Individual Details
Captain Harman Benjamin Bresee
(13 Feb 1847 - 5 May 1910)
See Donald Goodman file page 23A.
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From: "gc-gateway@rootsweb.com"
Subject: [BRESEE] Obituary: H. B. Bresee, 1847-1910, La Crosse, WI
La Crosse Tribune, Monday, May 6, 1910
BADGER WILL BE FUNERAL BARGE
The La Crosse-Brownsville Steamer Will Carry Owner's Body to Last Resting Place
AN OLD RIVERMAN IS DEAD
Captain Bresee One of Best Known Pilots on This Section of River; Short Illness Fatal
The final cruise of a river career, extending over a period of forty-four years, will be made Tuesday morning when the steamer Badger will carry the body of its late master and captain, H. B. Bresee, to its last resting place at Brownsville, Minn.
Accompanied by relatives and friends, the body of Captain Bresee will be carried aboard the craft which he held as a servant, friend and companion during the later years of his life and which was the ultimate object of his life's work. The body will be laid in the forward cabin and, surrounded by loved ones, the funeral cruise which will forever part Badger and master will be started. Arriving at Brownsville, the body will be carried to the newly made grave among the Minnesota hills. There, overlooking the waters upon which he has guided hundreds of steamers to their safe destination, the body will be laid as though still watching and guarding against the perils which threaten traffic, while the white stone monument will stand out as a parting message to the many friends he leaves among rivermen who still traverse his river home.
An Active Lad
Captain Bresee, who is possibly the best known riverman on the upper Mississippi, was born at Burlington, Vt., February 13, 1847. When five years of age he came west with his parents and settled in the northern part of Wisconsin, where they lived for one year. In 1852, he with his parents drove through La Crosse, then a thriving little village of a thousand, with a team of oxen, one horse and a buggy and settled at Brownsville. When nine years of age his parents moved to Chippewa Falls, where they purchased a farm and he took up his first work at driving oxen. A few years later they returned to Brownsville and at the age of fifteen he became the first mail carrier between that village and La Crosse, making the trip in a small rowboat every day.
At that time the civil war was in full progress and stirred with patriotism and youthful love of adventure, he enlisted in the union ranks. No sooner had he donned the blue uniform than his father, Hiram Bresee reported his lack of age, sent him home to his mother, and shouldered the musket which had been allotted to his son a few hours before.
Upon the return of his father from the southern battle fields two years later, he left for the west where he acted as the driver of a stage coach for three years, after which he returned to his home in Brownsville.
Starts River Career
At the age of twenty years he became a member of a crew of one of the river steamers and a year later became pilot of the LaFayette, a boat belonging to the Lamb Steamship line. He later became pilot on the steamer Minnesota and after its remodeling became captain. A few years later he resigned his position to accept the captaincy of the steamer Blue Lodge, then one of the largest on this section of the river.
He was in command several years before his retirement five years ago. Following his retirement, he purchased the steamer Badger of which he acted as captain for four years, making daily rounds between here and Brownsville.
He became ill with kidney trouble last summer and in July made his last trip on the Badger. Shortly after he went to the marine hospital in St. Louis where he remained until the latter part of October when he returned to his home much improved.
In March, however, he became worse, and was confined to his bed until his death at 1 o'clock yesterday morning. He is survived by his widow, two brothers, Charles of Superior and Orlando of Sioux Falls, S. D., and one sister, Mrs. Mary Ryan, Erie, Ill.
The funeral services will be held at the home, 330 North Twenty-first street, at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. Rev. Louis Magin of the First Methodist church, officiating. From there the body will be taken to Brownsville.
Scan of photo available on request. Please contact: DianneSlipkid@comcast.net
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-- MERGED NOTE ------------
From: "gc-gateway@rootsweb.com"
Subject: [BRESEE] Obituary: H. B. Bresee, 1847-1910, La Crosse, WI
La Crosse Tribune, Monday, May 6, 1910
BADGER WILL BE FUNERAL BARGE
The La Crosse-Brownsville Steamer Will Carry Owner's Body to Last Resting Place
AN OLD RIVERMAN IS DEAD
Captain Bresee One of Best Known Pilots on This Section of River; Short Illness Fatal
The final cruise of a river career, extending over a period of forty-four years, will be made Tuesday morning when the steamer Badger will carry the body of its late master and captain, H. B. Bresee, to its last resting place at Brownsville, Minn.
Accompanied by relatives and friends, the body of Captain Bresee will be carried aboard the craft which he held as a servant, friend and companion during the later years of his life and which was the ultimate object of his life's work. The body will be laid in the forward cabin and, surrounded by loved ones, the funeral cruise which will forever part Badger and master will be started. Arriving at Brownsville, the body will be carried to the newly made grave among the Minnesota hills. There, overlooking the waters upon which he has guided hundreds of steamers to their safe destination, the body will be laid as though still watching and guarding against the perils which threaten traffic, while the white stone monument will stand out as a parting message to the many friends he leaves among rivermen who still traverse his river home.
An Active Lad
Captain Bresee, who is possibly the best known riverman on the upper Mississippi, was born at Burlington, Vt., February 13, 1847. When five years of age he came west with his parents and settled in the northern part of Wisconsin, where they lived for one year. In 1852, he with his parents drove through La Crosse, then a thriving little village of a thousand, with a team of oxen, one horse and a buggy and settled at Brownsville. When nine years of age his parents moved to Chippewa Falls, where they purchased a farm and he took up his first work at driving oxen. A few years later they returned to Brownsville and at the age of fifteen he became the first mail carrier between that village and La Crosse, making the trip in a small rowboat every day.
At that time the civil war was in full progress and stirred with patriotism and youthful love of adventure, he enlisted in the union ranks. No sooner had he donned the blue uniform than his father, Hiram Bresee reported his lack of age, sent him home to his mother, and shouldered the musket which had been allotted to his son a few hours before.
Upon the return of his father from the southern battle fields two years later, he left for the west where he acted as the driver of a stage coach for three years, after which he returned to his home in Brownsville.
Starts River Career
At the age of twenty years he became a member of a crew of one of the river steamers and a year later became pilot of the LaFayette, a boat belonging to the Lamb Steamship line. He later became pilot on the steamer Minnesota and after its remodeling became captain. A few years later he resigned his position to accept the captaincy of the steamer Blue Lodge, then one of the largest on this section of the river.
He was in command several years before his retirement five years ago. Following his retirement, he purchased the steamer Badger of which he acted as captain for four years, making daily rounds between here and Brownsville.
He became ill with kidney trouble last summer and in July made his last trip on the Badger. Shortly after he went to the marine hospital in St. Louis where he remained until the latter part of October when he returned to his home much improved.
In March, however, he became worse, and was confined to his bed until his death at 1 o'clock yesterday morning. He is survived by his widow, two brothers, Charles of Superior and Orlando of Sioux Falls, S. D., and one sister, Mrs. Mary Ryan, Erie, Ill.
The funeral services will be held at the home, 330 North Twenty-first street, at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. Rev. Louis Magin of the First Methodist church, officiating. From there the body will be taken to Brownsville.
Scan of photo available on request. Please contact: DianneSlipkid@comcast.net
Important Note:
The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.
Events
| Birth | 13 Feb 1847 | Burlington, Chittenden, Vermont, United States | |||
| Birth | 13 Feb 1847 | Burlington, Franklin, Vermont, United States |  | ||
| Alt name | Captain Harman B. "Captain" Bresee | ||||
| Occupation | 1868 | river boat owner, captain and pilot, Mississippi River | |||
| Marriage | 23 Jan 1878 | Brownsville, Houston, Minnesota, United States - Ester Ann Evans |  | ||
| Death | 5 May 1910 | La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States | |||
| Death | 5 May 1910 | La Crouse City, Wisconsin, United States | |||
| Burial | 7 May 1910 | Veterans City, Brownsville, Houston, Minnesota, United States | |||
| WikiTree | Bresee-8 |
Families
| Spouse | Ester Ann Evans (1853 - ) |
| Father | Nirum "Hiram" Bresee (1823 - ) |
| Mother | Celia "Sisco" Circo ( - ) |
| Sibling | Charles Bresee (1850 - ) |
| Sibling | Orlando Bresee (1854 - 1919) |
| Father | Nirum "Hiram" Bresee (1823 - ) |
| Sibling | Charles Bresee (1850 - ) |
| Sibling | Orlando C. Bresee (1854 - 1919) |
| Sibling | Mary Bresee (1860 - ) |
Notes
Marriage
Per copy of marriage certificate in Capt. Harman B. Bresee file.Endnotes
1. Benjamin F. Bryant, editor, Memoirs of La Crosse County (Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association, 1907), page 253; digital images, The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, ( : accessed .