Cyrus Lawrence Mayfield and Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield are buried in Eastside Cemetery, Dodgeville, Iowa Co., WI. Thanks to Find-A-Grave for making this image available.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Sunday, January 15, 1956

The Mayfields Report

Mrs. Leslie Mayfield writes from Wilton:

"If you would ask my mother-in-law where she was born and what physicians attended, she would say, 'I was born in  a sod shanty and no doctor was there.' "Mother, Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, of Dodgeville, related the following story to me: " 'My parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Abbey, and my oldest brother, Irvin, lived in Richland county. Early in 1878, they decided to go west to homestead some land. In their covered wagon, drawn by horses, they had some clothing, bedding, and cooking utensils, including a long-handled skillet, water pail, tin plates and cups, some steel knives and forks, and a coffee pot. " 'Mother and Dad worked their way west to earn food for themselves and their horses and a place to sleep. " 'By fall, they had arrived in Norton county, Kansas. Here they homesteaded 160 acres. There was not time nor material to build a log or lumber building as they had back in Richland county. Dad put up a sod shanty. He put up a framework and used sods about 1 foot square. The one room building was about 16 feet square. " 'I was born in this sod shanty, Mar. 26, 1879. Mother named me Iva Mae. " 'She used to laugh when she told of my first christening. Late in April of 1879 there was a long rainy season and, of course, a sod shanty would let water seep in. Mother heard a fussing near the cradle and found me floundering in a mud puddle on the floor. I had fallen out of bed.' On Mar. 29, 1956, the Lord willing, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield will celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary. Their six children are Melva Egalhoff, Dodgeville; Mrs. C. H. Thompson, Ft. Madison, Ia.; Mrs. Art Held, Chicago; Mrs. Herman Crume, 17 N. Brearly st., Madison; Marvin, of International Falls, Minn., and Leslie, of Wilton."

Cyrus Lorin Mayfield (age 21) and Iva May "Ivy" Abbey (age 19) Marriage Record.

The Iowa County Democrat, Mineral Point, Iowa Co., WI, Thursday, April 6, 1899

DODGEVILLE.

The Chronicle

Married, at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Abbey, in the city of Dodgeville, March 29, 1899, by Rev. Wm. Atkinson, Mr. Cyrus L. Mayfield, of Richland Center, and Miss Iva May Abbey.

   

This is Phoebe Elizabeth (Searle) Abbey, early January, 1902, and not Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield, which was the name written on the reverse side. Ennor's Electric Tassergraph Railway Studio, Stevens Point, Portage Co., WI. John A. Ennor operated this studio from 1891 to 1905. Thanks to the Trace family for making this image available.

Leigh Larson note:

Smaller communities along rail routes often lacked various amenities like medical specialists, clergymen, photographers, professional entertainers, and so forth. From the 1860s well into the early 1900s, railroad trains moved special cars outfitted for these purposes. J. A. Ennor's Palace Car, with headquarters in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, served as an example. From the time he purchased it in 1897 until 190s, it had a photo studio, darkroom, and living quarters for him and assistants, traveling in the middle and western states. It was remodeled, renamed Beauty, and operated as a traveling medical clinic by the New York Germal Specialists with a complete line of instruments for practice of surgery. After a brief time, Ennor (1861-1935) took over the car again and toured his vaudeville act as a dramatic lecturer and "traveloguer," as witnessed by the top of a magic lantern glass slide projector being held by the two men in the center of the sleigh. Ennor is likely the man in the fur coat. The railroad offered many opportunities to people of his type, as did steamboats. These speciality cars, as this photograph indicates, attracted curiosity-seekers like the small boys on the right who hung around the newest and most magnetic thing in town.

   

   Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield, Melva Irene Mayfield, Mary Magdalena (Ambrose) Blake, and Ida Elmira (Blake) Abbey, Leonard Studio, Richland Center, Richland Co., WI, about 1902. Thanks to the Trace family for making this image available.

Top row, Left to Right: Emma Jane (Shidell) Hollingshead; Lucinda Matilda (Abbey) Shidell. Bottom row, Left to Right: Phoebe Elizabeth "Phebe" (Searle) Abbey; Sarah Jane "Sadie" Hollingshead. The picture, dated early January, 1902, was from Joyce (Stanton) Hines, deceased.

   

William Searle Abbey Family, 32nd Wedding Anniversary, Dodgeville, Iowa Co., WI, October, 1906.

   

William Searle Abbey Family 53rd Wedding Anniversary, Dodgeville, Iowa Co., WI, June 22, 1927.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Tuesday September 18, 1928

Sisters Meet First Time in 35 Years

RICHLAND CENTER - Six sisters met for the first time in 35 years Sunday at the home of Mrs. Lou Pugh, Gotham. The sisters are the daughters of Simon and Mary Blake, pioneer residents of Richland county. One of the sisters has lived in the state of Washington for many years and this was her first visit to Wisconsin since 1907. She is Mrs. Viola Mason. The others are Mrs. William Abbey, Dodgeville; Mrs. Mary E. Davis, and Mrs. Charles Lovell, Madison; Mrs. Lou Pugh, Gotham; and Mrs. Pearl Lawton, Richland Center. Friends who attended were Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, Marvin and Ruby Mayfield, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Klousia, Letha and Gerald Klausia of Ash Creek; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stratman, Marian Stratman, Melva Perkins, Dodgeville; Clifford Pugh, Stevens Point; Harold Lovell, Muscoda; Martha and Helen Louise Lovell, Madison; Raymond Lawton, Richland Center; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Waite, Pern Pugh and Lou Pugh, Gotham. A picnic dinner was served.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Wednesday, August 15, 1945

Marie Mae Mayfield

RICHLAND CENTER - Marie Mae Mayfield, 15, died Tuesday in a Madison hospital. She had been ill five years. She was born on Ash Creek and spent her life in Richland county. She is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Mayfield, Ash Creek, and Mrs. Isolene Lebansku, Hub City; a sister, Kathryn, and her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, Dodgeville.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Sunday, March 27, 1949

Dodgeville Pair's Golden Wedding Observed Today

DODGEVILLE - Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield will observe their golden wedding anniversary here at their home today. The couple was married on Mar. 29, but will celebrate two days early in order to allow their children to attend. Before her marriage, Mrs. Mayfield was Iva Abbey. The couple was married at the home of her parents in Dodgeville by the Rev. William Atkinson. They lived on a farm near Richland Center for a number of years and then moved to Chicago, where Mr. Mayfield was associated with a truck manufacturer for 12 years. They returned to Dodgeville five years ago and reside on N. Union st. The couple has six children. Two daughters reside here, one in Ft. Madison, Ia., and another in Lyons, Ill. A son lives near Richland Center and another near International Falls, Minn. They have 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Sunday, March 23, 1954

Honored

Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, Dodgeville, will observe their 55th wedding anniversary quietly at home on Monday. The Mayfields were married on Mar. 29, 1899 at Dodgeville by the Rev. William Atkinson. They have spent most of their married life farming in Richland county, except for a few years in Chicago. They returned 10 years ago to reside in Dodgeville. Mrs. Mayfield, the former Iva Abbey of Dodgeville, celebrated her 75th birthday anniversary on Friday. Mr. Mayfield is 76. The couple has four daughters and two sons, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

   

Family visit, October, 1954. Thanks to the Trace family for making these images available.

Back Row, Left to Right: Thelma Blanche (Mayfield) Thompson; Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield; Cloud Hughes "Jupe" Thompson Jr.; and Joanne M. (Florang) Thompson.

Front Row, Left to Right: David H. Thompson; Sandra Lee "Sandi" Thompson; and Jason C. Thompson.

   

The Cyrus Lawrence Mayfield family, about September, 1955. Thanks to the Trace family for making this image available.

Front row, Left to Right: Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield, and Cyrus Lawrence Mayfield.

Back row, Left to Right: Michael Lorin "Mike" Crume; Mary Elizabeth Trace?; Sharon Elaine (Crume) Trace; Ruby Evelyn (Mayfield) Crume; and Melva Ina (Mayfield) (Sladek) Egelhof.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Sunday, January 15, 1956

The Mayfields Report

Mrs. Leslie Mayfield writes from Wilton:

"If you would ask my mother-in-law where she was born and what physicians attended, she would say, 'I was born in  a sod shanty and no doctor was there.' "Mother, Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield, of Dodgeville, related the following story to me: " 'My parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Abbey, and my oldest brother, Irvin, lived in Richland county. Early in 1878, they decided to go west to homestead some land. In their covered wagon, drawn by horses, they had some clothing, bedding, and cooking utensils, including a long-handled skillet, water pail, tin plates and cups, some steel knives and forks, and a coffee pot. " 'Mother and Dad worked their way west to earn food for themselves and their horses and a place to sleep. " 'By fall, they had arrived in Norton county, Kansas. Here they homesteaded 160 acres. There was not time nor material to build a log or lumber building as they had back in Richland county. Dad put up a sod shanty. He put up a framework and used sods about 1 foot square. The one room building was about 16 feet square. " 'I was born in this sod shanty, Mar. 26, 1879. Mother named me Iva Mae. " 'She used to laugh when she told of my first christening. Late in April of 1879 there was a long rainy season and, of course, a sod shanty would let water seep in. Mother heard a fussing near the cradle and found me floundering in a mud puddle on the floor. I had fallen out of bed.' On Mar. 29, 1956, the Lord willing, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Mayfield will celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary. Their six children are Melva Egalhoff, Dodgeville; Mrs. C. H. Thompson, Ft. Madison, Ia.; Mrs. Art Held, Chicago; Mrs. Herman Crume, 17 N. Brearly st., Madison; Marvin, of International Falls, Minn., and Leslie, of Wilton."

The Capital Times, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Tuesday, November 8, 1960

Cyrus Mayfield

DODGEVILLE - Cyrus L. Mayfield, 83, Dodgeville, died here Monday. He was a native of Dodgeville, and married the former Iva Abbey in 1899. They farmed in Richland county and then moved to Chicago, Ill., where they stayed for 20 years. They returned to Dodgeville when they retired 17 years ago. Surviving in Madison is a daughter, Mrs. Herman Crume, 7 Brearly st. Also surviving are his wife; three daughters, Mrs. Melva Egelhof, Dodgeville; Mrs. Arthur Held, Tinley Park, Ill; and Mrs. Thelma Thompson, Ft. Madison, Ia.; two sons, Marvin, International Falls, Minn.; and Leslie, Ontario; two brothers, J. M., and Frank, both of Richland Center; a sister, Mrs. Clarence Hendricks, Richland Center; 12 grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 10 a. m. Thursday in the Lulloff funeral home, Dodgeville, where friends may call after 2 p. m. Wednesday.

Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield, Dodgeville, Iowa Co., WI, about 1974. Thanks to the Trace family for making this image available.

Iva May "Ivy" (Abbey) Mayfield Death Certificate.

The Capital Times, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Friday, December 17, 1976

Madison and Area DEATH NOTICES

Mayfield, Iva M. - DODGEVILLE

DODGEVILLE - Iva M. Mayfield, age 97, died Wednesday, December 15, 1976. He is survived by two sons, Leslie, Ontario, WI, and Marvin, International Falls, MN; two daughters, Mrs. C. H. Thompson of Weaver, Iowa and Mrs. Ruby Crume of Madison; a brother, Truman Abbey of San Antonio, Texas; two sisters, Mrs. Emma Larson and Mrs. Maude Stratman, both of Waupaca; eleven grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Sunday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. at THE LULLOFF-PETERSON FUNERAL HOME, Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Friends may call on Saturday, Dec. 18 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 at the funeral home.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Dane Co., WI, Wednesday, October 23, 1991

Schaeffer, Anthony "Tony"

MADISON - Anthony "Tony" Schaeffer, age 76, of Madison, died on Monday, October 21, 1991, at a local nursing home after a long illness. He was employed by the State Historical Society until he retired in 1979. Tony had married the former Ruby Crume on November 10, 1978. There will be no services. Burial will be in Sunset Memory Gardens Cemetery. Gunderson Funeral Home, Monona.

Green Mayfield, a native of Tennessee, came here from Iowa county in 1847, and made a claim on section 4, entering the land a few years later. He settled there in March, 1848, and still occupies the place.

Green Mayfield a representative man and early settler of Richland county began his pioneer life in infancy, his parents having emigrated to Illinois while he was quite young and when that was a new country. Here they remained but five years when they again took a journey westward locating in that part of the territory of Michigan since embraced in the State of Wisconsin and in Grant county, where he grew to manhood. In 1832 when he was fourteen years old he enlisted in the service of the United States and served through the Black Hawk War, returned to his home at the close of that conflict and engaged in mining. He was joined in marriage with Maria Keister Aug. 9, 1841. She was born in Posey Co., Ind., Nov. 9, 1823. They settled near Pedlar's creek and engaged in mining a few months, then moved to Bee town at which point he followed the same business, his wife assisting. Mining here not proving a remunerative enterprise they soon moved and settled on a claim he had previously made near Platteville. Here they were unfortunate in that both were attacked with fever and ague, and it took all their earnings to pay the doctor's bills, and he at last sold out to close up. In July, 1846, he came to Richland county in company with his brother David, being pleased with this section of the country he concluded to make a settlement and returned for his wife. The great trouble with him was a lack of money, and he hardly knew which way to turn to make necessary arrangements, finally he went to a merchant with whom he was acquainted in Platteville told him he was going to Richland county and wanted enough supplies to last him until fall when he would pay him with venison and honey. The merchant knowing him to be an honest man provided him with the necessaries of life and they started for a new home in Richland county, using his brother's team to move a few household goods, their only possessions. Arriving at the ferry kept by Mr. Mathews he told him he did not have any money to pay his way over, "Never mind" said Mathews, "I will put emigrants across for nothing for we want this country settled." They then made their way to his brother David's where they spent the summer. He made a claim on section 4, did not immediately move to it, but made their home with this brother until the following March, when having erected a small log cabin they moved into it on their own place. Meanwhile he had been successful in his hunting expeditions, and had paid up his store bill, but as yet had no money with which to enter his land; therefore he continued hunting, killed large numbers of deer and bear, and for them found a ready market at Platteville, the saddles of venison bringing two dollars and a half and the pelts from fifty cents to one dollar. He tanned and dressed deer skins with which he made clothing throughout --- coat, pants, cap and moccasins. Many incidents of thrilling interest are remembered in connection with the early experience here of Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield. Starting out one day for the purpose of killing a deer, his dogs started a large bear which ran up a hill the canines in close pursuit. When on the summit the dogs caught and furiously attacked "old bruin," and in the fight both bear and dogs came rolling down the hill together. At the bottom foothold was again secured and the bear and dogs seemed bent on getting away. Finally they drew near where Mayfield was standing, and one of the dogs caught the bear by the ear, when he raised up embraced the dog and began to hug as only a bear can. Finally they fell to the ground, when Mr. Mayfield approached and with a knife, having a blade twelve inches long, stabbed the bear on the opposite side, when he released his hold and started away with the knife in his side. The gun was empty and there was no other way than to use a club, which weapon was used with good effect, and securing the knife cut his throat putting an end to his existence. This is one among the many similar adventures of this pioneer. In the course of a few years he had accumulated money enough to enter his land, when he devoted more time to clearing a farm. In August, 1862, he enlisted and joined company B, 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. The principal battle in which he was engaged was at Kinston, North Carolina. While he was in the service of his country, his wife, assisted by her two daughters and a small son carried on the farm raising good crops. He was discharged with the regiment in June, 1865, and returned home. His industrious family, had already planted the farm in corn, and in the fall he gathered 1500 bushels. For some years he did not have a team of his own and used his brother's. At the present time we find him with a well stocked farm, comfortable frame house, large frame barn and 445 acres of land, besides other claims. He has always been enterprising, and among the first and most influential in establishing schools and Churches. Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield both joined the M E Church at the time of its organization in Orion. They are the parents of three children --- Sarah M, now the wife of Jeff. Wilson, who lives in Crawford county; Maria A, now the wife of Joseph McMillen and Elijah G. The latter was born in the town of Orion, Jan. 16, 1853, and was married in 1875 to Dreatz Powells, and two years later settled on his present farm on section 9. They have three children --- Cyrus L, Miles and one not named at this date.

David Mayfield, also a native of Tennessee, came from Grant county in June, 1847, and entered land on sections 3 and 10. He improved the farm and made this his home until 1883, when he sold out; he now lives at Richland Center.

David Mayfield and wife, on the 20th day of June, 1845, located on the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 3, town 9 north, range 1 east. They had just removed from Platteville. The only neighbors they had on Ash creek at this time were William Thompson and family, but they had chosen this as their future home, and concluded to make the best of it. It being late in the season when they arrived in the county, they could not raise any crop but potatoes, but this was a very important crop to the pioneers, as it furnished them a goodly portion of their winter supply of food. In the fall of 1845 Green Mayfield and family, a brother of David Mayfield, arrived from Platteville and settled where he now resides but there was no further increase in the settlement until 1847 when the Joslin family arrived. Mr. Mayfield continued farming until 1883, when as he found himself advancing into old age he sold his farm of 164 acres for $2500, removed to Richland Center and retired from active life. David Mayfield was born near Nashville, Tenn., in August 1807. In 1811 the family removed to Indiana and one year later to Illinois where the mother died in 1818. The subject of this sketch then came to Wisconsin, and followed mining until 1834 then engaged in farming at Platteville. In 1837 he married Martha Arterbury, she died in 1841. He subsequently married Almira Woods and by this union five children have been born, two now living --- Rosa, now the wife of August Larson and Delia Mayfield, now in Nevada.