Appleton History Club 1857

This section deals strictly with the personal family history.  In the future we hope to have more like it.  The first article is about the authors maternal side "The Bishop-Mansfield Family".

Articles:

WOLF FAMILY IN AMERICA - By C.L. Wolf (2004)

Fox River Bus Lines- My Great-Grandparents, Olof Lundquiest married Doris R. Bishop

1800's Bishop Coat-of-Arms passed down through the family.  The coat is registered in Reginolds Coat-of-Arms.

Hand written Mansfield History with stories of Richard Mansfield during the Revolutionary War

My gggg-grandpa William Riley Bishop (1835-1915) Born in Vermont and a founder of Sherwood, WI. 

His grandfather Stephen was from New Haven, Conn, fought in the Revolutionary War and was then granted land in Vermont.  The Bishop family were founding members of New Haven in the 1630's with Rev. Davenport. 

The first Bishop in America was James Bishop, who when still young lived with Rev. Davenport, and went on to become the first Lt. Governor of Conn.  Young Bishop was one of the young boys bringing food to the hidden Judges in today's "Judges Cave". 

Many of the family are buried in New Haven's famed Grove St. Cemetery on Yale Campus. 

Other families the Bishops were related to at the time were the Yales (James son married Hannah Yale), which is the same family Yale college gets its name from.  Another family were the Mansfields (Jarred Mansfield who drove the stake marking the line between Ohio and Indiana). 

One of James relatives, Edward Bishop, living in Massachusetts ended up getting involved with the Salem Witch Trials.  History records his wife Bridget Bishop as the first to be tried and hung as a whitch.  It just so happens that Samuel Appleton (the same family my city was named after) was a sitting judge during the trials.

The picture above is what our family refers to as Rockefellor Center on "Valley Farm" in Sherwood.  It was here that Henry Flagler and John D. Rockefeller stayed while looking at Bishop's new invention for making barrels of wood.  Bishop had already been sending his barrels to the Salt Mines in Michigan for Flager, now they wanted to have them made for a new thing called "oil".  W.R. Bishop was unsure of this new adventure and deferred on the stock in the company. He instead took the $50,000 contract in cash. Big Mistake!

W.R. Bishop's brother, Oriel or known as O.D. Bishop was the founder of Hilbert Junction.  It was O.D. that gave some of his land for the train junction that came through to his saw mill.

The family still resides to this day on old 'Valley Farm'.

Caroline Mansfield wife of William R Bishop

Coming directly from New Haven with her Father Orrin "Old Doc" Mansfield, the family made the connection again when Bishop and her married in Sherwood.  The Bishop and Mansfield family were already related back in New Haven, and when W.R. Bishop moved from Vermont to Sherwood, many distant relatives followed him from New Haven.  

Caroline Mansfield, being very educated in New Haven at a young age, became the first school teacher and Post Master for Sherwood.

Going back on the Mansfield side, Richard Mansfield was a sea Captian and farmer in New Haven during its founding.  His wife was Gillian Drake, a relative of Sir Francis Drake of Devon, England.  Other family names in the Mansfield-Drake marriage are Grenville, Prideaux, and Sir John Mansfield of Exeter, England (Gillians father-in-law).