Meribah W. (Stafford) Reddan

Neillsville, Clark Co., Wisconsin

Meribah W. was born in Somerset County, May 21, 1834, and married Leonard R. Stafford, in 1849.  He was born Aug. 12, 1824.  He engaged in lumbering, and brought his wife and family out from LaCrosse, in a wagon drawn by four mules, and driven by a man named Charlie Hewett; they passed through Neillsville, and went on to Weston's Rapids, where there was a large hotel, run by Harry Searls; here they stopped until he had built a house on his land, on Sec. 11, three-fourths of a mile north of Neillsville.  He with great ability, continued to build, and finally induced so many to locate around him, that the village was named Staffordsville after him, and at this time it was more of a business place than the county seat.  There was a saw mill, grist mill, hotel, machine shop, etc.  The little village continued to thrive till 1871, when the founder died, since then the settlement has entirely disappeared, nothing is left but the hotel, which was patronized, till, on the breaking out of the small pox, it was used as a pest house, and is now rapidly falling to pieces.

Meribah married again in August, 1874, to her present husband, James H. Reddan who was born in Huntley, Canada, February 4, 1839.  His parents were Daniel H. and Ellen Reddan.  James H. Reddan was one of the early lumberman in the county and well known throughout the area.  They resided on the old site of Staffordville, and a farm above called the Cowley farm.  Meribah kept the "Reddan House" hotel in Neillsville.  She had by her first marriage, four children-Alice, Albion, Jamie and Maud.

Meribah died July 26, 1886 and James died September 19, 1900.  Both of them are buried in the Neillsville City Cemetery, as is Leonard R. Stafford.