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Rock County, Wisconsin

Biographies

"Otis Manchester"

OTIS MANCHESTER was born March 17, 1795, in Liverton, Newport Co., R.I., and came to
Wisconsin in the latter part of July, 1845, to look after his property in Rock Co., consisting of a farm of 480 acres; in 1811, he went to Providence, R.I., and served an apprenticeship at tailoring; in the fall of 1816, he went to New Bedford, Mass., and opened a tailoring establishment on his own account; then worked as journeyman in New York City a short time, and on July 20, 1817, went to Utica, N.Y., where in the winter of 1818, he engaged in the tailoring business, which he carried on for forty years with good success; in 1834 he also opened a tailoring establishment at 175 Broadway in connection with Joseph HOXIE, under the firm name of MANCHESTER & HOXIE, and shortly thereafter bought out the interest of Mr. HOXIE, and removed to 187 Broadway, at the head of John street; he continued there for six months, when he removed to what was then known as Store No. 2, under the Astor House, which he carried on for four years; in 1840, he went back to Utica to look at the interest of the business at that place; from Utica he removed to Beloit, where he opened a general store in connection with Mr. John N. REYNOLDS, which building he bought, and shortly after, the adjoining corner store, now occupied by WINSLOW & ROSENBERG. Mr. MANCHESTER was elected and served as Alderman in Utica, and was also President of the Mechanics' Association of Utica. Mr. MANCHESTER married Jan. 13, 1819, Maria BISHOP, daughter of Deacon David BISHOP, of Paris, Oneida Co., N.Y.; he married the second time, Jan. 13, 1821, Hannah INGALS, of Northampton, Mass; has three children living - Thomas Clark, Elisha Wells, and Mary Ingall. Mr. MANCHESTER is a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Beloit.
 
[Transcriber's Note: The writer spells Mr. Manchester's 2nd wife's last name as INGALS, yet spells the daughter's middle name as Ingall. Knowing that children were sometimes given the mother's maiden name as their middle name... perhaps one or the other in the bio is misspelled by the writer. And - yes - both marriages were on the same day of the same month (different year of course).]
 
Taken from "The History of Rock County, Wis." (c)1879, pp. 757-758.
 
Courtesy of Carol

This page last updated June 21, 2002
 
©2002 WIBiographies-Rock County
 
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