Audus

Sarah E. Audus
Oakwood Cemetery, Somers, Wisconsin
(Source:  Photo Courtesy of Larry & Linda Kopet, USGenWebArchivesProjectWisconsin)

Partial 1887 Map of Somers Township
Section 26, Wm Audus: 2 parcels of 80 acres

William Audus
Among Kenosha County's substantial citizens who are natives of England is William Audus, who was born in Cambridgeshire on the 17th of January, 1850.  He has long resided in the county, however, having been a representative of its agricultural interests for thirty-seven years, and at one time he was actively engaged in the cultivation of a large farm of 180 acres which he owned.  His parents, Samuel and Sarah Audus, spent their entire lives in England.
It was in that country that William Audus acquired a common school education, after which he began providing for his own support by working the day.  He continued in England until he reached the age of 21 years and then bade adieu to friends and native land, having determined to try his fortune in America.  Crossing the Atlantic to the United States, he made his way to Illinois, where he remained until 1875.  During that period he engaged in farming and in the latter year he left the middle west for California, where he spent four years but returned from the Pacific coast in 1879, in which year he took up his abode in Kenosha County.  Here he purchased sixty acres of land and afterward added to his holdings from time to time as his financial resources increased until he had extended the boundaries of his farm to include 180 acres.  He carefully and persistently tilled the soil, annually gathering good harvests, and his labors brought him substantial reward.
At the present time he owns only 25 acres, having sold nearly all of his land.  Success in substantial measure had attended his efforts and now enables him to largely live retired.
On the lst of January, 1897, Mr. Audus was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Pye.  They have a pleasant home noted for its warm-hearted hospitality, and in the community they have many friends.  In his political views, Mr. Audus in an earnest Republican.  In his religious faith, he is a Methodist.
(Source: City and County of Kenosha Record of Settlement by Frank H. Lyman, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916)

Note about Pye
The Pye family were neighbors of the Audus family.  The parcel is shown on the map above.  On the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, William Audus lived with the Pye family as a boarder.

U.S. Naturalization Record Index for William Audus
Date of Arrival:  May 1871
Port:  New York
Witnessess:  James Cavanagh and Samuel Pye

U.S. 1920 Federal Census
Alice Robinette (Mrs. Julius Robinette) was a widowed niece of William Audus.
She was born in Illinois and lived with William Audus as shown on the census.

U.S. 1850 Census
Samuel Pye (born about 1814 in England) and Sarah Pye (born about 1825 in England) lived in Downers Grove, DuPage County, Illinois.

U.S. 1870 Census
Samuel Pye (born about 1814 in England) and his wife, Elizabeth (born about 1832 in England) lived in Downers Grove, DuPage County, Illinois with their daughter Emma A. who was born in Illinois in 1854.