Shadow of the Phoenix - Sheboygan County Historical Research ...

The Newsletter of the Sheboygan County
Historical Research Center
Volume XXI Number 5 June 2011
SCHRC Announces Its Newest Publication-
Children’s Historical Novel
Shadow of the Phoenix
Shadow of the Phoenix by Mary
Jane Gruett will be available at the
Sheboygan County Historical Research
Center after July 10, 2011.
The book retails for $15.95 plus
tax.
Shadow of the Phoenix is appropriate
for children ages eight and up,
but also a great read for young
adults and grandparents eager to
share history with their families.
The 1840s were a time of great immigration from western Europe to the United
States. People left for many reasons. Some sought religious freedom. Others
fled from military service. Still others left for financial gain and the ability to own
their own land.
Those long and arduous trips across the Atlantic Ocean to freedom took as
long as three months. Once an immigrant arrived in New York or Boston or Baltimore
their journey continued up the Hudson River and west along the Erie Canal
to Buffalo. In Buffalo passengers boarded another ship for the 1,000-mile-long
cruise through the Great Lakes to Wisconsin ports.
One of these steamers on the Buffalo-to-Sheboygan run was the Phoenix. It
had made the trip through the Great Lakes many times.
But, two hours before dawn on November 21, 1847, when the Phoenix was
just eight miles from its destination, it caught fire.
It had spent the past nine days fighting the fall gales of the lakes. Aboard
were more than 300 passengers and
Continued on page 8
The Sheboygan County Historical Research Center is located at 518 Water Street in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.
Open Tuesday through Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm and Saturdays from 8:30am to 12:00 noon.
Closed Saturday, July 2, 2011 for Independence Day.
Phone: 920-467-4667 E-mail: schrc@att. net Website: www.schrc.org
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The Researcher is the
official newsletter of the
Sheboygan County Historical
Research Center.
It is published six times each
year in February, April,
June, August, October and
December.
SCHRC Board of Directors
Ron Becker
Transpo Companies
David Gallianetti
Lakeland College
Steven Gallimore
Skana Aluminum
Robert Gorges
Retired Educator
E. Anthony Fessler
Lakeland College
Larshelby „Schel‟ Kidd
The Wine House
Ann McIntyre
Mount Mary College
Angela Miller
Kohler Company
Darlene Navis
Retired Register of Deeds
Carl Paul
The Fringe, Raih Tax
Randy Schwoerer
BID Manager Sheboygan
William Wagner
Retired Physician
Wayne Warnecke
Retired Lakeland College
Sharon Winkle
Mead Public Library
Joe Zagozen
Pharmacist Glander Drug
This image is from 2004 the last time The Research Center was painted. SCHRC
will again be painted and given a facelift this summer. Work is scheduled to start
on July 5, 2011. Hope for bright, sunny and dry weather. Look for more changes
to the yard.
Thanks to Bob Gorges and Dr. Bill Wagner for their help in removing shutters and
washing the exterior of the building. It was a huge help in getting the building
ready for painting. Sidewalks will be reset and further landscaping will be completed.
Stay tuned.
Grants and Gifts to SCHRC
Thank You to Kohler Foundation for project support for the Elkhart Lake/Road
America collection.
Thank You to Nancy Leach, longtime member, for her generous
donation in support of the mission of SCHRC.
Memorial Donations were made to SCHRC for:
Bernice Beuchel
Evelyn Harmelink
Bernice Huibregtse
Joyce Schmidt
Robert Spatt
Each of these wonderful people made SCHRC a better place. Thank you.
New SCHRC Members
We are pleased to announce the newest SCHRC members:
Tom and Mary Butts
Randy and Gerry Schwoerer
Christian Yurk
Bob Anderson
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New Research Options
The following two Web sites have recently been added to
the Max Kade Institute's Resources page
(http://mki.wisc.edu/Resources/Links/Links.htm)
and may be of interest to you!
German-American Heritage Museum
(http://www.ugac.org/gahm/gahm.html)
An art and multimedia museum located in Washington,
DC, providing permanent and temporary exhibits on German
immigration and migration across the Unites States
and on famous German Americans. The Resources page
provides state-by-state links to informative Web sites about
German immigrants, German organizations and landmarks,
German-American business resources, government resources,
student opportunities, and German-language radio
programs.
Gemütlichkeit, Schnitzelbank, and Kitsch: German-
American Caricature in Vintage Postcards
(http://www.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/2010/05/10/newgerman-american-onlineexhibit-on-the-arb-webpage/)
The Archives & Rare Books
Library of the University of
Cincinnati has added an exhibit
that explores the creation
and perpetuation of German
American ethnic stereotypes
through cartoon images
found on popular postcards
in the 20th century.
More than fifty cards
illustrating a public view of
a major ethnic group are included
in the exhibit, which
can be downloaded as PDF.
A new collection of Civil War maps, charts and documents
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/
history/CivilWar/
Under the auspices of the NOAA is the Office of the Coast
Survey, which president Thomas Jefferson established in
1807 to produce nautical charts that would provide for maritime
safety, defense and the establishment of national
boundaries. By the start of the Civil War, the Coast Survey
was a leading scientific agency, charting coastlines and
determining land elevations. It still surveys coasts and produces
nautical charts today. In honor of the 150th anniversary
of the Civil War in 2011, NOAA has gathered materials
the Coast Survey prepared during the war years into a
free online collection called Charting a More Perfect Union
The collection, which will help you visualize terrain, ports,
and coasts as they were from 1861 to 1865, includes: 394
maps and nautical charts used for naval campaigns, and
troop movements and battles.
+ + + + + +
Focus on the Collection
The Hill Diary– A transcription of an original handwritten
document chronicling the emigration of Charles Henry Hill
and his wife, Jessie Kathleen Appleton Hill. The family left
Scarborough, Yorkshire, England and sailed to the United
States in 1907. The family included their children, Harry,
8, Walter, 6, and Nellie, almost 4.
A typed version of this diary was found among the papers
of Sarah Spratt after her death in Sheboygan Falls in the
earl 1960s. It is believed that Sarah‟s father, George Spratt,
was the sponsor of the Hill family in their quest to relocate
to America. The document covers the days between October
23, 1907 through November 4, 1907.
The following is an excerpt from the very end of the Hill
diary– “People say what a fine country America is, but its
not a patch of good. Little England with its nice farmhouses
and stockyards, sheepfolds in turnip fields, nice hedges,
game running about and nice turnpike roads. If some of
these Yankees had to see Scarborough and district they
would think they had got to Heaven...Children are delighted,
but me and wife have something more to think about.
We wonder what our reception among strangers will be and
we are both more dead than alive. I have never had my
trousers or stockings off since we left Liverpool and little
or no sleep for three nights, but the longest journey comes
to an end. Sheboygan is shouted and we get out....So we
finished our journey on November 4th at 4 p.m. Chicago
time, English time 10 p.m. It having taken us twelve days
nine hours...These notes are no exaggeration just as things
appeared to me. The voyage across the sea I enjoyed as far
as enjoyment can go, but the Ellis Island business and the
Immigrant Special train under like conditions I would not
go through again for all United States.”
The Hill diary can be found in the General Files– Hill Family.
It was donated to The Sheboygan County Historical
Research Center in February of 1994 by Nancy Hill Leach,
daughter of Harry Hill.
June Wish List
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
8 1/2 x 11 White or Colored Paper
Lysol Wipes
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Pinehurst Farms
The photo above shows a classic view of the dairy complex at Pinehurst Farms. At one point the dairy had seven barns and seven
houses on 500 acres. The water tower, erected in 1912, stood 125 feet above the barns and cows it served. In 1942 it was one of the
biggest contributions to the country‟s scrap drive when it was demolished and became 45-tons of scrap metal. Photo #231-21
Pinehurst Farms, started in 1838 by David Giddings,
was a model of innovation from the very beginning. An
article in the March 4, 1908 edition of the Sheboygan
County News states the following: “Pine Hurst Farms,
which is situated partly within the limits of the picturesque
village of Sheboygan Falls and part in the town of Lima, is
one of the most beautiful and productive farms in the
Northwest, consisting of over 400 acres, about 200 of
which is under a state of cultivation, 120 in beautiful
woods and the balance in natural pasturage, well supplied
with water by the Onion River and an abundance of natural
springs.”
On November 20, 1912, Harvard Giddings, son of
David Giddings, sold the Giddings Pinehurst Farm to Peter
Reiss, president of C. Reiss Coal Company. Pinehurst
Farm became the summer home of the extended Reiss
family. Reiss upgraded the buildings and in the fall of
1913 the completion of the new 210-foot long barn was
celebrated with a barn dance hosted by the Reiss family.
An article from the Sheboygan Press in 1913, entitled
Hundreds Enjoy Barn Dance at Pinehurst, documents the
event. “More than seven hundred were guests of Mr. and
Mrs. Peter Reiss at a barn dance at their country home at
Pinehurst last evening. The affair which will linger with
pleasant memories for a long time, took place in the large
barn which is being completed on the farm and until one
o‟clock this morning the guests enjoyed themselves...For
instance there was one dance where the lights were turned
off, and the two large automobile lamps furnished the light
for the dance. This was a novel feature that brought forth
applause from the dancers as well as the onlookers and the
orchestra was called upon for several encores before the
lights were turned on...from eight to nine o‟clock the full
Sheboygan Concert Band was stationed in the south end of
the barn on a raised platform...Looking down a space of
210 feet on either side were strings of lights shaded by
leaves of tinted paper giving a color that harmonized with
the entire decorative scheme. Giant corn stalks together
with pumpkins, and sheaths of barley comprised the decorative
scheme...the concert under the leadership of Henry
Johnson was one of the treats of the evening. But the
grand march, comprised of 608 dancers was the highlight.”
Peter Reiss enjoyed his farm and summer home for
just fourteen years, passing away on September 5, 1926.
Peter and Mattie had two daughters, Carita who married
Harold Bachmann and Gertrude who married John Corbett.
Both families spent their summers at Pinehurst.
Mattie Reiss continued the operation of farm after
Peter‟s death, but in 1930, hired Harry Hill to manage it.
Mr. Hill managed Pinehurst Farms for fourteen years. Hill,
a native of Scarborough, England, was widely known in
regional farm circles. He was active in the Wisconsin Holstein
Breeders Association and was awarded the Wisconsin
Agriculturist gold medal in 1937 as one of Wisconsin‟s
five outstanding farmers. Hill left Pinehurst in 1944 for a
position in the farm industries‟ division at Curt G. Joa.
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At this point the dairy stopped bottling its own milk,
selling its product to Verifine where it was processed.
Besides the cattle, Pinehurst also operated a greenhouse
and continued to raise poultry. In 1948, Mrs. Reiss
donated a part of the property to the city of Sheboygan
Falls to be used as an athletic field.
The following year, the summer home, the original
Giddings home, a large garage, two poultry houses, a
greenhouse, ten acres of virgin pine woods, 180 applebearing
trees and twelve acres of garden land comprising
37 1/2 acres was sold to The Christian Home Inc., a nonprofit
organization which took over the property for a
home for the aged. The corporation represented thirteen
churches in Sheboygan, Oostburg, Cedar Grove, Sheboygan
Falls, Gibbsville and Hingham.
The Giddings home, greenhouse, stable and apple
orchard were sold to private parties. The remaining property
was remodeled into a residence for the aging. This
part of the estate became Pine Haven Christian Home.
In 1950, Mrs. Reiss sold the rest of Pinehurst Farm
to her grandsons, Peter and David Bachmann. The two
young men operated the property together until 1955
when Peter sold his share to David.
David Bachmann became known as one of the bestknown
registered Holstein breeders in Wisconsin. The
prestige and reputation of Pinehurst cows brought foreign
buyers on frequent visits to the farm and animals were
shipped to all parts of the world.
Lightning struck between a pair of concrete silos the
evening of September 16, 1983, during a severe electrical
storm. The large L-shaped frame barn, a landmark along
State 32, was destroyed by the resulting fire. The barn
was immediately rebuilt, but on June 29, 1993 a second
fire demolished the barns at Pinehurst. No cause was ever
found. The 1993 fire marked the end of Pinehurst as a
dairy farm, but began the dream of a championship golf
course on the property. Construction on The Bull golf
course began in the summer of 2000.
This aerial image, seen below, was taken prior to 1942. It gives a great view of the entire Pinehurst Farms complex. The signature
dairy barns are at the extreme top center. The farm‟s extensive orchards are at the bottom of the photo. Photo #511-51
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Excerpt from PLOUGHS AMONG THE ESKERS
A story of the settlement of the Kettle Moraine
By Bernard Michaels
The Thomas and Mona Scanlan Heraty family standing in front of their cream city brick
home. The homestead was located on County Highway V about one-half mile south of Hwy
67 in the town of Mitchell. Heraty was an influential part of early immigrant life in the area
known as “The Kettles”, acting as an insurance agent, justice-of-the-peace and postmaster.
The Irish came to the Kettles
poorly equipped to begin farming
in the wilderness. Land buying
had all but exhausted their meager
funds and now they were faced
with the expense of outfitting.
Common to the era, equipment
prices were high in the frontier
villages. In Sheboygan a yoke of
oxen sold for between fifty-five
and sixty dollars, a wagon brought
fifty-four dollars, cows were sixteen
dollars a head, a plow cost
ten dollars and a harrow, four dollars.
Many settlers walked to their
Kettle "holdings" carrying little
more than an axe and grub hoe
with which to establish their new
livelihood.
The first recorded Irish settler
was Dan Murphy who settled on
section 18 in 1846. He was followed
by the John O'Reilly family,
lately of County Meath, who
settled on the town line of Scott
and Mitchell in the fall of 1847.
They were joined the following
year by Michael and Ann Murray who "took land" east of Butler Lake. Within a decade, a hundred families from the
"Old Sod" had gathered among the eskers and kames of the area. By 1860 those parts of Scott, Mitchell, and Osceola
included by today's forest boundaries had become an Irish enclave.
In 1854, the settlement built a log church on a small hilltop of section twenty-one. The Congregation of St.
Michaels was served by a circuit-riding priest until being assigned its first pastor in 1859. The rapid influx of Irish settlers
soon gave need for a larger church and in 1861, the timber-frame structure serving today's parish was completed.
The weathered inscriptions in the churchyard cemetery provide the origin of many of its early members. While the Gaelic
place-names represent all corners of Ireland, most are from the counties west of the River Shannon, the region affected
most severely by the famine.
Although many of the Irish migrated to the Kettles in family sized units, two mass arrivals to the region also occurred
during the 1850s. One of these was a group of fifteen families from New York state who had been previously
engaged in digging canals in that area. Settling on adjacent holdings along the east shore of Long Lake, they included
such names as Quinn, Franey and Gilboy. In 1857, a crew of Irish laborers, with their families, was brought into the
northern Kettles to build the Sheboygan-Mississippi Railroad. When rail construction was temporarily halted for a year,
the workers were forced to turn to the land for survival, some finding work with farmers, others buying land of their
own. Later when the railroad was finally completed, many of these people remained in the community.
The Irish immigrants brought to the community their love of social gatherings, music, dancing and just plain
"visiting" which even the tragedy of the famine had not diminished. More than any others they showed a preference for
working in groups. As settlers in the moraine area, they raised their buildings, cleared the land and picked the everpresent
stones with the help of their neighbors. These community work gatherings often numbered scores of men, many
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accompanied by their womenfolk, who helped in the preparation of the banquet-like meals served that day. Almost
always these events were "capped off" in the evening with music and dancing. An entry in Tom Heraty's diary on June
7th, 1871 relates of a stoning bee, totaling sixty men and fifteen teams, held on his farm. Ten acres of rock-covered
land were cleared that day, and in Heraty's words, "all had a splendid dance in the barn that evening".
The Church, during the second half of the nineteenth century, held a firm stance against all Saturday night parties
and dances. This position often placed the socially-minded Irish at odds with their ecclesiastics. Rev. Bernard Burke,
pastor of St. Michaels for nearly twenty years, though a popular priest was a strict interpreter of church regulation.
Older citizens of the locality used to enjoy telling of his appearance at the scene of these unapproved gatherings, (often
with buggy whip in hand) to admonish his parishioners and send them on their way.
In the accounts of local history, much has been presented on the male settler and his achievements, while little
space has been given to the women. After reading the sixty-year journal of Thomas Heraty, local Irish-American settler,
it would seem his wife's story, hidden as it is in its pages, deserves some recognition.
Eighteen-year old Mary Ann Scanlon, became the wife of Mr. Heraty on May 24th, 1865. The bridegroom, a native
of County Mayo (townland of Doon, parish of Aughagower) had settled among the Mitchell kames in 1852. Mary,
known to her family as Mona, was born in the eastern United States shortly after her parents‟ arrival from Ireland.
Now as a newlywed she moved to her husband's homestead to accept the duties and responsibilities of a settler's wife.
Besides cooking and cleaning, Mona soon found they included; gardening, poultry tending, soapmaking, spinning yarn,
churning butter, caring for elderly in-laws, and doing errands with the team and wagon. When the men worked late at
the family sawmill, she also milked the cows.
As the years passed, Mona Heraty's skill as midwife and nurse became more evident. She grew accustomed to
being called to area homes at any time of day or night, where she might assist in the delivery of new life at one residence
and provide comfort to the dying at yet another. When death made a not infrequent visit to the neighborhood she
was there to console the survivors and help with the preparations for the two-day wake and burial.
Although she gave birth to thirteen children, seven of them would die at an early age. The worst moments of
Mona's life would always be of that terrible January of "85" when
three of her beloved died of diphtheria in one week, two slipping
away in her arms within a single hour.
In time, Heraty built a grand, yellow-brick house for his wife,
placing it near the road at the base of a maple covered hill. On the
morning of April 6, 1914, in her sixty-sixth year, Mary Ann Heraty
announced at the family breakfast table, her intentions to tap the trees
behind the house. Leaving shortly with the team and wagon, she returned
to the farm in a few hours with eighty-five sap buckets. By the
end of the next day all were hanging on spiles along the tree-covered
slope. Unfortunately her husband's journal fails to mention the
amount of syrup boiled down by Mona that season.
Today, all evidence of the farm, sawmill and yellow brick house
are gone from the northwest quarter of section eight. Only the rounded
knoll remains with a dozen gnarled maple still clinging to its sides.
Two miles to the southeast in the family plot at St. Michaels, Mrs.
Thomas Heraty is finally at rest.
In his day, Thomas Heraty was a pillar of the community; farmer,
schoolmaster, sawyer, postmaster, writer, and politician, his name was
familiar to those from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac. His wife on the
other hand, was known only in her neighborhood.
Cemetery and round tower in the parish cemetery at Aghagower.
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crew, many immigrants from The Netherlands. When all was
said and done, more than 250 people perished in the disaster.
The Phoenix ordeal is well-documented. The Sheboygan
County Historical Research Center has detailed files.
A number of great publications document this story. Two of
them are: Phoenix, The Fateful Journey by John Textor and
Out of the Phoenix by Descendants of the Phoenix.
This historical novel by Mary Jane Gruett tells the story
of a surviving child of the disaster in realistic terms of the
era. Though difficult at times, Derk Van Vliet, a young lad
from Winterswijk, Gelderland, The Netherlands survives and
begins a new life in America.
Local artist Jenna DeTroye contributed three drawings
for the book.
Get a copy of Shadow of the Phoenix, and share this
piece of local history with your family!
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