History of Reedsburg and the Upper Baraboo Valley, by Merton Edwin Krug, Publ. February 1929 by the author. Printed by Democrat Printing Company, Madison, Wis., Page 375-379

The history of this township is that of one of the oldest sections of northwestern Sauk County. The first settlement within its confines was made by John MEPHAM, who in 1848 took up a claim one mile north of the present village of Loganville. Mr. MEPHAM was a native of England, where he grew to manhood and married Mary FORWARD, a sister of Mrs. Jesse COTTINGTON, Winfield pioneer. In 1840 they came to the United States, locating in New York, where the family resided until 1850. Returning to his home in the East after staking his claim, Mr. MEPHAM brought his family to Westfield that year, built upon his claim and established himself as a permanent settler of the township. Roy MEPHAM, Reedsburg, is a representative of this family.

One R. SPRAGUE is said to have located a claim in Westfield prior to the return of Mr. MEPHAM. The following year, 1851, Horace SMITH was a settler. Henry DAVEY and John SELDON pioneered in 1852.

The TWIST family, so well known to Westfield pioneers, came into the town in 1853. The name TWIST is old in American annals, and was first brought to this country by one Lyman TWIST, Holland immigrant, who came in the early 1600s. Lyman TWIST, local pioneer, four generations from the immigrant, was a native of New York, born in 1808. His wife was Lydia SCOON. When this family came west they bought the tract now occupied by Orloff TWIST, which was originally a grant issued in favor of the widow of Philip REILY, a soldier shot during the Seminole War, under date of Oct. 1, 1852. It was from the widow REILY that Mr. TWIST acquired title. Upon this land, when the TWIST family arrived, was an Indian Village, and Ah-Ha Choker dwelt here for some years afterward. Mr. and Mrs. TWIST had a number of children: William A., Frank L., who for his first wife married Mary STEWART, daughter of John M. and Sarah Ann (DORNECK) STEWART; Mary Alice, who married Orloff TWIST and died some years ago. For many years Frank L. TWIST was a popular teacher of the county, but after the death of his wife he went to the state of Washington, where ever after he made his home. Returning on a visit during the Autumn of 1910, he revisited scenes of his childhood, and committed his musings to verse, printed at the time in the Free Press, and reproduced in this work under the captions, "The Song of Ah-Ha Choker," and "Loganville."

The year 1854 brought a large number of settlers to Westfield, among whom as Chancey P. LOGAN. This gentleman built a cabin on Section 8, near the bank of Narrows Creek, on the present site of the village of Loganville, which place was named in his honor. Shortly after his arrival he was joined by R. B. BALCOME, and for several years the two families dwelt together in the former's cabin. Their wives were sisters. During the summer following, S. N. KINSLEY, A. H. BOSWORTH, R. T. ROOT, Truman PARKER, William PALMER and others came to the village site. Mr. PALMER erected a frame house, the first in the village. Later he sold to Mr. KINSLEY, who lived in it for many years. Palmer engaged, with LOGAN, in building a sawmill that season, but late that fall sold his interest to Mr. DAVIS and moved with his family to a farm in Section 6 where he resided afterward.

Mr. and Mrs. PALMER were the parents of nine children: Mary M., married Francis CONROW, and resided near Flushing, Ohio; Jesse B., married Adelia WESTENHAVER, and went to South Dakota; Joseph S., married Elizabeth DOUGAL; Charles W., married Sarah J. BUNKER, Walworth County; Florence, now the only living member of the family, widow of E. W. BUNKER, residing in Reedsburg with her daughter, Mrs. William H. HAHN; John R.; Sarah E.; William A.; William H.

The Stephen N. KINSLEY family was also large, and there are several local representatives at the present time. Mr. KINSLEY was born in Clinton County, N.Y., in 1828, son of Caphas and Lucinda (NEWELL) KINSLEY. He married in Westfield, Lucy A. SEAMANS, daughter of Benjamin and Abigail (BROWN) SEAMANS. They had four children, Frank D., Fred B., Charles H., and Burt. The mother died in 1868, and some time later the father married Elizabeth E. SEAMANS, daughter of George B. and Matilda (HOWARD) SEAMANS. To this union were born several children, Hoyt S., Martha (Mrs. Melvin McCLURE, Reedsburg), Aime, Faye (Mrs. James H. HILL, Baraboo).

Another old family of Westfield were the GUILLIFORDS, who also came this year, 1854. The pioneer, Daniel GULLIFORD, was a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of William GULLIFORD, a preacher in the Church of England, prior to the Revolutionary War, through his father Samuel GULLIFORD and his grandfather William G. His mother was Catharine BALL, daughter of Daniel BALL. In 1831 Daniel GULLIFORD married Melissa JOHNSON, daughter of Friend and Polly (PERRY) JOHNSON. In 1846, the family came to Wisconsin, locating in Sumter, where they resided until moving to Westfield. Mrs. GULLIFORD is remembered as a woman active in the social life of Reedsburg, especially for her prominence in the early efforts of the W.Ct.U. To Mr. and Mrs. GULLIFORD were born nine children: Catharine, who married George GATTWINKEL; Harriet M., who married Simon P. SUTTON; Rosanna, married John H. GRAY; Charles W., married Olive TINKER; Horace W., who married Mary E. SWEESEY; Violetta; Loran; Anna; Ursula.

The RICHARDS too were early Westfield folk, and date their coming to 1854 also. Joseph RICHARDS, the pioneer, was a native of the East, but later went to Ohio, where several members of his family were born. His wife's maiden name was Carpenter. From Ohio the family came to this town, where several members later became prominent citizens. A son, John RICHARDS, born in 1838, located within the town, and married and had a family. His wife was Minerva DEARHOLT.

Among the early German families who came that year, 1854, were those of George MOOG and Henry KOPF. The MOOG family were from Westphalia, Germany; the KOPFS from Hesse, Germany. From 1854 on the German settlers came steadily, and within a few years the whole of Narrows Prairie was to be settled by these farmers, who, by their industry and thrift, have transformed Narrows Prairie into the beautiful region that it is today. In this brief narrative on Westfield we cannot attempt to go into detail regarding these sterling German settlers; theirs is a history worth of a volume in itself, and we leave that field, confident that within a few years an exhaustive history of them will be forthcoming.

Of those especially early may be mentioned Henry BRANT, Nicholas HASZ, George KOENECKE, John LUHRSEN, John WERRON, E. A. WINTER, John W. SCHULTTE, Heinrich SCHEWE, Mr. SCHAUM, Herbert RIGGERT, Henry F. NIEMANN, Henry LUCKENMEIER, Mr. HEITKAMP, Frederic DARGEL, Henry G. TIELE, Henry SCHLICKAU, Charles THIES, Adam LEICHER, Frederick HARMS, Peter HASS, Christopher LUHRSEN.

The year 1857 brought several more widely known pioneer families. The family of David B. HULBURT was one. Mr. HULBURT was a native of Chautauqua County, N.Y., born in 1829, son of James and Lydia (PETERS) HULBURT. He spent his early life at the place of his birth, but in early manhood went to Buffalo, N.Y., where he was connected with a newspaper. He also taught school in these early years. Returning to Portland, Chautauqua County, N.Y., in 1855 he was united in marriage to Josephine M. VAN SCOTER, daughter of Thomas VAN SCOTER, representative of an early Dutch family of New York. Coming to Wisconsin in July 1857, the family settled on a farm near Loganville, and in that place they afterward resided. In 1870, in company with E. H. NEWELL, Mr. HULBURT opened a store in Loganville but sold out in 1874 and resumed his farming. He also did surveying. Mr. and Mrs. HULBURT were the parents of eight children: Alice M.; Frank D., who married Mina MARKEE, and is of late lamented memory as a veteran physician and townsman of Reedsburg; Hattie, who died a few years ago as Mrs. C. W. CONSTANTINE; Josephine M.; Lena Bella; Harvey L.; and Jesse. Mr. HULBURT served Sauk County both as senator and assemblyman.
Submitted by Carol