WINFIELD S. FEAR was born in La Porte county, Ind.,
September 24, 1847, and is a son of John Perry and Electa Fear.
The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1815. He settled in
northern Indiana at an early day, and lived there twelve or
fourteen years, engaged in farming, but subsequently sold out
and moved to Delaware county, Iowa, taking up his residence in
Delhi township, where he died, August, 1866. He was a farmer all
his life, and was a steady going, industrious, quiet and fairly
prosperous citizen. The mother is a native of Ohio, born
November 21, 1819. She is still living at the old homestead in
Delhi township, aged seventy. These were the parents of ten
children, only four of whom are now living.
Winfleld S., our subject,
started out for himself at the age of twenty-two. He was next to
the oldest boy living, and had to assist his father on the farm,
and had charge of the farm from the time his father died until
he was twenty-two years of age. At that time the homestead was
divided, and our subject took his part and went to farming for
himself, and being a gentleman of thorough business habits, and
of genuine enterprise, made more than a success of it, and is
recognized as one of the enterprising farmers of his community.
Mr. Fear married September
25, 1869, taking to wife Miss Eudora Brown, a native of
Wisconsin, born September 26, 1851. Her father, John H. Brown,
was born in Pennsylvania, in 1804. Lucy, his wife, was born in
New York, in 1811. From New York they moved to Wisconsin, and
lived there sixteen years. They moved to Delaware county, Iowa,
in 1866, where the father died at the age of eighty-two. The
mother is still living at Delaware, aged seventy-nine. They were
the parents of ten children, eight of whom are still living. Mr.
and Mrs. Fear have had born to them six children, as follows:
Arthur G., born February 22, 1871; Lucy B., born March 7, 1874;
James K., born April 14, 1876; Bertha M., born May 10, 1878;
Lewis N., born June 21, 1880; Clarence B., born July 14, 1885.
Mr. Fear has a pleasant home in Delaware, Iowa, having sold a
part of his farm and moved to town to educate his children. He
still owns a well cultivated farm of eighty acres. In politics
Mr. Fear is a republican and takes an active interest in his
party. |