HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTY



business, which was carried on, and still is, under the firm name of A. Searls
& Son,
and has been one of the prime movers in the later achievements in this industry.
A man of sterling qualities, coupled with good judgment and business ability,
he
has won a solid position in the business world and the respect and esteem
of his
associates. He is familiar with every branch of the cranberry business and
is a
valued member of the State Cranberry Growers' Association. His civic activities
include membership in the Rotary Club, and at various times he has served
ac-
ceptably in public office. He was a clerk of Seneca Township before Cranmoor
was set off from it, and afterward was clerk of Cranmoor Township, holding
that
office altogether for a period of 21 years. He also served for several years
as school
treasurer of the joint district of Seneca and Cranmoor. He is president of
the Boy
Scouts Council of Wisconsin Rapids; is a stockholder and director in the
First
National Bank of this city, and in the Masonic Order is a member of the Blue
Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, and Eastern Star, being a past master of the
first
mentioned. His fraternal affiliations also include membership in the Elks
and
Independent Order of Foresters. Mrs. Searls is a past matron of the Eastern
Star.
Mr. Searls was married July 28, 1904, to Clara Yousko of Sigel Township,
who was
born Nov. 4, 1882. He and his wife are the parents of six children: Clarence
A.,
Margaret, Irma, Arleigh, Harold and Robert. The family are affiliated by
mem-
bership with the Congregational Church, of which Mr. Searls is a liberal
supporter.
   John Rablin, one of the notable pioneers of Wood County, a man of active
and
adventurous life, the upbuilder of various enterprises, and the founder of
the in-
dustry now carried on under the name of the Grand Rapids Foundry Co., was
born in Camborne, Cornwall County, England, on July 15, 1815. He was married
in England in 1837, to Elizabeth Webster, and in the same year brought his
wife
to the United States, settling, in 1838, in the vicinity of Galena, Ill.,
where he found
employment in the lead mines. Mining was a kind of work to which he was ac-
customed, as he had followed it in England. In 1843 he moved on to a farm
in
Elk Grove, Lafayette Couhty, Wis. In 1851, excited by the news of the gold
dis-
coveries in California, he went to that distant territory, but on that occasion
he
made only a short stay, returning to Elk Grove in 1852. In 1854, however,
he
returned to California, crossing the plains on horseback, accompanied by
ten men,
and taking with him 150 head of cattle and nine horses, he himself acting
as guide.
The trip took about six months. In 1856 Mr. Rablin came back to Elk Grove
and moved his family from there to Lafayette County, Wis. In October of the
same year he came to Grand Rapids, Wis., and here embarked in the lumber
busi-
ness, with which line of industry he was connected for many years subsequently.
Prosperity smiled on his efforts and he was soon able to branch out into
other lines
of business endeavor. It was then that he established the foundry and machine
shop which has since developed into the Grand Rapids Foundry Co. He also
founded a large general store and was for a number of years a leading merchant
here. He built the old hotel known as the Rablin House, and started a tub
and
pail factory at Hurley Town (now included within the limits of Wisconsin
Rapids),
where a part of the Port Edwards Power Co. is now located. He also platted
the
north part of the city of Grand Rapids, of which he was one of the first
settlers,
and financed in large measure the building of the first two railroads which
entered
the city, the Green Bay and Wisconsin Valley Railway, now the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul. These various enterprises, successfully carried out,
have placed
his name high up on the list of those who laid the foundations of the present
pros-
perity of this part of Wood County. His life was prolonged to the age of
82 years
and he passed away July 31, 1897. His wife survived him less than two years,
dying May 21,1899. They had been the parents of ten children: Jane, who died
Nov. 16, 1917; Elizabeth, who died Nov. 29, 1918; Sarah, who died in June,
1898;
James, who died in infancy; John, Jr., who died April 25, 1884; William,
who died
in infancy; Henry, now residing in Wisconsin Rapids; Catherine, wife of F.
J. Wood
of Wisconsin Rapids; Susan, deceased; and Lavinia, who resides in Duluth.
Thus
it will be seen that all but three of this large family have passed away.



437