Worden Township, Clark County, Wisconsin

Worden Township was the twenty-sixth created by order of the county board, May 13, 1883. It was named in honor of Zephaniah Worden, a well known local Civil War hero. On April 4, 1876 the Township of Thorp was organized. The present Town Worden was part of this township. On May 13, 1893 Worden Township was created by an Ordinance of the Clark County Board. Ole Samuelson was the first chairman of the town and is credited with initiating its formation since he approached the county board with a request to have the area divided from Thorp Township.

Worden consists of township No. 28 R. 4 west. It is bounded by the town of Thorp on the north, the town of Butler on the south, the town of Reseburg on the east, and Chippewa County on the west. It is divided into thirty-six square miles. The North Fork River flows about through the center of it from the north to the south, and the Wolf River cuts off a strip of the western part. Ole Samuelson was elected chairman when the initial town meeting was held, the first Tuesday in April, 1894 at Gorman School which later became Busy Bee School.

Zephaniah Worden

Zephaniah Worden was a popular mail carrier in the pioneer Thorp area. He had blue eyes, a dark complexion, dark brown hair and when he was full grown, he stood 5' 8" tall. Before serving with the Union Army in Company F of Pennsylvania's 45th Regiment, Unit #2287 during the Civil War, he was a laborer who resided in Tioga Co., Pennsylvania. He enlisted September 2, 1861 and enrolled as a Private Oct. 1, 1861, at the age of nineteen in his home county. July 18, 1863, he was promoted to Sergeant. October 10, 1863, he was severely wounded during the battle at Blue Springs, Tennessee and credited with "Distinguished Service". On January 1, 1864, he re-enlisted and September 30th of that same year, was taken prisoner at Pegram's Farm, Virginia but was later paroled. He was mustered out of service July 17, 1865 in Alexandria, Virginia. The papers of a prominent Pennsylvania Historian, Samuel Penniman Bates, indicate that May 1, 1865, Zephaniah Worden was promoted to Full Sergeant, First Class.

Military Records [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

February 20, 1870, "Zeph" married Eunice Aurelia who was born May 20, 1852 in Baraboo, Monroe County, Wisconsin to George Hickcox and Eliza Saloma (Greenslett) Murray.

Because of his distinguished service during the war, he was granted a Land Patent of 160 acres on April 1, 1882 (Document #2295). This parcel of land is located in Section 29N 4W Section 36 (which is old Thorp & Worden Township). His property was the entire SW 1/4 Section of Section 36, some 160 acres.

Eunice (Murray) Worden died January 9, 1928 and Zephaniah died February 19, 1935. They are both buried in section 67, lot 21 of the Washington State Veterans' Home Cemetery of Kitsap County, in Retsil, WA.

Sources: Centennial History of Worden, Township, WI; Dean Samuelson's family records, Zephaniah Worden's Military Records from the "History of the Forty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865", Williamsport, Pa., Grit Pub. Co., 1912, Census and Family Records, Digital Archives of Pennsylvania, Eau Claire Land Records, WI Marriage Records, Washington State Veterans Home cemetery records compiled by Teresa Trimm.