Individual Details
Lewis W. FREEMAN
(9 Jan 1819 - 23 Mar 1880)
From the Dunn County News, Saturday, March 27, 1880, Page 5 Column 1: "Mr. L. Freeman of this village (probably means Menomonie [my note]) died last Tuesday Morning. He has been sick for a long time and a charge upon Dunn County for several years." There is another document held by Dunn County which evidently indicates Silas and Sarah as parents as it is repeated on his FindAGrave memorial.
The following is speculation, but is being offered as we know from the Dunn County records that Lewis was sick and living off Dunn County welfare for some time. There are three records of Lewis W. Freeman being placed in a state asylum while in prison and asylum again after his prison release. Lewis was in prison at San Quentin, Marin County, California for grand larceny for a four year term beginning in 15 July 1858. At the age of 40 he was a laborer, 5 feet and 11 and 1/2 inches tall, light complexion, hazel eyes, and black hair. He was full featured, sharp nose, deep sunk eyes, 3 large knife scars on his left side, and a crippled right arm. He was admitted to the California Stockton San Joaquin State Hospital on 17 July 1859. They recorded that he had been insane for six months, a state convict, American, and married. He was released back to San Quentin on 2 June 1860. On 5 September of that year, he escaped but was returned on 23 June 1862. He was discharged from prison on 15 October 1862. He was re-admitted to the Stockton State Hospital on 26 September 1864. He was a native of New York, single, last resided in Wisconsin, and was a sheep herder. He had evidence of insanity, loss of memory, indicating he had a sister in Chicago [this writer finds no residence of siblings in Chicago, but his sister Olive was close by in McHenry County, Illinois] and was with her that morning, delusionary, dangerous, inability to take care of himself, although he was not filthy or destructive. He indicated his father had an insane sister [this writer as yet to find that], had been exposed to the sun and the initial diagnosis of his insanity was dementia. There is no record of his release.
Some researchers record that Lewis married Jane Hicks. This writer can find no source for a marriage or a divorce for Lewis although one record above has him single and another has him married.
Events
| Birth | 9 Jan 1819 | Brutus, Cayuga County, New York | |||
| Burial | Mar 1880 | Evergreen Cemetery, Menomonie, Dunn County, Wisconsin | |||
| Death | 23 Mar 1880 | Menomonie, Dunn County, Wisconsin |  |
Families
| Father | Silas FREEMAN (1775 - 1836) |
| Mother | Sarah (see note) French (1779 - 1836) |
| Sibling | Mary (Polly) FREEMAN (1797 - ) |
| Sibling | Hezekiah FREEMAN (1799 - 1801) |
| Sibling | Olive FREEMAN (1801 - 1872) |
| Sibling | Darius FREEMAN (1803 - 1874) |
| Sibling | Walter FREEMAN (1805 - 1845) |
| Sibling | Hannah FREEMAN (1807 - ) |
| Sibling | Harriet FREEMAN (1810 - 1858) |
| Sibling | Caroline Sophia FREEMAN (1812 - 1880) |
| Sibling | Leonard B. FREEMAN (1814 - 1889) |
| Sibling | Sarah (Sally) Marie FREEMAN (1817 - 1852) |
| Sibling | John H. FREEMAN (1821 - 1868) |
| Sibling | Ethan Sheldon FREEMAN (1824 - 1910) |
Notes
Death
The Wisconsin Death Records, 1867-1907 indicate he died as a pauper. FindAGrave Memorial (#117435417 - has his given name as Louis) indicates he died in infirmity while residing in Menomonie and was the son of Sales [Silas] and Harriet Peterson. Death is also recorded in the Stout University Archives Library. In June 2016, a photographer volunteer attempted to find his headstone with no success. That particular area of the cemetery [Plot: Row 2, Number 69] is where many of the very early burials are and often they did not have stone markers that have survived to date. Some have sunk beneath the sod, many in fact, all over that island are not visible.