Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-01-23

! Word was received lin Wausau thi;
Tuesday noon that Benjamin Single
formerly of this county, now of Ripon
died at his home last evening at II
o'clock, Jan. %, 1906 Mr.. Single wa:
one of the first settlers of Marathon Co.
coming here and entering into the
lumber business sixty-three years ago
He at one time owned much property
in the city of Wausau, and ever since
1913, large owner of lands in Mara
thon county. Mr.. Single has been
quite feeble for several years. He had
a constitution of iron, otherwise the
hardships which he passed through in
his younger days would have called
him to az early grave.
Benjamin Single was born in the vii
lage of Bayford, Herfordshire, Eng
land, on the Goth day of Aug, 1920. His
people being well to do. he was kept in
school and given all possible advantages
up to the time he was sixteen years OF
age. In Jnne, 1886, he came to America
with his parents, locating in Milwau-
kee. The family consisted of their
mother and stepfather, Thomas Youles,
Benjamin, Chas. A, Thomas and
Joseph and James Single.
Benjamin and Chas lcleared up forty
acres of land fourteen miles from Mil
waukee in Racine county, on home
stead. Wisconsin was then territory
and Milwaukee a small town, having
only few hundred population. Benz.
was strong and energetic young man
possessed of an abundance of good
common sense, and withal a strong
disposition to keep up a course of
self-education which he followed al
most to the last days of his life.
Very soon after reaching America, bad
speculations and heavy losses in the
family made t necessary for all these
sturdy English boys to get out and
battle for existence. Benjamin, giving
to his mother all the money ne had
but 81, left home and went to
work. He helped to build the military
roads and bridges between Milwaukee
and Racine on the Milwaukee and
Cedar rivers. In 1889 he entered the
employ of an old friend at Madison,
following the work of carpentering.
Soon after he went to Blue Mounds
and after staying there a short time,
went to Grand Rapids, Wis, distance
of fourteen miles 1t took two days to
walk the distance owing to the bad
condition of the roads. Those in the
party who made the trip, were Thos
Youles, Benjamin and Chas. Single
and Mr.. Griffith. At Grand
Rapids, in 1910, Mr.. Single formed a
co-partnership with Tim Hurley and
H. Clinton and they conducted saw
mill for Brown & Bloomer; the mill was
run by water and had an old saw which
worked up and down and sawed
about 5000 feet of lumber in twelve
hours. Mr.. Single bought the mill the
second year. In 1843 Mr.. Single and
Homer Drake came up to Stevens
Point by road, and from there to
Mosinee in dug out. and from Mosinee
TO Wausau in bark canoe. At that
time they went over to Little Rib and
inspected the country and from there
returned to Grand Rapids by water.
Francis Schorette gave Mr.. Single in
formation of the tributaries of the Wis
consin river. In the spring of 1874 he
came up the Wisconsin river again on
the ice, and went up the Eau Claire
river as far as Rice lake, He then. came
to Wausau and went over to Little Rib,
where he took up piece of government
land. He then went up to Pine river.
Homer Drake was with him. It was III
the month of February and heavy
rain storm set in, accompanied by
thunder and lightning, which was rath-
er peculiar condition for this climate at
that time of the year. Messrs. Single,
Clinton and Hurley built a saw mill on
Rib that year. 1t was run by water, an
understood wheel, and sawed out about
5000 feet of lumber in twelve hours.
Francis Bressett, one of the oldest set
tlersof the county, and who. lived to
be 100 years old, cooked for the men at
that time.
From 1914 to 1884, Mr.. Single con-
tinued In the lumber business, accum-
ulating goodly amount of the worlds
goods. His mill at Rib, in after years
was run by steam and sawed out some
$4,000 to 10000 feet per day. In 1871