Stanton Township

In 1850 Alonzo Dibble at age 24 headed west to El Dorado, California to strike it rich. The Gold Rush that began in January of 1848 was still in full swing. After about 16 months, he gave up and joined his mother and siblings in Ohio. He worked as a boatman on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Still unmarried, at age 28 with his brother Jonathan for the promise of success in southeastern Minnesota in 1854. They settled on adjacent claims in a beautiful area that would become Stanton. The 160 acres claimed by Alonzo contained a spring later known as Dibble Springs. The Dibble family came originally from England; however they had already been in America for six generations. Mostly settling in Connecticut. Their parents were John (1782-1839) and Sarah Elizabeth Howe (1799-1875) Dibble. The Dibble brothers traveled with George and John Season, friends from home and their young wives. Both brothers had just married in 1852 and John had a small baby. George’s wife, Ellen North Season (1835-1855) was pregnant, and she went into labor in cold early spring of 1855. When she was having trouble with the delivery, Alonzo left at 4am and walked 30 miles to Red Wing to get the doctor. The doctor took off in his horse immediately, leaving Alonzo to walk home. Sadly, both Ellen and the baby died.

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ALONZO DIBBLE – On June 11, 1855, Alonzo married Louisa

Wilhelmina Dorothea Ahlers (1836-1869). Louisa, born in

Prussia/Germany came to America with her family just two years

earlier. In 1854, her father, Karl (Charles) Ahler had staked his claim

in Hay Creek not aware yet of the battle that would take place to

hold on to this land that has been set aside for the several

"half-breed" families. Hay Creek, also located in Goodhue County

was once a station on the Chicago Great Western Railway between

Red Wing and Rochester. Their first child was born on May 27, 1856.

They named her Sarah Louisa. This was the first death in Stanton.

Remembering his experience, a year ago, Alonzo moved his wife to

stay at her parent’s home in Hay Creek to be closer to the doctor.

The second daughter, Alice Mary was born in 1858 and just before the start of the Civil War, the couple's only

son, Edward was born on June 21, 1860. Alonzo, now farming both his and his brother Jonathan’s 160-acre claim, allowed a vacant building to be used as the first school. On December 9th, 1861, the Dibble School opened with Wilbur H. Scofield teaching seven students. Mr. Scofield lived at Alonzo’s home. By 1877, Alonzo had purchased more land. The Dibble Farm, now 445 acres was one of the largest holdings in Stanton. In 1878, the First National Bank of Stanton opened, and Alonzo was a charter stockholder. After Alonzo’s wife, Louisa died in 1869, he married middle-aged Rebecca Chapman on August 28, 1871. 

 

On August 28, 1884, Alonzo’s oldest daughter, Sarah Louise (1856-1950) married a

talented young doctor from Cannon Falls named Hiram Eldridge (Edward) Conley

(1855-1922). Born in Palo, Iowa he graduated from Iowa State University in 1884 and

by November 1885 he was practicing medicine in Minnesota. The couple had five

children. Two of his daughters, Myra Virginia and Emma Luella came down with

Laryngeal Diphtheria. He desperately tried to save them by performing a difficult

tracheotomy operation. They both died and he became very interested in

Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. He became an expert and at one point

Doctor William Mayo offered him a position on the Mayo Clinic staff.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                       Sarah Louisa Dibble Conley                   

 

                             Doctor Hiram (Ed) Eldridge Conley & Sarah

                                                   and Myra and Emma

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On February 16, 1887, Alonzo’s 2nd daughter, Alice Mary (1858-1942)

was married in Cannon Falls to Francis Ashbury Richardson (1857-1921)

They originally lived in Cannon Falls where Frank was a gardener but by

1910, they had moved to Perkins County South Dakota to take

advantage of the new homestead properties. The couple had four

children.

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Edward Alonzo Dibble (1860-1951) married Laura Crook (1867-1960) in

Cannon Falls on March 15, 1885. He took over the operation of his

father’s vast farming operation in Stanton and farmed there for the rest

of his life. Edward and Laura had two daughters

and twin sons.

 

JONATHAN NATHAN DIBBLE - four years younger than Alonzo, he didn’t last long in the new wilderness. He left in 1858 and returned to Indiana. By the spring of 1860, he had married a woman named Ann Eliza Smith (1838-1873), who was born in Indiana. The 22-year-old Jonathan and his equally young wife lived in or near the village of Patriot in Posey Township, Switzerland County--not far from his mother's homestead. Living with them was Jonathan's 20-year-old brother Sylvanus. Sylvanus would join the Civil War, where he died in an army hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in 1863. In 1864, Jonathan and Ann would move back to Minnesota with their first two children, Nathan North (1861-1885) and Richard (1862-1940). In February of 1865, he joined the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment. The unit was disbanded in September of 1865, so he most likely saw no action, but we can only assume that Ann and the children were largely dependent on Alonzo during this time. On March 10, 1867, a daughter was born, and they named her Minnesota. Finally, now living in Cannon Falls, Daniel Smith (1869-1944) is born on May 3rd. Four years later the children would lose their mother. Ann died on October 30, 1873. Jonathan remarried in 1875 to a Sarah Cornelia Smith, whom some say was Ann’s much younger sister. Their first child named Ann Eliza, born in 1875 died at nine days old. Their second was stillborn in 1877 but they named him Jonathan.

 

JOHN SEASON (1825-1904) John married Emily Cynthia Butler (1833-1918) in Ohio on August 22, 1852. They brought baby Alice, born in 1853 to Minnesota when they made their claim in Stanton in 1854. John was a cooper by trade, a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other similar containers from timber, so the family moved to Cannon Falls where they lived permanently. They had a total of 12 children.

 

GEORGE SEASON (1822-1885) also married in Ohio before coming to Minnesota. Ellen North (1835-1855) died in childbirth shortly after the family moved to Stanton. He remarried in August of the same year to Emeline Harriet Stranahan (1837-1872). They farmed and also had a home in Cannon Falls. When their 7th child was born on May 14, 1872, the delivery compromised the mother and Emily died one month later June 14th. George once again married, this time to a much younger, Martha Janie Richmond Taylor (1849-1931) on August 16, 1867. They had four more children before George died in 1885. The Season family originated from England. Most of the family came to America with their mother after their father died in 1837.

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GEORGE WASHINGTON GOULD (1830-1901) One year after the Dibble and Season brothers

made their claims in Stanton, a large group of New Englanders arrived from Wisconsin,

where they had previously made a settlement. This party consisted of Norman and Samuel

Daniels, William Stanton Sr and his son William Jr, Robert Deakin (son-in-law), and George

Gould. The first wedding in Stanton was that of George Gould and Achsa Martha

Experience Daniels (daughter of Samuel) in October of 1855. They were first cousins.

They had twins in 1857, a boy that died and a girl, Clara Experience that died when she was

3. They farmed and had no more children they moved to Oregon to live with George’s sister

and her family. She died in 1899 and he died on March 4, 1901. They are both buried in

Oregon.

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SAMUEL DANIELS (1805-1888) MARRIED Mary M Heath (1816-1876) in Vermont in 1829. Most of his children continued to make their home in Stanton where he farmed.

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NORMAN DANIELS (1828-1894) Farmer, married twice, Lucy Daniels () and Alice Finney () on December 28, 1878, Norman was most likely a younger cousin or nephew of Samuel Daniels.

 

WILLIAM STANTON SR (1789-1877) – his parents were Ezekeil (1759-1833) and Anna Berry (1760-1845). He married Mary Jane Arling (1793-1846) in 1811 in New Hampshire. They had ten children. He built a log home along the road leading to Faribault and many travelers stayed the night on the journey. Everyone was welcome. After Mary died, he married Mary Grace Poole (1799-1850) in 1848 in Watertown, Wisconsin. She was the mother-in-law of his daughter Hannah. She died two years later. At age 71, he married Jane Teague (1829-1878). She was 31. They had one daughter, Jennie. When he died in December of 1877, he left $1 to each of his children and the balance of his estate to his wife. She died the following August. Daughter Jennie was taken in by Saloma Gould, the widow of his friend George Gould.

 

The township was named after William Stanton Sr. originally however when it was organized, the name was changed to Lilian, when the State rejected the name Stanton. Eventually it was changed back to Stanton.

 

WILLIAM STANTON JR (1813-1862) son of William Sr, married Eliza Ann Rollins (183-22-1877) in Fairfield, Wisconsin. They had two sons, Stiles and William.

The Stanton’s and the Daniels’ moved around a lot after coming to Minnesota from New Hampshire and Vermont. They spent time in Wisconsin and Canada but also kept their property in Stanton.

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