The Earliest Settler

Business History of Fond du Lac, by A.T. Glaze, 1905
Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days

Gen. Albert C. Ellis came to Green Bay as the government surveyor in 1828. Jo. King came from Canada and met Gen. Ellis at Mackinaw. The latter desired to engage some hardy French voyageurs to assist him in his work, and Jo. King was one of them. In 1832 they meandered the east shore of Lake Winnebago, and in 1833 the west shore. Gen. Ellis died at Stevens Point in 1887, where the writer of this interviewed him a number of times. He asked about Jo. King and seemed to think a great deal of him. He remembered him well and told many stories about him, mostly jokes that had impressed him.

What is now the Ingall1s farm, south of the city, was the first Fond du Lac home of Jo. King. His entry certificate of the land bears date of the Green Bay land office Mrs. May, whom Jo. King married and who was the mother of Mrs. Chapman, had a by no means pleasing pioneer experience when she came to this county. She came in 1838 with the Darling family, in a bateaux from Green Bay, landing near the Fond du Lac House, at Brooke street and the railroad bridge. Mrs. Chapman can go to the spot, it having been pointed out to her by her mother. While Mrs. May came by water, Mr. May started overland, to view the country Several days after he should have been here, a young half breed came and reported to Dr. Darling and John Bannister, the finding by him of a dead man sitting against a tree near Stockbridge. They went out with a team, but decay had gone so far, in the hot June weather, that the body could not be moved and was buried there. The supposition was that he died of exhaustion. Most of the papers taken from his pockets, including his marriage certificate, are now in the possession of Mrs. Chapman and have been shown to the writer. It is stated by some writers of Fond du Lac history, that the Darling family landed at Sheboygan and came here overland. This is surely an error, as the proof is clear that they landed at Green Bay.

From the facts obtainable there seems to be no doubt about Jo. King being the first individual settler. It is true that Edward and Colwert Pier were here in 1836, but they at that time only decided upon their land and did not enter it until later in the year The date of the King entry certificate shows that his entry was first. At any rate they were so nearly together as to make it hardly worth while to quarrel over it. As the modern saying has it, "they came early and stayed late." Joseph King died in 1884, at the age of 69 years.

The great influx of population of Fond du Lac county was from 1850 to 1856, many came in 1848 and 1849, but the greater number of pioneer farmers came between 1842 and 1848. A few came from 1838 to 1842 and a still less number previous to that date. Those of the earlier period have now passed away, but their successors are enjoying the labor of their hands.

It is pleasant to the writer of these facts to remember that he was able to visit with Gen. A.G. Ellis several times at Stevens Point in the last years of his life. He was surveyor general of the territory of Wisconsin under the administration of Gen. Jackson, and started the Green Bay Intelligencer, the first newspaper, in 1832. He loved newspaper work and continued to write articles for the Stevens Point Finery almost to the day of his death. His age we have forgotten but it was not far from 90 He often talked about Dr. Darling, John Bannister, Edward Pier, Jo. King and others of the old timers in Fond du Lac.