USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 10
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The mother of the above named children is still living in Lake Geneva. George R. Allen having passed away on September 20, 1901. A complete sketch of his life will be found on another page of this work.
John S. Allen spent his boyhood on the home farm, but much of the time he was away at school. He attended high school at Lake Geneva, from which he was graduated in 1890, after which he spent two years at the normal school at Whitewater, then he taught school a year, after which he went to the State University at Madison, taking the course in electrical engineering, from which department he was graduated in 1897. After leaving school he worked a year as electrician at the state prison at Waupun, then built the electric light plant at Geneva Junction, Walworth county, after which he built a similar plant at Elkhorn. He then took a position as manager of the Beloit Electric Company, which he held for five years. Leaving there in 1906, he came to Lake Geneva where he took charge of the electric light plant and he has remained here to the present time, discharging his duties in his usual successful and conscientious manner. He is regarded as one of the best men in his line in southern Wisconsin, for he not only laid a good foun- dation for his work, but has kept well abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession, and wherever he has been he has given the utmost satisfac- tion. He is a member of the Wisconsin Electrical Association, the National Electric Light Association and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, Geneva Lodge No. 44, of which he was master for three years. He was the first exalted ruler of the Beloit Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a director of the First National Bank at Lake Geneva. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal church.
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Mr. Allen was married on May 18, 1898, to Emma J. Gibbs, of Randall township, Kenosha county, the daughter of Charles G. and Alice (Owen) Gibbs. Her father was born on the same farm on which Mrs. Allen's birth occurred, and the mother was born in McHenry county, Illinois. Two chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen, Harris Gibbs Allen, born July 28, 1900, and Gibbs Rue Allen, born September 8, 1905.
WILLIAM FEBRY.
The people who have come to the United States from England have done more for the advancement of our civilization than those of any other Old World country. Her strongest blood has coursed through the veins of her sterling sons who have cast their lots with us, and their descendants are noted for their thrift and honesty, and those two qualities in the inhabitants of any country will in the end alone make that country great. When with these two qualities is coupled the other quality of sound sense, which all the English people possess, there are afforded such qualities as will enrich any land and place it in the front rank of the world's nations. Of this excellent people came William Febry, farmer of Darien township, Walworth county. He comes of a race that produced the famous Gladstone, one of the three greatest statesmen, all things considered, that ever walked this terrestrial footstool. He comes of a race that is famous for its original investigations in the prob- lems of civilized life-such men as Newton, Davy, and the "thousand souled Shakespeare," as well as Bacon, Nelson, Wellington, and a host of others, renowned in their separate spheres.
William Febry was born on June 10, 1867, in England. He is the son of Francis and Sebina (Kingston) Febry, both natives of England, where they grew to maturity and were married. The mother is now deceased, but the father is living at Chippanham, England. He has engaged in farming all his life.
William Febry grew to manhood in his native land and there received his education in the public schools. He emigrated to the United States in 1883, and first settled in Janesville, Wisconsin, hiring out on a farm near there for about five years, in order to get a start in life. He then came to Beloit, Wisconsin, where he remained a few years, thence to Darien town- ship, Walworth county, where he has remained for about twenty-two years, engaged in farming all the while. He is the owner of a good farm in Darien
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township of seventy-five acres, and has a very comfortable home here, all as a result of his individual efforts.
Politically, Mr. Febry is a Republican, and he has been a director in the local school board for the past fourteen years, in No. 21 district, Darien township. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen and the Episcopal church.
The subject is one of a family of ten children, five of whom are de- ceased ; those living are Daniel, Kate, Anna, Mable and William.
William Febry was married to Susan Pope, January 25, 1891. She is the daughter of William and Ann (Meddleton) Pope, natives of England, where they grew up and were married and there the death of the mother occurred many years ago. The father emigrated to America in the spring of 1884 and first settled in Walworth county, where he spent the balance of his life, dying in December, 1896. He had spent his life in agricultural pursuits.
To the subject and wife five children have been born, one of whom died in infancy, namely : Floyd, born April 13, 1892 ; Frank, born September 18, 1893, is deceased; Ruby, born May 13, 1896; William, born October 16, 1901; George Albert, born July 5, 191I.
MARTIN MORAN.
Another of the worthy sons of the county of which this history treats, who has been content to spend his life here, is Martin Moran, farmer of Darien township. He is the scion of a thrifty old family of the Emerald Isle who came to the Badger state in early days and here, although the country was new and conditions not altogether promising, they had the sagacity to foresee a great future for the section in which they settled and finally became very comfortably established through hard work and economy. In fact, it is to such people that the county owes a debt of gratitude for having brought it up to such an advanced state of development.
Martin Moran was born on October 19, 1854, in Walworth county, Wisconsin. He is the son of Thomas and Marguerite ( Mahan) Moran, both natives of Ireland, where they spent their earlier years. The father emi- grated to America in 1848 and settled at Cazenovia, New York, and there he engaged in farming for some time. He came to Wisconsin in 1852 and settled in Lafayette township, Walworth county, where he lived about two years, then moved to Delavan township, where he continued farming, later
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buying a farm and there he established a good home in which he lived until two years prior to his death, which occurred on March 16, 1908, at the town of Sharon, this county. .
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Moran, namely : Bridget; Martin, of this sketch; Michael, Mary, Maggie, Kate, Ella and William, all living.
Martin Moran grew to manhood on the home farm, where he worked during his boyhood, and he received his education in the common schools of this county. He has farmed all his life and is now the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres in sections 25. and 36, Darien township, which he has brought up to a high state of cultivation and improvement, and on which he is carrying on general farming and stock raising on a large scale. He makes a specialty of breeding Percheron horses, which, owing to their superior quality, are greatly admired. He has a large, pleasant home in the midst of attractive surroundings, and a convenient set of outbuildings.
Politically, Mr. Moran is a Democrat, but has never been especially active in public affairs. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of Darien, and he is a worthy member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Moran was married on October 12, 1881, to Mary Cusack, daughter of Patrick and Ellen Cusack, a highly respected familly of Walworth county, where Mrs. Moran grew to womanhood and received her education in the. common schools.
To Mr. and Mrs. Moran have been born six children, named in order of birth as follows: May, born August 6, 1886; Frank, born September 5. 1890, is now twenty-two years old; Marguerite, born February 13, 1892, is now twenty years old ; Martin, Jr., born December 18, 1894, is now seventeen years of age; Agnes, born February 12, 1897, is now fifteen years old : and Arthur, born December 17, 1901, is eleven years old. They are all at home with their parents.
GEORGE RUE ALLEN.
Change is constant and general, generations rise and pass unmarked away, and it is the duty of posterity as well as a present gratification to place upon the printed page a true record of the lives of those who have preceded us on the stage of action and left to their descendants the memory of their struggles and achievements. The years of the honored subject of this memoir are a part of the indissoluble chain which links the annals of the past to those
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of the latter-day progress and prosperity, and the history of Walworth county would not be complete without due reference to the long, useful and honorable life Mr. Allen lived and the success he achieved as an earnest, courageous laborer in one of the most important fields of endeavor.
George Rue Allen was a scion of a sterling pioneer family and was born on the 9th day of August, 1838, in a hotel kept by his father at Hartford, Washington county, New York. He was the son of Samuel and Maria (High) Allen, the father born in Gloucester, England, June 30, 1789, and died in Bloomfield, Walworth county, Wisconsin, on November 20, 1866, and here his wife, who was born April 14, 1798, joined him in the spirit land on June 11, 1880. Samuel Allen was an innkeeper in Washington county, New York, until he came to Wisconsin in 1841. His wife, known in her maidenhood as Maria High, was the eldest daughter of Charles and Christina (Harris) High; she was born June 23, 1780, and her death occurred on Aug- ust II, 1841. Christina Harris was the daughter of Samuel and Hannah Barbara (Hufnagle) Harris. He died at Rutland, Vermont, in 1819, and her death occurred in 1847. Samuel Harris was the son of Jolin and Rachel (Moss) Harris, the former born in 1720. John Harris was the son of Daniel Harris, who was born in 1688; his mother's given name was Abigail. Daniel Harris was the son of Daniel and Abigail ( Barnes) Harris, and he was born in 1653. Daniel Harris was the son of Daniel and Mary (Weld) Harris, born about 1618. Daniel Harris was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Harris. Thomas Harris kept the ferry that plied from Boston to Winnisimmet and Charleston in 1631. Moses Harris, brother of John Harris, was a celebrated scout in the French and Indian war and he was the original of J. Fenimore Cooper's famous "Leather Stocking" tales. Townsend Harris, a grandson of Samuel Harris, was the first United States minister to Japan, and his career is given at length in Dr. Griffi's "Townsend Harris-First Envoy to Japan." On September 21, 1775, Samuel Harris was recommended by the county of Kingsbury, New York, to be commissioned as ensign, "he being a friend to the present cause and having signed the general association." This commis- sion was issued the same month by the provincial congress of New York. Israel Harris, a brother of Samuel Harris, was with Ethan Allen at the storm- ing of Ticonderoga. Samuel Harris was the great-grandfather of George Rue Allen. The family on both sides of the house has figured conspicuously in American history for over two centuries.
George Rue Allen was about a year old when his parents left New York and located in South Bend, Indiana, and he was about three years old when, in 1841, the family came to Bloomfield township, Walworth county, Wiscon-
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sin, and there the boy grew to manhood on the farm and remained there until 1898 when he moved to Lake Geneva, where his death occurred on September 20, 1901. His schooling was very meager, consisting of a short period in the country schools near his boyhood home, one term at Lake Geneva and one term at Kenosha. But he was always more or less a student and in after life made up for his lack of schooling when a boy. On February 15, 1871, he was united in marriage with Mary Grier, daughter of James and Mary (Woods) Grier. James Grier was born on February 2, 1808, at Emmiskillen, county Fermanaugh, Ireland, and his death occurred on June 3. 1886; he emi- grated to America in 1824. Mary Woods was born in 1808 in Carrick- macross, county Monagan, Ireland, and her death occurred on February 14, 1887. They came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1843.
Three children were born to George Rue Allen and wife, namely : John Samuel, born February 28, 1872; James Grier, born January 15, 1875, and Mary Christeen, born July 9, 1877.
Mr. Allen always took much interest in public affairs. He was assessor of Bloomfield township for a great many years. He was chairman of the town board for about fifteen years, during the greater part of which period he was chairman of the county board. In 1880 he was sent to the Legislature and as a public servant he discharged his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of the people.
Mr. Allen was a director in the First National Bank at Lake Geneva, from 1892 to his death, which duties he discharged with exceptional fidelity and business ability, as is attested by the beautiful hand-engraved memorial presented by the bank to his widow upon his death. The following resolution was adopted at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the bank :
"We have ever found him a safe, prudent and capable business man, en- dowed with practical common sense, and honest in his transactions with his fellow men. To his friends he was cordial and warmly attached and never more happy than when in their society. As a citizen he has held many im- portant public positions of honor and trust which he has discharged with scrupulous fidelity ; and in the closer relations in which it was our privilege to know him, the innate qualities of a warm and generous heart, an honorable and upright character and an amiable nature and disposition were fully re- vealed. He was universally regarded as 'An honest man, the noblest work of God.' "
The following is an interesting incident in connection with the Farmers Insurance Company, a mutual association, of which he was president : There
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were two families of Allens, both prominent and with many Christian names alike. The first president of the above-named association was George Allen. a member of the other family of Allens of Linn township and he served in this capacity until his death, then George R. Allen of Bloomfield township. the subject of this sketch. succeeded him and held the place until his death. then Dwight S. Allen. one of the Linn township Allens, succeeded to the posi- tion which he held until his death, and was succeeded by James G. Allen, the brother of the present incumbent.
George Rue Allen was very successful in a business way and was for many years rated as one of the substantial citizens of this part of the county. The death of this worthy and influential citizen occurred on September 20. 1901. His widow survives and makes her home in Lake Geneva, where she has a host of warm friends.
JOHN WELCH.
Among those in this county who have built up a highly creditable reputa- tion and have distinguished themselves by right and honorable living is John Welch, farmer of Darien township, another of the large band of foreign-born citizens who have done such a commendable work for the upbuilding of Wal- worth county. His prominence in the community is conceded and his deeds will speak for themselves, for he has been a man who has believed in helping others in a general way, at least, while laboring for his own advancement along material lines. He has much of the characteristic thrift, wit and energy of the Celtic race, of which he is a very creditable representative, and while he reveres the old Emerald Isle, as is natural and right. he nevertheless has been loyal to the western republic in which he has cast his lot and has taken about as much interest in our affairs, domestic and national, as we who are native born.
John Welch was born in Ireland in 1839. He is the son of Michael and Mary (Brazdel) Welch, both natives of Ireland, where they grew up and were married and where they have spent their lives, neither having ever come to America. They were the parents of twelve children. most of whom remained in Ireland, one other coming to America and now living in Pennsylvania.
The subject grew to manhood in Ireland and received his education in the public schools there, and when he was twenty-four years old he emigrated to the United States, settling first in Allegany county. New York, where he en-
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gaged in farming, which has been his life work. He came on to Wisconsin in 1869, and in order to get a start he worked out by the month and on the shares for about seventeen years, finally buying a farm of two hundred and thirty-seven acres in Darien township. Walworth county, where he has con- tinued to reside. He has added many modern improvements and has kept his land well cultivated, having been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has been a diligent and persistent worker and his efforts have been crowned with success, as his abundant harvests from year to year will attest. He has a pleasant home and a good set of outbuildings, and he keeps an ex- cellent grade of stock.
Mr. Welch was married in Ireland. in 1861, to Alice Kennedy, daughter of Edward and Mary (Powers) Kennedy, both natives of Ireland. Fourteen children were born to the subject and wife, named as follows: Michael, who is farming in Darien township, this county; Mary lives at Chicago, Illinois ; William is farming in Delavan township, this county; Mrs. Katie O'Brien and Mrs. Ellen Morrissey both live in Delavan township; Edward lives in Darien ; Maggie married a Mr. Bradford and lives in Chicago: Mrs. Alice Sanders lives in St. Paul; Bee is at home; Mrs. Julia Kinney lives in Delavan : John also lives in Delavan; Mrs. Bessie Scannell lives in Chicago: Agnes married a Mr. Stocking and they live in Michigan ; Josie lives at home.
The wife and mother passed to her rest on September 29, 1909.
Politically, Mr. Welch is a Democrat. He has served as road cominis- sioner and school director, having been a member of the board for a period of fourteen years.
CLARENCE EDWARD BILVEA.
It is always pleasant as well as profitable to study the life record of such a character as Clarence Edward Bilyea, for therein lie lessons which cannot fail to benefit the reader if properly pondered. for he always held before him the principles of the Golden Rule and lost no opportunity to better his own condition and that of the community.
Mr. Bilyea was born on October 24. 1864. in Otsego county, New York, the son of Orson and Fannie (Litts) Bilyea. Orson Bilyea was born in that county on January 7, 1837, and was the son of Nathaniel and Polly (South- worth) Bilyea. Nathaniel's father was a sailor and his grandfather. a Ger- man, owned three hundred acres of land where Sing Sing, New York, is located. Orson Bilyea grew to manhood in New York and in the fall of 1863
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he and Fannie Litts were married. She, too, was a native of Otsego county, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Fox) Litts. Her father was born in New York, probably near Albany or Schenectady. Elizabeth Fox was born and reared in Otsego county. The only child born to Orson Bilyea and wife, was Clarence E., of this sketch.
Clarence E. Bilyea was nine months old when his parents brought him to Walworth county, Wisconsin, the father thereupon buying the farm of one hundred acres where the son now lives in section 25, the eastern part of Wal- worth township, this county, and here the subject grew to manhood and as- sisted with the work on the place. He received his education in the common schools and in the Jennings Seminary at Aurora, Illinois. On February 8, 1888, he was united in marriage with Carrie Smith, a native of Linn town- ship, this county, where she was reared and educated. She is the daughter of Richard and Emma (Brand) Smith, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work.
Clarence E. Bilyea has devoted his life to farming and is now operating his father's place, two miles southeast of Walworth, his father having moved into Walworth in 1902, retiring from active life. After his marriage the father farmed thirteen years, then moved to Walworth village. He lives in a modern, elegant home in the village, which he built.
To the subject and wife four children have been born, named in order of birth as follows: Jessie Maude, Ray Clarence, Carrie Pearl and Ruth Edna.
After the marriage of Clarence E. Bilyea and wife they lived on the farm thirteen years, then moved to the village of Walworth where they made their home seven years, then moved back to the farm where they now live. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. Fraternally, he belongs to the Modern Woodmen.
CHARLES H. POTTER.
Could the lives of the first settlers be fully and truthfully written what an interesting, thrilling and wonderful tale it would be. Think of the journey to the West, of the hardships of clearing the soil and the pleasure of rearing the family. Think of the pioneer gatherings, of the shooting matches, the old subscription schools, the first churches under the branches of the trees, the camp meetings, the famous old circuit riders, the husking matches, the coon, wolf, fox and bear hunts with dogs, and then presume to say that the old
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settlers did not live happy lives. Such were the experiences of the progenitors of Charles H. Potter, well known farmer of the northeastern part of Wal- worth county, who is the scion of a worthy old family, whose honored name he has striven to keep untarnished.
Mr. Potter was born in Rochester, New York, June 17, 1849. He is the son of Woodruff and Ann (Hadley) Potter, the father a native of Wayne county, New York, and the mother of New Hampshire. They grew up in their respective communities and were married in 1835 and soon afterward came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, locating on one hundred and forty acres of land, now owned by the subject of this sketch, and here they spent the balance of their lives, the father dying in July, 1896, and the mother in 1899. They were the parents of two children, Harrison and Charles H., of this review ; the former went to Texas in 1859, and during the Civil war he served three years in the Confederate army, and he still lives in Texas, making his home at Beaumont. Politically, the father was a Republican, and active in local party affairs, serving in a number of the township offices, such as super- visor and trustee of Spring Prairie township. He and his wife were members of the Free Will Baptist church at Honey Creek and were active in church work.
Charles H. Potter was reared on the home farm where he worked when a boy, attending the common schools in his neighborhood during the winter months, later taking a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business College in Milwaukee. Early in life he took up farming for a livelihood and has fol- lowed this to the present time, having been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, owning at present one of the choice farms of the township, consisting of two hundred and twenty acres, which he has placed under a high state of improvement and cultivation. In connection with general farming he makes a specialty of dairying, being well equipped for this line of endeavor. He keeps an excellent grade of live stock, especially cattle. He has an attractive and modern home and a good set of farm build- ings.
Politically, Mr. Potter is a Republican and he has been assessor of his township for a number of years, being still incumbent of that office. He was at one time township clerk, and was a member of the township board. As a public servant he has always performed his duties faithfully and accurately, to the satisfaction of the people.
Mr. Potter was married in 1878 to Catherine Schaub, who was born in Spring Prairie township, this county, on March 1, 1860. She is the daughter of Conrad and Elizabeth (Diest) Schaub, both born in Germany, where they
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spent their early lives, coming from there to Virginia, thence to Walworth county, Wisconsin, about 1855, and settled on a farm in Spring Prairie township and here they spent the balance of their lives.
To Mr. and Mrs. Potter six children were born, named as follows: Jessie, deceased; Harry, Sidney, Archie, Ray and Fannie. The wife and mother was called to her rest in 1903 and in 1906 Mr. Potter was united in marriage with Emma Stelter, who was born in Minnesota on November 13, 1875, the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Bartholomew) Stelter, both born in Germany, from which country they came to Walworth county, Wis- consin, she in 1858, he at a later date. Then they went to Minnesota, and in 1876 returned to Walworth county, where the father's death occurred in 1901 ; his widow still survives.
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