Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....Brayton, Henry 1832 - 1906 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 24, 2006, 11:26 pm Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908) HENRY BRAYTON (1832-1906) belonged preeminently to that class of sturdy pioneers who are fast passing to the great beyond and who are leaving us such a rich heritage in the memory of their unselfish lives. No one of the earlier settlers of Nobles county was held in higher esteem than was he. When he took up his residence on the bank of Indian lake on Sept. 29, 1869, there were very few white people living in the county and what few there were lived in a community on Graham lakes. Camped all around his place on the lake were Indians, who made their living by trapping; in order to secure lumber for his house it was necessary to haul the lumber from Mankato; Mrs. Brayton was the only white woman within a radius of many miles; for a time the family was cut off entirely from associates. We of this day can hardly imagine the conditions as they existed during the period of very early settlement of Nobles county. Then a treeless, unimproved, trackless prairie, almost uninhabited; now a rich, fertile country inhabited by thousands of thrifty inhabitants, with towns, villages, churches, school- houses, and farm houses everywhere. Surely the change wrought in less than forty years has been marvelous! It is of the life of one of the men who brought these conditions about that we are permitted to write, in a space all too brief to do justice to his memory. Henry Brayton was born in Washington county, New York, March 6, 1832, and his early youth was spent among the pioneers of western New York, in Erie county, near Buffalo. He was destined to spend most of his early life as a pioneer, and in 1853 he moved to Delaware county, Iowa, with the first settlement of that community. When he arrived there there was not a mile of railroad nearer than Rockford, Ill. In that early day he established a boot, shoe and harness shop at Delhi, and in that frontier village he lived for about fifteen years. From that point he enlisted in 1861 as regimental musician under Col. Peters, and served until discharged on account of sickness. In 1868 he again determined to push out into the frontier, and located near Humbolt, Kansas. There he bought a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. But the ague attacked the family and he was obliged to leave the country. In a search for a healthful country he came to Spirit Lake, Iowa, making the trip by team. There he learned of the new country lying to the north, just over the line in Minnesota, where a few people had been and taken claims. About the middle of May, 1869, he drove up to Indian lake, liked the looks of the country, and decided to make his future home there. On Sept. 29, 1869, he filed a soldier's claim to land on the west shore of Indian lake—land which was his home for thirty-seven years, and where his widow still resides.. Hauling lumber from Mankato, he built a frame house, one of, if not the, first frame houses erected in Nobles county. When the county was organized in the fall of 1870 he took a prominent part in the work, and took his place as one of the prominent men of the new county. He was elected to, the office of county treasurer in the fall of 1871 and served one term when the county seat was in Graham Lakes township. He helped to organize Indian Lake township and for many years was township treasurer. After the pioneer days he did not take a very active part in politics, but devoted his energies to the improvement of his home. He resided on his farm on Indian lake until his death, which occurred April 15, 1906. Mr. Brayton was married at Chicago, Ill., Sept. 28, 1865, to Miss Celestia A. Clough, of Concord, N. H., where she was born and raised, the date of her birth being July 26, 1832. Miss Clough belonged to one of the prominent New England families and received a good education. She was a talented singer, and for one year was engaged in singing in the Presbyterian church of Concord, of which Dr. Theo. Parker was the pastor. For these services she received a salary of $1,500 a year. Occasionally Henry Ward Beecher exchanged pulpits with Dr. Parker, and Mrs. Brayton knew that eminent divine personally. She as also intimately acquainted with Harriet Beecher Stowe, that lady boarding at the Clough home while she was engaged in writing that great American novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." To Mr. and Mrs. Brayton were born three children—Matt Brayton, who lives on the home place, and a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume; Luna, who died when one year of age; and Bert Clough Brayton, who died June 1, 1907. Bert Brayton was born and raised in Nobles county and was held in high esteem by all his associates. He was a natural musician, being master of the violin, mandolin and guitar. He was the organizer of a band of twenty pieces and was its leader. Additional Comments: Extracted from: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY MINNESOTA BY ARTHUR P. ROSE NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA PUBLISHERS 1908 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/nobles/bios/brayton185gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mnfiles/ File size: 5.5 Kb