The chronology
1840
171 published events.
Overview
In 1840 the land at the mouth of Turtle Creek and the surrounding region saw continued settlement and institution-building. In Beloit, Caleb Blodgett, the first white settler, died on August 7, and his estate came into probate in August with John Hackett as administrator. Benjamin Brown arrived in October with his wife and her daughter, and other settlers listed as arriving in 1840 included John N. Palmer, Joseph Prentice, Andrew Cotter, Washington Adams, and others. George E. Cowan and Mary Ward were married at the house of Silas Hurd, recorded as the first marriage in town. Beloit's first public school opened in the summer, taught by Miss Cornelia Sheldon in a log building near north Main street, and Rev. Milton Bourne began supplying the pulpit in September, while Rev. Dexter Clary succeeded Mr. Adams as minister in November. ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ (+3 more)
Across Rock County, the year brought legal and governmental organization. The county commissioners met in January, a term of court with grand and petty juries convened in April, and the first trial by jury in a court of record produced a verdict of $242 damages for the plaintiff. The original plat of Janesville was recorded by the county commissioners on May 14. The population of Rock County was recorded as 1,701, and Wisconsin Territory's census figures were reported as 30,744, 30,749, or 'only thirty thousand' depending on the passage. Lands in Rock and Jefferson Counties came into market, with sales at Milwaukee, allowing settlers to obtain title. ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ (+2 more)
The Seventh-Day Baptists held a first organizational meeting on November 6 and adopted articles of faith and a constitution on November 12, with accounts differing between about forty and sixty members. A Methodist organization was formed near Evansville in August at the house of Hiram Griffith. Norwegian settlement on Rock Prairie produced five homesteads by fall, with land entries recorded by several Norwegian settlers during spring and summer. Elsewhere, General Atkinson moved 4,500 Winnebagoes to the west side of the Mississippi with United States soldiers, and the legislature's memorial to Congress expressed anxiety to establish a common-school system. ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ (+4 more)
Month by month
- January 1840Elder F. Topping arrived in Clinton and held a meeting at the house of Deacon S. [name cut in passage].The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- January 6, 1840The county commissioners met; the "license" question came before them.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- January 25, 1840Andreas Jacobson made a land entry (W. 1/4).The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- February 1840A resident married Elizabeth Winne, daughter of Garrett Winne.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- February 27, 1840The estate of Edward Brandon first came before the probate court; Richard Inman was appointed administrator.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- April 1840The first trial by jury ever held in Rock County in a court of record took place; the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff with damages of $242 and costs.Rock CountyGrade A · 2 independent sources
- Spring 1840Edward V. Whiton moved into the city of Janesville — the passage says "1839 or 1840."Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- Spring 1840At their own request, forty-six members were dismissed from an existing body and were constituted a Presbyterian church.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- Spring 1840Joseph Goodrich purchased the land from the government, on which the main part of the village of Milton is situated.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- April 20, 1840A term of court commenced in Rock County with a grand and petty jury summoned; the case of "E. [name cut] v. D. Blodgett" was tried at this third term of court.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- May 1840A Norwegian settler came with his wife, and in company with Gulack Knutson located in the eastern part of Newark Township.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- May 1840A church meeting was held at the home of Brother John Lewis, with Elder P. W. [name cut] present.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- May 16, 1840Land entries were made by Goelicke (Gullik) Halverson Blakestad-Skavlem and by Airik Gubrandson.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- May 31, 1840A Lima Center settler came to Wisconsin and bought 240 acres from the United States Government.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- June 1840The family of David Johnson returned to Wisconsin and settled in Union; the farm had been entered in 1840.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- June 11, 1840Henry P. [child in the Goodrich-family list] was born.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- June 15, 1840Kittel Newhouse made a land entry (S.E. 1/4, S.W. 1/4).The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- June 15, 1840A settler and his wife took their claim in the town of Union, Rock Co.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- Summer 1840An organized school was set up in the shanty first occupied by the Ogdens.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- Summer 1840The first public school was opened; the first teacher was Miss Cornelia Sheldon, daughter of Gen. Sheldon, in a log building near north Main street near General Sheldon's residence.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- August 1840A meeting was held at the house of Hiram Griffith, about a mile west of the present site of Evansville, and a Methodist organization was formed by the Rev. Samuel Pillsbury; the 1908 history dates the organization of the Methodist Episcopal church at Evansville to 1840.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- August 1840The estate of Caleb Blodget came into probate court as the third case before the Judge of Probate; John Hackett was appointed administrator.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- August 5, 1840James D. Doty was re-elected Territorial delegate.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- August 7, 1840Caleb Blodgett, the first white settler at Beloit, died.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- September 1840The parents of Paul M. Green came to Rock Co. and purchased 120 acres on Sections 4 and 5 (Milton).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- September 1840Rev. Milton Bourne began supplying the pulpit (Sept., 1840 to 1842), following Rev. Tuttle (1838 to 1840).BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- Fall 1840A church and parsonage were erected on a lot at the southwest corner of Section 36, known as the First Congregational Church of Rock County, at a cost of about $500.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- October 1840The Pierce family removed to Rock Co., when there were only two houses on the site of Janesville, locating on 160 acres.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- Fall 1840Jacob West settled in Union Township (per one passage; another dates his coming to spring 1840 — see Spring above).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- Fall 1840Elder Stillman Coon, first pastor of the Milton Seventh-Day Baptists, visited them (returning to settle about July 1, 1841).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- October 1, 1840Benjamin Brown arrived in Beloit with his wife (married May 14, 1840) and her daughter Lucy; the 1908 history also says his father first came to Beloit in 1840 and that Brown arrived in October.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- October 12, 1840Gonnoriel G. Doctor (Odegarden) made a land entry (W. 1/4).The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- October 24, 1840Elder F. Topping was invited to preach half the time.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- November 1840Mr. Adams was succeeded by Rev. Dexter Clary, who became minister (1840–1850) and, per the 1908 history, the first pastor of the First Congregational church.BeloitGrade A · 2 independent sources
- November 6, 1840The Seventh-Day Baptists held their first meeting for the purpose of organizing a society at the house of Henry Crandall.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- November 12, 1840Articles of faith and a constitution were adopted and the church was organized; the 1879 history of Milton says the Seventh-Day Baptist Church of Milton was organized in 1840 with about forty members, while the 1879 and 1908 accounts of the November 12 organization state sixty members.Rock CountyGrade A · 2 independent sources
- November 27, 1840A Beloit liveryman married Mary Ann Holmes, of Ashfield, Franklin Co., Mass.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
During 1840
Events the sources date only to the year.
- 1840By fall, the Rock Prairie Norwegian settlement was established, consisting of five homesteads: Gravdal, Hallan, Odegarden, Lars Skavlem, and Gullik Halvorsen Blakstad (Skavlem); Gisle Hallan had taken possession of his new home in Sec. 6, Town of Beloit, and Gullick Halvorsen Blackstad (Skavlem) located on Sec. 28 during the spring and summer.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The lands in Rock and Jefferson Counties came into market; the sale was at Milwaukee; settlers could first obtain title to the land that year.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Easton and Gusta Johnson arrived in Rock county and settled in Avon township.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Rock County members served in the Fourth (extra) Session of the Second Legislative Assembly (James Maxwell, Edward V. Whiton, John Hackett, Hugh Long).The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The Hanchett family came to Beloit, bought forty acres in Sec. 34, and Mr. Hanchett built the dam across Rock River at Beloit.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Col. Ezekiel Clapp and Prosper A. Pierce, from Vermont, settled on Section 2 [town of Rock].Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840A young lawyer purchased the Cortland "County Whig," a weekly newspaper, during the presidential contest between Harrison and Van Buren.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The parents of a tobacco-growing Miller family came to Rock county, Wisconsin.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Settlers listed as arriving in 1840 in the 1856 history's fragmentary roster: H. H. Bailey, D. F. Kimball, H. Bailey, and C. Cheney.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Rock County was divided into three assessment districts; Samuel B. Cooper, George Williston and A. [name cut] were appointed assessors.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Mr. and Mrs. Dean removed to Emerald Grove, Rock county.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840A Beloit lawyer was appointed Postmaster at Beloit, a position he retained about five years.BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840A small steamer was built at Jefferson, which plied on the river a short time before going down the river in July 1841.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The legislature's memorial to congress represented that the people were anxious to establish a common-school system; many schools were poorly organized for lack of funds.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The town received a large accession to its population by the arrival of a colony from Cortland, N.Y.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The population of Rock County was 1,701 (per the 1856 and 1908 histories).Rock CountyGrade A · 2 independent sources
- 1840After the land sale, the present cemetery ground [in Janesville] was laid out; the 1908 history says the cemetery was located in the block where the Third Ward school later stood.Rock CountyGrade A · 2 independent sources
- 1840Selvy Kidder became postmaster [of Janesville], succeeding John Hackett (1839).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Janesville was taken into the Troy circuit and Rev. James McKean was appointed its first pastor, preaching once every four weeks.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840County officers listed for 1840 included Sheriff L. G. [name cut].Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840The only deaths that had occurred in the settlement until 1840 ceased; no other death occurred until 1840.BeloitGrade A · 2 independent sources
- 1840The first store and tavern in the village [Milton area] were kept by a man named Ellett.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Rev. Albert Burgess preached in the school house (organizing the Baptist Church on April 24, 1841).BeloitGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Ezra Philo Doty came to Turtle Township (moving to Janesville in 1845).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840About 1840 — The first saw-mill was built on the banks of the Oconto.The regionGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Rev. Aaron Humphrey came from New York and established worship, his labors divided among this place, Belvidere and Janesville.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840About 1840 — Erastus [surname cut] settled on 240 acres in Turtle.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Mr. Warner came to Wisconsin, to Janesville, where he farmed thirty-five years.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840A hotel, the American House, was built at the corner of Court and Main streets, Janesville.Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840Hubbard entered the land on which he settled with his family in 1845 (Union Township).Rock CountyGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840About 1840 — A Magnolia family sold out their farm in Herkimer Co., N.Y.Nation and worldGrade A · 1 independent source
- 1840About 1840 — Mr. Hopkins laid out the village [later Shopiere], which was christened Waterloo after a quarrel about a claim.Rock CountyGrade A · 2 independent sources