Saw-Dust by Leonard Sargent

When John Elkins Sargent left Vermont to head west in the 1860s, he starts a new family and new adventures.  Working his way to Wisconsin, he, his wife and his sons, Leonard and Jay manage to survive and thrive in the wooded wilderness.

The book Saw-Dust is a collection of recollections that includes insights into how hard work and creativity helped transform forests into towns.  If you are interested in Wisconsin history, or the lives of lumberjacks, saloon keepers, farmers, politicians, railroad workers or educators, this is the book for you.

The book was written by Leonard Sargent, Jr. and was researched by his granddaughter, Suzanne Gales.  For the most part, the stories are true, the people named were found in early census records, and newspaper archives confirmed many elements of the tales.   Some aspects of the stories could not be confirmed and there remains speculation about who or what caused the explosion and devastating fire that caused the Sargent’s to leave Laona Wisconsin and start anew.