USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume I > Part 70
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. Charles H. Burdick grew up on the home farm. He was married on June 4. 1861, to Almina Maria Bailey, daughter of Kiah and Emily ( Ward) Bailey. She was born in Hardwick, Vermont, and she accompanied her par- ents to Walworth county, Wisconsin, about 1844. They located in section I. Walworth township, near Williams Bay and the Observatory, and there made their permanent home. The Bailey ancestry is traced back to Richard Bailey. who came from England in 1636 and settled in Massachusetts and built the first cloth mill in America.
Charles 11. Burdick enlisted on June 8, 1863, in Company F, Fourth Wis- consin Volunteer Cavalry, as a recruit. His brother Russell served in this company from April, 1861, to after the close of the war. The former saw considerable active service in raids and campaigns. He was honorably dis- charged and returned home in 1865, and he made his home for seven years at Walworth, alternating cabinet-making and farming. He came to Lake Geneva in 1874 and assisted his father in a cabinet shop until failing health under- mined his strength and he gave it up. Ile then turned his attention to news- paper work and, in partnership with J. N. Burton, established the Lake Geneva News. It was printed at Elgin and for several months they ran it as a daily : in the fall it was changed to a weekly and was printed in Lake Geneva. Mr. Burdick was also local correspondent for a number of large dailies and for a time he was local editor of the Elkhorn Independent. He gave up correspond- ing for the press about 1894 and spent a year in Utah for his health, and subse-
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quently engaged in the real estate and insurance business, which he continued successfully up to the time of his death. February 21. 1903. Politically, he was a Republican, and was city clerk for two terms.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Burdick, namely : Wendell Herbert died when thirteen years old: Hugh Abram, of this sketch ; Emma Dell Elizabeth married Charles F. Hill, principal of the East Side school in Whitewater and is teaching manual training : Martha Arloine mar- ried Joseph J. Bransby, superintendent of manual training in the New Trear school at Kenilworth, near Chicago: Ralph Hazen is an osteopath physician at Tonopah, Nevada : Paul Champlin lives in Ogden, Utah, where he is em- ployed as inspector of the Telluride power plant : Metha died in infancy.
The first ten years of the life of Hugh A. Burdick were spent on the farms of his grandfathers in Linn and Walworth townships. Hle also spent a year in Utah, but the rest of his life has been spent in Lake Geneva, in which city he attended high school, from which he was graduated. Then he entered the law office of John B. Simmons, and he also did a great deal of studying at home. in fact, he is a student by nature and has continued to apply himself assiduously to books, especially such as apply to his profession. Hle was ad- mitted to practice law on June 4, 1889, but he did not begin active practice at once, having traveled for about two years in the employ of the Edward Thompson Publishing Company, publishers of law books. He then took up the practice of his profession in the city of Lake Geneva, and here he has since remained, having built up a large and lucrative practice and taking a high rank among the best attorneys of this section of the state. He has kept well abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession and has a reputation for being an earnest, accurate, painstaking and trustworthy advocate and coun- selor, and in the trial of cases he is alert. cautions and a strong pleader. In December. 1896. he was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Utah, during the year which he and his father spent there. Since returning from Utah he has practiced in Lake Geneva continuously.
Politically. Mr. Burdick is a Republican and he has long been an in fluential factor in local party affairs. He served one term as justice of the peace and his re-election was urged, but he resigned to become district attorney. which office he held for four years. He was alderman for seven years in the city of Lake Geneva; for three year- he was a member of the school board. and he is at present a member of the water commission of Lake Geneva. A. a public servant he has discharged his duties in a most faithful ind able man ner, winning the confidence and hearty approval of all concerned, irrespective of party alignment, but of recent years his increased professional duties have
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rendered it impossible for him to devote much time to public affairs. In 1909 he was appointed public administrator by Judge Lyon, and he has been quite efficient in collecting back taxes.
Fraternally, Mr. Burdick is a member of the Modern Woodmen.
On June 4, 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Burdick and Grace Eliza- beth Downing, daughter of John and Nancy Emily ( Lewis) Downing. Her mother's ancestry can be traced back through their residence in Indiana and to Carolina. She was born in Rockford, Illinois, where her grandfather Lewis settled in 1838 when the country was new. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Burdick, namely : Glydewell Bailey, Hugh Lewis and Ahnina Emily.
Mr. and Mrs. Burdick belong to the Congregational church. They have a pleasant home which is a favorite gathering place for their many friends.
FREDERICK E. WORMOOD.
Ilolding distinctive prestige among the enterprising citizens of Walworth county is Frederick E. Wormood, the popular and efficient cashier of the Farmers National Bank, of Lake Geneva, whose record, here briefly out- lined, is that of a self-made man who, by the exercise of the talents with which nature endowed him, has successfully surmounted an unfavorable environ- ment and risen to the position he now occupies as one of the influential young business men of the locality. He is a creditable representative of one of the old and highly esteemed families of Wisconsin, and possesses many of the admirable qualities and characteristics of the sturdy people of the old Empire state, from which his ancestors came.
Mr. Wormood was born in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, November 10, 1879. He is the son of Norman N. and Anna E. (Smith) Wormood, both natives of Onondaga county, New York, and there they grew up, were educated and married there, each representing excellent old families. The father was of English descent and was the son of Peter Wormood, who was born in the year 1800, and his father's mother was descended from Governor Bradford, of the Pilgrims who came over on the "Mayflower."
Norman N. Wormood and wife came to Lake Geneva in 1876 and estab- lished the family home here. The father has been a machinist, working at his trade up to 1907, and he now makes his home near Syracuse, New York. His family consisted of six children, named as follows: William died when
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six years old; Frederick E. of this review; Harry G. lives in Joliet, Illinois ; F. Arthur lives in New York: Blanche E. resides in Portland, Oregon; Gertrude died in infancy.
Frederick E. Wormood grew to manhood in Lake Geneva and here he received his education in the public schools and the high school. He began life for himself by clerking in the Lake Geneva postoffice, where he remained six years. On August 12, 1901, he accepted a position in the Farmers Na- tional Bank as bookkeeper. He did his work well and in March, 1908, he was made assistant cashier, and J. Leo Gavin took the place made vacant by the subject's promotion. When E. D. Richardson, the cashier, resigned in Novem- ber, 1911, Mr. Wormood, having given the utmost satisfaction as his assistant, was elected to the position of cashier, the duties of which he is still dis- charging in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders and patrons of the bank.
Mr. Wormood was married on June 6, 1906, to Mary E. Brady, daughter of Charles Brady and wife, a highly respected Walworth county family. Mrs. Wormood was born a short distance west of Lake Geneva, where her par- ents still reside, and there she grew to womanhood and was educated in the local schools. Mr. and Mrs. Wormood have one son. Frederick, Jr., whose birth occurred on November 12, 1907.
Fraternally, Mr. Wormood belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
Mr. Wormood has worked himself up by persistent. conscientious effort. is systematic in all his methods, and he is well liked for his ability and never failing courtesy.
PIHLLIP H. KOHN.
Perhaps no hotel man in Walworth county is more widely known than Phillip H. Kohn, of Lake Geneva, his attractive and comfortable place there being popular with the traveling public, who has ever found Mr. Kolm an obliging, honorable and genteel gentleman, a man who has the interest of his city and community at heart and who never loses an opportunity to advance the general good of the same.
Mr. Kohn was born in Chicago on March 28, 1866. He is the son of John Kohn, long an influential citizen here, a sketch of whom appears on an- other page of this work.
Phillip H. Kohn remained with his parents in Chicago until he was eleven years old, when, in 1877. they moved to Ringwood, locating on a farm where the family remained about three years, removing from there to Lake
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Geneva on January 6. 1881. Among their earliest experiences here was the great snow storm when for nearly a week all communication with the outside world was shut off ; trains were blockaded in the snow and the citizens traveled over the tops of fences and the snow shoveled off the sidewalks made a ridge so high that teams in the streets were obscured from view. Here the father purchased the Northwestern hotel, and Phillip H. grew up in the business. The hotel and saloon were both owned by the elder Kohn, remaining under his management until 1891, when Phillip H. and his brother. John R., who died in 1909, took charge of the business which they conducted successfully until 1901, in which year the two brothers leased the hotel part to George Wheeler, and retired from the active management of the hotel, but they con- tinued to run the saloon together until the death of John R. Kohn, and then Phillip H. continued the business alone. He has been very successful in a financial way.
Phillip H. Kohn was married in 1891 to Hattie Schichte. daughter of William and Amelia (Jaensch) Schiche. She was born at Charlottenburg. a suburb of Berlin, Germany. Her father was owner and captain of a boat. and her birth occurred on the boat. Her father died in the old country, after which event Mrs. Kohn and her mother came to America in October, 1887, making a visit to Mrs. Kohn's brother, Charles Schiche, who was already liv- ing in Lake Geneva, he having been sick at the time. He died a few weeks later, and here his mother and sister remained with a sister of Mrs. Kohn's mother, Mrs. John Kohn. Here Mrs. Kohn remained and was married to Mr. Koh in the spring of 1891, and in the fall of that year, her mother died at the hotel.
Mrs. Schiche was a woman of lovely character and was sincerely mourned by her family and all who knew her.
Three children have been born to Phillip H. Kohn and wife, namely : George L., born July 17, 1893: Philip Gordon, born May 9, 1897: and Doro- thy, born October 10, 1901.
Mr. Koh and family belong to the Lutheran church in Lake Geneva. Mr. Kohn was for many years a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. and was also active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, subordinate lodge at Lake Geneva, the encampment at Delavan, and the Patriarchs Militant at Janesville.
Mr. Kohn is known as a steady-going man of good habits. kind-hearted and fond of home and family. He gives close attention to. his business and enjoys an extensive trade, his place being noted for being well managed and thoroughly orderly and law-abiding. He has the respect and esteem of all who know him.
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JOHN DESING.
Biographies should not be published unless there is something in the life and character of the individual worthy of emulation or imitation by others under the circumstances-certainly not for self-aggrandizement; but sufficient has been drawn from the life history of the gentleman whose name appears above to show that there is something in the inner life of this man worthy of more than incidental mention. He began life practically at the bottom of the ladder, which he has climbed to the top with no help but a brave heart, industri- ous hands, an intelligent brain, and a faithful life companion, and is a living example of what may be accomplished by the foreign-born citizen in this republic of the "sundown seas" by thrift and perseverance, even under dis- couraging circumstances ; and now, as this worthy old German couple pass down the outmost incline of life's rugged pathway, over beyond the crest of hill that marks the divide between youth and old age, they rest secure in the respect and esteem of all who know them, because of the high ideals and hon- est motives which have actuated and controlled their lives.
John Desing, for many years a successful farmer in Lafayette township. Walworth county, now living retired in his cozy cottage in Elkhorn, was born in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, not far from Brandenburg, Germany, in 1830. He is the son of Henry and Sophia ( Wodrich ) Desing. His boyhood was spent as a farm hand and a working man in the village of Brun. He was married in 1855 to Wilhelmina Wilk, who was born in Brun, Germany, in 1831. She is the daughter of Carl and Sophia ( Kardow) Wilk, and there she grew to womanhood and was married.
John Desing and wife went to housekeeping at Brun and there con- tinued to reside for a period of eight years after their marriage, living on the estate of Henry von Oerzen, a member of the nobility and the owner of an extensive estate. Seeing no hope of bettering their condition, they emigrated to America in 1863, and settled at Youngstown, Ohio, but remained there only five months, then came on to Walworth county, Wisconsin, and located in Sugar Creek township, where, in order to get a start, Mr. Desing worked out as a farm hand, his wife also working for wages They economized and labored persistently and finally rented a farm, and in 1872 were able to buy a farm of one hundred and forty-four acres, forty-four acres of which lay along the line of Lafayette township, in Geneva township, the balance, one hundred acres, being in Lafayette township. Here they established their home, gradu- ally improved the farm and made a success of general farming, laying by a competency for their declining years, continuing to reside there for a period of about twenty-seven years.
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Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Desing, one of whom died in Germany when ten days old; the three living are, Charles, who is farining in Lafayette township, where he has a farm of his own ; he married Lena Koeppen, and they have six children, four daughters and two sons. Arnold, Hulda, Alvina, Alma, Lulu and Merton. August Desing, the next in order of birth, lives in Elkhorn, engaged in business, and a complete sketch of him appears elsewhere : Minnie married William Koeppen and lives in Williams Bay, where Mr. Koeppen maintains a restaurant ; they have three children, William, who is now twenty-four years old, and two daughters, Nettie and Erna.
Jolin Desing and wife moved into Elkhorn in April, 1899, retiring from the active duties of life. They are faithful members of the Lutheran church.
JOHN AGERN.
Success has come to John Agern, a worthy citizen of Lake Geneva, be- cause he has worked for it along legitimate lines and has dealt honorably with his fellow men all along the line. He is a man who has at heart the interests of his county and state, having never cared to spend his days in other than the Badger state.
Mr. Agern was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, April 11, 1860. He is the son of Knute and Bertha Agern, both natives of Valders, Norway, where they grew up and were married, and from there they emigrated to the United States in 1856 and settled at Manitowoc, following farming in that vicinity, and. through their industry and close application, became very comfortably established. Knute Agern met death suddenly by drowning in the year 1862 when his son John, of this sketch, was a baby. There were six children in this family, namely : Oliver, Carrie, Thomas and Bertha were twins, John and Emma.
After the death of the father of these children the mother married Ole Severson and the subject of this sketch lived with his mother and step- father until he was fourteen years old, at which age he left home and worked out at farm work. He found it hard, but the discipline was good and contributed, no doubt, to his later success. When about seventeen years old he went to Minnesota where he worked on a farm for two years, then spent nearly two years as a traveling salesman for the McCormick Harvester Com- pany. In November, 1881, he went to Chicago where he spent the winter. and in 1882 he came to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with C. C. Boyles and became
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foreman of his place along the southeastern shore of Lake Geneva. He re- mained with Mr. Boyles for a period of twenty-six years, giving the utmost satisfaction, having been specially fitted for such work. In the fall of 1007. Mr. Agern purchased the Barlow farm from Mr. Boyles and he lived there successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising until June. 1911. He had lived on the farm all the time Mr. Boyles owned it. Upon the last mentioned date Mr. Agern sold his farm and purchased three houses and lots in Lake Geneva, two on Wisconsin street and one on Chester street. He lives in the latter, renting those on Wisconsin street which are very desirable dwellings in every respect.
Mr. Agern was married on November 2. 1884. to Emma Ackerman. daughter of George and Elizabeth Ackerman. She was born and reared in Chicago and lived there until her marriage. She received a good education in the schools of that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Agern two children have been born, namely: Bertha Elizabeth and Florence Rosamond. They are both graduates of the Lake Geneva high school and Bertha E. is now teaching in the public schools of Linn township. Florence R. has also taught in the same school. The latter married Matthew Patton, superintendent of the E. E. Jones place, along the lake shore, and they live near Buttons Bay.
Fraternally, Mr. Agern belongs to the Masons, the Knights of Pythias. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mystic Workers.
Mr. Agern is a man of fine physique and the possessor of great bodily strength He is a man of frank, genial and generous nature, and of a home- loving disposition. He is a purely self-made man, having started out in life when but a mere lad with no one to assist him, and by perseverance and grit he has succeeded until today he is very comfortably situated.
ROBERT J. LEAN.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave upon the record the verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. The life of Robert J. Lean, of Geneva township. Walworth. county, has been characterized by energy, perseverance and broad charity as well as well defined purpose and is therefore well deserv- ing of mention in these pages.
Mr. Lean was born in Cornwall, England. December 30, 1852. Ile is the son of William and Ann ( Knight ) Lean, who brought him to America in August. 1857. They settled first at Palmyra, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. where they remained about six years, then spent two or three years in Wal-
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kesha county, moving to Walworth county in 1866, locating on a farm in LaGrange township, and here Robert J. grew to manhood and attended the district schools. His father died here on February 28, 1874, leaving a widow and four children, namely: William J., who lives at Lime Springs, Iowa; Thomas E. lives at Whitewater, this county: Frank died in June, 1874; Robert J., of this review.
Thomas E. and Robert J. Lean worked the home farm together until about 1900, the subject remaining on the home place until 1894, in March of which year he bought a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres one mile cast of Elkhorn, which was known as the "Cedar Lawn Farm," and here he has continued to reside, developing the same into one of the finest farms in this part of the county. Passersby do not fail to notice the well-kept con- dition of the place, the broad, attractive lawns, the fences, with turned posts nicely painted, the inviting shade trees and shrubbery, the substantial, com- modious barn and outbuildings and the cozy home, finished in hard wood and equipped with modern conveniences, such as hot water heat, etc.
Mr. Lean has made somewhat of a specialty of Shropshire sheep, and formerly he raised Durham cattle, but how keeps Holsteins. He keeps well informed on agricultural and stock-raising topics, has many books treating on both, as well as a carefully selected general library. He has been a good manager and has applied himself closely to his work. He has been a director in the State Bank of Elkhorn ever since it was started, he being one of the organizers, and since January, 1910, he has been vice-president of the same, discharging the duties of the position in an able and satisfactory manner.
Mr. Lean has long manifested a lively interest in local public affairs, being one of the leaders in the Republican party. He has held various offices in Lagrange township and has been chairman in Geneva township, and was president of the Walworth County Agricultural Society in 1892.
On December 10, 1884, Mr. Lean was united in marriage with Lucelia Ann Horton, daughter of Morris and Elizabeth ( Frost) Horton, the father born in England July 12, 1826, and her mother was born March 28, 1824. Mr. Horton was an early settler in Whitewater, in which city Mrs. Lean was born and was educated.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lean, namely : Floyd Horton Lean, born November 2, 1885; Ivan Frank Lean, born March 27. 1889; William Harold Lean, born December 14, 1897. The wife and mother was called to her rest on March 7, 1909.
Fraternally, Mr. Lean is a member of the Masons, and the Modern Woodinen, and the Order of the Eastern Star at Elkhorn.
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