BIOGRAPHIES: George Henry RAPLEY, Cameron, Barron County, WI ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Vic Gulickson 09 April 2001 ==================================================================== George Henry Rapley, early storekeeper at Cameron, at one time postmaster there, for some years a farmer in Chetek township, and now living retired in Chetek village, was born in Fond du Lac, this state, May 12, 1857, the son of Charles and Mary (Freeman) Rapley. The father, an expert mechanic, and a past master of the Masonic Lodge at Fond du Lac, died a week before George H. was born. There was another son, Charles H., in the family. The mother had earlier married Nathanial Parks, and to this union had been born three daughters, Emma, Martha and Mary. Mr. Parks was killed soon after the youngest child was born, and the mother took the children to live with the grandfather, Cyrus Freeman, at Fond du Lac. She was there married to Charles Rapley. After his death, she took the family of five children to Houston, Minn. In 1865 they came to Chippewa County, in this state, and after a few years took up their residence in Minneapolis, Minn. George Henry was reared in Minnesota and Wisconsin. While living with the family in Chippewa County, he first visited this county, in the employ of Knapp, Stout & Co. and later located here permanently. He was one of the far-sighted men who foresaw the possibilities of the county from a commercial standpoint, and being a man of mercantile ability, he determined to open a store at Cameron. In 1882, when the railroad was built to Cameron, he received the first load of goods that came in the first freight shipment, and opened a general store. This he conducted for fifteen years. For six years he was postmaster, being appointed by President William McKinley. Mr. Rapley was an ideal pioneer storekeeper. He was genial by nature, he was a natural trader, he knew the needs of the community, he was a sincere believer in progress, and the story of the early days in the village is inseparably linked with his name. He had the confidence of all the people, he was ever willing to do his share in every good work even at personal sacrifice, and his influence on the community was distinctly a good one. In 1905, after the village had grown, he disposed of his mercantile interests, and located on 190 acres in Section 15, west, Chetek township. He moved into the log cabin on the place, with his wife and fourteen children, and started building up a farm. They all worked together in concord, and soon the work was crowned with success. Mr. Rapley built a fine set of buildings, fenced and improved the land, purchased good equipment, and in time had one of the best places in the whole community, everything about the farm bespeaking the thrift, hard work and good judgment of the owner. On this place he made his home until November, 1920, when he retired and moved to Chetek village. Mr. Rapley was married at Cameron, on Nov. 25, 1884, to Luella J. Richardson, who was born in Richland County, Wis., Aug. 31, 1868, and died March 13, 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Rapley had fifteen children: Guy Raymond (deceased), George (who was the first rural mail carrier out of Cameron), Leroy, Ida May (deceased), Myrtle, Pearl, Lila May (deceased), Katherine, Ethel, Blanche, Charles Henry, Loretta, Clara Belle, Charlotte and Theodore Roosevelt. --Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., 1922, pp. 531-532.