USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume I > Part 63
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Six children have been born to Walter Curtis and wife, five of whom are living, namely: Florence Belle married John Brooks and they live on land belonging to Mr. Brooks, near the city of Lake Geneva; they have three children. Elizabeth May, Elliott Lucien and Caroline Emogene. Lucien Humphrey Curtis married Agda Brandt and lives on the Curtis farm. Junia Foote Sunderland Curtis died when seven and one-half years old. Constance Elizabeth is teaching in the public schools. Lewis William is on the farm with his father. Walter Hiram is at home and attending school.
Mr. Curtis and family belong to the Congregational church. They stand high in the community in all circles.
GEORGE DELAVAN PEARCE.
Throughout an active and interesting career duty has ever been the motive of action with George Delavan Pearce, one of the old settlers and well-known agriculturists of the southern part of Walworth county, and usefulness to his fellow men has by no means been a secondary consideration with him. Thus strong and forceful in his relations with his fellows, he has gained the good will and commendation of his associates and the general public, retaining his reputation among men of integrity and high character. and never losing the dignity which is the birthright of the true gentleman.
Mr. Pearce was born at New Hartford, Oneida county, New York. January 26, 1832. Ile is the son of William and Amy ( Dodge) Pearce. Ile is descended from Nathan and Abigail ( Spink ) Pearce, who were married on October 8, 1724, and they lived in Rhode Island, probably near Providence. Nathan Pearce was a minister of the Baptist church His family consisted of nine children, of whom the youngest, William, was born September 12, 1745, old style calendar ( September 23, new style), at Providence. He was a mem- ber of the New York State Militia during the Revolutionary war, and he saw service along the Hudson river. His wife, Chloe Carey, was born on June ". 1746. married March 2, 1766, and died September 4, 1778. Her father wa- also a minister. Six children were born to William Pearce by his first wife.
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Ilis second wife was Lydia Birdsall, who was born August 20. 1757, married February 7, 17-, and to this union four children were born, William being the eldest, and he was the father of George D. Pearce, of this sketch. William, father of the subject, was born June 15, 1784, in Dutchess county, New York. He married Amy Dodge, May 18, 1809. She was born in Dutchess county, New York, April 18, 1789, and in that county the parents of the subject lived about 1816 when they came to Oneida county, New York. They became the parents of thirteen children: Lorenzo Dow being the eldest, and George Delavan, of this review, was the twelfth in order of birth. The eighth child was Jonathan Howland Pearce. He lived in Walworth probably seven or eight years before and during the war, returning to New York in November, 1864. A sister, Eliza, married Justus Moak, September 7, 1853, and came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1854 and they lived at Watertown, where he was postmaster for a number of years.
George D. Pearce lived in Oneida county, New York, until in April, 1854. On April 18th of that year he was united in marriage with Emily Jane Baker, daughter of James and Ann ( Brakefield) Baker. She was born in Oneida county, New York, June 3. 1836. Her parents came from Lon- don, England, and they were natives of Maidstone, county Kent, England. They came first to Philadelphia later moving to Oneida county, New York, not long before Mrs. Pearce was born, and they moved to Walworth county, Wisconsin, about 1858 and after a short residence with Mr. Pearce moved to Waukesha county, where Mrs. Baker died, after which Mr. Baker returned to Walworth and lived with his son, Benjamin Baker, who then farmed at what is now part of Walworth village. When Benjamin moved to Minnesota, Mr. Baker moved there and spent the rest of his life in that state.
The day of their marriage George D. Pearce and wife started for Wis- consin. After spending three months at Delavan, he bought a farm of eight acres in section 20, Walworth township. Wahvorth county, also bought forty acres near the lake. He paid sixteen dollars an acre for the land, getting half a crop. He got one dollar and fifty cents per bushel for his wheat during the Crimean war and in a few years he had a good start in the new country. Ile then bought sixty-six and two-thirds acres in the northwestern half of section 29. Walworth township. He remained on the first eighty ten years, then sold it and bought where he now lives in 1864. His present fine farm is in section 18. He became the owner of over one hundred and eighty acres and here he has lived ever since. He has lived in only three different houses in his life, one in New York, one in section 20. this township, and the one which he now occupies. He never owned a firearm and never saw a fist fight.
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WALWORTHI COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Within a month after he located in Walworth township he was called on to contribute to the erection of the First Baptist church, and he did so, and he has been an earnest member of the church for years. He has been a deacon for thirty or forty years, and he was clerk of the church for thirty years.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pearce: Mary Hart, born April 4, 1855, married James M. Weeks, November 10, 1875, and she lived at Delavan about five years and two years at Darien, then went to Pipestone, Minnesota, where they lived seven years, then returned to Delavan and spent ten years. Mr. Weeks was a merchant, was born February 20, 1849, and died in December, 1906, his wife preceding him to the grave on January 29. 1904. They were the parents of five children: George, who died when seventeen years old: Grace, who married Will Harrison : Mary, who married Frank E. Wire, lives in Denver, and they have four children, Justin. Marian, Dorothy and a baby girl that died in infancy; Belle Weeks married Frank Roland and lives at San Antonio, Texas; Pearl Weeks is living at Walworth with Mr. Pearce. Theodore Hurd Pearce, born August 29. 1857, lived on the home farm until he was grown, then worked a year at the Deaf and Dumb Institute, after which he spent some time in Dakota and Minnesota, then returned to the home farm, after which he rented a farm in Sharon township and lived there about two years; on October 18, 1881, he married Carrie J. Teeter, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Joyner) Tecter; she was born in Sharon township, this county, her people having come here from Schoharie county, New York, in the carly days, her parents being descended from the early Dutch of New York. After his marriage Theodore H. Pearce rented another farm, on which he remained a season, then bought a farm in Boone county, Illinois, and lived there ten years ; he owned this farm. After selling it he bought eighty acres in Sharon township, this county, but did not live on it, having moved to the farm owned by his wife's father, where he remained. taking care of the old people, until January. 1898, when he moved to Franklin county, Tennessee, and bought one hundred and thirty-six acres on which he farmed. His wife died on August 17, 1899. In September, 1900, he returned to Wisconsin, driving a team all the way; he farmed two years on his father's place, then purchased it and has since farmed for himself. Six children were born to Theodore H. Pearce, namely: AAlma, who married D). M. Edens. of Tennessee, now lives at Tweedie, Washington, near Spokane ; they have two children. Walter Robert and Carrie Talitha; Mr. Edens has a farm of one hundred and sixty acres there. Fern May Pearce married William D. Sutton and they also live near Tweedie, Washington, where Mr. Sutton has one hundred and twenty-five acres of land, and they have one
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daughter, Mary. Sarah Emily Pearce married Howard Flores and they live in Denver, where he is an architect and fruit grower, and they have one daughter, Ina. Grace Emma Pearce is attending college at Beloit in her senior year. Lawrence Bernard Pearce, born November 6, 1895, died in infancy. Edith Georgia Pearce is attending school. Theodore H. Pearce was again married on September 19, 1901, to Mildred P. Moore, daughter of McChesney and Nancy (Hawkins) Moore. She was born in Franklin county, Tennessee, where her parents both died. Four children were born of this marriage, Mildred Alice. Theodore Arvin, Dorothy Irene and Elna Louise.
Emily Baker Pearce, third child of George D. Pearce, of this sketel. was born July 2, 1860. She married Herman R. Adams, December 15. 1881. a broker in Denver, and they have one son, Royal. born November 30, 1882. He married Mattie A. Yoxall, October 1, 1907. and they have two children, Royal H. and Marjorie Eleanore.
George Benjamin Pearce, next child of the subject, was born September 23. 1863. He married Effie E. Lloyd, October 1. 1889. He lived at Janes- ville until his wife died in March, 1907, leaving two children, Rexford DeWitt and Malvern. After the death of the wife and mother. George Pearce moved to Whitewater and there he has since engaged in gardening and fruit growing : he has recently moved to Lima Center.
Grace Anna Pearce. the next of the subject's children, was born October 11, 1866. She married William J. Peets, August 4. 1886, and lived in Waupon and Walworth. Mr. Peets, who was a civil and mechanical engi- neer, died February 6, 1892, leaving two children, Wilbur J., Jr .. and George Kenneth Peets, both now attending the technical department of Cincinnati University. Mrs. Peets married Rev. Joseph Jenkins, November 22, 1898. Ile is a minister in the Baptist church, having been pastor of the First Baptist church at Walworth seven years and at Toulon, Illinois, for seven years. He is now at Macomb. that state. They have one daughter, Emily May.
William Henry Pearce, the next of the subject's children, was born August 31. 1871. He married Dora N. Christianson. September 22, 1897. and they live at Lima Center, Rock county, Wisconsin, where he has a general store, but he formerly engaged in farming : they have five children. J. How- land, Herman. Anders, Emily and Percy. Frankie James, seventh in order of birth of George D. Pearce's children, was born March 5, 1874, and died in infancy. Charles Sumner, the youngest of the children, was born Septem- ber 10, 1877. He married on June 21, 1900, Vivian Coats, of Corsicana,
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Texas, and they live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he is interested in the Johnson Soap Works, and he has an active part in its management. They have one daughter, Jane Pearce.
The subject's children have all received excellent training and they are well situated in life, and are highly respected wherever they live.
FRANK CUSACK.
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch has long enjoyed prestige as a leading citizen in the community in which he resides, and as an official against whose record no word of suspicion was ever uttered. For many years Mr. Cusack has been an important factor in the history of Walworth county. His prominence in the community is the legitimate result of genuine merit and ability, and in every relation of life, whether in the humble sphere of private citizenship or as a trusted official with many responsibilities resting upon him, his many excellencies of character and the able and impartial man- ner in which he has discharged his every duty have won for him an envied reputation as an enterprising and representative self-made man. In Mr. Cusack's veins flows the blood of a long line of sterling Irish ancestors, in fact. he himself is only of the second generation of this great people in the United States.
Frank Cusack grew to manhood on the homestead here and he assisted with the general work about the place when of proper age. He received his education in the public schools of Darien. Early in life he turned his atten- tion to farming for a livelihood and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, being now the owner of one of the choice farms in section 22, Darien township, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, which he has placed under excellent modern improvements and on which he has a pleasant home and a good set of outbuildings. In connection with general farming he is making a specialty of dairying, for which he is well equipped in every way, and has a good grade of cows.
Mr. Cusack was married on February 3. 1902. to Elizabeth Flyn. daughter of Richard and Elizabeth ( Stewart; Flynn, a highly respected family of Darien township, this county, where they have become very well established through their enterprise and honorable dealings.
Frank Cusack, farmer of Darien township. Walworth county, was born on February 14. 1872. in this township, and he has been content to spend his
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life right here at home. It would have been hard for him to have found a better place. Ile is the son of Patrick and Ellen ( Sullivan) Cusack, both natives of Ireland, where they spent their earlier years and went to school and from there they emigrated to Canada in 1851 and engaged in farming until 1857, in which year they moved to Darien township, Walworth county, Wis- consin, and there he worked out as a farm hand until I870, in which year he father purchased a good farm in Darien township, which he improved and on which he spent the balance of his life, dying in November, 1906, and there, on the old homestead, which he left in excellent condition, his widow still resides.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Cusack, named as fol- lows: Mary, now Mrs. Moran; John; Nellie is deceased; M. E., James, Julia : Frank, of this sketch; Agnes is deceased.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cusack two children have been born, namely: Eliza- beth, born February 7, 1903; and Loretta, born July 13, 1905.
Politically, Mr. Cusack is a loyal Republican and more or less active in local party affairs. He was assessor of his township for a period of eight years, filling this office in a manner that won the hearty approval of all con- cerned. He is at present treasurer of the Darien high school. He is a mem- ber of the Equitable Fraternal Union, an insurance order, and the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Columbus. Religiously, he is a faithful mem- ber of the Catholic church.
WILLIAM EDGAR MASSEY.
"Earn thy reward; the gods give naughit to sloth," said the old Greek sage, Epicharmus, and the truth of the admonition has been verified in human affairs in all the ages which have rolled their course since his day. William Edgar Massey, farmer of Linn township and scion of one of the worthy old families of Walworth county, has, by ceaseless toil and endeavor, attained a large degree of success in his chosen calling and has gained the respect and confidence of men.
Mr. Massey was born near his present home on February 2, 1809. Ile is the son of William and Mary ( Delaney) Massey, the father born near Cork, in county Limerick, Ireland. When about eighteen years old he and his three brothers, George. Charles and John, and their mother emigrated to America, the father having died in Ireland. The mother and her four sons first spent a few years in New York and other points in the East, then
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
William Massey came to Linn township. Walworth county, Wisconsin, and here worked nine years for General Boyd, being about twenty-two years old when he came here. After nine years he purchased a farm of eighty acres, later buying sixty acres additional, and made his permanent home near the center of Linn township. He was married in 1861 to Mary Delaney, daugh- ter of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Brown ) Delaney, both born in Ireland. Thomas Delaney being from county Kilkenny and his wife from Munster. Elizabeth Brown came to America when twelve years old with her parents, George and Ann Brown, this family settling in Lyons township, this county, being among the pioneers. The Browns and Delaney's both came to America in the thirties and located first in Michigan, where they spent two or three years, and there Thomas Delaney and Ann Brown were married. Then Thomas Delaney and his brother-in-law. John Brown, and James Curran, another brother-in- law of Delaney's, came to Wisconsin on a prospecting tour and located in Walworth county, Thomas Delaney entering two hundred acres from the government in section 33, Lyons township, in 1840, his land being located three miles east of Geneva. Mr. Curran entered land near there also, and the Browns entered land three miles farther east.
The family of Thomas Delaney consisted of the following children : George, Ann, Mary, Margaret, John. William, Thomas, Jane, Dennis, Eliza- beth, Patrick Henry, James and Valentine.
Thomas Delaney and wife spent the rest of their lives on the land they first secured here and there reared their large family and died there. and there Mary lived until she married William Massey. After his marriage William Massey purchased his farm in Linn township, and there spent most of his life and reared his family of nine children, who were named as follows : Elizabeth, Elen, George. Martha, Gertrude, Cecily, William, Frank and Emma ( not named in the order of birth ).
In 1904 William Massey retired from farming and he and his wife moved to Chicago where his death occurred in 1906. Mrs. Massey now makes her home with her daughter, Ellen, wife of George Boyden. an electrician ; Elizabeth is the wife of Thomas W. Slavin, of Geneva township: George married Margaret Doyle and has a good farm in Linn township: William Edgar is the subject of this sketch; Frank married Frances Reilley, of Chicago, and lives on the farm left by his father; Emma married George Kenney and lives at Janesville, Wisconsin : Martha is a Sister of Mercy in a convent in Milwaukee: Gertrude lives in Colorado; Cecily married Arthur Moynihan.
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William E. Massey grew to manhood on his father's farm in Linn township and was educated in the local schools. On February 22, 1898. he was united in marriage with Mary Tulley, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Quincannon) Tulley. She was born at Delavan and lived in Lake Geneva most of her life. Her parents were natives of Ireland. Mary Quincannon was the daughter of Michael and Bridget Quincannon, very early settlers near Lake Geneva. Mrs. Massey's mother died when she was five years old. Her father is still living near Delavan, where he is engaged in farming.
William E. Massey and wife have three children, namely : Earl Will- iam Joseph, born March 12, 1889: Mary Genevieve, born February 6, 1901 : Katherine Evelyne, born April 28, 1903.
For four years after their marriage William E. Massey and wife lived on the farm now owned by George Massey in section 21. After four years there he bought the farm where he now lives in the northeast quarter of sec- tion 21. Linn township, adjoining the brother's farm, where he had rented before buying a farm of his own. He has been very successful as a gen- eral farmer and stock raiser. The subject and family belong to the Catholic church at Lake Geneva, and fraternally he belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters.
LUCIEN ANDREW FOOTE.
The life record of such a man as the late Lucien Andrew Foote, for many years one of the prominent citizens of Montgomery county, Indiana, is worthy of perpetuation on the pages of history, for in it may be gleaned many valuable lessons, for he was a man of sterling characteristics of head and heart and left behind him a heritage of which his descendants and friends may well be proud. He was the son of Andrew Foote, who was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1786, and he was a son of Thomas and Jane Foote. According to family tradition, four generations before An- drew Foote the family came from Wales to Ireland between the years 1680 to 1600. The ancestor in the third generation before the subject was born during the siege of Londonderry, 1600. His son Thomas afterwards re- sided in Rapho, province of Ulster, and there reared his family. One of his sons, Thomas, father of AAndrew Foote, emigrated to America in 1774. landing in Philadelphia and married Janet Roan at Middleton, Pennsylvania. in 1778 and they settled in Carlyle, that state. About 1781. they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where they resided a number of years, then returned
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to Carlisle, then in 1793 moved to Ohio and there he spent the rest of his life. dying in Adams county in 1800, when fifty-two years old.
Thomas S. Foote, son of the above named gentleman, married Mary Tweed, daughter of Archibaldl Tweed, of Clermont county, Ohio. He was an attorney-at-law. Archibald Tweed married Jeannette Patterson in Penn- sylvania and in 1798 moved to what is now Ripley county, Ohio, and reared a large family, one of whom. Jane, married Andrew Foote. Ancestors of the Tweed family lived in the north of Scotland, the name having probably originated from the Tweed river, or vice versa. Andrew and Jane ( Tweed) Foote were the parents of Major Foote. The mother was born December 7. 1787. Susan Greer Sunderland Foote, mentioned above. died on April 1. 1858.
Maj. Lucien A. Foote was born in Batavia county, Ohio. December 16, 1824. In April. 1833. he moved with the family to Indiana, locating at Rockville, where the father engaged in the general merchandise business. Lucien acquired such education as he could in the common schools and he assisted his father in his business when a boy. On March 9. 1849. he started with a party overland to California. At that time all west of the Mississippi river was a vast wilderness. The trip with ox teams required nearly six months, they arriving there in September. Major Foote located in Placerville and remained there two years engaged in mining, then returned to Rock- ville, Indiana, where, on December 31, 1851, he was united in marriage with Susan G. Sunderland. a daughter of John and ( Page ) Sunderland. She was born in Rockville in 1833 and her death occurred on April 1, 1858, in that town. Her parents were pioneers in Parke county, Indiana.
Three daughters were born to Major Foote and wife : Mrs. Howard E. Proctor, of Chicago; Mrs. William H. Stevens, of Versailles, Missouri ; and Mrs. Walter Curtis, of Lake Geneva. Wisconsin. About two years after the death of his first wife the Major was united in marriage with Amelia Ann Holt. of Madison, Wisconsin, who now survives him and lives with Mrs. Walter Curtis, of Lake Geneva.
In October, 1859. Major Foote was elected anditor of Parke county, Indiana, and he served in that capacity until the Civil war broke ont, when he recruited a company and was elected captain of Company \, Fourteenth In- diana Volunteer Infantry. Ile resigned on account of disability and atter- wards enlisted in Company C. Seventy-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was captured with part of the regiment in Uniontown, Kentucky, Sep- tember 1, 1862, and sent home on a parole. Viter his exchange was effected he re-enlisted in Company G. One Hundred and Thirty-third Indiana Vohin
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teer Infantry, and was commissioned major of that regiment. He was a splendid officer and won the admiration of his men and superior officers.
In March, 1865, the Major moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana, and engaged in the book and stationery business several years. For more than sixty years he was a very prominent Mason, reaching by gradual succession the highest office in the gift of the order, grand master of the grand lodge, and was one of the most widely known and influential men in the order in the United States. He was a charter member of MePherson Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, also a charter member of the Loyal Legion of Indiana, and at the time of his death he was chaplain of the order. He lived to be nearly eighty-six years old, his death occurring at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Walter Curtis, near Lake Geneva, Wiscon- sin, December 1, 1910, after an unusually active, honorable and useful career.
The Major was an intimate friend of many celebrated people of his day and generation. In a copy of "Ben-Hur," written by Gen. Lew Wallace. his fellow townsman at Crawfordsville, Indiana, we find the following written by the great author himself : "Major Foote asks me to write my name here. and as I am an ancient friend of his, I can refuse him nothing. Lew Wal- lace, February 1. 1889."
HENRY KIMBALL.
At the outset of his career Henry Kimball. farmer and stock raiser of Bloomfield township, Walworth county, realized that the foundation of all achievement is earnest, persistent labor, so he did not seek any royal road to the goal of prosperity and independence, but began to work earnestly and diligently to advance himself, and the result has been most satisfactory, and while still young in years he has become owner of an excellent farm and a comfortable home and takes his place in the ranks of those men who, while bettering their own condition, lend a helping hand to public improvements as well and is therefore entitled to the esteem of their fellow men. This Mr. Kimball can certainly claim.
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