Untitled Surnames: Dustin, Lovejoy, Hampton, Small, Cooley, Morrell, Magonegil, Smith

From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901 - page 227-228

HORATIO PLUM IRISH, a highly respected farmer of Lancaster township, Grant county, and a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, was born in Hamburg, Erie Co., N.Y., Nov. 26, 1838, and is descended from New England ancestry.

Stephen B. IRISH, father of Horatio P., was a native of Vermont, born near Rutland Oct. 2, 1795, and was a son of Daniel L. IRISH, also a native of the Green Mountain State, and a hero of the Revolutionary war. Stephen B. was a soldier in the war of 1812, and, as Horatio P. was a veteran in the Civil war, it is evident that the family possesses unalloyed patriotism and gallant military ardor and mettle. Daniel L. IRISH and family migrated from Vermont to Erie county, N.Y., when Stephen B. was about twelve years old, and there passed the remainder of their days. Stephen B. and a brother, Sylvester, were the only two of a numerous family to come to the west, Sylvester residing for some time to Grant county, Wis., and then departing for Minnesota, while Stephen B. remained here.

Stephen B. IRISH grew to manhood in the wilds of western New York, and there married Abigail DUSTIN, a native of New Hampshire, a daughter of Timothy and Prudence DUSTIN, and a descendant of Hannah DUSTIN, one of the most famous women in the early history of the Colony of New Hampshire, who, it will be remembered by the student of Colonial history, was captured by hostile Indians, and a number of her family slain. One night she succeeded, by means of the noiseless tomahawk, in killing her sleeping savage captors and in making her escape. The DUSTIN family was also related to the LOVEJOY family, one member of which, who was among the earliest of Abolitionists, was foully murdered by pro-slavery adversaries.

In 1844 Stephen B. IRISH brought his family, consisting of his wife and seven children, to the State of Wisconsin, coming from Buffalo, N.Y., via the lakes to Milwaukee, and thence by wagon to Hurricane, Grant county; he arrived on the 14th day of September, of that year. Mr. IRISH here entered eight acres of government land, purchased eighty additional acres, and at once began to convert the wilderness in which he had settled into a productive farm. Here his wife died Feb. 8, 1876, and his own death occurred Nov. 4, 1879, after he had passed the age of eighty-four years. He was held in the highest esteem by his fellow citizens, as he was endowed with an intelligence far above the average. He was possessed of an extremely retentive memory, was a constant student of the Bible, and was well versed in history and in general literature. He was a kindly disposition, and was cheerful and hopeful in his views of life. He was a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church, but was not entirely creed-bound, as he was somewhat liberal in his religious views and opinions.

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. IRISH were the parents of a numerous family of children, of whom four at least died young, in the State of New York, viz.: Dustin, Ambrose, Prudence and John. Of the seven who came to Grant county with the parents, three still survive: Lucinda, widow of Elijah HAMPTON, now living in California; Sarah M., widow of William SMALL, of Merrill, Iowa; and Horatio P., who is the youngest of the family. Of the four who died in Grant county, Ezekiel passed away Oct. 2, 1845; Timothy in 1846, at the age of ten years; Caleb L., March 27, 1858, in his thirty-ninth year; and Lyman D., Jan. 11, 1876, at the age of fifty-one years, from the effects of fatigue and exposure endured while serving in Company C, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, in the war of the Rebellion.

Horatio Plum IRISH, the only surviving male representative of his father's family, was about six years old when brought to Grant county, and was reared to manhood on the home farm. On April 5, 1860, he married Miss Maria A. MORRELL, daughter of Ruel and Eliza (COOLEY) MORRELL, whose biography is given elsewhere. In December, 1861, Mr. IRISH, fired with patriotic fervor, enlisted in Company C, 2d Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry (the same in which is brother, Lyman D. enlisted), but was soon afterward seized with erysipelas, which prevented his going to the front and resulted in his discharge. But Mr. IRISH was not to be foiled in his desire to serve his country, and on convalescing re-enlisted, in the same command, with which he served in all its marches and engagements, chiefly in the Southern States bordering on the Mississippi river. He was on active duty continuously, with the exception of sixteen days spent in hospital, until the close of hostilities in April 1865, when his regiment was sent to Texas, as a part of the force detailed to keep a watch over the movements of the French army in Mexico under Maximilian. In the winter of 1865 Mr. IRISH was honorably discharged, and reached his home Dec. 16. His health has not been robust since his army experience, and he has therefore followed farming as a vocation and means of recuperation up to the present time, although he is a carpenter and builder by trade.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. IRISH has been blessed with two children: Henry, born April 1, 1862, married Julia F. MAGONEGIL; Abbie M., born Dec. 8, 1867, is now the wife of James U. SMITH.

Mr. IRISH is a Republican in his political affiliations but has never been a seeker after party favors. Mrs. IRISH is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Aside from his personal merits, the valiant services of Mr. IRISH as a soldier, and his long line of American ancestry, have won for him the esteem of his fellow citizens, and he and family stand among the best residents of Grant county.



This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck