Biographical Sketch of

Ephraim King

Transcribed by Sandra Boudrou



Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara Counties, Wisconsin, 
published 1890 by Acme Publishing Co., Chicago, Pages 602 - 603 


Ephraim King, who resides on section 28, in the town of Marion, has made his home in Waushara County during 
a longer period than almost any other of its citizens.  Wisconsin was yet a territory at the time of his 
arrival, and this section of the State was not then divided into counties and townships.  The nearest market 
was miles away, but few roads had been cut through, and there was little intercourse with the outside world.  
The county was thought to be on the extreme Western frontier.  The Indians still frequently visited the 
neighborhood, wild game was found in abundance, and wild animals were sometimes seen and would oftentimes 
enter the farm yard of a settler and carry off a fowl or perhaps a young pig.  The present advanced condition 
of the county is due to the pioneer settlers, for they bore the hardships and trials of frontier life, 
performed the arduous task of developing its wild lands and laid the foundation for its present prosperity.
 
Mr. King, whose name heads this sketch and is enrolled among the honored pioneers of Central Wisconsin, was 
born in Somersetshire, England, in 1821, and is a son of Richard and Hester (Ball) King, who were the parents 
of four sons and two daughters, three of whom are yet living: George, who resides in Waushara County; Charles 
who is still living in England, and Ephraim, of this sketch.  Mr. King and his wife were members of the 
Church of England, and were highly respected people.  They have long since passed to their reward.
 
In his native country our subject passed the days of his boyhood and early youth, receiving such educational 
advantages as the common schools of that day afforded.  When a lad of fifteen years he left the parental roof 
and started out to make his own way in the world.  He remained in England until 1842, when he determined to 
seek a home in America, and crossed the broad Atlantic.  He located on a farm near the city of Albany, in the 
State of New York, but four years later started for the West, and became a resident of Waushara County, Wis., 
where he has since continued to reside, covering a period of forty-three years.  He was then in limited 
circumstances.  With money acquired through his own efforts he purchased eighty acres of land and began its 
development.  Since that time he has carried on farming, and is now the owner of 440 acres, which yield to 
him a golden tribute for the labor that he bestows upon it.  Braving all opposition and overcoming all obstacles, 
by perseverance and industry he has worked his way upward until he is now numbered among the substantial farmers 
of the community.
 
In Green Lake County, Wis., Mr. King was united in marriage with Miss Hannah Berry, a native of Ireland, and 
by their union three children have been born:  Edwin, a farmer of Minnesota; Arthur, who is living in Colorado; 
and Lester, at home.  In his political affiliations Mr. King is a Republican.  His honorable upright life during 
all the years of his residence in Waushara County has made him many warm friends, and probably no man in the 
community is more widely known.






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