Occupation Attorney | Name Orson Head | |
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Full Name Orson Sherman Head Spouse(s) Mary Jane Treadwell (1846–1875) Died February 19, 1875, Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States | ||
Orson Sherman Head (October 9, 1817 – February 19, 1875) was an American lawyer. He practiced law in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and served three terms as county prosecutor. He was a great-grandfather and namesake of Orson Welles.
Biography
A descendant of John Alden, Orson S. Head was born on October 9, 1817, in Paris, New York. He worked on the family farm with his five brothers, and studied law in New York. In 1841, he moved to Wisconsin Territory, where he was admitted to the bar. Head settled in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and practiced law.
Known for his flaming red hair and beard, sturdy physique and forceful personality, Head was elected prosecutor for Kenosha County three times. In 1851 he served one year in the Wisconsin State Senate, filling a vacancy.
Head was the great-grandfather and namesake of famed actor and filmmaker Orson Welles. Orson S. Head was married to Mary Jane Treadwell in 1846, and they had seven children. His eldest surviving child, Mary Blanche Head, married Richard Jones Wells; their son, Richard Hodgdon Head Welles, was the father of Orson Welles.
Head died of pneumonia February 19, 1875, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.