Theron B. Pray became the first president of Stevens Point Normal School in 1894, serving in that capacity until 1906. Upon accepting the position at Stevens Point, Pray moved his wife Ellen and five children from Whitewater (where he had formerly been teaching) to Stevens Point. Katherine (“Kitty”) was their oldest child followed by Helen (b. 1874), Florence (“Fawn”), Allan (b. 1877) and Kenneth (b. 1882).
In 1895, Helen and Katherine went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison for graduate studies in teaching. Helen graduated from the University in 1897, while Katherine had to drop out that same year due to illness.
Henry T. Sheldon, the son of Shepard and Anna Sheldon, graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1895 and then went into private practice. Henry met Helen in the spring of 1897, and they were engaged later that year. After graduation, Helen accepted a teaching position in Marshfield, where she taught from the fall of 1897 to the spring of 1898. After her year in Marshfield, Helen returned home to live with her parents, while in September of 1898, Henry, who was active in the Madison Republican party, was elected the Assistant U.S. District Attorney. Henry married Helen on June 13th, 1899, in Stevens Point. Henry carried out his term as Assistant District Attorney and then after going out east for a few years, came back to Madison and settled into private practice. The couple had two children, Eleanor and David (who eventually settled in Milwaukee). Henry Sheldon shot himself in his office on March 1, 1932, presumably due to legal and financial difficulties.
