USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74
Mr. Smith was born on the farm in section 14, Lyons township, this county, February 18, 1867. He is the son of Fred and Henrietta ( Vorpagel) Smith. The father came from Schieffeibe'in, Coslin, Germany, in 1854, when about thirty-eight years old, two brothers, William and John, having accom- panied him. John lived here for some time, but spent the latter part of his life in Minnesota. Frederick lived in Brighton township, Racine county, until his death, in April, 1910.
Fred Smith came to Burlington and after about two months rented a farm with his brother, Frederick, south of Burlington, and they continued farming together for two or three years, then Fred moved to Lyons township and bought the farm of one hundred and twenty acres on which his son, Fred J., of this sketch, was born. He was married about 1857 to Henrietta Vorpagel, who was born in Pommern, Germany, and was a daughter of Carl and Mary (Bublizs) Vorpagel, both of whom lived and died in Germany. On April 8, 1857, she and her five brothers, one of whom was Julius Vor- pagel, now of Lyons, started to America, sailing from Hamburg on April 15th and after five weeks, which was considered a good voyage in those days, they reached New York, thence came to Milwaukee, and on to Burlington; the other brothers were Fred, William and August. She had a sister, Caro- line, who married August Duberstein and in 1863 came to Walworth county, Wisconsin.
Eight children were born to Fred Smith, Sr., and wife, namely : August died when about three years old; Herman F. lives south of Lyons; Annie died when about a year old; Emma married Frank Hunsbushcher and lives at Darien; Fred J., of this sketch; Paul W. lives in Lake Geneva and is in partnership with Charles Lock in the grocery business; he married Tillie Bent, of that city, and they have two children; Ida Smith died when about a year old; Hulda, who married Charles Lock, of Lake Geneva, mentioned above.
The death of Fred Smith, father of the above named children, oc- curred in 1896, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1873.
Fred J. Smith, of this sketch, has lived all his life on the home farm. In 1889 he was married to Ida Radtke, a native of Schieffelbein, Germany, and a daughter of William and Henrietta (Zetlow) Radtke. She and her sister, Annie, who is now the wife of Charles Varpagel, came to America in 1882, locating at Burlington, Wisconsin, later living at various places in the
984
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
eastern part of Walworth county until her marriage. William Radtke still lives near Schieffelbein, Germany. He had been a soldier in the German army in the war with Austria-Hungary, and in one great battle his regiment was cut to pieces, all killed or wounded except seven, he being one of the seven to come out unscathed. Soon after his marriage he became a telegraph operator on the government railroads and a guardian of the road, holding that position over twenty-five years, when he retired on a pension.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely : Clara, wife of Herman F. Schulz, a merchant of Lyons; Hattie, wife of John Madans, lives in Bloomfield township on a farm; Alma. Elsie and Gertrude are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Smith formerly belonged to St. John's Lutheran church at Burlington.
JAMES S. CURRAN.
It is a well known fact, fully recognized by physicians and by all others who have made the subject a study, that a quiet life and steady habits promote longevity. In the cities where the people are falling over each other in their desperate attempts to get rich suddenly, and where they are, as a consequence, on a severe nervous strain all the time, the mortality tables are much higher than in the rural districts. The farmer may, therefore, congratulate himself that though his life may be less eventful it is certainly much longer than is that of his cousin in the city. This important fact should be borne in mind when the young men catch the fever to be clerks in some cheap grocery in a town or village or hie away to the nearest metropolis and secure employment in a smoke-sucharged, noisy machine shop or factory. How much better is the life of the farmer who has won a fine farm from the dense woods, reared a large family of healthy children, made a comfortable home and is able to spend his old age in peace and surrounded by plenty, beloved by all who have known him. Some such a man is the subject of this sketch.
James S. Curran, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of Lyons township, Walworth county, was born in Jackson county, Michigan, Decem- ber 5, 1839. He is the son of Henry and Margaret (McQuade) Curran, early settlers near Lake Geneva, in Lyons township. Henry Curran was born in county Fermanagh, Ireland, about 1803, and it is believed that Margaret McQuade was from the same locality. Henry Curran was the son of John and Ellen ( McNamee) Curran. He was one of a family of four children, James, John, Mary and Henry. The family came to New York in 1815
985
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
and lived for some time in New York city, where the death of John Curran, and also that of his daughter, Mary, occurred. The son, John, went to New Brunswick. The widow and the other two children, James and Henry, moved to Michigan and settled in Jackson county. Henry Curran was married in New Jersey to Margaret McQuade, before they came to Michigan. James was married in the last named state to Jane Brown, daughter of George and Anna (Dugan) Brown, she also being of Irish parentage. Her parents were from county Fermanagh, but she was born in the isle of Jersey, where her father was stationed as a soldier in the British army. She was ten years old when her parents brought her to New York, thence to Michigan.
About 1839 Henry and James Curran walked all the way from Jackson county, Michigan, to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and here they located farms, which they entered from the government, about three miles east of Lake Geneva, then returned to the Wolverine state for their families, which they brought back with ox teams, a slow journey through the wilderness, and here they began life in true pioneer fashion, clearing their land, erecting log cabins and putting out a little crop, and in due course of time they had made good homes here. James S. Curran recalls the trip with his parents through Chicago when he was only about five years old, when that city was only a straggling village in a swamp. His father squatted on a piece of land in the northeast corner of section 32, in Lyons township, Walworth county. Later selling his claim, he squatted on another farm in section 27, and this was the family home for the next fourteen years. The father later moved a little nearer Lake Geneva and farmed there the rest of his active life. During their last years both parents made their home with their son, James, who, with true devotion, chose rather to care for his parents than to marry and establish a family home for himself. At his home the mother's death occurred in 1883. and there the father passed away in 1885. The old couple had lived through the hardships of pioneer life, and although they were not numbered among the famous nor the. wealthy, they performed their duties in the light of truth and right and did such good as they could, and earned the high esteem in which they were held by all who knew them. They were faithful members of the Catholic church and in the early days the vicar-general of the Milwaukee diocese occasionally came to the locality in which the Currans resided, cele- brating mass at the cabin of the subject's parents in the early days. When the first Catholic church was built upon Catholic Hill in the east edge of Lake Geneva, Henry and James Curran carried timbers on their backs nearly a mile and up the long hill to where the church was built. James Curran, uncle of
986
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
James S. Curran, also spent his life near Lake Geneva, and here reared a family of ten children. He was well known and well liked, and his death occurred on August 26, 1877.
Thirteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Curran, of whom only four grew to maturity, namely: Ellen, who married Thomas Brennan, and died, leaving eight children; James S., of this sketch; Jane, who married William Barry, a machinist, and lives in Chicago; Henry, a machinist, lives in Chicago.
James S. Curran was reared on the home farm, where he worked hard when a boy, near Lake Geneva. He received such education as the old-faslı- ioned schools, taught in log-houses, afforded in the days of the first settlers here. In 1863 he went to Nevada with a large number of horses, and he re- mained there three years, working in timber, charcoal, coal and tar, and he thereby got a very good financial start. Returning to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1866, he purchased one hundred acres of land in section 32, the south edge of Lyons township. He returned to Nevada in 1867 and remained there three years, then came back to his boyhood home in Walworth county, and in 1870 bought more land adjoining his first tract. Here he has engaged successfully in general farming and stock raising, and is now the owner of one of the choice farms of the locality, consisting of two hundred forty-two and one-half acres in sections 31 and 32, and he has lived here for over forty years. He has kept his place well developed; well improved and well tilled and he has a pleasant home. He has always been a man of great industry and endurance, and now, although past his seventy-second milestone, he still works in the fields with those who help him with the work on his large farm.
His niece, Mrs. Schlax, and her husband and family live with him, she presiding over the household and they assisting with the work on the farm. Before her marriage she was known as Julia Brennan, daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Curran) Brennan. The mother was a sister of the subject and was born in New Jersey. Thomas Brennan was from Lowell, Massachusetts. To Thomas Brennan and wife eight children were born, namely: George, of Chicago: Margaret, wife of James Knowles, of Chicago; Mary, wife of Thomas McDonald, lives at Lake Como: James lives in Chicago; Julia, wife of Mr. Schlax; William, of Chicago: Miss Jane Brennan, of the Blackstone Hotel, Chicago: Nellie, wife of John Mariga, of Chicago. The Brennan home was in Lyons township and there the children grew up and the parents died. the death of the father occurring in March, 1881, and the mother in April, 1907. They and their children were members of the Catholic church.
987
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Julia Brennan was married on February 24, 1892, to Michael Anton Schlax. He was born in Randall township, Kenosha county, Wisconsin, July 24, 1868, and is the son of Anton and Anna (Tolley ) Schlax. His father was from Germany and his mother a native of New York. His father still lives in Kenosha county, this state, on the farm where the son, Michael A., was born, and where the mother died about 1884.
Michael A. Schlax grew up on the home farm, where he remained until he was about eighteen years of age, then learned the blacksmith's trade at West Chicago. Later he went to Sycamore, Wisconsin, where he worked successfully at his trade until about 1889, then came to Lake Geneva, where he continued blacksmithing with his usual success until March 1, 1911, when he moved his family to Mr. Curran's farm, where they now reside.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schlax, named as follows: Earle, Homer, Marjorie, Michael, Ellen and Dorothy Jane. Members of this family all belong to the Catholic church.
Mr. Curran is now one of the old landmarks of his community, which he has seen transformed from a wild stretch of woods to a fine farming section, and in this work of transformation he has played no inconspicuous part. He talks interestingly of the early days here and of his experiences in the far West. He is a pleasant, companionable old gentleman, who has the respect of all who know him.
PERRY CALVIN RANNEY.
Among the families who left the New England states, seeking a new home in the free Northwest, were the Ranneys. The only living descendants in this county bearing that name is Perry Ranney, farmer and stock raiser of Lafayette township, Walworth county, who was born on the old homestead on March 26, 1881. He is the son of Milo Bingham Ranney and Adelaide (Wylie) Ranney, the father born at Pittsfield, Vermont, on September 9, 1850, and the mother was born on the farm on which she now resides in Wal- worth county, Wisconsin, on May 12, 1856. She is the daughter of Calvin Hemstead Wylie and Nancy (Badger) Bell, who came to Walworth county in 1842 and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land in Lafayette township, this farm still being in possession of the family. Here he developed a good farm and spent the balance of his life, dying on July 9, 1906, at the
988
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
advanced age of eighty-seven years, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1877, at the age of fifty-two years. They were the parents of three children, the mother of the subject being the only one now living. Mr. Wylie was a Republican and held a number of township offices, such as township clerk and assessor, and was chairman of the board of supervisors. He was a member of the Congregational church.
The father of the subject came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1858 with his parents, Reuben and Lucia (Rockwell) Ranney, and they settled in Lafayette township on a farm on one hundred and forty acres, later trading for a farm of ninety-three acres, and here he spent the rest of his life, dying on January 16, 1882, his widow surviving until February 22, 1889.
Milo B. Ranney, the father, was educated in the public schools and the seminary of Lake Geneva and the Rochester Academy. He then turned his attention to farming, buying the homestead, which he operated successfully, and to which he added as he prospered through close attention to his individ- ual affairs, until he had one of the finest farms in this part of the county, consisting of four hundred acres in Lafayette township, on which he carried on general farming and stock raising on a large scale, and for years made a specialty of dairying. He was the promoter of the Grove Creamery Com- pany, which he managed during his lifetime, making it a large success. He was very successful in a business way and one of the substantial men of his township. Politically, he was a Republican and active in party affairs. He very ably discharged the duties of township clerk for a period of fourteen years, and he was a member of the county, town and school boards, and made his influence felt for the good of the community in all. Religiously, he be- longed to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Milo B. Ranney was married on April 4, 1877, to Adelaide Wylie, and to this union one child was born, Perry Calvin, of this review.
The immediate subject of this sketch was reared on the home farm, and there he made himself useful when he became of proper age. He received a good education in the common schools, and was graduated from the Elkhorn high school in 1900. A year later he entered the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1905. After finishing school Mr. Ranney returned to the home farm, where he has since devoted himself to general farming and stock raising, in connection with which he engages extensively in the commission business, handling large quan- tities of butter, the output of the home factories. He has never been active in public affairs, although loyal in his support of the Republican party. In religious matters, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
989
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
GEN. JOHN WILLIAM BOYD.
In almost all American communities there may be found quiet, retiring men who never ask public favors, but who, nevertheless, have honors thrust upon them and appear prominent in public affairs and who exert a widely felt influence in the community in which they live and help to construct the proper foundation upon which the social and political world is built. Such · men do an incalculable amount of good by their efforts to ameliorate the con- dition of the human race in any way possible. They strive to eliminate evil in its many forms, eradicate suffering and leave to posterity a heritage of peace and freedom.
One of the well beloved host referred to in the preceding paragraph was the late Gen. John William Boyd, for many years a leading citizen of Linn township, Walworth county, Wisconsin. He was born in Charlton, Saratoga 'county, New York, September 15, 1811. His ancestry is traceable back to John Boyd, Jr., who was born in Scotland, October 8, 1758, and who was the first of the family to come to America. He married Anna Northrup on March 25, 1779, who bore him ten children, of whom the third was John Logan Boyd, the father of General Boyd, of this review.
John Logan Boyd was born in Charlton, Saratoga county, New York, October 16, 1783. He was married in 1809 to Electa Bacon, of Williams- town, Massachusetts, who was born May 5, 1788, and was the daughter of Jacob and Lois (Packer) Bacon. Mr. Boyd removed to Solon, New York, in 1811. During the war with Great Britain, he was elected lieutenant of a company of infantry, and afterwards rose to the rank of colonel. He was elected to a number of public offices, including that of justice of the peace, which he held many years. In 1827 he was elected to the New York Legis- lature, where he made his influence felt for the good of his community and the state. He was an active member of the Congregational church, in which he filled numerous responsible positions, and was a zealous pioneer in the early temperance reformation and an active participant in most of the social reforms of his day.
Gen. John W. Boyd, of this sketch, was the second of a family of nine children. He went with his parents in his childhood to Solon, Cortland county, New York, where he received an academic education. On November 10, 1842, he was united in marriage with Welthea Hannah Hathaway, daugh- ter of Major-Gen. Samuel G. Hathaway, of Solon, New York. Mrs. Boyd died June 14, 1855, leaving three children, Julia A., who married Dr. Miles
990
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
G. Hyde, lives in New York City; Helen Emma married Robert T. Turner, of Elmira, New York; Carolyn Hathaway Boyd died in 1882 at Solon, New York.
General Boyd followed farming until 1840, then spent four years in the mercantile business at Cincinnatus, Cortland county, New York. In June, 1844, he came to Walworth county, Wisconsin, and bought a farm in section II, Linn township, near Lake Geneva, and there made his home the rest of his life. He developed one of the finest farms in the county and was a suc- . cessful general farmer and stock raiser. In 1846 he was elected a representa- tive from this county to the first constitutional convention and he served on the committee of the executive of the state. He ranked among the substan- tial members of that body, exercising at all times a remarkable degree of com- mon sense, a practical knowledge of affairs, and giving constant attention to duties, rendered him a man of large influence in shaping the organic law of the state.
The subject was commissioned major-general of the territorial militia by Governor Dodge, and was known as General Boyd throughout the West. He was the first state senator from Walworth county and he again served as senator during 1858 and 1859, rendering valuable services to the state therein, being esteemed as an able, conscientious and influential member. He was an ardent Republican from 1856. Being a man of retiring habits, he shrank from prominent official positions, although his name was frequently mentioned in connection with the chief magistracy of the state. not, however, through any movement or desire of his own, but through the desire and partiality of his friends, who knew his peculiar fitness and great worth. In his own town he always occupied a prominent position, honored and respected by all who knew him. He was four times a member of the county board and was chair- man of the same in 1874. From about 1860 to 1876 he was a member of the board of directors of the Madison Mutual Insurance Company, being president of the company most of that time. He discharged his every duty with ability and fidelity, and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned.
On September 9. 1859, General Boyd was united in marriage with Mrs. Persis Annette Mudge, widow of Abram Mudge, deceased. Mrs. Boyd was one of seven children born to Ira and Chloe (Holcomb) Buell, of Plymouth, New York. Three daughters were born to General and Mrs. Boyd, namely : Louise Harriet, who married Nathan Dickinson, a member of the well known Albert Dickinson Seed Company, of Chicago. The other daughters. Alice Isabelle and Florence May, reside on the farm where their father made his home ever since coming to Wisconsin in the early days.
991
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
General Boyd passed on to his reward January 28, 1892. He taught in the Sunday school from the age of sixteen nearly all his life. From the year after his arrival in Lake Geneva he was an advisory officer in the Congrega- tional church. He was especially favorable to the extension of religious and educational interests of the people. He was a man of splendid personal ap- pearance, erect, strong, of military bearing, resembling in no small degree Abraham Lincoln. He was a man of genial, happy spirit, of broad intelligence and wide reading. His home was noted for its bright, cordial hospitality.
GEORGE DUNHAM.
One of the successful farmers and stock men of Troy township is George Dunham, a man who has succeeded in his chosen life work because he has not waited for someone else to do his planning and his work, but has been per- sistent in whatever he conceived to be the right course to pursue and has not been thwarted by discouragements and obstacles which are met in the path of life by everyone, and which should always be made stepping-stones to higher things.
Mr. Dunham was born in Troy, Walworth county, on July 11, 1858. He is the son of Robert and Mary (Storeman) Dunham, who located in Troy, this county, in 1856, bought a farm here and followed agricultural pursuits successfully until retiring from the active duties of life. Their family con- sisted of eleven children.
George Dunham of this sketch was reared on the home farm, where he worked during the summer months when a boy, and in the winter time he went to the public schools in his community. Early in life he took up farming and has continued the same to the present time, now owning one hundred and fifty-seven acres of excellent and well improved land in Troy township, which he tills in a manner that shows him to be up to the standard as a twentieth- century agriculturist. He is a breeder of Jersey cattle, and because of their superior quality he finds a very ready market for them. He also makes a specialty of dairying, for which he is well equipped in every respect and this forms no small part of his annual income.
Mr. Dunham was married in 1882 to Grace Pierce, daughter of John and Ann (Robins) Pierce, both natives of Cornwall, England, where they spent their earlier years, finally coming to America and they are now living in
992
WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN.
Iowa. John and Grace (Robins) Pierce came to America in 1867 and located on a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, where she died, then the rest of the family, father and six children, came to New Hampton, Iowa. The father was a brother to Richard Pierce, who is mentioned under the sketch of Frank J. Cook. Mrs. George Dunham was reared by Jerome Madison Cook, after the death of her mother. One child has been born to the subject and wife, Frank, who lives at home.
The subject is a member of the Methodist church and the Modern Wood- men of the World. Mrs. Dunham is a member of the Royal Neighbors. He is a Prohibitionist.
The parents of the subject were both born in Cambridgeshire, England, and there they grew up and came to Maine in an early day, but came on to Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1856 and here they have since made their home, the father following farming many years, accumulating two hundred and twenty acres in Troy township. His family consisted of six sons and five daughters. These parents have lived retired in Troy Center for a num- ber of years. The mother is a member of the Methodist church, and they both have many friends throughout the county.
JAMES HENNESSEY.
There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the spectacle of a life that has reached its autumn with a harvest of good and useful deeds. It is like the forest in October days when the leaves have borrowed the richest colors of the light and glow in the mellowed sheen of the Indian summer, reflecting in their closing days all the radiance of their earthly existence. The man who has lived a clean, useful and self-denying life and has brought into potential exercise the best energies of his mind that he might make the world brighter and better for his being a part of it, while laboring for his individual advancement, cannot fail to enjoy a serenity of soul that reveals itself in his manner and conversation. When such a life is preserved in its strength and integrity so that even in age its influence continues unabated, it challenges the added admiration of those whose good fortune it is to be brought into con- tact with it. Such a life has been that of James Hennessey, for over fifty years one of the substantial and representative agriculturists of Walworth county, whose interests he has ever had at heart and sought to promote since
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.