A number of the Hoyt children of David and Maria taught school for a time and were brought up staunch Methodists. For instance, Effie and her husband gave the land for the Methodist Church in Klemme with the stipulation that no liquor would be sold in town. Walter worked to build a Methodist church in Ridgeway.

And so it was - a strong faith and a special caring for those less fortunate.

Hoyt, Thomas Mead and Henrietta (Edmunds)

(Hazel Hoyt Markovetz)

Thomas Mead Hoyt born 27 Apr 1824 at Ridgefield, CT was of the tenth generation of Hoyts in this country. His parents were Warren and Elizabeth Hoyt.

Tom married Henrietta Edmunds. They had 3 children: Ella, Emma and Alice. ENa and Emma, twins, died when they were small babies. Alice married her cousin Gene Hoyt, son of Tom's brother David. They had no children.

Tom was a carpenter by trade. He fought in the Civil War and kept a diary which has been preserved: He was on the Western Front with those soldiers who were sent to control the Indians. His diary indicates how much he missed his family.

The exact date of his coming to Decorah is not established but it is known that Alice grew up in Decorah and that Tom and Henrietta lived there for many years. They both died in Decorah - Tom in 1908 and Henrietta's death date has not been verified.

Hoyt, Warren and Ellen (Wells)

(Hazel Hoyt Markovetz)

Warren Reuben Hoyt was born 23 May 1859 in Emmett County, Estherville, IA to David N. and Maria (Wells) Hoyt. He and his twin brother Walter were the first white children born in Emmett Co.

Because of the Indian uprising and massacres in New Ulm, MN - just north of Estherville - the family returned to IA in 1862. They lived in Glenwood Twp. about 2 years, then settled in Freeport, IA. (See the David N. and Maria Hoyt story).

Warren and his brother Walter farmed a few years in western lowaa - Hancock County. Warren then traveled about the U.S. and Canada insulating cold storage buildings for about 6 years.

Warren married Ellen Wells (b. 6 Jun 1859) in Decorah. They had one child, Clara Maude born 18 Mar 1890 and died 29 Jun 1972. She is buried in Phelps Cemetery.

The family moved to Elma, IA where Warren had a hardware store for 18 years before returning to Decorah. Warren had a Ford agency for 10 years

The family lived in the lovely old stone house that Ellen's father had converted from an old creamery many years before.

Ellen and Warren were faithful workers and contributors to the Methodist Church in Decorah. He had been a charter member of the Freeport Methodist Church. They prized education and contributed especially to the higher seats of learning such as St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids, IA and other institutions. The needy and unfortunate also benefited from the interest and open purse strings of this family.

Walter died 26 Aug 1935 and Ellen died 4 Feb 1934. Both are buried in Phelps Cemetery in Decorah.

Hoyt, Walter Edwin and Fanny (Jones)

(Hazel Hoyt Markovetz)

Walter Edwin Hoyt was born 23 May 1859 in Emmett County close to where the town of Estherville, IA is now located. He was the son of David N. and Maria A. Hoyt. Walter and his twin brother Warren were the first white children born in Emmett Co. The family had moved there from Freeport, IA.

Due to the Indian massacres of hundreds of settlers in the New Ulm, MN area in 1862 led by the Sioux Chief, Little Crow, the settlers in Emmett Co. hurriedly put what they could into their wagons and headed East. The Hoyt famliy may have lived in Glenwood Twp. for a short time but we know they returned to Freeport when the twins were four years old.

Walter grew up with eight brothers and sisters in the Freeport-Decorah area. When he and Warren were young men they went to Hancock County where they farmed together. When Walter returned he bought a farm 5 miles east of Ridgeway on Hwy 9. The house he built and added on as the family grew stands on the east side of the highway and is kept in fine condition. Until recently, the barn still stood along with some outbuildings surrounded by a mulberry grove.

Walter married a Ridgeway teacher Fanny Catherine Jones 4 Feb 1886. She was the daughter of Alonzo and Martha (Howard) Jones born 27 Feb 1862 in the now extinct town of Leeds Corners, Wl. While teaching in Ridgeway she also kept house for her brother Dr. Ed Jones.

Dr. Jones married Patty Blackburn from Ridgeway and returned to Weyauwega where he practiced many years until retirement.

Walter and Fanny had 6 children: Archie and his twin sister, Arthur, Agnes, Helen and David. The little twin girl died at birth and as was customary in those days she was buried in a grave near the house. A yellow rose bush was planted by her grave and through the years it became a huge, blooming plant. Ninety years later when the highway was to be widened, construction workers were alerted of the approximate grave site which was found. She was then buried beside her twin brother Archie in Phelps Cemetery.

Fannie had been raised a Baptist, but when the two older children were about two and four, she joined the Methodist Church. Walter rallied with the Methodists to build a church in Ridgeway. A fine brick church was built and served that faith for many years. The church is now gone. Walter and Fanny were very active in the Methodist church and also civic minded.

They got the Township to recognize the need of a new country school. It now stands dilapidated and overgrown with brush on Hwy 9 about 2 miles east of the Hoyt home. They pushed for a 7 month school year rather than the 5