Post by Mike Thorson on May 1, 2002 10:17:49 GMT -5
Captain Fortunatus Berry
by
Bill Breihan
Reprinted by permission of the author.
This article appeared in Looking Backwards (Volume XVII, No. 2, Summer,1998 ), the quarterly publication of the Lafayette County Historical Society, Darlington, WI
A short item in the Spring issue entitled "Wisconsin's Oldest Born" caught my eye: Potite King was born in 1814 in Prairie du Chien and "served in Captain Fortunatus Berry's Company in 1832 at Gratiot's Grove." I know nothing about Mr. King but Fortunatus Berry is my 3-great grandfather's first cousin. I've been studying his life. I'll share some of what I've learned.
Fortunatus Berry was born in Cambridge, NY, May 20, 1792. Cambridge is on the East Side of the Hudson River in Washington County, bordering Vermont. His parents were Joseph Rogers Berry and Sarah Sherman. The Shermans settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s. Not as much is known of the Berrys at this point. Simeon Berry, Fortunatus' grandfather, was active in local politics in Cambridge during the Revolutionary War.
Little is known of Fortunatus' early years other that he married a women named Harriet, moved his family to central Illinois sometime before 1820 and took up farming. The first settler in Springfield, Ill. arrived in 1818. Fortunatus came shortly thereafter. In 1826 he was granted a government mining permit and moved to White Oak Springs, south of present day Shullsburg. His family grew to six children: two girls and four boys.
In 1829 Fortunatus built a tavern and inn at the foot of Berry Hill (now White Hill) just south of Gratiot's Grove. It became a popular hangout for miners and other settlers. As the hostilities leading to the Black Hawk War built up, Fortunatus participated in a meeting in the winter of 1831-32 to discuss building a fort. Three forts were constructed: Ft. Gratiot, Ft. Clark and one other. Fortunatus was appointed Captain of a Company of Infantry in the ensuing Blackhawk War.
After the war, he was elected County Supervisor for old Iowa County. He served for several years, making regular trips to Mineral Point. In the early 1830s he became Wisconsin's third postmaster, running a post office out of his tavern. The first stage coach line in Wisconsin was begun in 1836. The Chicago-Galena line made a regular stop at the Berry inn three miles south of Shullsburg (County Trunk W). Most of that inn still stands today.
Starting in 1834 other members of the Berry clan arrived in the Shullsburg area. They came from Onondaga county, NY. First came Fortunatus' first cousin Joseph R. Berry on December 17, 1834. Later, Joseph's wife and family and brothers Simeon and Isaac (my great-great-great grandfather) and sister Adaline. Also, a brother-in-law and spouse, Edward and Caroline Kneeland. Then three more Kneelands: Charles, Hector and Hiram. Some settled in White Oak Springs; others in Galena or Winslow (Ill.); some returned to NY. Fortunatus' home and inn were the first stop as each group arrived. Some stayed with the Berrys for months. Much of what I know of Captain Berry and his family comes from his cousin Joseph's correspondence. I have sixteen Gratiot's Grove letters from this period (1834-39.)
In 1836 the Wisconsin territorial legislature convened for the first time in Belmont. On December 18 Henry Dodge hosted a "Governor's Ball" in the capitol. Fortunatus and Harriet and Joseph and his wife Sarah attended. The Governor had appointed cousin Joseph a Justice of the Peace for Iowa County in July. Fortunatus and Joseph were both ardent Democrats and Dodge backers.
In 1842 Fortunatus built a new house in Gratiot's Grove and held a housewarming. A gunfight broke out and one of his neighbors, Samuel Southwick, was shot and killed by another guest, William Caffee. Caffee was tried for murder, convicted and hanged in front of a big crowd in Mineral Point.
Fortunatus Berry disappears from the historical record in 1847-48. According to the census, his twenty year-old twin sons, Henry and William, ran a tavern in Shullsburg in 1850. I believe Fortunatus died and his sons took over the business. One of his daughters married Charles Lamar of White Oak Springs, owner of the Lamar House and tavern, site of the 1854 cholera outbreak. The twins disappear by the time of the 1855 census (off to California?). The Berry Tavern had become the Lamar House.
by
Bill Breihan
Reprinted by permission of the author.
This article appeared in Looking Backwards (Volume XVII, No. 2, Summer,1998 ), the quarterly publication of the Lafayette County Historical Society, Darlington, WI
A short item in the Spring issue entitled "Wisconsin's Oldest Born" caught my eye: Potite King was born in 1814 in Prairie du Chien and "served in Captain Fortunatus Berry's Company in 1832 at Gratiot's Grove." I know nothing about Mr. King but Fortunatus Berry is my 3-great grandfather's first cousin. I've been studying his life. I'll share some of what I've learned.
Fortunatus Berry was born in Cambridge, NY, May 20, 1792. Cambridge is on the East Side of the Hudson River in Washington County, bordering Vermont. His parents were Joseph Rogers Berry and Sarah Sherman. The Shermans settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s. Not as much is known of the Berrys at this point. Simeon Berry, Fortunatus' grandfather, was active in local politics in Cambridge during the Revolutionary War.
Little is known of Fortunatus' early years other that he married a women named Harriet, moved his family to central Illinois sometime before 1820 and took up farming. The first settler in Springfield, Ill. arrived in 1818. Fortunatus came shortly thereafter. In 1826 he was granted a government mining permit and moved to White Oak Springs, south of present day Shullsburg. His family grew to six children: two girls and four boys.
In 1829 Fortunatus built a tavern and inn at the foot of Berry Hill (now White Hill) just south of Gratiot's Grove. It became a popular hangout for miners and other settlers. As the hostilities leading to the Black Hawk War built up, Fortunatus participated in a meeting in the winter of 1831-32 to discuss building a fort. Three forts were constructed: Ft. Gratiot, Ft. Clark and one other. Fortunatus was appointed Captain of a Company of Infantry in the ensuing Blackhawk War.
After the war, he was elected County Supervisor for old Iowa County. He served for several years, making regular trips to Mineral Point. In the early 1830s he became Wisconsin's third postmaster, running a post office out of his tavern. The first stage coach line in Wisconsin was begun in 1836. The Chicago-Galena line made a regular stop at the Berry inn three miles south of Shullsburg (County Trunk W). Most of that inn still stands today.
Starting in 1834 other members of the Berry clan arrived in the Shullsburg area. They came from Onondaga county, NY. First came Fortunatus' first cousin Joseph R. Berry on December 17, 1834. Later, Joseph's wife and family and brothers Simeon and Isaac (my great-great-great grandfather) and sister Adaline. Also, a brother-in-law and spouse, Edward and Caroline Kneeland. Then three more Kneelands: Charles, Hector and Hiram. Some settled in White Oak Springs; others in Galena or Winslow (Ill.); some returned to NY. Fortunatus' home and inn were the first stop as each group arrived. Some stayed with the Berrys for months. Much of what I know of Captain Berry and his family comes from his cousin Joseph's correspondence. I have sixteen Gratiot's Grove letters from this period (1834-39.)
In 1836 the Wisconsin territorial legislature convened for the first time in Belmont. On December 18 Henry Dodge hosted a "Governor's Ball" in the capitol. Fortunatus and Harriet and Joseph and his wife Sarah attended. The Governor had appointed cousin Joseph a Justice of the Peace for Iowa County in July. Fortunatus and Joseph were both ardent Democrats and Dodge backers.
In 1842 Fortunatus built a new house in Gratiot's Grove and held a housewarming. A gunfight broke out and one of his neighbors, Samuel Southwick, was shot and killed by another guest, William Caffee. Caffee was tried for murder, convicted and hanged in front of a big crowd in Mineral Point.
Fortunatus Berry disappears from the historical record in 1847-48. According to the census, his twenty year-old twin sons, Henry and William, ran a tavern in Shullsburg in 1850. I believe Fortunatus died and his sons took over the business. One of his daughters married Charles Lamar of White Oak Springs, owner of the Lamar House and tavern, site of the 1854 cholera outbreak. The twins disappear by the time of the 1855 census (off to California?). The Berry Tavern had become the Lamar House.