Bio of FURTNEY, Aaron W. (b.1842), Wright Co., MN 
(Partial bio)
========================================================================
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.
FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives

Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Hanson
Submitted: April 2004
=========================================================================

323   HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY                            

  Aaron W. Furtney, an estimable citizen now living in retirement in 
Buffalo, was born in Ontario, Canada, August 19, 1842, son of Joseph and 
Charlotte (Hilker) Furtney. Joseph Furtney was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
Furtney, who brought the family from Pennsylvania to Ontario, Canada, at the 
close of the Revolutionary war. Charlotte (Hilker) Furtney was brought to 
America from Germany at the age of fifteen by her parents, Aaron and 
Charlotte Hilker. Joseph Furtney and his wife had eleven children: 
Aaron W., Josiah, Joseph, Henry, William, John, Henrietta, Lydia, Hannah, 
Elizabeth and Jacob. Aaron W. was reared in Canada, and mastered farm 
pursuits. In 1861 he located in Saginaw, Mich. At the opening of the 
Civil war he enlisted from Rochester, N.Y., in Company C, Eighth New York 
Heavy Artillery, and served until the close of the conflict. 
He was captured at the Battle of Petersburg and taken to Richmond. 

324          HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY 

There he was put to work as fireman on an engine. But one day, being cut 
off from the guards, he and the engineer escaped to the Union lines after 
two months' captivity. He was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., and after 
the war worked as a fireman on Ohio river steamers. Later he returned to 
his home in Michigan, and entered the pine woods, having experience both 
at chopping and driving. From there he went to Decorah, Iowa, where he 
learned the trade of masonry. For a while he worked as a contractor in 
Austin, in this state. Then he worked in the "Soo" Railroad shops in 
Minneapolis. In 1896 he came to Frankfort township, in this county, and 
purchased thirty-four acres on the banks of Lake Charlotte. The land at 
that time was wild and covered with brush and had no buildings of any 
kind. He cleared the land into a park-like tract and erected a rustic 
log cabin. Later he sided over the cabin, built a large dining room, 
and opened a summer hotel known as the Furtney resort. In connection 
with his hotel he kept twelve rowboats and a launch, and his place 
was very popular. In 1912 he sold out to a group of philanthropists, 
who use the place as a fresh air resort for city boys. Mr. Furtney 
now resides in Buffalo, where he has a comfortable cottage home. 
After his life of interesting experiences he is now enjoying a well-
earned rest from the pressing activities of life. At the age of 
twenty-nine, Mr. Purtney married Martha Hibbert, a native of Norway, 
daughter of Jacob and Dorondo Hibbert. Mrs. Furtney died in 
Minneapolis at the age of fifty-two, in 1891, just twenty years from 
the time she was married. She left four children, Dora, Edward, 
Minnie and Ella. In 1894 Mr. Furtney married Albina Dupont, born 
in Canada, near Montreal, daughter of Eli and Delima (Gardbois) 
Dupont, who settled near St. Anthony in 1865. In the Dupont family 
there were sixteen children.