Charles and Eva Ducklow

The Modena Years 1884-1890
[Updated December 26, 2008]

Who was Charles Ducklow? Charles was Thomas and Elizabeth's seventh child born in 1853. He married Eva Shaw from Rock Elm Center in 1882. Eva and Charles lived in and ran retail businesses in Olivet [Pierce County], Modena [Buffalo County], and Wilton [Monroe County].

Brothers Charles and George split their business partnership of running the Ducklow Mercantile Store in Olivet after owning it together just three years. George took sole ownership in 1883. Charles and Eva, his bride of one year, left Olivet and moved 43 miles southeast to Modena, a small village in Buffalo County Wisconsin. There they bought and ran an existing grocery store and post office [see footnote] purchased from the estate of Benjamin F. Babcock [see footnote]. Charles was age 30 and Eva was age 18.


Location of Modena Wisconsin
Graphic from Wikipedia - Source


What exactly brought Charles and Eva to this hamlet is yet to be discovered, but perhaps it was just the simple reason to run their own business. The Ducklow store in Olivet was likely not profitable enough to support two expanding families. In 1883 Modena was a small center of commerce whose main economic driver was a water-powered mill that ground locally grown wheat into flour. The mill brought farmers to the village and who then naturally took the occasion to buy a few necessities and collect and send mail from the Ducklow grocery store. Perhaps another attraction to take up in Modena, at least for Eva, was the close proximity of a sister who married a cheese-maker that lived in the area.


While living in Modena, Charles and Eva started a family. Their first two of four sons were born there. William Thomas Ducklow was delivered 22 October in 1885, and then three and half years later came along their second child, Elmer Eugene Ducklow, born 25 March in 1889.

William Thomas Ducklow, circa 1903, age 18
Cropped Photo from Deb Ehlers Good Collection

Elmer Eugene Ducklow, circa 1897, age 8
Cropped Photo from Deb Ehlers Good Collection

Charles and Eva did not put down deep roots in Modena. After just five years of running the grocery business there, they sold it. In the spring of 1890 they and their two young sons moved again. This move took them another 99 miles southeast to the Village of Wilton in Monroe County.

Wilton is where Charles and family really established themselves. They became prominent community members and quite successful in business. Charles had found a fast growing village that suited his ambitions and it had many former residents of his home area —Dodge County. The old relationships of his youth likely accelerated his success selling groceries, lumber and coal. A future post on Charles Ducklow and the Wilton years is being written.

Location of Wilton Wisconsin
Graphic from Wikipedia - Source

Footnote: In the late 1800s there were several hundred tiny rural post offices across Wisconsin. These remote offices generally were along stagecoach lines. Most were not stand-alone buildings like most post offices of today, but rather part of an existing grocery or mercantile business, or in some cases, just a corner in someone’s home. Many of tiny posts closed when rural free delivery was estiablished. The Modena Post Office operated from 1862 until 1957 is now served by Mondovi; the Olivet Post Office operated from 1870 until 1907 is now served by Spring Valley.

Footnote: The original owner of the Modena Grocery Store was Benjamin F Babcock. He died August 31, 1878. Mr. Babcock's estate apparently did not settle quickly as he owed money to vendors and extended credit to his customers. As a result it took several years to settle his estate before his business could be turned over to his heirs and then be sold. The extended time of settlement likely gave Charles time to save some money to make the purchase possible.

Source: "History of Monroe County," Biography of Charles Ducklow, pages 658-660

❦