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La Crosse Area Genealogical Society
Biographies from "The History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin," 1881
S Surnames
From History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, 1881, p. 817.
Town of Onalaska
WILLIAM SAGEAR, farmer, Section 15; P. O. Midway; born in Knox Co., Ohio, Jan. 8, 1838; came to Wisconsin, 1857; bought 76 acres, on which he made the improvements; he now owns 240 acres. Enlisted in Co. D, 14th W. V. I.; mustered out 1865; was in the battle of Nashville, Franklin, Stone River. His wife, Mattie Kennedy, was born in Norway Jan. 28, 1835; came to America with her brother in 1857; married, 1853; have seven children - Thomas, born Oct. 7, 1858; Aletta, born March 22, 1862; William, born May 17, 1853; George, born Aug. 12, 1866; Vinia and James, born June 28, 1871; John, born Jan. 28, 1872.
City of La Crosse
JOHN A. SALZER, proprietor of the La Crosse Floral Gardens, on South Seventh street, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1823; son of John G. Salzer, a nurseryman and fruit-raiser; came to America in 1846; lived four years in Galena, Ill., four years in Iowa; then lived six years in Wisconsin - Baraboo, West Bend and Manitowoc; then three years in Peru, Ill., and came from there to La Crosse in 1863; has been in his present business since 1866. He has eight greenhouses and about 9,000 feet under glass. In connection with his garden, he has an apiary of about eighty stands of bees, and produces from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of honey per annum.
Town of Holland
DIETRICH SANDMAN, farmer, Sec. 29; P. O. Holmen; was born in Hanover, Nov. 23, 1823; came to America in 1846, and went to Milwaukee; then, in 1853, came to La Crosse Co., Wis., and bought 80 acres, and now owns 360 acres of land, with a beautiful creek of water passing through the place, and other improvements of the very best kind. His wife, Margaret Sprain, was born in Hanover, Sept. 28, 1832; came to America in the year 1846, and came to Milwaukee; then to La Crosse Oct. 19, 1853; married Oct. 14, 1853; they have nine children - Anna, Dora, Sophia, Mary, Amelia, Adelia, Rachel, William and Robert. In religion, Free Thinker. Has been Treasurer most of the time since he came here; Chairman of the Town Board of Supervisors four years; held the office of Supervisor in Hamilton Town; assessed in the town of Barre.
From History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, 1881, p. 841 - 842.
HARMON V. SASIL, farmer, Sec. 9; P. O. Stevenstown; was born in Schenectady, N. Y., Sept. 10, 1815. When he was 10 years old, his father died, and he went to live with his uncle; in 1838, he came to Milwaukee, and chopped wood at $1.25 per cord; he then went to Watertown, and built a shanty fifty miles from any white men but his two brothers, who then came to the State; then he built a hotel at the junction of the Madison and Watertown wagon roads; this was in 1848, which he kept four years, then sold out for $1,000, and bought a farm at the harbor at Milwaukee, of 70 acres, which he improved, and remained three years; then, in 1850, went to California, and worked in the mines; then on the sea as Second Steward on a bark plying between San Francisco and Realejo, Central America, and then to the Panama Line; then to Sharuse, on the Isthmus of Darien, and went to work for the line of ships owned by Barkley & Co., of New York; then for the New Orleans Line, on the schooner Americus. Then he went to Quincy, Ill., from there back to Milwaukee, Wis., by the old stage line of Fink & Walker; then in 1852, he came to Salina, where he remained one summer, then to La Crosse Co., where he bought a farm of 80 acres, on which he built a hotel in 1856, at Stevenstown, a prosperous village in that day. He now owns 400 acres of land. In 1861, he enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I., the regiment known as the Eagle Regiment; he was taken prisoner at Corinth, taken to Jackson, Miss., and exchanged at Vicksburg; out of 500 men, there were 300 who died from exposure and starvation; of the 300 left, who were brought to Cairo, there were only nine men able to walk to the hospital, they were so weak; he was discharged February, 1863. His wife, Cordelia S. Packard, was born in Vermont in 1808; came with her parents, who settled near Oak Creek, Milwaukee Co., Wis., in 1837. They married in 1847; they have had ten children, six living - Sylvia (deceased), Charles, Franklin, Lincoln, Lilly (deceased), Marion, in the U. S. Army, in the Black Hills; Clarence, now at Galesville; Harmon, and Minnie and Elizabeth (deceased). Has been Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, and was Postmaster ten years in Jefferson County.
C. A. SAUER, dealer in groceries, Onalaska; was born in Prussia Dec. 1, 1835; came to America Nov. 16, 1853; remained in New York City until September, 1854, when he went to Milwaukee; worked at his trade, which was that of a cabinet-maker; then to La Crosse, March 22, 1855, in the saloon business, until he came to Onalaska in 1855, and started the hotel; sold out and went into the grocery business. His wife, Theresa Kunzel, a native of Austria, married in 1859, died in 1870; they had two children - Mary, now Mrs. Tompson, and John, in Dakota. His second wife was Anna Schiller, a native of Bohemia; married July 13, 1874; they had four children - Joseph, Polly, Frank and Anton. In politics, Democrat; in religion, Catholic; on the Town Board two years, also Police Justice and Pathmaster; owns 160 acres of land in Dakota, 180 in Wisconsin and town property.
Town of Campbell
C. H. SCHAFERMEYER, proprietor of "Four-Mile House," La Crosse; was born in Prussia in 1823; emigrated to the United States and landed at New Orleans in December, 1851, and at once went to St. Louis, where he was employed in a wholesale drug store for ten years; he then went to Shackopee, Minn., where he lived about eighteen months, then to Red Wing, and stayed six months, after which he came to La Crosse Co., and immediately purchased the hotel he now keeps; he also owns 372 acres of land. In 1854, Mr. S. was married to Ana Seaman; born in Prussia in 1829; they have had eight children, two of whom are living - Theresa and Anna.
FRANK SCHALLER, farmer; P. O. La Crosse; was born near Milwaukee, Wis., Aug. 16, 1853; at the age of 4 years, he came with his parents to La Crosse, where they lived two years, after which they removed into the town of Campbell, Sec. 15, where he lived with his parents until April 24, 1878, when he was married to Lydia Young, born in La Crosse Co. in 1855; they have two children - Lizzie, born March 4, 1879, and an infant, born Jan. 28, 1881. Mr. S. is now serving his third term as Town Treasurer. Is a Liberal in politics, and owns 100 acres of land in Sec. 12.
CHRIS. F. SCHARPF, hardware dealer, was born in 1836, July 19, at Aichschiess, Wurtemberg, Germany, where he attended the schools, emigrating to America in 1852, and locating at Galena, Ill., remaining there one and a half years, learning the tailor's trade, and then removed to La Crosse. After having thoroughly learned the trade of a tinsmith, he opened a hardware store with George Edwards in 1862. He has since followed this business at this place, meeting with excellent success. After removing to La Crosse, he was foreman a number of years for Tenney, Oatman & Co.
GEORGE SCHARPF, merchant tailor and City Treasurer, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1826; came to the United States in 1847; lived in Buffalo, N. Y., three years; then went to Galena, Ill., and came from there to La Crosse in 1852, since which time he has been engaged in his present business. He was elected Alderman of the Second Ward of La Crosse in 1856, and served three years; was also School District Treasurer six years, and has held the office of City Treasurer since 1861, except two years, in 1866 and 1867.
MARTIN SCHENKE, painter and carpenter; was born in the Netherlands, Feb. 5, 1822; came to Milwaukee in 1855, and in the year 1856 to New Amsterdam, where he worked around there in the hotel and saloon business. He enlisted in Co. I, 8th W. V. I., in the year 1861, as private; promoted to Corporal; was Color-Bearer of the 8th, and has had the honor of carrying the noble old "Abe," the historical old eagle; was in thirty-two battles; was wounded at Corinth, Miss.; receives a pension. Owns town property. His first wife was a native of Holland, where they were married; she died there. His second wife was Josephine Christn, born in Switzerland; they married in January, 1876. Was Constable and Town Sealer.
IGNATZ SCHIERL, was born in Germany in July, 1842. He immigrated to America in June, 1867, and came direct to La Crosse, where he worked for seven years in the Eagle Brewery. He then commenced a wholesale liquor business for himself on Third street; was married in August, 1874, to Miss Dorethe Runge, and has one child.
JOHN SCHILD, Jr., farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. La Crosse; was born in Switzerland in 1845; emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1856, and came direct to La Crosse County, where he lived with his parents until 1867, when he was married to Elizabeth Schwab, born in Prussia in 1844. The children are Rosena, Henry, Minnie, Louisa, Albert and Emma. Mr. Schild is now living in a fine brick house, which he built in 1870. In politics he is a Republican; a member of the German Reformed Church; and has held nearly all of the various town offices during the past ten years. His father, John Schild, Sr., was born in Switzerland June 12, 1814, and was married to Barbara Eggler May 22, 1838; emigrated to America in 1856, and purchased his present farm of 200 acres on Sec. 13, town of Shelby, and is a member of the German Reformed Church; a Republican in politics. The children are Barbara and John.
PETER SCHINTGEN, dealer in ice, wood and hay, corner of Third and Cass streets, is a native of Luxemburg, Germany, born in 1829; came to America in the fall of 1854, and settled in La Crosse. In 1855, he returned to Luxemburg and was married there to Miss Lucy Kiefer, and again came to America after spending about a year in Europe. He has since that resided in La Crosse; is one of the present Aldermen of the Third Ward, and was one year Alderman of the Second Ward. He has four children - Mary, Susan, Philopena and Bretta.
MICHAEL SCHLAMMES, proprietor of the City Hotel, was born in the city of Luxemburg, Germany, in 1845; came to America in 1868, and has resided in La Crosse since that. He learned the stone-cutter's trade in the old country, and worked at that business three summers in La Crosse; has been in the City Hotel four years, and was in the saloon business three years previous to that; has accommodation for about twenty guests and stabling for eleven teams. He was married in 1874 to Margaret Suggun, and has two children - Nicholas and Susan.
DR. FERDINAND SCHMIDT, proprietor of the European Hotel, corner Third and Jay streets; is a native of Prussia; born in 1831. He studied veterinary surgery in Europe, and practiced there twelve years, and has since practiced three years in La Crosse; came to America in 1868, and has resided in La Crosse. He purchased the European Hotel in September, 1876, and has kept it since January, 1877; can accommodate seventy-five to eighty guests, and has stable room for sixty-four horses. He is running a livery stable in connection with the hotel, and keeps from twelve to twenty horses. He kept the City Hotel three years previous to purchasing his present place. Has a wife and four children - Bertha, August, Konrad and Gorgine. He traveled over a good share of Europe before coming to America in 1868, and in 1878 returned and spent one summer there, and attended the Paris Exposition during that time.
Town of Burns
THEODORE SCHMITZ, farmer, Sec. 2; P. O. Bangor; born in Prussia, Germany, in 1827. Emigrated to this country in June, 1851. Resided in Northern Illinois for about six months; thence to St. Louis, Mo., where he lived till the spring of 1854; then went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he engaged to assist in driving cattle across the plains to California. This trip occupied about three months. He stayed in California till the spring of 1859; he then went to Frazier's River, in the British Possessions. Returned to California, where he remained two years; thence to Dane Co., Wis., in 1861. Came to La Crosse Co. the same year, and settled in the town of Washington, where he lived till October, 1864. In the fall of 1861, returned to Germany, and was married to Clara Urmes. He came back in the spring of 1862. They have six children - Lucy, Katrina, John B., John M., Theodore and Gasper. Mr. Schmitz enlisted in the spring of 1864, and served till the close of the war. His farm contains 160 acres.
JACOB SCHOLL, saloon-keeper, 71 and 73 Main street; has been in his present location since 1869. He owns the building, a two-story brick, 21x55, with basement, which he erected in 1868. He also owns the adjoining building, a two-story brick, 22x65, with basement, erected in 1875. Mr. Scholl was born in Prussia, in 1839; son of Peter Scholl; came to America alone, when only 15 years old; lived in Milwaukee two years, in Janesville three years, and came from there to La Crosse. He was foreman of the Hook and Ladder Company fourteen years, and has been Treasurer of the Catholic Life Insurance Association ever since its organization, in 1878.
WILLIAM SCHWAB, proprietor of the Eagle Hotel, corner of Second and King streets; was born in Prussia in 1840. His father, John W. Schwab, came to the United States in 1853, and settled in Massachusetts, where he was joined by his family in 1858. William, Jr., came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1863, and settled on a farm in the town of Shelby, La Crosse Co. His father came on with the balance of the family in 1864; he died in October, 1879. William, Jr., remained on the farm till December, 1875, then came to the city, and kept hotel on Fifth street till July, 1880, then came to his present location, where he has accommodations for thirty-five boarders and stable room for six to eight teams. He has two children - Katie and Peter. His wife's maiden name was Barbara Dengel, also a native of Prussia. Mr. Schwab was Supervisor of Shelby one year.
REV. JAMES SCHWEBACH, Pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, La Crosse; was born in Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, Aug. 15, 1847; born of pious German parents, he was early educated in the principles of the Catholic Church, to the advancement of which he afterward devoted his life. While yet in his teens, he finished a collegiate course of study in Luxemburg, where he mastered and became proficient in both the German and French languages. He emigrated to America in 1864, just as the country was experiencing the most trying times of the civil war, and seeing the great necessity of Catholic priests, within two weeks after his arrival in New York, June 11, 1864, he entered the St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee. Here he studied philosophy and theology five years. Being a young man of rare intelligence and fine natural qualifications, he graduated from this seat of learning at the early age of 21. Too young to be ordained, he was sent to La Crosse as sub-deacon, to perform such duties as this office would allow. One year previous to his ordination to the priesthood, he preached regularly in three different languages - English, German and French. He was ordained on the feast of Corpus Christi, 1870, and was then appointed Pastor of St. Mary's Church, La Crosse. Besides possessing a fine library, he is well read, and is an accomplished French, German and English scholar. The kindly feelings of the Catholics of this city for the quiet, self-possessed student of fifteen years ago, has since ripened into feelings of love for the Pastor of to-day, and Father Schwebach is honored and respected by all classes of citizens, no matter of what religious belief.
GEORGE W. SCOTT, house, sign and ornamental painter, decorator and paper-hanger; has been a resident of La Crosse since August, 1856. He was born in Ashtabula Co., Ohio, 1840; son of Ellis Scott, a native of Massachusetts, who died in 1869. Mr. Scott came to La Crosse at the age of 16 years, learned his trade here, and has followed it in La Crosse since, except when in the army. He enlisted, August, 1861, in the 1st Wis. Battery, and was in the service till November, 1864, and participated in every battle in which the battery was engaged during that time. He was married to Olive L. Crosby, daughter of Alonzo K. Crosby, in Blandford, Hampden Co., Mass., June, 1865; has had three children - Nellie E. (deceased), Emma L. and Gertie G.
PHILLIP SEEBURGER, farmer, Section 30; P. O. Midway; was born in Baden, Germany, March 11, 1830; came to America in 1852, and to La Crosse County in 1858; now owns 260 acres of land, on which he has made improvements; enlisted in Co. F, 17th W. V. I., in 1865; discharged, 1865. His wife, Agnes Felix, was born in Switzerland March 9, 1826; married 1858. They have two children - William and Regina. Has been Treasurer of Schools and Supervisor. Member of I. O. O. F.
MICHAL SEERY, farmer, Sec. 7; P. O. Holmen; born in Roscommon Co., Ireland, Feb. 28, 1826; came to America in 1849; settled in New York; then to Ohio; worked on the railroad; came to Wisconsin in 1856. Now owns 190 acres of land, on which he has made all the improvements. His wife, Gracie Yarow, was born in Tryone Co., Ireland, 1831; married 1851. They have an adopted daughter - Gracie.
JACOB SEES, stone-mason; has been a resident of La Crosse since June, 1858; he was born in Baden, Germany, in 1822. His father, John Sees, came to the United States with his family in 1847; settled in Philadelphia, and resided there till his death, in 1878, at the age of 80. Mr. Sees was married in Philadelphia in 1850, to Sophia Murtin, and has six children - Jacob, Fatima, Sophia, Emma, Helen and Lucy. He resided in Philadelphia till he came to La Crosse in 1858; in addition to his other business, Mr. Sees is keeping a boarding-house on State street, between Second and Third.
CHARLES SEGELKE, of the manufacturing firm of Segelke, Kohlhaus & Co.; was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1830, and came to the United States in 1851; he lived in Watertown, Wis., five years, and has resided in La Crosse since September, 1856; he worked one year for wages after coming to La Crosse; then bought a small shop, and commenced business for himself, which he has continued with success up to the present time. He was married in 1862, in Jefferson, Wis., to Miss Augusta Schnasse, of Watertown, and has three children - Ernestine, Louisa and Dora. His father, I. E. D. Segelke, came to the United States in 1870; settled in La Crosse, and died in November, 1876, aged 84 years; his mother is still living.
J. SEMSCH & BRO., dealers in crockery and glassware; have been in business in La Crosse since January, 1871; in addition to their present business they dealt in groceries up to February, 1880, when they sold out that branch of their business. The firm consists of Joseph and Wenzel Semsch, both born in Austria, and both are unmarried; Joseph came to the United States in May, 1867, and was followed the following June by his father, Joseph, Sr., and the balance of his family; his father is still living in La Crosse.
Town of Hamilton
WILLIAM G. SERVISS, farmer, Sec. 4; P. O. West Salem; born in Upper Canada, in what is now the town of Iroqois, in 1823; he went to Ohio when a young man, where he lived about three years, but returned to Canada and came to Wisconsin, reaching La Crosse July 14, 1852; his father, John S. Serviss, came to La Crosse Co. the year previous, and located in the town of Hamilton. He died in 1859. His mother died in the spring of 1865. Mr. W. G. Serviss' first location in La Crosse Co. was on Sec. 16, in the town of Hamilton. He enlisted in 1862 in the 30th W. V. I.; served till the close of the war, a period of three years and three months; his position was Wagoner of his regiment. He was married in Canada to Catherine Keck; they have three children - Wilda (now Mrs. A. W. Ayers), Delia (now Mrs. A. C. Vaughan), and Nora (now Mrs. L. R. Dudley). Mr. Serviss is a clothier by trade. This business he followed for many years.
MARK L. SEYMOUR, engineer at the City Mill; was born in the city of Fond du Lac, Wis., in 1858. His father, Frank Seymour, a native of Oswego Co., N. Y., came to Fond du Lac in 1844; he remained there till 1868, then went to Green Bay, Wis., and ran on the lakes three years as an engineer; then returned to Fond du Lac, and came from there to La Crosse in the spring of 1875; while in Fond du Lac, he ran the mill of Moore, Galloway & Baker, and after coming to La Crosse had charge of C. L. Coleman's mill one year, and after that worked at millwright work most of the time till his death, which occurred in April, 1880, leaving three children - Ralph (now an engineer in Watertown, Minn.), Mark L. and May in La Crosse. Mrs. Seymour is still living in La Crosse with her son Mark, who is unmarried; her maiden name was Orpha Tompkins, daughter of Col. Isaac Tompkins, one of the old settlers and prominent business men of Fond du Lac, Wis. Horace Seymour, who built and owned the old Seymour Gristmill of Fond du Lac, was grandfather of Mark L.
Town of Barre
CHARLES E. SHAFT, farmer and stock buyer; born in Rochester, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1832; son of William R. Shaft, a native of Madison Co., N. Y. Charles E. came to Sheboygan in 1847; thence to Walworth Co., and with his father engaged in the milling business; afterward followed the lakes for several years. He was married to Elizabeth Owens; she was born in Wales in 1843; they have four children - Alice, William, Emery and Myrta; lost two children. He has been variously engaged in farming, milling, etc.; came to La Crosse in 1861; his father came to La Crosse at the same time, where his mother died; his father returned to Walworth Co., where he died. Mr. Shaft has about 120 acres of land; has been engaged for many years in stock buying.
From History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, 1881, p. 846 & 849.
DANIEL SHANE, farmer, Sec. 15; P. O. Bangor; was born in Columbia Co., Penn., in 1829. His father, George Shane, died in Pennsylvania. His mother and four children came to La Crosse Co. in 1856. He came the previous fall and purchased his present farm. He was the first settler of this farm, which was entered as Government land by Lewis Lewis. He has 280 acres. Mr. Shane returned to Pennsylvania in 1857, and was married to Anna M. Melick, born in Pennsylvania. They have nine children - Forrest D., Rebecca K., now Mrs. William H. Bradley; Orpha I., Ulysses Grant, Mary M., George P., Bertha B., Robert R. and Clyde M. Mr. Shane has been Chairman of Town Board several terms, also Justice of the Peace for several years.
Town of Bangor
DR. JOHN SHANKLAND, druggist, Bangor; born in Washington Co., N. Y., in 1812; graduated at Carlton College, Vermont, in 1844. He removed to Michigan, thence to Illinois; came to La Crosse Co. in 1861. The doctor practiced medicine for twenty-five years; engaged in the drug business in 1866, in Bangor, with Jacob Waterman; on the death of his partner, in 1869, he retired from the practice of his profession, as his business required his entire attention. His wife was Miss Ellen A. Cummings.
GILBERT SHEPARD, M. D., is a native of Wyoming Co., N. Y.; born in 1838. His father, Truman Shepard, came to Wisconsin in 1845, and settled in Rock Co., where he is still living at the age of 80. Gilbert Shepard entered Beloit College in 1861, and in December, 1863, enlisted in the 1st W. V. C., Co. M; he remained with his company about six months, and was then detailed as clerk in the office of the Inspector General, where he remained till July, 1865. He then returned to Beloit College and graduated in 1866; he came to La Crosse and studied medicine with Dr. Ober and graduated from Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in 1870; he immediately commenced practice in the village of Trempealeau, Wis., and came from there to La Crosse in 1872, where he has practiced since that time. He was married in 1869 to Miss Ellen E. Cornan, of Trempealeau; has three children - George Hugh, Kittie Louise and Carra Belle.
J. R. SHERWOOD, proprietor of Sherwood House, West Salem; born in Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1811, where he lived till about 1850, when he came to Wisconsin; he lived in Milwaukee one year, thence to East Troy, Walworth Co., where he lived nine years; from thence to Waupun, where he lived about three years; he afterward removed to Fox Lake. Mr. Sherwood worked for many years at the business of carpentry. He came to the city of La Crosse in 1858, where he kept a hotel, known as the Stevens House, for one year. Came to Salem in 1859. His wife was Miss Delia Wilcox; have had two children, one of whom is living - Anna (now Mrs. Frazier).
THOMAS SHIMMIN, Jr., proprietor of the Oak Grove Steam Marble-Works; has been a resident of La Crosse since Sept. 9, 1854; he was born in the Isle of Man in 1830; son of John Shimmin, who died in 1871. Mr. Shimmin came to the United States in August, 1854, and settled in La Crosse the next September; he was in the butchering business about nine years; then went to quarrying and dressing stone for building purposes, which he continued till 1878; in 1875, he started his present shop in company with R. T. Wilson and Ruel Weston; in 1877, Mr. Wilson sold out to his partners; in 1878, Mr. Shimmin sold to Mr. Weston his interest in the quarry, and in May, 1879, purchased Mr. Weston's interest in the shop, which he has since carried on alone. Mr. Shimmin was married Dec. 20, 1857, in La Crosse, to Miss Ann Lilly, daughter of John Lilly, of Birkenhead, England; have had three children, only one of them now living - John and Katie (deceased), and Elizabeth Lilly at home.
JACOB SHOOK, proprietor of the Revere House; is a native of Germany, born near the Rhine in 1828; son of Jacob Shook, who came to America in 1831, and settled in Sandusky City, Ohio, and died there in April, 1880. Jacob Shook, Jr., was married, in 1848, in Sandusky City, to Miss Mary Lazer. He came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1864, lived one month in La Crosse then went to Houston Co., Minn., where he resided five years; then in Fillmore Co. two years; then came back to Houston Co. and lived in Hokah till May 24, 1880, since which time he has been in the Revere House, where he has accommodations for seventy-five guests and stabling for sixteen horses; has been in the hotel and livery business since 1864. Has had seven children, five of whom are living - Lena, Elizabeth, Adam, Emma and Jacob; Mary and Libbie deceased.
THOMAS B. SHOVE, proprietor of livery, sale and feed stable, Onalaska; was born at Oneonta, Otsego Co., N. Y., Aug. 3, 1837. He enlisted in Co. I, 121st N. Y. V. I., mustered out Jan. 13, 1863; was engaged at South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg. He came to Wisconsin in the spring of 1868, worked by the day for about twelve years, then, in August, 1880, he bought out Mr. Martin in the livery business. His wife, H. A. Boardman, a native of Oneonta, Otsego Co., N. Y., was born May, 1837. They married February, 1856; they have six children - Clara, now Mrs. Rand; Benjamin, Nellie, now Mrs. Merill; Frederick, Mary and Florence. Has been Marshal and member Sons of Temperance.
G. SIMONSON, farmer, Sec. 29; P. O. West Salem; is one of the earliest and most prominent Norwegian settlers of the town of Hamilton; he was born in Norway in 1826; he came to Dane Co., Wis., October, 1850; settled on his present farm in June, 1851. He was married in Norway to Mary Brown; has two children - Simon, born 1853, and Mattie; the latter is the wife of Mr. John Torgerson, who resides on Sec. 31; he was born in Norway in 1836; came to the United States in 1854; settled in the town of Hamilton, where his father resided, till his death; his mother is still living; has one child; farm contains 160 acres. Mr. Simonson's farm is well improved, good buildings, etc. His son-in-law, Mr. Torgerson, has also a well-improved farm; house recently built cost about $1,800. His mother resided with him.
Town of Farmington
GEORGE S. SISSON, farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Mindoro. Born in Massachusetts in 1804, where he lived till 18 years of age, when he removed with his father's family to Geauga Co., Ohio. Married in Ohio to Lucia E. Bartholomew; removed to Walworth Co., Wis., May, 1846; came to La Crosse County in 1852, and settled in Lewis Valley, where he has since lived; wife died Aug. 4, 1871; has seven children - Oscar O., Margaret N., Selena S., Olen G., Oree A., Alonzo S., and Francis M. Four of the sons of Mr. Sisson were soldiers in the Union army during the rebellion. Oscar O. enlisted in 1861, in the 8th W. V. I., where he served two years; was then transferred to Company A, 2d United States heavy artillery, where he served five years; serving altogether seven years as a soldier. Alonzo S. was born in Ohio, 1845; enlisted in the 2d W. V. C.; served four years; married Mary Chisholm, daughter of James Chisholm; she was born in Beaver Dam, 1850. They have two boys - Frank W. and Charles E. Olen G. enlisted in same regiment and company, and served during the last year of the war.
OREE A. SISSON, proprietor of hotel, Mindoro; born in Ohio in 1844, enlisted in 1864 in 2d W. V. C.; served till the close of the war. Married Sarah A. Arnold, daughter of John F. Arnold; she was born in Otsego Co., N. Y. They have three sons and one daughter.
C. A. SJOLANDER, Postmaster and dealer in general stock, Holmen; born in Norway, May 26, 1851; came to America in 1865, was engaged as clerk in La Crosse for Moeller two years; then went to Albion, Dane Co., to school, then to Marshall; removed to Holmen in the fall of 1870; clerked for his father in the year 1873; he took the store for himself, was appointed Postmaster in November, 1875, and Town Clerk one term. In politics, he is a Republican; in religion, a Lutheran. His wife was Carrie Quatt, born in Norway, July, 1851; married in 1874; they have four children - Olitie, born Nov. 7, 1875; Carl Beannard, born March 8, 1877; Peter Albert, born Sept. 7, 1878; Clara Aktavia, born June 13, 1880. He attended the La Crosse Commercial College in the year 1869. His father, Peter E. Sjolander, a native of Sweden, born Aug. 24, 1822; came to America in 1853; worked in the pineries, resided at Kilborn City; returned to Norway in 1863, and back to Wisconsin in 1865, to La Crosse; kept saloon and hotel until 1870; came to Holmen and began business. His wife, Anna Olsen, was born in Norway, June 30, 1824; married, 1850; one child - C. A.
WILLIAM SKELLS, farmer, Sec. 18; P. O. Onalaska; was born in Cambridgeshire, England, April 1, 1827. Came to America in 1854; worked by the month until he came to Wisconsin in 1857; now owns 140 acres of land, on which he has made all of the improvements. Enlisted in Co. F, 25th W. V. I., in 1864; discharged in 1865. His wife, Emma S. Rust, was born in Norfolk, England, in 1830, and married in 1856; they have four children - William E., born March 28, 1858; Emma A., born Nov. 6, 1859; Eliza B., born Sept. 29, 1863; Thomas H., born Sept. 4, 1866. Has been Clerk, Assessor and Justice of the Peace.
H. F. SMILEY, Mayor; is a native of Skowhegan, Me., born in 1840; when 4 years of age, his parents removed to Penobscot Co., Me., near Bangor, where he grew up to manhood; in 1865, he returned to Skowhegan and came from there to Wisconsin in 1865; he resided in Onalaska till April, 1873, since which time he has been a resident of La Crosse. Most of the time since coming to this city he has been employed as book-keeper for his brother-in-law, R. M. Mooer, lumberman. In September, 1862, he enlisted in the 6th Mass. V. I., Co. K, and was in the service nine months. He was elected Mayor in 1880.
A. W. SMITH, farmer, Sec. 4; P. O. Half-Way Creek; was born in Somerset Co., Me., July 14, 1848. He came to Wisconsin in 1867; now owns 120 acres of land, and has made most of the improvements. His wife was born in Saxony Nov. 30, 1855; came to America in 1856; married, 1875.
CHARLES SMITH, Clerk of the Circuit Court of La Crosse County, was born in Soemmerda, kingdom of Prussia, May 20, 1840; received a common-school education in that country; came to America with his parents in the fall of 1852, and located in Sauk City, Sauk Co., where his father engaged in farming. In 1857, he went to Island No. 52, in Mississippi, where he worked as a wood-chopper until the spring of 1858, when he went to Stillwater, Minn., from which place he ran on the river until the fall of that year, when he moved to Bangor, La Crosse Co., his parents having moved there in 1860. He worked on the farm with them until Feb. 7, 1861, when he enlisted for three years in the 19th W. V. I., and was appointed Corporal in August. After two years' service, he re-enlisted in the same regiment for three years more; was taken prisoner Oct. 27, 1864, at Fair Oaks, together with about sixty-five others, who were either captured, killed or wounded, leaving only about 170 in the regiment. He was kept in prison at Richmond about three weeks, and was then taken to Salisbury, N. C., where he was kept until Feb. 21, 1865, and then released; was soon afterward taken sick and conveyed to the Navy School Hospital, at Annapolis, Md., and thence to Jarvis Hospital, at Baltimore, Md., and there discharged, Aug. 29, 1865, his regiment having been discharged about two months previous. He then came back to La Crosse, and his father in the meantime having died, he took charge of his farm; was married Dec. 24, 1865. In the spring of 1866, he gave up farming on account of a swelling on his leg, which disabled him, and bought a hotel at Bangor, La Crosse Co. He subsequently sold this, and was unable to do any business of any kind for several years. In 1874, he went to Indianapolis with the intention of having his leg amputated, but this he found not necessary. Upon coming again to Bangor, he was appointed Deputy Postmaster. In the fall of 1875, he was elected to the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court, holding that office at the present time.
FORREST J. SMITH, lumber dealer, was born in La Crosse County, four miles east of the city of La Crosse, Jan. 22, 1853; is the son of O. H. Smith, general clerk and book-keeper in the office of David Law's freight and omnibus line. He lived with his parents, attending the common and public schools until 1870, when he became engaged in the lumber business, following it at the present time.
FRANKLIN B. SMITH, farmer, Sec. 9; P. O. West Salem; son of Robert Smith, who was born in the State of New York. Married to Margaret Greene and came to Wisconsin about 1845, and settled in the town of Summit, Waukesha Co. They came to La Crosse County and settled on the farm now owned by F. B. Smith, in 1851. Parents had four children, two sons and two daughters. Franklin B. and his father are the only survivors of the family. F. B. was the oldest of the children; the second son, Francis L., was assassinated near Placerville, Cal., in 1862. He was waylaid and shot for the purpose of robbery. His murderer was arrested, convicted and hanged. The daughters were Ann Eliza and Margaret Janet. F. B. went to California in 1857, and returned soon after the death of his brother. He was married to Celeste Best, daughter of William Best; she was born in Pennsylvania; came to Wisconsin with her parents about 1853, and to La Crosse County the following year. Her parents had nine children, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have five children - Merva, Warner L., Wilburt I., Stella Bell and Margaret. Mr. Smith owns the homestead farm, which contains 370 acres; also owns a farm of 320 acres in Kansas. He has been for several years extensively engaged in the culture of hops.
H. B. SMITH, insurance, real estate and loan agent, No. 37 Main street; is a native of Mercer Co., Penn., born in 1838; came to La Crosse in 1871, and followed the business in which he is now engaged till 1874, then went into the milling business in company with John E. Davis, which he continued till 1876; he was then out of business one year, and, in 1877, bought out the insurance business of Walter Brown, and added real estate and loaning; has since that time conducted business alone. Mr. Smith spent ten years previous to his coming to La Crosse in the copper regions of Lake Superior.
REV. JAMES IRWIN SMITH, son of a farmer, merchant and mill-owner, located on the Cool Spring, in Mercer Co., in Pennsylvania; was born the 31st of March, 1827; the descendant of Presbyterian parentage, and as the church where they worshipped was built upon his father's farm, it is not strange that he early loved its doctrines and its ordinances; his education was begun in his home and carried forward in the country schools, which he attended in winters; at the age of 15, he determined to procure a liberal education wholly by his own efforts, and, Dec. 12, 1842, entered Mercer Academy, then managed by an enthusiastic educator, Samuel Griffiths, Esq.; his first term as a teacher was five months in West Greenville, Penn., during the winter of 1844-45, after which, he returned again to the academy. In the fall of 1845, he left the academy and went to the South, at that period the inviting field for teachers; there he spent three years and a half in Tennessee, the first in a school organized in Williamson Co.; the second as tutor in Jackson College, Columbia; the last year and a half at the head of Central Academy, in Rutherford Co.; in these engagements, he was successful, acquiring ample means for the completing of his course of education, and a balance for the purchase of a home after it was finished. Returning to Pennsylvania, he entered Jefferson College, and, in 1851, graduated with honors in a class of 54; he passed directly to the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Penn., and was licensed to preach by the Erie Prebytery Sept. 8, 1853, and ordained by the same Presbytery in August, 1854. Losing health by prolonged studies and teaching, and through an attack of typhoid fever during college course, he went in the spring of 1852, to recuperate on the wild, health-reviving shores of Lake Superior; the region was but sparsely settled then at any point, but the mines of copper were being pushed with great vigor; busied with studies and with health-giving occupations, he resisted all solicitations to embark in the speculative enterprises so rife at that date, and resolved still on his original purpose of preaching the Gospel so soon as health should be re-established; with this view, however, he accepted an appointment as clerk of the Copper Falls and Summit Mines at a liberal salary, determined to maintain himself by the salary, and to preach to the surrounding villages and mines on the Sabbath, as he had ascertained, in a snow-shoe tour of exploration round the lake, there was at the time only a single ordained Protestant minister engaged among the whites for the whole region; his project he laid before the Rev. W. H. Hazleton, a Baptist clergyman from New Hampshire, like himself in quest of health. "No!" said this friend. "If you will preach, I will find the money for your support." Thus they were to set out upon the planting of churches together; the position was resigned with its income; and when returning to the lake after licensure, Mr. Smith found fields of far greater promise higher up the shore of the lake in the Ontonagan district, the arrangement for co-operative labors between the Baptist and Presbyterian were not carried out in that form; located at Ontonagon, the entrepot for the largest production and imports on Lake Superior at the time, a house of worship was built in 1854, mainly by means collected by Mr. Smith, and a church organized in that town; from the first, his labors were extended to all the settlements in the interior; his habit was to walk long distances and preach thrice on each Sabbath; in due time churches were constituted in his charge at Maple Grove and at Rockland, and his habit for years was to ride twenty-five miles every Sabbath and deliver three sermons to his people. This charge, he resigned in June, 1865, to accept the appointment of his Synod of St. Paul to traverse the territory of the Synod, and gather and organize churches, and procure for them ministers; passing the summer at this work, the heat and journeys proved excessive in absence of all railway facilities then, and he relinquished the work, preaching for the winter in the Andrew Church, St. Anthony; in this capacity, however, he visited La Crosse, Wis., embraced in the territory of that Synod; deciding that this city had claims upon the Presbyterians, and prospects to warrant the founding of a church, he removed hither with his family from St. Paul, arriving May 2, 1866; he at once began labors amongst a people entirely unknown to him and to each other as Presbyterians; and in August of that year, organized the first church of this city, of which he remained Pastor till June, 1880; from its membership was constituted also the church of North La Crosse, called the North Church of La Crosse since the consolidation of that village with the city; of this, he retained the charge jointly with the first church till September, 1876. In April, 1881, he removed to Galesville, to have charge of the Presbyterian Church, and a share in the management of the University at that place.
JOHN SMITH, proprietor of the Mississippi House, was born in Sweden in 1834, and was a son of Johannes Smith; came to the United States in 1859. He was a sailor, and sailed from New York City one and a half years in the coast trade; then went to Mobile, Ala., and stayed till 1861. He was then in the army till the close of the war, and came to La Crosse in 1866. He commenced building the Mississippi House in the fall of 1874; has accommodation for about forty boarders and stabling for eighteen to twenty horses. He was married in La Crosse, in 1872, to Mrs. Paulina Johnson, widow of Andrew Johnson. She had two children by the first husband - Oscar and Albert - and two by the present husband - Ida and Joseph Emil.
ORANGE SMITH, retired farmer; P. O. West Salem; born in Chateaugay, Franklin Co., N. Y., in 1801. Was married to Harriet Ketchum, born in Orvilie, Brooklyn Co., Vt. Mr. Smith resided in Franklin County till 34 years of age, when he emigrated to Cook Co., Ill., thence to Lake County. His wife died in Illinois February, 1851; his present wife was Lavina Holden, born in Vermont in 1814. Mr. Smith came to La Crosse County in 1851, and entered a farm in the town of Onalaska, which he sold in 1875, and removed to West Salem in 1876. He had nine children by first wife, first seven of whom were born in Franklin Co., N. Y.; the others in Lake Co., Ill.; six of the children are living - Henry resides in Oregon; Franklin in California; Julia, now Mrs. William Armstrong in Clark County; Anna E., now Mrs. Alden Putnam in Monroe County; Mrs. Sarah Smith and Mrs. Lovica Withey. His oldest daughter, Mary E., was the wife of Mr. Abner Gile, of La Crosse; she died Aug. 31, 1877. Mr. Smith was County Commissionery three years; was Justice of the Peace in the town of Onalaska for several years.
ORLANDO H. SMITH, City Clerk, was born in Voluntown, Windham Co., Conn., Jan. 31, 1821; was the second youngest of seven brothers. He attended a district school from the time he was 5 until he was 16 years of age, from three to four months each year, during the winter, and usually had to walk about one and a half miles to school. His father, John C. Smith, was a farmer, and also had a store, and with him he worked during the summers, part of the time on the farm and the remainder of the time in the store, until he was 22 years of age, when he learned the weaver's trade and worked in a cotton factory as head weaver for four or five years. He was married, Oct. 10, 1847, to Harriet T. Kinney. After this, he kept a factory store and worked in the factory occasionally until March, 1857. In 1856, he was elected a member of the Connecticut State Legislature from his native town. Came to La Crosse in May, 1857, but soon returned again to his home in Connecticut. In December of the same year, he again came to La Crosse, this time bringing his family with him. From 1858 to 1861, he kept a boarding-house and hotel in La Crosse. In the spring of 1861, he was elected City Clerk, which office he retained until April, 1862. In November, 1861, he was elected as Clerk of the Circuit Court, and held that office until Jan. 1, 1864. In 1865, he was clerk in an auction store, and from January, 1866, to November, 1869, was head salesman and book-keeper for W. H. Leeman & Co., wholesale grocers. From this time until January, 1877, he was in the grocery business, part of the time with H. C. Heath and the remainder of the time alone. In April, 1874, he was elected Alderman of the Fourth Ward, and held that office until April, 1877, when he was elected as City Clerk, which office he still retains.
THOMAS SMITH (deceased) was born at Chateaugay, Franklin Co., N. Y., April 1, 1834. Emigrated when 1 year old to Illinois, near Chicago, then to Lake Co., Ill., where he resided until manhood, when they came to Wisconsin in 1852, and located land and began farming; they also built a log tavern on Sec. 10, which his father continued to keep for a number of years; they then built a new part, his father removed to Salem, and Thomas took charge of the hotel until Jan. 17, 1878. They now own 300 acres, nicely improved. He was Clerk of School, Assessor, and Justice of the Peace; also Postmaster at Half-Way Creek a number of years. His wife, Mary Hodge, was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., Oct. 1, 1836; married, 1857. They have had four children - Jennie, born Jan. 20, 1858; Casper, born April 1, 1860; Alvie, born Nov. 21, 1861; Ella, born March 17, 1864.
WILLIAM H. SMITH, proprietor of Smith & Merrill's foundry; was born in Stafford, Tolland Co., N. Y., Feb. 5, 1824; moved with his parents to Syracuse, N. Y., in 1830; here he spent his boyhood days attending the common schools and the academy at Onondaga. In 1843, he removed to Wisconsin, locating at Kenosha, where he worked in the foundry business for Benedict & Francis; in 1845, he removed to Racine and worked in a foundry for Wilson & Burgess, making the first casting that was ever made in Racine; he then removed to Milwaukee and worked there in a foundry for A. J. Langworthy. In 1848, he removed again; this time to Waukesha, where he again worked in a foundry, remaining here about four years; in 1852, he went to Portage and went into partnership with a Mr. Blair in the foundry business, under the firm name of Smith & Blair; he remained here until 1861, when he removed to La Crosse and entered as a partner into his present business, of which he has since acquired the sole proprietorship.
CHARLES B. SOLBERG. In and near La Crosse are a very large number of Norwegians, and they are among the most industrious and thrifty class of people. This is true whether they be farmers, mechanics, professional men or merchants. Among the last class of business men in the city of La Crosse, the two most successful are Norwegians, and one of them is the subject of this sketch. A native of Lillehammer, he was born Aug. 20, 1835. His parents were Ole N. and Mary (Anderson) Solberg. His father was a merchant in his younger days, but, on immigrating to this country with his family in 1853, purchased land near La Crosse and opened a farm; which he still cultivates. Both he and his wife are living, and are hale, industrious, well-to-do people. On reaching La Crosse, Charles accepted a clerkship from John M. Levy at a salary of $8 per month; he was afterward employed by the following firms, succeeding each other in the same house and business; R. R. Smith & Co., Deming & Francis, John B. Crookston, F. M. Rublee & Co. and Dick Sewell. In 1861, Mr. Solberg rented a store, and with about $2,000 capital, opened a grocery trade, a business which he has since followed with marked success. In 1864, he started a branch house in Decorah, Iowa, which he sold to his brothers in 1866. He who, twenty years ago, began business for himself in a two-story store, 20x60 feet, now has a store three stories above the basement, averaging 50x150, and usually containing from $40,000 to $60,000 worth of merchandise. This growth in business is purely the result of close attention and care, and prudence and honesty in all its details. There is not a more thorough business man in La Crosse. In politics, Mr. Solberg is an ardent Republican. He discharges his duty faithfully as a citizen, but does not covet office. He has, however, held some useful positions in the municipality of La Crosse; has been on the Republican State Central Committee and was a Presidential Elector in 1876. He, however, allows neither politics nor anything else to interfere with his business. On the 21st of December, 1861, he was married to Miss Alice Johnson, of La Crosse, they have had six children, five of whom are still living.
O. N. SOLBERG, farmer, Section 20; P. O. Midway; born in Norway, June 12, 1799. First came to La Crosse and remained three years, then bought 160 acres of land, and has improved it with a fine house and barns. His wife, Mary Anderson, was born in Norway Aug. 20, 1803; they married in 1827, and have five children - Otillia Julia Ann, Henry, B. N. O., now residing in Norway; Charles B. in La Crosse City and Amelia Helena. Has been Supervisor.
RICHARD SOLES, farmer, Sec. 31; P. O. Mindoro. Born in Chenango Co., N. Y., July 1833; married Maria Skeels; came to Wisconsin June, 1859, lived in Cambria, Columbia Co., for a short time; came to La Crosse County that year; lived in Bangor about four years, and settled on present farm. Mr. Soles enlisted in 2d W. V. C., September, 1864, and served till the close of the war. Has one daughter - Estella, wife of Alonzo Phelps. Farm contains 333 acres.
FRANK SPECHT, dealer in groceries and provisions, corner of Ninth and Market streets; has been a resident of La Crosse since Sept. 15, 1862; he was a harness-maker by trade and worked at that business in La Crosse till the winter of 1866, when he lost the use of his left hand, and went into the saloon business, in which he continued till 1880. In March, 1880, he commenced building his present store, and commenced business the next June. He was born in Baden, Germany, in 1843, and came to America with his father, Jacob Specht, in 1854; they lived in Madison Co., N. Y., till 1858; then came to Wisconsin, where the father died in Columbia Co., in 1870. Mr. Specht was married in La Crosse in 1870, to Theresa Hescheld, a native of Germany, and has three children - Frank, Willie and Louis.
FAYETTE P. SPRAGUE, deceased; was born in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Jan. 1, 1822; studied medicine with his father, and graduated at the Medical College, Castleton, Vt., June 18, 1845; practiced in New York twenty-one years, then removed to Waukegan, Ill., where he remained seven years; then to Onalaska, Wis., in 1873. He died May 8, 1876, and was buried in Hopkinton, N. Y. His wife was Sarah A. Brown, who was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Oct. 18, 1828. They were married March 26, 1857; had one child - Mariah Orretta, born in New York, Nov. 29, 1858, died March 2, 1875, at Onalaska, and buried in Hopkinton, N. Y. Mr. Sprague was a man that was interested in the welfare of the town; a member of the Good Templars, a charitable Christian man, and beloved by all those with whom he was acquainted. Mrs. Sprague's father was a native of Vermont, born Sept. 25, 1800, died in New York, Aug. 12, 1851. His wife was born in Vermont, Feb. 6, 1806; they were married in 1826, and by the marriage there were four children. She now resides with her daughter in Onalaska.
FREDRICK SPRAIN, farmer, Sec. 22; P. O. Barre Mills; one of the most prominent men of the town of Barre; was born in Germany in 1825; in 1845, he, in company with his brother Henry, came to the United States, and settled at Milwaukee, where he worked on the farm about eight years. In 1851, he married Dorothea Miller, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Miller; born in Germany in 1832; in 1853, he moved his family with an ox team to La Crosse Co., where he purchased 80 acres of land on Sec. 23, on which place he lived about seventeen years, during which time he purchased more land; in 1870, he moved on his present farm, which is in Secs. 22 and 27, where he has built a fine brick house and good barns. Mr. S. now owns 600 acres of land. He has been Supervisor several terms. Is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church; their children are Margaret, Sue, George and Dora.
WILLIE STANLEY, farmer; P. O. Barre Mills; was born in Broome Co., N. Y., in 1853; at the age of 12, he came with his parents to Onalaska, La Crosse Co., where he lived about seven years; the remainder of his life was spent in different parts of La Crosse Co.; in July, 1880, he married Rosabel McIlwrith, daughter of Thomas McIlwrith, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland; when 19 years of age, he emigrated to the United States, landing at McGregor, Iowa, July 2, 1856, where he stayed until winter, when he went to Memphis, Tenn.; in the following spring, Mr. McIlwrith came north and rafted logs on the Mississippi River during the summer; the remainder of his life, up to the present, with few exceptions, has been spent in La Crosse Co.; in the spring of 1861, he purchased his present farm, consisting of 80 acres located in Secs. 20 and 29; also 40 acres in Sec. 10, town of Greenfield, but he has since sold 20 acres of the latter. Mr. McIlwrith is a Republican in politics. He has served two years as Supervisors of the town of Barre, three years as School Clerk, and is at present serving his fifth year as Justice of the Peace. He was married, in 1861, to Mary Adaline Carl, daughter of Isaac and Tina Carl; their children are Annie, Rosabel, Martha, Jessie, Daisy and Mary.
FRANK STAUGL, cooper, between Tenth and Eleventh on State street; was born in Austria, 1826; son of Adam Staugl. He was married in Germany, in 1854, to Miss Anna Vartar. Came to the United States in 1872, and has resided in La Crosse since, and has been in business since 1873. Has six children - George, John, Joseph, Frank, Charles and Henry - all at home except George, who is married and lives in La Crosse. He carried on business in Germany from 1854 till he came to the United States.
JOHN STEPHENSON, proprietor of the Tremont House, corner Pearl and Second street; was born in Norway, in 1848; came to America in 1867, and has been in La Crosse Co. since. In the summer of 1868, he built the Scandinavian House in La Crosse, and kept it about a year, then sold out, and went into the commission business for a time. He then put up three dwelling houses in the city, and soon after exchanged them for a farm of 120 acres in Onalaska, La Crosse Co., and followed farming till March 18, 1880, and since that has been in his present business. He was married in St. Croix Falls, in 1868, to Anna Ulrikke, and has five children - Berntine, Henry T., Wilhelmina, Axel, Johan and Luise Charlotte. He has accommodations for 200 guests, and stabling for forty teams. Terms, $1.50 per day.
ARTHUR O. STEVENS, machinist, with C., M. & St. P. R. R.; was born in Connecticut, in January, 1845. Came to Wisconsin in 1856, with his parents; located at La Crosse. Learned his trade at the shops of Dean, Smith & Co., commencing in 1860; served with this company nearly three years. He enlisted, in Feburary, 1864, in Co. D, 14th W. V. I., and served till the close of the war; participated in Sherman's march from Chattanooga to Atlanta. On his return from the war, he engaged with Durant, Van Arsdale & Co., of Kenosha; after a few months' service in these shops, he went to Rockford, Ill., and entered the employ of the F. H. Manny Reaper Company; spent three seasons in these works, then returned to La Crosse, and engaged with C. C. & E. G. Smith, bridge builders and general contractors; continued with this firm nine years, and then went to Stillwater, Minn., and worked nearly a year in the threshing-machine works of Seymour & Co.; came to Milwaukee in 1879, and engaged with E. P. Allis & Co., iron manufacturers; served in these shops till 1880. In September of that year, he entered the employ of the C., M. & St. P. R. R., at the West Milwaukee shops. Resides at No. 385 Greenbush street.
EPHRAIM STEVENS, farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Mindoro. He was born in Needham, near Boston; resided in his native town and in Boston till 1855; came to La Crosse County in July of that year and settled in Lewis Valley. In August of that year, with his brother, A. J. Stevens, opened a store in the present village of Mindoro; this was the first store established in Lewis Valley. Mr. A. J. Stevens died at Winona in 1880. Ephraim Stevens was married to Ellen R. Brown, daughter of S. C. Brown; has two children - Nellie and Carrie. Mr. Stevens bought his present farm about 1857.
CHARLES A. STEWART, engineer on the C., M. & St. P. R. R.; has been in the employ of the company since 1873, and has had an engine since 1878. He was born in Portland, Me., in December, 1850; son of William Stewart, who died in New Brunswick in 1860. Charles A. came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1865, and has resided in La Crosse ever since. He was married, in July, 1875, to Clara M. Parks, of Juneau Co., Wis.; has no children.
J. STIRNEMAN, wholesale and retail grocer, has been in business in La Crosse since 1876. He was born in Rochester, N. Y., in 1854; son of Jacob Stirneman, now of Winona, Minn. Mr. Stirneman resided in Cleveland, Ohio, and Winona, Minn., a few months previous to coming to La Crosse in 1876. He was married, in 1878, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of John Frankle, one of the oldest business men in La Crosse. Mr. and Mrs. S. have two children - Georgiana and Earl.
C. S. STOCKWELL, Principal of Schools of Onalaska, La Crosse Co.; born at Kenockee, St. Clair Co., Mich., Feb. 11, 1845. Graduated at the High School in the city of Port Huron, Mich., in 1861; taught school winters, and worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes, summers, until he was married, in 1868, after which he gave his whole time to teaching. In the winter of 1875-76, while acting as Principal of the Union School, at Hadley, Mich., and Superintendent of Schools in that county, his health failed, and he was compelled to resign, and seek a change of climate. After spending the summer in Colorado, he came to Onalaska, and took charge of the school there, in September, 1876; he remained Principal of the Onalaska School until the spring of 1878, when he was appointed County Superintendent of Schools, to which position he has since been twice re-elected. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a R. A. M., is P. G. in the I. O. O. F., and belongs to the S. of T., I. O. G. T. and T. of H.; was Census Enumerator for the town and village of Onalaska; has held nearly all the town offices (all with the exception of Justice of the Peace and Treasurer), and was President of the village of Onalaska. His wife, Mary A., was born in Gloucestershire, England, March 25, 1844, and came to America in 1852. They were married April 11, 1868; their children are Abel E., born July 25, 1869, died Feb. 3, 1870; Cyrus D., born Oct. 17, 1870; Charlotte I., born July 14, 1872; Israel M., born Jan. 30, 1874; Mary Grace, born Oct. 18, 1875; Thomas C., born June 15, 1878; Martha E., born Jan. 31, 1880.
CHARLES L. STODDARD, M. D., was born in Buffalo, N. Y., May 12, 1836, of Scotch parents. Studied medicine in Philadelphia under W. H. Hazzard, M. D., and B. H. Rand, M. D., Professor Chemistry in Pennsylvania College. Commencing in 1856, he attended lectures in the medical department of Pennsylvania College to March, 1860, when he received his degree of M. D. During this time was an attendant in various hospitals, and resident for nearly two years in Philadelphia Hospital. During the winter of 1859 and 1860, was Demonstrator of Anatomy. He studied with a view of entering the naval service as surgeon, but his health being injured by assiduous application would not warrant at the time his offering himself as candidate for admission, as vigorous physical health is considered of first importance in a candidate. He came to Wisconsin in November, 1860, and immediately engaged in an extensive practice in East Troy, Walworth Co. In 1872, he removed to Whitewater, Wis., where he also had an extensive and lucrative practice in a very short period. In 1877, seeing the prospects of growth and future prosperity of La Crosse, at the urgent solicitation of many friends was induced to engage in practice in this city, where he immediately became fully occupied in the practice of his profession. He is a very active member and writer for the State Medical Society, and has also been, since 1863, a member of the American Medical Association, representing the State Medical Society in that organization on different occasions.
WILLIAM H. STOGDILL, attorney and counsellor at law; was born in Westchester Co., N. Y., in 1819, and resided there until in his 15th year, when he went with his parents to New York City to reside. He pursued his academic course of studies in the academy at Sing Sing under the supervision of Rev. Nathaniel Perine, and completed them under Prof. Russell at Elmwood Hill Academy, New York City. He entered the office of David Graham in 1836, and was admitted to the bar in 1840 in the Supreme Court. He continued to practice in New York City until 1857, when he came to La Crosse, Wis., where he has continued his practice. From 1849 to 1852, was attorney for Thomas Casserly, Sheriff of the city of New York, and, in 1852, was Whig candidate for Marine Court Judge, but was defeated. In 1863, Mr. S. was elected City Attorney of La Crosse on the Republican ticket vice Hon. James I. Lyndes, who was a very strong man before the people. Mr. S. subsequently ran twice for the same office, and was defeated. Of late years, has taken very little active part in politics, but has directed his time in the practice of his profession.
J. H. STOMBS, mechanical engineer, has been connected with the steamboat interests on the Mississippi River since 1846, on the Upper Mississippi since 1855, and a resident of La Crosse since 1861. He was born in Salem Co., N. J., Nov. 5, 1830. His father, John Stombs, removed to Ohio with his family in 1834, settled in Clermont County, and died there in 1838. Mr. Stombs learned his trade in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he resided from 1840 to 1854. He then went to St. Louis, Mo., and in May, 1855, removed to Minnesota. He resided in St. Paul from 1857 to 1861, and came from there to La Crosse. He is the inventor of a balance steam puppet valve, patented in 1872; a balance slide steam valve, patented in 1873; also, of an improvement in self-adjusting telegraph relays, patented in 1873; also, of an improvement in steam governors. He is the present Vice President of the National Marine Engineers' Association of the United States. His first wife was Mary A. E. Kinney, of Scott Co., Minn. She died in 1876, leaving one son, Joseph A., now in the First National Bank of Rock Island, Ill. His present wife was Ella A. Dean, of Rock Island.
DANIEL STRAUSS, proprietor of the Onalaska House; born at Wurtemberg, Germany, Feb. 8, 1830; came to America in 1851; worked in a saw-mill in Lawrence Co., Penn., which he rented until 1857, when he came to Wisconsin, and was in the mill at New Amsterdam, Wis., and then went to La Crosse. In 1871, he built the hotel, and has a fine place; also owns 40 acres of farm land in Sec. 4, and town property. His wife, Anna Bauch, was born at Banner, Austria. They married in 1864; she died in 1873, leaving five children - Charlie, Anna, Bertha, and Joseph and Mary, deceased.
WILLIAM STREETON, farmer, Sec. 21; P. O. Bangor; was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1816. Emigrated to Wisconsin from England in 1845. He lived in the town of Franklin, Milwaukee Co., about nine years; came to the La Crosse Valley, and settled on the farm where he now lives, in 1854. He was married in England, to Sarah Jones, born 1820. They have had seven children, five of whom are living - Sarah, now Mrs. Bunn, lives in Trempeleau Co.; Jabez, Jacob, Anna (Mack) and Enos. They lost their first child in England. Annie, a twin of Sarah, died in Milwaukee. Mr. Streeton's parents, Joseph and Mary Streeton, died in England. Mrs. Streeton's parents were Thomas and Alice Jones; they came to America with Mr. Streeton, with whom they resided till their death. Mr. Jones died March, 1879, in his 90th year. Mrs. Jones died July, 1875, in her 80th year.
L. STRIEGEL, merchant grocery and liquor store, corner of Fourth and Pearl streets, was born in Baiern, Europe, in 1835; son of George Striegel, who came to the United States in 1850, settled in Germantown, Washington Co., Wis.; came from there to Vernon County in 1855, and died there. L. Striegel was married in Vernon County, in 1862, to Mary Schuette, and came from there to La Crosse in 1864, where he has since resided, except one year in Hokah, Minn. He was two years Supervisor in La Crosse. Has no children.
B. L. STROUSE & CO., dealers in hides, wool, pelts, furs, rags, scrap-iron and metals, have been in business in La Crosse since 1863. Mr. Strouse is a native of Bavaria, born in 1839; came to the United States in April, 1856; lived in Philadelphia till 1859; then went to McGregor, Iowa, and came from there to La Crosse in 1862. He commenced business in 1863, and was joined by Mr. Ensel in 1868. G. W. Ensel, the other member of the firm, was born in Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Prussia, in 1838; came to the United States in August, 1854; lived in Philadelphia, Penn., Washington, D. C., Des Moines and McGregor, Iowa, till November, 1866; then came to La Crosse and joined Mr. Strouse in business in 1868; unmarried. Mr. Strouse was married Oct. 27, 1872, in Philadelphia, to Miss Frederica Ensel; has no children. In business, they operate throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Dakota and Montana.
C. F. STRUCK, architect, was born in Christiania, Norway, in 1842; son of H. H. Struck, who came to the United States in 1864, settled in Chicago, and died there in 1878. Mr. Struck went to Marquette, Mich., in 1873, to superintend the erection of a bank building, and soon after opened an office and commenced business for himself. While there, he built the Episcopal Church of that place, which is of brown stone and cost $50,000. He also built a $30,000 schoolhouse and a $30,000 opera house, both of brown stone, and several dwelling-houses. He came to La Crosse in 1877 from Marquette, and since here has built Germania Hall, the cooling and ice-houses of the John Gund Brewing Company, S. Heilemann and C. & J. Michel, and also remodeled the International Hotel.
W. J. SUPPLEE, of late firm of Lloyd & Supplee, was born in the city of Norristown, Penn., in the year 1833. The acquaintance between these gentlemen began in early youth; at school they attended the same academy, and completed their studies at the same time, after which they went to Philadelphia together, Mr. Lloyd entering the hardware house of Messrs. Dilworth, Branson & Co., to learn the business, and Mr. Supplee the store of Messrs. Conrad Baird, Son & Co., manufacturers of silverware. They both applied themselves with the greatest diligence to learn all that was to be learned in these different branches. A few months before Mr. Lloyd attained his majority, he decided to locate in the West. For ten years previous to this, he and Mr. Supplee had been almost inseparable; they had roomed together as boys at school, had gone to Philadelphia together, and had occupied the same quarters during the five years they remained at Philadelphia. The very strongest and closest friendship had grown up between them; indeed, they were more intimate than brothers usually are, and, as soon as Mr. Supplee ascertained Mr. Lloyd had decided to go West, he as quickly made up his mind to accompany him. They accordingly left the city of brotherly love, armed with a few letters of introduction to parties living at different points in the Mississippi Valley. After traveling up and down the Mississippi for a week or ten days, they finally decided to locate at La Crosse. This was in the summer of 1856, the city of La Crosse at that time having a population of about 500 inhabitants. A small frame building was secured, on the west side of Front street, near State, and, while Mr. Lloyd was East selecting the stock of goods, Mr. Supplee remained at La Crosse making preparations to receive them. From the first their success was assured. They safely weathered the disastrous panic of 1857. They thoroughly understood their business and gave the same the very closest attention, and were soon firmly established. In a couple of years it became necessary to seek larger quarters, which they found in the brick block on the east side of Front, between Main and State. So fast did their business increase, that, in June, 1861, they removed to the stone building on the corner of Front and Main streets. At the time they did this, some of their friends thought them wild, and thought they could not possibly do sufficient business to warrant the maintaining of so large an establishment. But they had not made the change without due consideration. They were gentlemen of wonderful enterprise but of great caution, were ambitious to extend their business by all honorable means, and aimed to reach the top of the commercial ladder. The last move proved to be a good one, and was not made any to soon, and those of their friends who had predicted failure were forced to acknowledge they had reckoned without their host. During the war, the business done by this firm was simply enormous, and their profits in proportion. In 1866, having accumulated more means than they could use to advantage in their business at La Crosse, they decided to remove to Philadelphia, which they did in the month of January, 1867. In the spring of 1859, Mr. Lloyd was married to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Nathan Custer, Esq., of Philadelphia, and immediately began housekeeping in the dwelling northeast corner Seventh and Pine streets, which he occupied until his removal from the city. In the fall of 1861, Mr. Supplee was married to Miss Mary Danforth, daughter of Mrs. H. T. Rumsey, of La Crosse. Of the social qualities of these gentlemen and of their most estimable ladies, too much cannot be said in praise. They were noted for their kindheartedness, their open-handed and cordial hospitality, and, during all the time of their residence in La Crosse, took a leading part in society. The acquaintances made and friendships formed while in La Crosse have been renewed and kept alive by frequent visits and correspondence. They have always felt and cherished feelings of the very warmest regard for La Crosse and its people, and will remember them with kindest feelings while life lasts, and so, too, will they be remembered by many of the people of La Crosse. On leaving La Crosse, the business of the firm of Lloyd & Supplee was turned over to Lloyd, Supplee & Co., the general partners being Frank H. Lloyd, Joseph Clark and Joseph M. Custer, Messrs. W. J. Lloyd and W. W. Supplee retaining an interest in the business as special partners. Jan. 1, 1870, the firm name was changed to Lloyd, Clark & Custer, and so continued until Jan. 1, 1872, when Mr. Custer's interest was purchased by the remaining partners and the firm name changed to Lloyd & Clarke, under which firm name the business is now carried on. [See sketch of F. H. Lloyd].
W. A. SUTOR, book-keeper for McDonald Brothers; has been in his present situation since May, 1876, and a resident of La Crosse since 1871. He was born in Haldimand Co., Can., in 1842; son of Samuel Sutor, who removed to Galesburg, Ill., in 1857, and died there in 1861. Mr. Sutor went to Chicago in 1862, and was for a time general book-keeper for A. D. Reed & Co., bankers, and afterward Cashier of the City National Bank, which position he left when he came to La Crosse. He was married in La Crosse, in 1873, to Mrs. G. M. McDonald, sister of McDonald Brothers, and has one child - Donald McDonald Sutor.
DR. J. E. SUTTIE, physician and surgeon, Onalaska; was born in Hillsdale Co., Mich., Sept. 17, 1850. He attended medical school at Detroit, Mich., in 1873-74-75; then went to Nebraska, and returned to Onalaska in 1877. He owns town property; in politics is Republican.
E. C. SWARTHOUT, M. D., was born in the town of Onalaska, La Crosse Co., Wis., in 1855, and has always resided in La Crosse Co., except when away at school. He attended Rush Medical College, of Chicago, two winters, and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York City, in the spring of 1879. He was married, May 24, 1879, to Miss Sarah, daughter of John H. Miller, of Midway, La Crosse Co., and has been practicing his profession in North La Crosse since that time; has one child - Susie. His father, A. S. Swarthout, was a native of Steuben Co., N. Y., came to Wisconsin at an early day, and, after residing some time at Beaver Dam, settled on a farm in La Crosse Co. in June, 1855. He had a farm of about 600 acres in the town of Onalaska, on which he resided till 1872, then came to North La Crosse and remained till May, 1879, when he removed to Sparta, Wis., where he is still living. While in La Crosse he was a member of the School Board, and was also a member of the City Council from the Fifth Ward two terms.
HIRAM SWEET, farmer, Sec. 3; P. O. Bangor; son of Levi and Tucy Sweet. He was born in Alleghany Co., N. Y., in September, 1839, where his father died. Mrs. Sweet and family came to the La Crosse Valley from the State of New York, in March, 1856, and settled on the farm which Hiram now owns, where his mother died, Jan. 26, 1872. Parents had six sons and one daughter, five sons and the daughter still living. Hiram was married to Melissa Wright, daughter of Samuel Wright, who came to La Crosse Co. from Vermont in 1866. They have two boys - Marshall E. and Alvah B. Farm contains 160 acres. Mr. Sweet enlisted Feb. 18, 1865, in 49th W. V. I.; was discharged August 31 of the same year.
W. A. SWEET, wagon-maker and wheelwright, Midway; was born in Walworth Co., Wis., Dec. 18, 1842; his parents were natives of New York. When he was two years of age he went to live with an uncle; he learned his trade in Oshkosh; enlisted in Co. B, 14th W. V. I., 1861; mustered out, Oct. 9, 1865. After coming out of the army, he remained in Mobile, Ala., one year, then returned to Oshkosh, Wis., then to La Crosse in 1869; worked for Smith & Mirrill, removed to Midway in 1880, now doing a fine business. His first wife, Mary Van Owen, was a native of Holland, who died April, 1872; they had one child - Charles. His second wife, Lottie Shafer, was a native of Wisconsin, born at Sparta, and married in 1876; no children. A member of the Sons of Temperance.
These biographies submitted by Roxanne Munns. �2010 Roxanne Munns
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Updated 5.6.2010


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Our Man In Havana
Bright, photographic, evocative new covers for Greene's backlist, to celebrate one of the keystone writers of the Vintage Classics list
Graham Greene was born in 1904. He worked as a journalist and critic, and in 1940 became literary editor of the Spectator. He was later employed by the Foreign Office. As well as his many novels, Graham Greene wrote several collections of short stories, four travel books, six plays, three books of autobiography, two of biography and four books for children. He also wrote hundreds of essays, and film and book reviews. Graham Greene was a member of the Order of Merit and a Companion of Honour. He died in April 1991.
"As comical, satirical, atmospherical an "entertainment" as he has given us" Daily Telegraph "He had a sharp nose for trouble and injustice. In Our Man In Havana - a witty send-up of an agent's life - it was Cuba before Castro" Financial Times "Nobody should be anywhere near power who hasn't read (or seen the film of) Our Man in Havana, a powerful satire on the silly world of spying by a man who had experienced it" Mail on Sunday "Graham Greene was a profound and experimental stylist" Time Out "The human story is warm and the satire made me laugh out loud" -- Simon Shepherd Daily Express
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Finsterhennen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Finsterhennen is first mentioned around 1220 as Freineshun and in 1453 as Veisten Hennen.  In French it was known as Grasse Poule.

The earliest trace of humans in Finsterhennen are some neolithic ceramics which were found at Steinacker-Büne.  Other prehistoric traces include prehistoric items at Moos, flints at Usserfeld, tumuli at (Ischlag-Outer Canal), wooden poles for stilt houses at Längäcker, graves in the gravel pit at Pfaffenholz and graves with just bodies by the railroad tracks.  From the Roman era, a cache of tools and items were found at Reben and fragments of what appears to be a Roman road at Moos.  During the Middle Ages, the village was part of the Herrschaft of Erlach.  In 1474 Erlach and the surrounding land was acquired by Bern and became the Bernese bailiwick of Erlach.

The village church was part of the parish of Siselen.

The village lay on the Aarberg-Müntschemier road, which ran along a dry moraine through the Grosses Moos marsh.  The Jura water correction project of 1874, drained the marsh and allowed development of the Grosses Moos.  In 1916 the Biel-Täuffelen-Ins railroad built a rail station between Siselen and Finsterhennen and a small rail stop in Finsterhennen.  This allowed small industry to move into the village.  Today the local economy is based on grain, vegetable and dairy farming along with small businesses.

Geography
Finsterhennen has an area of .  Of this area,  or 71.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while  or 16.0% is forested.   Of the rest of the land,  or 11.2% is settled (buildings or roads),  or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and  or 0.3% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.5%.  Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.8% of the area  Out of the forested land, 14.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees.  Of the agricultural land, 66.9% is used for growing crops and  4.5% is pastures.  All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

It is located in the Grosses Moos, a particularly productive area with nearly black soil in the Bernese Seeland.

On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Erlach, the municipality's former district, was dissolved.  On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Seeland.

Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Hen Sable crested, beaked, unguled and membered Gules and in chief sinister a Mullet of the last.  The dark () hen () on the coat of arms makes this an example of canting arms.

Demographics
Finsterhennen has a population () of .  , 21.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals.  Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of 17.2%.  Migration accounted for 16.9%, while births and deaths accounted for 3.6%.

Most of the population () speaks German (376 or 91.5%) as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common (12 or 2.9%) and French is the third (8 or 1.9%).  There are 4 people who speak Italian.

, the population was 53.8% male and 46.2% female.  The population was made up of 203 Swiss men (41.1% of the population) and 63 (12.8%) non-Swiss men.  There were 184 Swiss women (37.2%) and 4 (0.8%) non-Swiss women.  Of the population in the municipality, 180 or about 43.8% were born in Finsterhennen and lived there in 2000.  There were 143 or 34.8% who were born in the same canton, while 39 or 9.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 45 or 10.9% were born outside of Switzerland.

, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%.

, there were 159 people who were single and never married in the municipality.  There were 222 married individuals, 19 widows or widowers and 11 individuals who are divorced.

, there were 41 households that consist of only one person and 9 households with five or more people.  , a total of 160 apartments (91.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 7 apartments (4.0%) were seasonally occupied and 8 apartments (4.6%) were empty.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 38.6% of the vote.  The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (24.2%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (14.4%) and the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) (4.3%).  In the federal election, a total of 156 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 50.8%.

Economy
, Finsterhennen had an unemployment rate of 1.24%.  , there were a total of 138 people employed in the municipality.  Of these, there were 57 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector.  39 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector.  42 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 13 businesses in this sector.  There were 238 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.8% of the workforce.

 there were a total of 118 full-time equivalent jobs.  The number of jobs in the primary sector was 48, all of which were in agriculture.  The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 38 of which 31 or (81.6%) were in manufacturing and 7 (18.4%) were in construction.  The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 32.  In the tertiary sector; 13 or 40.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 12.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7 or 21.9% were in the information industry, 2 or 6.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 12.5% were in education.

, there were 24 workers who commuted into the municipality and 157 workers who commuted away.  The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 6.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.  Of the working population, 12.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.1% used a private car.

Religion
From the , 46 or 11.2% were Roman Catholic, while 328 or 79.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.  Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 6 individuals (or about 1.46% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church.  There were 15 (or about 3.65% of the population) who were Islamic.  13 (or about 3.16% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 5 individuals (or about 1.22% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education
In Finsterhennen about 154 or (37.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 40 or (9.7%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).  Of the 40 who completed tertiary schooling, 62.5% were Swiss men, 22.5% were Swiss women.

The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten, followed by six years of Primary school.  This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.  Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.

During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 56 students attending classes in Finsterhennen.  There was one kindergarten class with a total of 12 students in the municipality.  Of the kindergarten students, 25.0% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 33.3% have a different mother language than the classroom language.  The municipality had 2 primary classes and 44 students.  Of the primary students, 13.6% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 18.2% have a different mother language than the classroom language.

, there were 7 students in Finsterhennen who came from another municipality, while 28 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

References

External links

Municipalities of the canton of Bern

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