Outagamie County, WI - Biography of James DEAN of Seymour 1821-

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Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives
SUBJECT: Biography of James DEAN of Seymour 1821-
SUBMITTER: W. David Samuelsen
EMAIL: dsam@wasatch.com
DATE SUBMITTED: Apr 16, 1999
SURNAMES: DEAN, NICHOLS, HARRIS
SOURCE: Record of the Pioneers of Outagamie County, Wisconsin;  page 30, pub. 1898, The Post Publishing Co.


BIOGRAPHY:
JAMES DEAN

J. Dean was born in the village of Martensburg, Lewis county, in the state of New York, on the 20th day of
September, A.D. 1821. When I was about eight years old, my father moved from Martensburg to the town of Turin,
Lewis county, where he bought a farm, and lived there till I was sixteen years old. I wen to school in a log school
house, and sat on the soft side of a basswood slab, flat side up, with legs put in with a two-inch auger; went to school
winters and worked on father's farm in the summers. In the winter of 1836 my father sold his farm, and the 18th day
of May, 1836, we started for the western country. We came to Rome, N.Y., in wagons - thirty miles - then we took a
boat on the Erie Canal for the city of Oswego, for at that time Buffalo harbor was still frozen up and no vessels could
get out or into Buffalo from the city of Oswego. Our trip was continued on a schooner across Lake Ontario, then
through the Welland canal in Canada to Detroit, Mich. My father spent about two weeks looking through Michigan,
then we took passage on a schooner for Wisconsin, landing in Milwaukee on or about the 18th day of June, 1837;
lived in Milwaukee most of that summer, then my father moved out to his farm in the town of Muskego Lake,
Wisconsin. At that time Wisconsin was one of the most beautiful countries the human eye ever beheld - one vast field
of flowers, red, white and blue and all colors; the country was more than alive with game of all kinds. I was well
acquainted with Solomon Juneau. He would come out to my father's with his wife and stay there for a week at a time.
He was one of the most sociable and the best company of any man I ever visited with. I was also acquainted some
with Byron Kilbourn and George Walker. They were very pleasant men to meet. I lived at Muskego with my father
(with the exception of two years that I lived in Milwaukee) till 1846; then I got married to Betsey Nichols of Monroe
county, N.Y., and moved out to Dodge county and went to farming. April 22, 1872, my wife died leaving me with
two children, F. H. and E. J. Dean. My niece kept house for me for one year, then I was married, in the spring of
1873, to Olive G. Harris. Lived there on the farm till 1876, then sold my farm and in 1877 moved to the then village
of Seymour, Outagamie county, and went into the hardware business with my two boys, F. H. and E. J. Dean. I have
one son by my second wife, Charles Dean, living with me now.

In 1878 and 1879 we built a branch store at Bonduel, in the town of Hartland, Shawano county; we carried on the
store there for four or five years when it burned up we rented a store for a year, then sold out. I then bought out my
two boys, F. H. and E. J. Dean in the store at Seymour and ran it for one year, I then sold out the store. My present
business is loaning money and real estate business. I have represented the First ward of the city of Seymour as
supervisor on the county board for eleven years; have been justice of the peace for eight years, hold that office at the
present time; also have been president of the Seymour Fair and Driving Park Association for two years; am now in my
seventy-fifth year; my health is good and must say I do not feel very old. My father, Henry H. Dean, was born in
England, May 5, 1784; he was drafted into the English army in the war between England and France; he was a soldier
for twelve years; he was in Lord Wellington's army; he was in most of the heavy battles of that war. He was in the
army that took Joseph Bonaparte and his army prisoners; he was wounded four times in one day; he came with his
regiment to Canada very near the close of the war of 1812. In the spring peace was declared and he came across to
the American side and became an American citizen; he lived to be 90 years and six months old; he lies buried on
Prospect Hill, in Waukesha county, Wisconsin. My mother, Betsy R. Dean, was born Sept. 6, 1799, in Connecticut.
She lived to a good old age. She lies buried in Lewis county, state of New York.