Frank Good & The Civil War

Who is Frank Good? Husband of Mary Ann Ducklow; She was the 1st child of Thomas and Elizabeth Ducklow

Frank Good was drafted into the Civil War, likely in the year 1863 when he was about 22 years old and two years before his marriage to Mary Ann Ducklow. You may recall that the Civil War occurred between the years 1861 and1865. The federal government imposed several drafts on Wisconsin men to build the ranks of the Union army. But Frank’s conscription to military service was short, ending when he got to Janesville.

Janesville was a mustering point for drafted men across the region. There they were assigned to a troop, given uniforms and arms, and first orders. It was also there that Frank was able to pay the government a bounty of $300, called a commutation fee, which allowed him to return back home. The government used money in-turn to pay someone else to join the army and serve.

Father Thomas Good relied heavily on his son Frank to help run their farm in Cottage Grove. Frank was one of only two sons, and his younger brother Tom was not fully able-bodied as he had curvature of the spine (scolioious). Losing Frank to serve in the war, or worse losing him in battle, would have been a very difficult burden, prehaps even catastrophic for the family. It is certainly understandable why Thomas decided to pay the fee and have his son home.

The commutation fee was legal and was one way the federal government allowed men of means to continue providing economic benefit to their families and local economies. It was an option Congress had to give to the public as a concession for those who did support the war. The option was highly controversial as it also meant that it was mostly the poor, who could not afford the fee, that were drafted when there we not enough volunteers. The commutation policy was discontinued in late 1864, one year before the Civil War’s end.

The sum of $300 doesn't sound like a lot of money, but consider the effects of inflation. Using an average of 4 percent inflation over 144 years, the fee equates to more than $80,000 in today’s dollars! Frank, or more likely Frank’s father Thomas, apparently had considerable assets to draw upon. Imagine the risk the family undertook: A 22 year old man, traveling by horse on a difficult, multi-hour ride, eventually meeting up with other anxious draftees on the same dreaded journey. All were likely strangers to one another. And Frank had the equivalent of over $80,000 cash in his pockets! Remember, there was no Master Card or Visa, no checking accounts, nor wire transfers. Transactions were done with cash, most likely in the form of gold and silver coin. Many in Wisconsin at this time were suspicious of paper currency and only accepted payment in hard coin.

So Frank took the money, made the journey to Janesville and paid the fee. This too involved risk because some men were still held to military duty after paying the fee; the clerk accepting the funds not be honest and pocketed the money for himself then claiming the fee was never paid. In Franks case, all turn out well, he paid the fee without incident and returned home to help his father farm.

By one account, out of 14,955 Wisconsin men drafted in 1863 roughly 5,081 paid the commutation fee. It also is notable that the same draft over 2,600 men simply failed to report to duty at all!
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Mary Ann Ducklow and Family

Mary Ann was Thomas and Elizabeth Dukelow's first child, born on Christmas day, 1842 near Rochester in New York State. When Mary Ann was age five she moved with her parents from the Rochester to their homesteaded land in Ashippun Township in Dodge County, Wisconsin. She lived a child’s pioneer farm life. As the first born, much was expected of her in helping her mother prepare meals, clean, and take care of many younger siblings, along with daily chores. She attended some primary school that was walking distance from the Dukelow farm.



Mary Ann Ducklow Good

Marriage to Francis “Frank” Gallagher Good

When she was 23 years old, Mary Ann married Francis “Frank” Gallagher Good in Nashotah at the Chapel of Saint Mary the Virgin. The wedding date was the 31st of March 1865. Frank was 24 years of age.

Frank Gallagher Good

The Good and Dukelow families had a long association, perhaps expanding decades while both families were in Ireland. Thomas Good, her father-in-law, was also Mary Ann’s baptismal sponsor at her Christening at St. Luke’s Church in Rochester. This occurred when she was just three months old. Both families decided to move from New York to Wisconsin. While Thomas and Elizabeth settled in Dodge County, their friend Thomas Good bought land in Dane County, some 50 miles to the west.

Today, the Good family is counted among the first settlers to Cottage Grove Township in Dane County. Thomas Good came to Cottage Grove in 1845. Their homestead is near a place called Seminary Spring and stands only a short distance east of the Seminary Springs Schoolhouse. The home still exists today and has much charm with an appealing brick exterior. Frank and Mary Ann inherited this farmhouse from Frank’s father and is where they farmed and raised their family. The farmstead remained in the Good family for over 140 years, but was sold outside the family in the 1980s.

In the 1960s Interstate 94 was constructed and lies just a few yards to the south of the historic farmhouse and barn. If you know where to look you can see it as you travel east towards Milwaukee from Madison.


Good Family Homestead Near Seminary Springs, Dane County, Wisconsin. Photo taken October 2007.





Together, Mary Ann and Frank Good had seven children on this farm between the years 1867 and 1875: (1) James W, (2) William Thomas, (3) Francis G, (4) George F, (5) Charles J, (6) Nellie J, and (7) Sidney E. Together they created a very successful farm. Barbara R. Good, a granddaughter who knew her grandparents well, wrote: “Grandfather was kindly with a sense of humor and was exceptionally proud. He acquired several farms and they lived in a stately red brick house. They always had a hired girl, and the family lived a comfortable life.”



Good Family Photo Circa 1907; Compare with the color photo taken in Oct 2007


Frank’s death was both sudden and tragic. In late July of 1924 there was a Ducklow family gathering in Barron County, at the farm of John and Elizabeth (nee Ducklow) Hanson. Frank and John went into the nearest town to re-supply needed groceries for the event. John had recently bought a new 1923 Ford Coupe that he enjoyed showing off, so this what they drove to Poskin. They collected the needed supplies at the Farmer's store started back home. No doubt deep in conversation, their car came to the railroad crossing just to the north of town. As they crossed the tracks, an east-bound SOO passenger train slammed into their car throwing them some distance and killing them both instantly. Frank did have a long life, as he was 84 at his death. Sadly, John Hanson, age 68, had apparently just retired from farming.


Mary Ann Ducklow Good lived another eight years after Frank's death. She died 25 May 1931 at age 88. She and Frank are both buried in the Cottage Grove Cemetery near their family farm in Dane County. Three of their seven children, William, Nellie, and Sidney, are also buried in the same family plot.

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Interconnected Families – A Shared Faith Community

John and Elizabeth Dukelow (Thomas’ parents) were one family of a cluster of Protestant families that were tightly interconnected. Catholic tenant farmers dominated the population in much of County Cork, Ireland. But, as a result of some artifacts of ancient land ownership rights, there was a small concentrated group of Protestants tenant farmers in far western side of Cork. Because of so few Protestants families around them, these families formed a tight and complex social network with each other. Nearly all the Protestant families there were either related by blood or by marriage. These inter-family complexities occurred for many generations, with the subculture reinforced by Penal Laws (see the History Back Drop on Penal Laws). From the outside this group appeared to be one large extended family. Family names in this cluster included the Swantons, Goods, Roycrafts, Loves, Youngs, and likely also included the Gallaghers and Nicholsons.

These strong inter-family relationships continued when families emigrated from Ireland to New York State and held fast as some families from this cluster eventually settled in Wisconsin.

One example of this interconnectedness is revealed around the Christening and eventual wedding of Thomas and Elizabeth’s first born, Mary Ann. Mary Ann’s baptismal sponsor when she was three months old was Thomas Good. Twenty-two years later, the same Thomas Good became her father-in-law! Mary Ann married Frank Good, son of Thomas Good, in the year 1865. This wedding appears to have been an "arranged" marriage. Mary Ann lived in Dodge County and Frank lived in Dane County. This distance of 60 or more miles was a major obstacle to romance in the 1860s! Imagine the effort it took to travel that distance (and back) by horse. Frank and Mary Ann had only met each other two or perhaps three times before their wedding. However, they apparently got along well as there marriage lasted over 59 years!

The strong inter-family relationships also became a part of the political picture in Rochester New York during the 1800s. The Dukelow family was part of what was labeled the “99 Cousins” which controlled much the Rochester City government in the 1840s and 1850s. More on what were called the “99 Cousins” will be discussed later.

Thomas and Elizabeth’s son John T married twice. His second marriage in 1904 may be some of the last vestiges of this closely connected extended family group. John’s marriage, at age 57 is to his first cousin, Kathryn Nicholson, age 37. Kathryn is Elizabeth’s niece, daughter of Elizabeth’s brother George Nicholson [see separate discussion about George Nicholson under post "Elizabeth Nicholson's Family.]