USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 20
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John F. Brett, father of the subject, was the son of James Brett and the grandson of Joshua Brett, the Revolutionary soldier, who served with' Massachusetts troops. John F. Brett was born in New York, and his wife, Sarah Davis, also first saw the light of day in Delaware county, that state. Some of her ancestors were soldiers in our war for independence. She was the daughter of Gershon and Margaret (Vorhees) Davis.
James E. Brett spent his boyhood in his native state, and in 1853, when ten years old, he accompanied his parents to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and here the father went into the mercantile business. In 1867 the family moved to Iowa, taking up their residence at Boonsboro, now Boone, and there the father and son engaged in the dry goods business until 1873, when James E. Brett came back to Walworth county, the father remaining in lowa until his death, in 1877. The subject began clerking in a dry goods store in Lake Geneva upon his return here, but failing health made it necessary for him to give up clerking. After resting for a while, he moved to Sharon, where he lived about three years, but in 1876 he moved onto a farm in the western part of Lyons township, where he has since owned and successfully operated one hundred and thirty-five acres, which he has kept well improved and well cultivated. He is also a director in the Lyons State Bank. Of recent years he has been largely engaged in handling estates as administrator, having had the management or oversight of quite a number of the good farms and large
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estates of the community, always discharging his duties most faithfully, conscientiously and satisfactorily.
Mr. Brett was married on September 19, 1867, to Marion E. Hill, daughter of Thomas W. and Lydia ( Ferris) Hill. She was born and reared where Mr. Brett now lives, her parents having been among the earliest settlers in this vicinity. A record of the life of Thomas W. Hill appears elsewhere in this work. The death of Mrs. James E. Brett occurred on June 17, 1902.
Politically, Mr. Brett is a Republican and he has been justice of the peace since about 1895, and he has also been township assessor for six years, and he has been treasurer of the Walworth County Agricultural Society for the past fourteen years. As a public servant he has discharged his duties in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
Mr. Brett is one of our honored veterans of the Civil war, having served in Company D, Fortieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, enlisting at Madison, where he had been in the state treasurer's office for nearly four years. He is said to have made a very creditable soldier for the Union. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Lake Geneva. He is secre- tary of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of the town of Geneva, having held this office for the past eight years. In religious matters he be- longs to the Congregational church.
ANTON H. AMBORN.
Success has come to Anton H. Amborn, one of our worthy German citizens, who owns and operates scientifically a fine farm in Bloomfield town- ship, because he has worked hard and has lived an honest, conservative life. He was born in Saxony, Germany, December 25, 1840, and is the son of Caspar and Louise Amborn. The parents and their two sons and two daughters came to America in 1847, direct to Wisconsin, the voyage across the ocean requiring seven weeks. They landed at Kenosha and the next day started for Walworth county, two days later finding them in Lyons town- ship, and here they at once bought forty acres of land, and this was the family home until 1869, when the father sold out and moved to Burr Oak, LaCrosse county, and there the father and mother spent their last days. They were the parents of the following children: Anton, of this sketch; Henry, who went to LaCrosse county and died there ; Jacob lives in LaCrosse
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county ; David and Rena are deceased: Bertha married John Storandt and they live at Burr Oak.
Anton H. Amborn remained in Walworth county, working out at farm work during his younger days. In 1865 he bought the LaTour farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the northern part of Bloomfield township and lived there four years, then sold out and bought one hundred and twenty acres where he now lives in section 14. this township, which he has brought up to a high state of improvement and cultivation, and here he has carried on general farming and stock raising successfully, and has a pleasant home.
Mr. Amborn was married on February 26, 1867, to Martha Kimball, daughter of David and Margaret (Young) Kimball. She was born in Saxony, Germany, and came to America simultaneously with the Amborns. There were sixteen or eighteen families in all who came at that time and settled here.
To the subject and wife ten children were born, namely: John died when sixteen years old: William married Clara Knight, and he lives at Brighton, and owns three hundred acres of land; Irene married Ed Lynch and they live at Childress, Texas; George married Anna Schulz and they live in Lyons township, where they own one hundred and sixty acres ; Frank lives in Genoa Junction: Christine married Charles Schwandt and they live in Bloomfield township, northeast of the subject's farm; Toney lives in Bloomfield township, where he owns eighty acres ; he married Anna Schwandt : Ella, Julius and Cora live at home. The wife and mother passed to her rest on September 24, 1911. She was a good wife and mother, industrious and kind.
DR. M. V. DEWIRE.
The medical profession in southern Wisconsin has an able exponent in the person of Dr. M. V. Dewire, of Sharon, Walworth county, whose repu- tation has far transcended the boundary of the locality of which this history treats, and no work of the nature of the one at hand would be complete with- out a resume of his career. In every relation of life he has proved signally true to every trust. He possesses a sociable nature and by his genial and kindly attitude to those about him, has won the undivided confidence and esteem of all classes. He hails from the Sunflower state, where his carlier years were spent, his birth having occurred in Elsmore, Allen county, Kansas,
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on February 23, 1868. He is the son of M. D. and Rebecca E. (Harris) Dewire, both natives of the state of Pennsylvania, having spent their child- hood in Washington county and received their educational training in the common schools of their home community, and there they were married. They came west in 1866, locating in Kansas, obtaining a large tract of land from a stock drover who had received it from the government, and here he established a good home and engaged successfully as a general farmer and stock raiser until 1887, when he returned East, bringing his family to Ohio, and purchased a farm where he has since resided, being now advanced in years. The father of the subject was a soldier in the Civil war, spending four years in the One Hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Ninth Army Corps, in which he served very gallantly, taking part in some of the most important campaigns and great battles of that greatest civil strife of history.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Dewire, named as fol- lows : Willard C., who lives in Ohio; Elgy E. lives in Eden, Ohio; Mrs. Lulu Olmstead and Mrs. Lelia Morley, also live in Ohio; and M. V., the subject of this sketch.
Dr. M. V. Dewire received his education at Hillsdale, Michigan, and, deciding on the medical profession as his vocation early in life, he entered Rush Medical College in Chicago, where he made an excellent record and from which he was graduated. Soon afterwards, in 1894, he came to Sharon, Walworth county, Wisconsin, where he began practicing and here he has since remained, having enjoyed a wide patronage and taking a high position among his professional brethren in this section of the state. He has been very successful as a general practitioner. He has kept fully abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession, being a close student and a keen observer, and he possesses those natural qualities that are necessary to the successful man of medicine. He has been secretary of the County Medi- cal Society for the past ten years, the duties of which he has discharged in an able manner, satisfactory to all concerned. He is also vice-president of the State Medical Association. In his fraternal relations he belongs to the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. He is a councilman in the town of Sharon.
Doctor Dewire was married in September, 1897, to Carrie B. Stevens, a native of Sharon, this county, where she grew to womanhood and received her education. She is the daughter of Wheeler H. Stevens, a well known citizen of this part of the county. To the Doctor and wife one child was born, Donald.
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CHARLES A. PRUDAMES.
The great task in the early years of the history of Wisconsin of clearing the land of its timber can scarcely be realized by the people of today. Not a crop could be sowed or an orchard tree planted until the timber had been cut down and removed either by fire or with horses. Even then the stumps were a great hindrance and it is doubtful if so much as half a crop could be raised until they had been eradicated in some manner. The amount of hard labor thus required to remove the timber and place the land under a high state of cultivation seems almost incredible. It was a task that never ended and all members of the family were required to assist early and late and at all seasons of the year. But the persistence in all instances brought success as the years passed, and in time the bare acres were spread out before the sun ready to produce abundant crops as soon as the seeds were deposited and the wilderness gave way to abundant harvests and browsing herds. This was the task set before Charles A. Prudames, one of the successful farmers of Delavan town- ship, Walworth county, but perhaps not to such an extent as his father, for this honored pioneer family came here in the days of the great forest and, setting to work with a will, cleared the land and established a good home, and they have been prominent in the affairs of the community for over a half century.
Mr. Prudames was born March 24, 1860, in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and he is the son of Charles and Rachael (Sordon) Prudames, both natives of England, where they grew to maturity, were educated and married. They emigrated to America in 1849, first settling in Canada, where they remained about a year, then went to Dodge county, Wisconsin, where they made their home until 1870, when they moved to Delavan township, Walworth county, and bought the fine farm where their son, Charles A., of this review, now resides, in 1871. There the father became well established and lived until his death, on September 19, 1907, his wife having preceded him to the grave about three years. They had spent their lives engaged in agricultural pur- suits and were hardy and honest people. There were four children in their family, namely: John, now deceased; Mary Ann ( Winnie) ; Charles A., of this review; and John S., who is living in Los Angeles, California.
The subject of this sketch spent his youth on the home farm, and, as already intimated, assisted with the work on the place, attending the district schools during the winter months for a few years. On March 2, 1892, he was united in marriage with Clara S. Bristol, the daughter of Reuben and
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Sabra Bristol, of this county, and to this union two children have been born, Reuben R. and Harry Charles. The Bristols are a highly respected old family of this locality.
Mr. Prudames owns and is living on the old homestead in section 2, Delavan township, which consists of one hundred and twenty-one and one- half acres, which has been well kept and carefully tilled so that the soil has retained its original fertility. He has maintained the excellent reputation of the family and has a host of friends.
BERNARD CONRY.
A man of naturally sound judgment and shrewd perception, character- istics of the Celtic race of which Bernard Conry, farmer of Delavan town- ship, Walworth county, is a descendant, he has so ordered his career as to be eminently eligible to representation in a work of this kind. He has risen through his strictly moral habits, his attention to business and his desire to deal fairly, promptly and honestly with his fellow men, and his name stands high today in all business circles with which he has come into relationship. His domestic and social connections have ever been of the most pleasant character, and the fact that his surroundings are such as to make life enjoy- able is due solely to his individual merits, his affable and courteous treatment of others and his strict adherence to justice in all his dealings.
Mr. Conry was born on December 8, 1852, at Clinton, Rock county, Wisconsin. He is the son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Welch) Conry, both natives of Ireland, where they grew to maturity, received such education as the common schools afforded and there they were married, and from there they emigrated to the United States in 1844, first settling in Albany, New York, where they remained about two years, then came to Clinton, Wisconsin, buying a farm near there, on which they spent the rest of their lives, the father dying on November 20, 1878, and the mother on October 15, 1879.
Nine children were born to Patrick Conry and wife, namely: John W. and Michael, both deceased: George lives in Sharon, this county; Thomas J. lives in Clinton; Mrs. Kate Newburgh is deceased; Margaret A., who lives in Delavan township, this county, is the widow of Mr. Norton: Ellen lives in Clinton: and Bernard, subject of this sketch.
Bernard Conry grew up on the home farm and there helped with the work when he was a boy, and he received his education in the common
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schools. On August 18. 1897, he was united in marriage with .Anna Horne, daughter of Dr. George R. and Kate (Martin) Horne, natives of England, from which country they emigrated to America when quite young and settled at Whitewater, Wisconsin, where the death of the mother occurred in 1878.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Conry, namely: Ber- nard A., born July 31, 1898; Eliza K., born April 6, 1900: Gladys V., born November 7, 1903.
Mr. Conry came to Walworth county in 1899 and for some time was extensively interested in the creamery business, having several different branches in both Walworth and Rock counties, and was well known in this line of endeavor. He finally turned his attention to farming and now resides on his farm of one hundred forty-eight and one-half acres in section 7. Delavan township. He has a fine farm which he has under excellent improve- ments and cultivation, and he keeps good live stock. He has a pleasant home and excellent outbuildings.
PHILIP KLINE.
Deeds are thoughts crystallized, and according to their brilliancy do we judge the worth of a man to the country which produced him, and in his works we expect to find the true index to his character. The study of the life of the representative American never fails to offer much of pleasing inter- est and valuable instruction, developing a mastering of expedients which has brought about most wonderful results. The subject of this review is a worthy representative of that type of American character and of that pro- gressive spirit which promotes public good in advancing individual prosperity and conserving popular interests. Members of the Kline family have long been prominently identified with the affairs of Walworth county, and while their endeavors along material lines have brought them success they also advanced the general welfare by accelerating industrial activity.
Philip Kline was born August 20, 1856, in Sharon township, this county, and he is the son of Christian and Katherine ( Eberhart ) Kline, both natives of Germany. the father having emigrated to America in 1850 and settled in Sharon township, Walworth county, Wisconsin, where the subject now lives, and here, through thrift and economy, he became very comfortably established, first buying forty acres, later adding to this until he had one hundred and sixty acres. In 188r he sold forty acres of the same to John Westphal, and in 1889 he sold the remaining one hundred and twenty adres
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to the subject, which he still owns. Christian Kline was a cooper by trade and he followed the same until he came to the United States, but after arriv- ing here he turned his attention to farming, which he continued to follow until his death on February 25, 1900. His wife preceded him to the grave twelve years, having passed away on February 22, 1888. They were the parents of five children, namely: Christina, George, Leopold, Caroline and Philip. The mother of these children was twice married, first to a brother of Christian Kline, whose first name was Nicholas, and two children were born to this first un'ion, Christina and Nicholas.
Philip Kline, of this sketch, received his education in the district schools and the academy at Sharon. He has farmed all his life, owning and operat- ing successfully one hundred and twenty acres in section 8, Sharon township, which he has kept under fine improvements. He is a director in the North Sharon Butter Factory and the Sharon Fire Insurance Company.
Politically, Mr. Kline is a Republican ; he belongs to the Modern Wood- men and he is a member of the German Evangelical church. He was town- ship supervisor for seven years.
Mr. Kline was married on February 27, 1890, to Christina Engelhardt, daughter of George and Sophia Engelhardt, natives of Germany, who came to the United States and settled in Sharon township, about 1850, in the pioneer days and here became very comfortably fixed. The death of Mr. Engelhardt occurred on November 15, 1910. His widow survives and is making her home in Sharon, this county. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Ralph E., Earl A. and Viola May, all at home.
JULIUS F. W. SCHULZ.
Whether the elements of success in this life are innate attributes of the individual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial de- velopment, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a success- ful life, whatever the field of endeavor, is none the less interesting and profit- able by reason of the existence of this same uncertainty. So much in excess of those of successes are the records of failures or semi-failures, that one is constrained to attempt an analysis in either case and to determine the meas- ure of causation in an approximate way. But in studying the life history of Julius F. W. Schulz, well known business man of the village of Walworth and one of the substantial and enterprising citizens of the locality of which
JULIUS F. W. SCHULZ
PUBLIC LIBRARYİ
ASTOR, LENOX TILBEN FOUNDATIONS
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this history deals, we find many qualities in his makeup that always gain definite success in any career if properly directed, as has evidently been done in his case, which has resulted in a life of good to others as well as to him- self and family, all through his persistence in the pursuit of a worthy pur- pose. The splendid success which has come to Mr. Schulz is directly trace- able to the salient points in his character, for he started in life at the bottom of the ladder, which he has mounted unaided. With a mind capable of plan- ning he combined a will strong enough to execute his well-formulated pur- poses, and his great energy, sound judgment, keen discrimination and perse- verance have resulted in the accumulation of a handsome property.
Like many of the thrifty citizens of Walworth county, Mr. Schulz is of Germanic blood, having been born in the village of Prohn in Pommerania. Germany, December 15, 1858. He is a son of Frederick Johann Carl Schulz and Carolina Sophia (Loose) Schulz, both natives of Germany, the mother born in Berlin and the father in Clausdorf, Pommerania. His father was a merchant in a small way, maintaining a little store in the village for some time. The parents of the subject spent their lives in the fatherland, both dying in Prohn. Their family consisted of seven children, Julius F. W., of this sketch, being the only one to come to America ; four of the brothers were in the German army, and Gustave, the eldest, was in the Franco-Prussian war, and he is now engaged in the shoe business in Prohn, and from him the gentleman whose name introduces this biography learned his trade. Franz was a soldier and for about twenty-five years has held the office of sheriff of the kreis or county of Franzburg, in which he was born and reared. Rich- ard, a twin brother of Julius, was also in the army and he now lives in Stralsund. Germany. His youngest brother, George, was also a soldier and he rose from a private to sergeant-major, which was the highest rank he could attain without attending one of the military academies of the empire. From that position he was appointed hausmeister to the ambassador to Rome. When he died at the age of forty-two he was buried with military honors and the artillery company of which he had been an officer at Spandau came to Berlin to attend his funeral. Besides the four sons who became military men and the subject, there was Frederick, next older than Julius, who died when a young man; also a sister, Adelheid, now wife of Frederick Lange. They have a large family ; they conduct a.hotel at Prohn and are well-to-do.
Julius F. W. Schulz grew to manhood in his native land and remained there until March, 1881, when he was about twenty-three years old. He learned the shoemaker's trade when a boy, as stated in a preceding paragraph.
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and he followed his trade in Berlin and various other places in Germany for some time. Upon the last mentioned date he emigrated to Chicago, and worked there and in Racine for some time, then came to Walworth county in the summer of 1884 and started in business for himself. Even at that time his principal business was making shoes to order. But shoes that sold for ten dollars per pair in Chicago he could get only two-thirds as much for here and he found it very difficult to get a start. However, he persevered, turned out a high class of work and won the confidence of the people, and in a few years he had a good trade, having proven to his customers that he was not only a superior workman, but was honest in all his dealings, hence winning their good will. He now has a modern shop, equipped with up-to- date machinery, and carries an excellent and carefully selected stock of shoes, and he enjoys a large trade, many of his best customers having been with him for years, which would indicate that they have been well treated. He first put up a small shop on rented ground. About 1888 he purchased a small old house, for which he paid only three hundred and twenty-five dol- lars; it was home and he still remembers the pleasure of owning it because of the sense of possession. Having prospered, by close application and good management, his humble home gave way to a more pretentious one in due course of time. As the town grew his original property increased in value. and he sold it for just twice what it cost. He later bought another house, next door to the one he first owned and this he sold at an advance of three hundred and twenty-five dollars. In 1898 he bought the corner north of the postoffice, east from the park. He remodeled the old house on this lot, and this is now his home, and a very pleasant one. He also built the substantial concrete store room where his shop is now located. He sold part of the lot and on it is now another business building. He has been very successful in a business way, all due to his own efforts along legitimate lines, thus deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished in the face of obstacles and proving that he is a man of sterling qualities and would succeed in any environment.
On October 24, 1884, Mr. Schulz was united in marriage with Fred- ericka Zabel, daughter of Adolph and Carolina (Bruhn) Zabel. She was born in Prohn, Germany, and she and Mr. Schulz were schoolmates there. Her father died in Germany, and in 1882 she and her mother and younger sister, Minnie, now the wife of William Peters, emigrated to America. She had a brother in Walworth county, Wisconsin. who was working for Lavalette Douglass in the town of Walworth, and the rest of the family joined him. After coming here Mrs. Schulz worked in the home of John B. Holmes, who
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treated her as a member of the family, and there she remainedl until her marriage.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schulz, named as follows: Elsa is at home with her parents; Richard, who is in the shop with his father. married Bessie Timming, daughter of Henry Timming: Lucy Schulz mar- ried Charles Alberts and they live in Walworth, he being a railroader, bag- gageman and expressman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad : they have three children, Marjorie, Charles and Charlotte, the last two being twins. Clarence Schulz, the youngest of the subject's children, is in school in Walworth.
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