The openness of the land
made it relatively easy to clear the land of trees and break the
sod to the plow using a team of oxen. The Dervin-Langer-Selle-Vacek Farm History
by Edward G. Langer
with Henry, Vern and David A. Langer
Copyright 2006
This history deals with a farm in Section 27 of Clyman Township, Dodge County, Wisconsin from its first sale in 1844 to 2002. During this period, the farm was only by four families -- the Dervins, the Langers, the Selles and the Vaceks.
Pre-Written History
When the first Europeans arrived in the Clyman area, it is
likely that it was relatively open. As a general rule, land in
Dodge County west of the Rock River was open, while land to the
east of the river was forested. This was due to the effect of
forest fires which would race through open spaces but stop at the
river and its surrounding marshes. Only fire-resistant trees,
like the bur oak, survived the fires.
The openness of the land
made it relatively easy to clear the land of trees and break the
sod to the plow using a team of oxen.
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, central Dodge County was sparsely populated. In the 1830s, there were Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Indian villages in this section of the state, at Fox Lake and on the Rock River, but none close to Clyman. The presence of Indians is shown by the number of arrowheads the Langers found while working the fields.
There would have been an abundance of wildlife in the area, including deer, wolves and small game animals. (Items to research -- Need to confirm the types sighted – did it include buffalo and elk -- both were present in Southern Wisconsin. John Gurda in The Making of Milwaukee at page 8 reports that buffalo roamed in Milwaukee county so they probably were in Dodge County as well. Per Gurda at 17-18, beaver were hunted to near extinction by the 1820s and the trade items were raccoon, deer and muskrat pelts. Did the wetlands contain wild rice? Where were Indian trails? Check surveyors notes on the flora -- should be at Wisconsin State Historical Society)
The Tenure of Hugh Dervin
Clyman Township was originally settled primarily by Irish
settlers. The original patent holder of the Langer property was
Hugh Dervin who acquired 200 acres in Section 27 of Dodge County
from the United States as two parcels in 1844 and 1847 at a cost
of $1.25 an acre.
This was a large sum of money since a year's
wages for an unskilled laborer was about $200.00. Dervin
purchased not only the main farm but also the farm directly to
the north. He resold the 40 acres to the north sometime prior to
the marking of the 1859 plat map. Also in 1848 a Mary Jane
Dervin bought 40 acres adjacent to the main Dervin farm from the
United States. I have not determined who this person is though
some of Hugh Dervin’s relatives also settled in Clyman township
per their obituaries.
Hugh Dervin (1808 - 1880) was born in County Roscommon, Ireland probably in the village of Elfin. His wife, Ann (1820-1895), was also born in County Roscommon, Ireland and they married in New York City. She worked for a wealthy family there as a governess or child’s nurse. At age sixteen, Hugh was a carriage boy for a wealthy family who owned a shoe factory. He was treated as a member of the family; they promised him that for every dollar he saved, they would match it. As a result, he could afford a wagon with a team of oxen to go west to Wisconsin.
They had at least six children: Mary Jane (Ca. 1845 -),
Bridget (1846 - ), Richard (1850 - 1830), Ellen (1848 to about
1850), Ann Adelaide (1852 - ), and Hugh (ca 1856 - 1902). All
the children were born in Wisconsin, and at least the three
youngest were born on the Langer farm.
When the Dervins moved to this farm, it is unlikely they brought much with them -- some work animals, a plough, saws, yokes, harnesses, simple tools, clothes, household goods, etc. There first priority would be to build a simple log cabin for themselves and their livestock. The materials were on hand; all that was needed was to do the back-breaking work of cutting the trees and building the simple structures. Then they would turn to till the soil using their oxen and a plow.
It is not known why the Dervins left Ireland though it was probably due to poor economic conditions. Hugh Dervin did not forget his roots for in August, 1848 he contributed $1.00 to the Dodge County Irish Relief Society.
By the time of the 1850 census, Dervin had made great strides in clearing the land and beginning an operating farm. (For the details of the census see Appendix A). Dervin reported on that census that he had 40 acres of improved land, which presumably means cleared. The census data suggests that the operation was not much beyond a subsistence level. In 1850, the most substantial crop was 60 bushels of potatoes. Only 20 bushels of wheat were grown and this probably went for bread and to feed the livestock. 250 pounds of butter was likely beyond the needs of the family and so they probably sold some of this.
The buildings on the farm in 1850 were probably simple, a house, a shed and a barn to shelter their 3 cows, 4 oxen, 6 swine and s head of other cattle. The oldest building from that period to survive into the second half of this century was the west shed (aka the bicycle shed). The joists supporting the floor of the south end of this shed consist of small tree trunks. No attempt was made to cut them into planks. This primitive building style indicates that the shed was built very early in the tenure of Hugh Dervin. The size of the doors on this shed and the height of the basement indicates that it was used for small animals such as swine and young stock, not the oxen and cattle. A barn was probably constructed by 1850 to house these animals. No trace of this survived into this century though it was believed to have been south of the house.
By 1860 it appears that Hugh Dervin had moved from subsistence agriculture in 1850 to a market-oriented farming operation by 1860 given the total acres cleared, grain production and animals in use. Since the Chicago and Northwestern Railway put down the tracks from Watertown to Clyman to Fond du Lac in 1859, he was able to ship his products to market in Watertown.
1) By 1860, Dervin was able to clear 100 of the 160 acres of the farm. Due to the difficulty in draining the substantial amount of wetlands on the farm, only a little over 100 acres were able to be cleared. The only remaining woods, which consisted of 6 to 8 acres, were needed to supply lumber and fuel. The land cleared was well beyond what the Dervins needed to supply them with fruits and vegetables, as indicated by the fact that in 1880 the Dervins raised all the potatoes they needed on just one-half acre of land.
3) From 1850 to 1860, grain production had increased from 20 bushels to 700 bushels, again far beyond the personal needs of the Dervin family. By 1870, grain production was at 1450 bushels, where it appeared to stabilize. It is likely that the wheat crop was being sold at a market by 1860.
3) As noted above, oxen were used to clear land and to break sod. After the land had been broken to the plow, it was possible to use horses for agricultural purposes. Thus, the move from oxen to horses is a rough measure of economic development. Here, the number of oxen had dropped from four in 1850 to two in 1860, while during the same period, the number of cleared acres went from 40 to 100 acres. By 1870, no oxen remained on the farm.
The data also suggests that by 1860 a number of additional buildings were required to house this farming operation. The north end of the west shed was probably added by 1860, since the size of the Dervins' farming operation in terms of animals and grain production appears to have peaked by 1870. Between 1850 and 1860, the Dervins started raising sheep (17) and had also started producing sizeable amounts of grain (600 bushels of wheat). It is likely that these activities would have necessitated the construction of the granary by 1860 to store grain as well as shelter smaller livestock. In contrast to the primitive joists in the south end of the west shed, the joists in the north end of this shed and the granary are rough-cut, though they do not appear to be milled. (It should be noted that the original granary was smaller than the existing building, since the Langers added the western part of that building.)
Of uncertain date are the smoke house and the tractor shed, although both are rather primitive in construction, suggesting that they would have been built during the tenure of Hugh Dervin. I suspect that the tractor shed was built on the foundation of the Dervin log cabin since the Dervin family history states that in 1947 “the old log cabins were still standing and being used for corn cribs, etc.” During much of the twentieth century, there was an orchard south of the house where the pole barn is now sited. It is not known when these trees were planted. The Dervins reported having an orchard in 1860 and so they may have planted it.
On March 9, 1861, Dervin deeded three of the acres of his farm to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. A church was built that year and the parish of the Holy Assumption organized. A parsonage was built in 1873. In 1896, Edward Collins donated an additional half acre of land which is on the north end of the premises. Services were held there until 1908, when the church was destroyed by fire. The cemetery remains. The parsonage was sold to Emil Richter who moved it to Clyman to use as his residence. This is why the current farm is only 157 acres.
It is likely that the house was build in the last half of
the 1860s since it appears that Dervin refinanced the farm in
1864.
Also, the value of the farm increased from $3000 in
1860 to $8000 in 1870, even though there was no sizeable increase
in herd size or grain production warranting the construction of
large farm buildings. None of the agricultural buildings if
actually built during the 1860s appear to be expensive enough to
cause such a marked increase in the value of the farm. This
suggests that the farmhouse was built in the late 1860s.
The house design is a fairly common type of house known as a
"gabled-ell". The house has a two-story upright section with its
gabled end facing the road. A smaller attached wing with a front
porch is attached to the left of the upright and also faces the
road. Generally, the two-story upright had a parlor in the front
and pantry and/or bedroom along with the stairs behind it. The
wing contained the combined kitchen-family room. Normally there
was an attached summer kitchen.
A drawing of the original house is attached hereto. It should be noted that the wing of the original house did not contain a second story. The function of the rooms in the house appear to correspond with the pattern for the area. The original kitchen was probably separate from the actual living room and was located on the south end of the house in what was later used as a bedroom. I base this statement in part on the fact that when the second floor apartment was added at the turn of the century, a room of the same size and in the same location was intended to serve as a kitchen. There is also a chimney base on that end of the house. The large room in the two-story upright section probably served as a parlor. The northwestern room was probably a bedroom. The southwestern room of the two-story upright section probably served as a pantry. It is likely that the children slept in the loft area on the second floor.
In April 1879, the Dervins joined with a group of neighbors to file articles of incorporation for the Union Cheese Association. Although Hugh Dervin was listed as an incorporator, his son Richard signed the articles on incorporation.
Hugh Dervin died on June 10, 1880 and was buried in Saint Bernard’s Cemetery in Watertown, Wisconsin. He was survived by his widow, Ann and five children: Richard, Mary Jane, Bridget, Ann and Hugh. A will had been prepared shortly before his death and on June 9, he signed it with an "X". A petition to probate the estate of Hugh Dervin was filed on July 6, 1880. The petition represented that the goods, chattels and personal property of the estate of the deceased amounted to about $700.00 and the real estate to about $8000.00. The inventory of October 29, 1880 valued the farm at $3200.00 and the other personal estate at $561.00, as follows:
Household Furniture$ 30.00
One span of horses, about 17 years old 100.00
One span of horses, one about 4 and
another 17 years old 125.00
One yearling colt 30.00
Five cows, each worth $15 75.00
Two heifers, each at $12 24.00
Four head of cattle at $8 32.00
Five calves at $4 20.00
Fourteen sheep 21.00
Nine hogs at $3 27.00
Two wagons at $10 20.00
One reaper 20.00
One seeder 20.00
One sleigh 5.00
One drag and two ploughs 10.00
Forks and rakes 2.00
A review of this inventory show how labor-intensive Dervin's farm operation was. It is likely that the only real improvement in the mechanization of agriculture on the farm from 1850 to 1880 was the addition of the reaper and seeder. The wagons, sleigh, drag and plow were likely used early in the operation of the farm.
The farm stayed in the Dervin family for two and a half years after Hugh's death. It is not known why none of the children took over the farm operation. After it was sold, the widow and children moved to Omaha, Nebraska where Richard bought a farm.
The Purchase by the Langers
The farm was purchased on January 8, 1883 by Johann Langer
for $3500.00 from Francis Duffy and Ann Dervin. Johann Langer had
emigrated to the Watertown area in 1867 from the small village of
Ober Johnsdorf, County of Landskron, Kingdom of Bohemia, Empire
of Austria. The Langers had a farm of about 50 acres in Ober
Johnsdorf which was one of the larger farms in the village. It
appears that Johann Langer emigrated to America as a reaction to
the occupation of Ober Johnsdorf by Prussians troops after the
Prussians beat the Austrians at the Battle of Königgratz. During
the occupation, the Prussian army confiscated grain from Johann
Langer and made him deliver the grain to the Prussians. (After
the occupation, Johann filed a claim for his losses with the
Austrian government.) The next spring, he and his family,
including his 62 year old father, emigrated to America.
They
arrived in April and purchased a 60-acre farm in the Town of
Emmet approximately 2 1/2 miles northwest of Watertown on May
28,1867. Johann used a $400 mortgage to purchase the farm. He
paid off the mortgage the next year, on October 24, 1868.
In sharp contrast to farming in America, there were no farmsteads in the Ober Johnsdorf area separate from the villages. In Ober Johnsdorf, the farm buildings were located on both sides of a road; farm fields stretched straight back from the buildings until they met the farms of another village. (In other areas, the farmers ended at the woods or an untillable hill). Generally, farmers in Ober Johnsdorf cultivated contiguous lands, not fields sprinkled around the area as occurs in other areas of Europe. It could, however, be a considerable distance from the farm buildings to the limits of the property. Also, some of the land was wooded or low, which provided a natural barrier separating tillable parcels within the farm.
The farm buildings were also different in Ober Johnsdorf. Generally, the living quarters were physically connected to the farm buildings. The more elaborate farmsteads were set up in a U-shape or formed a square with a courtyard in the middle. The latter square form probably developed in an attempt to provide some protection against thieves and foreign soldiers and it also allowed the farmer to secure his animals and crops from marauding animals.
By the 1880s, the Irish were leaving the farms of Clyman either for town life or for new lands in the West. I have found an ad for the farm in the December 3, 1881 edition of the Watertown Weltbuerger. It reads as follows:
Farm zu verkaufen, bestehend in 157 Acres in Town Clyman an der Juneau-Road, 7 Meilen nördlich von Watertown. Davon sind 100 Acres unter Cultur, 12 Acres Holz, der Rest gute Wiese und Weide. Auch verkaufe ich die Farm auf Verlangen in mehrere Stücke getrennt. Preis billig. Wegen des Räberen wende man sich mündlich order schriftlich an Frau H Dervin, Clyman, Dodge-Co., Wis., oder an Ed. F. Masterson, Landagent in Watertown.
Translated, it reads:
Farm for sale, 157 acres in the Town of Clyman on the Juneau Road, 7 miles north of Watertown. It has 100 acres under cultivation, 12 acres of woods, the rest is pastures and meadows. I will also sell the farm in smaller parcels. Price cheap. Further inquiries should be directed, either orally or in writing, to Mrs. H. Dervin, Clyman, Dodge, Co. Wis. or to Ed. F. Masterson, land agent in Watertown.
About the time the Langers purchased their Clyman farm, two other families from Ober Johnsdorf, who like Johann Langer had originally settled northwest of Watertown, also bought farms in or near Clyman Township. One family, the Richters, purchased a farm east of the Langer farm, and the second family, the Kreuzigers, purchased a farm south of the Langers in Emmet Township. In addition, other German families, both Catholic and Lutheran, bought farms from the Irish.
In 1883, the Langer family consisted of 9 people: Johann Langer and his wife Barbara Schmid; their eldest daughter, Mary (later Mrs. Frank Klecker, born October 18, 1862); Anna (later Mrs. Ernst Klecker, born November 10, 1864); Emilie (later Mrs. John Kreuziger, born November 6, 1870); Emma (later Mrs. Bernard Zeiner, born February 14, 1873); Henry (later married Amelia Pitterle, born March 6, 1875); Edward (born July 23, 1872, died June, 1883); and John (later married Martha Indra, born November 15, 1880). At least two other children had died in infancy: another child named Edward (October 31, 1866 - March 12, 1867; this baby probably died during the trip to America) and Emil (July 8, 1868 - January 26, 1869).
An analysis of the 1870 and 1880 census data suggests several conclusions. (See Appendix). By 1880, the Langers were heavily involved in commercial agriculture. This is shown both by the extensive grain and milk production. The Langers sold 3500 gallons of milk in 1880, in sharp contrast to the limited sales by the Dervins of only 562 gallons. They produced 500 bushels of wheat, 200 bushels of corn, 220 bushels of oats and 160 acres of barley. The Langers' purchase of the Clyman farm was probably prompted by a desire for more acreage for grain production and also to go into dairy farming in a larger fashion. This would explain why the Langers built a new barn when they bought the farm. (It should be noted that only the southern three-quarters of the barn was built by the Langers in the 1880s. Johann Langer's son Henry added the northern end around 1910).
The Tenure of Johann Langer
Ironically, less is known about the tenure of Johann Langer than about the tenure of Hugh Dervin. Unfortunately, the 1890 census was lost in a fire and the later censuses do not contain agricultural data for each farm. What is known is the following:
1) The barn was built shortly after the farm was purchased.
2) There was a carriage shed built south of the house, where the freezer house now stands. It is not known if Johann or his son Henry built this building.
3) Around 1900, a second-floor apartment was added above the south section of the farmhouse for Johann Langer and his wife Barbara to live in after their son Henry took over the farm. This apartment consisted of a living room, a bedroom and a kitchen. For some unknown reason, however, Johann and Barbara moved to Watertown instead, where they lived until their deaths: Johann in 1906, Barbara in 1922.
It is not known whether the Langers cleared any land.
The Tenure of Henry Langer
On November 26, 1901, Henry Langer married Amelia Pitterle. As the eldest surviving son, Henry would take over the farm from his then 71-year-old father. As noted above, Johann and Barbara were originally going to live in the newly-built apartment, but instead they moved to town. On November 18, 1905, his parents transferred the farm to Henry on the condition that upon Johann's death Henry would pay his four surviving siblings $1500.00 each and provide his mother with firewood, one fat dressed hog and $300.00 each year until her death. Since Johann died the next spring, on April 28, 1906, it is likely that Johann transferred the farm in contemplation of his death.
Henry and Amelia had six children: Gertrude (June 22, 1904 - October 1, 1910); Francis James (April 5, 1909 - January 10, 1989); Leo (September 28, 1910 - March 26, 1984); Marcella (April 22, 1915 - died at birth); Jeanette Mary (March 3, 1917 - living); and Henry Ferdinand (February 6, 1919 - living).
During the early decades of the 20th century, the Langers continued to grow grains, such as barley and wheat, as a cash crop. However, corn was only infrequently grown during this period. Milk production was a vital part of the farming operation. Oats was raised and marsh hay for horses was cut from the wetter portion of the farm and from a 20-acre parcel of marshlands near the dump north of Clyman that the Langers owned in the late 1920s. Timothy hay was grown for the cows. Silage was introduced in the 1920s. The cows also ate straw from the grain crops.
There was much material progress on the farm during Henry's
tenure. It is believed that Henry is the person who added the
permanent kitchen to the house.
This addition was structured
much different from the present kitchen. On the north end of the
kitchen was a long closet which included a trapdoor to the
basement. Off the kitchen was a pantry..
Henry and Sister Grace --- Help!!!
In 1910, an addition was built to the north end of the barn. Between 1913 and 1919, a telephone was installed. The first car, an Overland, was purchased in 1916, and the first tractor, a McCormick Deering, was purchased in 1921. Around 1920, the carriage shed was extended to accommodate the new automobiles. The first silo was built in 1918; the second, in 1924. Also in 1924, a grain thresher was purchased and a shed built for it west of the main farm buildings.
The farm was powered by a small electric generator until 1936, when the first power lines were strung to the farm. Up until that year, the house and barn had gas globes for lighting. Some tiling for drainage was done by Henry Langer, and Francis Langer tiled the west side.
The First World War did not adversely affect the Langer family. Henry did receive a draft notice which greatly upset his wife Amelia. Amelia insisted on traveling with Henry and their three children, Francis, Leo, and Jeanette (later Sister Grace), to the draft board. Amelia asked the board how she was supposed to run a farm by herself and care for three small children. Apparently, the argument was persuasive, since Henry escaped the draft.
In 1919, Henry was kicked by a cow and he broke his arm when it struck a pole. Henry rented the farm for the next year. At first they lived with Henry's mother in Watertown. They then took a train to California where they lived with Amelia's sister, Dora, for about four months.During this stay in California, Henry and Amelia took Francis and Leo to see some ostriches. (There are pictures recording this). When they returned, they rented a house in Watertown.
During the 1920s, Henry prospered on the farm. Farm prices were high and with two young sons to help, he ddi not have to rely on outside labor. Henry's eldest son, Francis, was forced to quit school in 1923, after finishing 8th grade. Neither of the younger boys, Leo or Henry attended high school. For their labor on the farm, both Francis and Leo received new cars in the late 20s. Leo stayed on the farm until 1933, when he married Alta Plasil and moved to the old Caughlin place, kitty-corner from Henry's farm. At the time of Leo's marriage, Francis was still single, though he was dating Gertrud Hofmann, his future bride.
Henry Langer's tenure ended on August 16, 1933, when he was killed in a farm accident. Sister Grace recalls that over breakfast that morning, the family talked about the need to dig a grave in the Holy Assumption Cemetery due to Pat Stanton's death. Ironically, her father would be buried there first.
It was a hot, muggy day and some of the neighbors had arrived to help with the threshing. Around 10:00 a.m., Henry stepped up on the thresher wheel to make an adjustment to the governor. John Schultz was pitching grain bundles into the threshing machine on that side and saw him slip off the machine and fall backwards, striking the ground with his head and shoulders. John Schultz said he was dead before he hit the ground. I believe it was a heart attack. He was pronounced dead of a broken neck at the age of 58.
A good glimpse of how farming had evolved from 1880 to the 1930s is shown by contrasting the estate inventory of Hugh Dervin with the estate inventory of Henry Langer.
6 Canners$ 90.00
14 Cows at $30.00 ea. 420.00
1 Bull 30.00
6 Yearlings or younger 75.00
1 " " " 20.00
1 Team (10&11 Yrs) 250.00
1 Horse (16 yrs.) 40.00
1 Team (13 & 12) 150.00
23 Hogs 30.00
1 Tractor (McDeering 15-30) 100.00
1 Threshing machine 125.00
1 Enselage Cutter 10.00
3 Drags 25.00
1 Manure Spreader 10.00
2 Bottom plow 15.00
1 Hay Loader )
1 Mower )
1 Side Delivery) 70.00
1 Hay Teader)
1 Dumprake)
2 Wagons & Racks 50.00
1 Trick Wagon & Box 15.00
1 Manure Spreader 60.00
1 Bob Sleigh 10.00
1 Walking Plow 5.00
1 Grain Seeder 15.00
2 Corn Cultivators 25.00
1 Minn. Grain Harvester 100.00
1 Fanning Mill 1.00
1 Feed Grinder 5.00
1-6 ft. Horse Drawn Disc. 1.00
1 Corn Planter 15.00
1 Corn Binder and Loader 15.00
1 Truck (Chev. 1927) 50.00
1 Oakland Auto 50.00
Oil in drums 20.00
Barley 200 bu. 50.00
Oats 1450 bu. 290.00
Corn 125 bu. 37.50
Alfalfa 33 tons 225.00
Marsh Hay 8 Tons 25.00
Miscellaneous Tools 10.00
Milk cans 7 equip. 15.00
Corn Sheller 1.00
Work harnesses 25.00
Scales 5.00
$2580.50
Clearly, by 1933, farming had changed from being labor intensive with few tools to one where much of labor was provided by horses and machinery. Although clearly an arduous life, Henry was engaging in a sizeable commercial farming operation which had made him a relatively rich man. In addition to the farm equipment, the estate valued the real property at $11,925.00, bonds at $1920.14, Open Accounts at $52.66, stock at $333.32, mortgages at $3590.50, notes at $47.15. Since this was the Great Depression, these investments were valued at a fraction of their original value. The face value of the bonds alone was in excess of $9,000.00. Clearly Henry had prospered on the farm. Unfortunately, he lost much of this wealth in the Depression.
Henry Ferdinand Langer's Description of Farm Life
(The following is Henry's written description of farm life. Certain minor changes were made for purposes of clarification and flow. In addition, Henry provided the attached map which he refers to in his narrative.)
The crops grown were oats, corn, barley and hay. I don't know how much plowland there was, but I will estimate 30 acres of oats, which was ground and used as hog and cow feed, 10 acres of barley, which was either sold or ground and fed to the hogs, 5 acres of wheat and oats mixed for chicken feed, 30-35 acres of corn (about 20 acres for silage and the rest picked by hand) and 30 acres of alfalfa or red clover, seeded with a mixture of timothy, for hay. These crops were rotated, except field number 3 was always in hay, and field numbers 7 and 9 were pasture most of the years I can remember. The marsh was always cut for horse hay. (We always had five horses).
The first tractor, a McCormick Deering 15-30, was purchased in 1921. It was a straight tractor, not a farm-all. The tractor was used for plowing, though some plowing was done with the horses. The tractor was also used to work up the land before planting. A spring tooth harrow (like a field cultivator without wheels) and a spike tooth harrow were pulled behind the tractor to loosen up the ground that had been plowed in the fall to make a seed bed to plant the grain in. The tractor had a power take-off (a shaft direct from the engine crankshaft that protruded out the back of the tractor). At first, there was no field machinery that was set up to be driven that way. About 1930, combines and machines that chopped hay and corn in the field were driven by power take-off. As these machine sizes got larger, an engine was mounted on these machines to drive them and the tractor just pulled them. The tractor also had a belt pulley that shifted in gear with the same lever that shifted the power take-off. The tractor was connected with an endless belt to stationary machines with a pulley on them for driving such as the circle saw, silo filler, grain thrasher, feed grainer and corn shredder.
Planting
Grain was seeded with a horse-drawn seeder, which broadcast the seed and had a double row of small shoes behind to cover the grain. Then the field was gone over with a spike tooth harrow (a drag). If the field was seeded to alfalfa, red clover and timothy, a wooden roller was used to cover the hay seed. The roller was also used if the ground was lumpy to break up the lumps.
Hay was seeded with a broadcast seeder which hung around your neck and had a handle you turned as you walked across the field.
Planting corn was done with a horse-drawn planter, and a spike tooth harrow was used on the field after the corn was planted to fill the planter tracks and to allow for easy cultivating. (The use of cultivator was necessary because there was no spraying of poisons during these years).
Fertilization and Cultivation
Much of the field work done after planting was done by hand since there were no commercial fertilizer or weed killers in those days. Thistles in the grain were cut with a corn knife as they headed out and thistles in the corn were hoed by hand. Francis and Leo did all the corn cultivating which was done with a team of horses drawing the cultivator. One man sat on the cultivator. There were foot pedals to steer it to keep it on the row. I remember them finding arrow heads or pieces of them.
The manure was hauled out of the barn, hog stable and hen house and spread with a manure spreader on the fields that were to be planted to corn. When the ground was frozen, the manure was hauled out on a wagon and dumped on small piles a distance apart. When the ground thawed in spring, they could be spread by hand and get equal coverage of the ground -- hard work.
Thrashing
Dad had a route of 9-10 neighbors he thrashed for. They all exchanged help with teams of horses and wagons as needed. I think Dad got 3 cents a bushel to cover his expenses and for the use of the tractor and thrashing machine. The grain was cut with a grainbinder. The grainbinder was drawn by three horses. A steel wheel, about 8 inches wide and 30 inches in diameter with lugs on it, drove the moving parts and the canvas apron through a series of chains, gears, etc. The sickle, which cut the grain, was about five feet long. After the grain was cut, a reel, turning at the same ground speed the machine was moving, pushed the grain onto a platform. A canvas conveyor apron, about 3 feet wide, carried the grain up to an area where it was held till the required amount of grain pushed a trip. Then a large 1/2 circle needle with the twine in the eye in the front end traveled around the bundle to where three fingers grabbed the twine, tied the ends in a knots and a knife cut the twine. Two arms came around and pushed the bundle out on six long rods curved up on the end. These were dumped in rows by the man driving the horses when there were 3 or 4 bundles on them. Workers set these bundles up in shocks of 8 to 10 bundles. This way they did not have to walk all over the field to gather them.
Six of the farmers thrashed for would come with a team of horses and hay wagon. Farmers with more grain to be thrashed than the smaller farmers would come with two men. There would be two men who stayed in the field to help the man with the team and load the bundles onto the wagon. When the wagon was loaded, it would go to the thrashing machine. A man would pitch the bundles into the thrasher, one at a time. The bundles first encountered a revolving shaft with sharp knives on it that would cut the twine that held the bundle together. Then another high speed drum with teeth 1/2 in wide, 3 inches long and 3/8 inch thick would drag the straw through plates that had the same teeth spaced so those on the drum went between them. This broke up the straw and knocked the grain out of the heads. The grain and straw then went over some sieves which could be adjusted to leave different size material through. There was a fan below that blew straw and chaff out of the grain. Dad's job was to make these adjustments, grease and oil the machinery so the bearings would not run hot, etc. The straw and chaff went into a blower in the back of the thrasher and was blown onto a stack. The man being thrashed for stayed on the stack and shaped it. The grain was elevated to the top of the machine to a small hopper that weighed it and dumped it into a pipe that branched to two places where bags were hung. One man watched these while three men with a team of horses and wagon with a double box on it hauled these bags of grain to the farmer's granary where they were dumped in bins.
Making hay
Dad, Francis and Leo always worked together during haying. The hay was cut with a mower drawn by two horses. It had a sickle about five feet long driven by the steel wheels on the mower. A side delivery rake, drawn by two horse, rolled the hay into windrows and, if it rained, turned the windrows.
Two horses pulled a hay loader and the hay wagon. The loader straddled the windrows of hay, picked up the hay and carried it up on the wagon with a series of ropes and slats. One or two men rode on the wagon and leveled the hay until the wagon was fully loaded with loose hay.
Unloading the hay was a three person operation. A fork and track system were used. Running the length of the barn roof was a track. A fork was suspended by rope from this track with the other end of the rope hooked to a team of horses. During unloading, one of the workers set the fork into the hay. I then drove the horses away from the barn which lifted the hay up to the track. There the fork locked into a set of wheels on the track. The hay was then rolled to the appropriate mow and dumped by pulling on a rope. The other two workers spread the hay in the mow.
Harvesting Corn and Making Silage
A corn binder, drawn by three horses, was used for both harvesting corn and for making silage. The corn binder had two snouts about five feet long to pick up stalks that were laying on the ground. A chain with inch and a half cleats protruding from it ran along the inside of the snout and fed the corn into the area where the corn was cut by a sickle a couple inches above the ground and tied into a bundle. These bundles were pitched by hand on a wagon.
If the corn was to be used for silage, the wagon was hauled to the silo filler. The silo filler was a machine with a feeder about six feet long, eighteen inches wide and about six inches deep. Inside the feeder ran a conveyor consisting of steel strips about one and a half inches high. The silo filler was driven by a belt connected to the tractor. Corn bundles were pitched into the conveyor which carried them into a drum with one quarter inch cleats. Strong springs compressed the bundles down. A heavy steel flywheel, forty inches in diameter and one inch thick, with three knives attached, cut the corn into one half inch lengths. Fan plates attached to this high speed flywheel threw and blew the cut corn up the pipe into the silo.
If the ripe corn was to be harvested, the cut corn was shocked and left to dry in the field for a couple weeks. Then it was loaded on a wagon and hauled to the shredder. There the shocks were pitched into the feeder where a man standing on a platform cut the strings. Closely spaced rollers in the shredder popped the corn ears off the stalks. In the process, the stalks were torn up and blown out onto a stack. The ears continued over a series of rollers with short pins in them which took off the husks. The husked ears were elevated out on a wagon and hauled to a crib.
Cutting Wood
We made wood in the winter. There were two wooded area on the farm: one woods southwest of the buildings and one woods east of the road by the cemetery. The wood was cut primarily by hand, using an ax, wedges, a maul to drive the wedges and a crosscut saw. The tree was cut by the crosscut saw which was from five to eight feet in length with a handle on each end. A man on each end of the saw would pull the saw toward him till the tree was cut. The small branches were cut with the ax. The tree was then sawed into lengths that one man could handle. If the logs were too heavy, the log was split with the wedges into quarters or whatever until one man could lift the pieces. When all the dead trees were cut, a team of horses were hitched to a wagon and the wood loaded on it and hauled to the sawing area which was southeast of the thrasher barn. There they were stacked standing on end so that rain and snow would drain off. Later they were cut into smaller pieces by the circle saw. The circle saw had a heavy square frame about three feet high and a platform on rollers. A three inch shaft connected the thirty to thirty six inch circular saw on one end of the frame and the drive pulley on the other end. A belt connected the drive shaft with the tractor. One piece of wood was laid on the platform and pushed into the saw and cut into whatever length was needed. Three men carried wood from the pile to the saw, one man ran the saw table and one man caught the pieces after they were sawed and threw them on a pile. Later they were split to the needed size for the cook stove. We let the wood dry all summer. In fall, it was hauled to the woodshed which was on the east end of the garage where the freezer house now stands.
Milking
Milking was done by hand. Normally the three of us boys did the milking. Most of the time when one of us wasn't home for milking, Mother would help with the milking. Milking was always at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Field work was always stopped in time for us to eat supper before starting milking at 6:00 p.m.
During the years 1930 to 1933, we milked about 25 cows. Five or six, maybe more, heifer calves were raised a year. The milk went to the cheese factory and whey was brought back. Whey is what was left of the milk after cheese was made. The hogs liked it much better than water. We took milk every day for use in the house. I don't remember at what age I started milking. I was maybe 9 when Dad finally let me milk one cow after begging for some time to be able to help. I would set up the strainer. The 200 pound milk cans were too big for me to handle empty. Cooling milk was my job. The full milk cans were set in a tank of cold water. To circulate the milk, we placed a six inch round plate connected by a 3/8 inch rod to a handle into the milk can and raised and lowered the plate.
Livestock
We had 4-5 brood sows and so possibly 20 to 30 hogs were fattened twice a year. The brood sows were kept in the west end of the basement of the granary. The fattening hogs were under the long machine shed west of the house. Straw was hauled to the stall in the middle and it was used for bedding as needed.
One fat calf, weighing about 200 to 250 pounds, was butchered every year before Easter. Three fat hogs were butchered in the early winter of each year to make sausage, ham, headcheese and Groutenwurst (a blood sausage). The fat was trimmed off the meat and used to make lard. The sausage and ham were smoked in the smoke house. The Groutenwurst was kept frozen in ice in a 50 gallon steel barrel in the corn crib. If the weather got too warm and the sausage thawed the sausage was lost. Some meat was canned. Other meat was fried and placed with its juice in earthen jars and with 3 to 4 inches of lard on the top. The jars were kept in the cellar until the meat was eaten. There were no refrigerators or freezers.
The Chickens
The chickens were kept in the east side of the basement of the granary. The henhouse was cold and usually very damp and so we kept one of the heavy breeds such as Plymouth Rock, Barred Rock or Wyandotte. They did not lay many eggs when it got cold. In the summer, they were allowed to run outside. At night or during heavy rains they had to be gotten into the henhouse. The door always had to be closed at night to keep predators out. One of my jobs was to find the nests that they would make outside of the henhouse. If you didn't find them before they had 10 to 15 eggs in them, they would hatch them and the mother hen would parade them for you to see. Mother would set the incubator in spring with 100 eggs. She would also set a few hens at the same time so that when the incubator hatched she could put the incubator chicks with the other hens. We had no brooder or brooder house. As the chicks got older they were harder to manage. By summer, there weren't many old hens left as they were culled out. Those that weren't laying were sold or eaten. The eggs that weren't used in the house were sold to the grocery store in Clyman where we bought our groceries.
The Bees
On the south side of the woodshed was the bee house, where Dad had anywhere from 6-8 beehives. We used to get supplies from a place in Watertown. We made the boxes for the hives. The bottom section of the hive was for their winter feed. When the bottom section was filled, we would place another section on top which the bees would fill. Dad used to take them off with no gloves or screen over his face. He would just take the boxes apart and shake the bees off. The bees wouldn't bother him. I would watch from the distance and the bees would come and chase me. After Dad died, I took care of the bees for a couple years. The grocery store in Clyman sold the honey for me. I gave some to Mother, Francis and Gertrude and Leo and Alta.
Farm Chores
In those days farming was hard work, not just sitting on a tractor. Dad, Francis and Leo did all the work; no labor was hired. Generally, Dad, Francis and Leo worked together on the chores: feeding the hogs and cows, milking the cows, cleaning the barn, bedding the cows and hogs. Mother helped milk if someone wasn't home, was sick or was missing for some other reason. Otherwise she did all of the housework: cooking, canning, taking care of the garden, washing and patching clothes and making soap from the lard left over from butchering. Sister Grace helped her. Although the care of the chickens and the gathering of their eggs was my job, Mother did this when I was at school or gone.
I carried in water from the well for drinking and cooking. There was a cistern under the kitchen with rainwater collected from the house roof. This water was used for washing hands and clothes. I also carried in wood for the cook stove.
I also used my BB gun to try to keep the birds out of the cherry trees when the fruit was ripening. The gophers on our farms and the neighbors' farms ran for their holes when they saw me come. Sparrows were also on my list to shoot.
Other Aspects of Farm Life
In the winter there was spare time and Dad loved to play cards. We used to play two-handed pinochle. There was an ongoing contest to see who could beat whom. The Haases used to walk over quite often in the evening after milking. We would play 500. Dad and Mr. Haase would play against Milton and Leo or Francis. Mrs. Haase and Mother used to visit. Sometimes Mrs. Haase, Mother, Sister Grace and I used to play euchre. We used to go over there too.
The first car Dad bought was an Overland. (Francis said it was purchased in 1916.) A couple years later, when I was about 6, he bought a Dort. I told Dad that since he was old he could have the old car and since I was new I could have the new car. In 1927 he bought a Chevy truck, the first truck Chevy made in Janesville. He went down to the factory and drove it out. The truck had a closed cab with roll-down windows. In 1929, he bought a Chevrolet sedan, the first closed car.
During the Depression I remember Dad mentioning that he still made a $1000.00 profit one year. He received 3 cents a pound for pork, $6.00 for a 200 pound hog, 12 cents a dozen for eggs and 65 cents for a hundred pounds of milk. I don't recall Dad having a stress problem when weather affected the crops or with low prices, although I was not with him that much since I was in school. What killed Dad was when the stock market crashed and the money he had in stocks was worth 10 to 25 cents on the dollar.
In Spring, 1933, the John Schultz farm was bought for Leo who was going to move there after his upcoming fall wedding. We raised more heifer calves to supply him with milk cows. I am sure that brood sows were also bred for him. Brucellosis in cows had been taking its toll for a couple years. The cows would abort their calves prematurely and they didn't produce a lot of milk. There wasn't much that could be done about it. If a cow didn't give much milk, she was sold to the market as the meat was ok to eat. The testing of cows began a few years later. Dad's plan was to take all the clean cows to Leo's and try to clean up the herd at home.
After Henry's Death
After Dad died, Mother, Sister Grace and I stayed on the farm with Francis. At planting time the next spring, Mother's brother, Henry Pitterle, wasn't working and so he came out and helped during the week. That summer after Leo married and moved on the Schultz farm, as Dad had planned, the cattle were divided so there wasn't a lot of milking. I don't remember if any milk cows were bought. Since less oats and corn was needed for cattle feed, Francis planted more barley, about 30 acres, since Prohibition had ended and barley had a good price. I remember bagging it up in the granary, loading it on the wagon and Francis hauling it to the Clyman mill with the horses.
Francis plowed field number 7 which was the first time that field had even been plowed. He planted hemp because there was a shortage of hemp for rope.
Francis bought a new McCormick Deering Farmall F30 tractor which had steel wheels. Francis had them cut down and rubber tires put on it. Everyone told him he was crazy because rubber tires would not pull any machinery on plowed ground and if it was wet he would be stuck all the time.
Francis ran the threshing route in 1934 but in 1935 he bought the combine -- same people -- same thoughts.
When Francis and Gertrude were married, Mother and Sister Grace moved in with Grandma Pitterle in Watertown. Grandma was about 80 or 81 at the time and living alone. Her son Ed and his family lived across the street from her.
I stayed on the farm with Francis and Gertrude that winter. I remember cutting wood with their first hired man, Art Halverson, and going to town on Saturdays to visit the library while they shopped. I read every book in that library about beekeeping. It is very interesting how those bees work together. In probably early spring 1935, I moved to Leo and Alta's and worked for them for a few years. In the late 1930s I again worked for Francis and Gertrude for a while.
(End of Henry's Narrative)
The Tenure of Francis Langer
After the death of his father, Francis, as eldest son took over the farm. The early years of his tenure were difficult since he was starting out during the Great Depression. It was expected that Gertrud would help with the milking when she moved to the farm. She tried to milk the cows but was unable to because her hands swelled up too much. Her other responsibilities were for the house and the garden. Francis had the assistance of a hired man on the farm until the eldest son, Vern, was old enough, 14, to work on the farm. The hired men generally lived with the family and stayed in the small downstairs bedroom on the south end of the house. These hired men included Van Harris' brother Glenn. Prior to the war he made one improvement on the property. In 1938, the chicken house was built below the granary by Uncle Ed Pitterle and cousin George Pitterle. Unfortunately, this building proved to be poorly sited for poultry, due to a lack of adequate ventilation.
The Second World War did not have a serious impact on the family because Francis received a deferment due to his farming. These farm deferments were jokingly referred to as "hiding beneath the cow's tail." The Langers did grow a new crop, hemp, which was used to make rope. At one time, German prisoners of war were sent to help with the harvest. Francis still remembered enough German to converse with them.
It was late in the war, about 1944, that the Langers started to raise turkeys. They kept most of them on the range. With rationing of food during the war they had to be careful that turkeys were not stolen during the night. Francis became extensively involved with this industry. Francis signed the charter for the state's turkey council in a lawyer's office in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He and Gertrud went to turkey conventions almost every year. Some of these were state conventions and others were national conventions. These were held in Minneapolis, Eau Claire, Chicago and Milwaukee. They stayed in the turkey business until about 1962.
HENRY AND VERN -- WHEN DID THE FOLLOWING OCCUR
It was under Francis that a shift from the growing of grains to the growing of vegetables occurred. Vegetable crops -- including sweet corn, sugar beets, pickles and peas -- were raised for sale to canning factories. At one point even popcorn was raised.
Francis produced certain foodstuffs for direct sale to consumers. Turkeys were a big product during the forties and fifties. He also planted strawberries and pickles for sale directly to consumers.
After the war, his financial picture improved for two reasons: first the market for agricultural products improved and secondly he could now use his children as labor rather than relying on hired help. One of his first improvements after the war was a luxury -- in 1949, he built the garage to house his cars. It cost him $500.00 to build. He also attempted to start a fish operation in 1949 (???), by building a fish pond west of the buildings and stocking it with large-mouth bass and bluegill. However, the pond was quickly overgrown with weeds, which doomed the fish, but did not interfere with its primary use as a swimming hole and ice skating rink. On February 16, 1949, Francis registered the farm name “Green Acres” as part of his turkey marketing. Due to the tremendous market for turkeys after the war, Francis built the freezer house in 1954 as a retail outlet for turkey sales at a cost of $3,000.00.
Francis' eldest son Vern was expected to take over the family farm. Francis tried to force Vern to quit school after his sophomore year in high school. Gertrud, who had a teaching certificate from Oshkosh Normal School, vehemently disagreed. Fortunately, the State of Wisconsin passed a law requiring school attendance until a child's 16th birthday. Since Vern was 15 at the start of his Junior year, he had to start school that fall. Since Vern had started his Junior, Francis reluctantly agreed to allow him to finish that year. After that year, he again wanted Vern to drop out of school but Gertrud prevailed and Vern was allowed to finish high school. Upon his graduation in May, 1954, Vern remained on the farm with the intention of taking it over. Since Francis used Vern more as a full-time hired hand rather than as a partner, Vern did not take over the farm but rather went on to college. What follows is his description of farm life in 1954.
Vern John Langer's Description of Farm Life in 1954
(The following is Vern's written description of farm life. Again, certain minor changes were made for purposes of clarification and flow).
LOOK VERN -- LOTS OF SPACE FOR YOU TO ADD YOUR PEARLS OF WISDOM YOU MAY WANT TO CONTRAST YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH HENRY' SO THAT THE READER UNDERSTANDS HOW THINGS CHANGED OVER THESE YEARS.
Planting
Fertilization and Cultivation
Thrashing
Making Hay
Harvesting Corn and Making Silage
Cutting Wood
Milking
Livestock
The Chickens
The Bees
Farm Chores
Other Aspects of Farm Life
After Vern's ill-fated attempt to take over the farming operation, Francis relied heavily on his high school age sons to run the farm operation. With his wealth of sons he was able to continue to upgrade the farm operation. In 1958, he built the corn crib at a cost of $2,000.00. In 1959 he built the pole barn for the turkey operation at a cost of $8,500.00. The equipment in it cost $3,500.00. However, in the early 1960s, the pole barn was used for a chicken operation due to increased competition in the turkey market. Chickens were raised under contract until they were ready to be placed in laying houses. In 1962, he built a new milk house to permit bulk shipping of milk to the Grade B market. This milk house cost him $1,200.00. Milk cans were no longer necessary because the milk was now stored in a bulk tank. Later, in 1965, the barn was remodelled to allow a switch to the Grade A milk market. The remodelling included enlarging windows in the barn and adding a pipeline milker. These improvement cost about $5,000.00. The building of the pole barn and the new milk house reflect a further move away from the emphasis on grain crops as the major source of income on the farm.
Francis continued combining for some neighbors up until his retirement. By the 1960s, the only neighbor he was combining for was Lester Will who lived on Highway 60 north of Clyman.
The farm operation allowed Francis to enjoy certain luxuries. He was able to buy new vehicles on a regular basis. He was able to bowl several nights a week. In the summer of 1965, the family as a unit built a swimming pool southeast of the house. However, it was plagued with cracks from its inception and was bulldozed in the late 1970s.
Francis and Gertrud also several remodeled the house a number of times. In the 1940s??? the upstairs was remodeled to put in a bathroom and to make the three-room apartment into two long bedrooms. In 1949, the kitchen was remodeled. In about 19??? a basement was dug below the kitchen to accommodate a heating system and plumbing. Previously there had been a cistern below the kitchen. In the late 1960s the dining room was enlarged by removing the wall on its south end. A picture window was added to the front.
David Langer's Description of Farm Life in 1968
Planting
Fertilization and Cultivation
Thrashing
Making Hay
Harvesting Corn and Making Silage
Cutting Wood
Milking
Livestock
The Chickens
The Bees
Farm Chores
Other Aspects of Farm Life
(1968 was the last year of full agricultural operation of the farm under the tenure of Francis Langer. The following is David's description of farm life in the late 1960s. Again, certain minor changes were made for purposes of clarification and flow).
Per his depreciation schedule, the following equipment still subject to depreciation was used in the farm operation in the 1960s: a hower, Allis cultivator, grain elevator, Allis Chalmers W-D, 3 bottom plow, a Gehl Harvester, a field cultivator, a corn planter, a corn picker, a blower, an A-C cultivator, a manure loader, an A-C plow, a crimper, a baler, a wagon rack, a sprayer, a disc, a hoe, a harrow, a gas engine, a spreader, a feeder chain and a saw frame. (David, the auction flyer also has a description of some of the farm equipment.)
During the early sixties, Joe Caughlin frequently helped with the farmwork. During most of the sixties, a cousin, Louis Weber, also helped on a periodic basis. During the late sixties and early seventies, their second eldest son, Ralph, helped a lot on the farm during weekends.
The end of the decade saw a major change in the farm operation. In 1969, Patrick graduated from high school. This left Terry and Edward to help on the farm. Neither one was well suited to farming. Terry was small and Edward had suffered from a serious illness as a child which limited his physical abilities. He also had a bad attitude toward farming. Francis was sixty years old and clearly could not handle the work without a substantial contribution from someone. He was also looking toward retirement. He planned on receiving Social Security when he became 62 years old in 1971. Therefore the decision was made to phase out the milking operation. This was completed by 1970. The milking operation had been the major source of the farm income, and thus Gertrud's paycheck as an elementary school teacher assumed a greater importance in the family.
Shortly thereafter, the commercial chicken-raising operation was also phased out. Young heifers were then run in the pole barn. Acreage was also rented to a neighbor, Harvey Haase, and to Aunt Nellie's Canning Company in Clyman, Wisconsin. Eventually, on Sunday, April 16, 1978, the farm equipment was auctioned off. After that, Francis retired completely from the farming operation.
Francis lived on the farm until his death on January 10, 1989. He was born in the farmhouse and died in, as he desired. His widow, Gertrud, was unable to live there alone and so the farm was put up for sale. It was sold on August 1, 1989 to Mary Selle, a neighbor.
Mary Selle's Tenure
Mary Selle is an animal lover who wanted a larger barn for her horses. She had no intent of farming the land. So when the Langer farm went on the market she gladly bought. She paid $$$$ for it. Before she bought she required the installation of a mound septic system to replace the old system which was a tile down to a drainage field in the southwest woods.
Years of semi-neglect had taken its toll on the farm buildings. The house was in need of repair and Mary quickly went to work repairing the house. She sand-blasted the exterior to remove the paint. She installed new windows. She remodeled the 1900 addition and turned the two bedroom into one large bedroom. During remodeling they discovered that the second floor had settled a great extent and the floor needed to be completely rebuilt.
She removed the tractor shed and the west shed to allow a view of the pond and woods and also to prevent the need to maintain buildings she had no use for.
She rented land to her neighbor, Harvey Haase, and Aunt Nellies Canning Company. Some land has been put in a conservancy. She planted a lot of trees.
In 1999 she repaired the dairy barn and the smoke house. She discovered shake shingles under the asphalt shingles.
Tenure of the Vacek Family
Steven J. Vacek, M.D. is an OB-Gyn who was practicing in Waukesha Wisconsin and living in Dousman Wisconsin when he bought part of the farm. His wife, Karen, is a ___ They have 1 child -- Steve, Jr.
Phone number: (920) 696 - 3345. (262) 443-0694 (cell)
ATTACHMENTS
Henry's map of the farm (In his correspondence file)
1905 picture of the farm
Johann Langer Family Photo
Sketches various plans of the farm house
Sketch of the location of the farm buildings
Aerial photo of the farm
NOTES ON THINGS FOR ME TO FOLLOW UP ON
William E. Dervin witnessed the will -- is this Hugh's nephew???
A thought on the age of the buildings: In the six year depreciation schedule, there is a discussion of how you measure grain. This might come in handy if I can compare the granary bins with grain production figures.
House: gable el research,
When was mill built near Clyman
Would tax records help to narrow down when the house was built?
When was the house painted?
When was cheese factory built
1850186018701880
Acres of Improved Land 40 100 100 83
(Tilled in 1880)
Acres of Unimproved Land: 120 60 N/A N/A
Woodland N/A N/A 6 8
Other N/A N/A 54 N/A
Meadows, Pastures N/A N/A N/A 66
and Orchards
Cash Value of Farm2000 300080007000
Value of Farm Implements 50 200 120 200and Machinery
Horses 0 2 5 5
Milk cows 3 2 6 8
Working Oxen 4 2 0 0
Other Cattle 6 6 0 7
Sheep 0 17 11 13
Swine 6 5 6 1
Value of Livestock 190 500 650 550
Irish Potatoes (Bushels) 60 85 80 50
.5 acres
Wheat (Bushels) 20 6001000 600
58 acres Butter (Pounds) 250 400 300 300
Hay (Tons) 40 30 20 23
20 acres
Corn (Bushels) 0 150 50 0
Oats (Bushels) 0 100 450 470
12 acres
Barley (Bushels) N/A N/A N/A 60
2 acres
Wool(Pounds) 0 70 52 39
"(Fleeces) 13 Value of Orchard Products 0 50 0 0
Value of Animals Slaughtered N/A 30 283 N/A
Value of All Farm Production N/A N/A1998 955
Including Betterments and
Additions to Stock
Milk Sold (Gallons) N/A N/A N/A 562
Poultry: Barnyard N/A N/A N/A 25
Other N/A N/A N/A 9
Eggs (Dozens) N/A N/A N/A 130
Wood Cut (Cords) N/A N/A N/A 10
Value of Forest Products N/A N/A N/A 20
Wages Paid, Including Board N/A N/A 175 75
Weeks Hired N/A N/A N/A 24
Calves: Dropped N/A N/A N/A 8
Sold Living N/A N/A N/A 2
Died, Strayed/ Stolen N/A N/A N/A 2
Lambs: Dropped N/A N/A N/A 5
SlaughteredN/A N/A N/A 6
Weather/ dog deaths N/A N/A N/A 4*
18701880
Acres of Improved Land 18 60
Acres of Unimproved Land: Woodland 10 16
Other 27 N/A
Meadows, Pastures N/A 20
and Orchards
Cash Value of Farm30004800
Value of Farm Implements 150 200and Machinery
Horses 0 2
Milk cows 3 7
Working Oxen 2 0
Other Cattle 4 6
Sheep 0 5
Swine 4 4 or 14
Value of Livestock 350 350
Irish Potatoes (Bushels) 80 100
1 acre
Wheat 200 500
30 acres Butter (Pounds) 200 600
Hay (Tons) 15 20
10 mown
10 unmown
Corn (Bushels) 0 200
5 acres
Oats (Bushels) 20 220
4 acres
Barley (Bushels) N/A 160
4 acres
Rye (Bushels) 20 N/A
Wool(Pounds) 0 25
"(Fleeces) 5 Value of Orchard Products 0 0
Value of Animals Slaughtered 150 N/A
Value of All Farm Production Including 700 600
Betterments and Additions to Stock
Milk Sold (Gallons) N/A3500
Poultry: Barnyard N/A 30
Other N/A 0
Eggs (Dozens) N/A 150
Wood Cut (Cords) N/A 0
Value of Forest Products N/A 0
Wages Paid, Including Board 100 0
Weeks Hired N/A 0
Calves Dropped N/A 7
Sold Living N/A 0
Died, Strayed or Stolen N/A 0
Lambs Dropped N/A 5
Slaughtered N/A 0
Killed by Dogs N/A 0