From Memorial and Genealogical Record of Dodge and Jefferson Counties, Wisconsin, publ. 
1894 - Page 140-144
 
CHARLES H. EGGLESTON.  This old and experienced lumber merchant of Fox Lake, Wis., is 
one of the most prosperous and highly-respected business men of the section in which he has so 
long made his home, and the correct manner in which he has conducted his operations has met 
with universal approval and he has been rewarded with a liberal patronage.  He owes his nativity 
to Oxfordshire, England, where his eyes first opened on the light August 4, 1835, his parents 
being Thomas G. and Hillier E. (AUSTIN) EGGLESTON, also natives of that country.  Thomas G. 
EGGLESTON was a mason and contractor by trade, and in 1837 decided to follow these 
occupations in America, and came to this country accompanied by his family and shortly after 
located in Milwaukee, of which city he was among the early settlers.  During those early days he 
worked on the construction of the Capitol building at Madison, when there was but one house 
between Milwaukee and that place.  He had the contract to build the first lighthouse in Wisconsin, 
about the year 1838, at Racine, and did other important work throughout the State.  In 1841 he 
removed to Waukesha and lived there for fifteen years, during which time he carried on a 
successful contracting business, then came to Fox Lake, where his home continued to be until his 
death, December 31, 1892, at which time he was eighty-three years of age.  He was an 
industrious and honorable old pioneer, took an active part in the improvement and settlement of 
the State during its early history, and left an impress upon the section that will long be felt.  His 
wife survives him.  Their son, Charles H. EGGLESTON, is a true American in every sense of the 
word, notwithstanding the fact that he was born on foreign soil, for ever since he was two years 
old he has resided in this country and has identified himself with her every interest.
 
He passed his boyhood days in Waukesha, there received a practical education in the public 
schools, after which he finished his education in Carroll College.  He accompanied his parents to 
Fox Lake, and when the great Civil War came up showed his loyalty to his adopted country by 
enlisting in Company E, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry, August 13, 1862, with which he served 
and participated in all the engagements and marches until the termination of hostilities, when he 
was mustered out at Shreveport, La.  During the last year of his service he held the rank of first 
lieutenant.  He was a participant in the siege of Vicksburg, the Red River expedition under Gen. 
Banks, the capture of Mobile, besides various smaller engagements and skirmishes.  He was 
wounded in the battle of Port Gibson in the right shoulder by a gun shot, and was incapacitated 
for service for ten months.  He has never fully recovered from the effects of this wound, for his 
shoulder blade was shattered and sixteen or seventeen pieces of bone were taken out.  After the 
war was over he returned to Fox Lake, Wis., and shortly after, in 1866, engaged in the lumber 
business, which he has carried on with marked success ever since, being the only merchant 
engaged in this line of business in the town.  He carries a well selected stock, valued at about 
$7,000 or $8,000, and his annual sales amount to from $15,000 to $22,000.  The improvement 
and welfare of his section is a matter of deep interest to him, and in his support of all enterprises 
of a worthy nature, tending to benefit his section, he has been liberal in the use of his means, so 
far as his financial condition would allow, and has also given his time and influence in their 
support.  He was an active member of the county board for several terms, and being particularly 
interested in educational matters he has served as a member of the school board for years, and 
has been closely identified with Downer College, much of the thoroughness, high standard and 
excellence of the institution being due to his efforts.  He has been a trustee of the institution for 
years, is secretary of the board of trustees, and is a member of the executive committee.  He was 
one of the original incorporators of the State Bank of Fox Lake, is president of the same, and has 
held this position since the organization of the institution.  He is also one of its directors.  He has 
in all probability done more for the best interests of the place than any other one man in it, and 
has contributed more time and money to bring about the desired results than any other.  He is of 
the stuff of which noble and useful citizens are made, and his career in Fox Lake has borne out 
these facts.  He was married in 1866 to Miss S. BLAISDELL, a native of New York, and they are 
worthy members of the Baptist Church, and for a number of years he has been its treasurer and 
one of its trustees.  Mr. EGGLESTON is a member of the I.O.O.F., in which he has been 
secretary for eighteen consecutive years, and he has served as commander of his post in the 
G.A.R. for the past four years.
 
Submitted by Carol