Bio: McHone Family
Transcriber: Stan  

Surnames: MCHONE POPP STALEY SCHLINSOG DRAKE GERLACH DOWNER MURPHY WINSTEAD DAVIS GRIMM

----Source: Town of Fremont History - 1973

McHone Family

Three miles north of Lynn, Clark County, Wis., where the old Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul R.R. crosses a town road, was the crossing known as Harris Spur. Here, alongside the railroad tracks, the McHone family ran a sawmill in Section 19, town of Fremont, Clark County, for many years (1909 - 1937). The railroad ran northwest for several miles to the John Kintzele farm (now the Marcia Crothers farm), where there was a turn-around. When the railroad was built in 1891, a small stockyard was built on the east side of the Kintzele crossing, and the spot was named Romadka for the Romadka brothers., who ran a sawmill and spoke factory there.

The railroad's main service was in hauling the logs and cordwood cut in the area as the land was taken up and cleared for farming. Just a quarter of a mile northwest of Harris Spur was Johnstown's Landing where cordwood sold to Nast Bros. was ranked. John Kintzele scaled the wood in his yard for the Nast Bros. lime kilns in Eden, Marblehead, and Knowles. The cordwood delivered to the Harris Spur wood yard was scaled by Albert Rueth and shipped to Templeton, Columbus, and Mayville. The McHone boys had the job of loading the wood from these two yards in box cars spotted on adjacent sidings. They received 25 or 30 cents a cord for loading.

In the 1880's George Brooks had a logging camp on the Harris Spur Farm, run by Allie Hoover. The logs were landed at Harris Spur for shipment to the Hiles Lumber Co. in Dexterville. As the business in cord wood declined, the need for the railroad also declined, and at last was abandoned, and the rails were pulled up in 1923.

The McHone family came to Harris Spur in My 1909 from Mather in Juneau Co., where the family lived from 1900-1909 and where the father, Lewis, died in 1906. The area around Harris Spur had been known to the family for several years prior to their coming as Lewis had worked in the area for several months while still living in Juneau Co. and Lewis' father, Enoch McHone, had spent a winter on the farm before moving to Augusta where another son, Henry had settled.

Lewis McHone grew to manhood in Richland Co. and married Ella Popp in 1879. Lewis brought a family of six children to Juneau Co. in 1900; Lester, Annice, Virgil, Francis, Jewel, and Freemon. One daughter, Alice, was born there.

With the arrival at Harris Spur of Mrs. Ella McHone and her family, the McHone sons set up a sawmill and ran a long season each year sawing lumber for the houses and barns being built in the area.

As more land was brought under cultivation, the boys bought a threshing machine and hauled it about the countryside threshing grain until the snows came. Grain bundles were either stacked or stored in barns until the thresher could make its rounds. Later the sawmill was made portable and was moved to the farm sites for saw jobs instead of logs being hauled to the mill.

At the death of the mother, Ella McHone, in 1930, Freemon and Virgil bought out the remaining heirs. The farm was rented out for four years, after which Freemon and his family moved onto the farm. The farm is now operated by Freemon's son, Victor.

Lester moved to Phillips and went into sawing there. He died in 1955. Married Dora Staley. And the children were Jennie, Who married Howard Drake; Clarence, who married Norene Schlinsog; Chester and Elmer, both deceased.

Annice married Neil Downer and died in 1949. Children were Ross Downer and Aletha Grimm.

Virgil (Mike) married Amelia Gerlach. The had no children and he died in 1954.

Francis (Toot) married Mabel Murphy and moved to Beloit. He died in 1953. Children were Danny and Dolly.

Jewel (Jack) ran a blacksmith shop on the farm until his death in 1930.

Freemon ran a sawmill in Granton and Greenwood areas. He married Caroline Davis and his children were Victor and Emily Winstead.

Alice married John McHone (a cousin) living in Minnesota. Children are Dorothy and Evelyn.