A man organized a company to build a plank road from Milwaukee to Janesville.

The evidence

• “In 1847, he organized a company to build a plank road from Milwaukee to Janesville, apd endeavored to induce the people of Milwaukee to unite with him in organizing under a railroad charter which he then controlled, but the hostility became so bitter, personal and local, as to be absolutely intolerable, and, after about six years of hard work — the best years of his life given to the public without any profit but at a sacrifice of.several hundred thousand dollars of his private fortune — he did what he has not since ceased to regret, resigned, and let his franchises fall into the hands of Wall street speculators.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/17-bios-janesville.md, PDF p. 719 / book p. 723

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources

  

• “In 1847 he organized a company to build a plank road from Milwaukee to Janesville, giving it most of his time and a number of thousand dollars in money during the ensuing six years. There was considerable antagonism to the project, and finally it was given up and the franchise allowed to be disposed of to Wall street brokers at a large loss to Mr, Smith and his coworkers.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/26-history-of-janesville.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 32 / book p. 546

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources · may repeat 1879-history-of-rock-county, so not counted as independent