Thomas E. Decker, one of the leading citizens of
Waushara County, and a prominent business man of Hamilton,
has been connected with the lumber interests of that village for
twenty-eight years, and at the present time is engaged in various
other lines, including merchandising and blacksmithing. He also
deals in agricultural
implements and has a wagon ship in connection with his
blacksmith shop.
Mr. Decker is a native of
New York, having been born in Jefferson County, in the
town of Cape Vincent,
on the banks of the
St. Lawrence River, on the 24th of April, 1846. His
ancestors were of Irish and Holland extraction. His
great-grandfather, Michael Decker, was a native of Holland, and came
to America before the War for Independence, locating on the
Hudson River,
not far from New York
City, where he lived for a short time, when he removed to
near Concord, Mass., and while the British were destroying the
stores at that place which had been collected by the colonists, he
received a gunshot wound which caused his death. His family
afterward returned to New York. His son, Michael Decker, the
grandfather of our subject, was born near New York City, and was a
shoemaker by trade. He wedded
Mary Scott and
died at Cape Vincent,
where he made his home for many years. During the war of 1812 he
aided in the defense of Sackett’s Harbor, while the British were
trying to destroy the stores at that point. At the time of the
French Revolution
in 1837, his brother, Peter Decker, joined a company of filibusters,
crossing the St. Lawrence River at
Ogdensburg to Prescott,
Canada, where
they joined a force of French rebels. They were besieged by the
British forces, taking refuge in an old stone mill, where they were
captured. Their leader was taken to Kingston and hanged, and the
privates and non-commissioned officers were exiled to a
penal colony
on Van Dieman’s land. There
Peter Decker received a pardon, but never returned to this
country. The maternal grandfather of our subject was a native of
Ireland. With
the intention of making his home in America, he embarked for Canada,
but while crossing the ocean his death occurred. His family settled
in the Province of
Quebec and spent the greater part of their lives in Prescott.
James Decker, the father of our subject, was born in May, 1809, in
Oneida County, N.Y., and made farming his principal
occupation through life. He removed to Jefferson County, locating
in Cape Vincent, where he was engaged in the butcher business for a
short time, but subsequently farmed for some twelve years. In 1862
he came to Wisconsin and purchased 200 acres of land in Adams
County, but after two years came to Waushara County, and settled on
section 11, where he owns 250 acres of good farming land. He
married Elizabeth Travis of Ireland, who during her infancy was
taken by her parents to Brockville, Canada, where she made her home
until her marriage.
Thomas E. Decker is the oldest of a family of twelve children, six
sons and six daughters. His boyhood days were spent in the town of
Cape Vincent, where he obtained a liberal education in the English
branches. In 1860 he emigrated with his parents to Adams County,
Wis., and assisted his father on the farm until 1862, when he came
to Waushara County, which has since been his home. He entered upon
his business career as an employee of Hamilton Bros. & Smith, lumber
manufacturers at Hamilton’s Mills, for whom he worked until 1873,
when Mr. Smith sold his property to his partners, Mr. Decker
continuing with the Hamilton Bros. for twenty years, eighteen years
of which he was foreman of the establishment, having full charge of
the business, which he finally purchased, and for twelve years has
been successfully operating the mill in his own interests. As
before stated, he owns a wagon and blacksmith shop, deals in
agricultural implements, and owns a general merchandise store. In
1882 he established a cheese factory in Hamilton, but after four
years sold out. He now owns 246 acres of splendid grazing land.
Mr. Decker married Eva Wilson, an estimable lady, born in Adams
County, Dec. 18, 1852, where her parents settled two years
previously. She was the only child born to
William and
Melinda (Sabaw) Wilson of
Pennsylvania.
Her mother, who was a member of the Congregational Church, died in
1852. Her father lived in Adams County for ten years, and then
moved to Outagamic County, but after a few years became a resident
of Waushara County, settling on the farm where he still resides.
His second wife was formerly Louisa Colvill, and nine children were
born of their union.
Mr. and Mrs. Decker have one child, Jay, born Dec. 13, 1876. In
politics, Mr. Decker is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian type, and
manifests a lively interest in political affairs. He has been
Postmaster of
Hamilton for ten years, receiving the appointment during Hayes’
administration, was township chairman for seven years, and was also
a member of the County Board. He is a member of the
Knights of Pythias
Lodge of
Berlin, has filled the chair of Chancellor, Commander and
all the lower offices, was representative to the
Grand Lodge at
Milwaukee in
1887 and 1888, and was a delegate to the State Presidential
Convention held in Madison in 1888. He is recognized as one of the
leading and influential citizens of the community, untiring and
energetic in his business pursuits and upright and honorable in all
his transactions. He enjoys the confidence and high regard of many
friends, both in the social and business world, and is esteemed as a
valued leader of society.
