HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTY



foot on the ground. This land he has cleared and brought to a good point
of
development; he is now operating it, carrying on general farming and dairying.
Besides his regular farming equipment he owns a road building outfit, including
a tractor. Mr. Erickson was married in Wood Township in 1896 to Etta Schiller,
daughter of Adam and Carrie Schiller. Mrs. Erickson's parents were natives
of Germany; previous to their deaths they were residents of Wood County for
28 years. Mr. and Mrs. Erickson have five children: George, now living at
Stevens Point, Wis.; John, living at Waukesha, Wis.; Wesley, living in Wood
Township; Anna, who is attending the high school at Wisconsin Rapids; and
Esther, attending the Pittsville high school.
   Peter R. Ebbe, whose service to his community has been commemorated in
the naming of the station of Ebbe, Wis., was born May 4, 1865, in Lolland,
Den-
mark, son of Rasmus and Bodil (Hansen) Ebbe. His father, a farmer, died in
Denmark Sept. 11, 1872, and the mother died there in October of 1900. Peter
was the youngest of seven children born to these parents; the first born
were twin
girls, neither of whom are now living; then followed Karen, now living on
the
home farm in Lolland, Denmark, wife of Peter Paulsen; Christina, deceased;
Hans, living in-Lolland; Christian, who died in Merrill, Wis.; and Peter
R.  je
father died when Peter was six years of age, and he worked out during his
clicid-
hood to help his widowed mother. He attended school for seven years, and
at
the age of 18 came to America. He first spent a short time in Wood County,
Wis., and then worked for three years in a sawmill in Lincoln County; from
this
he went to the work of log driving and sorting for about five years, but
was
forced to leave this on account of an attack of rheumatism and returned to
Wood
County in 1890. He had purchased 80 acres of land in Section 17, Lincoln
To- -f
ship, Wood County, in 1884; and upon his return he found that the Omaha Rail-
way was building its lines past this tract. He entered into partnership with
Mr.
P. N. Christensen in the business of cutting and shipping cord and stove
wood
from this land, and made an arrangement with the railway whereby a spur track
was built to accomodate this enterprise, the railway furnishing the rails
and the
partners grading and building the spur. A prepaid freight station was estab-
lished; it was at Mr. Christensen's suggestion that this station was named
Ebbe
in honor of Mr. Ebbe's work in the development of the community, which is
,Out-
lined in this sketch. In 1893 the partners built a sawmill at "Ebbe"
and carried
on custom sawing of lumber and shingles for 12 years. They obtained a three
year contract with the Arpin Lumber Company, and cut about three million
feet
of pine and hardwood lumber for them; they also had a two year contract with
the Menasha Woodenware Company of Menasha, Wis., in the sawing of headings.
These operations were terminated by a fire which destroyed the mill, and
Mr.
Ebbe turned his attention to the development of the agricultural possibilities
of his land. During all the time he was carrying on these business enterprises
Mr. Ebbe lent himself to the work of developing and settling the community
with a most unselfish devotion. In the fall of 1890 he cut the first mile
and a
half of road leading from Ebbe to Marshfield, and assisted in the building
of bridges,
donating his work to the township gratis. He was very active in getting settlers
into the country, in which work he was materially assisted by his partner,
Mr.
Christensen; and in every possible way he worked for the betterment of the
com-
munity. In 1898 he organized School District No. 6 at Ebbe and built the
school-
house there, which housed at first only five pupils. He was trustee of this
school
district for fifteen years. In March of 1890 he married Miss Hannah Pommer
of Waupaca, Wis., but three years later, in September of 1893, she was taken
from
him by death.   Agnes Ebbe is his only child by this marriage.  She was born
Jan. 24th, 1891; after graduating from the Eau Claire Business College as
a book-
keeper and stenographer she worked for six years in Duluth and in 1920 went
to
San Francisco, where she is now employed by an ocean transportation company.
Mr. Ebbe 'married again April 14, 1898, to Miss Anna Peterson, daughter of
Hans
and Bodil (Jewel) Peterson of Lolland, Denmark. Mrs. Ebbe was born in Lolland
Feb. 27, 1871; she came to America in 1893, and after a year with relatives
in



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