HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTRY



He then moved with his family to Ray's Corners, now known as Little Prairie,
Walworth County, where he established a shop and remained until his death
Feb.
7, 1899. His wife died there June 3, 1904. Their children were: Bertha, now
Mrs.
James Owen of Palmyra, Jefferson County, Wis.; Albert, who was a lawyer and
died at Wadena, Minn., July 8, 1907; August, of Marshfield; Henry, residing
in
Bloomer, Wis.; Charles, who died in childhood; Emma, now Mrs. H. W. Bovee
of
Des Moines, Iowa; Ida, who married F. W. Mason of Milwaukee and is now de-
ceased; Mary, who died in infancy; William, who died at Little Prairie, Wis.,
and
Mabel, now Mrs. Edward Paige of Davenport, Wash. August Broker in his boy-
hood attended common school at Little Prairie, Wis., though after he was
thirteen
only in the winter, as he then began working as a farm hand in summers. When
he was eighteen he began to learn the trade of blacksmith with his cousin,
Charles
Broker, at Eagle, Wis., and with him he remained for two years. During the
next
two years he worked in other shops, and then began business for himself at
Ridge-
way, Wis., where he conducted a shop for about six years and a half. He then
sold
and moved to Hartley, Iowa, where he had bought a 160-acre farm, but instead
of
moving on to the farm he bought a blacksmith shop there. After operating
the
latter for somewhat less than a year, he returned to Wisconsin and opened
a shop
at West Salem, ten miles east of La Crosse, which he conducted for awhile
with a
partner. Not being satisfied with his partner, however, he sold out and came
to
Lindsey, Wood County, where he not only established a blacksmith's shop but
also a grocery business. In a very short time the latter had grown to such
an ex-
tent that he had to devote his whole attention to it, and he accordingly
disposed of
his shop. He built a two-story frame store building and a nice frame residence
adjacent to it, and Lindsey continued to be his home for 26 years, during
16 of
which he was postmaster. He then traded his store and stock to August Walters
of Rock Township, for an improved 80-acre farm in Section 11, but though
it was
an excellent farm with good buildings, he never moved on to it, but sold
it, and in
May, 1915, came to Marshfield and bought a good modern frame house at 610
South Oak Street, where he now lives. He has served as alderman of his ward,
and also been assistant assessor of the city, and for the past two years
has been a
member of the Highway and Bridge Commission of Wood County, in these various
public capacities proving himself a capable and reliable official. He was
one of
the founders of the Wisconsin Fair Association, holding fairs at Marshfield,
has
been very active in its interests, and has been a stockholder in it since
its organiza-
tion. For some years he has also been a stockholder in the First National
Bank
of Marshfield. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Blue Lodge and Chapter
in Marshfield, and the Commandery at Neillsville; also to the Modern Woodmen
Camp and Beaver colony at Lindsey. Mr. Broker was married July 11, 1883,
to
Jane Oliver, who was born on a farm at Ridgeway, Iowa County, Wis., Oct.
14,
1861, daughter of John and Jeanette (Ellis) Oliver. Her parents, who were
born
in Wales and were married there in 1846, came to the United States in 1850
on a
sailing vessel, being several weeks on the ocean. They settled in Ridgeway
in
September, that year, and made that place their home for the remainder of
their
-lives, John Oliver dying there in 1879. His wife survived him nearly 20
years,
passing away in 1898. Their children were: Anna, now deceased; William, a
resident of Erhard, Minn.; John and Ellen, deceased; Reese, residing at Santa
Rosa, Calif.; Thomas, deceased; and Jane, (Mrs. August Broker). Mr. and Mrs.
August Broker have three children: Albert E., Nellie M., and Mabel J. Albert,
born March 13, 1886, at Ridgeway, was graduated from the Marshfield High
School,
from Ripon College, and from the University of Wisconsin and is now residing
in
Plymouth, Wis. Nellie M., born Oct. 20, 1888, at Hartley, Iowa, graduated
from
the Gregg Shorthand College, Chicago, and is now Mrs. Claude Laken of St.
Paul,
Minn. Mabel J., born at Lindsey, Wood County, Wis., Aug. 5, 1899, was gradu-
ated from the Marshfield High School and Whitewater Normal School and was
engaged in teaching. She is now Mrs. Guyal Buckley, residing at Alma Center,
Jackson County, Wis.
   Ernest R. Behringer, now living retired in Marshfield after a successful
career



486