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Fred Durey,
for many years a contractor of Manchester and until quite
recently also engaged in the lumber business here, possesses the
full confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen, who know him
to be upright and honorable. He has passed his eighty second
birthday but is still active, his mind retaining its clarity and
vigor and his health being excellent. He was born July 1, 1832,
in England, a son of William and Rebecca (Meckley) Durey natives
of England and France respectively. The father was a farmer by
occupation and was highly regarded by those who were associated
with him. He died in 1865 and the mother passed away about that
year. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom
survive: Albert, a resident of England; Emma, the wife of John
Miller, also a resident of England; Fred; Clark, living in
Manchester, Iowa; and Sarah, who is unmarried and resides at
Englewood, Illinois.
Fred Durey was given but meager educational
advantages and received the greater part of his schooling through
attending night school in England. When about thirteen years of
age he shipped upon a sailboat plying in the English channel and
was with that vessel for two years and for six months was on the
Queen Victoria, a somewhat larger ship. In 1847, when fifteen
years of age, he emigrated to the United States and settled in
New York state, where he resided for about four years. He then
came west and for four years resided in Illinois. In 1858 he
removed to this county. Two years before he drove from Batavia,
Illinois, to Delaware county and entered one hundred and sixty
acres of land, but returned to Illinois and continued to reside
there until 1858, when he again made the trip by team, this time
being accompanied by his family. He devoted his time to the
cultivation of his farm until 1886 and then removed to Manchester
and went into the lumber and contracting business. In 1906 he
sold out his lumber interests. He has built thirty two houses for
him self which he rents to tenants and which bring him in a
substantial addition to his income. The first house which he
built was his residence upon the farm and while living there he
saw a great deal of the Indians, who were numerous at that time.
One day while he was breaking the land a number of Indians came
to his house and he gave them meat and flour. This won their
friendship and for three years they were frequent visitors and
always came as friends.
On the 1st of March, 1852, Mr. Durey was united
in marriage to Miss Antoinette Tillotson, a daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. John Tillotson, both natives of the state of New York, where
they passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Durey have been born seven
children, five of whom survive: Jennie is the widow of Pratt
Steward, who passed away in 1912. William is a resident of
Michigan and Delia became the wife of Fay Stewart on the 12th of
November, 1881. Mrs. Stewart resides in Manchester, a devoted
daughter, ministering to the care and comfort of her parents in
their declining years. To Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were born seven
children, five of whom survive, namely: Eva, the wife of Peter
Johnson, a resident of Illinois; Claud, who lives in Omaha;
Nettie, the wife of Alvin Boe and a resident of Sherbrooke, North
Dakota; Ruby, a teacher; and Roy, who is at home. The fourth of
the living children of Mr. and Mrs. Durey is Bert, who lives in
Manchester, and the fifth is Maude, a resident of Waterloo, Iowa.
Mr. Durey always voted the republican ticket until the
last election, when he supported Wilson for president. Although
he has resided in Manchester for almost thirty years, he retains
his farming property, owning a fine tract of four hundred acres
of land in this county, and receives there from a good annual
income. His wife is a member of the United Brethren church and
takes an active interest in its work. Both husband and wife are
widely known and highly respected in Delaware county, where they
have lived for over five decades and where they have always
proven themselves honest, just and kindly. |
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