WINTER, Harry A.
Harry A. WINTER, a reliable and intelligent agriculturist of
Evans township, residing on section 8, first drew the breath of
life at Ottawa,
Illinois, November 28, 1856, and is the son of John
J. and Martha Maria (PARKINSON) WINTER, the former born in
Pennsylvania, September 19, 1832, and
the latter August 17, 1832. In April, 1855, the father located
at Ottawa, but now makes his home
in Garfield, La Salle county,
where he is engaged in merchandising, and also cultivates a fine
farm of three hundred and twenty acres. He has ever been quite a
prominent man in his locality, serving in a number of official
positions, including that of justice of the peace. The mother,
who is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, is the
sister of William H. PARKINSON, of Evans township, whose sketch
appears elsewhere in this volume.
In the family were six children, five still living, of whom
our subject is the eldest. Oral Dell is the wife of Patrick
JENNETT, of Iowa,
and the mother of ten children. Lyman Lee married Anna LECHNER,
by whom he has four children, and lives in
Garfield,
Illinois. William D., of Garfield, married Ida
THRASHER, and they have one child. Sarah Jane is the wife of
Jeff R. EWARD, of Garfield, and is the
mother of three children.
Harry A. WINTER was educated at Ottawa, and in 1873 accompanied his parents to Garfield. At the age of
fourteen he began life for himself, engaged in teaming in Ottawa, and for three winters worked in the
coal mines. It was in 1877 that he first came to Evans township,
where he was employed on the farm of Aaron G. MARTIN until
December, 1878.
On the 26th of February, 1879, a marriage ceremony was
performed which united the destinies of Mr. WINTER and Miss
Florence WILSON, a daughter of Joshua and Rosanna (SPILLERS)
WILSON, both natives of
Pennsylvania. Her parents were married
in Ohio, and came to Putnam
county, Illinois,
where they resided for a time, but later settled upon the farm
where our subject now resides. This the father improved and
cultivated until his death, in 1876. The mother, who survives
him, now makes her home in Wenona. They were the parents of
thirteen children, ten of whom are now living – Oliver, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who
married Addie WILSON, and has four children; Corwin, of Iowa, who wedded Mary DILLMAN, and has seven
children; Emma, who is the wife of A. I. THEIRRY, of Wenona, and
has an adopted child; Luretta, wife of F. F. Theirry, of Wenona,
and the mother of two children; Martin V., of
Wenona, who married Hettie A. Downey, by whom he has one child;
Reuben M., of Kansas, who married Anna ANDERSON, now deceased,
by whom he had one son; Rosella, wife of Joseph STRANARD, of
Creston, Iowa, and the mother of three children; Mrs. WINTER;
Ida B., wife of Thomas d. JUDD, of Wenona, by whom she has one
child; and Joshua Walter, of Evans township, who married Minie
BRENN, and has two children. The parents were both members of
the Society of Friends, and in politics the father was a
republican.
Mrs. WINTER was born on the farm where she now resides,
September 27, 1858, and attended the district schools of the
neighborhood. By her marriage with our subject she has become
the mother of two children – Jay W., born October 21, 1882, and
Reuben Roy, born January 27, 1884. The farm, consisting of one
hundred and four acres, which is a part of the Joshua WILSON
estate, is well improved, with good buildings, fences, tiling
and water works, and the land is under a high state of
cultivation. Mr. WINTER is engaged in mixed farming and the
operation of a threshing machine, and is meeting with a fair
degree of success.
Conscientious and earnest Christians, both Mr. and Mrs.
WINTER are worthy members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church
and teachers in the Sunday school, while he has been
superintendent of that organization and president of the
Christian Endeavor society. Socially, he is connected with the
Modern Woodmen of America, and politically, is an adherent of
republican principles, and served for three years as road
commissioner, and is still serving in that capacity.
Extracted April 2011 by Norma Hass from
The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois,
1896.
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