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Piper Family Interments
Pipersville Cemetery
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PIPER, ARTIE
b. Mar. 6, 1853 d. Jun. 6, 1856
PIPER, ASA R
b. Jul. 26, 1810 d. Sep. 1, 1887
PIPER, BENJAMIN
b. Mar. 31, 1786 d. Apr. 4, 1876
The History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin: Containing a History of Jefferson County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc.... (Google eBook) Western Historical Company, 1879 - Jefferson County (Wis.)
Ixonia, the extreme northeast of Jefferson County townships, was first settled in February, 1838, by Benjamin Piper, who came with his family at that date, and established them on a farm in the center of the present village of Ixonia. In June, 1835, Mr. Piper left Erie County, N. Y., for the Far West, and arrived in Milwaukee about the 1st of July following, where he put up for the night at the house of a man named Chase, who resided at the mouth of the river. The next day he visited the city, which at that time contained five or six frame dwellings, a small tavern, fifteen or twenty log cabins, and one or two groceries. The land in the vicinity of Milwaukee was not surveyed at that time, except a fractional section where the city now stands, but the buildings were generally filled every evening by people who had come for the purpose of claiming land. Many of them made money by selling claims to people who were unfortunate in arriving in town after claims had been made, and, as Mr. Piper was one of these, he was compelled to go five miles back of town before he was able to procure a piece of land that had not been taken up.
In the following spring, he went after his family, returning in July and settling upon his claim, where they remained until the spring of 1837, when he determined to visit the Rock River country, and accordingly started thither in the month of June. He first visited Watertown, where he found a few log huts, inhabited by settlers, all strong in the faith of seeing that vicinity the head-waters of steamboat navigation within a few years. Encouraged by such flattering prospects, and being well pleased with the country, he concluded to make a. claim on the river above Johnson’s Rapids, and returned home. In September and October of that year, he revisited his claim, in company with his two sons, Harrison and Elijah, and built two log cabins, one for old Mr. Adams, the other for himself. In December, he again came out, this time in company with his son Samuel, finished his house, and, having disposed of his Milwaukee property, thereafter was recognized as the first settler in Ixonia. The town was included in Watertown for two or three years, when Towns 7 and 8, in Range 16, were set off into a separate town by the name of Union. These were again divided, and Town 7 called Concord, Towni 8 Ixonia
Benjamin Piper and the
Watertown Plank Road
[Derived from the book "Heritage of Ixonia. 1976. The Bicentennial Year"
]
Benjamin Piper was an
adventurist pioneer who left New York in 1835 and settled on a parcel of land
that he claimed near Milwaukee. At that time Milwaukee consisted of five or six
frame dwellings, a small tavern, fifteen or twenty log cabins and one or two
grocery stores. The following spring he went to New York for his family, to
live with him on the land he claimed. In 1837 he ventured to the Rock River
country which brought him to Watertown where he found a few log huts along the
river occupied by settlers who were also seeking prospects (land to be
claimed). He then made a claim on some
land above Johnson's Rapids, located near the present sight of the Bethesda
Lutheran Home in Watertown. He then went back to his home and family
near Milwaukee. A few months later he revisited his claim in Watertown with his
two sons Harrison and Elijah.
They built two log cabins, one for an old friend, a Mr. Adams, and one for
himself. Having gone back again to his family near Milwaukee, he disposed of
his claim there, brought his family and settled in section 30, which was then
known as Watertown. He purchased land from the U.S. government on August 20,
1839, (now known as the Claude
Hauser farm) and was considered the first settler in the southwestern part
of the township now known as Pipersville, which was named after the Piper
family.
In 1837 a road
opened from Johnson's Rapids to Milwaukee called the Plank Road. Mr. Piper was impressed with this road and
built an inn on his property serving the farmers
that hauled grain they raised to the nearest market, which was Milwaukee. The Plank Road was a highway on which a team
could haul twice as much as it could on a muddy wagon trail. Farmers brought
small loads of grain to a large platform which Mr. Piper built. Here they were
combined into larger loads and hauled to Milwaukee on the Plank Road. Many
times buffalo robes were used by the farmers who slept on the floor by the fire
place because the inn was so crowded. Mr. Piper was an unofficial postmaster, and it is said that
Mr. Piper used a wash stand drawer in a back room as post office facilities.
Jonathon Piper came to
Pipersville in 1847. Depending on power furnished by the dam which extended
across the Rock River to a small island, he soon built and operated a saleratus
factory just south of the present bridge . . .
Cross Reference: File on Watertown Plank Road
Benjamin Piper and Family Move to WI in 1840s
Information from an article published in "The Wisconsin State Journal" [unknown date] by his descendants, his grandsons, Charles, Samuel, Howard and Alfred.
Ben Piper brought his ox-team and covered wagon to a standstill on Wisconsin soil and his wife and their four boys and four girls piled out to view the site of their new home in the Rock River Valley near Watertown. Although the building of an inn had not been his original plan, that is exactly what he did.
Back in the 1840s the farmers in this part of the country were few and far between. They hauled the grain they produced over mud roads as they headed toward Milwaukee, the nearest market for produce. He was instrumental in building the plank road from Watertown to Milwaukee. And, it was called the "Plank Road."
His inn was often literally filled to overflowing. On frequent occasions, after every bed was occupied, several men would bring in their buffalo robes and sleep on the floor around the huge fireplace. The travelers exchanged stories of their experiences with wolves and Indians, and always enjoyed listening to Ben, who was an oracle on nearly all subjects. A man of more than ordinary intelligence and observation, he wrote a great deal for newspapers, on all subjects in which he felt an interest, and was actively concerned in every movement which he believed would produce public welfare.
When it was proposed to call a convention to frame a constitution for Wisconsin, previous to its admission to the Union, Mr. Piper, with great care, deliberation, and labor, drew up such a constitution and attended the convention. No record of his document is recorded, nor is there any way of knowing how much influence he exerted, but of his interest in the new state there can be no doubt.
Mr. Piper was also the postmaster, and a washstand drawer served as post office. Since letter postage was twenty-five cents, the mails in those days were not heavy. Postage, however, did not have to be prepaid, and often a letter waited several days in the wash stand drawer before it was redeemed.
Today, on Route 18 near Watertown, is the Village of Pipersville, named for Ben Piper, whose sons and daughters took up claims and built their log cabins there.
After some twenty years near Watertown, Mr. Piper with two of his boys, moved to Dane County, WI and settled on a farm near the present site of Nakoma [part of Madison]. Here the two sons, Benjamin Jr. and David, married and raised their families. While still interested in farming and foodstuffs, it remained for the sons of David to return to the hotel business on a much larger scale than that launched by their grandfather.
Ben Piper lived to celebrate his 90th birthday, and when he died the "Madison Journal" said in part, "he was remarkable for his hardiness and industry, retaining his sound judgment and vigor to late period. Upright and conscientious, his kindness and congeniality made for him friends wherever he was known and he lived to see a large posterity grow up in respectability to honor his name and memory."
PIPER, DOLLY
b. unknown d. Dec. 11, 1840
PIPER, GRACIE
b. unknown d. May, 1881
PIPER, JEANETTE C
b. Nov. 26, 1814 d. Dec. 26, 1871
PIPER, JONATHAN
b. Dec. 7, 1818 d. May 4, 1896
PIPER, MARIA MARY
b. 1822 d. Sep. 5, 1860
PIPER, MARQUIS
b. Sep. 30, 1855 d. Jan. 6, 1858
PIPER, SALLY
b. 1792 d. May 31, 1848
PIPER, SAMUEL M
b. 1815 d. May 4, 1873
Link to Pipersville Cemetery listing