USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume I > Part 69
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
where the father bought a farm, having first worked out for wages until he could buy land of his own. Later he bought a farm in North Geneva at the edge of Lafayette township, the place lying in both townships, and this was the family home for about forty years, they having become well established here through their industry. A complete sketch of John Desing appears on another page of this work.
August C. Desing grew to maturity on the home farm here where he remained until he was eighteen years of age, then began in 1879 as an appren- tice in the blacksmith trade, serving three years, then worked a year as journey- man in Chicago. Returning to this county, he bought the shop of a Mr. Livingston at Elkhorn on May 4. 1883, and he has remained here to the present time, having been in business in Elkhorn as long as any others in this line, and his shop, which stands exactly in the center of the county, is widely known and has been extensively patronized for over three decades, many of his best patrons coming from remote sections of the county, for they know they will receive prompt and high grade service. In October, 1886, Mr. Desing's shop was destroyed by fire. He soon rebuilt it on a much larger plan and equipped it with up-to-date apparatus. Hle had already added wagon- making to his blacksmithing, and named his product the "Center Wagon." by virtue of the fact that it was made in the center of the county. He has con- tinued the business ever since, with ever-increasing prosperity and success. A year or two after the fire he took as a partner C. C. Gaylord, who was with him for a period of eleven years. Since then the subject has continued alone.
Mr. Desing has long taken much interest in public affairs, and has ably served the people as alderman, trustee and supervisor of Elkhorn for a num- ber of years, about eighteen terms, always with eminem satisfaction to all con- cerned. He was the first alderman elected in Elkhorn and for many years he was an influential member of the city council. When the city adopted the commission plan of operating the light and water plant he was a member of that commission for several years. In ton he was appointed a member of the board of education, and is still on the same Having been one of the older members of the city governing bodies, mich responsibility was laid on his shoulders, he having been usually at the head of important committees, and some times much depended upon his action, as in the case of the settlement of the light plant question : but he has ever been a man of sound judgment, wise discretion and foresight, and had the general good of the city and community at heart, consequently has given the people the best service possible, which they have fully appreciated. according him high esteem for the praiseworthy course he has ever pursued
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Mr. Desing was married on July 5, 1883. to Nettie Bauermann, daughter of Jacob and Catherine ( Martin ) Bauermann. She was born and reared in Elkhorn. Her parents were natives of Germany and spent their early lives in the valley of the Rhine, from which they emigrated to the United States and located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, about 1860. During the progress of the Civil war Mr. Bauermann engaged in the shoemaking business here, when shoemakers made shoes to order from actual measurements, as tailors now make clothes.
Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Desing, one of whom. Nettie, the eldest, died when three and one-half years old : the others are living and named as follows : Lillian, Arthur, Gertrude, George, Rena, Orma, Alene, Hilmer and Marjorie.
Mr. Desing and family belong to the Lutheran church, of which he has been a worthy member ever since he was fourteen years old, and he has been a liberal supporter of the same. He stands high as a citizen and business man and has a wide acquaintance throughout the county.
EDMUND DECATUR DENISON.
The life history of Edmund Decatur Denison, formerly superintendent of the Lake Geneva public schools, is well worth emulation by the youth who hesitates at the parting of the ways. As a teacher he has met with merited success and in his capacity of principal his record presents a series of successes and advancements such as few attain. He pursued his chosen calling with all the interest of an enthusiast, is thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the work and has a proper conception of the dignity of the profession to which his life and energies were so unselfishly devoted. He is now engaged in busi- ness.
Mr. Denison was born June 30. 1872, at Hanna, Indiana. He is the son of George S. and Aurilla A. ( Blackman) Denison, the father a native of Ohio. The family came originally from England in 1631 and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, the first of the immigrants being William Denison, and from his son George is descended the present Denison family, members of which have been more or less prominent in various walks of life. George Denison returned to England and took part in the wars under Cromwell. He was wounded at the battle of Naseby and was taken to the home of a Mr. Borodell and nursed by his daughter Ann, with whom he fell in love and they were
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EDMUND D. DENISON AND SON, GEORGE E.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOX, LEHOX TILDEN FOUNDAT ONS
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
married. He returned to America and settled in Connecticut. It is a matter of history that he was with one exception the most conspicuous and daring soldier of New London county. He bore the rank of captain and was called the Miles Standish of the settlement. One of his descendants. James Denison, was a direct ancestor of the subject of this sketch. He was a captain in the Revolutionary war and he died of smallpox while in the service.
George S. Denison, father of the subject. was the son of Wheeler B. Denison, and he grew up in Ohio. He married Aurilla .A. Blackman, a native of that state and the daughter of Hiram and Clarissa ( Darrow) Blackman, who came from Ohio at the time of the Mormon movement to Nauvoo. illi- nois, but after reaching that place they left the Mormons and went to LaPorte county, Indiana, and established their home there. George S. Denison came to Indiana with his parents and when the Civil war came on he enlisted in the Union army and served through the same, being chief musician in the Twen- tieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the early part of the war and later in the Eighty-seventh Indiana Infantry. In 1865 he settled at Hanna, Indiana, and was living there when he married. His family consisted of two sons and two daughters. namely: George H .. now of Columbus, Indiana : Esther, wife of Thomas Richardson, of Hanna, Indiana : Agnes lives at Hanna with her father ; Edmund D., of this sketch.
The subject grew to manhood at Hanna and there attended the public schools, preparing for college at the Academy of Northwestern University. Evanston, Illinois, and there he later attended Northwestern University, from which he was graduated in 1899. In the fall of that year he came to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and took a position as instructor in the high school. In January, 1902. he went to Negaunee. Michigan, as principal of the high school. For one term, in 1902 and 1903, he was principal of the Ripon Col- lege Academy. From 1903 to 1905 he engaged in the flour and feed business at Lake Geneva in partnership with Warren E. Burton and E. Davidson. In 1905 he entered the high school in Lake Geneva as instructor of Latin and German, which position he held until 1907, at the same time retaining his interest in the flour and feed business. In 1907 he was elected superintendent of schools of Lake Geneva, which position he held until 1911, when he re- signed to give his entire attention to business, in which he is making a pro- nounced success.
To show something of the popularity of Mr. Denison as a teacher here. we quote the following from the press of Lake Geneva, which appeared after the close of the school year in 1911: "The Lake Geneva public schools close
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
another year of successful work this week. The teachers and the pupils have been faithful in their efforts to make the most of their time and opportunities and the success of the year has been largely due to the spirit of loyalty and the general interest manifest on the part of all concerned. Our schools have been very fortunate in having a corps of earnest, efficient teachers, and the work of our superintendent, Mr. E. D. Denison, has been zealous and painstaking. He has worked to place the school on the higher plane, all the accredited lists, and he has succeeded so that now there are no better schools in the state. The fact that he has decided to sever his connection with our school is one of general regret, lightened only by the fact that his influence for good upon the pupils will continue to bear fruit in the future and their lives may be blessed thereby."
Mr. Denison was married in 19044 to Bonnie Burton, daughter of John E. Burton, of Lake Geneva and one of the prominent citizens of this section of the state. His sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Denison at- tended the University of Wisconsin and also spent two years at the Chicago Art Institute. She has a pronounced talent as an artist, and her works have well repaid her in a financial way. She is a lady of culture and refinement and a favorite in social circles. To Mr. and Mrs. Denison two children have been born, George Edmund and Alice Delphine.
Mr. Denison is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the commandery at Delavan. He and his wife belong to the Congregational church at Lake Geneva.
THOMAS H. WILCOX.
An honored veteran of the Civil war and an esteemed citizen of Wal- worth county is Thomas H. Wilcox, a man who has established a reputation for industry, honesty, prudence and public spirit such as few of his contem- poraries have attained ; a man of well defined purpose, he has not failed to carry to successful completion any work or enterprise to which he has ad- dressed himself.
Mr. Wilcox was born in Morristown, New York, March 4. 1845. He is the son of Alonzo C. and Matilda ( Stanton) Wilcox, the latter born at Fair- field. New York, and was the daughter of Elijah Stanton and wife. the for- mier born in Preston, Connecticut, in 1754. When fourteen years old he en- listed in the colonial army and served through the Revolutionary war, and for a time he was the body servant of George Washington. He was cap- tured by the British, and was one of the unfortunates who suffered the hor-
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WALWORTHI COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
rors of the prison-ship. "Jersey." where he contracted the small-pox. Elijah Stanton and his fellow prisoners were reduced to the necessity of feeding upon the vermin picked from their bodies. After the war he settled near Little Falls. Herkimer county, New York. In 1791 he married Lucy Goodel, daugh- ter of Abijah Goodell, of Long Island. She was born in 1700 and her death occurred in 1832. Their home was in Fairfield. Herkimer county, New York. where their daughter. Matilda, was born, and there she lived until after her marriage to Alonzo C. Wilcox. Three children were born of their marriage. Esther Ann. now widow of Lewis Weeks, of Elkhorn: Margaret Amanda. wife of George F. Bresee, lived in Lyons until her death. September 29. 1903 : Thomas II., the immediate subject of this review.
The Stanton family has been traced back to Thomas Stanton, of Long- bridge. Warwick county, England, in 1450, and from him in an unbroken line of descendants to the fifth generation. Thomas Stanton, born in Warwick county. England, in 1616, left London in 1635 in the merchant ship "Bona- ventura" for Boston, by way of Virginia. He learned the Indian languages. was a magistrate at Boston very soon after locating there and was long an invaluable aid to the authorities as interpreter to the Indians. He was a safe counselor in difficulties with the red men. and in all land questions. He served through the Pequod Indian war and was specially mentioned for brav- ery. He was among the very earliest settlers of Hartford. and his name ap- pears in the early public records there over sixty times. He finally moved to Stonington before there was a village by that name, and there he also became active in public affairs and with the Indians. He served several terms in the General Assembly of Connecticut. The death of Elijah Stanton occurred in 1847 at the advanced age of ninety-three years, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1832.
Alonzo C. Wilcox emigrated to Wisconsin in 1844 and bought the west half of the southwest quarter of section 9. Hudson (now Lyons ) township. Walworth county, and in 1845 he moved his family here, which remained their home as long as he lived. Hle finally added a little more land to his original purchase and he devoted his life to farming. His death occurred on October 5. 1891. his being the only death on that farm in sixty-five years, although at times two families lived together there. The death of his wife occurred on November 6, 1887.
Thomas H. Wilcox grew to manhood on the home farm and there worked during his boyhood days. When the Civil war came on, he enlisted on Febru- ary 20, 1862, in the Ninth Wisconsin Battery, Light Artillery He was in Colorado and other parts of the West fighting against the Indians most of the
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740
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
time, serving in New Mexico, Kansas and Missouri, remaining in the service three years. He was never in the guard house or the hospital. He was only seventeen years old when he enlisted, but he made a most faithful and efficient soldier, according to his comrades. After being honorably discharged he re- turned to the home farm.
Mr. Wilcox was married on July 2. 1879. to Phoebe Travis, daughter of Nathaniel 1. and Julia ( Griffin) Travis. She was born in Lyons township. this county. November 21, 1851, and lived there on her father's farm until her marriage. Her parents came here from Genesee county, New York. Her mother was born on October 27, 1811, in Dutchess county, New York. and was the daughter of Charles and Martha ( Taylor) Griffin. She moved with her parents to Oneida county, New York, in 1823, and to Genesee county. that state, in 1831. Nathaniel I. Travis was born on May 23, 1814. was mar- ried on January 26, 1841, and he came to Lyons, Wisconsin, in 1850, buying a farm in the northeast quarter of section 17. Lyons township, Walworth county, very near the Wilcox home. Mrs. Wilcox was one of six children, named as follows: Martha, unmarried, died when twenty-three years old ; Hannah died in 1850, when seven years old; Francis, who was in the Civil war with Mr. Wilcox, married Olive Waite. October 6. 1868, and had six children ; his death occurred November 1, 1901, when fifty-six years oldl. his birth having occurred December 31. 1845, in Genesee county. New York: Adelbert, born May 22, 1849, lives in Elkhorn: Phoebe is the wife of Mir. Wilcox ; Gilbert T .. born February 5. 1855. lives on the home farm.
Francis Travis married Olive M. Waite, who was born September 5. 1849, married October 6, 1868, and died AAngusst 9, 1891 : they were the parents of these children : Vernon, born January 2. 1870, who lives in Florida and is unmarried, travels a great deal : Milton M., born July 9. 1871, married April 9. 1804: Willitt F .. born May 16, 1874, married April 18. 1897: Mabel O .. born April 23, 1877, married March 5, 1901 : Dwight R., born September 11. 1879. married July 10, 1897: Roy L., born March 9. 1884, died August 5. 1891.
Adelbert Travis married Mary Kinney on September 7. 1870: she was born in August, 1849, and died July 6, 1894 : they had these children : Martha J., born November 12, 1874, died December 28, 1875; Ira B., born August 18. 1877. died February 1. 1899: Julia N., born February 6, 1880. married Rich- ard Patton, and she lives in Lake Geneva : Bert H., born September 25. 1887. lives in Elkhorn: Emery S. Travis, born November 26, 1891. also lives in Elkhorn. Adelbert Travis was twice married. espousing Lucia Ranny on September 17, 1895.
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Phoebe Travis was married on July 2. 1879. to Thomas H. Wilcox, of this sketch. To this union Alonzo C. Wilcox was born February 10. 1880, and he lives in Lyons, this county.
Gilbert Travis was born February 5. 1855. married on April 30, 1879. 10 Francelia Jones, who was born May 29, 1851, and they had children as fol- lows : One son, born in 1880, that died in infancy ; Harriet J., born August 19. 1883. married. April 30, 1907, to Frank Blanke: a daughter was born July 28. 1887, died August 11. 1887: Merle G., born April 8, 1890; Lois, born October 18. 1894. died April 3. 1895 : Leone, an adopted daughter, was born October 4. 1899.
Julia Travis, daughter of Adelbert, married Richard Patton and they have one son. Reginald. Mrs. Harriet Blanke, daughter of Gilbert Travis. has two children, Wallace and Frank.
Milton Travis, son of Francis Travis, has these children : Mazelle M., Thelma E., Clive Norris, Ainslie. Willett's children are, Mildred M., Mar- garet B., Frank Gilbert and Ruth Winifred. Dwight's chikfren are. Gerald Dwight. Irma Laura, Richard Frank, Bernice Olive and Clarma Lucile (the latter dying on July 5, 1908). Robert Emerson, Geneva Eleanor (also de- ceased ). Mabel, wife of Richard Spiegelhoff, of Lyons, has two children. Ray Donald and Olive Blanche.
The Stanton family as a rule have been long lived. Matilda died at the age of eighty-five : her sister was ninety-two and Elijah Stanton was ninety- six. Mrs. Samantha Nellis, of Naples, New York, another of the mother's sisters. reached the age of one hundred and three years, and very few of the family died under seventy years of age.
Alonzo C. Wilcox. father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was the son of Thomas and Margaret ( Crippen) Wilcox. The subject's father was born in Connecticut.
After his marriage Thomas 11. Wilcox, of this sketch, farmed the home- stead for many years. He bought adjoining land until he had one hundred and thirty-one acres which he placed under high grade improvements. It his father's death he bought out the other heirs, finally selling the place in March. 1911, after a successful career as a general farmer and stock raiser. He had lived on the farm until 1900. In February of that year he moved to the village of Lyons where he bought a cozy home. He has held various local offices, but is not a politician. He was postmaster of Lyons for a period of eight years, giving splendid service in this capacity. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Repubhe, the Luther Crane Post, at Burlington Fra
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
ternally, he belongs to Burlington Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and Elkhorn Chapter. Mr. Wilcox has traveled extensively in America, both in the East and West, and has attended many national reunions of the Grand „Army of the Republic.
SMITH BAKER MORRISON.
Fealty to facts in the analyzation of the character of a citizen of the type of Smith Baker Morrison, of Elkhorn, Walworth county, is all that is required to make a biographical sketch interesting to those who have at heart the good name of the community, because it is the honorable reputation of the man of standing and affairs, more than any other consideration, that gives character and stability to the body politic and makes the true glory of a city or state revered at home and respected in other and distant localities. In the broad light which things of good report ever invite, the name and character of Mr. Morrison stand revealed and secure and, though of modest demeanor, with no ambition to distinguish himself in public position or as a leader of men, his career has been signally honorable and it may be studied with profit by the youth entering upon his life work. Ile is regarded as one of the most expert abstractors this county has ever produced,-in fact, his life record shows that he has always advocated doing right whatever was worth doing at all.
Mr. Morrison was born at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, on April 11, 1858. He is the son of Joseph F. and Mary M. ( McPherson ) Morrison. The latter was born in Oneida county, New York, and she came to Fort Atkinson, this state, with her parents, John McPherson and wife, when young in years. Her father traded a forty-acre farm in Oneida county, New York, for one thousand acres near Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. His friends in New York thought he was badly worsted in the deal, but when his Wisconsin land had been developed it was very valuable and is today worth a very large sum.
Joseph F. Morrison came west with his parents from Colerain, Massa- chusetts, when he was a boy, locating at Fort Atkinson in the early days, his father having entered land from the government in that vicinity.
Smith B. Morrison, of this sketch, grew up on the home farm, which, being new land, furnished plenty of work for him, when he became of proper age, and all the rest of the family, for developing a farm from the wild woods of the Badger state was not a task of weaklings. He grew to maturity at Fort Atkinson and there he received his education, graduating from the high school at Fort Atkinson. He began life for himself by teaching school, in which he engaged in various parts of the county from the age of seventeen to
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WALWORTHI COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
twenty-three, and he was making rapid progress as an able educator when he abandoned the school room and purchased his father's farm, which he oper- ated successfully for twelve years, keeping it well improved and well culti- vated. Then he came to Walworth county and resumed teaching, having charge of the school at Darien for a year. He then spent a year in a hard- ware store in Elkhorn.
Observing a good field for the abstract business in this county, Mr. Mor- rison purchased a set of books in 1898 at Elkhorn and this he has continued to the present time, having met with great success and building up a very wide patronage. He succeeded Samuel Breese, Jr., in this business. To this he has added insurance and has a large business in this line also. He is known for his painstaking care, accuracy, untiring perseverance and his obliging, genial nature, which renders him popular with the masses.
Mr. Morrison was married on December 18, 1879, to Alice F. Flack, daughter of G. Flack and wife. To this union two daughters have been born, namely: Ethel, wife of Oscar L. Heinze, lives in Milwaukee, and has one daughter, Norma Jean : Mabel is at home with her parents, and is now attend- ing Stout Institute of Domestic Science at Menominee.
Mr. and Mrs. Morrison belong to the Congregational church. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Masonic order and his wife belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star.
HUGH ABRAM BURDICK.
Only those who come into personal contact with Hugh Abram Burdick. of Lake Geneva, scion of one of the worthy old families of Walworth county, and one of the popular and successful attorneys of this section of the Badger state, can understand how thoroughly nature and training, habits of thought and action have enabled him to accomplish his life work and made him a fit representative of the enterprising class of professional people to which he be- longs. He is a fine type of the sturdy, conscientious, progressive American of today-a man who unites a high order of ability with courage, patriotism. clean morality and sound common sense, doing thoroughly and well the work that he finds to do and asking praise of no man for the performance of what he conceives to be his simple duty.
Mr. Burdick was born in Linn township, this county, on March 4. 1804. and is the son of Charles Herbert Burdick and Almina Maria ( Bailey ) Bur- dick. The father was born at West Edmiston, near the line between Otsego and Madison counties, New York, and when four years of age he came to
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Walworth county, Wisconsin, with his parents, Solomon Champlin Burdick and Martha M. ( Crandall ) Burdick. Solomon C. Burdick was born near Westerly. Rhode Island. His ancestors had emigrated to that state about 1750 from England. Solomon was the son of Joseph Burdick. Joseph and his brothers moved to the state of New York and located in different sections of the same.
The Burdicks came from the East by way of the Great Lakes to South- port (now Kenosha), thence to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, only three years after the village had been platted. They purchased a farm in the northwestern part of section 29. Linn township, and there established a good home which they occupied for many years. Solomon Burdick was a cabinet-maker by trade and he left much of the farming to his sons in order to follow his trade. llis death occurred about June 29. 1890, at the age of seventy-nine years, leaving three daughters and three sons, namely: Asbury Russell. Charles llerbert, Byron Henry: Mary, who married first Clark Burdick and afterward Morris Millard; Ordelia, who married James Smith, now lives in Lake Gen- eva : Elicia Delphine, who first married George Williams, then Jacob Wahl.
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