Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1922-03-08
Virginia Major Popular in Mines

Major He engaged in mining to
some extent but never did any work
in the mines. He hired men to do the
work for him. He specialized in land
and other activities and at one time
was reputed to possess some wealth,
but it dwindled away and at the time
of his death was not any very great
amount. He was a man well thought
of in the community for his generous
nature and manly conduct. He was a
supervisor for the town of PotOSi in
1867. He became afflicted with drOpsy
and suffered with the disease for sew
eral years and died sitting in a chair
at the Phelps House, later the Wright
House, in Lancaster, at an advanced
age, in about 1874 He left one son,
James Paugh, who died in Colorado a
few years ago.
British Brass Band Won Fame
A brass band was organized in
British Hollow in 1858, with a mem
bership Of ten. The members of the
band were Mike, Anton and Joseph
Lingscheid, Jas. Pratt, Martin Moyle,
Kit Peacock, William Richards, VIM
Mohrenberg, John Wilson and Joseph
Lesser. AS there were but few brass
bands in the county at that time this
band received calls to furnish music
upon many different occasions. Jos.
Lingscheid was in the Civil war and
played with an army band.
In after years the Lingschied Bros.
travelled through many states of the
Union playing with circus bands. In
those days all travel was done with
wagons. Anton Lingscheid, for sew
eral years, was the leader of circus
bands, and afterwards organized and
was made leader Of a large band in
Independence, Iowa. He is living yet
and resides at Red Bluff, Calf. Of the
old British Hollow band members
who are known to have passed on
are Mike and Joseph Lingscheid, VIM
Richards, William Mohrenberg, John
Wilson and Joseph Lesser. Kit Pea
cock still lives in northern Wiscon-
sin. The whereabouts of James
Pratt and VIM. Moyle, if yet living, is
unknown. Members afterwards adj
mitted to the band were John r. Ste
vens, Henry Uppena, and Fritz Ling
scheid, young tl1nd man who be-
came the leading comet player, after
his brother, Anton, had departed for
other parts. John r. Stevens died a
few years ago.
Ambitious Man Opens Harness Shop
John Krueg er, a man of consider
able business ability, came to the
British Hollow region from Galena
in 1855, and established harness
and saddlery shop. He played an ac-
tive part in the business life of the
little place in its palmiest days. He
was a native of Prussia and had put
in the required time i'll the service of
that country. He was one of a group
of young men and women who had
grown up together as boys and girls,
who attended scnoOl and served ap-
prenticeships ogether and eventually
were all married to their Prussian
sweethearts and in 1854 they all de-
cided to leave the fatherland and
seek their fortunes in faraway Amer
lea. John Krueger's choice from his
school companions was one Augusta
Thiessing, who when barely Is, was
young woman of rare attainments.
She had been given the advantage of
the best schooling then in her native
country, and was an expert needle
worker, and had all the refinements
and characteristics, energy, culture,
piety, love Of home and children, in
fact all that went to make her an ex-
ceptional life partner for the ambiti-
Gus and gOOd-natured John Kruger.
Story of Newly Wed Immigrants
The group of newly weds, five cou-
Piles in all, with a number of rela-
tives, crossed the Atlantic in a sailing
vessel and after a tempestuous vOy
age of nine weeks LANDED at New
York, thence by rail and canal boat
to Chicago. About this time cholera
was raging in Chicago. This caused
scattering amOung the five couples
who came to this country together.
One couple located in Minnesota
Others moved SOUTH down state, and
John Kruger with his young wife,
came on to Galena, then a competitor
with Chicago for commercial suprem-
acy. Not having sufficient capital to
venture into the harness business in
place like Galena, John cast about
for a smaller place, and one more to
his liking. He happened to find Brit.
ish Hollow. The place and surround
ing country was pleasant to him ana
he settled. He established a harness
shop and in the course of time his
trade grew to such proportions that
he employed five harness makers,
and Kruger harness and saddles for
their excellence and quality, were
well known throughout Grant county
and adjacent territory. He was much
interested in village affairs, political
and otherwise, ale the spirit that
prompted him to leave the old coun-
try, led him to take part in some of
the mining activities. 1 think it was
in the early seventies that he entered
into partnership with some miners
OF the old Cornish type and fully ex-
perienced in mining, to prove a pros
pect for lead that locked very prom
Using. After some months of hard
work and consid' rabIe expense, they
reached water and could go no deeper
although the prospect looked better
than ever. Just aoout this time Jas.
Anderson returned from California.
The prospect looked good to him and
he proposed to put in pumping ma
chinery and develop the mines for
one-half of ali the ore raised from
the mine. This gave the company re-
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