Wildermuth Family - Louisa Olive Wildermuth - page 2 - Ivy Fisher's typed letter

[continued from page 1]
Juneau Co. While here the husband decided that he was not and could not be a farmer and as he had had good success selling various rights he tried salesmanship, selling nursery stock for Cass and Hayes of Ithaca, Richland Co. He was so successful that he decided to make a business of it and not wishing to leave his family alone among strangers so much they moved back to Richland Co. and lived in her father's old hop house while raising and repairing the old log cabin. This old hop house with its double stood just across the road from the family cemetery and was later used as a school house while the new one was being built. - The family remained on the 40 for about 8 years clearing up the heavy timber, rolling the logs in great piles and burning them. The salable ones were later hauled to mills but in the early day many logos that would have made valuable timber later, were burned to get them out of the was. The father sold nursery stock winters and cleared a few acres and planted an orchard and a vineyard and planned to raise some nursery stock but did not accomplish much in this line, however, he planted about a half acre of the first red clover in the vicinity. It was very successful and men came from other neighborhoods to see it as no one believed it could be made to grow there.-

During the 8 years spent on this place three more children were added to the family-Floyd, Coral and Winnie, and under the strain of the large family and the heavy work incident to "carrying on" in the absence of the husband the morthers health broke and the consequent expense made a change seem necessary. The place was mortgaged and the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin. in March 1886 where the father and son Claude took up the study of telegraphy while Lou and Ivy boarded telegraph students. Later the husband gave up the study on  account of earning money for necessary expenses also because he could not concentrate on study. He worked in the Capital building during State Legislature and in the spring of 1887 moved the family to Vilas, a small country village 10 or 12 miles east of Madison. While here domestic troubles culminated in a separation, the father going away and the mother and children living at Vilas until the spring of 1889 when they moved to Plano, Illinois. They remained here until the fall of 1894 when they moved to DeKalb, Illinois, where she died February 20, 1895 and was buried in the family cemetery on her father's old farm in Richland County, Wisconsin on the lot with her father and mother.

The dates in this short sketch of mother's life I had father verify when I was asked to write the sketch for the Wildermuth family history which has never been published. I still have father's letter where he filled in the dates and facts for me.

Now Winnies, if there are other things you'd like to ask about the family, do not hesitate to do so as I have plenty of time to write anything that might be of interest to you, so far as I can remember or have data and will be glad to do so.
                                                         
                                                             Ivy
5/7/42

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