USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume I > Part 67
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
29, 1734. Abiel. Jr., was born in October, 1764, and he also lived at Canaan, Connecticut ; he was three times married, and had nineteen children, all of whom lived and reared families of their own. His grandson is Captain Fel- lows of this review. Timothy Fellows, father of the subject, was the son of Abiel Fellows, Jr., and his third wife, Doreas Hopkins. He was born March 14, 1812, in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Abiel Fellows, Sr., was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and he was granted six thousand acres of land in Pennsylvania. Part of it was mountainous and apparently worthless and he traded it off. Since then it has increased to wonderful values, in view of the fact that rich veins of anthracite coal underlie it. Eliza Ann Duncan was the daughter of William and Ruth ( Gilman) Duncan, of Ackworth. She was descended from George Duncan, who emigrated from Londonderry, Ire- land, in 1719 and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He married Margaret Cross. William Duncan, son of George, born in Ireland in 1716, came with his parents to America, and he became a captain probably in the French and Indian war, for he was sixty years old when the American Revo- lution began. His son, John, of Ackworth, New Hampshire, was a colonel in the latter war, and he became a representative in the Legislature. His son, William, was the father of Eliza Ann Duncan.
Timothy H. Fellows, father of the subject of this sketch, had gone to Michigan in 1829 when he was seventeen years old and there he married Eliza Ann Duncan, December 1, 1831, and to them eleven children were born, five of whom died in infancy. Theodore A., of this sketch, being the third in order of birth. He was three years old when the family moved to Wisconsin in the spring of 1840 and located in the southeast corner of Walworth county, when the country was wild and without roads. Genoa Junction was not started until eleven years later. The father had previously entered into an arrangement with Daniel Rowe and Delmore Duncan whereby Rowe was sent here to enter land. He accordingly took up a large tract, including the water power site at what is now Genoa Junction, and this they afterwards divided. Mr. Fellows' land was in sections 34 and 35 along the south line of the county and state, and there he established the family home where he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. He not only engaged in farming, but also mer- chandising for some time in the early days. Ile was the first chairman of the town board of Bloomfield, after Geneva had been divided into four townships and the Bloomfield township was thus created. He became prominent in public affairs, influential in politics, and he was a representative in the Legis- lature two different terms in the fifties. His death occurred in November, 1804, and his wife died on April 23, 1887.
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Capt. Theodore A. Fellows grew up on his father's farm. He spent a year at Cedar Park Seminary, Michigan. In 1856 he married Jane A. Moncar, daughter of William and Marcia ( Christian) Monear. She was born on the Isle of Man and came to America in 1844 with her parents, who located in Kenosha county, Wisconsin, later moving to MeHenry county. Illinois, not far from the Fellows home at the state line.
The subject and wife moved to Minnesota a few months after their mar- riage, where he prospected for claims and improved them, remaining there two years, after acquiring about a half section of land which he held for a number of years. Returning to his father's farm, he remained there until the spring of 1860, spending the summer of that year in the mountains of what was then called western Kansas, later becoming Colorado Territory, the country then being a wild frontier. Returning to his home in Walworth county, the Civil war coming on the meanwhile. he enlisted in Company K. Eighth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and he was soon seeing service in the Army of the Tennessee, along the east side of the Mississippi river until after the fall of Vicksburg, July 4. 1863. when he was moved about to the Gulf of Mexico, then back to the department of the Cumberland and again back to the department of the Gulf. He was in the battle of Nashville, which is men- tioned by historians as being possibly the completest Union victory of the war. He was also at the capture of Vicksburg. Corinth and Spanish Fort. was at Fort Blakely and Mobile Bay, thus seeing much hard fighting and strenuous campaign work, in fact his regiment was in more engagements than any other from Wisconsin. At the battle of Corinth Mr. Fellows was wounded and he ever afterwards carried the bullet in his side. He was also wounded in the leg at the battle of Nashville, and was disabled two or three months. IFe was made orderly sergeant when the company was organized. having enlisted as a private. Ile proved to be a faithful and gallant soklier, winning the ad- miration of his comrades and the confidence of his superior officers, conve- quently his promotion was gradual. In July, 1802. he was commissioned second lieutenant, and in the fall of the same year he was commissioned first lieutenant, and in 1865 he attained the rank of captain.
After the war Captain Fellows went to lowa, in the spring of 1800 and lived three and one-half years at Des Moines, where he engaged in the general merchandise business. In the fall of 1800 he went to western Kansas where he followed farming and dealing in live stock, chieff. Texas cattle, remaining there about nine years. He went to Leadville, Colorado, in 1870, when the mining excitement was on at its height. There he engaged in mining, also general merchandising, remaining there about seven years. Returning to
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Genoa Junction, Wisconsin. in December, 1885, he remained here most of the time since, engaged in general farming and stock raising on his fine farm in the edge of the village.
Captain Fellows was a member of the county board and also superviosr of Genoa Junction. He was a member of the Masonic order, also the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion.
The death of Captain Fellows' first wife occurred in January. 1904, and in February, 1905, he was united in marriage with Peryl M. Creighton, daugh- ter of Alfred and Julia ( Jones) Creighton. She was born and reared at Ida Grove, Iowa. Her parents formerly lived at Sioux City, Iowa, but they now reside in Genoa Junction. The Captain's family consists of two children, Theodore A. and Maxine Jeanette. Captain Fellows was a man of high standing in Walworth county or wherever he was known. He was noted for his industry, courage and public spirit and his loyalty to friends.
WILLIAM EDWIN PALMER.
This well known farmer of Geneva township is a descendant of one of our old settlers who was among the first to come to the wilds of southern Wis- consin and undertake the task of clearing a farm and home from the dense woods. When the Palmer family arrived here the clearings were few and the homes far between, and all the members of the family were required to bestir themselves in placing the wild land under cultivation and in establishing a comfortable home.
William Edwin Palmer was born on the farm on which he now lives in sections to and 11, Geneva township, this county, his birth occurring on February 2, 1878. He is the son of Edwin Eugene and Frances Alveretta ( Chadwick ) Palmer, a record of whom and their ancestors will be found on another page of this work; suffice it to say here that they did much toward the early improvement of the county.
William E. Palmer, of this sketch, grew up on the home farm and there made himself generally useful during the crop seasons when he became of proper age, and during the winter months he attended the public schools in his home district and received a fairly good education. He has spent his life on the homestead, which he has kept well improved and well tilled so that it has retained its original fertility. He took charge of the place in January. 1904. and ran it on the shares until his father's death, the latter merely directing
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the operations in a general way and advising the subject as to the best and time-tried methods of general farming and stock raising in which he had been successful through a long life of industry.
Mr. Palmer of this sketch was married on December 4. 1901. to Iva Viola Abbott, daughter of Frank Abbott and wife, a highly respected family of this county, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. Here Mrs. Palmer grew to womanhood and was educated. To the subject and wife three children have been Forn, Beulah Ellen. Alice and Edwin Engene.
For a time after his marriage Mr. Palmer worked out, then farmed one year on Frank Abbott's farm. He is a kind, courteous and industrious gen- tleman whom everybody likes, being a man of good character.
LAWRENCE C. KOHN.
The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch is one of the pro- gressive business men of Walworth county, a man whose life has been led along conservative and praiseworthy lines and, while laboring for his indi- vidual advancement. he has never neglected his larger duties of citizenship. He is a member of the well known firm of Kohn & Jennings, of Lake Geneva.
Lawrence C. Kohn was born near Ringwood. Mellenry county, Ilinois. February 16, 1875. He is the son of John Kohn and wife, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Kohn was six years old when he accompanied his parents to Wal- worth county, in March, 1881. He grew to manhood in Lake Geneva and there attended the public schools and the high school. After leaving school he spent a year in the grocery business. after which he went to Valparaiso. Indiana, and took a course at the Northern Indiana Normal School. Return- ing to Lake Geneva he worked for thirteen months in the dry goods store of J. W. Lone, then entered the employ of O. C. Colby & Company in the shoe and clothing department of their store. He remained there over four years. then he and John T. Jennings formed a partnership under the firm name of Kolm & Jennings, in March, Iyor, and they have since operated one of the popular stores of the southern part of the county. They bought out the store of J. W. Lone. Mr. Kohn's former employer, dealing in men's and boys' clothing, furnishings and shoes. Both partners started with nothing but what they had saved of their wages and by hard work, careful management and square dealings they have built up a large and growing business, enjoying a
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wide trade from the southern part of the county. They have a large and well arranged store and always carry a complete, carefully selected and up-to-date stock of goods. They are also the owners of the substantial brick business block at the southeast corner of Main and Broad streets, as good a location as can be found in Lake Geneva.
Mr. Kolin is a public-spirited man. ready to boost the city's interests, and he is at present a member of the board of aldermen.
Mr. Kohn was married on October 9, 1901, to Minnie Dopke, a sister of Charles Dopke, of Geneva township, a sketch of whom is to be found on an- other page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Kohn have three children. Katherine Caroline, Helene Marie and Mary Elizabeth. The subject and wife belong to the Lutheran church and are faithful in their support of the same.
GEORGE T. TAPPEN.
One of the successful farmers and public-spirited citizens of Linn town- ship is George T. Tappen, a man who has worked hard and managed well and therefore has accumulated a sufficiency of material things to insure comfort for himself and family and his old age against want.
Mr. Tappen was born at Rockford, Illinois. October 10, 1861. He is the son of John Matthew and Eleanor ( Baker) Tappen, the mother being a native of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the father of Rhinebeck, New York. They spent their early years in the East and were young people when they came to Illinois. They were married at Rockford, later moving to McHenry county, less than two miles south of Zenda, about 1863. In 1871 they went to Cloud county, Kansas, where they spent the rest of their days, the father dying in February, 1910, and the mother in July, 1904. They were industrious peo- ple and became well established in the Sunflower state.
George T. Tappen, of this sketch, was nine years old when the family went to Kansas, and there his father homesteaded government land on the prairies, which the subject helped to develop and there grew to manhood. He recalls a number of the interesting pioneer experiences, many of which were similar to the pioneer conditions here thirty-five years earlier. He farmed on the home place until 1893, then came to Walworth county and worked out at farm labor for some time. In the spring of 1895 he began farming for himself in Linn township and he has met with uniform success as a result of close application. In November, 1900, he bought a farm of his own and now
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has one hundred and fifteen and one-half acres in sections 10 and 15. Linn township. He has a fractional forty acres in the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 10, also a fractional eighty in the cast half of the northeast quarter of section 15. He keeps his land well improved and under a fine state of cultivation, and carries on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale.
Mr. Tappen was married on June 22, 1895. to Hattie E. Medberry, of East Troy, Walworth county. Mr. and Mrs. ,Tappen have one adopted child. Donald F. Tappen. His name before his adoption was Herman Schroeder. his father having died prior to his adoption by the subject and wife.
MIr. Tappen is treasurer of the town of Linn, having held that office two years. He has always been a Democrat. but is now a progressive Republican. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen.
ELRY CHANNING PETRIE.
Conspicuous among the representative agriculturists and stock men of Walworth county is Elry Channing Petrie, of Geneva township. He has made his influence felt for good in his community, his life having been closely interwoven with its history for a number of years. His efforts have been for the material advancement of the same as well as for the social and civic uplift of his fellow men, and the well regulated life he has led, thereby gain- ing the respect and admiration of all with whom he has come into contact. entitles him to representation in a work of the nature of the one in hand.
Mr. Petrie was born at Concord, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, on Decem- ber 5, 1855. and is the son of Jost D. Petrie. Jr., and Florinda ( Holcomb ) Petrie. The father was born in Herkimer county, New York, and he came to Wisconsin among the first settlers, and entered land from the government in Jefferson county, near Concord. He was the son of Jost and Anna (Garter) Petric. The family is of German descent. The subject's grand- father Petrie was a general in the Revolutionary war, and he had a brother. George Petrie, who also was an officer in the patriot army. The former died in the state of New York.
Jost D. Petrie came west in later life, his mother also making the trip and here'she spent the balance of her life. Florinda Holcomb was born in Medina county, Ohio, and was the daughter of Webster and Abigail ( Perkins) Hol- comb. This family came to Concord. Jefferson county, during the forties. being among the very first settlers. Both Jost D. Petrie and Webster Hol (46)
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
comb took up their land when this country was heavily timbered and settlers were few. They went to work with determination. and in due course of time had cleared the land, put it under cultivation and had good homes. They underwent the usual hardships and privation of pioneers.
Jost D. Petrie was prominent in public affairs, and a loyal Republican. He was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly for two terms, in 1861 and 1867, where he made a splendid record. and he also held a number of other minor offices within the gift of the people, always with eminent satisfaction to all concerned. Ile moved to Oregon in 1882 where he made his home until his death, in June, 1911, his wife having preceded him to the grave in February, 1905.
Elry C. Petrie, of this sketch. grew to manhood at Concord, and he attended the normal school at Whitewater. In 1880 he began farming for himself on rented land. In 1890 he bought the farm where he now lives in section 2. Geneva township, Walworth county, but he did not move here until two years later. Since 1892 this has been the scene of his labors, and he has placed this excellent farm under a high state of cultivation and improvement and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, being much interested in raising Holstein cattle, and he keeps a splendid herd.
Politically, Mr. Petrie is a Republican, and takes an interest in public affairs of his community and he is at present a member of the township board.
Mr. Petrie was married in 1876 to Mary A. Ransome, daughter of Harvey 1. and Sallie Ann ( Noyse ) Ransome. She was born in Concord. Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where she was reared and educated and there remained until her marriage. Her father was from Cattaraugus county. New York, and he took up land from the government, and was one of the well known pioneers here. Her mother was born in Canada and she died when . Mrs. Ransome was a little girl.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Petrie, namely: Winnie C. died when eight years old; Avery C. died in infancy : Merton E. and Lottie E. are at home with their father.
Mrs. Petrie's death occurred in November, 1892, and in November, 1898. he was united in marriage with Mrs. Nora L. Turner, widow of Frank Turner, deceased. She was the daughter of John and Myra ( Gott ) Olp, and she was born and reared in Lyons township, this county. Her parents came from New York and settled here in an early day. The father was born in Genesee county. New York, and he was the son of Jacob Olp and wife, an excellent okl family- there. To Mr. and Mrs. Petrie one child has been born. Jost C. Mrs. Petrie had one son by her first marriage, Charles L. Turner.
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
RUSSELL HOLMES.
One of the best known and most progressive of the citizens of Genoa Junction and vicinity is the present popular and able mayor of that village. Russell Holmes, a man who leads an exemplary life and while laboring for his own advancement never fails to discharge his duties as a public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Holmes was born in Lake county, Illinois, February 24. 1851. ! le is the son of Thomas and Maria ( Roddel) Holmes, both natives of Lincoln- shire. England, where they spent their youth and were married, emigrating to America and settling in New York in an early day. Thomas Holmes was left an orphan in his childhood. He finally came on to Illinois where he spent many years, dying in 1880. his wife surviving until 1895. Their family consisted of nine children, of whom, three sons and one daughter only survive. Riley. Frank and Mr-, Ida Louise Reynolds, all of Hebron, Illinois, and Russell, of this sketch.
During the boyhood of Russell Holmes, the family moved across the line into Wisconsin, first locating in Racine county, then moved to Kenosha county, and in 1871 they moved to a farm in Mellenry county. The subject grew up on the farm and he has devoted his life to general agricultural pur- snits, having begun farming for himself about 1879 near Hebron, Illinois, remaining there until March, 1890, when he moved to Genoa Junction. He began by renting a farm for two years, then bought a farm and there became well established. He purchased a livery barn upon coming to Walworth county which he ran two years, then bought thirty-eight acres in the eastern part of Genoa Junction, within the corporate limits, and there he built a fine home on the high ground in the eastern edge of the village. When the village was incorporated in 1901 he was elected the first mayor, and he has since been re-elected several times, in fact has held this office ever since with the excep- tion of two years. The office came to him unsought, which shows his high standing in this community. He has been a most efficient public official, doing much for the permanent good of the town and has done as much, if not more for its development during the past decade or more than any other man. Prior to his election as mayor of Genoa Junction he served two years as a member of the county board, and he has also been treasurer of the school board for the past seventeen years.
Mr. Holmes was married in 1878 to Carrie Louise Street, of Hebron. Illinois, daughter of Seldon G. and Mary Street, and to this union one son was born, Rennie C., where birth occurred on May 23. 1882. He married
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Florence Simpson, of Genoa Junction, and they have one child, a daughter. named Neva Evaline. Rennie Holmes and family live in a large handsome home, next to that of his father, and he is engaged in carpentering and build- ing, also farms and engages in the poultry business.
The parents of Mrs. Russell Holmes came from Orleans county, New York, to Illinois in the spring of 1854, and located two miles east of the vil- lage of Hebron, near the Wisconsin line, but there was no village when they arrived there. Their house had been a wayside inn, and the railroad from Chicago had not been extended as far as Walworth county. All this country was yet in an undeveloped condition. Mrs. Holines grew up in the house where her parents first settled and lived there until her marriage. The death . of her father, Seldon G. Street, occurred in 1894. Her mother is still living, making her home most of the time with Mr. and Mrs. Holmes. She is now eighty-two years old and is in excellent health, being remarkably well pre- served for one so much advanced in years.
Mrs. Holmes has one brother and two sisters: Henry Street lives on the old home farm near Hebron, Illinois, and Mrs. Delia Bliss lives at Albia, Orleans county, New York : Mrs. E. B. Greeley lives in Alden, Minnesota.
WALTER A. WEST.
The name of Walter .A. West is known to every one who has the slightest acquaintance with the business history of Elkhorn and Walworth county. For many years he has filled a large place in the industrial affairs of the city, and as an energetic, far-seeing, enterprising man whose judgment and dis- cretion are seldom at fault and whose influence makes for the substantial up- building of the community.
Mr. West was born in Sugar Creek township, this county, on November 14, 1856. Ile is the son of Stephen Gano West and Martha A. ( Lake) West, the father a native of North Norwich. Chenango county, New York. lle came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, when about twelve years old, in 1838, with his parents, Stephen Gano West. Sr., and Rebecca ( Pike ) West, and here in the midst of primeval surroundings they established a good home through hard work and close application, the country then being a wilderness. The West family came to New York state from Connecticut a number of generations ago.
Martha A. Lake was born at Cooperstown, New York, and during his childhood lived a near neighbor to James Fenimore Cooper, the great novelist.
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She was the daughter of Nelson and - ( Brandon ) Lake, her maternal grandmother having been a Knowlton. a daughter of Capt. John Knowlton. a soldier in the American Revolution. The Lake family came west and lived for a time in Illinois, and about 1850 moved on to Walworth county, Wiscou- sin, settling in the village of Troy, on what is now known as the Schwartz farm on Pickerill lake, later moving to Eagle Prairie, Waukesha county. Stephen G. West. Jr., and Martha A. Lake were married in 1852 and took up their residence in Sugar Creek township, moving in the spring of 1806 to Elkhorn, buying a farm in the north edge of town where they spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring on the last day of October. 1889, his wife having preceded him to the grave in July, 1884. Politically, he was a Demo- crat, and he filled the office of assessor for years, was a member of the school board. and was also chairman of Sugar Creek township. He took a lively interest in public affairs and was influential in the same.
Stephen G. West, Jr., was twice married, his second wife, whom he mar- ried in the fall of 1886, being known in her maidenhood as Hanna Merri- field, who is now living at Beloit. One son was born to the second union. Myron Chester West. By the first marriage there were eight children. namely : De Witt Clinton, who died at Perry, Jowa : Walter .\., of this sketch : Helen R. is the wife of B. B. Taylor and lives on a farm near Elkhorn: Charles F. lives at Oak Park, Ilinois : Stephen Gano is a physician and surgeon in Chicago: Arthur Penn died when fourteen years old: Hattie is the wife of Albert J. Reed. a furniture dealer in Elkhorn : Cora died when ten years old.
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