W. W. WESTON.
Among the strong and influential citizens of Audubon county, Iowa, the records of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, W. W. Weston, a retired farmer of Audubon, Iowa, and proprietor of the "Hillside Stock Farm" under the firm name of W. W. Weston & Sons, breeders of Clydesdale horses and big type Poland China hogs, occupies a prominent place. For many years, he has exerted a beneficial influence on the locality where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy, honesty of purpose and motive and every-day common sense, which have enabled him not only to advance his interests but also to largely contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community.
W. W. Weston was born on April 11, 1853, in Iowa county, Wisconsin. He is the son of Charles S. and Hannah (Avenell) Weston, natives of England, both of whom came to America with their parents and who were married at Linden, Iowa county, Wisconsin. Charles S. Weston died in 1906 and his wife is still living in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. W. W. Weston is one of seven children born to his parents.
W. W. Weston was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin. In 1877 he came to Audubon county and first located in Viola township. He purchased his first land in 1880 and soon afterwards married. He improved the farm which consisted largely of prairie land. Mr. Weston bought one hundred acres at nine dollars an acre. He added to this farm until he has two hundred and eighty acres. He began breeding Clydesdale horses in 1900 and has been very successful, and now has twenty head of these useful animals. "Dorothy Vernon," which Mr. Weston's son, A. W.. owns, is the champion of the state, having been awarded first premium at the Des Moines state fair in 1910. He took second, third and sixth in Futurity class in 1913. He has taken sweepstakes on stallions and fillies over all breeds in the county fair during 1913 and 1914. Mr. Weston and sons raise Poland China hogs. He began in 1914 and now has one hundred and twenty-five head of thoroughbreds.
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W. W. Weston was first married on October 13, 1880, to Josephine Beason, a native of Illinois, who came to Audubon county with her parents. She was born in 1856 and died in February, 1907. By this marriage eleven children were born, Nellie, who died at the age of sixteen; Edith, who married Rev. N. J. Weiland, of Lansing, Iowa, who is a minister in the Evangelical church; Mae, who is the wife of Oscar O. J. Finch, of Goshen, Utah; Minnie K., the wife of Coyle C. Edwards, of Lake City, California; Albert W., who lives on the home farm; Charles, deceased; Frank, who lives on the home farm; Nina R., the wife of Felix Patefield, of Fenwood, Wisconsin; Louis, who lives on the home farm; Fred, deceased; and Margaret L., who is at home.
Mr. Weston was married the second time, on July 28, 1909, to Ella F. Fowler, the daughter of Caleb and Harriet Fowler, natives of New York. They settled in Illinois and are now both deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Weston and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in the affairs of this denomination. Mr. Weston is a Republican and has held various township offices and has filled all of them with credit to himself and to the people who elected him. He is a well-known citizen, a successful farmer and stock breeder and possesses to an unaccustomed degree the confidence of his neighbors and friends.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 624-625.
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