| Notes |
- Volney was 9 years old when his parents came to Wisconsin, and he grew to manhood on his father's farm in Salem township. He attended the old fashioned subscription schools and lived at home until his 23rd year, when he
began renting and working land. After a time, he purchased 60 acres of land, which he later sold to purchase 80 acres. He sold this to buy 200 acres. He sold this too, finally buying the old Cotton place of 160 acres in Bristol,
Wisconsin. He lived there eight years before his health failed and he sold out. He died at Bristol Station on 31 Jul 1891, aged 68 years. He was a member of the board of supervisors in the town of Salem. Politically he was a
Republican. He had three brothers, Elias, William, and Charles, in the Civil War.
CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS OF SALEM MOUND CEMETERY, PADDOCK LAKE, WISCONS
Volney L. BassettAdeline
DiedWife of
Jul 31, 1891Volney L. Bassett
Aged 58 yearsDied
Dec. 15, 1914
Aged 83 years
HISTORY OF KENOSHA COUNTY
VOLNEY L. BASSETT
Volney L. Bassett resided in Kenosha county for many years and
witnessed a great change in conditions here as the county was in many respects
a frontier district when he removed here with his parents in 1842. He became
identified with agricultural pursuits and gained a gratifying measure of
success as a farmer. His last years were spent in honorable retireme
Bristol Station, where he died in 1901.
Mr. Bassett was a native of Cayuga county, New York, his birth
occurring on the 19th of December, 1833. His parents were Jotham and Jeannette
(Woodworth) Bassett, who were also born in New York. The maternal grandfather,
Elias Woodworth, was likewise a native of that state and became a pioneer of
Kenosha county, Wisconsin. He took up government land in Salem township and
there died when about eighty-five years of age. Jotham Bassett removed west in
1842 and took up his residence in Salem township, Kenosha county. Later he
went to Waushara county and he resided there for many years, but died,
however, at the home of his daughter, Eudlophia, in Iowa. His wife, who
survived him for many years, also died at the home of that daughter. There
were nine children in the family, four of whom are now living, namely:
Ambrose, a resident of San Jose, California; Elias, a resident of Minnesota;
William, of Tomales, California; and Eudlophia, the wife of William
Vandenberg, of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Elias, William and Charles were all
soldiers of the Civil War, and John enlisted but was not accepte
Volney L. Bassett grew to manhood upon his father's farm in Sal
township, Kenosha county, and attended the subscription schools in the
acquirement of an education. He remained at home until his twenty-third year,
when he rented land. Subsequently he purchased sixty acres but later sold that
and bought eighty acres. On selling his second place he purchased two hundred
acres but later disposed of that and bought the old Cotting place of one
hundred and sixty acres in Bristol township, which was at one time considered
the finest farm in the county. After operating that place for eight years his
health failed and he sold out. His last days were passed at Bristol Station
and there his death occurred on the 31st of July, 1891, when he was in his
sixty-eighth year. He was a practical and efficient farmer and his well
directed labors were rewarded by good crops. As the years passed his resources
increased and he was recognized as one of the substantial men of his township.
Mr. Bassett was married on the 25th of December, 1855, to Miss Adeline
Foster, who was a daughter of Andrew W. and Prudence (Cornwall) Foster. The
Foster family is one of the oldest in Massachusetts. William Foster, the
grandfather of Mrs. Bassett, was born on the 22nd of November, 1783 and
followed agricultural pursuits in Oswego county, New York. He fought in the
War of 1812 and while at the front participated in the battle of Sackett's
Harbor. He married Olive Bettis, who was born July 10, 1785, and who passed
away on the 19th of February, 1877. They had a family of thirteen children,
all of whom are deceased save Julia, who was born on the 12th of February,
1830, and is the widow of Joseph Hicks, her home being at Genoa Junction.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew W. Foster were both born in New York and resided
in Oswego county for many years. He was a carpenter by trade but on removing
to Kenosha county, Wisconsin, with his family in 1841 purchased a fa
sixty acres in Salem township and subsequently he acquired title to one
hundred acres in that township about three miles northeast of Salem Station.
He died at Salem in January, 1892, when eighty-five years of age, and h
wife, who was born in 1808, passed away in 1895, when in her eighty-seventh
year. In early life they belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church but later
became identified with the Spiritualists. They were the parents of six
children: Mrs. Adeline Bassett; Betsey A., the wife of Fred Plank, of
Petaluma, California; Andrew W., who died in Genoa Junction in 1900; Leander
E., who died when nineteen years old; Orlando J., a resident of Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin; and Julian A., of Salem Station. Mrs. Bassett was one of the first
teachers of Kenosha county, opening her first school in her father's bedroom
with a few children in attendance.
Mr. Bassett supported the republican party and was at one time a
member of the board of supervisors of the town of Salem. He was always willing
to give of his time and energy to the promotion of the public welfare and was
recognized as a good citizen. He gained many friends throughout the county and
his demise was felt as a distinct loss to his community.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1833 - 1891 (57 years)