SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Bartholomew Trumbla, Page 437

BARTHOLOMEW TRUMBLA, a farmer residing on section 6, Wilson Township, is very well known as a pioneer of Sheboygan County.  Since an early day he has been a resident of this State, and since 1840 has been an honored citizen of this county.  He is a native of Detroit, Mich., as were his ancestors.  He was born December 10, 1820, being the third in a family of twelve children born unto Joseph and Cecille (Kercheiffe) Trumbla, of whom five are living.  Jerome is a farmer living near Detroit; and Napoleon, Madelaine and Esther are all residents of Detroit.  The father of these children was a life-long resident of the same community, and there died in 1873.  He followed agricultural pursuits, and was one of the early settlers of Detroit, and a soldier in the Indian Wars.  His wife was born in Canada, and is also now deceased.

    Our subject's advantages for obtaining an education were very meagre, and he is almost wholly self-educated.  When he left Detroit, at the age of nineteen, he was compelled to borrow $7 in money to pay his passage to Wisconsin.  He first went to Racine, by way of the Lakes, and remained for some time near the present city of Burlington.  Next he hired out to go to Green Bay, and there engaged in the lumber business, in the employ of Hull Jerome and Charles McCloud, and with them he remained for about two years.  In 1844, he purchased forty acres of land in Sheboygan County, on what is known as Lake View Park, for which he paid $6 per acre.  The land was unimproved and heavily wooded.  He cut a road through to his farm, and at once began its development and cultivation.  When he first knew Sheboygan it did not have over seven houses, and the people, being dissatisfied, were tearing down their residences and were going to Milwaukee.

    Having built a small frame house, our subject looked around for a companion in life to share his joys and sorrows, and his marriage to Miss Dorleska Jannette Williams was celebrated August 8, 1849.  This lady was born in Genesee County, N. Y., July24, 1825, and was educated in her native State.  A Christian lady and a friend to the poor and needy, when she was called from this life in 1892 her loss was deeply mourned, not only by the members of her own household, but by her many friends and acquaintances in the neighborhood.  She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was of great assistance to her husband during the early hardships of pioneer life.  The present wife of Mr. Trumbla was formerly Mrs. Julia (Miner) Monty.  Her parents were Peter and Mary (Benway) Miner, natives of Canada, and both now deceased.  The father was an agriculturist through life, and a man of honor and integrity.  Mrs. Trumbla was born in St. Johns, Canada, September 17, 1848, and there grew to womanhood.  She reads and speaks English readily, though she was educated principally in the French language.  She was first married to Charles Monty, a farmer in Canada, whose death occurred in Bear Creek County, Wis., in 1885.  They had two children, Mary and Fred, who are both attending school.  The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Trumbla was celebrated June 10, 1893.  The wife is a lady of fine address.  She and her children hold membership with the Catholic Church, as does also our subject.

    In 1855, Mr. Trumbla sold his Lake View farm and located on his present place of eighty acres, which had then no improvements whatever.  He at once laid the foundation for a beautiful home and farm, and has constantly increased his possessions.  His present residence is situated only five miles distant from Sheboygan and two and a-half miles from Sheboygan Falls.  By hard labor and frugality, Mr. Trumbla has gained a competency amply sufficient for his remaining years.  His property comprises one hundred and sixty acres, much of which is improved, while forty acres are covered with sugar-maples.  Each year, when the weather is favorable, he makes syrup and maple sugar in his sugar camp, and means to keep up the old time-honored custom.

    In political sentiment, our subject is now a Republican, and formerly was a Whig.  He cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Zachary Taylor, and since its birth has upheld the banner of the Republican party.  Preferring to devote his time to his farming interests, he has never served as an official in the township.  Though coming to this State slightly in debt, he is now a man of independent means, secure in the possession of a valuable estate, and is ranked among the best citizens of the community, where he has dwelt for years.