The list of names below are the original patent owners of land in Township 6, Range 9 in the 4^th Prime Meridian -1831 MN/WI, now called the City of Fitchburg. As such, these individuals are the original settlers of Fitchburg (other than the Native Americans). However, as noted in Fitchburg History to 1880, owning land did not mean they settled on it at that time and some even sold their land without making improvements.  The United States government first issued patents in this township in 1837 when Wisconsin was still a Territory. The last patent for this township was issued in 1860.

The information on this page is set up to allow several approaches to finding information on the original ownership of land in Fitchburg. 

1.  Name search from list below: Click on the blue section numbers following a name in the alphabetically ordered list below. This will take you to details of the patent on the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records website. Some names have multiple section numbers indicating multiple patents were given to those individuals so each number should be checked for a complete list of land owned. The same section number listed more than once indicates different parts of the section were obtained. Above the patent details are two other buttons: Patent Image (can be printed) and Related Documents. An effort has been made to identify alternate spellings.

2.  Name search from a master list on the Bureau of Land Management website: Click here to go to the Bureau of Land Management master list of patent owners in what is now Fitchburg. This list is divided into 14 webpages and though generally in alphabetical order, co-owners and misspelled names will not be in alphabetical order and may appear on another webpage. The list provides specific land location and date of the patent as well as a link to the webpages described in #1 above.

3.  Location search: If you want to search for the patent owner of a particular parcel of land click here to go to the search webpage of the Bureau of Land Management. Under Location select Wisconsin. Under Land Description type in 6 for Township, 9 for Range, select 4^th PM-1831 MN/WI. Type in the section number of interest and click on Search Patents. If you do not know the section number go to the 1955 plat map of Fitchburg. Section numbers are in the middle of each section.

Click on blue names to go to biographical sketches.

ADAMS, LEWIS L 20 29 29
ATKINS, JEREMIAH T 14 9 14 14
AUGUR, LEWIS S 35 26
BAKER, BARNEY B 20
BARKER, SILVA 25
BARRY, JAMES 20 17 20
BARTLETT, ORIMEL 34
BATTS, WILLIAM W 28, 29, 32
BEACH, THOMAS 17
BEARD, DEXTER F 28
BEEBE, ARCINOE L 26 27 32
BEEBE, ELIZA L 32
BENNETT, ROBERT C 32 31 29 32
BERRY, MICHAEL 28
BERRY, THOMAS 29
BIRD, WILLIAM D 3
BLAIR, CHAUNCEY B 1 10 11 15 12 10
BLOOD, WILLIAM A 25
BOUDINET, WILLIAM 14
BRADSHAW, HERALD 22
BRINK, SAMUEL 33
BROWN, MICHAEL 29
BROWN, SAMUEL M 12 13 10 10
BURRITT, GOODWIN 34
BUSH, HARVEY 24
CATLIN, JOHN 33 20
CHADWICK, JEHU 33
CHAPMAN, BELA 9 15
CHASE, ENOCH 13
COE, LEWIS D 31
COLLINS, EDWIN R 1
CONKLIN, JAMES 22 23
CONNALLY, JAMES 26
COR(E)Y, COL(E)MAN 28 28 33
CULLEN, DANIEL 27
CUMMINGS, JAMES 24
DIKE, GEORGE L 34
DOUSMAN, GEORGE D 6
DOUSMAN, TALBOT(T) C 14 11 1 12
DYKE, GEORGE L 34
ESON, HENRY 29
FIELD, STORER W 22
FOLTS, JONAS 12
FORD, OLIVER B 19 30
FOX, GEORGE 35
FOX, MATTHEW A 24
FOX, WILLIAM H 35 35 35 35 25
FRENCH, JONATHAN 3
FRENCH, LEONARD W 18 18 18
GARDNER, HARTLEY (B) 29 31 31 31 30
GILSHEN, MICHAEL 35
GORMON, PATRICK 22
HALFPENNEY, WILLIAM 25
HAMILTON, WILLIAM 23
HARRIS, ROBERT 26 26
HECOX, WILLIAM H 2 5
HELFER, WILLIAM S 18
HELMS, HENRY 21
HELMS, ROBERT 28 28 27 28
HELPENSTEIN, CHARLES P 10
HENRY, GEORGE M 4
HIBBARD, LAURA 13
HOGAN, JOHN A 27, 26
HOPKINS, BENJAMIN F 26
HOWE, EDWIN R 28
HUNT, WILLIAM J 29
KEENAN, GEORGE 34 27 27 28 28
KEENAN, JOHN 27 27 27 27
KEENAN, MARIAN L 20 23
KENN(E)Y (KINNEY), MICHAEL 22 22
KINGSBURY, ASA D 4 11 9 9 9
KINNEY, ANDREW 23
KUNTZ (KURTZ), JOHN 24 24
KURTZ, ANDREW 23
KURTZ, PETER A 25
LANGDON, ANDREW C 33
LOTT, BENJAMIN F 32
MARKLEY, LAFAYETTE 26
MARSH, LEVI R 4 5
MARTIN, DELAVAN 14
MATTISON, SCHYLER H 10 10
MAY, CHESTER 17 20
MCFADEN, THOMAS 22
MCGINTY, BARNEY 34
MCGLIN, JAMES 34
MCMAN(N)US, ALBERT 23 23
MCWILLIAMS, JOHN 25 25 25 26
MERRILL, WILLIAM P 2
MILLER, SETH, 18 23 35 18
MOSS, WILLIAM 20 20
NELSON, THOMAS 25 24
NOONAN, JOSIAH A 34
NOTT, BENJAMIN T 34
NOTT, PHILETUS S, 18
OBRIEN, OWEN 23
ODELL, EZEKIEL 28, 27, 21
ODELL, JACOB G 28, 27, 21
PALMER, ANDREW 23
POLHAMUS, JOHN 28, 29, 32
POSTLE, CYRENUS 32 31
PRATT, ALEXANDER F 6 4 6 4 5
PRENTISS, RUSSELL 19 18 23 35 18
PRI(T)CHARD, GARRETT 32
PRI(T)CHARD, LORENZO D 32 32
PRITCHARD, PHILANDER M 33 32
QUIV(E)Y, WILLIAM 33 33
RAWSON, THOMAS H 30
RICE, OLIVER P 26
RICHARDSON, DANIEL A 24 24
ROOT, WILLIAM 34
ROSE, RHODA 27, 26 27
HOGAN, JOHN A 27, 26
ROSS, JOHN 10
RUGGLES, DRAPER 4
RUSSELL, CHESTER G 15 22 21
SALISBURY, MARY 28
SALISBURY, ROBERT W 32
SALISBURY, RUSSELL D 34
SEVAIN, ASA B 30
SHOVER, JACOB 10
SLAVEN, JAMES 34
SMITH, CREED 10 4 6 6 3 6 9
SMITH, HEZEKIAH D 32
SPENCER, CHARLES 26
STARR, ELISHA 1 5 11 12 3 2 12 1 1
STATE OF WISCONSIN 16
STEPHENS, JESSE 30
STEVENS, FRED(E)RICK G 19 19
STEVENS, JOHN 30
STONOR (STONER), JOHN 17 17 17
SULLIVAN, FRANCIS O 31
SUTHERLAND, SARAH M 25
SUTHERLAND, THOMAS W 33
SWEENEY, PATRICK 26
SWE(E)NY, EDWARD 26
TAYLOR, CHARLES L 3, 6, 6 31, 6, 6
TAYLOR, ISRAEL A 30
THAYER, JAMES L 1 4
TRARIS (TRAVIS), STEPHEN 24 26
TRAVIS, DAVID 25
TRAVIS, JAMES 25
TRUE, ELIJAH 33
TUTTLE, NELSON 13
TWEEDY, JOHN H 4
VAN BERGAN, WILLIAM G 22
VANDENBURG, SIDNEY 10
VINTON, ANDREW 23
VREELAND, THOMAS 30
VROMAN, GEORGE 20 17
VROMAN, JOSEPH 3, 6, 6 31, 6, 6 18 17 20 20 19
VROMAN, WILLIAM 17
WEBB, JACOB W 27
WEBB, JOSEPH 14
WELLS, DANIEL 6 3
WESTON, JOSIAH D 24 24 26
WHITE, HENRY K 33
WILLIAMS, JOHN W 3
WILLIAMS, LUDLOW 21
WILLIAMSON, EZEKIEL M 22 18
WOOD, ELIJAH 3
WOODMAN, AARON 8 8 7 7 8 7 8 7