Untitled From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901- page 541-543

HON. JOHN HAWKINS ROUNTREE, Platteville. The ancestral record of this eminent and venerable pioneer settler of Grant county is as follows: Randall ROUNTREE, his great-grandfather, emigrated from Ireland in 1720, settling in Virginia, where he resided until his death. His grandfather, Thomas ROUNTREE, in 1795, moved with his family from Virginia to the vicinity of the Mammoth Cave, Warren Co., Ky., where he remained until he died. John ROUNTREE, his father, also settled in the same place, and there resided until his decease. In the same locality John H. ROUNTREE was born, March 24, 1805. The education received by "the Major" at this period he himself described as "very common-school," the school house being one of those primitive affairs so common in earlier times, constructed of unhewn logs, with holes cut for windows, while a broad fireplace, with its huge open chimney, furnished the heat for the room in frosty weather. Major ROUNTREE moved from Kentucky to Hillsboro, Montgomery Co., Ill., in February, 1824, was there appointed deputy sheriff, and served as such until he reached his twenty-first year, when he was elected sheriff, an office that he held until his resignation, upon his return trip to Wisconsin, in 1827. On May 24, of that year he reached New Diggings (now a portion of Lafayette county), and afterward came to Platteville, then just coming into notice; there he ever after resided. On Aug. 7, 1828, Major ROUNTREE was married to Mary Grace MITCHELL, of Galena, Ill., and the next day, with his bride, moved to his log cabin in Wisconsin. Mrs. ROUNTREE died in 1837. On Sept. 3, 1839, he was again married, to Miss Lydia H. SOUTHWORTH, of Platteville, who after a long and pleasant companionship, extending over nearly a half-century, passed on to her reward, her death occurring June 16, 1881.

The numerous positions held by Major ROUNTREE are the best evidence of his high standing among his neighbors for the numerous decades hidden beneath the swiftly-revolving wheel of Time. In May, 1826, he was commissioned major of Illinois militia, and the same year elected sheriff of Montgomery county, in the same State. In 1829 he was appointed postmaster at Platteville, and was several times re-appointed; also, the same year, appointed and commissioned justice of the peace for Iowa county, Michigan Territory, of which Wisconsin then formed a part. In 1832 he was elected captain of a company of mounted volunteers enlisted by him to serve in the Black Hawk war. In 1834 he was appointed Chief Justice of the County Court of Iowa County by the governor of Michigan, which position he held until the Territory of Wisconsin was organized, in 1836. In 1837 he was appointed Judge of Probate of Grant county, which was organized that year. In 1839 he was commissioned as aid to the governor, with the rank of colonel. In 1838 he was elected a member of the Territorial council for four years, with the rank of colonel, and in 1842 was re-elected to that position. In 1847 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, serving in that body on the committee on General Provisions (which embraced a large number of the most important articles under consideration), as well as upon several select committees. In 1850 Major ROUNTREE was elected to the State Senate, and the following year was appointed a Regent of the State University. In 1853 he was appointed major-general of militia of the Second District of Wisconsin. In 1857 he was appointed postmaster of Platteville. In 1803 he was elected member of Assembly, and in 1866 was again elected to the State Senate - thus serving in the Territorial and State Legislature longer than any other citizen.

From early life Major ROUNTREE was a leader in church affairs, and his judgment and counsel were always sought and trusted. It is recorded that, as early as 1832, he with his wife and two others met in the ROUNTREE log cabin and took the preliminary steps towards organizing a Methodist Episcopal Church, which is claimed to have been the first organized church of that denomination in Wisconsin. Through the vicissitudes of church life he was loyal and constant in his affections for the church, which he loved and revered as a dutiful son would his mother. Time and again, as the church edifice grew old and became too contracted for the needs of the growing congregation, Major ROUNTREE was one of the chief planners and most liberal contributors in devising for the new and greater edifice.

Major ROUNTREE had a notable Masonic record, covering a period of sixty-two years. He received the Master's degree in Far West Lodge, Galena, Ill., in 1828. As soon as there were a sufficient number of representatives of the order in Platteville and vicinity he took an active part in organizing a lodge, and became a charter member of Melody Lodge, No. 2, which received its first charter from the Grand Lodge of Missouri. In 1844, there being three lodges in Wisconsin, delegates from these met, and organized the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, in which organization Major ROUNTREE took an active and prominent part; he served as Grand Treasurer in 1846, and Grand Junior Warden in 1847. He was one of the founders of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Wisconsin, which was organized in 1850, and at this organization was elected Grand King, serving one year; the next five years he was Grand Treasurer, and in 1861 was elected Grand High Priest - the highest honor in the State within the gift of his brethren. He became a member of the order of Knights Templars at Madison in 1869. For over sixty years he was an ardent and zealous member of the different orders of Masonry, and until the infirmities of age weighed down upon him he took an active part in the work, through which he could see an avenue of dispensing charity without heralding it to the world. He was a Knight Templar, the Knight Templarism points to the end. The cross and crown constitute one of the most interesting and instructive emblems - the cross of trial surmounted by the crown of victory; the cross of struggle and the crown of triumph; the cross of earth and the crown of heaven; and in the golden halo which surrounds these emblems in the legend, "Be thou faithful until death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

This lengthy recital of honors and official positions bears upon its face the highest testimonial that could be furnished of the unbounded esteem and confidence of the communities in which the Major lived in the sterling worth, integrity and ability of this veteran representative of pioneer times. When he first entered the present State it was divided into two counties, and contained but a few thousand inhabitants, scattered over the vast territory; today it numbers its inhabitants by hundreds of thousands. Major ROUNTREE was the witness of the growth of a new empire; took part in an Indian war; saw the aboriginal inhabitants pushed back, foot by foot, until they now possess hardly a rood of land which they can call their own. He saw the commencement, growth and prosperity or obliteration of every city and village, with the exception of two or three military posts, in the State - all the improvements, indeed, that in fifty years have converted a great and uncivilized wilderness into a series of powerful states. In the immediate vicinity of his own home the change has been no less great; in place of the rude miner's cabin is seen the stately mansion; the few hundred seekers after mineral have been swallowed up in the many thousands whose cozy farm houses dot the landscape in every direction. To but a few has such an experience been vouchsafed; Gen. ROUNTREE may well have been regarded as a landmark between the past and the present, one who lived over the whole term of our local history, and served as a prominent factor in making it.

The end of life came to this venerable pioneer June 30, 1890. The funeral service was held under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity, of which he had so long been an honored member. Brethren of the order and many friends from different parts of the State assembled to pay tribute to his memory, the crowd being so great that the services were held in the beautiful park which surrounds the ROUNTREE home. Six of his children survive him: Mrs. Ellen R. JEWETT, of Chicago; Mrs. Laura R. SMITH, who with her two daughters lives in the old homestead; Mrs. Cora HATHAWAY, of New York; and Miss Lilly T. ROUNTREE, Philip S. ROUNTREE and Harrison H. ROUNTREE, who all live in Chicago.



This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck