Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/329

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 269 hinds of thai state from sometime in the early forties until the spring of 1855. They then eame up the river to Red Wing. bringing with them their son, William F. The father, after landing here, .May 10, 1855, secured employment in the stone quarries, in the meantime looking about for a suitable farm loca- tion. The valleys of Welch, which were not settled as soon as the other townships, attracted his attention, and in 1857 he took his family there and staked out a claim on section 10, where he broke 280 acres, built a home and carried on general farming on a large scale. Later he rented his farm, and purchasing ten acres of land near Red Wing, lived a life of comparative retirement until his death in 1877. The mother died in Novem- ber, 1855. William F., brought up on a. farm, received his educa- tion in the public schools and at Hamline University, at that time located in Red Wing. He then continued fanning with his parents until reaching his majority, at which time he purchased 120 acres on section 10, Welch township. Of this tract Mr. Be vers broke every foot, and carried on general farming with much success until 1881, when he moved to Red Wing and asso- ciated himself with the II. S. Rich & Co. hardware concern, for whom he handled farm implements and machinery. After five years of residence in Red Wing, he came to Zumbrota and acted as general manager of the branch store which the Rich company established here. So greatly did his accommodating spirit and honest dealings commend themselves to the people of the village and township, that after nine years with the Zumbrota branch of the Rich company, his friends persuaded him to make a venture on his own account. This he did, succeeding the company of which he had for so many years been the general manager. The firm was continued until 1908 under the firm name of W. F. Bevers & Son. A branch under the same title has been established at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with the son, William A., as genera] manager. Mr. Bevers has now practically retired from active business life, still retaining his extensive interests in the Red AVing Manufacturing Company, the Red Wing Union Stone- ware Company, the First State Bank of Zumbrota and the Secur- ity Bank of Zumbrota. His political career, which has been both distinguished and honorable, includes two years as president of the village council of Zumbrota, three years as an alderman in Red Wing, and four years as president of the Zumbrota hoard of education. For two years he was second lieutenant I'M h Regi- ment, State Militia. AVilliam F. Bevers was married February 28, 1872. at Lake City. Minn., to Sarah Linn, daughter of John and Catherine Linn, natives of Ohio and early settlers of Welch. They afterward removed to Marshall, Minn., and finally went