Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 1000 - 1003 

LEWIS FASSETT. Among the pioneer settlers of Sedgwick County no one is more worthy of notice in a work of this kind than the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He crossed the Mississippi when this section of country was mostly a wilderness, and from the uncultivated soil opened up a good farm, and is to-day in the enjoyment of a competence. His worthy ambition of building up a creditable homestead resulted in the thorough cultivation of the soil, and the erection of substantial buildings, the planting of a fine orchard, and the gathering together of all those little conveniences and comforts upon which the happiness of a household in so great a measure depends. As a man and a citizen, he has been honest and upright, and enjoys in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of his neighbors.

            The homestead of Mr. Fassett is pleasantly located on section 10, Grant Township, and of late years he has given considerable attention to the raising of fine stock, including Short-horn cattle and good grades of horses, with Poland-China hogs. His life has been an extremely busy one, in which he has not allowed his own selfish interests to hold entire sway, but has given a reasonable share of his time and attention to the welfare of the people around him. A Whig when first beginning to vote, he subsequently went with the majority of the old party into the Republican ranks, and since that time has been a stanch adherent of its principles. He has held the office of School Director in his district a number of years, and was one of the prime movers in the organization of most of the school districts in the township. The Baptist Church, at its organization, found in him one of its most cordial supporters, and made of him a Deacon and Trustee, the duties of which he has discharged with the same fidelity which has characterized his entire life.

             Lewis Fassett is a native of Allegany County, N. Y., and was born on the 18th of May, 1827. He was the eleventh in a family of twelve children born to John I. and Susannah (Dutton) Fassett. The father, a native of Massachusetts, was born Aug. 14, 1785, and the mother was born in New York State, May 15, 1781. They were married in Vermont, and the father continued in Allegany County, N. Y., until 1845, when, with his family he departed from his old haunts, and migrating to Illinois, settled in Winnebago County, being among its earliest pioneers. Thence he removed to Iowa, setting on a farm in Howard County, where he remained until his death, in 1869, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years.

             The mother of our subject passed away when her son Lewis was but two years of age. The father subsequently married a widow lady, and the mother of ten children, and of this union there were born four more children, John Fassett thus eventually being at the head of a family of twenty-six children. His second wife died in Iowa, in 1866.

             Our subject was a youth of eighteen years when he removed with his father's family to Illinois, where he received his education in the district schools of Winnebago County. He became familiar with the various employments of the farm, and about 1849, desiring a change of scene and occupation, went to Beloit, Wis., and served an apprenticeship at the mason's trade, which he followed thereafter for a period of twenty-six years. There also he met his future wife, Miss Nancy J. Mann, to whom he was married on the 28th of May, 1851.

             The wife of our subject was born in the Province of Canada, March 20, 1829, and was the ninth in a family of twelve children. Her parents, William and Lydia (Ingram) Mann, were natives respectively of Vermont and New Hampshire. Her maternal grandparents, Joab and Mary Ingram, were natives of New Hampshire, and the grandfather served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. John I. Fassett, the father of our subject, entered the army during the War of 1812, and came out with an honorable scar.

             After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fassett settled in a modest home at Beloit, Wis., where Mr. F. followed his trade for a time, and thence removed to Darlington, that State, where he resided for a period of twenty years, still following his trade. In 1871, the naturally rich resources of Southern Kansas attracted him, with numbers of others, to this section of country, and crossing the Father of Waters, he homesteaded 160 acres of prairie land on section 10, Grant Township, of which he still retains possession. Upon this, as may be supposed, there had been no improvements whatever, and the beautiful homestead which the traveler now observes with an admiring eye was built up by our subject. A view of this accompanies this sketch.

             Mr. Fassett, after the outbreak of the late Rebellion and before leaving Illinois, enlisted as a Union soldier in Company G, 53d Illinois Infantry, and was mustered into service at Pacatonica. He was assigned to guard duty chiefly at Tallahoma, and later officiated as nurse in the regimental hospital near Memphis, Tenn. In the meantime he contracted a disease from which he has never fully recovered. At the close of the war he was mustered out at Memphis, and not long afterward resumed his trade in Winnebago County, Ill.

             The six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Fassett were named respectively: Julia A., Mary J., Clara L., Lutella A., Albert L. and Lura E. Julia is the wife of Rev. William Sandefer, who is farming in Grant Township near his father-in-law; she was first married to George Horton, and had one child by that marriage, named George A. Clara L. married Harry H. Henderson, M. D., a resident of Morton County, this State; Mary L. was married, Feb. 23, 1888, to Isaiah Williams, and they live in Hardman County, Kan.; Lutella A. died in September, 1883, aged nineteen years and four months; the younger children live at home, and are pursuing their studies in the district school. Mrs. Fassett, like her husband, is a member in good standing of the Baptist Church. They have lived and labored together in the building up of a home in a new country, and are now enjoying, as they deserve, the fruits of their labors.

[ Home ]