Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1922-01-19
WAUSAU PIONEER
DIES AT DULUTH
SAMUEL G. KNOX PASSES
AWAY--WISCONSIN
FRONTIERSMAN

Samuel g. Knox, of Duluth, Mimi,
a we'll known former resident of Wan
sau, passed away at his home in Du-
luth, Mimi, on Monday, Jan. Is, 1922,
at the age of SO. The Pilot, as
chronicler of important events, deems
it a privilege to give more than pass
ing notice to the memory of Mr.. Knox.
who had done so much to advance
the interests principally of Portage,
Marathon and Lincoln counties.
The man whose early years were
spent in an atmosphere of frontier
freedom and that freedom the free
dom of the great pine forests, felt
unc0mfortably the cramping of what
less Independent people call civiliza-
ton. These men, active and daring,
were the path-breakers for the gem
Grafton that built the roads upon
which our immediate ancestors trav-
eled. There are few, if any, left.
One of Last
Mr.. Knox was one of the last of
this coterie of stalwart souls to pass
to the other shore and he leaves be-
hind him an enduring monument in
the hearts of those who knew him
either personally or by reputation for
the untold good done for humanity in
the early days of the Wisconsin
pinery. He chose in early life to live
in and wrestle with the wilderness
the tasks of which always kept him on
the untamed edge OF the northwest
during his active business life.
Though Scoach in name, Mr.. Knox
was a Yankee, born at Pembroke,
among the granite hills of New Hamp-
shire, on December y. 1882. To have
been born in New Hampshire in those
days was a desirable legacy in itself,
and this was about all the legacy with
which young Knox began business. At
twenty three, when he came to the
unbroken soil of Marquette county,
Wisconsin, at point now the village
of Oxford, he opened county store
in 1856 for the settlers of that sec
ton. This store was primitive build
ing 22x30 feet and one story. Though
small, it served the purpose. More
over the possibilities in it brought out
from the east the next year his broth
er, w. Fl. Knox, who became part
ner in pioneer merchandising. This
business did not furnish enough ac-
tivity for such men as the Knox broth
ers. They added lumber, getting out
stock during the winter months. In
1852 they sold out, and Samuel Know
erected a grist mill at Oxford
sd Further West
1t was at this date that Samuel
Knox was united in marriage with
Miss Eliza Babcock and soon after
ward they went further west in search
of more frontier fortune This move
was to Montana and their residence
in that territory continued until 1867
when home ties pulled them back to
Wisconsin. Their return was not to
Oxford, but to Crooked Ripp, Wis,
where Knox Bros. built a saw mill
to cut out a tract of timber requiring
six years. They then Went to Stevens
Point in 1873 and built what was
known as the Knox mill This was
sold in 1877 to Bosworth & Riley. In
May, the same year, fire destroyed
the lumber yards of Knox Bros. This
did not affect them With a lumber
education that no fire could burn up,
they looked for another location and
came to Wausau, building a large saw
mill, and in 1878 began the manufac-
ture of lumber on large scale, con-
Quoting the business for fifteen years.
When their vast tracts of timber had
been cut, they disposed of their inter-
ests in mills and yards.
To Minnesota
W. H. Knox went to Texas where
he purchased large holdings in timber