pioneer dairyman, agriculturalist, b. Manheim, Herkimer County, N.Y. He moved with his parents to Lake Mills in 1844. The family settled in a predominantly wheat growing region, and at first met with suspicion when they began making cheese on their farm. Stephen Favill began to urge farmers to concentrate on dairy products, and, in the face of declining agricultural prices, gradually won adherents. About 1867, he opened one of the first co-operative cheese factories in the state, and in 1876, began to operate a similar enterprise at Watertown. In 1872 he was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Dairyman's Association and was its vice-president (1877-1878). He was one of the early members of the Northwest Dairyman's Association and served as president (1874, 1876). His brother, JOHN FAVILL, b. Manheim, N.Y., graduated from Harvard Medical School (1847), and moved to Lake Mills the same year. In 1848 he moved to Madison, where he became one of the most prominent physicians and civic leaders in the community. He was one of the charter members of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and was its vice-president (1869) and president (1871). Proc. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 1906 (1907); Lake Mills Leader, Sept. 27, 1906; WPA MS; WPA field notes.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]