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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 |
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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 himself 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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