Letter from Madge Shephard ARNDT to Debby SHEPHARD (her niece) in Dec 1972

Relating information from Helen SHEPHARD about her family’s arrival in WI in 1847

My Dear Debby,

            In 1920 – I wrote Grandma Shephard, your great grandmother, for some source material I wanted for a thesis, on southern Wisconsin.  I knew they were among the first settlers, for when I used to visit her when I was little she used to tell me of those early days.  I have kept copies of hers and her youngest sister’s letters, and I will copy these for you, so that you and yours will know a bit of your ancestors.  I quote their words in quotations.

            “My dear Madge, I am so glad you are interested in your family history.  I will tell you all I know and Aunt Eva who loves you, will tell you about the family history, when she and Uncle David Wegg compiled when they spent the year of 1894 in Europe, when they revisited many of the old homes where ancestors lived, worked and died.  I am happy to tell you, you will find it all good.  And so I tell you what I remember.  I am now 78, but I am so lucky to have all my faculties in this year of 1920.  I will be 79 my next birthday and while I am writing I am always so pleased when you remember it.”  

            “My mother and father came to Jefferson Co, in June 1846 with 4 children of whom I was the youngest, being 5 yrs of age.  My father bought 80 acres of heavy timbered land and set us down in the shade and went to work in earnest to build a shelter for us.  He cut 2 posts and drove them into the ground.  Then he cut a long pole which he put on the other 2.  My mother unpacked her quilts and blankets of which she had a good supply.  They then cut other poles and set them along the big pole like rafters and covered the whole with blankets and quilts.  They then hung some for ends and so we had a house.  We had bought a load of lumber in Milwaukee and hired a teamster to haul it, another one to help haul our goods and ourselves.  I remember all of us who were able would walk till we were tired for the roads were bad, and loads were heavy.  The distance was 36 miles and we made it in a long day.  We were so tired, mother and father laid some boards down and we made beds on them.  I have no doubt we slept soundly even if the beds were hard.  Well, Madge, we lived in that tent house 6 weeks.  We all and my mother worked very hard all the time to get something going to make us more comfortable.  We rented 7 acres of land that an earlier settler had cleared. 

They put in potatoes and some garden, so although it was late, we soon had something growing.  My father bought 2 cows and a pair of oxen.  My mother did some sewing for a family whose mother was sick.  She sat up and did it at night when the rest of us were asleep.  In this way, she earned some chickens and I think that is where we got our little pig.  The 2 men and my father cut and sawed logs for our new house.  They had to make shingles by hand, and also split slabs for floors and so on.  It was to be our own and we were proud of it.  We all had to work hard, down to the babe, “me.” If you could have seen us little mites piling the limbs of the trees ready to burn, picking up chips for fire and so on, you would know we all helped a little.  My father would burn the big heaps at night and it was a beautiful sight to sit on a log and watch it.  You wonder, I remember it, but I do.  We had a couple neighbors doing the same and wherever we looked we saw these fires.  The men would shout at one another and we would laugh and it seemed fun to me and I guess it lightened the load.  Often we children were frightened at owls hooting and wolves howling but our fires and dogs kept them away, I guess.  The Indians were very numerous those days and we children would cover (Note: Missing line here), but we never saw any but friendly Indians in all those years.  We used to see large droves of deer in the openings in early mornings, also prairie chickens, partridge and quail.  This was a great help as people depended much on game for food. In winter the men made jumper sleds to go anywhere in.  The farming tools were very crude, and would be thrown on the junk heap nowadays. 

We were 4 miles from the place our mail was left which also was our store.  Many times we children would be sent to do the errands, carrying butter and eggs packed in a pail, with groceries in the pail coming home.  The roads were poor and crude bridges often washed away.  Many times when I was 8 or 9, I went to Oconomowoc carrying my heavy load.  We had to cross the creek on a home made bridge made by tieing 2 long poles, tied with vines and grass ropes, then spliced together with 2 more till the bridge reached.  I remember how my head would swim like a torrent and how scared I was for fear I would go in the water.  But we were taught to look straight ahead on one particular tree and we never fell in, I am sure we could not send our little ones on such trips. 

We had no schools for quite a few years, but some of had lessons in our home for an hour or two a day and we all learned to read, write and count.  Part of the time we had a Sunday School at our house as my ancestors were in a great part ministers and my mother was very religious and we were all brought up to believe in prayer.  Once in awhile, a traveling minister would come to our home and offer to hold services.  Then we children would be sent to all the neighbors and soon there would be a small gathering to hear him talk.  After awhile the men got a log school house built.  It was small and pupils came 3 or 4 miles.  We only had a few benches so we took turns standing.  My mother taught a few weeks, but she had her…

(Note: line is missing here)

2) Uncle Will Shephard married Georgia Brown of Ft. Dodge, Iowa.  They had 3 children, Donald, Helen and Dwight, all dead. 

3)  Uncle Carroll married Myrtle ? and lived in River Forest and later at St. Petersburg, Fla.  They had 3 children, Georgia, Ruth and Horace, all dead.   

4)  Uncle Fern of S. Dakota where he had ranches and at Storm Lake, Iowa.   Married and had adopted son, Dale.

5)  Unlce Hope had the Ford Agency in S. D. Had 1 daughter, Margaret.  I don’t know here she is.

6) Aunt Carrie married Irving Colwell—1 son Russell married and lives in West Bend, WI

7) Aunt Nettie married August Glamm and lived on a beautiful farm in Golden Lake, WI.  Aunt Nettie died and he sold and lives with a daughter, Alice Koeppler in Golden Lake.  His other daughter, Gladys married and lives in Oconomowoc.  Uncle August will be 98 still alert and active in 1972.

8)  Aunt Gladys married Bruce Cleveland.  They had several sections in Montana and had sheep ranches.

All this generation are gone in 1972 excepting Uncle August who is 97 plus!

This Debby, brings you up to date on what I know from my grandmother’s time.  I’ll try to write next what I know of my and your dad’s mother’s family.