Source: "Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Brown, Kewaunee and Door, Wisconsin", 1895 pages 42-47:

Edward Decker was born May 2, 1827, in Casco, Cumberland Co., Maine, the eldest son of David and Eliza (Dunham) Decker. He received in his boyhood but few advantages, even of the public schools, and at the age of fourteen he left home and proceeding to Portland, Maine, there obtained a position, working for eight dollars per month. When sixteen years old he went to Boston, where he clerked for his uncle in a general store two years. In that city Mr. Decker was induced to go west. He landed in Milwaukee, May 2, 1845, and after one year's residence in Watertown, Wis., moved to Oshkosh, where he embarked in the lumber business, being the first man to run logs to that place, in which connection he became well known. Under a treaty with the Indians, Robert Grignon had permission to build a sawmill on Indian lands along the Little Wolf river, and Mr. Decker contracted to stock the mill with logs, he receiving half of the lumber. Mr. Decker continued in the lumber business three years, and then built a hotel in Menasha, which he conducted for a short time. Selling this and other property he removed in 1855 to Kewaunee county, Wis. where he entered a large amount of land with the intention of establishing a settlement, opened a store and cleared some land. In the fall of 1859 Mr. Decker was elected State senator, in which capacity he served one term. At the next convention his name was again used, but he refused to be a candidate.
During the Civil war the draft was inevitable in many counties in Wisconsin, and in some armed resistance was feared. The principal population of Kewaunee county was foreign, and resisted the draft; armed bodies of men discussed the situation, and excitement ran high. Troops had been ordered to the scene of trouble, bloodshed seemed unavoidable, and the feeling was bitter against the government. At this critical stage the cooler heads of the representative men of the State proposed Edward Decker as the only man who in all probability could act as United States deputy provost marshal, and avert bloodshed and the dire consequences attending it. He realized to the full the difficult task before him, but finally was persuaded to accept it. His record as county officer, friend, business man and neighbor, all combined to aid him, but it was weeks after accepting the office before any impression could be made on the wrathful inhabitants, who regarded him as an enemy to their rights and privileges. Many of his acquaintances refused to speak to him on meeting, and manifested marked hostility. He had stipulated that no armed force should be sent into the Territory, and had secured other rights and privileges which he could make use of if occasion demanded; so by degrees the hostility subsided, and his influence with the people was felt. The cooler heads saw the wisdom of his counsel, and eventually the obnoxious draft was avoided, money was subscribed liberally, and bounties were paid. Mr. Decker's full share in bringing this about will never be fully learned, but many an old farmer and father remembers the aid he received in that trying time.

During all these years he looked after his settlement on Decker creek, which was named 'Casco" in honor of his birthplace. He eventually established a lumber mill, which is still in operation. In 1868 Mr. Decker was injured in a runaway, his left arm being so mangled as to necessitate amputation, he was disabled for over a year. He became one of the main stockholders of the Kewaunee Exchange Bank, which has since been incorporated as one of the State Banks of Wisconsin, and of which he is now president. In 1881 he started a private bank at Ahnapee, called the Bank of Ahnapse, of which he is president. In 1888, with James Keogh, he founded the Bank of Sturgeon Bay, of which he is also president. In February, 1891, Mr. Decker and his son David organized the Bank of Two Rivers, Wis., of which he is president and David Decker cashier.

Mr. Decker still found time to devote to newspaper work. In June, 1859, he brought to Kewaunee a printing press, which he had purchased at Menasha, where it had been used to print a small weekly. None of the Kewaunee citizens knew of this enterprise till its arrival, and having a cousin who acted as his clerk, and who was a professional printer, Mr. Decker got him to set it up and started the Kewaunee Enterprise, a paper politically Democratic; in January, 1869, it was sold to John M. Reed. In 1885 Mr. Decker bought a half interest in the Green Bay Advocate, which has since been incorporated as the Green Bay Advocate Company, of which he is president and principal stockholder. This paper is published both daily and weekly and is also Democratic. Mr. Decker has just completed the building of a railroad from Casco Junction to Sturgeon Bay, called the Ahnapee & Western railway, of which he is president. The road, which is practically his own conception, is thirty-four miles in length, and is operated as a general freight and passenger line.

Mr. Decker is the father of six children, viz. :
1. George A. (of California),
2. Mrs. Anna Curtin,
3. David B.,
4. Edward,
5. Nathan and
6. Libbie, the latter of whom is a student at Grafton Hall.