By Julie Huebel, PCHA
ELMWOOD, WI – I was contacted by a gentleman from the Cities who had just purchased some scrapbooks that he felt sorry for at an estate sale. He didn’t want them to end up in a landfill, so he went back on day two of the sale and purchased them for half-price. After looking through the pages, he surmised the family was from Pierce County and sought to find a local historical group that may be interested in the scrapbooks. When he reached out to us at the Pierce County Historical Association (PCHA), I told him of our upcoming hours at the History Center in Elmwood.
When he walked in the door of the History Center, setting eyes on me (a 45-year-old who has been told she looks younger than her age suggests), he disappointedly said… “I was hoping for someone older that could help me.” Then, he went on to explain that he felt my age would hinder my ability to help him and he was hoping to talk to a local old-timer. First of all, thank you. Secondly, how dare you! He told me the story of acquiring the scrapbooks and hoped to find someone that may be able to help him solve the mystery of who the original owner was. I was able to convince him to give me a shot at helping and that he may be surprised. I took one of the scrapbooks in my hands and opened it up and there on the first page I opened to, was the death notice of my great-great-great-grandfather. I found this coincidence hilarious. I could not have scripted a better response to having just been accused of being the wrong person to be able to help him in his quest.
As I went through the carefully curated pages of the scrapbook, there were newspaper articles, obituaries, and mementos that contained names I was very familiar with. I’m currently leading a project to reprint a remastered version of Lavern Flanders’ book on Rock Elm history and the names in this scrapbook are all names I know from Lavern’s book. I was able to piece together enough clues to identify Louisa (Barker) Alexander as the original owner of these scrapbooks. That’s a very roundabout way of saying: A is for Alexander.
I don’t think there are any people from this family with the last name of Alexander still living in the area today, please correct me if I am wrong. However, there are lots of locals that descend from the Alexander family of Rock Elm Township. Louisa would be a great-great-grandmother to the late Tom Asher of Elmwood, who was the father to Mark, Chris, Greg, Cathy, and Patty.
James and Louisa (Barker) Alexander settled in Rock Elm Township in 1863, having come to this area from Waukesha and Dodge Counties. Both born in New York. The scrapbook contained a laminated original copy of her handwritten family tree. Their son, Frank wrote of his family’s story of coming to Pierce County, it was published in an early issue of “The Sun”: “On the 19th day of October, 1863, my father left Rubicon, Dodge County, and travelled on foot, leading two mooley cows, all the way to Pierce County. In due time he succeeded in landing the cows safe among the rushes of Plum Creek Valley…On the 24th day of November of this same year, the remainder of our family, in company with the family of Jas. Collett, followed by rail.”
