WELFARE, SAMUEL G.

WELFARE, ALMOND, WATTS, PINGLE, MONTGOMERY, PLATT, CARSON, ARCHER

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 7/6/2003 at 15:49:03

Biography reproduced from page 589 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

Samuel G. Welfare engages in general agricultural pursuits and the raising and feeding of stock in Harrison township, where he owns one hundred and twenty acres of fertile land, located on section 12. He is a native of England, his birth having occurred in County Kent, November 12, 1873, and a son of Alfred and Elizabeth (Almond) Welfare, the former of Sussex and the latter of Kent. The father worked out by the month as a farm hand until he emigrated to the United States with his wife and family in 1892. He came direct to Kossuth county, locating on a farm in Ledyard township which he cultivated for two years. At the expiration of that time he purchased the place now owned by our subject, where he continued his agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he removed to Briceland, Minnesota. There he passed away on the 3d of September, 1904, and the year following the mother returned to Kossuth county and lived on the old homestead with her son Jesse until 1909, when she removed to Ledyard, where she continues to reside. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Welfare numbered eleven: Alfred, who is farming in Ledyard township; Mary, the wife of William Watts, a nurseryman at Fairmont, Minnesota; Samuel G., our subject; John T., a farmer of Harrison township, this county; Harriet, who became the wife of Otto Pingle, of Ledyard township; William, who was run over by a wagon loaded with hay and killed at the age of ten years; James H., a harness maker of Ledyard; Jesse, who is farming in the vicinity of Ledyard; Louise, who lives with the mother in Ledyard; and twins, who died in infancy.

The first nineteen years in the life of Samuel G. Welfare were passed in the land of his birth, where he received his education. He remained at home with his parents until they removed to Minnesota, when he began farming for himself as a renter on a place adjoining his present homestead. The next year he also went to Minnesota and continued his agricultural pursuits on a farm in the vicinity of Briceland, which he cultivated until 1907. He then returned to Kossuth county and settled on a place in Ledyard township, but he only remained there a year, and at the end of that time removed to another farm in the same township which he cultivated for two years. In the autumn of 1909, he purchased the old homestead, and has ever since been devoting his energies to its further improvement. His land has been brought to a high state of productivity and under his capable supervision annually yields rich harvests. His fields are largely devoted to such cereals as can be used for feeding stock, as he makes a specialty of raising and preparing cattle and hogs for the market.

On the 23d of March, 1904, Mr. Welfare was married to Miss Mina Montgomery, a daughter of Alexander W. and Clara (Platt) Montgomery. The father, who is a farmer, was born in the vicinity of Dubuque, this state, and is of English descent, while the mother, who is a native of Ohio, is of American extraction. They were for some years located on a farm in Ledyard township, this county, but the father subsequently disposed of his place and he and the mother removed to Ledyard, where he now lives retired. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, as follows: Viola, formerly the wife of Leon Carson, of Ledyard; Mrs. Welfare; Fred, who is conducting a barber shop in Ledyard; one, who is deceased; James, a farmer of Ledyard; and Cornelia, the wife of Ben Archer, a carpenter of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Welfare have one son, William Lester, who was born on the 8th day of April, 1905, and is attending school in district No. 1, Harrison township.

The family attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which the parents hold membership. Mr. Welfare is a republican in this political allegiance and is serving his first term as school director in district No. 1 of his township. He is a man of diligence and enterprise as is substantially evidenced by the appearance of his farm, which is one of the best kept and most attractive properties in the locality.