Bio: Ayers, Charles H. (1914)

Contact: crystal@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Ayers, Stone, Hewlett, Brown

----Source: History of Eau Claire County Wisconsin (1914) pages 640-641

Charles H. Ayers, who is descended from prominent New England ancestors, among whom were physicians, mechanics and prosperous manufacturers, is a native of Albany, N. Y., where he was born September 11, 1855, the son of William and Elizabeth (Stone) Ayers. The father was a mechanic by profession, while Grandfather Ayers was a practicing physician of prominence in New York state, and for many years members of the Ayers family were engaged in the manufacture of umbrellas in Albany.

In 1857 William Ayers came West to Wisconsin and settled in Milwaukee, where for about ten years he was engaged in contracting and building, and during this time he built the Racine College. He later moved to Oshkosh, Wis., and lived to the age of 74 years, the mother having passed away at the age of 26.

During the balmy days of the lumber industry in Wisconsin and while a young man Mr. Ayers spent five years in logging and lumbering, mostly in the neighborhood of Merrill. He subsequently spent two years in the village of Fairchild, and then for a period of eighteen years was employed by Henry Brown, one of the early settlers of Thompson Valley. He afterward purchased a farm of eighty acres in Otter Creek township, which he improved and where he now resides, engaged in general farming. He is a wide awake, public-spirited citizen, is active in the affairs of the Democratic party and is an attendant and supporter of the Methodist church.

On October 20, 1902, Mr. Ayers married Miss Lydia Hewlett, daughter of Lafayette Hewlett, who originally lived in Pennsylvania but later moved to Trempealeau county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers have a family of two children, viz: Brown and Margaret Rosalind Ayers. John Ayers, who resides in Scott's Valley, is a brother of Charles H.