Daniel J. Harris

            John Harris and Betsy (Jakeman) Harris could well have been the last of our ancestors to leave England.  Life there had not been kind to them.  They were poor, had little formal education and had reached the age in life when most people think of retirement.  Some of their friends from the old country had settled in Brodtville Wisconsin, and they knew they would not be among strangers in this new land.  Most of all, they wanted a better opportunity for their children and those that followed, so the family departed for America.

            Betsy and John Harris were the parents of D.J., George, and Maria (Harris) Aris.  Betsy was born in Wroxton, England in 1833; John in 1825.  The family was very poor, and while living in Milton, England, had managed to survive by shear will.

            John attempted to earn a living as a sheep herder and lost an eye while treating a sheep with blue vitrol.  (He no doubt got some of the solutionin his eye.)  Betsy would go into the fields of the landlords after the crop and been harvested and glean the fields for any remaining grain.  She would then grind it into flour to make bread for her family.  The oldest son, George, worked for seven cents per day at the age of thirteen to bring in what he could to help support the family.

            In the spring of 1875, when Betsy was 42 and John was 50, they made the decision to emigrate to the U.S. with their family.  They settled in Brodtville, Wisconsin, and after several years were able to purchase a small farm.

            In March of 1898, Dan's first wife, Elizabeth Iorns Harris, died after giving birth to their son, Jay.  Betsy literally took the responsibility to raise her oldest grandson.  During Elizabeth's funeral, Betsy's oldest son George took a blanket, ran over to the Iorn's household, and snatched baby Jay from his bed.  He then ran back across the field with the baby.  They were determined that this baby would be raised a Harris.  Betsy raised him to the age of nine, at which time Dan married Carrie, in 1898.

            It was an English custom to deed the farm to the first born grandson to assure that it would remain in the family.  John followed this custom, and deeded the family farm to Jay, giving his son Dan the use of the farm only as long as he lived.  After John's death, Betsy continued to live with Dan and his family until her death in 1910.