Bio of Jesse CYRUS (b.1844), Wright Co., MN Pages 1060, 1061 ======================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormatted by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Hanson ========================================================================= 1060 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY Jesse Cyrus, farmer, of Victor township, was born in Wayne county, in what is now West Virginia, January 2, 1844, son of Smith and Reca (Kane) Cyrus, and grandson of Jesse and Fannie Cyrus. Jesse Cyrus and a brother, Enoch Cyrus, came from Scotland in colonial days and located in North Carolina. This Jesse Cyrus fought in the Revolutionary war, and died in what is now West Virginia at a good old age. He and his good wife, Fannie, reared a family of five children: William, Abraham, Thomas, Smith and Phoebe. Smith Cyrus was born in North Carolina, and was taken by his parents to what is now West Virginia, at the age of seven years. He was reared as a farmer and married Reca Kane, a native of Pike county, Kentucky. They spent the remainder of their days on the West Virginia farm, and there reared their children: Albert, Enoch, Smith, Marshall, Jesse, Emily, Betsey, Phoebe, Lena, Jane, and Reca. Of these, Marshall was the first to come to Minnesota. He arrived in the spring of 1865 and located in Stockholm, Wright county, where he died. Jesse Cyrus, the subject of this mention, was reared on the farm of his grandfather, also named Jesse. At the outbreak of the Civil war he cast his lot with the Southern cause, and did valiant service for three years as a private under Captain Anderson in Company K, Fifth Virginia Infantry. In 1865, late in the fall, he came to section 18, Victor township, where he se- 1061 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY cured eighty acres, entirely covered with woods. He erected a log cabin and started to clear the land. He had nothing but an axe and a grub hoe, no animals or vehicles of any kind. In order to build his cabin he had to drag the logs on his back. He mowed hay in water knee deep, and then carried it to the stack on a rude contrivance of dragging poles. He planted corn by digging holes between the stumps. When he needed flour he brought a sack on his shoulder from the mills at Rockford. If it had not been for the fish he caught for food, and the ginseng he sold, it would have been almost impossible for him to get along. He finally managed to trade some hay for a cow and a calf. Later he matched this calf with another, and when they were grown had a fine pair of oxen. Not long after he moved onto the place he was married, and he and his good wife faced pioneer life together. They worked hard and won prosperity. A modern house replaced the cabin, and sightly barns were erected in place of the early cow shed. In 1901 the place was sold and Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus moved to their present place of eighty acres in section 20, where they have since continued to reside. Mr. Cyrus has been school director for many years. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Church of the Brethren in Christ. Mr. Cyrus was married in 1868, to Sarah Hurley, born in Pike county, Kentucky, June 17, 1848, daughter, of William and Isabella (Breeding) Hurley. Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus have fourteen children: William, born October 11, 1869; Zina (deceased); Smith (deceased); Isabella, born December 17, 1872; Jesse, born December 14, 1876; Frank, born March 3, 1877; Heenan, born November 8, 1879; Mabel, born February 2, 1880, Reca, born April 2, 1882; Albert, born April 20, 1883; Grover Cleveland, born May 11, 1884; Everett, born July 16, 1888, Maud, born March 20, 1890; Leonard, born March 20, 1893. William Hurley was born April 5, 1823, the seventh son of Samuel H. Hurley. He was reared in Kentucky and when the Civil war broke out, enlisted on the Northern side, in Company H, 39th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. He showed his courage on many a bloody battle field. After the war, in 1865, he came to Minnesota and located in Dassel, Meeker county, for a short time. Subsequently he lived in various places. He died in Swansville, Todd county, Minnesota, at the age of seventy seven. His wife Isabella died February 28, 1906. She was born November 23, 823, and they were married September 9, 1843. Their ten children were: Polly, born July 22, 1844; John Wesley, born March 19, 1846; Sarah, born June 17, 1848; Comfort, April 28, 1850; Nancy, March 14, 1852; Marian, June 23, 1854; Elizabeth, May 11, 1856; Rebecca, August 1, 1858; William, August 3, 1861; Albert, July 13, 1866.