 |
- GILBERT N. WILLIS, who resides in Clinton, has for the long
- period of forty-five years been numbered among the citizens
of this county, and has shared in the trials and difficulties
which come to all those who make homes on the frontier, but to
such men all honor is due, for they laid the foundation of the
present prosperous condition of this great commonwealth. Mr.
WILLIS was born in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N.Y., on the 28th of February,
1813, and is a son of William W. and Betsey (HOYT) WILLIS; the
former a native of Nov Scotia, and the latter of Connecticut.
In his childhood days William W. WILLIS emigrated with is mother
to New York, settling in the Mohawk Valley, where he grew to
manhood. Betsey HOYT went to Scipio, N.Y., when a young woman,
and there became acquainted
|
- with Mr. WILLIS, and they were married about 1811, in Cayuga
County, and their union was blessed with six children: Cornelia,
who is now the wife of D. M. TALLMAN, of Clinton; Eliza married
Truman SHEPHERD, and both died in this county; Lewis H. is a
resident of Delavan, Wis.; Hannah died in Clinton; Harriet departed
this life in Wyoming County, N.Y. In 1844, accompanied by his
family, Mr. WILLIS emigrated to Wisconsin, settling in Rock County,
but was only permitted to enjoy his home for a short time, as
his death occurred the following year. His wife survived her
husband until 1868, when she too passed away.
- The subject of our sketch received a liberal education in
the common schools, and obtaining a
- certificate, followed the profession of teaching several
terms. He was married in the year 1835, Miss Lovia TALLMAN becoming
his wife. Unto them were born four children, two of whom are
living; Cornelia, now the wife of Benjamin BASSELLER, a resident
of Delavan; and Harriet, wife of Charles HOLDSWORTH of Chicago,
Ill. The death of the mother occurred in 1856, and Mr. WILLIS
afterward married Josephine SPENCER, by whom he had one child
- Spencer W., who is now in San Francisco, Cal., and is a painter
by trade.
- In 1844, at the same time of the removal of his parents to
Wisconsin, our subject came with his
- family, locating on a portion of land which is now comprised
in the village plat of Clinton. He purchased the same of Stephen
PEARLY, who made a claim the year previous, and immediately turned
his attention to its cultivation and development, transforming
the wild prairie, which was then it its primitive condition,
into a rich and fertile farm. Practical and progressive he has
been very successful in his business pursuits, and to his own
efforts may be accredited to his successes. Since 1876 he has
cast his ballot with the Prohibition party, and is a warm and
earnest defender of that organization. Mr. WILLIS has lived to
see many changes in the great Northwest, which at the time of
his arrival in Wisconsin, was an almost unsettled wilderness.
He has seen its prairies transformed into beautiful homes and
farms; towns and villages have sprung up as if by magic, countless
manufactories have been introduced, a perfect set of railroads
crosses and recrosses the county, and the telegraph and the telephone
enable one to send a message or converse with one miles away.
From the earliest day of its history Mr. WILLIS has been identified
with the growth and progress of Rock County, and has been prominent
in the promotion of its public enterprises. He is well-known
throughout the community, and is a repetitive and valued citizen
of Clinton.
|
-
- [Transcriber's note: Clinton's DAR Chapter is named for
Betsey HOYT.]
-
- Taken from "Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock
County Wis." (c)1889, p. 705-706; lithograph from same book.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
|
