Ebenezer Childs (April 3, 1797 – December 15, 1864) was an American pioneer, builder and legislator. Childs was born in

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

, on April 3, 1797, and was orphaned as a child. He left Massachusetts in 1816 for New York in order to avoid taxes, and then made his way to Ohio and then Michigan, where he made a profit smuggling whiskey into the military garrison. In 1820, Childs settled in Green Bay, Michigan Territory, where he built homes and sawmills. Eventually he opened a store and was a fur trapper. In 1825, he built the first frame house in Wisconsin for

James Duane Doty James Duane Doty (November 5, 1799 – June 13, 1865) was a land speculator and politician in the United States who played an important role in the development of Wisconsin and Utah Territory. Early life and legal career A descendant of ''Mayflo ...

. In 1829, he was appointed sheriff of Brown County, Michigan Territory, a post he held until 1836. He was in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives from 1836 to 1840 and was appointed sergeant at arms for the Wisconsin Territorial Council from 1842 to 1843. In 1838, he was named commissary general for Wisconsin Territory and was named a colonel. Childs went to

Copper Harbor, Michigan Copper Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Grant Township. The population of the CDP was 136 as of the 2020 census. The communit ...

, in 1845, where he built the first sawmill in the Upper Peninsula. He moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, in 1852 and to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he had property. He died in La Crosse on December 15, 1864.Collections of the State Historical Society, ''Recollections of General Albert G. Ellis'', vol 7, pg. 257-258
- ''Triennel Catalogues of the Portrait Gallery of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin'', Democratic Printing Company: 1889, pg. 59
- Moses McCure Strong, ''History of the Territory of Wisconsin, From 1863 to 1848'', Heritage Books: 1885, pg. 83-84

Notes

Sources

Recollections of Colonel Ebenezer Childs, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1858

External links

* 1797 births 1864 deaths People from Barre, Massachusetts Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin Michigan Territory officials Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature Writers from Massachusetts Writers from Green Bay, Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians Writers from La Crosse, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-politician-stub