Sears, Edgar A.

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

Many of Racine County's citizens feel that there is no need to seek a location elsewhere because of the excellent opportunities here offered for business advancement, owing to the naturally rich condition of the soil. Among this number is Edgar A. Sears, who has always lived in Caledonia Township, his birth having occurred on his father's farm January 23, 1880. His father, Daniel Sears, was also born in Caledonia Township, his natal year being 1846, and the mother, who bore the maiden name of Nellie Mann, was born in 1856. The former was a son of Lewis Sears, a native of New England, who at a very early period in the pioneer development of Wisconsin came to Racine County, where he took up land from the government. It was a raw tract, covered with timber which he had to clear away before he could cultivate the soil. He spent his remaining days in this County but was killed in the woods when a young man. The maternal grandfather, Rodney Mann, came to Wisconsin when there were but two or three houses in Racine and he, too, established his home in Caledonia Township, where he became an extensive and successful farmer, devoting his remaining days to agricultural pursuits here.

Daniel Sears was reared on the old Sears homestead and obtained his education in the district schools. He made farming his life work and in time became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in one body, together with a timber tract elsewhere. He started out in business with comparatively little means, but through industry and perseverance won success. His business affairs were characterized by clarity of vision and keen discernment and whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. He died in 1909, while his wife passed away in 1916. They attended the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Sears was a member, and Mr. Sears gave his political allegiance to the Republican Party. Their family numbered four children, of whom three are still living: Edgar A.; Mabel, the wife of Alex Olson, who is engaged in the feed business in Kenosha; and John, a blacksmith of Raymond Township.

In retrospect one can see Edgar A. Sears among the farm boys of his home neighborhood, indulging in their sports, attending the district school and working in the fields when parental authority assigned him tasks in connection with the cultivation of the crops. He saw no reason to change his occupation when he reached man's estate and after his father's death purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead, so that he now has a valuable farm property of one hundred acres, on which he carries on general farming and dairying. The equipment of the farm includes a nice home, substantial barns and sheds, a good silo, well kept fences and the latest improved machinery and the spirit of enterprise and progress is manifest in the further development of the place.

In 1903 Mr. Sears was married to Miss Meta Becker, a daughter of Herman Becker, a representative agriculturist of Caledonia, and they have three children, Daniel, Mildred and Arthur, aged respectively nine, four and two years.

Mrs. Sears belongs to the German Lutheran church, and both are highly esteemed in the community, having a large circle of friends, who find pleasure in their companionship and recognize their genuine worth.

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

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