Bio of Henry VARNER (b.1831), Wright Co., MN 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. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Glen Pettit Transcribed by: Glen Pettit This Bio is from the HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY, Volumes I and II, Published in 1915 by Franklin Curtiss - Wedge. Surname Index for The HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY can be found at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/wright/wright.html Under HISTORY. NOTE: This file was scanned and changed to text so there may be some typos. pg 312 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY Henry Varner, pioneer, a retired farmer now residing in Buf- falo, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 16, 1831, a son of John and Mary (Bitts) Varner, both natives of Pennsylvania, where they spent the span of their years as farmers. The Varner family in Pennsylvania dates back to the Revolutionary war, and the direct ancestors at one time carried on farming operations on the present site of Oil City. John and Mary Varner had twelve children: Solomon, Levi, Jacob, Daniel, William, Henry, John, Jr., David, Susan, Polly, Katie and Lafayette. Of these, Solomon, Jacob, Henry, John, Jr., and Lafayette came to Wright county. The first to come were Henry and Jacob. They arrived in 1856. From St. Paul they walked to Monticello, where they erected a house and resided a year. In 1858 they each secured a homestead of 160 acres in Buffalo town- ship. The land was wild, and no roads led past their claims. They erected a shack of poles, and started to prepare the land for farming. As time passed they purchased a yoke of oxen from traders passing on the old Red River trail. This is said to have been the first pair of oxen in the township. The two brothers lived alone until 1860, when Henry, on one of his frequent trips to Pennsylvania, married, and thus secured a mistress for his home. Henry Varner did not leave his claim during the Indian scare, but remained to defend his place. No Indians appeared. During the early years of their married life Henry Varner and his wife spent part of their time farming in the oil regions of Pennsylvania, alternating their work there with visits to the claim in Buffalo. In 1866 they located permanently on their claim and there resided forty-five years. He erected good buildings, made a success of farming, and did considerable dealing in real estate. For thirty years he operated a threshing machine. The respect in which he was held by his fellow citizens is shown by the pg 313 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY fact that he served a number of years as chairman of the town board. In the late nineties he retired and moved to the village of Buffalo. Henry Varner, when a young man, owned and operated two coal mines in Pennsylvania. He sold one before coming to Minnesota and disposed of the other afterwards. He was married October 3, 1860, to Anna Korb, born in Venango county, Penn- sylvania, February 20, 1841, daughter of Adam and Mary Korb, natives of Germany. Adam Korb was a tailor and farmer. By his first wife, Mary, he had five children, and by her sister, his second wife, he had thirteen children. Henry Varner and his wife had eleven children, all of whom are married. Mary is now Mrs. Bruce Mills, of Buffalo, and has five children. Amanda is now Mrs. Levi Elletson, and has nine children. Harriet is now Mrs. William Korb, and has five children. John married Reka Wetzig. Henry married Minnie Moss. They have five children. Ruben married Jennie Keefe. Adam married Emma Bectel. They have five children. George married Christine Bectel. They have six children. Milbrey married Lena Moss. They have four chil- dren. Archibald married Lulu Retzlaf. Nettie is now Mrs. Walter Schwietering and has two children. This makes forty grandchildren—and there are thirteen living great grandchildren. Henry Elletson, grandson of Henry Varner and son of Amanda Elletson, became the father of triplets and twins. The triplets all died, but the twins are living. In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. Varner celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. The health of the Varner family is worthy of note. Mr. Varner is a man of the most robust constitution, and has never found it necessary to consult a physician. Several of his children, also, have never been attended by a physician. The grandchildren also inherit the same robust constitution. Mrs. Varner died May 16, 1914.