USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 11
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Mr. Potter has resided in Spring Prairie township since he was six years of age with the exception of two years, 1871 and 1872, spent in Beau- mont, Texas.
EMIL PAPENFUS.
Another of the young Germans who have benefited alike themselves and the community in general, since taking up their residence in Walworth county, is Emil Papenfus, one of Geneva township's skillful farmers, who believes in keeping up-to-date in all that pertains to his calling. He manifests the char- acteristic thrift of his race, and is of that nature to win success wherever he might desire to cast his lot.
Mr. Papenfus was born in Pommerania, Germany, December 20, 1875. He is the son of Albert and Henrietta (Klatt) Papenfus, a highly respected old family of Germany. The subject's childhood was spent in his native land, and when only fourteen years old he came alone to America, and for a short time lived in Ohio, where he took up railroading, working on the road be- tween Columbus and Toledo until about 1898, during which time he became one of the company's most trusted employes.
Turning his attention from railroading, he came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, and took up farming, working out as a farm hand. About 1904 he began farming for himself in Geneva township, renting land for about six years, and thereby he got a good start, then in 1910 he bought the farm where he now lives, consisting of one hundred sixty-two and one-half acres, which he has kept up to a high state of improvement and cultivation, and is making a marked success as a general farmer and stock raiser, keeping a good grade of various kinds of live stock.
MR. AND MRS. EMIL PAPENFUS
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ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONA
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WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Mr. Papenfus was married in 1903 to Anna Schultz, who was born at Turin Lakes, Kenosha county. She was the daughter of William and Minnie (Steffen) Schultz, an excellent family, now living in this township, a sketch of whom will be found on another page of this volume. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Papenfus, namely: Alvin died when about two years old; Irving was born in June, 1907; Gertrude was born in 1908; and Margaret was born in 1910.
Mr. Papenfus and his family are faithful members of the Lutheran church. The subject is energetic and is deserving of the success that has at- tended his efforts, for he started empty handed and what he has he earned by hard, honest work, pluck and perseverance, always doing his best. He is a fine type of the energetic, self-made man.
ELIJAH TRACY HIBBARD.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of the state lies not in the machinery of government or even in its institutions, but in the sterling quali- ties of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. To this class belongs Elijah Tracy Hib- bard, one of the best known citizens of Bloomfield township, Walworth county. He has always been actuated by the highest motives and the most lofty principles.
Mr. Hibbard was born near Marengo, Morrow county, Ohio, March 26, 1845. He is the son of Lucius and Fanny ( Harvey) Hibbard. This family is descended from Robert Hibbard, who was baptized at Salisbury, England, March 13, 1613, and who emigrated to America between 1635 and 1639. According to tradition he came over with Governor Winthrop. He was a salt-maker, and he settled at Salem, Massachusetts. Coming on down the line of descent through Samuel, Jonathan and Seth Hibbard, we come to Aaron, father of Lucius. Aaron Hibbard was born January 17, 1761, at Wood- stock, Connecticut, and his death occurred on February 12, 1835, at Bath, New Hampshire. His father died when he was an infant and when eight years old he was bound out or apprenticed. His term of apprenticeship, however, was cut short by the American Revolution. In April, 1777, when he was sixteen years old, he enlisted in the patriot army as fifer, in Col. Philip B. Braley's regiment of Connecticut troops, under Capt. Josiah Childs and (55)
1
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Lieut. Elijah Chapman. He wintered with Washington at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778 and shared with other troops the terrible privations. He was in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth. He was discharged in April, 1780. He went to Bath, New Hampshire, in 1784, where he followed farm- ing and surveying. He married Sarah (Hazen) Merrill, of Haverhill, New Hampshire, later of Piedmont. She was the daughter of Capt. John Hazen, who served in the French and Indian war in 1757, in Colonel Hart's regiment, and in 1760 in Colonel Goff's regiment for the invasion of Canada. His brother, Col. Moses Hazen, was prominent in the Revolutionary war. On June 26, 1809, Aaron Hibbard was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty-second Regiment, New Hampshire state militia, which office he held many years and was addressed as colonel the remainder of his life. His fam- ily consisted of fourteen children, of whom Lucius was the seventh.
Lucius Hibbard, father of the subject, was born in Bath, New Hamp- shire, May 29, 1802. He went to New York about 1831 and there married Fannie Havey about 1832. She was born near Utica, New York, April 4, 1815, and her death occurred November 26, 1853. at Marengo, Ohio, to which place she and her husband had moved about 1840. Mr. Hibbard subsequently married Mary Ann Burnett, who died in 1874. He had preceded her to the grave at Marengo on July 24, 1865. There were the following five children born of his first marriage who grew to maturity : George, who lives at Petos- key, Michigan; Diana, who married Charles T. Grant, died at Ashley, Ohio, July 12, 1907; Mary Elizabeth, who married William C. Cole, now deceased, lives in Kansas City, Missouri ; Matilda, who married John Van Sycle, lives at Marengo, Ohio, and Elijah Tracy, of this review.
The subject grew up on the farm at Marengo, Ohio, and received his education in the common schools. He was one of the first to offer his services in suppressing the rebellion in the early sixties, having enlisted on April 19, 1861, in Company C. Twenty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the three- months service, but about May Ist he was mustered into service for three years. The regiment went first into Virginia under Rosecrans, but was trans- ferred to the Army of the Cumberland the following winter and remained in the same during the rest of the war. Mr. Hibbard saw much hard service, participating in nearly every battle in which that division of the army was engaged, and was in nearly all the battles of the Atlanta campaign. He was wounded at Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863, and again on a charge at Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864. He re-enlisted on February 20, 1865, and he remained in the service until January 20. 1866. He was in the South nearly a year during the turbulent times at the close of the war and he saw
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more active service than most men did in the war. He was in command of his company during most of the winter of 1865 and 1866. After his long career as a soldier and his final discharge Mr. Hibbard returned to Marengo and attended school a year. He moved to Kansas in 1869, bought land and farmed there, going through the terrible scourge of grasshoppers that caused so much damage and suffering in that state.
Mr. Hibbard was married on December 24, 1874, to Hattie M. Olden, a native of Bloomfield township, Walworth county, Wisconsin, who was in Kan- sas on a visit to her sister at that time. She is the daughter of Enos Hanchett Olden and Julia Ann (Griggs) Olden, the father born at Pompey, Otsego county, New York, and the mother was born at Springfield, New York. Mrs. Hibbard's father came to Walworth county and entered land from the govern- ment north of Geneva. He later sold out and bought a place in Bloomfield township, also entered land there from the government. Then he returned to New York where he was married and brought his wife here about 1843. coming by way of the Great Lakes to Milwaukee, and by ox team from Keno- sha. He endured the usual hardships and privations in developing his land from the wild state in which he found it, he being one of the pioneers of the county. He held various township offices, and was prominent in the affairs of this part of the county for some time.
Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard came to Walworth county soon after their mar- riage, locating first in Lake Geneva, where they built a home, and he soon began farming at the edge of town; later he and his wife's brother engaged in dairying, and he ran a milk route for five years. He then rented his wife's father's farm in 1885 and finally bought the same after the death of her par- ents. They are now the owners of three hundred and thirty-four acres of choice and productive land, and he has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Hibbard has held various township offices, and has been town chair- man for three terms, and he was treasurer for one term and is now a member of the county board of supervisors. For five years he was president of the Bloomfield Center Creamery. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Re- public, J. B. McPherson Post No. 27, at Lake Geneva.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard, namely: Arthur Garfield, born in Bloomfield November 2, 1880, married Monna M. Yost and lives on his father's farm; Carrie M., born at Lake Geneva July 20, 1882. married Frank A. Grout, then of Bloomfield township, and they live in Lake Geneva where he is a rural mail carrier, and they are the parents of two chil- dren, Frances, born April 1, 1908, and Edith, born February 23, 1911 : George
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Elmer Hibbard, born at Lake Geneva, April 7, 1885, is an electrical engineer at Kansas City, Missouri, in the water and light company; Frances Ruby, born in Bloomfield, October 2, 1887, works in the Herald office, in Lake Geneva; Lucius O., born February 10, 1890, in Bloomfield township, lives on the farm with his brother Garfield; Leonidas Carleton, born in Bloomfield township, September 10, 1891, is also working as an electrical engineer for the same company as his brother George.
MERRICK WRIGHT.
One of the worthy native sons of Walworth county who has been con- tent to spend his entire life here at home, wisely deciding that it were useless to go in search of a better community for one who desired to make general farming his vocation, is Merrick Wright, who is justly proud of the fact that his parents were numbered among those sterling first settlers who endured with commendable fortitude the many perils and obstacles which beset those who sought to establish homes in the great northern woods, assisting in laying the foundation for physical, civic and moral advancement in this favored country in earlier days. They were people who believed in keeping in touch with human events and in assisting in every way possible in furthering the upbuilding of the community which they selected as the most eligible for the permanent home of the family and in which to rear their children.
Merrick Wright was born on October 23, 1851, in the town of Sharon, Walworth county, Wisconsin. He is the son of Justin and Pamelia (Van Horn) Wright, both natives of the state of New York, where they grew to maturity and were married, coming to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1847 and locating in Sharon township, buying a farm of forty-six acres. Here they established a good home, and prospered by hard work, adding to the original purchase until they had a farm of two hundred and eighteen acres, and there the father resided until his death, on May 28, 1895.
Six children constituted the Wright family, two of whom died in in- fancy; the others were Charles, who is now deceased; Lucius is living in Darien; Merrick, of this sketch being the fifth in order of birth; Eugene is deceased.
Merrick Wright was reared on the home farm, where he worked when a boy in the summer months, and he received his education in the district schools of Darien township. For a number of years he engaged in the imple-
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ment business at the town of Darien, enjoying a good trade with the sur- rounding country. He retired from active work eight years ago. He quit the implement business in 1895 and went on the road for a harvester com- pany, with which he remained until 1903, becoming one of their most trusted and valued salesmen. He was then compelled to give up the active duties of life on account of failing health. He is now living quietly in his modern and attractive residence in Darien.
Fraternally, Mr. Wright belongs to the Masonic order, the Eastern Star and the Woodmen. Politically, he is a Republican, but he has never had time to take a very active part in public affairs, though keeping well informed on current events.
Mr. Wright was married on September 30, 1874, to Lola M. Potter. She is the daughter of Jonathan and Sylvia (Goodspeed) Potter, natives of Vermont. This union has resulted in the birth of one child, Glenn E. Wright, who is living in Chicago, being in the employ of the Steiger Piano Company of that city, as salesman. He has been well educated and is a young man of much promise.
GEORGE HEMAN MERWIN.
The record of George Heman Merwin is eminently entitled to representa- tion in a history of the nature of the one in hand, for it has been an eminently honorable and successful one, resulting in good both to himself and immediate family and to the community at large.
Mr. Merwin was born in Scriba township, Oswego county, New York, five miles east of Oswego, April 1, 1845. He is the son of Benjamin Smith Merwin and Lucy L. (Paddock) Merwin. The father was the son of Daniel and Rhoda (Smith) Merwin. He was born in 1805, and on June 12th of that year occurred the birth of Lucy L. Paddock. The death of Daniel Mer- win occurred on October 29, 1836, his wife having preceded him to the grave on October 27, 1807. Lucy L. Paddock was the daughter of Willian and Mehetable (Johnson) Paddock. Mr. Paddock was born April 23, 1784.
Benjamin S. Merwin and family came to Walworth county in September, 1857, and located one and one-half miles north of Williams Bay in Geneva township, where they bought a farm and made the family home until 1868. then sold out and purchased a farm at the edge of the village of Walworth and lived there until the spring of 1877, then moved to Delavan, where the death of the subject's mother occurred on December 11, 1877. Benjamin S.
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Merwin then returned to Walworth, where his death occurred on May 20, 1896, at the advanced age of ninety years, ten months and eighteen days. Their family consisted of nine children, namely : William D. lived in the state of New York all his life, dying there on March 17, 1911; Mehetable Ann came here with her father, married Isaac Moreny and lived in Delavan township, and here she died on May 3, 1895, at the age of sixty-three years and four months ; Amith E., born October 17, 1833, lives in the state of New York, and he was a soldier in the Union army all through the Civil war; Helen M., born March 19, 1837, married Albert Freeman, and died in Kan- sas in November, 1876; Martha M., born February 19, 1839, married David Gorsline and lives at Oswego, New York; Lucy Emma, born December II, 1840, married Harris Cooper and lived and died in Oswego, New York; Benjamin H., born November 9, 1842, came here with his parents, and he now owns a farm in Delavan township, but lives in the village of Walworth; George H., of this sketch; James H., born in the state of New York, May 5, 1847, lived in Delavan, this county, married Cynthia Paddock Willis, and here he died on November 28, 1897.
George H. Merwin, of this sketch, made his home on the farm in Geneva township until his marriage, on November 21, 1867. The following year he moved to Walworth township and farmed his father's place on the shares for four years, then rented it for four years more, then purchased it, and continued to reside there until 1895, when he moved into the village of Walworth, where he has since resided.
Mr. Merwin was deputy sheriff about ten years and was on the town board of supervisors two or three terms. He still owns his farm and engages in the insurance business to some extent.
Mr. Merwin's wife was known in her maidenhood as Mary A. Barnes, and she was born in Geneva township, this county, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah A. (Brewster) Barnes, the father a native of Oneida county, New York, and the mother of Rutland, Vermont. She came here with her parents in 1836 or 1837, among the earliest settlers, and they located on Spring Prairie in the northeast part of Geneva township, and there her parents, Deodat and Lois (Drury) Brewster, worked hard to develop a farm and establish a home in the new country. She had a sister, Mary, who was the first school teacher in Geneva township. She afterwards married Mr. Pent- land. Deodat Brewster and wife spent the rest of their lives on their farm here.
Thomas Barnes came here among the very first settlers, locating in the west part of Geneva township, entering land where Jacob Fry now lives. This
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land he developed and farmed until he moved to Seneca, McHenry county, Illinois, where his death occurred on July 27, 1883, his widow surviving until November 22, 1906. Mrs. Merwin lived on the farm her father entered from the government until her marriage.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Merwin, namely : Flor- ence M. is the wife of George B. Crandall, a farmer of Linn township, and they have three daughters, Glenna Belle, Vivian Iola and Marian Irene; Thomas B. lives in Woodstock, Illinois, where he has built up an extensive business as a blacksmith; he married Emma Becking, and they have two chil- dren, Clifford L. and Stella Irene. He served as bugler during the Spanish- American war in Porto Rico, being a member of Company G, Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Sarah Rosetta Merwin married Walter D. Crandall, a farmer of Seneca township, McHenry county, Illinois, and they have three children, Leslie B., Emory D. and Thelma Lucille; Ernest L. is at home with his parents in Walworth. Mr. Merwin belongs to the Modern Woodmen.
A. E. MCKINNEY.
If any of the people who go to make up our cosmopolitan civilization have better habits of life than those who came originally from far-away Scot- land, the biographer is in ignorance of it. One will find upon making a study of these people that the qualities of thrift, stability, honor, soundness of judg- ment, form the principal basic elements. Such qualities in the inhabitants of any nation will in the end alone make that nation great, affording such quali- ties as will enrich any clime and place any land at the top of the countries of the world, in the scale of elevated humanity. Of this excellent people came A. E. Mckinney, farmer of Darien township, Walworth county. He comes of a race that produced such giant intellects as Scott, Miller, Burns, Wallace and Bruce. He comes of a race that is famous for its original research in the various realms of science, invention, art, literature, to say nothing of the practical every-day things of life. The Scotch blood is found in many of the leaders in every state and almost every section of the country.
Mr. Mckinney was born on August 27, 1862, in Greenup, Scotland. He is the son of William and Margaret (Taggart) Mckinney, both natives of Scotland, where they grew to maturity, received their educational training and were married. They emigrated to America in 1886, first settling in Allen's Grove, Walworth county, Wisconsin, where they established a good
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home and there the mother still resides, the death of the father having occurred on July 14, 1893. He has long been engaged in railroad work, but most of his life was spent in farming.
Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. William Mckinney, named in order of birth as follows: A. E., subject of this sketch ; E. is deceased; Alex. lives at Capron, Illinois; William was next in order; James lives at Allen's Grove, this state, as do also Mrs. Mary Evans and Mrs. Anna Siddle; Mrs. Sarah Barnhart lives at Joliet, Illinois; Mrs. Lillie Evans lives at Freeport. Illinois.
A. E. Mckinney, of this sketch, grew to manhood in Scotland and there he received his education. When nineteen years old he emigrated to America, in 1881, first settled at Greensburg, New Jersey, where he worked as a gard- ener, spending about a year there, then, in 1882, he came to Wisconsin and set- tled at Allen's Grove, Walworth county, and here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of good land in Darien township, section IO, where he has since resided. He has added many excellent improvements on the place from time to time and kept it well tilled. He keeps a good grade of live stock and has a splendid set of buildings on the place.
Mr. Mckinney is a Republican in his political belief and while he takes the interest of a loyal citizen in public affairs he has never sought political honors. In religious matters he belongs to the Presbyterian church, and in fraternal he holds membership with the Woodmen.
Mr. Mckinney was married on November 18, 1890, to Lizzie Gregg, daughter of John and Ann Gregg, a highly respected family of Darien town- ship, and to the subject and wife four children have been born, named as follows : Archie, Jr., Earl, May and Lillian.
GEORGE L. HARRINGTON.
George L. Harrington was born in Chautauqua county, New York, Janu- ary 13, 1864. He is the son of Delos and Rebecca (Scott) Harrington, both natives of the state of New York, the father born in 1830, and the mother in 1833. There they grew up and were married and established the family home. Grandfather Riley Harrington was born in Otsego county, that state, and he came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1837 among the earliest settlers when the country was a wild native forest, the home of the Indian and wild beasts. He settled in Lafayette township, where, through hard work and economy, he
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developed a good farm. His wife died soon after coming to this county, leaving three sons, and he was again married, and one child, a daughter, was born to his second union. Riley Harrington spent the rest of his life here and was well known among the pioneers.
Delos Harrington, father of the subject, left home when sixteen years old and for a time lived with Doctor Ellsworth at Hale's Corners. He then returned to the place of his birth. He made the long overland journey across the great western plains to California in 1852, remaining three years in the gold fields, where he saved some money. Returning to the state of New York, he engaged in merchandising and other business. He was married in 1857 and in 1870 returned to Walworth county and purchased the old home- stead in Lafayette township, where he successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death, in 1896. His widow survives. They were the parents of two children, Frances and George L. The former married Henry Katchpaw. They made their home in Sugar Creek township, this county, where her death occurred, leaving two children, Maud and Erma.
George L. Harrington, of this sketch, was six years old when his father returned to Wisconsin, and here he grew to manhood and received his educa- tion in the public schools. He made himself useful on the old homestead dur- ing his boyhood days, and early in life turned his attention to farming, after completing his higher educational training at the high school at Elkhorn and Beloit College. He became owner of the old homestead, which he has kept under a high state of improvement and cultivation and carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, owning two hundred and twenty acres of as choice land as the county affords.
Mr. Harrington has always taken much interest in public affairs, and he served as chairman of the town board in Lafayette township for several years. He was secretary of the Walworth County Agricultural Society, from 1896 to 1902, his influence resulting in the rapid growth of that organization. He was elected sheriff of Walworth county in 1904 and served one term with eminent satisfaction to his constituents, discharging his every duty faithfully and ably. In December, 1909. he was appointed by Governor Davidson to fill out an unexpired term of sheriff, a vacancy having been caused by the death of Joseph T. Flanders. According to many of his supporters, he is one of the best sheriffs in every respect the county has ever had, and he enjoys the con- fidence and good will of all concerned. He is an active Republican, ever loyal to its principles.
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Fraternally, Mr. Harrington is a Knight of Pythias and a Knight Templar Mason and has served as master of Elkhorn Lodge No. 77, Free and Accepted. Masons, and as high priest of Elkhorn Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He stands high in fraternal circles in this section of the state.
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