Clan William: The Mines of Platteville and Eddie Lee Dalen

Early Lead Mines of NW Illinois/SW Wisconsin

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson >  Samuel (2d) Munson > Calvin Munson > Randil Munson > Harlow B Munson > Lucy J Munson > Eddie Lee Dalen

Many of my ancestors relocated to Southwest Wisconsin from places like Ohio (both the Munsons and the Smiths, where their combined story started in Grant County). There were many opportunities in the Driftless Area that included all of Southwest Wisconsin. The Driftless Area was marked by the more rugged terrain than that of its neighboring plain states. This area was bypassed by the last continental glacier eons ago.

This terrain also made it prime for mining. The existence of valuable lead was discovered before the White Man settled the area. In the 1820s, mining began from Galena, Illinois north up the Galena River into Wisconsin. Thousands of Cornish miners flocked the area to work the mines, something they had generations of experience with in their native Cornwall, England. As time went on, many of those miners moved on to new mines in Michigan and elsewhere. I mention this because I have a bevy of Cornish immigrants on my mom's side.  

The peak of production in this area ran until the 1850s, but continued on for decades more on a smaller scale. Many of those in the area farmed and mined part time. 

Platteville, the later home of Charles Dennis Dalen and his wife Lucy Jane Munson (also a descendant of my previous story's Randil Munson - son of Calvin, who was big brother to my 4th GG Freeman Munson). 

Charles & Lucy's children were born in the township of Lima in Grant County, just a hop and skip from nearby Platteville. Charles was a farmer with five children: Francis, Arlington "Arlie," Charles Bird, Eddie Lee, and Frederick Louis. 

Platteville had so many mines operating over the course of time, that the town's design was affected. The streets had to be designed and built to avoid mine pits, so the town's roads are notoriously not-straight. And, unlike many mining towns, when mining died out, Platteville continued to thrive due to the establishment of The Academy (1839-1866), which evolved into the Normal School. The Mining and Trade School took the space in Rountree Hall when the Normal School moved to a new location and later became the Wisconsin Institute of Technology. Both became part of the UW-Plattesville campus in later years. Because of the deep ties to engineering, Platteville continued to thrive to today, bringing with it engineering companies who liked having engineering students so close at hand.

Platteville Miners

To return to our story, in 1905, the Trego-Anthony Mines were still operating. The Anthony was located at the east end of the Trego Mine (both located near today's Platteville Country Club). The Anthony mine was owned by one company, the Trego Mine was owned by HF Trego from 1901-1905. "It had a gravity mill and the concentrates were 25% Zinc and 25% Iron. There were many shafts and one adit to provide access to the mine; the main northeast Trego shaft is 90-feet deep; the main Anthony shaft is 75-feet deep."5

Young Eddie Lee Dalen, who most often went by "Lee," began working at the Trego Mine in Platteville in early 1905. He had the job of dumping the cart of mined ore. Somehow, he got caught up with a descending cart and was dragged down the shaft, falling onto a descending cage, being dramatically grabbed by the leg by his boss, and smashing himself onto some timbers. The early report expected him to survive, but his injuries were too great and he died on August 27, 1905. He was 22.

1. Zinc Ore Mining References: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-026/#tid6

2. Platteville Mining Photo: http://www.miningartifacts.org/Wisconsin-Mines.html

3. History of Platteville: https://www.platteville.com/our-city/history-of-platteville

4. History of Platteville:  https://www.platteville.org/community/page/history#:~:text=The%20community%20of%20Platteville%20began,lode%2C%20in%20November%20of%201827.

5. History of Trego Mine: US Geological Survey Professional Paper, Issue 30

6. History of Platteville: https://catalog.uwplatt.edu/undergraduate/about-uwplatteville/history/

7. Mining Map of Illinois/Wisconsin: https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/tp/id/45908

Clan William: A Legacy of Tragedy

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Calvin Munson > Randil Munson > Harlow B Munson > C Jenet Munson > Caroline Richey > Howard Clinton Bruce > Anthony Todd

I've been digging into the "outer" Munsons of Trumbull County, Ohio - the brothers and sisters of my 4th GG Freeman Munson. I'm working on Randil Munson now.  He was the son of Calvin, Freeman's older brother. 

Deep down in the tree, many generations later, Caroline "Carrie" Mirth Ritchey and her husband Robert Bruce. They adopted a boy they named Howard Clinton Bruce. Howard had, with his first wife, Helen Rose Tiernan, one daughter - Mary Ellen Bruce. Mary Ellen married a gent name William "Billy Jo" Wadsley. The marriage seems to have lasted just long enough to produce three sons: Anthony "Tony," Todd, and one child who is still living.

What struck me about this tragic story is the moment I read about young Todd's accidental and tragic death at age 9, and the cause, I knew there was going to be a trail of tears to follow. 

It appears that Mary Ellen was out of the house, leaving the two boys who were living with her, at home. Not an uncommon thing to do with boys of 12 and 9 when I was growing up. Unfortunately, the boys found a .22 rifle upstairs and young Tony accidentally discharged the weapon, killing his younger brother, Todd. It was ruled an accident. Like so many unnecessary accidents before.

What we understand about such things now, is they have a deep and lasting impact on everyone involved. Who knows if Tony got the psychological help he needed after this very traumatic event. What we can ascertain from the newspaper reports is he had a long history of substance abuse, had lost his license, continued to drink, had an accident that thankfully killed no one else, and died suddenly and alone still going the wrong way down the road, trying to escape his pain at the age of 30.

A mother had now lost two sons. But, then, she'd most likely lost them both that same day in 1971.

Remembering Harold James Ripley, 1928-2020

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH m Mary Ann Munson> EDWIN SMITH m Kate Smull > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > HAROLD RIPLEY

Click to enlarge

His early years were marred by terrible strife. The man himself defied the odds of his childhood and built a highly successful life. He had four children and raised two more who came from his second wife. He ended up with scads of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. When his time came, he went out with a heavy sigh, in his sleep, at the age of 92 after a brief illness.

He was one of the hardest working people I ever met, was sharp as a whip, and did not suffer fools

Harold at the orphanage (right)

gladly. He had a keen insight and knew everyone in the Butler/Bremer County area from his long career in agriculture - either as a solo farmer or as senior manager for massive ag operations. He was also an entrepreneur, starting a Mad Hatter Muffler back in the 1970s among other business ventures. He was also a great storyteller. Because he was not a gossip by nature, it was tough to pull out details and dig deeper sometimes, but it was always going to be a fun ride if you were lucky enough to get this very stoic guy going on a tale to tell.

He was born the first child of Rasmus Theodore "Ted" Michaelsen, a 2nd generation Dane on March 15, 1928 in Plainfield, Iowa. His mother, my grandmother, Verlie Lynette Smith, like Ted, came from a large family. His lived in Cedar Falls, hers lived in Plainfield. 

Over the next years, three sisters would join him: Janis, two years younger, Dixie, four years younger, and baby Judy. The depression, now in full gear by 1936, had decimated the Michaelsen's ability to thrive. They were usually one step ahead of the sheriff who was looking to evict and the entire family had to be resourceful in finding ways to put food on the table. It didn't help that Ted liked to drink. Or had a tendency to be physically abusive to his wife.

Janis told me about one Christmas, when there was no money for gifts. Harold found an old cedar chest

Harold & Ellen (left)

with a leg missing. He fashioned a new leg for it and gave it to Janis and she kept it until her death. That year, she saved her pennies from selling eggs to buy each of the children a bar of soap.

Janis recalled to me that one day, they had all been sitting on the porch on a hot day. Verlie was nursing baby Judy. Ted hit Verlie and they both went flying. She also recalls that it was not long after that Verlie left. Without the kids. She had no job, no chance of a job, and no money.

Ted had the kids and the support of his sister Margaret. Margaret hadn't been able to reach Ted after several days, so she went up to where they were and found the children alone. Ted had taken a job in a CCC camp as a cook, and put Harold, the 9-year-old, in charge. Janis, age 7, cooked whatever they had and cared for baby Judy. She recalled that she knew she needed to wash the diapers, but no one had ever told her she needed to rinse them out. Baby Judy ended up with a serious diaper rash by the time Margaret made her way to them to check on them.

Quick-action was required. She loaded them on the bus and they all went to the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage, where they were placed and now had steady care. Janis thrived in the institution. Harold seemed to be doing fine and was in school and participating in activities. One day that winter, Verlie arrived with winter coats for them all. Janis was in no hurry to go anywhere, she liked the routine.

Margaret worked hard with the Smith's and the Michaelsen's to find permanent placement for the

Harold's 1950 Studebaker

children. Janis and Dixie went to Ted's sister Dagmar in Mississippi and would get involved with 4-H and excel in school. Harold was eventually sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife but was treated poorly, by all accounts, and ran away.  Verlie's younger sister Evelyn, who lived in Plainfield caring for her mother, Kate Smull Smith, brought him in. Her husband Marvin Ripley was often away at sea as a Navy man, but they adopted him. Baby Judy, for some reason, did not end up with the family, but was adopted to a wealthy rural couple. Some of that story can be found elsewhere here and here. Verlie would have another family with Leo Linsey - three boys, the oldest of which is my dad.

Harold had a happy life with the Ripley's. Things became normal. He grew up and married Ellen Chester, a very pretty local girl, and a few months later, their first child was born. Three more would follow. He farmed in Bremer County and later, was hired by a large ag firm to manage farms all over the area. He knew his stuff and did well. By the early 1970s, the marriage was failing. After the divorce, he married Judith Stigers, a divorcee with three children. Her two sons lived with her and Harold would adopt the youngest and raise them both. Out of this, I got my cousin Tony, who chose not to take Harold's name, but lovingly supported his parents in their old age and fondly called Harold, "Dad." They were married 48 years-ish when Harold died.

I want to recount a time I had questions about my great aunt Mary and a conversation I had with Harold to tell you a little about his absolute disdain for gossip.

I had been trying to talk about his aunt Mary Marie Adaline Smith, who so far, I had found two husbands for. I peppered him with questions about her Greek immigrant husband and the time they lived in Michigan running a Greek restaurant. He gave me very basic information. I also asked about her last husband - the one she lived with in California when she died. Again, all he said was that she married him because she had known her when she was younger.

After much more research, I came back to him, only this time, I took a different tack: "Uncle Harold. Here's my theory, tell me if it's right. Aunt Mary married the first time to the guy name Hoard and got divorced. It looks like she met her second husband DL Albert right after that and they also got a divorce. Then she married the Greek guy. Then she married DL Albert AGAIN, not because she knew him when she was younger, but because she'd been married to him before!  Is that right?  He said, "Yup."

I loved him a lot, just as I do his lovely wife, my Aunt Judy. I will miss him. 

Judy and Harold

The Schmoll/Schmehl/Smoll/Smull Connection Looks Like it's Coming Together at Last

Two years ago, I wrapped up with what I could do on my 3X great grandfather, Peter Smull's family tree. I was blocked not knowing who his father and mother were, but I knew some things to help me in the dig. Still, it got me no further. With the advent of rampant DNA testing and more time, I think I have come up with a theory on the parentage of Peter.

The basic story is here and here. The stories involved my four Smull relatives:  Jacob, Peter, Henry, and Jesse. You can read other Smull stories here.

First, here's what I knew:

In Peter's grand-nephew's (brother Henry's grandson George's) bio in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania:

"...The first of the line in America was _____ Smull, the great-grandfather of our subject. He was a native of Ireland, whence he came to this country in the latter part of the 18th century to locate in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. Six of his children lived to adult age - two daughters and four sons, the names of the latter being Henry, Jacob, Peter, and Jesse. The Smull family in Brush Valley is descended from the first three sons, who were skilled masons, and all went at the same time to Rebersburg to build the wall for the Lutheran Reformed Church. They remained in the Valley, and living in German settlements, they and their children adopted the language and customs of their neighbors...
...Henry Smull, our subject's grandfather, born in eastern Pennsylvania, February 2, 1799; and, coming to Brush Valley in early manhood with no capital except his own abilities and strong physique, obliged to work for many years as a day laborer. He saved his money, however, and in time managed to buy a farm between Kreamerville and Centre Mill. The care of the place devolved mainly upon his family as he comtinued to work at his trade." 

There is a lot wrong with this. But, again, these are paid bios made by a company that did this in towns and villages across the country whose writer's were not necessarily worried about accuracy. George Smull, the subject, is bound to have made the same mistakes we all have in repeating our own family lore (I always think of a game of telephone). His grandfather died while George was a very young child. George most likely had no contact with the non-Brush Valley Smulls. And, they are definitely not Irish and German was their native tongue. Still - the most interesting thing I got out of this was there were two sisters and their non-Brush Valley brother was Jesse.

I then moved on to another Commemorative Bio - this time, for Henry Smull (1842), son of Peter (born in 1796 or 1797-depending on source) and who left Brush Valley for Stephenson County, Illinois in the mid-1800s. Henry's bio had this to say:

"HENRY SMULL, a retired farmer now residing in Macon County, is a native of the Keystone State. He was born in Centre County, Pa., February 23, 1842, and is a son of Peter and Mary (Waggoner) Smull, who were also born in Pennsylvania. The latter was of German descent. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a hero of the Revolution. He left the Old Country to avoid entering the army, and arrived in the United States just in time to aid the Colonists in their struggle for independence.

For seven years he participated in the Revolution. The father of our subject was born February 27, 1796, and died in February, 1869, being buried in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Ill. His wife, who was born February 4, 1801, died and was buried in the same place in September, 1878. Mr. Smull was always a supporter of the Democratic party. He was a mechanic, and always followed the occupation of farming. He came to Illinois when Henry was a lad of twelve years, and located upon a farm in Stephenson County, where he spent his remaining days." Portrait & Biographical Record of Macon County, Illinois, 1893

The Schmoll I found who fit this criteria, was Johann Peter Schmoll, born 1752 in Eastern

Pennsylvania. Additionally, they had a son Jesse. Most interestingly, there were two sisters.

Finally, the gaps in the births of my Brush Valley brothers Smull fit in beautifully with Johann Peter Schmolls family tree. A fellow researcher also helped me connect Jesse to Johann Peter/Juliana Sara through a baptismal document that wasn't available to me when I started this.

But, I needed the time to work through all of this and there a still a couple of scruffy problems to clear up. Still, I feel fairly confident this theory is on the right track.

This is roster of children I believe were born to Johann Peter Schmoll and Juliana Sara Mueller:

Here is my big issue.  There is another Peter Smull, often attributed to Johann Peter and Juliana Sara who does not seem to have any supporting documentation to support his connection to those parents. Some have that Peter listed with a 1797 birth (I believe this is my Peter) and also with a 1790 birth. Both of these have been connected to Catharina Bischof as wife. I'm very interested to see if anyone has any evidence that Peter m. Catharina Bischof is actually connected to Johann Peter and Juliana.

While it is not unusual for Germans to have more than one child with the same first name, I don't think that's the case here. (See info on naming conventions here).

The volume of Schmolls/Schmehls/Schmoehl/
Smoll/Smull/Schmoels/Smeals in Pennsylvania during the 1780s-1880s is massive. In my DNA, I connect to no fewer than 30 in the 5th to 8th cousin range. Yet, I can find connections only to about a dozen of those (most have a DNA matches of under 15cM across 1 segment - which basically means we're all of some German descent).

That's my surmise. Look forward to other Smull/Smoll/Schmoll researchers who might have an alternate theory, other supporting facts, or theories. 

Eureka! A Big Find!

SMITH, Jacob > SMITH, Catherine

I've been doing this for about five years now. Diligently going back to trees and searching for more information. William Custer Smith, my 2XGG, arrived in the Plainfield, Iowa area via Ohio and Grant County, Wisconsin. I had great luck being able to trace his brothers, James, John, and Isaac, but the daughters were tough.

Eventually, I was able to trace youngest sister, Sarah. Elizabeth, I believe, based on no reference in her sister Sarah's obit, to have most likely died quite young. Catherine had been a mystery.  Until a revisit of the documents and information just last week. This is just the introduction to this family.

There she was, bolder than a Hawaiian shirt at church. Born in Ohio around 1833, moved to Grant County, and marrying Alfred Fuller prior to 1860 in Grant County. They then moved on down to the Plainfield area, where cousins and her brother had settled (WC Smith lived just over the county border outside of Plainfield, in Butler County). Catherine gave birth to at least six kids before her death around 1875 (still working that out). The newspaper in the area didn't start publishing for many more years, so there was no reference to her life, nor her death outside of records.

Her daughters married into local families - the Thompsons and the Smiths (the "other" Smith family in Plainfield). Those children, in turn, continued to connect and reweave our lines with the lines of other long-time families in the area. Two of her sons ended up in Chicago - several of her grandchildren would join Chicago Police Department, a tradition that continued for generations. Milton ended up in mining in British Columbia. George lost his wife in 1914 and eventually moved to Los Angeles County, California.

Alfred remarried almost immediately to Hannah Maria Randall, a native of Platteville, Wisconsin. They had six more children, before he died in 1902 in Polk Township, Bremer County.  Hannah then married Enoch Benjamin Townsend, who died the same year she did (1929), in Oregon.

Here are the children of Catherine Smith and Alfred Fuller:

CLARA MILDORA FULLER born 12 May 1860, Grant Co Wis - 03 Sep 1916, Bremer Co, Iowa married EDWARD A SIMBRIC born 10 Mar 1852 in Germany/Austria - 02 Jan 1929, Waterloo, Black Hawk,Ia

LULU BELLE FULLER born 13 Nov 1865 Plainfield, Bremer, Iowa - 08 Aug 1948 Waverly, Bremer, Iowa married OZEM GARDNER THOMPSON 02 Jan 1882 in Bremer County.  He was born 06 Feb 1862 Horton, Bremer, Iowa - 19 Mar 1929 Plainfield, Bremer, Iowa

WARREN J FULLER born 05 Nov 1867 in Story County, Iowa - 02 Mar 1949, Cook, Illinois, married MATILDA WATTERS 18 Jan 1882 in Bremer Co. She was born 09 Jun 1859 in Hainsville, Lake, Illinois - 06 Feb 1935 Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

MILTON J FULLER born abt 1868 in Bremer Co - 30 Mar 1958, Haney, British Columbia, Canada married KATIE MANNINGO 21 Dec 1893 in Des Moines, Iowa. She was born abt 1874.

FRANK N FULLER born Jul 1870 in Bremer Co - Nov 1953, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, married ANN LOUISE STANTON 08 Jul 1896 in Chicago. She was born 27 Jul 1875 in Chicago and died 06 Mar 1941 in Oak Park, Cook, Illinois.

GEORGE MCCABLE FULLER boron 04 Jun 1872 in Bremer Co - 15 Jul 1954 in Los Angeles County, California. He married OLIVE LUELLA SMITH in 1895 in Bremer Co. She was born 22 Nov 1871 in Horton, Bremer Co and died 22 Aug 1914 in Plainfield, Bremer Co.

Updated Ancestry DNA Results

Ancestry.com updated their regions for me recently. I had taken a 23andMe test as well and found it highly accurate based on my research. Ancestry, not so much. I knew I had no Iberian Peninsula relatives anytime in the recent few hundred years unless there were a bunch on the other side of the blanket.  Not likely.

Anyway, I received my updated map and it is far more in line with what I know to be true. My Danish is typically German or Swedish - as is the case for many Danes. And, Iberian Peninsula is off the map completely.

BEFORE

Iberian Peninsula? I think not.

AFTER

Massively Scandinavian/German/English
with under 1% Ashkenazi Jewish (I still love my pastrami, okay?)

Ancestry DNA and Mystery Solving

I think that many of us, who do this maddening thing, watch at least one of those Ancestry shows on TV. I like Dr. Gates' PBS show best, but they also clearly have a giant staff of paid and trained scientists and genealogists combing through records all over the world on their behalf. I'd like to be famous for just a short bit so I'd be invited on and he'd get some of my own questions answered.

DNA connections keep getting better and better on Ancestry.com. ThruLinesTM, now in Beta, is proving to be quite interesting. Of course, it all depends on how accurate your fellow researchers are, and that has proven to be iffy at best, but I have been able to go down at least two paths I couldn't get down before and at least form a hypothesis where I could not before.

It's also proven connections to specific families where I was not sure, or had nothing to cite to make the connection. I'm sure that will give others license to just accept the information at its face and run with it, which will further screw up sorting it out, but I hope not.

One of my discoveries this month was a definitive connection to Sarah Anne Lindsey, child of

Sarah Anne Lindsey Dorathy
(in a classic Lindsey/Linsey look)

Harvey Lindsey and Peace Macumber/Macomber. They lived in New York state and were the parents of my 2GG Oscar Lindsey who pioneered by way of Indiana to Whiteside County, Illinois, and then to Benton County, Iowa. I knew Oscar had an unmarried sister, but was not aware he had at least one other sister, Sarah, who married a Dougherty (later Dorathy) and had a gigantic family who stayed in the Whiteside area and another group of whom moved to Nebraska. It was quite exciting.

Because of DNA, I know I am related to that group and can make the connection at last. It also brings me to my next questions - because of the age difference between Sarah (who was likely one of the older children of Harvey and Peace) and Oscar (likely one of the younger). Are there more siblings out there we don't know about? I'm betting there are and time will tell. I just hate waiting.

What about you? What's been your big discovery this month?