George Heman Merwin

Regions: Oswego Co., NY; Walworth Co., WI

From History of Walworth County Wisconsin by Albert Clayton Beckwith, Vol. II, Publ. 1912 - Page 869-871 GEORGE HEMAN MERWIN. The record of George Heman MERWIN is eminently entitled to representation in a history of the nature of the one in hand, for it has been an eminently honorable and successful one, resulting in good both to himself and immediate family and to the community at large. Mr. MERWIN was born in Scriba township, Oswego county, New York, five miles east of Oswego, April 1, 1845. He is the son of Benjamin Smith MERWIN and Lucy L. (PADDOCK) MERWIN. The father was the son of Daniel and Rhoda (SMITH) MERWIN. He was born in 1805, and on June 12th of that year occurred the birth of Lucy L. PADDOCK. The death of Daniel MERWIN occurred on October 29, 1836, his wife having preceded him to the grave on October 27, 1807. Lucy L. PADDOCK was the daughter of William and Mehetable (JOHNSON) PADDOCK. Mr. PADDOCK was born April 23, 1784. Benjamin S. MERWIN and family came to Walworth county in September, 1857, and located one and one-half miles north of Williams Bay in Geneva township, where they bought a farm and made the family home until 1868, then sold out and purchased a farm at the edge of the village of Walworth and lived there until the spring of 1877, then moved to Delavan, where the death of the subject's mother occurred on December 11, 1877. Benjamin S. MERWIN then returned to Walworth, where his death occurred on May 20, 1896, at the advanced age of ninety years, ten months and eighteen days. Their family consisted of nine children, namely: William D. lived in the state of New York all his life, dying there on March 17, 1911; Mehetable Ann came here with her father, married Isaac MORENY and lived in Delavan township, and here she died on May 3, 1895, at the age of sixty-three years and four months; Amith E., born October 17, 1833, lives in the state of New York, and he was a soldier in the Union army all through the Civil war; Helen M., born March 19, 1837, married Albert FREEMAN, and died in Kansas in November, 1876; Martha M., born February 19, 1839, married David GORSLINE and lives at Oswego, New York; Lucy Emma, born December 11, 1840, married Harris COOPER and lived and died in Oswego, New York; Benjamin H., born November 9, 1842, came here with his parents, and he now owns a farm in Delavan township, but lives in the village of Walworth; George H., of this sketch; James H., born in the state of New York, May 5, 1847, lived in Delavan, this county, married Cynthia Paddock WILLIS, and here he died on November 28, 1897. George H. MERWIN, of this sketch, made his home on the farm in Geneva township until his marriage on November 21, 1867. The following year he moved to Walworth township and farmed his father's place on the shares for four years, then rented it for four years more, then purchased it, and continued to reside there until 1895, when he moved into the village of Walworth, where he has since resided. Mr. MERWIN was deputy sheriff about ten years and was on the town board of supervisors two or three terms. He still owns his farm and engaged in the insurance business to some extent. Mr. MERWIN's wife was known in her maidenhood as Mary A. BARNES, and she was born in Geneva township, this county, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah A. (BREWSTER) BARNES, the father a native of Oneida county, New York, and the mother of Rutland, Vermont. She came here with her parents in 1836 or 1837, among the earliest settlers, and they located on Spring Prairie in the northeast part of Geneva township, and there her parents, Deodat and Lois (DRURY) BREWSTER, worked hard to develop a farm and establish a home in the new country. She had a sister, Mary, who was the first school teacher in Geneva township. She afterwards married Mr. PENTLAND. Deodat BRESTER and wife spent there rest of their lives on their farm here. Thomas BARNES came here among the very first settlers, locating in the west part of Geneva township, entering land where Jacob FRY now lives. This land he developed and farmed until he moved to Seneca, McHenry county, Illinois, where his death occurred on July 27, 1883, his widow surviving until November 22, 1906. Mrs. MERWIN lived on the farm her father entered from the government until her marriage. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. MERWIN, namely: Florence M. is the wife of George B. CRANDALL, a farmer of Linn township, and they have three daughters, Glenna Belle, Vivian Iola and Marian Irene; Thomas B. lives in Woodstock, Illinois, where he has built up an extensive business as a blacksmith; he married Emma BECKING, and they have two children, Clifford L. and Stella Irene. He served as bugler during the Spanish-American war in Porto Rico, being a member of Company G, Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Sarah Rosetta MERWIN married Walter D. CRANDALL, a farmer of Seneca township, McHenry county, Illinois, and they have three children, Leslie B., Emory D. and Thelma Lucille; Ernest L. is at home with his parents in Walworth. Mr. MERWIN belongs to the Modern Woodmen. Submitted by Carol