Beecher, Gus

The following data is extracted from Racine, Belle City of the lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement.

Farming interests of Union Grove find a worthy representative in Gus Beecher, who for sixty-five years has been a resident of this section of the state. He was born in Germany. November 27, 1849, a son of John Casper and Rebecca (Lentz) Beecher, both of whom were natives of Germany, in which country they were reared and married. On coming to the United States they settled in Kenosha County in 1851 and the father purchased forty acres of good land. To this he added from time to time until he was the owner of one hundred and twenty acres, which he cleared, developed and improved. There were still a few Indians here at the time of his arrival and the district gave little indication of white settlement, the work of progress and improvement having been scarcely begun. The death of Mr. Beecher occurred in Kenosha and was the occasion of deep and wide-spread regret. He was a member of the Lutheran church and he gave his early political allegiance to the Democratic Party, but subsequently became a stalwart republican. For two or three terms he filled the office of town clerk and for twenty-five years he occupied the position of station agent at Kansasville. He was a well educated man, alive to the interests of the community, and he furthered many movements that have been of value in upbuilding this section or the state. For some time he was a notary public and he drew up deeds and other documents. In Germany he had been a forester and it was the hope or bettering his financial condition that led him to come to the new world. He became a successful and well-to-do business man and his prosperity was the direct result of earnest and persistent effort. His life was at all times honorable and upright and he enjoyed the confidence and goodwill of all who knew him.

Gus Beecher, who is the only survivor of a family of six children, pursued his education in the district schools and early became familiar with every department of farm work, for from an early age he was trained to the work of the fields. He has always carried on general agricultural pursuits and is now the owner of one hundred and forty acres, constituting a valuable farm property of the district. He carries on general farming and dairying and both branches of his business are proving profitable because he knows how to wisely use his time and opportunities.

In 1868 Mr. Beecher was married to Miss Mary Ann Sumpter and to them have been born nine children, of whom seven are yet living: Edwin, who assists his father in the work of the home farm; Rose, the wife of Fred Blackburn, of Dover Township; Laura, the wife of Edward Stephens, proprietor of a grocery store at Eagle Grove, Iowa; George, a mail carrier of the town of Dover; Roy and Raymond, also of Dover Township; and Ross, a barber of Lyons, Wisconsin.

In politics Mr. Beecher is a republican, loyal to the interests of his party and for eighteen years he served as district clerk. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church and his life conforms to its teachings, his many admirable characteristics winning for him the respect and goodwill of those who know him.

Source: Racine, Belle City of the lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement

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