- EZRA PHILO DOTY (deceased), one of men to whom the present
commercial importance of
- Janesville is due, was for many years closely identified
with its best interests, and his death was deeply mourned, not
only by his family but by the community at large.
- Ezra Philo DOTY was born in Peru, N.Y., Aug. 27, 1826, a
son of Zuri Shaddai and Phebe Ann
- (BOSTWICK) DOTY. The parents of Zuri DOTY, Ezra and Anna
(MELLENS) DOTY, were natives of Vermont, his birth occurring
Sept. 28, 1760, hers Aug. 4, 1767. Ezra DOTY, Sr., was a soldier
of the Revolution and afterward a captain in the provincial army.
During the war of 1812 he also served his country bravely, and
he died on June 24, 1840, while his wife passed away in 1813.
The maternal grandfather of our subject, a Mr. BOSTWICK, was
a resident of Pennsylvania, and died in that State from an accident,
a tree falling upon him. In his family there were four sons and
one daughter, all now deceased.
- Zuri S. DOTY, father of our subject, was born at Bennington,
Vt., on July 23, 1804, and came
- to Turtle, Rock county, in 1841, settling near Shopiere,
where he took up a large tract of land from the government, and
resided some years. Later he removed to Janesville, and conducted
a sash, door and blind factory, and also a general store. As
his means increased Mr. DOTY erected several business houses,
bought considerable land in the corporate limits of Janesville,
and platted what is known as DOTY's addition to Janesville. During
his residence in Janesville Zuri S. DOTY purchased on Oct. 10,
1853, the Janesville Free Press for his son, in conjunction
with J. BAKER, and the paper was conducted under the name of
BAKER & DOTY until, on June 7, 1855, Mr. BAKER became the
sole proprietor. The Free Press was started on Jan. 6,
1853, by an association of Free Democrats, among whom the most
prominent were J. M. BURGESS, J. BAKER, R. B. TREAT, O. GUERNSEY,
and E. A. HOWLAND, with Mr. BAKER as editor. About 1865 Zuri
DOTY moved to Madison, built and owned a number of houses, and
engaged in various business enterprises, but later removed to
Chicago, and resided in that city for several years. While on
a visit to Madison he died, on April 16, 1885, aged eighty-one
years, eight months and twenty-three days. During the time he
resided in Janesville he was a justice of the peace, and was
a very wealthy, influential and honorable man. Eleven children
were born to this good man, five of whom are now living: Anna,
wife of Peter FRYER, of Kansas City, Mo.; Milton H., of Brodhead,
Wis., who rose from sergeant to the rank of captain during the
Civil war; Martha A., wife of Courtland STONE, who now lives
in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Mary, widow of Edwin BOSWICK, of New Milford,
Conn.; and Edgar H., of Chicago.
- Ezra Philo DOTY, the subject of this sketch, was brought
to Turtle, Rock county, where he grew
- to manhood. Later he removed to Janesville, and was associated
with his father in the sash, door and blind manufacturing business,
becoming his successor; was the organizer of the DOTY Manufacturing
Co., and its treasurer until his death. The specialty of this
company was the DOTY washing machine.
- On May 26, 1847, Ezra P. DOTY married Miss Abigail Mary AUSTIN,
daughter of Ira and
- Permelia (WORCESTER) AUSTIN, and five children were born
of this marriage: (1) Henry (deceased) married Ella J. LAPPIN,
daughter of Thomas LAPPIN, and had one son, who did not survive
his first year; upon the death of the mother Henry married her
sister, Mary Esther LAPPIN, and two children were born to them,
Lawrence Lappin and Harriet Mildred. Henry DOTY died June 2,
1894, aged forty-five, having been born June 5, 1849. (2) Alta
Marie, wife of Charles ATWOOD, of Janesville, has eight children.
(3) Edward P., who married Elizabeth HULLIHEN, of Janesville,
has three children. (4) Minnie, deceased, wife of Dr. Charles
E. WINTERMUTE, had two children, Ruth Anna and Horace; the latter
died, aged three months. (5) Anna S. is the wife of Charles FIFIELD,
an attorney, formerly of the firm FETHERS, JEFFRIES & FIFIELD,
now judge of the municipal court; they have three children, Minnie
Eloise, Alta and Frances Fethers.
- Mrs. DOTY was born Sept. 6, 1832; she had a twin sister,
Mary, who died in infancy; and a
- sister, Ann Eliza, now wife of Vinton L. MERRILL, of Lebanon,
Kans. The parents of Mrs. DOTY were natives of Vermont, and her
mother died at Phelps, N.Y., on April 15, 1845, aged thirty-eight,
having been born on July 15, 1807. The father of this last mentioned
lady, the grandfather of Mrs. DOTY, was a soldier in the war
of the Revolution, and also took part in the war of 1812. Ira
AUSTIN, father of Mrs. DOTY, came West to Wisconsin in the early
days of the State, settling in Janesville, but returned to Phelps,
N.Y., and married Elmira M. HOWE. Again coming West, Mr. AUSTIN
settled on a farm in Sauk county, but afterwards removed to Madison,
where he and his wife kept a large boarding-house, he dying on
Nov. 12, 1862, and she on June 21, 1895, in that city.
- In religious belief Ezra P. DOTY followed the Universalist
faith, while his widow is an Episcopalian
- and all their children became connected with the Christ Episcopal
Church of Janesville. The political affiliations of Mr. DOTY
were with the Republican party, although he was not a politician.
While in the prime of life Mr. DOTY was taken from his family,
on March 7, 1869, aged forty-two years, eight months, and the
death cast a gloom not only over the household, but over Janesville,
where for so many years he had been so important a factor. Mrs.
DOTY still survives, a very charming and intelligent lady, who
enjoys the respect and veneration of her family and a large circle
of friends.
-
- Taken from "Commemorative Biographical Record of
the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Wisconsin"
(c)1901, pp. 167-168.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
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