Outagamie County, WI - Biography of Henry Anton BESSING of Grand Chute township 1854-

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Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives
SUBJECT: Henry Anton BESSING of Grand Chute township 1854-
SUBMITTER: W. David Samuelsen
EMAIL: dsam@wasatch.com
DATE SUBMITTED: Apr 13, 1999
SURNAMES: BESSING, SUNDERMANDOING, GUELFF, HEIMAN, JOCHAMEN, LIETHEN,HOOYMAN,
JACKELS
SOURCE: History of Outagamie County, Wisconsin. page 601, Pub. 1911


BIOGRAPHY:
BESSING, Henry Anton
who devotes his attention to dairy farming on a tract of sixty acres in Grand Chute township, has been a resident of
this section for a long period, and is known as one of his township's reliable citizens. 
He was born at Buffalo, New York. January 17, 1854, a son of Bernhard and Katharine (Sunderman) Bessing, natives
of  Prussia, Germany.
The parents of Mr. Bessing came to the United States about 1842, and located first in Detroit, Michigan, but after
a short period removed to Buffalo, New York, where Mr. Bessing  followed his trade as moulder until his death there
in 1864. 
Two years later Mrs. Bessing married Bernhardt Doing and came to Appleton, Mr. Doing purchasing a farm near the
present property of Mr. Bessing, and here he died some years later, Mrs. Doing then returning to Buffalo, where her
death occurred January 19, 1892. Five children were born by her first marriage:
Henry Anton: Frank, who is deceased; John, a resident of Buffalo, and Bernhardt, also living in the Bison city, and
Rose, who died in September, 1908, the wife of John Guelff, of Grand Chute township. Mrs. Doing had four 
children by her second union, namely: William, a soldier in the regular United States army; Tilly, who is deceased;
Joseph, who resides on State street, Appleton, an engineer in the paper mill, and Minnie, who is deceased.

Henry Anton Bessing received his education in the public schools of Buffalo, New York, and worked on the
home farm in Grand Chute township until he was twenty-one years old. He then started working out as a hired
man among the farmers of that vicinity, and when he had accumulated enough money he invested it in the farm
which he now operates, a first-class tract of sixty acres which he devotes to dairy farming. He has erected a
number of new, substantial buildings, fitted with modern equipment, with improvements to insure cleanliness and
hygienic conditions, and he has a fine herd of dairy stock which he fees on well kept pasture land.
Mr. Bessing is a member of the Roman Catholic Church at Appleton. In political matters he is an adherent of the
principles of the Democratic party, and he has served one term as a member of the town board.

On November 11, 1884, Mr. Bessing was married to Mary Heiman, who was born in Oconto, Wisconsin, June 22,
1865, daughter of Henry and Anna (Jochamen) Heiman, the former born in Holland in 1832, and the latter in
Westphalia, Germany, October 8, 1842. Mr. Heiman came to America when about twenty years of age, and for
about eight years thereafter he followed his trade of baker. After his marriage he became proprietor of a boarding
house in Oconto, Wisconsin, but after three years bought a farm in Grand Chute township, which he operated
until 1905. They were the parents of ten children: Henry, who is deceased; Mrs. Bessing; Lena, the wife of
William Liethen, overseer of the paper mill, residing on Walnut street, Appleton; Anna, the wife of Frank
Hooyman, a farmer of Freedom township; John, residing on the old homestead; Frank and Francis, deceased;
Antone, a Grand Chute township farmer; Margaret, the wife of Matt Jackels, a retired farmer of Story street,
Appleton, and one child, which died in infancy. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bessing have had six children: Cecelia, born November 22, 1884, died February 5, 1906; John, born
May 16, 1887, who died December 8, 1894; William, born February 17, 1890; Anna, born May 23, 1892; Raymond,
born August 31, 1894, and Agnes, born February 16, 1896.