WI BIO - Waupaca Co - ZWICKY, Casper

History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical, 1881, vol II, p 
1106

Casper ZWICKY, farmer, Section 3, P. O. Scandinavia [Waupaca County, 
Wisconsin], was born in Switzerland on 21 December 1825. His father was a 
doctor, and gave his son an opportunity for going to school until he was 
twenty. He was employed in making draftings for engineers and surveyors 
until he came to Oshkosh [Winnebago County, Wisconsin] in 1849. [Wisconsin 
had become a State on 29 May 1848.] He remained two years, working at 
anything he could find to do.

In 1851 Casper ZWICKY came to his present place, being the third or fourth 
man to settle in the new town. [The "present place" to which the author 
refers officially became, on 15 April 1853, Scandanavia, Waupaca County, 
Wisconsin, a primarily Norwegian community, which in 1851 was still part of 
the old town of Waupaca. A Mr. ELEASON (also spelled ELIASON) was the first 
settler there, in 1851, followed by Ole ANDERSON, Isaac ELEASON, J. C. 
ELEASON, J. J. TORGERSON, and the subject of this biography, Casper ZWICKY. 
For additional historical information about the settlement of Scandavania, 
see Ware's 1917 Standard History of Waupaca County, Wisconsin.]

Casper ZWICKY claimed 200 acres and built a small house. When the country 
was surveyed in 1853, he found that his house stood on four sections: 3, 4, 
9, and 10. He has 200 acres, 100 acres improved, the fine improvements 
including a large frame house he built on the site of the old one.

On 09 July 1850 Casper ZWICKY married [his first wife] Anna INGBUERSON, who 
died in 1864, leaving five children. In 1865 Casper ZWICKY married [his 
second wife] Miss Gunhelda CHRISTINSON, who died on 29 April 1881, leaving 
four children.

[In "Scandinavia, Wisconsin," Alfred O. ERIKSON relates a story about Casper 
ZWICKY and his wife leaving their first baby alone in the log house when they 
went to work in the fields, returning to find the baby missing. As the story 
goes, the next morning the Indians [Menominee or Chippewa perhaps?] returned 
the baby, along with a hind quarter of venison, saying they had never seen 
anything so beautiful, could not resist taking it to show the tribes, and 
were returning the baby with the venison as compensation, intending to always 
be of friendly aid to the white settlers.]

[Another Waupaca-area story tells about a Menominee Indian woman, Nahkom, who 
was accused of stealing a child (believed to be a while child, Casper 
PARTRIDGE, lost in April 1850), whose child was taken from her (kidnapped) 
despite a court ruling in her favor. There are more stories of clashes 
between the early settlers and Native Americans than there are stories about 
benevolent baby-borrowing by either group. Separation of fact and myth in 
ERICKSON's story about the firstborn of Casper ZWICKY is left to the 
researcher.] 

Submitted by Cathy Kubly