Grant County Wisconsin Families & Scapple

 Scapple - haven't heard of it? Probably not, but it's a program developed by the same people who brought us Scrivener, a program for writers. Scapple is helpful for making quick charts. I've used it for  cataloguing blog posts, ideas for blogs, research lists, etc.  It really has no limitations, other than the user (me).  And it's quick and easy to learn. 

Here's one I've made because I could never remember all the different family names in Grant County, Wisconsin.  Early on I thought we only had one Martin and one Hess family.  Over the years, I've found that many of Mrs. Martin's family came from Virginia with her (the Peck family). Another researcher along the way indicated there was another Hess family, possibly related.  I think they are right, and I base that only on the fact that my great grandfather Charles Hess sold land to Gottfried (sometimes listed as Christian) Hess. There is a possibility they also were military men, but that requries a bit more research. And what is the weird (?) Pittsburgh connection with the immigrant men to Grant County. Some kind of stopover, apparently. Again, more research! 

Here's the chart of my related families for Grant County, Wisconsin. There are more because I  haven't added the grandchildren and their spouses.  This quick easy reference has been valuable to me for researching.

P.S. Scapple and Scrivener are available through literatureandlatte.com. I have no connection nor do I receive any compensation. I've just found them both helpful programs for organizing me.

The Power of Old Maps

Question: Is it likely someone discharged from Ft.Snelling Minnesota in 1846 would then settle in Grant County, Wisconsin, across from Dubuque, Iowa? I thought not. Searching Google maps, overland, seemed quite a distance for my great grandfather Hess to end up farming in southwest Wisconsin. I came across a book by George B. Merrick about his life as a steamboat captain on the Mississippi from 1854 to 1863 and began to understand travel in the area around 1850. The Mississippi River was like one of our major freeways, except the means of transportation was different. If you look at the map, you can see just how easy that trip would be. People could hop off and on all up and down the river. This is helpful with other families as well, as I have some going as far as New Orleans during the same time period. Ft. Snelling is in the upper left and Grant County, Wisconsin is in the lower right.

 

Now my next issue is to learn more about Ft. Snelling and the men who enlisted and defended these forts in the western U.S.  Any help or ideas would ben much appreciated!

Source: Merrick, George Byron. Old Times on the Mississippi: The  Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863. From Map of the Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul to illustrate Old Times on the Mississippi by Geo.  B. Merrick. Pub. 1908

 Available on Gutenberg.org. Project Gutenberg ebook #47262