SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Charles Winter, Page 296

CHARLES WINTER, an enterprising and successful farmer, residing on section 23, Sherman Township, was born in Milwaukee, June 22, 1843, and is the eldest of six children, whose parents were Fred and Elizabeth (Hilliger) Winter.  The father, who was a laborer, in 1845 purchased forty acres of land and began farming.  After four years they removed to Sherman Township, this county, and purchased two eighty-acre tracts of partially improved land.  The county was then in the days of its early infancy, and was inhabited by Indians, wolves, bears and deer.  Fred Winter remained in Sherman Township until 1873, when he removed to Shawano County, where he now follows farming.

    Our subject began life for himself when a youth of sixteen, and has since been dependent upon his own resources.  Going to Michigan, he worked in the lumber woods until nineteen years of age, when he entered the service of his country as a member of Company F, Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry, under Col. Krez.  The regiment went to Camp Washburn, in Milwaukee, thence to Ft. Halleck, in Kentucky, and on to Vicksburg.  Mr. Winter participated in the famous siege of that city, when Gen. Grant forced Pemberton to surrender the place, and he well remembers the joyful celebration that took place after the surrender.  His regiment then went to Helena, Ark., and afterward to Little Rock, where they spent the winter.  Our subject was sent to the Adams Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., where he remained for thirty-eight days, and was then transferred to Jefferson Barracks, in Missouri, where he continued until November 12, 1863, when, on account of physical disability, he was honorably discharged.  For six months after his return home he was unable to do any work, and he now receives only a very small pension, although he has never recovered his usual strength.

    After the war Mr. Winter went to Whitehall, Mich., where he worked in a sawmill and in the lumber woods for four years.  On the expiration of that period we again find him in Wisconsin, where he purchased eighty acres of land from his father, and began farming.  He still owns this place, upon which he has built a fine new barn and other improvements, which add to the value, convenience and attractive appearance of the place.  The fields are well tilled, and the farm has the neat and thrifty appearance which indicates the careful supervision of the owner.

    A marriage ceremony performed November 20, 1867, united the destinies of Mr. Winter and Miss Anna Hillard.  They became the parents of seven children, but one is now deceased.  Of the others, Louisa is now keeping house for her father; Henry follows farming in Clark County; Edward is employed in a sawmill in West Duluth, Minn.; Otto is also working in Minnesota; and Frederick and Charles are still under the parental roof.  On the 3d of January, 1891, the family was called upon to mourn the loss of the wife and mother.  She was laid to rest in the cemetery of St. John's Lutheran Church, where a beautiful monument has been erected to her memory.  She was a loving wife and tender mother, and her loss was mourned throughout the entire community.

    Mr. Winter and his sons are supporters of the Republican party, with which he has affiliated since casting his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln.  He has been honored with a number of local offices, having served as Township Treasurer one year, and as School Clerk for fifteen years.  He and his family now hold membership with the Lutheran Church.  He is an honored pioneer and a valued citizen, and has the high regard of all.  He was an able defender of the Union and of the Old Flag which now floats so triumphantly over the united Nation.