- WILLIAM SPAULDING, farmer, Secs. 8, 17, and 20; P.O. Janesville;
born in Bradford Co.,
- Penn., in August, 1807; he came with his brother, Joseph,
to Wisconsin in 1836; settled in Racine Co.; remained only a
short time there; came to Rock Co., and located in Harmony Township;
in the fall of 1837, pre-empted 160 acres of wild land, which
they cleared and cultivated; when land came into the market,
in 1842, bought 1,040 acres of land in Harmony. William returned
to Bradford Co., Penn., in 1839, and there married Miss Alma
H. WRIGHT, born in Connecticut, in 1809; with his wife he returned
to his farm in Wisconsin. Had five children, two now living -
Owen and Harriet; their mother died in August, 1860. He married
again in 1862; by this marriage he has one son - Edward. Mr.
SPAULDING and his brother, Joseph, divided their land in 1848,
Joseph taking 480 acres and William 560 acres; since then he
has made additional purchases; at one time 160 acres, at another
time, 180. He now owns altogether 900 acres well-improved land.
Mr. SPAULDING is living in the house which he built in 1849;
he has never found it necessary to re-shingle nor to re-plaster
the house, and it bids fair to stand good for twenty years longer.
His residence stands back 600 feet from the roadway; he has a
lawn adorned with shrubbery - one of the most picturesque places
in Rock Co. He raises grain, tobacco, vegetables; Durham grade
cattle; Merino, Spanish and Cotswold sheep - has about 200 head;
they average an annual shear of five pounds of wool each; has
twenty-five head of Poland-china hogs; thirteen head of horses
- Morgan, Black Hawk, Magna Charta. In 1878, Mr. SPAULDING had
6 acres of land which yielded 301 bushels of wheat; corn, averages
forty bushels to the acre; oats, sixty bushels; rye, twenty-five
bushels; buckwheat, thirty bushels. In the early days, their
markets were poor; they had to draw their produce to Madison
and sometimes to Fort Winnebago.
-
- Taken from "The History of Rock County, Wis."
(c)1879, p. 896.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
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