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From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901 - page 322-323
GEORGE W. ISRAEL, a retired farmer in the town of Paris, Grant county, was born in Michigan, Feb. 9, 1837, a son of G. W. and Wealthy (COBB) ISRAEL, both natives of Erie county, Penn. Shortly after their marriage they removed west to Michigan, spending some years in that State, and coming to Platteville, Wis., in 1841. Mr. ISRAEL did not remain in Platteville very long at that time, but soon moved to Iowa county, Wis., and in 1868 bought a farm in Boone county, Iowa, near the village of Boonesboro. Mrs. ISRAEL died in Grant county, Wis., in 1846, and in 1852 Mr. ISRAEL wedded Sarah POTTER, who died in Boonesboro, Iowa, after the death of her husband in the same place.
George W. ISRAEL is the only one of a family of four children, born to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. ISRAEL, who lived to attain his maturity, the others all dying in infancy, or early childhood. In the common schools he received his education, and when the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in Company F, 20th Wis. V.I., and served in the Western Army, a greater part of the time under the command of Gen. Herring, of Dubuque. The 20th Wisconsin was engaged in chiefly in Missouri and Arkansas, and was a participant in the battle of Prairie Grove, Gen. Price commanding the Rebel forces, where it was badly cut up. Mr. ISRAEL saw service at Vicksburg, New Orleans, and at the capture of Mobile, the latter being his last engagement in the war. The 20th Wisconsin was a hard worked and gallant regiment, and during its service it is said to have marched over nine thousand miles. At Madison, it was honorably discharged from the government service.
Mr. ISRAEL was a farmer in Boone county some three years after his return to civil life. In 1868 he married Miss Elizabeth CHAPMAN, of Platteville, Wis. Mrs. ISRAEL is the daughter of Thomas and Sarah (KEY) CHAPMAN, old settlers in Grant county, who were born in England. When Wisconsin was still a territory they made a settlement on a farm near Platteville. The father died in 1883, and the mother in 1864. By his first wife Mr. CHAPMAN was the father of three children: Robert, of Dakota; Mary Jane is the widow of John PARNELL, of Platteville; and Elizabeth, who is Mrs. ISRAEL, as born March 3, 1848.
Mr. ISRAEL and his wife lived on Mr. CHAPMAN's farm some six years, when he purchased the farm which is now their home in the town of Paris, where they at once located, and where they have lived to the present time. Mr. and Mrs. ISRAEL are the parents of a family of five children: Thomas, born in Iowa in 1871, grew to manhood in Grant county, and is a resident of Platteville; Sarah, born in Platteville in 1873, is now the wife of James HAMILTON, and lives on his farm in the town of Paris, where they are rearing a family of five children, Alice, Walter, Clyde, Ethel, and George; Robert, born in Platteville in 1876, is unmarried, and is a resident of this town; Fanny, born in 1883, graduated from the district school in 1896, and is considered the youngest graduate of the town of Paris; and Nora, born in 1887, is now a student of the public school. Mr. ISRAEL is a Republican, and has been an active worker in the politics of the town. Both he and his wife are counted among the best people of the town, while his record as a soldier is that of a man who did his full duty to his country in her hour of peril.
This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck