HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTY



In 1855 Abner Whittlesey'and his family came west to Illinois, settling in
Gales-
burg, where Mrs. Whittlesey died. Mr. Whittlesey soon after went to Lockport,
Ill., and from there to Berlin, Wis., where he engaged in the cranberry business;
this was in the late sixties. In 1870 he came to Wood County, and, together
with
his son, Sherman Newell Whittlesey, bought six 40-acre tracts of marsh land
and
established the Whittlesey Marsh, they and Theodore Bearss and Ralph S. Smith
being the first cranberry growers in the township. In 1880 Mr. Whittlesey
went
to Crete, Neb., where he engaged in the mercantile business and successfully
con-
ducted an enterprise in this field until his death in 1888. Although always
inter-
ested in the marsh here, he never made this county his home; the property
here
was always managed by the son, who still owns it, buying his father's interest
in
1888. Abner Whittlesey was twice married, first to Harriet Atwood Newell,
by
whom he had two sons, Sherman Newell and Henry Hawley; Henry is now a
prominent druggist at Pocatello, Idaho. By Mr. Whittlesey's second marriage,
to Julia A. Bugbee, he had one daughter, Emma C., who, with her daughter,
Louise
W., resides in'Ord, Nebraska. Louise was graduated from Doane College of
Crete,
Neb., and is now principal of the Ord, Neb., High School. Sherman Newell
Whit-
tlesey, subject of this sketch, coming to Illinois with his parents in 1855,
was reared
in Galesburg and attended the grade schools there and the high school at
Lockport,
from which latter he was graduated in 1867. He then spent a year in Chicago,
and while there took a course in the Chicago Business College, after which
he came
to Berlin, Wis., and in 1870, with his father bought the 240 acres of marsh
land
mentioned above and established the Whittlesey Marsh in Wood County, coming
here to live in 1871; his first residence in Wood County was in Centralia.
He at
once began the raising of cranberries, wild berries being the only ones grown
here
at that time and his first crop yielding 150 barrels of this variety. As
the industry
developed he applied scientific methods to the cultivation of his marsh,
cutting
ditches, scalping the land, and cultivating the berries by the most modern
methods
available, on which lines he has conducted all his subsequent operations.
From
1878 to 1884 he was engaged in the mercantile business with Frank Garrison
at
Centralia, under the firm name of Garrison & Whittlesey. In 1884 Mr.
Whittle-
sey and family hired parties to run their marsh while they went to South
Dakota.
In that state they first took a tree claim of 160 acres, then a preemption
claim of
160 acres, and, after proving up on this property, they took a homestead
of 160
acres, building up one of the finest farms in Faulk County, S. D. They bought
adjoining land until they owned 1,200 acres. At the same time they operated
a
farm of 320 acres in southeastern Nebraska, which they owned, alternating
their
residence between the two farms, and thus conducting, with the assistance
of hired
help, three separate enterprises at the same time, the third being their
marsh in
Wood County. In 1892 they returned and took up their residence on the latter
property, and here they have since made their home. They have been very suc-
cessful in the industry and have become very prominent and popular residents
of
the community. They have increased their holdings to 1,100 acres, 67 acres
of
which are in cranberry vines. In 1921 they raised and sold 600 barrels of
berries,
getting as high as $17 per barrel for part of them. The place is well improved
and
is provided with adequate buildings for care of the crops. Mr. Whittlesey
employs
several men during the busy season. He has become an expert cultivator and
has
enjoyed a successful career in every way. He was formerly treasurer of the
city
of Centralia and of Port Edwards Township, and later of Cranmoor Township.
'Mr. Whittlesey married Annie Elizabeth, only daughter of Samuel H. and Ann
S.
Downs, at Hyde Park, Ill., May 10, 1875. Mrs. Whittlesey was born at Ellenville,
Ulster County, N. Y., removing to Chicago with her parents when a young child
and receiving her education in the Foster School of Chicago and the Hyde
Park
Seminary. She taught in the Parkside, Kenwood, South Park, and Cornell Schools
of Hyde Park, resigning the principalship of the latter school to become
the bride
of Mr. Whittlesey. Her father, Samuel Hopkins Downs, was born at Salem Cor-
ners, Westchester County, N. Y. Mr. Downs's father died in the service of
his



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