History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 156

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050


USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 156


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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I. W. SWITZER, farmer, Sec. 8; son of John Switzer, one of the earliest settlers of Grant Co .; Mr. John Switzer was born in Virginia Feb. 20, 1803; his parents removed to the Territory of Ohio, when he was 3 years of age, and afterward to Indiana. He came to Grant Co. in 1840, and set- tled on Sec. 8, town of Fennimore. He was married March 1, 1842, to Mary A. C. Dillon, born in Missouri. Mr. John Switzer died Jan. 11, 1863. Mrs. Switzer still resides at the homestead. Her children are Mary A., born Sept. 17, 1844; I. W., Dec. 5, 1846 ; Sarah E., Aug. 11, 1849 ; Eliza, July 30, 1853; Stella, Oct., 8, 1858, and Ada, April 7, 1861. The children were all born at the homestead. I. W. was married to Pora, daughter of Mr. John Dinsdale; they have two children-Myrta and Ber- tram.


THOMAS TORMEY, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 26; P. O. Fennimore; was born in County Westmeath, Ireland, on Christmas, December, 1826. He emigrated to this country with his father's family when he was 20 years of age. His mother died at sea on the passage to this country. His father brought three children with him from Ireland; the oldest son had come over in 1835. The family lived for a few months in the city of Lowell, Mass., where Thomas learned the business of slating.


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TOWN OF WINGVILLE.


The family came to the town of Highland, Iowa Co., in May, 1848, where the father died December, 1849. Thomas Tormey was married in Iowa Co. July 8, 1850, to Honora Norris. She was born in Ire- land; she died July 27, 1872. His present wife was Margaret Lawless, born at Patch Grove, Grant Co., October, 1842; had eight children by first marriage-two sons and six daughters, all residents of Grant Co .: has three children by his present wife-one son and two daughters. He is one of the most prominent stock-dealers of Grant Co .; is an extensive land owner-has 720 acres in town of Fennimore, and 320 acres in town of Liberty. He has been Chairman of Town Board three years.


WILLIAM WEAVER, manufacturer of boots and shoes, Fennimore ; he was born in Niagara Co., N. Y .; came to Grant Co. in March, 1873, and in the spring of 1875, established his pres- ent business; Aug. 20, 1862, he enlisted in Co. F, 33d W. V. I., and served until the close of the war. In 1867, he was married to Miss Sarah A. Daniels, a native of Allegany Co., N. Y .; they have two sons and two daughters.


JACOB WOLF, M. D., Fennimore ; born in Wurtemberg, Germany ; graduated at Tubin- gen University ; he occupied the position of physician and surgeon in the German army for five years ; He came to the United States in 1868; he located in Crawford Co., Ohio, where he practiced about nine years; located in Fennimore in August, 1879. He was married, Sept. 20, 1879, to Anna Youss, born in Germany ; they have two sons and two daughters. The Doctor is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F .; also of the United Workmen.


PHILANDER WRIGHT, retired; Fennimore; born in the town of Belcher, Hampden Co, Mass., in 1818; lived in Massachusetts till 1835, when he removed with his father to Pennsylvania ; his mother died when he was about 14 years of age; came to Grant Co. in 1847, and settled in the town of Fennimore ; has been a resident of this town since that time, except one year spent in Lancaster. His wife was Sarah Cramer, daughter of Enos and Anna Cramer, born in Wayne Co., Penn .; they have had seven children, six of whom are living-J. N., Joel W., Charles O., Albert C., Mary E. and Roland N .; lost first child, Esther Ann.


JONATHAN WALKER, farmer, Scc. 30; P. O. Fennimore; he is a son of Joseph Walker, who was born in the State of Massachusetts; he moved to the State of New York, and thence to Michigan ; he came with his family to Grant Co. while the State was yet a Territory, and settled in the town of Fennimore; he died in the fall of 1880; had five sons and two daughters, four sons and one daughter still living. Jonathan was born in the State of New York, August, 1833; came to Wisconsin with his parents. He married Louisa Eldred, who died in January, 1877 ; has ten children-five sons and five daughters. Mr. Walker enlisted in the 33d W. V. I., served till the close of the war; settled on present farm in the spring of 1871 ; farm contains 285 acres of land.


H. H. WEFEL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 19; P. O. Fennimore ; was born in Hanover Germany, in 1837 ; came to the United States in 1853; lived in Richmond, Ind., about one year, thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, for about three years, afterward to Kentucky; came to Grant Co. in the spring of 1859, and purchased his present farm ; has fine improvements, all of which he made himself ; his farm contains 320 acres ; has also a farm of 400 acres in Worth Co., Iowa. His wife was Mary Plobet, born in Indiana ; they have three children. Mr. Wefel is one of the successful farmers of the town of Fennimore.


TOWN OF WINGVILLE.


REV. JOHN B. BACHMAN, Pastor of M. E. Church, Montfort; was born at Millheim, Center Co., Penn., Sept. 22, 1828. His father died when he was 18 years of age. He came to Green Co., Wis., in the spring of 1848; attended school at the Green County Seminary for three years ; was afterward a teacher in that institution for three years; entered the ministry in 1857 ; has had charge of churches at Oregon, Dane Co., two years ; Lodi, Columbia Co., two years ; Mauston, Juneau Co .; Port- age City ; returned to Oregon ; Baraboo one year ; returned to Lodi. He was then Presiding Elder of Kilbourn City District from 1868 to 1872 ; returned to Mauston, Sparta, Eau Claire, Reedsburg, Black Earth, Fayette; came to Montfort Oct. 1, 1880. His wife was Miss Eliza J. Field, born in Ontario Co., N. Y .; they have two children-E. Walton, born in August, 1854, now a student of the Medical Depart- ment of Wisconsin State University, and Allie, born October, 1863.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:


EDWARD BELL, merchant, Montfort ; was born in England in 1816. He was married in 1838 to Mary Walker (born in England, in the fall of 1816) ; they emigrated to the United States in 1839, and settled in Platteville, where he had charge of a saw-mill for about one year, then removed to Potosi, where he lived two or three years engaged in smelting ore, then returned to Platteville and engaged in farming ; afterward to the town of Smelser for five years: returned to Potosi ; came to Montfort Oc- tober, 1851 ; he took charge of a furnace for Lewis & Palliser about two years, then engaged for about a year in mining, after which he entered the mercantile business. Has had ten children, four of whom are living-Margaret (now Mrs. James Chandler), Mary E. (now Mrs. James M. Gaston), George S. and William M. John enlisted in 1862 in the 20th W.V. I. and went into camp with the regiment at Madison ; he was soon after taken sick of typhoid fever, came home and died of that disease. Two other sons, Will- iam and Henry, contracted the same disease, and the three brothers died within a few weeks of one another. Charles, another son, died during the same year. Lost two other children-Beatrice and Thomas.


JOHN BOWERS, farmer, Sec. 14; P. O. Montfort; was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1835 ; came to the United States in 1854, lived one year in the State of New York and then went to Galena, Ill., where he lived several years. He then went to Platteville, where he was married to Charlotte Williams, born in Cornwall, England, and daughter of Thomas Williams, who came to Grant Co. in 1847. Have seven children -- John Albert, Rosena, James, William S., Franklin J., Elizabeth A. and Minnie. Settled on present farm from Iowa Co., in 1878.


D. M. BILLINGS, farmer, Sec. 20; P. O. Montfort ; son of Henry M. Billings, who emi- grated from Vermont to Mineral Point, Wis., in 1834 ; removed to Centerville about 1835, and engaged in mining, where he lived till 1847, when he removed to the town of Eden, Iowa Co., where he resided till his death, February, 1861. His mother, Mrs. Ann Billings, resides at the homestead in Iowa Co. D. M. was born in Iowa Co., October, 1849. Married Margaret Greene, daughter of S. D. Greene. Has four children-Minnie, Frank, Fred and Mabel. Located where he now lives in the spring of 1878. Mr. Billings was formerly engaged in the mercantile business, Montfort.


JOSEPH P. CHANDLER, farmer, Sec. 22 ; P. O. Montfort ; son of Clayborn Chandler. (See biography of James S. Chandler.) Was born in Monticello, Lewis Co., Mo., August, 1840; came to the Territory of Wisconsin with his father's family. He was married to Louisa, daughter of Daniel Thomas, who came to Grant Co. from Pennsylvania, in 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Chandler have ten children, five sons and five daughters-Frank, Fred, May, Thomas, Josie, Lizzie, Hattie, Clayborn, Clara and Henry. Lost two children. Mr. Chandler settled on his present farm of 260 acres in the fall of 1861.


ELISHA CARRINGTON, farmer; P. O. Montfort; born in the town of Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1832; his father died when he was an infant; when 10 years of age, he removed with his mother to the State of Ohio, but he returned to the State of New York in the spring of 1849; he went back to Ohio in 1851 ; he came to Grant Co. in 1852 ; he removed to Iowa Co. in March, 1866, where he lived about two years; he then settled in the town of Clifton, Grant Co .; he has been a resident of Iowa and Grant Counties since he first came to Wisconsin ; he settled in the village of Montfort Dec. 24, 1877. He was married to Caroline, daughter of Adam Keith ; her father came to Grant Co. about 1847; he now lives in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Carrington have ten children, four sons and six daughters- Gertrude L., Ella J., Jane L., William G., Adam M., Henrietta K., Elisha L., Bertha D. and Mabel S. Mr. Carrington is the present Town Treasurer of Wingville ; he was Chairman of the Town Board of Clifton two years, and of the town of Wingville in 1880.


JAMES S. CHANDLER, Montfort; son of Clayborn and Mary J. Chandler ; father was born in Boone Co .. Ky. ; he removed to Missouri, where he married ; he came to Grant Co. with his family in the fall of 1844, and located at Potosi, where he lived for some time, and then returned to Mis- souri ; returned to Wisconsin with his family in 1847, and settled in the town of Highland, Iowa Co., where he lived two years, and then settled in the town of' Wingville ; he was engaged in the mercantile business in Montfort from 1850 until 1856, then removed to Minnesota; was absent about three years, when he returned to Grant Co .; he died at Boscobel in 1863; James S. was born in Lewis Co., Mo., in 1835 ; in 1850, when only 15 years of age, he went by the overland route to California ; was ab-ent about three years. He was married to Margaret A. Bell, a daughter of Edward Bell; she was born in Grant Co.


MRS. MARGARET CHANEY, Centerville, Iowa Co .; widow of Ezekiel Chaney, who was born in Kentucky about 1820 ; his parents emigrated to Illinois when he was a boy ; he came at an early day to the mining regions of this part of the State of Wisconsin. IIe was married in Iowa Co. to


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Mrs. John Russell, formerly Miss Hughes. Mr. Chaney followed the occupation of mining for many years. He enlisted in 1861 in the 11th W. V. I .; was severely wounded at the siege of Vicksburg, and died at Memphis, Tenn., in the fall of 1863. Mrs. Chaney has three children by her first husband ; she had five by second marriage, four of whom are living-William H., Lewis, Isabelle and Clara ; all born in Iowa Co .; William H. was born at Centerville in 1855.


THOHAS J. DAVIS, hardware merchant, Montfort ; son of Benjamin J. Davis, who set- tled in Iowa Co. about 1844 ; his parents were natives of Wales ; they settled in the town of Ridgeway, from the State of Ohio; Thomas was born in the town of Ridgeway in 1852; he engaged in the hard- ware business with his brother Daniel in the village of Arena, Iowa Co. ; afterward engaged in teaching several terms of school ; he came to Montfort and engaged in his present business Nov. 14, 1878.


ALEXANDER DUNCAN, harness-maker, Montfort: born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1830 ; his parents emigrated to Canada in 1836, and to Lockport, Will Co., Ill., about 1839, to Racine Co., Wis., about 1842, and to Iowa Co. about 1847 ; in the summer of 1849, Mr. Duncan was engaged as raftman on the Wisconsin River, where he had the misfortune to lose his left leg, having it crushed between a raft and the rocks at Conit's Rapids ; this misfortune induced him to learn his trade, that of harness making ; he was engaged as an apprentice at Galena, Ill, and at Dodgeville, Wis .; he came to Montfort in May, 1870, and took charge of a harness-shop; he bought the business in December, 1880. He married Mrs. Frances R. Shaddock, daughter of Richard H. Palmer. Mr. Palmer is one of the earliest pioneers of Wisconsin ; he was born in Halifax Co., Va., in 1805; he went to Galena, Ill., iu 1826; settled near Platteville, Grant Co., in 1830 ; afterward removed to La Fayette Co., thence to Dubuque, afterward to Jo Daviess Co., Ill. ; he came to Montfort in 1851, and was a soldier in the Black Hawk war; has been engaged in mining the most of his life ; has been married twice ; had ten children by first wife and one by second ; has five children living. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have two children- George and Francis A. Mrs. Duncan has three children by first marriage-Eva, William and Lucretia.


G. W. DAVIS, harness-maker, Montfort ; son of R. J. Davis, of Iowa Co .; he was born in the town of Ridgeway, Iowa Co., in 1856; he served his apprenticeship with Mr. M. C. Meffert, of Arena, Wis .; he engaged in bu-iness at Lime Springs, Iowa, in 1877 ; came to Montfort in December, 1880 ; his wife was Kate E. Wilson, daughter of Job Wilson, of Iowa Co.


DR. PETER DE WITT, Montfort ; born in New Jersey in 1804; he removed to the State of Ohio when about 14 years of age, with his parents ; he came to Wisconsin in the summer of 1852, and settled in the town of Kendall, La Fayette Co .; he came to Montfort in November, 1856 ; he was engaged in the practice of medicine for twenty-five years. He was married in Ohio to Levina Bowles; they have five children-Elizabeth, Joseph M., Mary A., Thomas, boru in Ohio in 1834; John, born in 1836; en- listed in the 6th Mo. V. C. in 1861, and served till the close of the war as First Lieutenant ; he was assas- sinated at Matamoras, Mexico, in 1866; Isaac, born in 1843; enlisted in the 20th W. V. I. in 1862; he participated in a number of important campaigns and battles; was at the seige and surrender of Vicks- burg ; at Spanish Fort and Fort Morgan, etc. ; he served till the close of the war. Dr. De Witt's present wife was Mrs. Sarah Morrill.


ROBERT DIGGLE, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Montfort ; born in England in 1826; he emi- grated to Philadelphia in August, 1854, where he was engaged in the calico print works of that city, which business he had learned in England. He came to Grant Co. in October, 1869, and settled on his present farm. He was married in England to Betsey Whittaker, who died in Philadelphia ; his present wife was Mrs. Sarah Shapcort, formerly Miss Powell, born in Somersetshire, England, about 1822. Mr. Diggle had six children by his first marriage, four of whom are living, viz .: Joseph, James, George and John. Mrs. Diggle has four sons by her first marriage-William, John, Henry and Richard. Mr. D.'s farm contains 160 acres. He and wife are members of the Advent Church.


JOHN DUNN, P. O. Muscoda ; son of Judge Dunn ; a native of Illinois, born Feb. 14, 1824 ; he came to this State with his parents in 1837, and located with them at Oak Grove, La Fayette Co., where he engaged in farming and field-surveying for three years ; in 1850, he made a trip to California (overland route), and remained there ten years ; the first year he engaged in mining, and the succeeding years in stock-raising ; on his return to this State, he bought a farm in the town of Wingville, which he still owns and manages. He was married in 1860 to Miss Elizabeth Howard, a native of Illinois ; they have five sous and four daughters ; the two oldest sons are in Kansas, engaged in stock-raising ; the remaining children are at home.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :


HENRY EASTMAN, banker and lumber dealer, Montfort; born in Canada in 1830; he came to Wisconsin with his parents (the latter now deceased) in the fall of 1845, and settled in the town of Smelser, Grant Co .; he went to California via the isthmus in 1849, and engaged in mining, where he stayed two years; he then engaged in business in Guttenburg, Iowa, for one and a half years ; thence to Galena, Ill., where he engaged in the lumber trade, where he remained about six years ; he then removed to Jackson Co., Wis., and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, where he stayed about four years, when he returned to Grant Co. and located at Hazel Green, where he kept hotel ; he came to Montfort in 1863. Was married to Mary Honeywell ; they have four children-Morton H., Maggie, Cora B. and Orval B.


LEROY ELLIS, farmer, Sec. 23; P. O. Montfort ; born in Perry Co., Ohio, in 1835 ; he was brought up in Washington Co., in that State ; he went to Indiana in 1854, but returned to Ohio the fol- lowing year ; he removed to Richland Co. in 1856, where he stayed one year ; thence to Iowa Co., where he lived till 1861, when he enlisted in the 3d W. V. I .; served two years, when he was discharged for disabil- ity ; he returned to Iowa Co. and was married to Mary A. Culbertson, born in Iowa Co .; they have four children-Frank B., George R, Jennie May and Mary L. Mr. Ellis bought his present farm in April, 1880.


CHRISTOPHER FRANKLAND, proprietor of Frankland House, Montfort; was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1825 ; he came to the United States in 1849 and settled in the village of Jef- ferson, town of Hazel Green, Grant Co., thence to Fairview, in the same town, and engaged in mining ; he first came to Montfort in 1853, where he was engaged in work for a time in the furnace ; he returned to Fairview in 1854 and engaged in butchering; thence to the town of Benton, La Fayette Co., where he lived about seven years, engaged in farming and butchering; he then purchased a hotel in the town of New Diggings ; afterward to the village of Benton, where he purchased and kept the United States House ; thence to Montfort in April, 1874, and purchased his present hotel of J. S. Chandler ; was also engaged in butchering for two years. He was married in Yorkshire, to Miss Elizabeth Hird ; they have eight chil- dren, six sons and two daughters-John (now in Colorado); Elizabeth (now Mrs. James Bunt, of Mont- fort), Jane A. (now Mrs. James Hoskin, of Benton), Edward, James, Samuel, Christopher and William.


E. W. FOWLER, proprietor of saloon, Montfort ; was born in Sussex Co., N. J .; brought up in Susquehanna Co., Penn .; he came to Grant Co. and settled at Boscobel, and engaged in his present occupation ; he came to Montfort July, 1880. Married Rosalie L. Stephens.


JAMES GASTON, farmer, Sec. 28; P. O. Montfort; was born in Chester Co., Penn., in 1815 ; his parents died when he was a child ; he removed to Champaign Co., Ohio, when 21 years of age ; he came to Grant Co. in 1847, and settled in the northeast part of Fennimore; he settled on his present farm in 1850, which he purchased of Washington Bennett, the original settler. He was married in Ohio, to Ellen Chapman, who was born in 1819. Mr. Gaston's farm contains 240 acres. He and wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church.


GOTTFRIED HESS, wagon manufacturer ; was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1824 ; he came to the United States in 1850 ; he lived a few months in Pittsburgh, Penn., thence to Milwaukee, where he lived till the spring of 1851, when he came to Grant Co. Mr. Hess entered the Prussian army in 1846, and served about four years ; he enlisted Jan. 11, 1865, in the 44th W. V. I., and served until the close of the war; he was a non-commissioned officer in both the Prussian and Union armies. He was mar- ried to Lucinda Schree, born in Pennsylvania in 1834; they have four children-Lucelia, George, Etta and Ellen.


REV. NELSON A. HITCHCOCK, minister of the Second Advent Christian Conference, Montfort ; born in Windsor Co., Vt., July 9, 1812; when he was about 5 years of age, he removed with his parents to Otsego Co., N. Y .; in 1822, removed to Oneida Co .; in 1828, he removed with his father's family to the town of Mexico, Oswego Co. Here he was married in 1833 to Matilda Avery, born in the State of New York. He began his ministry in 1832, as an exhorter among the Methodist people ; in 1836, owing to doctrinal differences, he separated from the Methodist denomination and joined the New York Central Christian Conference ; in 1843, he began preaching the doctrines of the Second Advent Church, which resulted in his separating from the Christian Conference. He removed to Milwaukee in July, 1846; he preached there for a time, where he established a church ; he has been preaching at different points in Wisconsin and Illinois since that time, though owing to declining health, he discontinued regular preaching in 1873; he settled in Fennimore in that year ; came to Montfort in May, 1879. He has five children- Martha M. Miller, whose first husband-Willard W. Shepard-was killed at the battle of Pea Ridge; Mary M. Parker ; Philo, now Pastor of a Second Advent Church at Mifflin ; William A .; and Alvirus N., Pastor of the Congregational Church at Mazomanie; has lost three children.


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TOWN OF WINGVILLE.


MRS. NANCY J. HYDE, Montfort ; widow of the late David Hyde, who was born in the State of Connecticut in 1797 ; when he was 9 years of age, his parents removed to the State of New York, where he was married to Martha Cowan, who died in the State of New York ; he afterward came to the State of Wisconsin and settled in the town of Mifflin, Iowa Co., where he was married to the subject of this sketch, then Nancy J. Lightner; they were married in 1865 ; came to Montfort in December, 1873, where Mr. Hyde died in 1875. Mrs. Hyde was born in Huntingdon Co., Penn., in September, 1825 ; she was married to Mr. Joseph P. Brought, who died in Pennsylvania ; she has one son by her first marriage -- William M. Brought ; she had one daughter by her second marriage-Rachel S. Hyde, who died in 1876, in her tenth year ; four children of Mr. Hyde by his first marriage are living. Mrs. Hyde is a member of the M. E. Church


GEORGE HELLER, farmer and miner, Sec. 13; P. O. Montfort ; son of Matthew Heller, who emigrated from Germany to Iowa Co. in 1841 and settled in the town of Highland, where he still lives ; George was born in Germany in December, 1838. He was married to Nancy Parish ; has two children-Victor and Nancy.


MARIDA HOWARD, barber, Montfort; born in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 27, 1853; he came to Platteville, Wis., in 1865, where he learned his trade, and where he lived until he came to Montfort May 17, 1878.


GEORGE W. KENDRICK, Montfort ; born in Frederick Co., Va., in 1819; he came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1845 ; he lived in the town of Mifflin, Iowa Co., till the following year, when he engaged to work on a farm in the town of Clifton, Grant Co. He was married to Sarah A. Tucker in the spring of 1847 ; she died in the spring of 1862; his second wife was Catharine Herman; he has three children-Sarah J., Edward J. and Eleanor A. His father, George Kendrick, was also a native of Fred- erick Co., Va., and a soldier in the war of 1812; he came to Grant Co. in 1848, and died of cholera soon after. Mr. Kendrick's present wife was Miss Pamelia Messersmith, born in Alton, Ill., in 1824 ; married to Mr. Kendrick in October, 1877 ; her father, John Messersmith, was born in Pennsylvania in 1790, where he was married to Elizabeth Schell; he went to Galena, Ill., in the spring of 1827, and located near Dodgeville in the fall of that year, where he removed his family from Galena in the fall of 1828; he located a farm here, and also engaged in the business of mining and smelting ; he was at one time the owner of valuable mining lands ; he died on his farm in the fall of 1855 ; his wife died in Madison in 1876, in her 84th year. Mr. M. had ten children-four sons and six daughters ; four daughters and one son are still living-Henry, resides in Jasper Co., Mo .; Mary, now Mrs. William H. Virgin ; Pamelia, now Mrs. Kendriek ; Matilda ; Charlotte, now Mrs. Davis, resides in Missouri ; names of children deceased are John, George, William, Eliza and Jane.


DAVID KITCH, farmer, Sec. 22; P. O. Montfort ; born in Mercer Co., Penn., in 1830. His father, Martin Kitch, died when he was an infant. His mother afterward married Mr. McLimans. The family emigrated to the Territory of Wisconsin in May, 1845; they reached Galena on the 2d of May of that year, and Willow Springs, lowa Co., Wis., on the 9th of that month, and settled near Mineral Point in the fall of that year; the family afterward settled in the town of Fennimore; his mother now lives in that village. Mr. McLimans died in the fall of 1877. Mr. Kitch has been resident of Grant and Iowa Cos. since 1845. He was married to Sylvina Merritt, daughter of Aaron and Isabel, born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, in 1826; she came to Wisconsin in 1849. They have had four children, two of whom are living-Frank L. and Minnie I .; children deceased are Martin, an infant, and Milton, who was married to Fanny Welles, and died February, 1880, leaving a widow and one child-Fred M. Mr Kitch's farm contains 120 acres.




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