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Page Chronology: 
...2013Jan20, Page initially uploaded.
...2013Jan23, errors were discovered on Ancestry regarding the Fayette.Co.IA, Widger's & related collateral lines so an attempt to fight through some of the problems has led to corrections and a little increased data.  There is a better understanding for Peter Gilbert1831 Widger & marriages.  Mary Jane Kelly1848 Widger is the dau. from Sarah Bromley's first marriage and was raised a Widger.  Others can continue working to expand he data.  A refreshed burial table and tree has been loaded. 
...2013Jan24, added time maps/pics after the page intro and before the tree. 
...2013Jan25, some Fayette village pics added within the plat sequence near bottom of page.  2013Jan25, added obit & pic for Eli Widger.

Eli Widger (1827-1912 was living in Fayette.Co.IA, 1864-1912
1864-1866, in Smithfield.Twp
1866-1885, In Albany
1885-1912, along Jones.St, In the NE corner area of Fayette village.

About 1864 Eli Widger1827 moved his family from IL to Smithfield.Twp, Fayette.Co.IA.
1866, Eli suffered a crippling farm accident and would shortly move into to the Albany area.

...It is likely Ely would rent an acreage and/or lots at the north end/edge of Albany.
...Eli was listed as a peddler in 1870, being enumerated adjacent to Daniel Andrus32 & Andrew Hensley77.
...Eli probably was traveling around the area by wagon, selling general supplies and insurance, plus operating out of his cabin at Albany.

Speculations:  (Torey of Scotland & bz/2013)
...The Eli Widger and Levi Burns family came to Fayette.Co.IA from IL about the same time and may have traveled together with Levi Burns settling near Lima and Eli Widger in Smithfield.Twp.
...The Widger's and Burns families were associated with each other before Iowa. http://www.iowaz.info/surname/burnslevi.htm
...After his accident Eli located either on or adjacent to the Burns farm just west of Lima and very near Hensley/Andrus families, before the Widger's  bought lots 4,5,6, in bk 7 of Albany in 1872.

...1872May11, Land Transaction: Sarah Bromley Widger (& Eli) buy from Fayette.Co.IA, Lots 4,5,6 in Block 7 of Albany.IA.

The Widger's would live in Albany from 1866-1885

...By 1885 the Widger's started to moved into Fayette village, locating along the ExNE side of town.
...Eli and dau Ella would operated a significant insurance and land business out of the SW corner of the old Sherman House Hotel on the SE corner of Main & Water, in Fayette.IA.
...Son Peter G. would become a well known horse man and dealer on his farm along the NE side of Fayette.
...Eli would have sibling also locate in Fayette village for awhile.
...1886Jan29, Land Transaction:  Sarah Widger (Eli) sold to Joseph E. Wroe, Lots 4, 5, 6, Block 7, in Albany.IA.

Widger
descendent tree

Widger burials
 in Fayette Co, Iowa

Colored rows = info/data updated; white rows = not updated, needing data. 

Farrell

Doris Louise

Widger

Farrell Leo Edward 1907/Waucoma.IA-1982/Kansas.City.

26 Jul 1905

6 Nov 1931

Grandview

Fayette

Sec E, Lot 86, burial #1601, 3ft from N.  Adopted dau of Peter Gilbert Widger 1853/NY-1933/Fayette.IA & Mary Louise Fauser 1856/IN-1944/Fayette.IA.  Ch; Jerold Duane.

Some newspaper notes.

Paper Notes

1883 Feb, Peter G. Widger has the daily stage line from Fayette to Lima, leaving every morning at 8am, to connect with the passenger train going north, and at 3pm to connect with the passenger south and freight north.
1883 Feb, Hiram Canfield & Peter G. Wider are rivals in the stage passenger business to West Union. They are the same either way.  One route is through open prairie, overland by team, the other is part team and part by train cars.
1887 Oct, Pete Widger says he hires out sundown wagons occasionally to parties who have such a rollicking time in this prohibition county that the wheels 'wabble' for a week after the gig gets home.
1889 Oct, Pete Widger, Ernest Holmes, Geo Hill, took the freight for Sherborne, MN, to slaughter ducks, geese, brants, budweisers, killdeers, mudhens and time.
1891 Feb, Holmes & Widger are buying horses in various towns in the county.
1891 Feb, Holmes & Widger sold their livery stable and business.
1893 Sept, Peter G. Widger & wife, and J.W. Winston & family took in the World's Fair at St. Louis this week.  Oct, P.G. Widger is on the sick list, too much World's Fair.
1895 Aug, Pete Widger and Jim Finch are the regular horse dealers in Fayette, making periodical shipments to various markets.   They just shipped a car load of draft horses to Minneapolis.  They buy heavy-weights, roadsters, or 'blocks.' and farmers of others having horses to dispose of should see them before letting loose of their stock.  Pete and Jim will pay you all the market allows so you run no risk of parting with your horses for less money than they are worth.
1895 Oct, Broke out of the pasture of Eli Widger, a light red cow, medium size, small white spot in forehead, on left flank a small white spot sprinkled with red, horns horizontal and turned toward each other, is five years old and low build.  Suitable reward for return or knowledge of her whereabouts.
1896 May, A sad accident befell Eli Widger on Monday forenoon.  While sitting in his buggy in front of the James' General Store, the dray team of John Huls became frightened by the falling of a telephone wire across their backs.  They ran into and over Eli's vehicle, smashing the top and seat and throwing the old gentleman out and under the wreck, breaking his collarbone and we presume otherwise injuring him.  He was taken from the wreck, morphine administered, and carried home.
1897 Jan, Peter Widger when to Chicago with a car load of horses.  Also J.M Edmunds and Peter Graf went with some cattle and hogs.
1897 July, Peter Widger shipped a car load of horses to St. Paul and said to have been the finest string ever shipped out of Fayette.
1897 Aug, Eli Widger is still on the sick list and Mrs. Peter Widger (formerly Mrs. Nolan) is quite sick.
1897 Oct 7 Mrs. Widger was buried Saturday forenoon.  Note:  This is Eliz Hawkins 1837-Sep 29, 1897, wife of Peter Gilbert Widger 1831-1914 (bro of Eli).
1898 Feb, Pete Widger went to Chicago with a load of horses.  He intended to go north but a slump in the St. Paul and northern markets changed his plans.  Pete ships about every two weeks in some directions.  He has made Fayette very much a horse market, so that no one has any difficulty in disposing of saleable horses at market price.
1898 Jul,  During an afternoon storm, lightning struck the house of Eli Widger.  Some plaster was knocked off the wall and the inmates felt the effect of the shock for several days.
1898 Sep, Peter L. Widger went to St. Paul with what he claims to be the finest car load of horses ever taken out of Fayette.
1898 Dec, Peter G. Widger recently imported some fine draft horses from Minnesota, purchased at a stock sale.
1899 Apr, Peter G. Widger has recently shipped three car loads of horses to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  They were shipped in installments.  You may have noticed that horses are worth more than they were when Bryan was racing over the country telling what horrible calamities would befall the country if silver was not admitted to free coinage.
1899 Oct, Peter Widger, horse dealer, has a new barn.

1900 Apr, Peter G. Widger's new horse barn contained 12-15 marketable horses and we noticed the convenience of use. C. V. Van Syckel is clerk at Widger's stable and he will allow you to inspect the live animals.
1900 July, Peter Widger and A. E. Whitney took a nice bunch of horses to Elkader to fill a car which buyer Fisher was collecting.
1900 Aug, Will Holmes has moved into the house of Peter Widger, senior.
1901 Feb, Peter Widger has farm horses or mares for sale at his stables in Fayette.
1901 Oct, Peter Widger sold a car load of heavy draft horses to Mr. Booser who was in down from Winnipeg.
1910 Dec, Lawrence Wroe and Mrs. Mabel Perkins spent a few days recently with their grandmother, Mrs. Eli (Harriet Marie nee Waite) Widge, before departing for their future home in Spooner, WI. Mrs. Harriet Widger left for Waterloo to spend a few day with her son Charles.
1902 Apr 3, Mrs. Mary Widger received word of the death of her sister in Washington.
1902 Nov, Pete Widger had a mare killed last week in his pasture by a rifle bullet. There are too many boys and reckless young men using firearms in the vicinity.
1903 Jan, Eli Widger visited his daughter in Westgate.
1903 Mar, Pete Widger sold a first class roadster last week to Al Bonnewitz of Marshaltown for $300, a good price and it much have been a good horse. Pete, with Wm, Steele of Strawberry Pt, loaded a car of horses for the Chicago market.
1903 Nov, Mrs. Eli Widger is seriously ill with pneumonia.
1903 Dec, Pete Widger has shipped a number of car loads of horses to the Chicago market this year.
1904 Feb, Pete Widger when to market with ten horses on the stock train. Ben Hancock also went with a car of white hogs for Graf Bro's
1904 Apr, Peter Widger has bought Mrs. Hawks residence. She will and her seven children are moving back to their ranch in Dakota.
1904 Jul, The old Briggs house now owned by Pete Widger was moved to a new foundation further south. It has been re-shingled and when finished will be occupied by Frank Sherman.
1904 Aug, Pete Widger and wife thank those that assisted during the sickness, death and burial of Mrs. Widger's mother, Mrs. Fauser.
1904 Nov, C.H. Wilbur built a plank walk connecting his brick walk with Pete Widger's cement walk. This gives an outlet up Water Street.
1905 Aug, Pete Widger and D.H. Sweet have 40 yearling draft colts from Nebraska for sale on the Sweet farm south of Fayette.
1905 Sep, Pete Widger's cottage on Jones St, has been rented to Mrs. Hamm of Federicksburg, who will move here to educate two sons.
1905 Sep 14, Pete Widger and wife have adopted a 6wk old baby.
1906 Jun, Pete Widger has pasturage for horses. Call on him or phone #51.
1907 Apr, Mrs. Pete Widger has Plymouth Rock eggs for hatching at 50c a setting. Also some every fine roosters.
1907 Apr, The old Westfield mill is not as flat as if a cyclone had struck. It was found that much of the timber supposed to be good was badly decayed and not very valuable.
1907 Sep, Ella Widger is teaching in the Fayette schools. Doris Widger would graduate from FHS in 1923..


Obit Ella Widger, dau of Eli and Sarah Bromley Widger, b. Nov 9, 1863, McClain.Co.IL. 
...1865, the family moved by team and wagon to farm in Smithfield.Twp, south of Fayette. 
...1866, Eli moved the family to Albany, Fay.Co.IA, where the father ran a general store.
...1881, age 16, Ella started teaching in area rural schools, then for a couple of years in the Fayette primary room. Then taught a winter in SD.
...1893Jan03, married Clark Older of Westgate.
...1893-1904, farmed near Westgate, then moved into Oelwein.
...1904Nov, son Dwight Older died.
...1907, they moved to Fayette for the rest of their lives.
...1907after, Ella assisted her father in writing insurance and continued the insurance business after his death,
completing 30yrs with the Northwestern National Ins. Co.
...1932Jun, dau Mildred died.
...1941, Dau Velma living in Fayette, dau Bernice Hackett of Fayette.
...1941, Grandchildren Dale, Dorothy, Roy, Robert, Marjorie of Fayette & Beverly Older of Oelwein.  Ivan Hackett of Oelwein.

Plats

The Widger's were gone from Fayette by the 1940's.

Fayette County, Iowa

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