The Underwood Reminiscences

In the files of the Judith A. Simonsen Research Library, a handwritten journal has been carefully preserved — a firsthand account of one of Wauwatosa’s earliest and most influential families. Written around 1928 by Sarah Underwood Curtis and Emma Underwood Gray, the daughters of Rev. Enoch Downs Underwood, the Reminiscences of Wauwatosa’s Underwood Family offer a rare and intimate window into pioneer life in early Wisconsin.

The Underwoods arrived in what would become Wauwatosa in 1836, among the first white settlers to put down roots here. From their farm along the Menomonee River to the founding of the First Baptist Church, their story is woven into the very fabric of the community. Rev. Enoch Underwood was also a passionate abolitionist who opened his home as a station on the Underground Railroad — a chapter of Wauwatosa’s history as significant as it is little known.

Transcribed and annotated by the Wauwatosa Historical Society, this collection brings the original journal to life for a new generation of readers. Explore the pieces below to follow the Underwood family story from its roots in Virginia and Illinois to the Wisconsin frontier.