The Rock Elm and Olivet Years for George and Charles Ducklow
Brothers, Business Partners and Finding Wives
[Updated December 28, 2008]
Who were George and Charles Ducklow? They were Thomas and Elizabeth's middle born sons. George was the sixth born, and Charlie the seventh separated by about 21 months apart. Most Ducklow's from Pierce or St. Croix Counties descend from George and Ducklow's from Monroe and LaCrosse Counties descend from Charles.In 1868 George Ducklow had become a young man and in need of a profession. Apparently farming, the livelihood of his father and older siblings, was not the path he saw for himself. So at age 17 George left the Ducklow farmstead and became an apprentice for Mr. William Ca
mpbell. Mr. Campbell was a blacksmith in Ashippun Township in Dodge County and no doubt had shod horses and repaired tools and equipment for the Dukelow / Ducklow families. While George was learning the trade, he lived with Mr. Campbell and his wife Margareth, who were both immigrants from Scotland. After a three to four year apprenticeship, George was ready to strike out on his own.
George Ducklow circa 1869, age 18Cropped Digital Image from Deb Ehlers Good CollectionIn 1873 young George left Dodge County and came to Rock Elm Center in Pierce County. He was among a notable number of former Dodge County residents that came to the area being promoted by lumber businessmen and investors. He opened his own blacksmith shop in the then booming timber and sawmill town. Rock Elm Center had grown into a thriving community of about 300 people fairly quickly, as it was founded in about 1864. Having success as a blacksmith, G
eorge established himself in the community and eventually bought what became known as the Charlie Greer Farm just a few miles outside of town.
Left: Location of Ashippun, Dodge County WisconsinGraphic from Wikipedia SourceIn terms of physical appearance and character, George was "small in stature and wiry" —meaning he was short, lean and tough — a description by George's youngest brother Peter as later retold by Peter's daughter-in-law Irma Ducklow. Irma also recalled Peter saying that George "rode logs down the river" [see foot note]. George was open to adventure and it was likely one reason he left Dodge county and came to the logging frontier of Rock Elm.
Right: Location of Rock Elm Center, Wisconsin
Graphic from Wikipedia Source
Rock Elm is also where he met his bride, Emma Eunice Hamilton. Like George, she too was born from Irish parents and was originally from Dodge County
[see footnote]. She had come to Rock Elm to keep house for her brother John Hamilton. George and Emma married at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Rock Elm on December 31, 1875. She was 23 years old, and George was then 24. They were blessed with their first child, Nellie Ducklow, who came along ten months later. She was born on the Greer farm, October 16 of 1876. Their second child, Vernon was also born on the same farm 27 June of 1880.
Left: George and Emma Ducklow Wedding Photo, 1875Photo by S. B. Dilley Photo Artist, Lake City, MinnesotaOriginal part of Esther Ducklow Collection
Right: Wedding Band
George and Emma were married 52 years
Photo by Jeff Ducklow
Artifact from Esther Northfield Ducklow Collection
Below: George Ducklow's Home & Business.
Home on far left; Mercantile Store, Harness Shop and Dance Hall in Olivet
From Left to Right: Son Vernon (on the horse), Emma, Frank, Nellie, Joise, George,
nephew Willis Matthewson, and Carrie Noble Coon
Digital image from Esther Ducklow Collection
In about 1879 George’s younger brother, Charles (Charlie) also came north from Dodge County and joined George in Rock Elm. Charles had initially trained as a carpenter and joiner five years prior, but he had business aspirations in the booming lumber area of Pierce County. By spring of 1882 Charlie and George became business partners, joining talents by setting up a store in the newest lumbering frontier in Pierce County: Olivet. They ran a harness / blacksmith shop and mercantile store / dance hall. Quite a combination! The early 1880s was a period when Olivet was a cent
er of commerce for lumber milling of the vast hardwoods and pine being felled in Gilman Township of Pierce County. At its height two separate sawmills cut timber there, and the Ducklow store was one of eight businesses in the village. Perhaps at its peak in the early to mid 1880s, the population of Olivet was near 400 people. One news item in the
River Falls Journal of Feburary 1886 reported the stave operation in Olivet was shipping out 1,000 bundles of staves
daily.Charles Ducklow about age 50, circa 1903Cropped Image from Deb Ehlers Good Photo CollectionA letter written around 1945 by George and Emma's daughter Nellie offers a small peek into
this period. She writes, “ My father sold the farm [the Greer farm] and moved to Olivet. My father and Uncle Charlie D went in[to] the store business togather [sic] in what was know [sic] as the M E Taylor building. We lived upstairs.” Nellie goes on to say, “My folks … fixed over the old store building making the living rooms in [the] back a public hall.”
George & Emma's Daughter Nellie in 1937, age 60
Cropped snapshot from the Jeff Ducklow Photo Collection
In addition to running the Ducklow mercantile business, Charles also bought cattle. The reference
[see footnote] does not say he bought and sold cattle, although presumably he didn't just buy. One must assume he bought young head, raised them for a year or two and then sold them as finished-off cattle ready for butchering. His buying and selling of cattle in Pierce County was based on success he had doing this in Calumet County, prior to his coming north to be close to brother George.
Like George, brother Charles also met his bride in Pierce County. He married Eva Shaw on November 20, 1882. They wed at the Dunn County Courthouse in Menomonie. Eva was just 17 years old and Charles was 29. She was the daughter of John and Jerusha Wheeler Shaw. The Shaw family had a farm near the Greer farm outside of Rock Elm. George’s daughter Nellie mentions the Shaw farm in her 1945 letter. She writes, “I went to the little school house on the Shaw farm … I believe I was four years old and carried many a merit home that we used to get for good work.”
The Ducklow general store / dance hall in Olivet operated for about 17 years, from roughly 1881 to 1898. The first few years George and Charles ran the business together. But from about 1884 forward just George and his family ran the business. After only three or so years into the partnership George and Charlie had split up. No facts have been discovered as to why the split occurred, but a number of reasons have been suggested: Maybe the brothers disagreed over business decisions; perhaps George and Charlies' new wives did not get along; it could be that the business was not able to support two families; or it may have been because a long hoped-for rail-line through Olivet never materialized, stunting the little hamlet’s ability to thrive economically (see footnote) and causing Charlie to decide not to invest his time in an Olivet business when it was clear the trains would not be coming there.
A "one bottom plow" pin believed to be an award to George for selling these plows.
Measures about 2 1/4" x 1"
Artifact from the Esther Ducklow Collection
Photo by Jeff Ducklow
So about 1884 Charlie and Eva left Olivet and moved southeast to a tiny village called Modena in Buffalo County Wisconsin. Modena lies approximately nine miles to the north of Alma, Wisconsin. There George and Eva took over a small grocery store with a post office from Benjamin F. Babcock. Modena is also where Charles and Eva’s first two sons were born: William Thomas Ducklow,who was delivered on October 22, 1885, and Elmer Eugene, who saw his first daylight on March 25, 1889.
Charlie and Eva did not put down deep roots in Modena. After five years of running the grocery and post office there and shortly after son Elmer was born, Charlie and his young family moved further south. In 1890 they established themsleves in the Village of Wilton located in rolling hills of Monroe County [about 10 miles south of Tomah]. There Charlie began started selling grocercies out of his home and by 1892 he had his own grocery store on main street. Three years later, in 1895, Charlie saw the opportunity to expand his business and started selling lumber and coal. This expansion proved to be very profitable in the growing town.
Charles and Eva Ducklow Family circa 1895
Digital image from Deb Elhers Good Photo Collection
Charles and Eva had two additional children
born in Wilton: Charles Edwin, born 15 March 1891; and Lynn Shaw born 21 February 1902. The photo above must have been taken about 1895, before son Lynn was born.In addition to Nellie and Vernon who were born on the Greer Farm, George and Emma Ducklow had three other children born in Olivet: Josie Emma, born in a room above the Olivet store on Valentine’s Day, 1883; Frank Erwin born at home on February 17, 1885; and Clayton Joseph born at home on May 12, 1893.
George and Emma Ducklow Family circa 1890
Photo part of Jeff Ducklow Photo Collection
In about 1898 George moved his mercantile business from Olivet to Spring Valley. Spring Valley had become a boom town with the discovery of iron-ore in 1890 followed by a quick build-up of a smelting industry and supporting economy in the early 1890s. George continued to run his general store in Spring Valley until perhaps 1910 (the actual year is not yet firm) and then sold the business. At this point his interests turned to sheep farming on 40 acres of property he bought to the west of Spring Valley in Gilman Township [Pierce County].
Additional posts regarding George and Charles lives are forthcoming.
Footnote: An article called “The Road Less Traveled” written by Chuck Rupnow, published April 3, 1986 by the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram discusses Olivet in the 1880s. The Chicago, Freeport, and St. Paul Railroad Company had an interest running tracks just west of Olivet and establishing a depot there. In would have become part of a line connecting parts northern Illinois to St. Paul. But in the end the line did not get built anywhere near Olivet because they could not convince an important landowner, Albert Hurtgen, to use his property. He too was influential on the Gilman Town Board and convinced them of the same. This decision angered many in Olivet. Looking back, it does appear that it assured Olivet’s short-lived business history after the timber was taken. For more information also see "The Rest of the Story," written by Elva Haddow and published in the 1986 booklet called "...And All Our Yesterdays" in 1986 by the Spring Valley Ara Chapter of the Pierce County Historical Association.
Footnote: Comments on George's appearance and character are excerpts from a letter written October 6, 1985 from Irma Ducklow to Esther Northfield Ducklow. Irma married Maurice Ducklow, son of Peter and Helen Ducklow.Footnote: The reference to Charles buying cattle comes from his biographry published in "History of Monroe County" in 1912. The full text of the biography is published elsewhere in this blog.Other background sources:
Pierce County's Heritage, Volume 2, Pierce County Historical Society, 1973
"... And All Our Yesterdays," Spring Valley Area Chapter of the Pierce County Historical Society, Book 1, 1986
"... And All Our Yesterdays," Spring Valley Area Chapter of the Pierce County Historical Society, Book 2, 1986-87
"... And All Our Yesterdays," Spring Valley Area Chapter of the Pierce County Historical Society, Book 3, 1988Footnote: A genealogy web page about Emma Hamilton's family can be found here.❦
mpbell. Mr. Campbell was a blacksmith in Ashippun Township in Dodge County and no doubt had shod horses and repaired tools and equipment for the Dukelow / Ducklow families. While George was learning the trade, he lived with Mr. Campbell and his wife Margareth, who were both immigrants from Scotland. After a three to four year apprenticeship, George was ready to strike out on his own.
eorge established himself in the community and eventually bought what became known as the Charlie Greer Farm just a few miles outside of town.
Right: Wedding Band
er of commerce for lumber milling of the vast hardwoods and pine being felled in Gilman Township of Pierce County. At its height two separate sawmills cut timber there, and the Ducklow store was one of eight businesses in the village. Perhaps at its peak in the early to mid 1880s, the population of Olivet was near 400 people. One news item in the River Falls Journal of Feburary 1886 reported the stave operation in Olivet was shipping out 1,000 bundles of staves daily.
this period. She writes, “ My father sold the farm [the Greer farm] and moved to Olivet. My father and Uncle Charlie D went in[to] the store business togather [sic] in what was know [sic] as the M E Taylor building. We lived upstairs.” Nellie goes on to say, “My folks … fixed over the old store building making the living rooms in [the] back a public hall.”
