BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON
LAFLESH
(Wisconsin Civil War Leader - Black River Lumberman - Pioneer)
Captain Thomas Jefferson LaFlesh 1836-1905
Thomas Jefferson LaFlesh, Sr.
Courtesy of Revival Arts
Thomas Jefferson LaFlesh was born June 3, 1836, in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, of French
and Canadian parentage. His parents were Pierre LaFleiche and Elizabeth nee Elliot. It is believed
that Tom LaFlesh's first stay in Clark County, WI, occurred in about 1850, when as a teenager
he assisted Amos Elliott with logging interests north of Neillsville. What Tom saw in the towering
white pines along the banks of the Black River as a young man left a lasting impression on him, one
that made him want to return and share in the beauty of the land and wealth of the timber as
well.
The Civil War took Tom away for a time. In December of
1861, in La Crosse County, Company B of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry was created. The unit was
mustered into service at Camp Washburn, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 6, 1862, with a
roster of 100 members. Thomas J. LaFlesh was named at the onset of the unit as Second Lieutenant.
On March 24th the Company, with the Regiment, left Wisconsin and had four years of active
participation in the war. The 2nd Cavalry had took part in the battle at Vicksburg, Miss, among
others. When Tom LaFlesh was mustered out in November of 1865, he had worked his way up to Captain
of Company B. The "1918 History of Clark County" book tells of Captain Thomas LaFlesh,
along with other veteran officers, leading the Civil War Reunion parade on their steeds in the city
of Neillsville, Wisconsin. These reunions became popular for the different regiments in the state
and were held annually in the fall for many years after the war's end. LaFlesh participated and
was an organizer and speaker at several of these reunions. In 1871 he obtained permission for
"Old Abe", the war eagle, to attend the Neillsville Soldier's Reunion.
During LaFlesh's war service, he took time out to marry Elizabeth Summerside, daughter of
George and Mary Summerside, on August 27, 1863 at Black Earth, Wisconsin. The first land entry for
Tom purchasing acreage in Sherwood Township, Clark County, Wisconsin was in 1869. At that time he
is believed to have moved from Necedah, Wisconsin, with his wife and two small children, Mary and
William, to the Sherwood area. Here his logging operations began with the assistance of General
Cadwallader Washburn (lumberman, huge landowner, Wisconsin Congressman from 1869-1871, and governor
of Wisconsin from 1872-1874). At it's peak the Washburn land holdings covered some 15 to 20
thousand acres of valuable timberland located by Captain LaFlesh in central Wisconsin, along with
land in other areas. Washburn organized Company B of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry at the onset
of the Civil War and apparently took a liking to LaFlesh.
During the 1870's and 1880's LaFlesh was extensively engaged in the logging business and
kept his associations with C. C. Washburn. By a special act of the state legislature, Tom was
authorized to construct and maintain dams on the East Fork of the Black River in Clark, Jackson,
and Wood Counties beginning June 1, 1880, for a period of ten years. Among these was the logging
dam in Section 14 of Sherwood Township. In 1883, he was in charge of building a dam three miles
north of Scranton (just east of City Point) on the East Fork of the Black River. In January of
1884, he was in charge of five logging camps on the East Fork and foresaw the best winters logging
ever, expecting to put in 15,000,000 feet of logs.
In 1889, Thomas LaFlesh left central Wisconsin and moved to California with his family. Here he
pursued mining and road engineering. He died later in Portland, Oregon.
In 1905, at a reunion held for survivors of the Wisconsin Second Cavalry in LaCrosse, a letter was
read to the attendants from Capt. LaFlesh. He was unable to attend from California because of his
declining health. Here is an excerpt from this letter in Tom's own words. "I hope you may
reap a rich harvest of enjoyment at this meeting. I had hoped to be with you at this time, but my
health would not permit; though I still hope to meet many of you at some future reunion. As I sit
in my cabin door on the lonely Sierras, looking to the west, the sun is slowly dipping behind the
hills on its way to the broad Pacific. To the east its rays still brighten the high and hoary
peaks; then the brightness vanishes from them, too, and soon all will be folded in the robes of
silent night. Thus it is my comrades, with the grand old army. Morning and noontide have passed;
our star is also dipping behind the western hills as our eventide draws on; its lingering rays
still rest upon a few of our hoary heads; they, too, will soon vanish and all will be dark in the
silence of the grave, leaving only the records of our words and works for future
generations."
**This information is provided by Kay Scholtz for non-profit uses only.
It may not be copied without permission or reposted to commercial sites.
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Bio: La Flesh,
Thomas Jefferson
Contact: Judy Jackson
Email: AshJoshGrma@sbcglobal.net
Thomas Jefferson La Flesh 6/3/1835 - 8/5/1905 was a lumberman as were several of his sons and at least two grandsons (one was my father Clarke Fletcher Williams son of Alice Rae La Flesh)
Thanks again for any info you can give me.
