JOHN J. KINGSBURY. No stronger character or one more beloved by all classes or better known in Langlade County ever exceeded the late John Jer­ome Kingsbury in those qualifications. John Jerome Kingsbury was born in Dexter, Maine, the state from whence came most of the leading Wisconsin lumber­men. He was the son of J. R. Kingsbury and was born on March 25, 1852. He lived with his parents in Maine state until he was ten years of age and then the Kingsbury family moved to Portage County, Wis­consin, in 1862, residing at Jordon. From Jordon they moved to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Here Mr. Kingsbury attended the public schools and then en­tered Ripon College, from which he graduated. He began his lumber career when he was sixteen years old, spending some time in Portage County logging for himself. In 1873 he went to Auburndale, Wis­consin, and with his brother, Forest, erected a shingle mill, operating the same until 1882. He went to Stevens Point from Auburndale and there operated a lumber yard with his brother, the Auburndale mill having burned. Mr. Kingsbury also operated a mill at Whittlesey, Wis., for a short time. From Medford, Wisconsin, he went to the Penoki Range, operating a sawmill there. He was associated with George Rogers and Ed Winchester. In the fall of 1890 he became acquainted with Charles E. Henshaw, of Medford, Wisconsin. They formed a partnership known as the Kingsbury & Henshaw Company, and that same year they moved to Antigo. Here Messrs. Kingsbury and Henshaw operated a grist and flour mill and a mod­ern sawmill from 1890 up to the time of Mr. Kings­bury’s death. The Kingsbury & Henshaw Lumber Company was one of the best known of Wisconsin manufacturing institutions and was a vital part of the industrial section of the city of Antigo. The late J. J. Kingsbury was married to Alice Paige, a native of Rock County, Wisconsin, on May 16, 1871, at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. To this union eight children were born, namely: May, Bessie and Leigh, deceased; Arthur J.; Beatrice and John E., all of Antigo, Wis.; Carl W., of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Faye, now Mrs. George Kircher, of Olivia, Minnesota.
Mr. Kingsbury died on August 2, 1917, and was buried in the family vault in the Antigo cemetery. He was a member of the Antigo lodge B. P. 0. E. and all Masonic orders. He took the 32nd Masonic de­gree in 1913 at Milwaukee, Wis. The late J. 1. Kings­bury was regarded as one of the busiest, most ener­getic and enterprising men of the county and his hon­orable methods of dealing with his fellow man firm­ly established him in the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact
P335 History of Langlade County Wisconsin Dessureau. Berner Bros. Publishing CO. 1922.