SHEBOYGAN HISTORY

Mrs. Mima Melendy, Page 215

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MRS. MIMA MELENDY.  The ladies of our country have taken a conspicuous place in the history of the nation, and especially among the pioneers.  Our subject is the widow of Edward Melendy, and was one of the early settlers of Lima Township, where she is still living on section 10.  A native of Indiana, she was born in Jefferson County, January 15, 1831, but came in early childhood to Milwaukee County, Wis.  She is one of three children born to James and Mary (Morgan) Hutchinsen.  One is deceased, and the other, Daniel Morgan, lives in Sheboygan Falls Township, though he has now retired from active life.

    Mrs. Melendy was only a child when she went with her mother to Danville, Ill., where she resided until the spring of 1836.  At that time she came to Milwaukee, where she was educated in the public schools.  She met her future husband at Wauwatosa, Wis., and their marriage was celebrated July 4, 1847.  Of their six children, four sons and two daughters, all are yet living.  Lucy M., who was educated in the Sheboygan Falls High School, is the wife of Frank Locks, of Antigo, this State, who was formerly a blacksmith, but of late years has devoted his time to milling.  They have two daughters: Anna Belle, now Mrs. Emmon Badger, of Antigo; and Mary E., who is at home, and is attending school.  Arthur, the next younger, is a resident of Manitowoc County, and is a successful artist.  His wife was formerly Miss Elizabeth G. Stuart, and to them eight children have been born.  Mark H., is one of the representative farmers of Lima Township.  Ernest B. is a practical cheese maker and able business man of the same township, and lives with his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Faas, near his mother's homestead.  Edward W. is engaged in merchandising in Kansas, but was formerly a telegrapher, having graduated from Valentine's School of Telegraphy, in Janesville, Wis.  For his wife, he chose Miss Clara Carper.  Blanche, who has been educated in the Sheboygan Falls High School, resides with her mother.

    Mr. Melendy, who was a native of the Green Mountain State, was born September 6, 1820.  He was reared to man's estate on Vermont, received a good liberal education, and was a practical man of business.  He came to this State in June, 1846, with a capital of $500, which he invested in a farm in Lake Township, Milwaukee County, only six miles from the city of the same name.  His wife can well remember when Milwaukee contained only a few log cabins and a very few frame buildings.  In April, 1851, Mr. and Mrs. Melendy came to Sheboygan County, and settled in Lima Township.  For a farm of one hundred and sixty acres they paid $1.25 per acre, and as the years passed extended their possessions, until at one time the farm comprised two hundred and eighty acres.  They were among the early settlers of the township, having arrived before the highways were laid out, and for some time there were only a few houses in their immediate neighborhood.  Mr. Melendy aided in surveying the roads, and was known and respected for his integrity and honor.  He was first an old-line Whig, and later joined the ranks of the Republican party.  Several times he was called upon to fill township offices, and served as Supervisor and Treasurer of the School Board for many years.  Together with his wife, he was always a strong defender of the public-school system.

    Though reared in the Episcopal faith, Mr. Melendy joined the Methodist Church, to which his wife has belonged from girlhood.  For forty-one years he was an honored resident of the county, and his death on December 14, 1891, was felt to be a severe loss to the community.  He was a man who was universally respected, and with his faithful wife had traveled life's pathway for almost half a century, sharing the joys and sorrows which fall to the lot of all.  His remains were placed at rest in Sheboygan Falls Cemetery, where a beautiful monument has been erected to his memory by his loving wife.