Untitled Surnames: Hatch, Baker, Hoag, Keith, Shirley, Harris, Pridaux, Reynolds, Banker, Bartholomew, Bowker

From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Wisconsin, publ. 1901 - page 18-19

ELISHA CARRINGTON. To the citizens of Grant county the name of this distinguished and public-spirited resident of Montfort is well-nigh as familiar as household words. An old settler, he is known to all the men and women of later generations, and the mention of his name at once challenges attention and commands respect. His birthplace was Monroe county, N.Y., a section which forms a part of the Genesee Valley, far famed for its fertile valleys and its gently sloping, vine-covered hills. His eyes first opened Jan. 9, 1831, on the farm of his father, William CARRINGTON, who was born near the city of Utica, N.Y., not far from the headwaters of the Black river, whose undulating banks and picturesque falls, as it descends through the gorge near Trenton, have made it famous among tourists from all parts of the country.

Elisha CARRINGTON lost his father while he was a child, and his mother afterward returned to her father's home, in Ontario county, N.Y., taking with her her three children, one of whom was a daughter. From that place she removed to Medina county, Ohio, making her home at Westfield. There she married a second time, becoming the wife of Hiram HATCH, of the same bailiwick. The elder (and only) brother of Elisha CARRINGTON was named Miles; he died at Detroit, Mich., in 1882. Betsey Jane, his only sister, was twice married, first to William BAKER, and after his death to N. P. HOAG, who died Nov. 24, 1894; she died near Kent, Wash., Feb. 14, 1898.

In 1849 young CARRINGTON returned to New York, but after remaining two years went back to Ohio, in 1851. From that State he removed to Wisconsin, in February, 1855, and has ever since been a resident of Grant county, with the exception of the years 1866-68, which he passed in Iowa county. For many years his homestead was in Clifton, but in 1877 he took his family to Montfort, which has since been his place of residence. Brought up as a farmer's boy, he has devoted nearly his entire life to agriculture. His home is one of happiness and comfort, and as he nears the age of threescore years and ten, and looks about upon his children and grandchildren, and reflects upon his long, well-spent and useful life, he is able to return thanks to the Power which has enabled him, through his own, unaided efforts, to accumulate a competence. His fellow citizens have not been slow to recognize his ready grasp of affairs and his moral worth. For two years he served as chairman of the town board of Clifton, and has also served as chairman and treasurer of the board of Wingville township. For many years his political affiliation was with the Republican party, but, having become convinced that intemperance and the liquor traffic are the two most serious dangers menacing the perpetuity of the Nation, he has felt it his duty to give his adherence to the Prohibition movement as a political as well as a moral force. Both he and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Church, to whose advancement he has been a liberal supporter.

On Jan. 8, 1857, Mr. CARRINGTON was married to Caroline Althea, daughter of Adam KEITH who settled in Grant county in 1847. Mr. KEITH was a man of intense energy and a somewhat restless temperament. He was born in Pennsylvania March 16, 1794, removed thence first to Ohio, afterward to Indiana, and later to Rockford, Ill. From the place last named he went to Wisconsin, and two years later (in 1849) crossed the Plains to California, where he remained for two years. He finally settled in southwestern Nebraska, and died there March 16, 1883. He married for his first wife, Elizabeth SHIRLEY, and after her death wedded Hannah HARRIS, who survived him until Jan. 7, 1900, when she too passed from earth. By his two marriages Mr. KEITH was the father of a large family of children, nine of whom are yet living: Louis, Jasper, Ruhama (Mrs. PRIDAUX) and Henrietta (Mrs. REYNOLDS), all of Nebraska; Mrs. N. BANKER, Mrs. M. BARTHOLOMEW, and Mrs. CARRINGTON, of Wisconsin; Mrs. M. BOWKER, of Minnesota; and R. H., of California.

To Mr. and Mrs. Elisha CARRINGTON have been born ten children. One of these, William Grant, died at the age of twenty-four years. Those who survive are Gertrude Louisa, Ella J., Luella Jane, Henrietta Keith, Bertha Adelia, Mabel Susan, Adam M., Elisha Lewis and Miles Frantz.



This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck