Stephen Smith McCann
1811-1880

 

Timeline for Stephen McCann

 

• Stephen Smith McCann was born on Oct 4, 1811, in Portsmouth, Scioto Co., OH, the oldest son of Arthur McCann and Barbary Smith.

• Sarah Hughs was born in 1814 in OH, the daughter of Abraham Hughs.

• Wilhelmina Rachel Johnston was born Apr 15, 1813, in Bordentown, NJ, the daughter of Thomas Johnston and Zelphia Stout.

• Jan 16, 1831, Stephen married Sarah Hughs in Perkins, Tazwell Co., IL.

• Jun 1831 to May 27, 1832, Stephen S. McCann served in the Mounted Volunteers, IL Militia, Black Hawk War.

• Stephen and Sarah McCann appear in the 1836 Census for Dubuque Co., IA.

• After the Treaty of 1837, Stephen was recruited at Prairie du Chien to work in the Chippewa Falls Mill. He settled in Blue Mills at Lake Hallie, becoming was one of the first settlers of the Chippewa Valley.

• In 1841, Stephen bought a mill from H. S. Allen, near Menomonie, on the west side of the Red Cedar, two miles below Gilbert's Creek. Two years later in 1843, the mill burned down.

• Stephen appears in the 1842 Census for Menomoni River, Crawford Co., WI.

• Nov 22, 1842, Stephen married Wilhelmina Rachel Johnston in Prairie du Chien, Crawford Co., WI.

• The McCann brothers built the first mill in the area, the Blue Mill, in 1843. Later known as Badger Mills, located on Lake Hallie.

• In 1845, Stephen went into partnership with Jeremiah Thomas and went to Eau Claire where they started a sawmill and were the first persons to make a permanent home here. They erected a claim shanty near the site of what was afterward the Eau Claire Lumber company's water mill, on the Eau Claire River. Stephen also built a cabin near the mouth of the Eau Claire River, which he designated as a warehouse and another on the location of what is now Eau Claire St. and S. Farwell. These structures were erected for the express purpose of establishing the right of the settler to an uncertain quantity of government land. Stephen transformed the last named cabin into a home moved his family into it. Stephen and Jeremiah were successful in starting two logging camps on the Eau Claire and the following year Simon and George Randall secured a half interest in the claim of McCann and Thomas at the mouth of the Eau Claire and began the construction of a dam which was completed in Oct 1846 and a saw mill. On June 5, 1847, a week before the saw mill was to open, a cloudburst struck the area and the river rose and swept away the dam and sawmill. The firm went bankrupt and Stephen went to Eagle Prairie, and Jeremiah went back to Blue Mills.

• In 1846, the first religious services were conducted in Eau Claire by Thomas Randall at the home of Stephen and Wilhelmina McCann, where the first wedding took place in the fall of the same year. George Randall, a member of the firm of McCann, Randall, and Thomas married Mary LaPointe.

• In the 1850 Census for Chippewa Co., WI, Stephen McCann age 42 and his wife Wilhelmina age 40 are living in Eagle Point with eight of their children, Thomas age 19, Daniel age 15, Stephen age 12, Arthur age 9, Martha age 7, Barbary age 5, Alice age 3, and Benjamin age 1.

• Aug 2, 1852, Stephen received a land patent for 157 acres in Chippewa Co., WI.

• Oct 2, 1854, Stephen received a land patent for 40 acres in Chippewa Co., WI.

• Stephen appears in the 1855 Census for Chippewa Co., WI.

• When Chippewa County was organized on Dec 29, 1854, George P. Warren was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Stephen S. McCann was the other Supervisor, and Samuel H. Allison was the Clerk. James Ermatinger, Henry O'Neil and Daniel McCann were appointed to lay out a road to Vermillion Falls. On Feb 1, 1855, James Reed, who had been elected Supervisor, refused to serve. On motion of S. S. McCann, he was fined $10 for his refusal to act as Supervisor. On Oct 10, 1855, the Chippewa County Board of Supervisors met in a special session. Those present were Jean Baptiste Brunett and Stephen Smith McCann. The S. S. McCann Co., paid $61.43 in taxes for the year 1855. At the Jan 1856 meeting, Daniel McCann was issued a tavern license upon the payment of $30. Feb 18, 1856, the board selected a site for a courthouse. In 1856 Stephen was the only Justice of the Peace in the county and held court in hs home which he built in 1849 and lived in until he moved to his upper farm in the Spring of 1857.

• Apr 15, 1856, Stephen received a land patent for 104 acres in Chippewa Co., WI

• Apr 1, 1857, Stephen received a land patent for 43 acres in Chippewa Co., WI

• In the 1860 Census for Chippewa Co., WI, Stephen McCann age 49 and his wife Wilhelmina age 44 are living in Eagle Point with four of their children, Clarinda age 18, Barbara age 16, Jordan age 13, and Willimpa age 8.

• On Sep 17, 1861, Stephen enlisted as a private in B. Co., 1st. Inf. Reg., WI, at age 45 and a resident of Chippewa Falls. He was mustered in at Milwaukee, WI, by Captain Trowbridge. In Feb 1862, he was detached as Brigade Wagoner. In March, he became ill and remained in that condition through April, when discharged at Nashville, TN, by a surgeon's certificate on Apr 25, 1862.

• In the 1870 Census for Chippewa Co., WI, Stephen McCann age 59 and his wife Wilhelmina age 58 were living in Eagle Point with their grandaughter Mary age 9. also living in the household is William McCann age 26 from Ireland who works on the farm.

• Stephen lived from 1876 until his death in 1880 in the home of his daughter Wilmetta and her husband John J. McDonald, in Eau Claire.

• In 1877, Stephen attended the revival meetings held upon the West Side by Rev. Welton, and united with the Congregational Church.

• Stephen McCann died Nov 1, 1880 in Eau Claire, Eau Claire Co., WI, of dropsy. The funeral services were held in the Congregational Church, the pastor Rev. J. F. Dudley officiating. He was buried in McDonald's Lot in the Lakeview Cemetery.

• Wilhelmina Johnston McCann died Aug 2, 1895, in Anson, Chippewa Co., WI, and is buried in the Hope Catholic Cemetery.

 

 

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