SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Hon. Ambrose Delos DeLand, Page 701

HON AMBROSE DELOS DeLAND, a well-known fairy farmer of Sheboygan County, is now a resident of the Chair City.  Through his public service and the active part he has taken in dairy interests, he has gained a reputation throughout the State.  Mr. DeLand was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., March 30, 1831, and when nine years of age accompanied his parents, Eli and Sophia (Miller) DeLand, who were natives of the same State, to Wisconsin.  The trop was made by wagon, the family first locating in Calumet County, but five years later located in Fond du Lac County.  There the parents spent their last days.  They were members of the Methodist Church, and were of that industrious, sturdy class of settlers who laid the foundation for Wisconsin's greatness.  Only three members of their family are living.  Prof. O. P. DeLand was an instructor in the university at Appleton, and is now Principal of DeLand's Commercial College in Appleton; Mrs. A. E. Hatch resides in Fond du Lac.

    A. D. DeLand, as he is familiarly known, grew to manhood when the schools of Wisconsin were much inferior to what they are to-day; however, he received a good education in the public schools and in the academy at Fond du Lac.  When sixteen years of age he taught his first school, and for seventeen terms thereafter was engaged in that calling.  Among the positions he held during that time was the principalship of the schools of Manitowoc, also of Two Rivers.  At the former place he was married, May 27, 1863, to Miss Mary Swett, a native of Monroe County, N. Y.  Her parents, John W. and Hannah D. (Scribner) Swett, came to this county in 1846 and located on a farm in Lima Township, being among the pioneer settlers.  Both are now deceased.  They were active members of the Baptist Church, and were held in high esteem by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.  Mr. Swett was a Republican in politics, and for a time held the position of Chairman of his township.  Mrs. DeLand is the only surviving member of that family.  Like her husband, she was a teacher for a number of years in the public schools.

    Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. DeLand located on a farm in the town of Lima, where they made their home until 1890, the date of their removal to the Evergreen City.  In dairy farming Mr. DeLand has made a marked success.  He owns one of the finest farms in the county, consisting of one hundred and seventy-four acres, on which he kept an average of thirty cows.  He is also a breeder of Holstein cattle.  For some twenty-seven years he was engaged in the manufacture of cheese, and has the distinction of having taken more premiums on dairy products than any other man in he state.  At the organization of the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, he became a member of that society, and in 1877 was chosen as its President.

    In the councils and conventions of the Republican party, Mr. DeLand is an active and influential man. For years he was Clerk of his town, and for twelve years was Chairman of the Town Board.  In 1877, he was honored with the nomination and election to the Assembly, where he served his constituents faithfully and well, being Chairman of the Committee on Incorporations.

    In 1891 Mr. DeLand built a fine residence on a natural elevation on the lake shore, from which is had a commanding view of both lake and city.  Mr. and Mrs. DeLand are unostentatious and unassuming in manner.  They began their domestic life in moderate circumstances, and have accumulated a snug fortune, but have never failed to keep in sympathetic touch with the tillers of the soil, and with those who earn their bread by the sweat of the brow.