a part. Collins Bishop was born 
in Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio, January 9, 1822, one of a family 
of four sons and three daughters born to Ebenezer and Annie Bishop, all of 
whom lived to adult years, and all but two of whom became residents of the 
Trempealeau Valley. He was reared in his native state, and as a young man 
came to Wisconsin and located in Dodge County. From there, in 1855, 
accompanied by James Broughton, George Shelley and George Dewey, he came up 
the river from La Crosse to Fountain City, and found his way over the ridge 
to the present site of Old Arcadia, where he founded the colony long known 
as Bishop's Settlement. Thus located, he devoted his life to agricultural 
pursuits, living upon the same place for some fifty-five years. At the 
outbreak of the Civil War, he assisted in the raising of Co. C, 30th Wis. 
Vol. Inf., that famous company commanded by Captain Alex. A. Arnold, and 
recruited from the flower of fearless and heroic young manhood of Trempealeau 
County. Owing to disability, Mr. Bishop was soon transferred to Co. A, 
Veteran Reserve Corps, but he was as lion hearted in his patriotism and 
fealty to the Union as though baptized in fire like his comrades in the 
gallant Company C. As the years passed he was blessed with prosperity and 
success. He changed a wild tract of land into a rich, fertile, modern farm, 
he passed through the strenuous endeavor and hardships of pioneer life and 
lived to see his little settlement the metropolis of a great county. After a 
long and useful life he died Jan. 19, 1911, surrounded by the love and care 
of his large family. At that time it was said of him: "He died as he lived, 
with a clear mind, a clean conscience and without a fear of going into the 
Great Mystery. In his death his children lost a worthy parent, his friends 
lost a genial, kind-hearted and companionable fellow, his community and 
county lost an upright citizen and a soldier-patriot. His character and 
repute may be commended as most worthy of emulation. The virtue and 
excellence of such a man deserve to be recorded in the archives of history. 
Mr. Bishop was married July 24, 1844, at Cherry Valley,. Ohio, to Emily A., 
daughter of Obed and Delight Warren, and this union was blessed with eight 
children: Florence, Rose, Emily, Blanche, May, Hiram, Howard W., and Winfred 
E. Florence married George W. Webb, and is now deceased. Rose married Arthur 
A. Markham, of Independence. Emily died in infancy. Blanche is the widow of 
Martin Woodhull. May is the wife of Frank Warren, of Black River Falls, Wis. 
Hiram died in 1868. Howard W. lives in Whitehall. Winfred E. lives in Arcadia. 
A book might be written of the life of Collins Bishop, and it would be 
replete with interest from cover to cover. A few stories of his experiences 
are still preserved in the traditions of the county. In the early days there 
were no physicians in the vicinity. A new family moved into the adjoining 
town of Glencoe. Soon after that a visit of the stork was expected. Having 
received a medical education through a two years' course in a medical college 
in the East, Mr. Bishop had acquired, through pioneer necessity, considerable 
skill and reputation as an obstetrician. On this occasion, after a hard day's 
work on the farm, he walked several miles to the sick woman's house, 
performed his duties as an obstetrician, and cared for the mother and child 
until the next day, when he was relieved by a neighbor woman. He never asked
nor took pay for such errands of mercy. His resourcefulness in the most 
trying circumstances is shown in the story of his dead ox. One hot summer 
day he was on his way to obtain provisions at Fountain City, twenty or more 
miles away, with an empty wagon drawn by a pair of oxen. Over on the ridge, 
four or five miles from Fountain City, one of the oxen became over-heated. 
Mr. Bishop unyoked him and went down in the valley afoot and brought a pail 
of water. But on his return the ox was dead. So Mr. Bishop rolled him aside 
and gave the water to the other ox. By means of ropes and chains he 
harnessed up this remaining ox so that he could pull the wagon to town, 
while Mr. Bishop himself put his own head through the other bow, and thus 
held up the yoke as he walked beside the ox and continued his journey.

--Transcribed from the "History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, 1917," 
pages 733 & 734.