Walworth, Wisconsin

Walworth is known in the Government survey as Town 1, Range Ifi east. It was fonnerly, under the act of 1838, a part of the town of Delavan. In ISSV), it was set off, with what is now Sharon, into a separate town and named Walworth. Subsequently, by act of the Legislature, March 21, 1843. Sharon was erected into a separate town, leaving its geographical limits as they now are.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources...its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin...and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution.., published 1882.

The town, in some regaixls, is more historic, or pre-historic. than any other part of the county. It had located near the head of Geneva Lake, which nearly covers Section 12 and a part of Section 11. the only considerable Indian village at the tinie the white settlers began to come in in 1836. Big Foot, a chief of the Pottawatomies, had his residence and council house there, and from there he took his final leave of the Walworth County hunting-grounds, in the latter part of that year, when the terms of the treaty whereby his lands were ceded demanded his evacuation. There, it is told, that the body of his son. a youth of some fifteen years, was left, inclosed in a rude log casket, in a tree overhanging the lake. There has been some dispute as to whether the remains were those of ii lad or of an adult person. Some old settlers over that it was the body of an old man, and was that of Big Foot's father, instead of his son. There seems little doubt that the casket hung in the tree when the first white man came, but what became of it - whether desecrated or given more Christian sepulture - is not known.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources...its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin...and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution.., published 1882.

Among those who came in prior to 1840, the following are remembered, and their first location given, fi-om the memory of those still living: Cyrus Church, oldest living settler, Febmary, 1837, on Section 21: Jake G. Saunders, on Section 22. in 1837, removed to Illinois many years ago; P. Van Slyke, on Section 14. made the first claim made in town in fall of 1836; moved away many years ago; present whereabouts, if living, not known; Marcus Russell, in 1837, on Section r5,'died in 1875; Robert Russell, in 1837, on Section 15, now Hving in Iowa; J. C. Chm-ch, in 1837, on Section 10, died in Delavan; Thomas Godfrey, in 183/, on Section 20, died in 1877 or 1S7S: John Reader, in 1837, on Section 18. died in 1879; James A. Maxwell, in 1837, on Section 27. moved to Nevada; Israel W. Starr, in 1837, on Section 13: Amos Bailey, in 1837, on Section 11; Jonathan Wai-d, in 1837, on Section 13; William Bell, in 1837, on Section 16; moved to Elkhorn, then to Kansas, where he died some yeai-s ago; D. C. Porter, fall of 1837, on Section 24, still living; C. L. Douglass, in 1837. tii-sib on Section 26. now living on Section 15; Drs. H. Clark and L. N. Wood, in 1837-38, both settled on Section 23, first physicians in the town, and among the earliest in the county; both deceased; their widows living; Matthias Molu-, in 1837, bought a part of Van Slyke's claim on Section 14: still living in the town; John Cummings and John Cummings, Sr.. in as eai-ly as 1838; Joseph Bailey, in 1838, moved to Iowa, where he died; Jonathan Fish, in 1838. on Section 33, died in Walworth in 1881; Jesse Bowman, in 1838 or 1839, on Section 18, deceased; place now owned by G. W. Webber; Thomas Waddle, in 1838, section not certain - probably 18; moved to Illinois early; David Davids, in 1839, Section 27, now living in Baraboo. Wis. ; William Reed, in 1838, on Section 14, deceased; son still lives on the old place; Elder P. W. Lake, in 1838 or 1839, on Section 34, died some years since; Mrs. Lake still lives on the place, at the advanced age of ninety years; Beardsley Lake, their son. lives in Harvard. 111. : Lucius Smith, in 1840. on Section 28, now lives in Sharon; Newell Crooks came in with the Douglass family in 1838; married (me of the daughters; settled on Section 15; now living in California: Sylvester Hawvei-, now in California, came in 1838 or 1839; Thadeus Smith, an unmarried man, came in 1838; Henry W^ Stevens, in 1839 or 1840, on Section 28, now in Colorado: William Rumsey, in 1837, on Section 30, now in Iowa: Mills Chm-ch, in 1838, on Section 28, now in Missouri.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources...its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin...and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution.., published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Walworth Village - it names this place 72 more 72 times.