In the person of the subject of this biography we have a representative farmer of Northern Illinois, whose measure of prosperity is due to his perseverance and industry, greatly aided by a most estimable wife. Their home and its surroundings, although modest and unpretentious, fulfills the ideal of peace and contentment, refinement and cultivated tastes. The household includes three sons and one daughter, who from a group which are looked upon by the parents with pardonable pride, being more than ordinarily bright and intelligent, fond of music: reading and the finer elements of life. The homestead is located about three miles west of Apple River, and affords an excellent view of the surrounding country, the public highway, and the Illinois Central Railroad. The property of Mr. Varty includes 280 acres of land, and the homestead is located on section 22. His other farm lies on section 21, and is fairly well improved.

A native of Cumberland County, England, our subject was born Dec. 15, 1837, and was the third child and eldest son in a family of eight children, the offspring of John and Hannah (Brown) Varty, who were also born in Cumberland County. John Varty was a farmer by occupation, an honest and industrious man, who earned his bread by the sweat of his brow, and possessed all the qualities of a reliable citizen. Both he and his excellent wife were of pure English stock, and all their children were born in Cumberland County. They are all living. Ann, the eldest, is the wife of F. "Walton, and a resident of Warren, Jo Daviess Co. IL.; Elizabeth resides in Evanston, IL; Mary, Mrs. William Tyson, lives in LaFayette County, Wis.; John is in business in Chicago, 111.; he was formerly a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but on account of failing health was obliged to abandon his calling. Hannah, Dorothy, and Isabelle are residents of Apple River, this county.

The subject of this sketch assisted his father in farming during his younger years, and when a youth of nineteen accompanied the family to America, settling first in Canada. He had received a very good education in the schools of his native county. They sojourned in the Dominion from April to November, 1857, engaged in farming near Toronto. When coming over into the States they located in La Fayette County, Wis., near Shullsburg, now Darlington Township. For two years there-after our subject engaged in milling at New Diggings on the Fevre River. In due time he became owner of the mill, and while a resident of that locality was united in marriage at Monticello, Wis., Oct. 1, 1867, to Miss Marietta, daughter of John and Mary (Levitt) Adams. The father of Mrs. Varty was born in Beaver County, Pa., May 12, 1815, and was the son of Asa Adams, who was born in New Jersey, and served as a soldier in the War of 1812. His wife, Mary (Levitt) Adams, was a native of Yorkshire, England, born near the city of Hull. The family is remarkable for its longevity, the mother living to be eighty-two years old. She had a brother who lived to the same advanced age, and none were less than seventh-four years old at the time of their decease.

To the parents of Mrs. Mary Adams there were born eleven children, five of whom are living:, the youngest being sixty-two years old, and the eldest seventy-seven. To John and Mary Adams there were born twelve children, of whom only five survive: William Thompson served as a Union soldier during the late war in the 96th Illinois Infantry, and was promoted to Sergeant; he is now a resident of Chapin, Iowa; Harriet was the wife of K. T. Hennessy (deceased) of Kansas City; Marietta, Mrs. Varty, was the third child; John L. is in business in Chicago, 111.; Charles S. is agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, and stationed at Madrid, Iowa. They were all born in Wood County, Ohio. Mrs. Varty was a young girl of twelve veal's when she removed with her parents, in 1854. to La Fayette County, Wis., and they, like the Varty's, settled near Monticello. Mr. Adams carried on farming, and became one of the most useful members of his community, deeply interested in the welfare of the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a devout member. He departed this life May 19, 1881, at the age of sixty-six years. The mother is still living in Apple River.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Varty are recorded as follows: John L. died at the age of two years; Joseph A. is attending the High School at Apple River; Lester Adams, Mary H., and Leo Garfield are at home with their parents. Miss Mary is an interesting girl of fifteen years, remarkably bright, a good scholar, and an excellent musician for one of her years. Mr. and Mrs. Varty with their children belong to the Presbyterian Church, and are among the leading members- giving liberally of their means for its support and advancement. Mr. Varty has officiated as Elder for some time, and is Vice President of the Sunday-school. The other members of the family are nil actively engaged in Sunday-school work. Socially, our subject is a Master Mason in Apple River Lodge, and a Royal Arch Mason at Warren. Mr. Varty is also one of the Directors of the Thompson and Guilford Fire and Lightning Insurance Company. Politically, he uniformly votes the Republican ticket, and is a protectionist, especially favoring the interests of the laboring man and farmer.

In the line of general agriculture and stock-raising Mr. Varty occupies a position in the front ranks among the successful men of Jo Daviess County. His aim has always been to excel, and he avails himself of the leading works on agriculture in order to become thoroughly informed as to the improved methods of carrying on farming. He has been connected with the Farmers' Institute of this county since its permanent organization, in December, 1887, and is one of its most efficient members, serving on the Executive Committee, and laboring as he has opportunity to further the interests connected therewith. For several years past be has been the regular correspondent of the Agricultural Department at Washington, making out the reports of crops, stock, etc., from the eastern part of the county. His good judgment and long

Transcribed by Christine Walters - Portrait and Biographical Album of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois (1889)