SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

William H. Brookshire, Page 309

WILLIAM H. BROOKSHIRE, who follows farming on section 17, Sherman Township, is one of the worthy citizens that North Carolina has furnished to Sheboygan County.  He was born June 27, 1824, and is the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children, who were as follows:  Thomas D., who is living a retired life in Seymour; Sarah, wife of Henry Ellrod, of North Carolina; Joel, a farmer of Tennessee; William: Nancy; widow of Hiram Green, who was an agriculturist of Ashe County, N. C.; Elizabeth, wife of John Ellrod, who follows farming in Ashe County; Noah, an agriculturist of the same county; Benjamin T., a farmer of Indiana; and Mary Ann, wife of a Mr. Eller, a farmer in North Carolina.  The parents, William and Nancy (Triplet) Brookshire, were residents of Wilkes County, N. C., but the father was born in South Carolina.  They were farming people, and upon the old homestead William spent the days of his boyhood and youth, becoming familiar with farm work in all its details.  He continued with his parents until twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life for himself with a cash capital of but $6.  He determined to seek a home in the West, and made an overland journey with teams and wagon to Chicago, from where he went to Milwaukee and then came to the present situation of Adell.  In this locality he secured work as a farm hand for $7 per month.  He was accompanied by his brother, who engaged in clearing a piece of land.

    For thirteen years, William Brookshire continued to work at farm labor, and was thus inured to arduous toil.  When through his perseverance and industry he had accumulated a sufficient capital, he purchased eighty acres of land, the farm on which he now resides.  Three acres had been cleared and a log house built, but the remainder was in its primitive condition.  As a companion and helpmate on life's journey, he chose Miss Hannah Elizabeth Hazner.  Their union was celebrated in 1856, and was blessed with one son, William P., who now operates the father's farm.  He married Miss Emma Fox, and they have one child.

    Mr. and Mrs. Brookshire have now traveled life's journey together for many years, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity.  Their pleasant home is situated in the midst of a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which through the untiring efforts of the owner has been transformed into a rich and highly cultivated tract.  His life has been a busy and useful one, for idolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature, and as the result of his good management and perseverance he has acquired a handsome competence and comfortable home.  He cast his first Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, and the last one for Benjamin Harrison, the illustrious grandson of the Tippecanoe hero.  he has served as Treasurer of his school district for thirty-two years.  Though a member of no church, he firmly believes in the Christian religion, and his daily walk has ever been consistent with that belief.