USA > Wisconsin > Walworth County > History of Walworth county, Wisconsin, Volume II > Part 5
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The parents of the above-named children were true pioneers. Mr. Gies built a log cabin upon his arrival here which was the family home for some time until a better could be built and the place generally improved. Their neighbors were few and remote, and the wide-stretching forests were filled with wild animals, wolves, lynxes, panthers, deer, etc. The roads over the country were little more than Indian trails. Oxen traveling so slowly, the family preferred walking long distances, even to Milwaukee, whither Mrs. Gies made a number of trips afoot, carrying eggs to market. Once she was pursued by a panther, having a very narrow escape, barely reaching a settler's cabin before the beast overtook her. Indians frequently came to their home, begging for something to eat. The Gies family moved from their log cabin into the stone house which they built about twelve years after they took up their residence in the wilderness here, in due course of time having a comfortable home and a good farm. Mrs. Robers' parents both plowed with eight yoke of oxen, breaking new ground, he driving the oxen while she held the plow handles. They endured the usual hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. The death of Mr. Gies occurred in 1865, his widow surviving until 1888.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Robers lived on a farm imme- diately south of that of her father in section 23, owning one hundred and thirty-nine acres there, on which they remained until 1906, successfully ยท engaged in general farming and stock raising.
Seven children have been born to Henry A. Robers and wife, named
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as follows: Elizabeth, died August 20, 1896, when sixteen years old ; Louis. who rents the farm on which his parents lived so many years, married Agnes Burgett, a native of Minnesota, and they have one son, Irvin; Lornse, who is farming with his brother Louis, married a sister of the latter's wife. Gertrude Burgett, and they have two children, Odelia and Evaline; George is at home with his parents; Anna married John Elen and lives in Lyons : Henry and Friedland are both at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Robers now live on the farm her parents entered from the government in section 23, Lyons township, owning three hundred acres of valuable, productive land which they have kept well improved and in a high state of cultivation. They and their children belong to the Catholic church, and the family stands high in all circles in the community.
JAMES LEO GAVIN.
It cannot be other than interesting to note in the series of personal sketches appearing in this work the varying conditions that have compassed those whose careers are outlined, and the effort has been made in each case to throw well focused light onto the individual and to bring into proper perspective the scheme of each respective career. The banks of Walworth county have ever maintained a high standing, and among the able young workers in this field of endeavor is J. Leo Gavin, assistant cashier of the Farmers National Bank, of Lake Geneva. With a natural predilection for this vocation and endowed with an analytical mind and ready faculty of as- similation, he was led to adopt the work and he is exemplifying in a signifi- cant way the value of concentration, while the future of such a career can- not fail to be gratifying.
Mr. Gavin was born in the town of Linn, this county, March 1, 1889. He is the son of John and Mary (Burns) Gavin. Both John and Peter Gavin, brothers, were well known residents of the town of Linn for many years. Their parents were James and Ann (Kennedy) Gavin. She was a first cousin of Lord Chief Justice Russell, of England, and because she married a Catholic she lost her inheritance and family connections. In 1855 James Gavin emigrated to America and after spending a few months at different places he came to Lake Geneva and worked on the new line of railroad then building between Elkhorn and Geneva. After two hundred days' work at fifty cents a day the contractor suddenly disappeared, failing to pay his men,
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leaving Mr. Gavin in very straitened circumstances. He came to Linn township and worked, earning fifty dollars at fifty cents per day, then bought ten acres at five dollars per acre, raw timber land that had to be grubbed out. He raised an ox team, worked hard, was economical and soon had a start. And here he married, reared his family and has long since passed to his rest.
John Gavin grew to manhood in Linn township and owned a farm about a mile north of Zenda. He married Mary Burns, daughter of John and Jane Burns. John Burns was from New York, and he came to Lake Geneva in an early day and here became very comfortably established. John Gavin lived on his farm until 1897, when he sold out and bought a store near the Lake View Creamery, north of central Linn township, where there was a country postoffice called Robinson. He remained there fourteen years, until the fall of 1911, when he moved to Aurora, Illinois, where he and his family now reside. John Gavin was township treasurer of Linn town- ship about fifteen years. There are four children in his family : Jane Eliza- beth, James Leo, of this sketch; John Henry is in the grocery business with his father at Aurora; Charles Francis is with his parents, as is also the daughter.
J. Leo Gavin, of this sketch, grew up on the home farm in Linn town- ship, and there assisted with the general work when a boy. He attended high school in Lake Geneva, from which he was graduated in 1906. On Septem- ber 24, 1907, he took a position with the Farmers National Bank at Lake Geneva, starting as a clerk. On November 1, 1911, he was appointed assist- ant cashier, which position he still holds, discharging his duties to the eminent satisfaction of the stockholders and the patrons of the bank and in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself.
Mr. Gavin was reared in the Catholic faith, from which he has not departed.
STEPHEN BLISS ABELL.
One of the leading citizens and representative agriculturists of Wal- worth county is Stephen Bliss Abell, proprietor of beautiful "Aloha Heights" farm. His has been an eminently active and useful life, but the limited space at the disposal of the biographer forbids more than a casual mention of the leading events in his career, which, in our opinion, will suffice to show that earnest endeavor and honesty of purpose rightly applied and persistently fol- lowed will lead to unqualified success. He is a man of influence in local affairs
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and he is looked upon as a man thoroughly in sympathy with any movement looking toward the betterment or advancement in any way of his community, where he has always been regarded as a man of sterling honesty and worthy of the utmost confidence and respect which his fellow citizens have been free to accord, owing to his upright, public-spirited and industrious life.
Mr. Abell was born in Bloomfield township, this county, January 22, 1854. He is the son of Alfred Henry Abell and Mariett (Carpenter) Abell, who came from Schenectady county, New York, and located in Bloomfield township, this county, in 1852, and there Mr. Abell entered part of his land from the government, buying the balance, and there he established the family home, and remained there until just a short time before the death of the father. They had two children, Stephen Bliss, of this review, and a daughter, Amelia, who now lives in DeKalb county, Illinois, with her uncle.
Politically, Alfred H. Abell was a Republican and he took an active inter- est in public affairs. In 1878 he was a member of the Assembly of Wisconsin, and he was a leader in the affairs of his home community, holding various township offices. On May 26, 1881, he sold his farm, which he had developed as a pioneer, and bought another in section II, Geneva township, and moved thereto, dying about a month later, his wife following him to the grave in October of the same year. He was a good and useful man and widely and favorably known.
Stephen B. Abell, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm and received his education in the local schools. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Abell was married in January, 1879, to Laura M. Stanford, daughter of John Russell and Laura Flora (Hart) Stanford, an excellent old family. She was born and reared in Lake Geneva, this county, and received a good education here. John Russell Stanford was of English parentage and he came here from Crawfordsville, Pennsylvania, locating at Lake Geneva in 1836, being thus one of the earliest pioneers of the county. He had for neighbors red men and wild beasts, but, being a great hunter, keeping hounds and all necessary paraphernalia for a sportsman, he greatly enjoyed his life here, despite the hardships and deprivations.' He became quite influential among the Indians with whom he was always very just and they called him their white brother. The settlers depended on him to deal with the Indians for them. He came here as a young man, unmarried. Later he returned East to persuade his people to come here, where hunting and fishing were good. His father was dead and his mother refused to change to the new country. While in Penn- sylvania he met and married Laura Flora Hart, a native of Connecticut, a
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family well-known there, Mrs. Abell being the youngest of three small children. The father was greatly affected over the death of his estimable life companion, and, pining away, died in a few years. The sister and brother of Mrs. Abell are: Emma, who married George Putnam Conant, of Lake Geneva, where she now resides. His father was also an early settler; he is well-to-do. Frank Altomont, brother of Mrs. Abell, lives at Groton, South Dakota.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Abell: Earl Russell, who married Lulu Mary Wales, of Elkhorn, lives in that city, and they have one son, Arthur Stephen; and Alice May Abell, who is at home.
Mr. Abell is active in public affairs and has held various township offices, always with much credit to himself and with satisfaction to the community.
Mrs. Abell's father left ample means for the education of his children, and their guardian cared for them after his death. Mrs. Abell attended the schools of Lake Geneva, embracing the high school, also the Young Ladies' Seminary under the tutelage of Prof. and Mrs. E. S. Warner, well-known educators of that day.
Stephen B. Abell's farm is known as "Aloha Heights," this being an Hawaiian name, meaning "Welcome." It is one of the "show places" of the township, being an attractive, well-kept and well-improved farm, with a tastily furnished and pleasant dwelling and substantial outbuildings, surrounded by fine shade trees. From the home one can see across a broad valley with Lake Como visible in the distance -- a truly inspiring panorama.
BION C. ROSS.
One of the progressive farmers of Delavan township is Bion C. Ross, who has always been a man of industry and he has honestly made what he has, having been a hard worker and a good manager. He has led a life of which no one might be ashamed in any way, for it has been one of sobriety, neigh- borliness, honesty and filled with acts becoming a high-minded, public-spirited gentleman, a worthy scion of one of our sterling old families, members of which have done much for the furtherance of the material, civic and moral welfare of the community of which this history deals.
Mr. Ross was born on July 4, 1860, in North Geneva, Wisconsin. He is the son of George and Clarinda (Gray) Ross, both natives of the state of New York. The father of the subject emigrated west to Wisconsin in 1847 when the country was new, and settled in Geneva township, Walworth county, where he farmed successfully, and remained there the greater part of his life,
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but finally sold his farm and moved to Elkhorn, this county, where he spent about twelve years. His death occurred on April 20, 1893, his widow surviv- ing until September 20, 1910.
To Mr. and Mrs. George Ross five children were born, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor, Mrs. Maude Gunnison, Cora, Bion C., of this sketch, and Mrs. Angelia Newton, now deceased.
Bion C. Ross received his education in the public schools of Geneva town- ship and he worked on the farm when a boy, in fact, he has farmed prac- tically all his life; however, he owned and operated successfully a teaming outfit in Elkhorn a few years. After selling out there, he purchased the farm which he now owns, in 1905, one hundred and sixty acres in Delavan town- ship, half of which lies in section 10 and the other half in section II. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser and has kept his land under a fine state of improvement and cultivation. He has a very pleasant home and good outbuildings, and he keeps a good grade of live stock.
Mr. Ross is a Republican politically, and religiously he belongs to the Congregational church at Elkhorn. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen.
Mr. Ross was married on January 1, 1885, to Orpha Densmore, daugh- ter of William and Josephine Densmore, and to this union four children have been born, namely : Madge A., DeMar, Eleanor and Glenn.
HERMON C. BEARDSLEY.
A worthy native son of Walworth county is Hermon C. Beardsley, who. after spending his life here successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, is now living retired at his pleasant home in Darien. He grew up amid pioneer conditions and he talks interestingly of the early days. He has not been an idle spectator of the great changes which have taken place here dur- ing his lifetime of sixty-five years, but he has taken a very active part in the work of upbuilding this nature-favored section, throughout which he is well known and highly respected.
Mr. Beardsley was born on June 12, 1847, in Linn, this county. He is the son of Charles and Susan (Copeland) Beardsley, the father born at Han- nibalville, Oswego county, New York, and the mother in England, from which country she emigrated to America when young, and met and married Mr. Beardsley in the state of New York, where he had grown to manhood and where he engaged in farming until 1843, when he came to Walworth county,
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Wisconsin, returning to New York about a year later, bringing his family back to this county in May, 1846. He purchased a farm upon his first visit here, consisting of about one hundred and sixty acres, part of which he later sold in order to accommodate a friend, selling forty acres and retaining one hundred and twenty acres on which he made a comfortable living until his death, on October 4, 1903, his wife having preceded him to the grave in May of the same year. They were the parents of three children, namely : Hermon C. lives in Darien ; Amelia E. married Frank L. Arnold and lives in Geneva, this county; George Franklin lives on the homestead in Linn township.
Hermon C. Beardsley grew to manhood on the home farm and he received his education in the public schools of Linn and Geneva. He was also a stu- dent in Chicago University for one year. He then turned his attention to farming, buying a farm in Kansas which he operated from 1871 to 1880, when he sold out and came to Sharon township, Walworth county, and bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in section 3, which he continued to operate for many years, finally turning the active work of the same over to his son, Charles W., the subject retiring and is now making his home in the town of Darien, where he has a substantial residence, having moved here in April, 1910. He has been justice of the peace one term in 1900, filling the office in an able manner.
Mr. Beardsley was married on August 30, 1874, to Adelaide Bacon, daughter of Jeremiah W. and Elizabeth (Werrington) Bacon, natives of the state of New York. One child has been born to the subject and wife, Charles WV., who operated the homestead as stated above. He married Altha Rockwell. They have two children, Esther and Donald Charles.
JOHN GARBUTT.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of the state lies not in the machinery of the government, or even in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and useful effort and unselfish endeavor and their devotion to the public good. To this class belongs John Garbutt, the present efficient and popular post- master of the town of Darien. Although an American by adoption only, he has been most loyal to the same and his influence for good has been widely felt, his example having been worthy of emulation. He has at all times been actuated by highest motives and lofty principles, and the history of Walworth county should certainly contain his record, so intimately has he been connected with her upbuilding for a half century.
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Mr. Garbutt was born on January 21, 1843, in Stockton-on-Tees, Eng- land. He is the son of Joseph and Margaret ( Pickering) Garbutt, natives of England, where they grew up and were married, and from there they emigrated to the United States in 1849, reaching here in the month of Sep- tember after a tedious voyage, as all voyages were in those days of slow- sailing vessels. They came direct to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but a few weeks later went to Palmyra, Jefferson county, where the father bought a farm which he operated in connection with milling, having been a miller by trade, until 1868, when he moved his family to Walworth county and settled in Sugar Creek township, but he was not able to work on account of ill health and here he died in 1871, his widow surviving until in March, 1903. They became the parents of seven children, named as follows: Anna is the widow of Thomas Astun; Joseph lives at Orfordville, Rock county, this state; John, of this review; George and Charles live at Palmyra, Wisconsin; Thomas died in infancy, and Mary is deceased.
John Garbutt, of this sketch, spent his early boyhood in England, and there attended school, later went to school at Palmyra, Wisconsin, being only six years old when he accompanied his parents to this country. After finishing school he worked as a cheese-maker until 1861, in the fall of which year he proved his loyalty to the federal government by enlisting in defense of the Union in Company I, Thirteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he served very faithfully for a period of four years. He was honorably discharged and after the war returned home and resumed his formed busi- ness, remaining at Palmyra until 1868, then moved to Sugar Creek township, Walworth county, and has since resided in this county. He owns and operates successfully a twenty-six-acre poultry and dairy farm at Darien, and is one of the best known poultrymen in the country, having become efficient in every phase of the business. He makes a specialty of White Rocks and Anconas. The oldest daughter, Cora B., has charge of the poultry business.
Mr. Garbutt was appointed postmaster at Darien on May 31, 1899, and he has been incumbent of the same to the present time, discharging his duties in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of the department and the people. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Garbutt was married on December 31, 1872, to Mary Jane Uglow, daughter of John and Elizabeth Uglow, both natives of England.
The subject and wife have three children, Cora B., Hattie M. and Nellie E., all at home.
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ALBERT P. WILKINS.
Now that the summer time of life has ended and the autumn winds of old age have come, Albert P. Wilkins, long a prominent agriculturist of Walworth county, who is now living retired in his pleasant home in the town of Darien, can look backward over a career that has been well spent. resulting in good to those whom he has come into contact with and has brought material success to himself.
Mr. Wilkins was born March 10, 1841, in Darien township, this county, and he is thus the son of a pioneer, having come down to us from the days of the early development here, and in the later upbuilding of the locality he played no inconspicuous part. He talks interestingly of the conditions and customs prevailing here in his boyhood. He is the son of Joseph R. and Celes- tia (Johnson) Wilkins, the father a native of New Jersey and the mother of Steubenville, New York. They grew up in the East and were married there, coming to Wisconsin in 1838, first settling on eighty acres in Darien town- ship, when the country was wild and neighbors few and remote. They en- tered their land from the government, and bought outright forty acres more in Darien township, and here they established a good home by dint of hard toil and here they lived for about thirty years, then sold the farm and retired from active life.
The death of the father occurred on September 12, 1907, at an ad- vanced age, his wife having preceding him to the grave on March 6, 1891. Three children were born to Joseph K. Wilkins and wife: Albert P., of this sketch ; Carrie Amy, wife of Levi Allen, of Sharon, and Alice C., wife of E. A. Holmes, of Milton, Wisconsin.
Albert P. Wilkins, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm in Darien township and there he assisted with the work when a boy during crop seasons, attending the district schools, such as there were, in the winter time. Later attending the academy at Allen's Grove, then the Racine Busi- ness College, he thus became well educated for a boy of those early days in a new country. The completion of his business course in Racine rendered him well prepared for life's duties, and he began his business career by con- ducting a grocery store at Allen's Grove for several years, then took up farming in section 19, Darien township, where he purchased the old home- stead, which he kept well improved and under a high state of cultivation, successfully following general farming and stock raising there until the fall of 1910, when, having accumulated a competency, he retired from the active duties of life, and moved to the town of Darien.
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Mr. Wilkins was married on December 22, 1880, to Mary .\. Blake, a daughter of Patrick and Ellen (Sullivan) Blake. Patrick Blake was born in Summerhill, Ireland. He and his wife grew up and were married in their native country, and in 1844 emigrated to the United States, locating at Eagle, Waukesha county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Wilkins was their only child. They became well established in this country and were highly respected by all who knew them.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert P. Wilkins, namely : Albert J. and Mary C., twins, were born September 16, 1882. The former lives on the homestead in this township, and the latter is the wife of Hugh McCarthy, also of Darien township. George H. Wilkins was born March 16, 1895, and is now attending school in Darien, as is also the youngest child, Marian M., who was born April 4, 1900.
FRANK E. LAWSON.
Frank E. Lawson, well known banker of Walworth, is a notable example of the successful self-made man, and as such has made his influence felt among his fellowmen by rising to an important position in the affairs of Walworth county. Such a man commands our highest respect, for praise is always due to merit, especially where the latter is the result of individual effort.
Mr. Lawson was born at Delavan, this county, on August 9, 1868. He is the son of John and Elizabeth (Godfrey) Lawson, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Frank E. Lawson was reared on the home farm in Walworth township and there he assisted with the general work during the crop seasons. He received his educational training in the high school at Sharon, and when eighteen or nineteen years old he taught one term of school. In 1889, when twenty-one years old, he married Iva Colburn, daughter of Lucius and Letitia (Heritage) Colburn. She was born and reared on a farm in Walworth township and received her education in the local schools.
After his marriage Mr. Lawson purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Walworth township and there became well established through his industry and close application, becoming one of the progressive and suc- cessful agriculturalists and stock raisers of his community, continuing farm- ing until 1907, in which year he moved into the village of Walworth, but still retained his farm, and then took his present position as cashier of the Wal-
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worth State Bank, having discharged the duties of this important post con- tinuously to the present time, in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of the stockholders and the patrons of the bank. He has never relinquished his interest in farming affairs and in 1908 he was president of the Walworth County Agricultural Society, and has done much for the success of that praiseworthy organization. For a period of four years he was manager of the Farmers' Co-Operative Creamery Company in Walworth, whose large success has been due in no small measure to his efforts.
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