History of Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties

"History of Lincoln, Oneida, and Vilas Counties Wisconsin"

Compiled by George O.Jones, Norman S. McVean and Others. Printed in 1924 by H.C.Cooper. Jr. & Co., Minneapoli-Winona MN. ill. 787 pages. The first two hundred pages are history of the three counties, the remainder of the book is biographies.

Biography

Middlestadt, Emel who is operating a good farm in Section 33, town of Merrill, Lincoln County, which was started by his father, one of his county's pioneer agriculturists, was born in Dodge County, Wisconsin, in 1870, son of Albert and Ernestina MIDDLESTADT. The parents were natives of Germany, the father having been born near Berlin and the mother in Pommern. The former was a carpenter by trade and also a cooper, which occupations he followed in his native land. Like all German youths he had to enter the army, and having been obliged to serve in two wars - in 1864 and 1866 - he had had enough of soldiering, and so, about two years later, a single man, he emigrated to the United States, thereby escaping service in the war with France in 1870-71. On arriving in this country he came west to Wisconsin, locating at Horicon, Dodge County, where he found work as a section hand on the railroad, and at times did carpenter work. In 1868 he got married and subsequently lived in Dodge County till 1880. Then he moved to Oshkosh, which was the home of the family for a year and a half, during which time he followed his trade. About 1882, Mr. MIDDLESTADT came to Lincoln County, taking a homestead of 120 acres in Section 33, town of Lincoln. The tract consisted of wild land covered with brush and stumps. He built a small house in the brush, which was the first one west of Merrill. After living there a short time he moved to another part of the land, near the Wisconsin River, and there built a log house and in time other buildings, clearing the land with the help of his family. Indians were then numerous in the neighborhood and used to camp near this house, begging not only for food but also for pans and utensils to cook it in. At that time game also was plentiful. Albert MIDDLESTADT died on the farm in 1898, being survived by his wife, who is still living and is now 79 years old. They had 11 children, of whom eight now survived, namely: William, Emel, Fred, Minnie, Herman, Mary, Ernest, and Theodore. Minnie is the wife of James REDDING of Merrill and Mary the wife of Robert INGERSOLL of Merrill. Theodore is a carpenter residing in Merrill. Bertha, Anna and Albert are deceased. Emel MIDDLESTADT was reared in Horicon, Wis., until he was 11 years old, attending school there and later in Oshkosh. After coming with his parents to Lincoln County he helped to clear the home farm and to make improvements. Since his father's death he has owned the property and managed it. He took out all the stumps, and in 1914 built a new barn 40x80 feet in dimensions. In 1920 he built also a tile silo and a concrete bungalow residence in modern style, equipped with furnace, electric light from his own Delco system, and other convenience. An automatic pump furnishes the water for the house and stock. The farm is well supplied with modern machinery, including a tractor and silo filler. Mr. MIDDLESTADT is engaged in general farming and dairying, keeping a herd of 24 pure-bred and grade Jersey and Holstein cattle and Jersey bull. He has 70 acres of land under cultivation, the rest being in pasture. For a number of years he has taken part more or less in the affairs of local government. He was seven years clerk of the school board and also vice president of the same board, and he served one term as supervisor of the town of Rock Falls. He has had an active and enterprising career, crowded with plenty of hard work, some of which was in connection with the logging industry, as he used to work winters in the woods, also on log drivers on the St. Germain and Copper rivers, as well as on the boom sorting logs. He was married in Merrill in October, 1915, to Hannah BROWN, daughter of Herman and Antonia BROWN, her father being a native of Germany and her mother of Lincoln County. The parents are now living on their farm in Lincoln County. They have had five children - Bertha, Elsie, Herman, Bernice and Hannah. Mr. and Mrs. MIDDLESTADT have two children, Paul and Frank.

Transcribed by Susan Swanson, from pages 653-654; History of Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties Wisconsin; Compiled by George O. Jones, Norman S. McVean and Others 1924, H. C. Cooper, Jr. & Co

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