Obit: Wittingham, Byron Sawyer (1870 - 1942)

Contact: Crystal Wendt
Email: crystal@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Wittingham, Hewitt

----Sources: The Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) 12 Feb. 1942

Wittingham, Byron Sawyer (16 April 1870 - 5 Feb. 1942)

Mr. and Mrs. John Wittingham left early Monday for Pardeville to attend the funeral of his brother, Byron Sawyer Wittingham, 71, who died of heart trouble and pneumonia at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at his home at Arpin, Wis.

Mr. Wittingham was born in Springvale, Columbia County, Wisconsin, April 16, 1870, the son of Charles and Hannah Wittingham. He grew to young manhood there, working on his mother’s farm until 1894, the father having passed away when Bryon was still quite young.

Later he moved to Pardeville where he was associated with his brother, Frank, in the painting business for five years. He served as assessor and street commissioner there for a couple of years. He also carried on this work in Milwaukee for a time before moving to Arpin where he had been engaged in the mercantile business since 1904. He was village postmaster for ten years and served as town clerk and member of the school board for several years. From 1916 to 1919, he served as Wood County’s representative in the state assembly. He was author of the bill providing for the distribution of the Federal government dynamite, which was left over from the First World War, to farmers of the state at cost.

He is survived by his wife and two children - William and Percy, Arpin, one grandchild, (Rita) Mrs. Ray Hewitt and two great-grandchildren, Fay and Myron Hewitt, Cambridge, and by two brothers, John, Neillsville, and Thomas, Fox Lake.

Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian Church at Arpin Monday, followed by Masonic services at Pardeville.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryon Wittingham and Mr. and Mrs. John Wittingham celebrated their golden wedding anniversaries jointly on November 16, 1941, at the Byron Wittingham home at Arpin, the brothers having been married just a month apart in 1891.