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THE REPUBLICAN September 15, 1899 A Pioneer’s Visit. Uncle
George Taggart of Weyauwega, father of Mrs. C. Caldwell and Mrs. Harriet White
of this city, called on the REPUBLICAN editor Wednesday. This was his first visit to Waupaca for two
or three years. This fine old gentleman
is in his 88th year and with the exception of being blind is in
pretty good health. A young man by the
name of Whitney, drove his horse up and acted as “guide” during his short visit
in the city. Mr. Taggart is full of vim
in reciting early reminiscences, how he came to Waupaca from York State when
Wisconsin was a territory and settled in Kenosha. Col. Columbus Caldwell came with him, then a young man eighteen
or nineteen. Afterwards he became his
son-in-law, and settled in Lind in 1850, with Mr. Taggart. Mr. Taggart says he came within one of
owning an interest in the mill property near the stone bridge. The only thing preventing being a deal he
had arranged with E. C. Sessions to buy out Cooper & Hibbard, which fell
through in some mysterious way, not necessary at this late day to analyze. The old gentleman says when he was sheriff
he always had a friend in Dana Dewey and often had Dana assist him in many
ways, but after Dana wrote early day history from the memory of many things
which never took place, and he, Taggart, refuted them in print, Dana then
avoided him, however, as Dana was dead and gone he had no unpleasant
recollections to proclaim. He wished to
say that Waupaca as a county, or Waupaca in fact, had no existence in 1849 and
’50. It was Tomorrow River Falls, but
the Indian name for “Waupaca” was “Tomorrow”. Mr.
Taggart was the first county surveyor, elected at the temporary county seat of
Mukwa, at the time the county and town of Waupaca was organized, Feb. 17,
1851. A number of years after he was
the sheriff of our county. In regard to
early post offices he says there were six located in the limits of Waupaca
county on the last half of 1850:
Waupaca P.O., David Scott, P.M., office location designated in Marquette
Co.; Greenwood P.O. on section 1, in town of Lind, Simon C. Dow, P.M., also
located in Marquette Co.; Mukwa, on the east side of Wolf River, the first
county seat this county, Caleb E. P. Hobert, P.M., this was located in Brown
Co.; Fremont also on east side of Wolf River, Ira Summer, P.M., located also in
Brown county; Weyauwega, Benjamin Birdsill, P.M., located in Winnebago county;
Lind, Geo. W. Taggart, P.M., also located in Winnebago county. This shows conclusively that there was no
Waupaca county in existence on the first of January 1851. The location of these several post offices
is in accordance wit the government records in 1850. Mr.
Taggart expressed his surprise at hearing the electric cars in our city and
said he wished he could see them. It
will be remembered that his aged companion died last June. Her passing away tells perceptibly on him,
and as the old gentleman said: “It is
impossible to have the same interest in things that I once had for many reasons
but I like to have the good wishes of my friends. They are pleasant things to remember and carry with me, and I
can’t expect to stay a great while longer.”
Uncle George truly has the best wishes of his family and many old
friends everywhere in the county.
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