BIOGRAPHIES: Camille FORREST, Doyle Township, Barron County, WI

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:  
Vic Gulickson <vic@indy.net>  14 June 2002	
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Camille Forrest, now deceased, a worthy pioneer of Doyle Township, is a
splendid example of the men of rugged strength who cast their lot in Barron
County in the seventies, and by sheer force of hard work and untiring
energy built up homes for themselves and for their families. His name is
held in honored remembrance for what he was and what he was able to
accomplish. He was born in Canada, July 18, 1839, and came of French stock.
There he grew to sturdy boyhood. In after life, when he became a kindly and
genial old gentleman, happy in the love of his own grandchildren, he would
surround himself with their eager faces, and tell them tales of his own
childhood in that far away time. One story in particular would he tell them
of his trips to school in the cold weather. He was proud in the possession
of a pretty tasseled cap, which his mother had knit him of warm wool, and
when he started out barefooted to school, he would wear his cap on his
head, until his youthful feet became unbearably cold, when he would sit
down, rub his numb toes, and then bury his feet in the warm depth of his
cap, until circulation was restored, and he was able to resume his journey.
With such experiences it is natural that he should have developed strength
and vitality and endurance to help him through the hardships which he was
later to encounter as a pioneer. As a young man he started out for the
States, as so many of his fellow countrymen had done before him. For a
while he lived in Michigan. There he married. Then he came to Barron
County, and on May 17, 1874, took a homestead in Section 6, Doyle Township.
While getting his cabin built he lived with his brother, who had already
settled here and was living in a cabin on Section 5. When the cabin was
done, the family moved into it. He started clearing the land and to get in
the crops. Like the other pioneers, he worked for several winters in the
woods. Mr. Forrest was a true settler, and the story of his adventures in
the new country would be interesting indeed. The family had but little to
do with. Flour and salt had to be brought in from far away, oftentimes on
the back. Things which the family needed had to be raised or made on the
place or gone without. After the farm had been developed a little, Mr.
Forrest sold it, and moved a mile west of Section 1, on railroad land,
which is now partly included in the Village of Campia. There he started in
new again. But he had a little more to do with this time, and as the years
passed he developed a good farm. Here for some while he successfully
carried on general farming and dairying. He became one of the most
respected men of the community, known for his broad sympathies, his
unfailing good cheer, and his gentle tolerance for the failings of others.
He was honored by the adults and deeply loved by the young people. His
death, June 12, 1918, at the age of 79 years, caused deep and sincere
mourning. His memory will long be cherished, and his name will live in the
county's history. Mr. Forrest was married at Red Jacket, Michigan, to Mary
Ann Ormond, who was born in that state on Aug. 25, 1852, and died Jan. 5,
1919. She was an estimable woman of many gracious qualities. She
unflinchingly bore pioneer hardships, she was a faithful helpmate, and an
ideal wife, mother, neighbor and friend. Mr. and Mrs. Forrest were the
parents of thirteen children: Minnie, John, Josephine (died in infancy),
Louis Napoleon, Emily (died in childhood), Anna, William (who died in
infancy), Rosanna, Alma, Felix (who died in infancy), Edward (who died as a
young man), George and Edna (who died in infancy). The family faith is that
of the Roman Catholic Church and they are loyal in their support.

--Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr. & Co.,
1922, pp. 729-730.