HISTORY
OF
Clay and Norman Counties
Minnesota
THEIR PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
JOHN TURNER
AND
C K. SEMLING
Joint Editors
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families
VOLUME II
ILLUSTRAl^ED
1918
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY
Indianapolis, Indiana
CONTENTS.
VOLUME I.
CLAY COUNTY.
CHAPTER I— RELATED STATE HISTORY 33
A Review of the History of the State of Minnesota From the Days of
the Louisiana Purchase to the Present Day — Establishment of Ft. Snell-
ing — Indian Treaties — Establishment of Territorial Government — The Coun-
cil at Traverse des Sioux and Other Treaties Whereby the Indians Relin-
quished Their Claims to Lands Now Comprising the State of Minnesota —
Unrest Among the Indians — Townsite Speculation — Coming of the Rail-
roads — Sioux Uprising of 1862 — Period of Development Following the Civil
War — Agricultural Interests and Matters of a General Statistical Character
With Reference to the Resources of the State, Concluding With a
Chronological Epitome of the Chief Incidents Relating to the Develop-
ment of the State.
CHAPTER II— CLAY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 59
Boundaries, Area and Topography of the County, Together With a Word
of Introduction Concerning the Beginning of White Settlement Here and
the Gradual Development of the Resources of This Section of the Great
Red River Valley— First White Settlers— Failure of Ambitious Project to
Create a City, "Lafayette," at the Mouth of the Cheyenne, and the Coming
of R. M. Probstfield, the First Permanent Settler in the County— Some
"First" Events and Summary of Recent Statistical Survey.
CHAPTER III— GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL FEATURES 63
Warren Upham's Geological Survey of This Region Made the Basis of
a Technical Description of the Land Formation Hereabout, Together With
Topographical Data and a Learned Description of the Great Glacial Lake
Agassiz, the Chapter Concluding With a Comprehensive and Illuminative
Soil Survey of the Red River Valley, by E. C. Sprague, Whose Paper on
Conditions in This Wonderful Valley of "the Nile of the North" Covers
Crop and Soil Conditions Most Entertainingly.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV— ORGANIZATION AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT 74
Here Is Presented Briefly But Comprehensively a General Statement of
Official Procedure in This County From the Day of the County's Erection
in 1872 to the Present Day — Court House and Jail — Formation of Civil
Townships — Commissioners' Proceedings — Election Districts Defined —
Organization of School Districts — Building of Roads and Bridges — Finances,
Assessed Valuation by Towns and Villages, Real Estate Increase, Bonded
Indebtedness, Drainage and Other Details Relating to the Common Ac-
tivities of the Commonwealth of Clay.
CHAPTER V— COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATION 92
This Chapter Carries a Complete Roster of Those Elective Officers Who
Have Served Clay County in an Official Public Capacity Since the Days
of the Creation of the County, Including Lists of Congressmen, State
Senators and Representatives, District Court Judges, County Auditors,
Registers of Deeds, Sheriffs, County Attorneys, Probate Judges, Coroners,
Surveyors, Clerks of Court, County Treasurers, County Commissioners, Su-
perintendents of Public Instruction and County Commissioners, Together
With a Roster of the Present County Officers, a Statement Regarding the
Salaries Received by the Same, and a Digest of the Presidential Election
Returns From This County Since 1884.
CHAPTER VI— TOWNSHIP HISTORY ^ 100
In This Chapter There Is Set Out Briefly the Details Regarding the
Organization of the Thirty Townships in Clay County, Together With
Many Interesting Facts Relating to the Conditions Existing in These
Townships in the Early Days of Settlement — List of Original Landowners
and Facts Regarding Towns and Villages — Review Presented in Alpha-
betical Order of the Townships of Alliance, Barnesville, Cromwell, Eglon,
Elkton, Elmwood, Felton, Flowing, Georgetown, Goose Prairie, Glyndon,
Hagen, Hawley, Highland Grove, Holy Cross, Humboldt, Keene, Kragnes,
Kurtz, Moland, Moorhead, Morken, Oakport, Parke. Riverton, Skree, Spring
Prairie, Tansem, Ulen and Viding.
CHAPTER VII— AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS OF CLAY COUNTY 154
In the History of Any County Situated in an Almost Purely Agricultural
Region, As Is This, the Chapter Relating to Farming and Farming Methods
Ought to Be the Most Interesting One of the Series, and This Chapter Is
No Exception; for Here Are Set Out in Interesting Fashion Such Details
as Are Particularly Informative With Relation to the Agricultural Interests
of Clay County — Farmers' Clubs and Young People's Farm Contests — Soil
Tests — Farmers' Bureau and Agricultural Societies — Amazing Development
of Potato Culture — "Father of the Potato Industry" — Dairying and the
Creamery Industry — Silos — Stock Raising — Official Record of Farm Names —
Urban Conveniences on the Farm — Crop Summary and General Farm Sta-
tistics, the Chapter Closing With Fitting Reference to Many of the Individual
Farmers of the County Whose Operations Have Met With Distinctive
Success.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII— EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF CLAY COUNTY 175
Former County Superintendent John Turner Has in This Chapter Given
a Most Comprehensive and Entertaining Review of the Development of
the Public Schools of Clay County, Beginning With the Days When Indian
Youngsters Were in the Majority Among the Pupils of the Pioneer Schools
— "The School of Nature" — First School in County— Early Rural Schools
Roster of Superintendents of Public Instruction — Statistics Relating to the
Growth of the Schools — Consolidated Schools — Comparative School Tax
School Funds and Apportionment — School Officers and Teachers— State
State School System — Hope Academy — Bishop Whipple School— Concordia
College and the State Normal School at Moorhcad.
CHAPTER IX— CHURCHES OF CLAY COUNTY 197
Herein Is Found a Review of the Various Church Organizations of Clay
County From the Earliest Years of Settlement, Including the Names of
the Charter Members of Most of These Organizations and a List of the
Pastors Who Have Served the Same, All the Leading Religious Denomi-
nations Being Thus Represented, Including the Congregational, Presby-
terian, German Evangelical, English Evangelical, Methodist Episcopal, Nor-
wegian Lutheran, Swedish Lutheran, Scandinavian Lutheran, Catholic, Ger-
man Lutheran, United Lutheran, Episcopal and Baptist.
CHAPTER X— NEWSPAPERS OF CLAY COUNTY 212
It Was Not Many Months After the Beginning of a Social Order Hereabout
I'ntil the "Red River Star" Appeared to Shed Light on the Situation and
Ever Since Then This Region Has Been Well and Ably Represented
in the Domain of the_ Fourth Estate, the County Scat and the Various
Villages of the County Having Newspapers That Intelligently and Com-
petently Cover Their Respective Fields, and a List of Which, Together
With Details Concerning the Founding of These Several Newspapers, Is
Set Out in the Chapter Plere Indicated.
CHAPTER XI— PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITALS IN CLAY COUNTY 217
From the Time in 1871 When Dr. John Kurtz Appeared on This Then
Frontier of Western Civilization to Act as Physician in the Construc-
tion Camps of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to the Present
Day, Clay County Has Had Able Representation Among the Disciples of
^sculapius and in This Chapter There Is Set Out a List of the Physicians
Who Have Thus Served This Community, Together With Brief Biographies
of Many of Them, as Well as a Roster of the Present Members of the
Medical Profession in This County and a History of the Several Hospitals
That Are Serving Their Beneficent Purpose in the Community.
CHAPTER XII— BENCH AND BAR OF CLAY COUNTY 223
Courts and Lawyers Have Ever Played an Important Part in the Work
of Development Marking the Progress of Communities and the Part
Thus Taken by These Agents of Society in the Development of This
Community Has Been Both Honorable and Conspicuous— History of the
CONTENTS.
District Court, With Brief Biographies of the Judges Who Have Occupied
Positions on the Bench Thereof — History of the Bar of Clay County. Carrying
a Roster of tlic Attorneys Who Flave Been Connected Therewith, as Well
as a Bit of Interesting Biographical Mention of Many of Them.
CH.APTER XIII— BANKS OF CLAY COUNTY 230
Nineteen Banks in Clay County Carry Deposits of Three Millions of
Dollars — More Than Seventy Farmers in the County are Stockholders in
Some One or More of the Banks of the County — Strong and Admirably
Managed Financial Institutions Maintain a High Standard of Credit for the
Community — List of the Banks Now Doing Business in the County, To-
gether With Brief Histories of Their Respective Organizations, a List
of Officers and Current Statements of Condition.
CHAPTER XIV— RAILROAD AND RIVER TRANSPORTATION 242
From the Days of the Lumbering Red River Carts That Served as Mediums
of Transportation for the Important Traffic of the Hudson Bay Company
to the Present Day of the Steel Vcstibulcd Transcontinental Railroad
"Flyers" That Go Thundering Along the Ways Followed by the Old Trails
Is Not a Long Time Measured in Years, But Vast Have Been the Changes
Effected in Methods— Steamboating on the Red River Back in the 70s^
Great Land Grants for Purposes of Encouraging Railroad Construction —
Northern Pacific Railroad — Great Northern System — Some Interesting Side-
lights on Earlier Methods of Transportation.
CHAPTER XV— MILITARY HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY 246
During the Days of the Civil War There Was No Such a Civic Entity as
Clay County, Hence This County Had No Part in the Great Struggle
Between the States; But in the Spanish-American War and in the American
Participation in the Great War Following the Declaration of War Against
Germany in the Spring of 1917. .Admirable Response Was Made to the Call
to .'\rms — Something Relating to the Local Organization of the Grand
.Army of the Republic.
CHAPTER XVI— FRATERNAL ORDERS IN CLAY COUNTY 250
Responding to That Noble Instinct Which Recognizes the Common Brother-
hood of Man, the Early Settlers of Clay County Lost Little Time in
Organizing Local Benevolent and Fraternal Organizations After Orderly
Settlements Began to Be Formed Here and There Have Come to Be
Organized in the County Numerous Lodges of Secret Societies Which
Are Quietly and Effectively Doing the Work for Which They Were Organ-
ized and a List of Which Is Set Out in the Chapter Here Indicated.
CHAPTER XVII— CITY OF MOORHEAD, THE COUNTY SEAT 259
"Key City of Minnesota," as It Was Styled in the Old Frontier Days,
Was Founded in 1871 and When Clay County Was Formally Organized
as a Civic Entity in the Following Year Was Made the County Seat, Which
Position of Eminence It Ever Since Has Occupied, Moorhead Gradually
CONTENTS.
Developing Until It has Long Been Recognized as the Chief City of This
Section of Minnesota — Interesting Events in the Early Days of the City
Review, of Conditions in 1874 — Disastrous Fires— Industrial Development-
Municipal History— Postoffice, Public Library and a Business Directory
for 1917.
CHAPTER XVIII— EARLY RECOLLECTIONS OF EASTERN CLAY
COUNTY 279
Reminiscences of Alvide Anderson Covering Recollections Dating Back to
1880 Presented in a Fashion to Awaken Memories of Other Days in the
Minds of Old Settlers and to Prove of Informative Interest to Those of
the Present Generation to Whom This Whole Volume Ought to Be a
Veritable Mine of Information Concerning Incidents of Other Days — Early
Modes of Travel — Woman's Part in the Settlement — School Reminiscences
— Grasshoppers — Mail and Marketing — Prairie Fires — Prices in Early Times
and an Illuminating Comparison Between Conditions Then and Now.
CHAPTER XIX— MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS 1 .288
Here Will Be Found a Series of Brief Historical Narratives Covering
Points That Could Not Conveniently Be Covered in Preceding Chapters.
Such as Matters Relating to Postoffices in Clay County, Local Fire Insur-
ance Companies. Population Statistics, Original Village Plats, Market Quo-
tations, Early Weather Reports, Temperature and Precipitation, Telephone
Service, How Holy Cross Township Got Its Name and. Finally, and Quite
Fittingly, a Poem, "Clay County," by John Turner, and a Statement Con-
cerning the Naming of That County.
NORMAN COUNTY.
CHAPTER I— GEOLOGICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES 299
Generally Level Trend of the Surface of Norman County, the Highest
Point in the County Being "Frenchman's Bluff," in Flom Township— Nat-
ural Drainage by Way of the Basin of the Wild Rice River— Artifi-
cial Drainage Provided by Hundreds of Miles of Ditches— Artesian Wells
— Timber — Grasses and Fruits.
CHAPTER II— COUNTY ORGANIZATION ■"'-
Statement Regarding the Legislative Act of February. 1881, by Which Nor-
man County Was Set Off From Polk County, and of the Later Transfer
of the Sixteen Congressional Townships Now Comprised Within Mahno-
men County in 1906— First Official Proceedings of the County-Location
of County Seat— Erection of Present Court House— County Finances.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III— COUNTY AND STATE OFFICIALS 3.12
In This Chapter There Is Set Out a Complete Roster of All Who Have
Served Norman County In an Official Capacity From the Days of Its Organ-
ization to the Present, Including a List of State Senators and Representatives,
County Auditors, Treasurers, Sheriffs, Registers of Deeds, Judges of Probate,
County Attorneys, Surveyors, Coroners, Clerks of the District Court, School
Superintendents, Court Commissioners, County Commissioners, and County
Physicians, Together With a Review of Local Political Conditions and a
Digest of the Presidential Vote Since 1884.
CHAPTER IV— COUNTY GOVERNMENT 318
Here is Presented a Review of Conditions That Confronted the Commission-
ers Upon Taking Up the Work of Organization In the New County of Nor-
man — Notes From the Minutes of the Board — First Plat Made for the County
— Settlement With Polk County — Bonds Authorized — Farmers Alliance
Organization Urged — Various Acts of the Commissioners and a Word Con-
cerning Drainage. Roads and Bridges and County Finances, Closing With
Some Statistical Figures and a Roster of the Present County Officers.
CHAPTER V— RAILROADS AND TRANSPORTATION 331
Coming of the Railroad Into Norman County During the Middle '70s
Opened a New Era for This Region — Reference to Other Roads that Never
Got Beyond the "Paper" Stage — Railroad Lands and the Prices at Which
the Same Were Advertised for Sale in 1883 — Great Northern Railway Strike
— Pioneer "Fast Mail."
CHAPTER VI— AGRICULTURE AND KINDRED INDUSTRIES 336
It Is But Proper to State That as an Agricultural County Norman Ranks
Well with Any in the Commonwealth of Minnesota, a Conclusion Borne
Out by a Perusal of the Statistical Information Carried in the Chapter
Here Called to the Attention of the Reader — Wheat Acreage — Crop Aver-
ages — Markets of Another Day — Diversified Farming — Potato Culture
— Creameries — Orchard and Nursery Interest — Agricultural Societies — F'irst
Hog In County — Registered Farm Names.
CHAPTER VII— THE BENCH AND BAR 349
Though Norman County Has Never Been Much Given to Litigation There
Is Still a Field for the Lawyer Here and for the Orderly Processes of the
Courts, and In This Chapter There Is Set Out a List of the .'\ttorneys Who
Have Practiced Their Profession In This County From the Days of the Be-
ginning of a County Organization, Together With a Roster of the Present
Members of the Bar and a List of Those Who Have Served as Judges of
Probate and as County Attorneys.
CHAPTER VIII— THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 35.S
From the Days of the "Roots and Yarbs" Doctors This County Has Been
Well Represented In the Medical Profession and This Chapter Carries a
List of All Who Have Practiced Here From the Beginning, With Brief
Biographical References to Many of Them, Together With a Narrative
Relating to a Tragedy of the Middle '80s Involving a Physician and a Drug-
gist.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX— CHURCHES OF NORMAN COUNTY 360
Evidences of Respectful Worship Among the Members of a Community
Afford One of the Most Significant Indices to the General Character of the
People of that Community and in this Respect Norman County Measures up
Highly, As the Reader Will Note By a Perusal of the Chapter Here In-
dicated and Which Sets Out In Brief a History of the Numerous Church
Organizations That Have Been Active and Potent Factors In the Develop-
ment of the Social and Moral Life of the Community Since the Days of the
Beginning of Settlement Here.
CHAPTER X— BANKS OF NORMAN COUNTY 383
The Twenty Banking Houses In Norman County Afford an Admirable Inde.x
to the General Prosperity and Financial Standing of the Community — List
of the Early Banks In the County — Present Banks Doing Business In the
County and Brief Statements Relating to the Organization of Eacli.
CHAPTER XI— FRATERNAL AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES 393
Norman County Is Well Represented In the Matter of Fraternal Societies
and In This Chapter the Reader Will Find a Brief Statement Relating to the
Organization of Each of the -Several Organizations of That Character That
Have Been Effected Here, This List Carrying References to the Local Or-
ganizations of the Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Knights of
Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Independent Order of
Foresters, the Sons of Norway, the Daughters of Norway, the Modern Wood-
men of America, the Good Templars and the Brotherhood of American Yeo-
men.
CHAPTER XII— EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF NORMAN COUNTY.— 399
In 1874 the Region Now Comprised Within the Bounds of Norman County
Had But One School House, a Humble Structure of Logs; Today It Has One
Hundred and Nine School Houses and Is Carrying On the Noble Work of
Education With a Degree of Efficiency That Gives to All Districts Admirable
School Facilities — First Public Schools — Formation of School Districts
—Consolidated Schools— School Statistics— Graded Schools— Model School
Building. >
CHAPTER XIII— MILITARY HISTORY — — 406
Though In the Nature of Things Norman County Had No Part In the -Activ-
ities Incident to the Great Civil War, It Was Well Represented In the Span-
ish-American War and In the Gigantic Struggle Which This Country Entered
In 1917 It Rose Nobly to the Patriotic Task of Furnishing Its Quota for
Participation In the World War— Enlistments From Norman County— List
of Those Who Became a Part of the Nation's Selective Draft— Aids to the
War— Home Guard— Red Cross Work— First Toll Exacted By the War ?rom
This County— Company I, Third Regiment, Minnesota National Guard.
CHAPTER XIV-THE PRESS OF THE COUNTY -"Z"' '*'"
From the Days of the Establishment of the "Ada -Alert" Back m the Year
1880, Norman County Has Been Ably Represented By Vigorous and Progres-
sive Newspapers and the Reader Will Find In the Chapter Here Indicated an
CONTENTS.
Interesting Narrative Relating to the Gradual Development of the News-
paper Interests of the County, With Brief Histories of the Several News-
papers and Fitting References to Some of the Editors Who Have Exerted
a Helpful Influence Upon the Community By Reason of Their Editorial Activ-
ities.
CHAPTER XV— THE CITY OF ADA 419
As the Social and Political Center of the County, the City of Ada, County
Seat of Norman County, Merits Particular Mention In a Work of This Char-
acter and In This Chapter the Reader Will Find Set Out In Detail Something
of the Municipal History of the City. Together With References to Its Public
Utilities, Parks, Library, Postofficc, Industries, the Abolition of Its Saloons
and a Review of Its Commercial Development, Together With a Comprehen-
sive and Up-to-Date Commercial Directory, Carrying a List of Persons and
Concerns Doing Business There In 1918.
CHAPTER XVI— TOWNSHIPS OF NORMAN COUNTY 431
This Chapter Is Devoted to a Brief Review of the Work of Organization of
the Several Townships of Norman County, Together With Interesting De-
tails Relating to the Early Settlement In Each and a Roster of First Set-
tlers; the Townships Being Set Out in the Following .Mphabetical Order:
Anthony. Bear Park, Flom, Fossum, Good Hope, Green Meadow,. Halstad,
Hegne, Hendrum, Home Lake, Lake, Ida, Lee, Lockhart, Mary, McDon-
aldsville. Pleasant View. Rockwell, Shely, Spring Creek, Strand, Sundahl,
Waukon, Wild Rice and Winchester — Histories of the Several Towns and
Villages of the County .
CHAPTER XVII— REMINISCENCES OF EARLY PIONEERS 503
Wherein the Reader Will Find Some of the Most Interesting Narratives in
This History, First-Hand Stories Here Being Related Concerning Many In-
cidents and Events of Pioneer Days That Ought to Prove of Intense In-
terest to All Who Are In Any Way Concerned In the Matter of the Preserv-
ation of the History and Traditions of This Community — Hudson Bay Stations
— Early Settlers — Difficulties .Attending Pioneering — Grasshopper Days — Ind-
ian "Scares" — Pioneer Preacher's Experiences — Ox-Team Travel.
CHAPTER XVIII— MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 515
Herein Will Be Found a Number of Items of Interest Worthy of Preserva-
tion In the Annals of Norman County, Including Reference to Some "First"
and "Early" Events. City and Village Plats. Postoffices, Population Statis-
tics. Weather Statistics, Big Flood Years, Destructive Storms, Prairie Fires,
the Old Settlers Association, Pioneer Reminiscences and An Interesting Nar-
rative Relating to Some of the Early Political Fights In the "Bloody Fifth."
HISTORICAL INDEX
CLAY COUNTY.
A
Aboriginal Earthworks 65
Activities of Normal School 192
Activity in Railroad Building 45
Admission to Statehood 39
Agricultural 154-174
Agricultural Societies 156
Alliance Township —
Boundaries of 101
First Settlers 100
Location of 76
Organization of 85, 100
Population of 100
Taxes Paid ^ 87
Village of Baker 101
Altitudes in Clay County 64
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons- 250
Ancient Order of United Workmen. 256
Anderson, Alvide 279
Area of Clay County 59, 63
Area of Minnesota 47
Assessed Valuation 62, 88
Averill, Village of 137, 290
B
Baker State Bank .* 231
Baker, Village of 101, 290
Banks of Clay County 230-241
Baptist Church 211
Barnesville, City of 103-107, 290
Barnesville Hospital 222
Barnesville Township —
Boundaries of 102
City of Barnesville 103-107
Early Settlers 103
Location of 77, 102
Organization of 102
Bar of Clay County 223-229
Baxter, Judge L. L 224
Bear Shot by Pioneer 134
Bench and Bar of Clay County 223-229
Bethel, Early Name of Hawley 127
"Bill" Nye's Brother 229
Bishop Whipple School, the 186
Bonded Indebtedness of County 89
Bonds of County OiTicials i 86
Boundaries of Clay County 59
Buffalo River Settlement 61
Buflfalo River, the 145
Butter, the Best in the World 160
C
Carvell, J. S., County's First Lawyer 225
Cash Resources of County 88
Catholic Churches 208
Catholic Order of Foresters 254
Catton 290
Census of 1860 40
Chippewa Indian Kills Settlers 109
Chronological Data 50
Churches of Clay County 197-211
City of Barnesville 103-107, 290
City of Moorhead 259-278
Citizens Bank of Barnesville 236
Civil Townships, Formation of.-76, 100
Civil War Period 40, 246
Civil War Retards Settlement 40
Clay-Becker Joint Sanitarium 222
•Clay County," a Poem 295
Clay County Bankers Association. 241
Clay County Farmers Bureau 156
Clay County in 1874 59
Clay County in War — 246-249
Clay County Journalism 212-216
Clay County Medical Society 221
Clerks of District Court— 95
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Climatological Conditions 49, 293
Coal Mine "Boom" That Failed 133
Collins, Judge L. W 224
Commissioners Court, Opening of — Tl
Comstock, Hon. S. G.— 59, 60, 78, 80, 81,
92, 93, 94, 118, 186, 190, 192, 225, 229,
230, 260, 264, 265, 266, 268, 291.
Comstock State Bank 231
Comstock, Village of 131, 290
Concordia College 187
Congregational Churches 197
Congressional Apportionment 92
Congressmen 92
Consolidated Schools 180
Consolidation of Colleges 189
Co-operative Creamery Associations 161
Corn n, 154
Coroners 94
Council at Traverse des Sioux 35
County Attorneys 94
County Auditors 93
County Commissioners 95
County Fair Association 157
County Finances 87
County Government 74-91
County Named for Henry Clay 296
County Officers 92-99
County Printing 216
County's Cash Resources 88
County Seat .'\spirations Dashed 123
County Seat Town, the 259-278
County Surveyors 95
County Treasurers 95
Court Commissioners 95
Court House, History of-_74, 82, 84, 85
Creameries 161
Cromwell Township —
Boundaries of 107
Location of 76. 107
Organization of 108
Population of 108
' Settlement Notes 108
Crop Conditions 70, 154-174
Crop Statistics 174
Cross Saves Settlers 294
D
Dairying in Clay County 160
Daughters of Rebeckah 252
Decrease in Population Noted 109
Degree of Honor 256
Development of Minnesota 50
Dilworth State Bank 232
Dilworth, Village of 139, 291
District Court Judges 93, 223
Doctors of Clay County 217-222
Dog Trains 261
Douglas, Wallace B. 227
Downer, Village of 111, 291
Drainage 63, 69, 86, 89
Driving Park Association 157
E
Early Commissioners' Records 11
Early Recollections 279-287
Editor Holds the Fort 212
Educational 175-196
Eglon Township —
Boundaries of 108
Early Settlers 109
First Settlers Slain 109
Location of 11
Organization of 108
Picturesque Lake Region 110
Population of 109
Waste Land Noted 109
Election Districts Defined 78
Elevation of State 49
Elkton Township —
Downer, Village of 111
First Settlers 111
Location of 76, 110
Originally Named Madison 76, 111
Organization of 83, 111
Population of 111
Taxes Paid 87
Elmwood Township —
Boundaries of 112
Location of 76
Organization of 83, 112
Population of 112
Sabin, Village of 113
Settlement Notes 112
Taxes Paid 87
English Evangelical Church 202
Episcopal Church 211
Examples of Successful Farming 165
HISTORICAL INDEX.
F
Farmers as Bank Stockholders 230
Farmers' Clubs 1^5
Farming in Clay County 154-174
Farm Names, a Record of 162
Farms in Clay County, Number of- 59
"Father of the Potato Industry" 159
Felton Township —
Boundaries of ^^^
Location of '"
Organization of ^5, 114
Settlement Notes ^^
Taxes Paid S''
Village of Felton ^^
Felton, Village of 114, 291
Ferry Toll Rates in Early Days 80
Finances of County ^7
Financial Crash of 1873
Finkle Station 1^^
Fire Insurance Companies (Local)— 288
Fire Loss at Hawley 128
Fire Losses' at Moorhead 267
Fire Losses at Ulen 151
First .Constitutional Convention 38
First County Officers Appointed— 78, 93
First Election Districts 78
"First Events" in Clay County-61, 78
First National Bank of BarnesviUe. 235
First National Bank of Hawley 233
First National Bank of Moorhead- 230
First National Bank of Ulen 231
First Newspaper in County 21-
First School in County 176
First State Bank of Felton 233
First State Bank of Glyndon 234
First State Bank of Moorhead 237
First State Legislature 39
First Steamboat to Ft. SneUing 33
First Territorial Governor 35
First White Settlers ^9
„, 71
Flax
Floods of Other Days -^^^
Flowing Township H^
Flowing Wells at Felton 115
Founding of Moorhead 259
Fraternal Orders 250-258
Frontier Life Exciting at Times— 262
G
Game Plentiful in Pioneer Days 153
Geography of Minnesota 4/
Geological and Natural Features--63-73
Georgetown Township —
Boundaries of 116
Georgetown, Village of 118
Old Trading Post 117
Organization of 116
Population of --. 116
Settlement Notes 116
Georgetown, Village of 118, 291
German Evangelical Church 202
German Lutheran Churches 210
Glacial Lake Agassiz 65
Glyndon Township —
Boundaries of 1-1
First Settlers 122
Glyndon Village 122
Organization of 1-1
Population of 1 —
Glyndon Village 122, 291
Good-Roads Movement in County— 90
Goose Prairie Township-
Boundaries of 120
Early Settlement - 120
Hitterdal, Village of 121
Location of 76, 120
Organization of 83, 120
Taxes Paid ^'
Gophers, Bounty on 86
Graded Schools of County 180
Grand Army of the Republic 248
Grasses and Forage Crops 72, 154
Grasshopper Visitations— 61, 152, 284
Great Northern Railroad 44
Growth of PubHc Schools 179
H
, • P4
Hagen Township -
Hawley Township— *
Early Settlement YJt
„f —76, 123
Location of •
Old English Colony — J^^
Organization of '9, 1^^
Population of
Taxes Paid
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Village of Hawley 127
Hawley. Village of 127, 291
Highland Grove Township —
Boundaries of 129
Discontinued Postoffices 129
Early Settlement 130
Location of IT, 129
Organization of 130
Villages in Township 130
Highways of the County 90
History of Townships 100-153
Hitterdal Security State Bank 238
Hitterdal, Village of 121, 291
Holes, Andrew— 59, 74, 76, 77, 95, 176.
237, 259, 263, 265.
Holy Cross Township —
Location of IT. 131
Organization of 131
Origin of Name 294
Settlement of 131
Village of Comstock 131
Hope Academy 186
Hospitals at Moorhead 221
Hotels of Moorhead 263
Humboldt Township 132
I
Immigration. During the Fifties 37
Improved Order of Red Men 255
Incidents of the Old Days 262. 279
Incorporation of Moorhead 269
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 251
Indian Dance 280
Indian Hunters Cause Trouble 37
Indians Notified to Leave County 81
Indian Treaties 33
Indian Uprising of 1862 42. 76
J
Jail Destroyed by Fire 74
Jail Poorly Guarded 82
Johnsons. Predominance of 259
Journalism in Clay County 212-216
Judges of District Court 93. 223
Judges of Probate 94
Judiciary, the 223
K
Keene Township —
Boundaries of 133
Early Settlement 134
Location of 76, 133
Only Two Homesteaders 134
Organization of 85, 133
Population of 133
Taxes Paid 87
"Key City of Minnesota" 259
Kragnes State Bank 238
Kragnes Township —
Boundaries of 134
Early Settlement 134
Location of 76, 134
Originally "Woodland" 83
Organization of . 83, 134
Taxes Paid 87
Village of Kragnes 135
Kragnes, Village of 135
Kurtz, Plat of 291
Kurtz Township 135
L
Lafayette, a "Paper Town" 60
Lakes of Clay County 63
Likes of Minnesota 48
Legal Profession, the 223-229
Lightning Strikes Postoffice 137
List of Registered Physicians 217
Louisiana Purchase 33
"Lund" Township 148
M
Machinery for Cultivating Potatoes. 158
Manitoba Junction 291
Market Quotations 292
Masonic Lodges 250
Massacre of 1862 ..42, 76
Medical Profession, the 217-222
Memorial Day Observance 249
Meridian Line Officially Fixed 85
Methodist Episcopal Churches 203
Military History of County 246-249
Mills, Judge Ira B 224
Minnesota State History 33-58
Mirage, Description of 64
Miscellaneous Topics 288-296
Modern Rural Schools 178
Modern Woodmen of America 253
Moland Township —
Boundaries of 136
First Settlers 137
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Location of 77, 136
Organization of 136
Population of 136
Taxes Paid 87
Village of Averill 137
Moorhead Hospital 221
Moorhead National Bank 237
Moorhead, the County Seat-
Business Directory 275
Churches 1"'
Conditions in 1874 265
Created County Seat 74
Disastrous Fires 267
Distinctive Events 264
For Whom Named 261
Hotels 263
Lawyers 223
Location of 259
Lodges 250
Municipal History 269
Original Plat 292
Population of 259
Postoffice 271
Public Library 274
Schools 175
When Founded 259
Moorhead Township —
Boundaries of 13°
City of Moorhead 138, 259
Location of 76, 138
Organization of 79, 138
Population of 138
Schools and Churches 139
Settlement of 138
Taxes Paid 87
Village of Dilworth 139
Morken Township —
Boundaries of l'"^
Location of 76, 140
Organization of 83, 140
Population of 14^
Settlement of l-^O
Taxes Paid 87
Mound Builder Evidences 65
Murder of a Policeman 264
Muskoda, Village of 129, 291
Mc
McKelvey, Judge James M 224
N
National Loan and Improvement
Company 240
Newspapers of Clay County 212-216
Nichols, W. D., Pioneer Editor 212
"Nile of the North," the 68
Normal School Activities 192
Northern Pacific Railroad 243
Norwegian Lutheran Churches 205
Northwestern Hospital, the 221
Northwestern Lutheran College As-
sociation 187
Nye, Judge Carroll A. 225, 228
O
Oakport 260
Oakport Township —
Boundaries of 141
Location of 76, 141
Oak Mound Consolidated School- 142
Organization of 83, 141
Population of 1^1
Settlement of 1^1
Taxes Paid 87
Officers of Clay County 92-99
Official Statistics Regarding County
62, 289
Ondeland, Old Postoffice of 151
Order of the Eastern Star 251
Organization of County 75
Original Village Plats 290
Origin of State's Name 47
P
Parke Township —
Boundaries of 1"*-
Early Settlers 142
Location of ^^ ^ l'*2
Organization of '4-
Population of 1''2
Rollag Postoffice 143
Township Hall 144
Parsons, Judge William L 225
Patriarchs Militant 251
Period of Rapid Development 44
Physicians and Hospitals 217-222
Pioneer Braves Indian Terror 76
Pioneers Slain by Indians 109
Population Statistics 46, 62, 289
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Postoffices in County 288
Postoffices Robbed 128, 272
Postoffice Struck by Lightning 137
Potatoes 7i, 152, 154, 157-160
Potato Growers' Association 159
Prairie Fires 284
Prehistoric Lake Bed 65
Presbyterian Churches 201
Present County Officers 98
Presidential Vote 99
Press of Clay County 212-216
Prices in Early Times 287, 292
Prisoners Burned in Jail 74
Prisoners Enjoy Freedom 82
Probate Judges 94
Probstfield, R. M.— 59, 60, 61, 75. 76, 92,
117, 119, 142, 260, 263.
Public Library at Moorhead 274
Public Schools of Clay County 176
R
Railroad and River Traffic 242-245
Railroad Bonds Issued 39
Railroad Land Grants 243
Railway Shops at Dilworth 139
Rainfall 293
Ramsey, Gov. Alexander 35
Real Estate Increase 89
Recollections of Other Days 279-287
Record of Local Farm Names 162
Rcd-Rivcr Carts 261
Red River Valley, the 68
Red River Valley Treaty of 1863-.- 43
Registered Physicians, List of 217
Register of Deeds 94
Related State History 33-58
Religious Activities 197-211
Reminiscences 279-287
Report on School Conditions 184
Rivers of Minnesota 48
Riverton Township —
Boundaries of 144
Farmers Picnic Ground 146
Locations of 76, 144
Organization of 85, 144
Population of 144
Settlement of 144
Stockwood Postoffice 145
Taxes Paid 85
River Traffic in Old Days 242
Road and Bridge Expenditures 87
Roads of Clay County 90
Roeser, Judge John A 225
Rollag Postoffice — 143
Roster of Clay County Bar 229
Rough Life on the Frontier 262
Royal Arcanum, the 255
Royal League, the 257
Rural Conditions. Improvement in 181
Rural Schools in Pioneer Days 177
Rustad. Village of 136
s
Sabin State Bank . 239
Sabin, Village of 113, 292
Salaries of County Officials 98
Sale of Old Court House 82
Scandinavian Lutheran Churches 207
School Buildings at Moorhead 176
School Districts Early Defined 79
School Disturbed by a Bear 178
School Funds 182
School Lands .182
School Officers' Conferences 184
Schools of Clay County 175-196
School Superintendents— *— 95, 178, 184
School Tax Rates — 181
Schroeder, Henry, "Potato King" 159
Searle, Judge D. B 224
Secret Societies 250-258
Settlers Flee From Indians 76
Sheriffs 94
Skree Township 146
Small Fruits 73
Soil Conditions 59, 64, 68
Soldiers for the World War 246
Spanish-.\mcrican War 46, 246
Special Taxes for Schools 182
Spirit Lake Massacre 38
Sprague, E. C. 68
Spring Prairie Township 147
State .Aid for Schools 183
State Bank of Georgetown 234
State Bank of Hawley 232
State Development by Years SO
State History 33-58
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Statehood Granted Minnesota 39
State Normal School at Moorhead-_ 190
State Representatives 92
State Roads in County 91
State School System 185
State Senators 92
Statistics for 1913 62
Statistics Relating to Crops 174
Statistics Relating to Schools— 179, 184
Stein, Adam 60, 260
Steamboat Lines at Moorhead 263
Stearns, Judge O. P 224
Stockholders Lose in Bank Failure- 241
Stockwood Postoffice 145
Successful Agriculturists 165
Surveyors 95
Swedish Lutheran Churches 206
T
Tansem Township —
Boundaries of 148
Early Settlement 148
Location of 76, 148
Named for John O. Tansem 149
Organization of 81, 148
Taxes Paid 87
Tax Collecting Season 86
Tax Rate for School Purposes 181
Taylor, Judge M. D 224
Teachers Institutes 184
Teachers Insurance Fund 179
Telephone Companies 294
Temperature and Precipitation 294
Territorial Government 34
Timber Conditions 64
Topography of County 63
Township History 100-153
Townsite Speculation in the '50s — 38
Transportation 242-245
Traveling Library Established 86
Treasurers of County 95
Treaties With the Indians 33
Turner, John 175, 295
U
Ulen State Bank 240
Ulen Township —
Boundaries of 149
Early Settlement of 149
Location of 76, 149
Named for Ole Ulen 149
Organization of 84, 149
Taxes Paid 87
Village of Ulen ISO
Ulen, Village of 150, 292
L^nited Lutheran Church 210
Unrest Among the Indians 40
Upham, Prof. Warren 63
V
Valley of the Red River 68
Valuation of County 62, 88
Viding Township 153
Village of AveriU 137, 290
Village of Baker 101, 290
Village of Comstock 131, 290
Village of Dilworth 139, 291
Village of Downer 111, 291
Village of Felton 114, 291
Village of Georgetown 118, 291
Village of Glyndon 122, 291
Village of Hawley 127, 291
Village of Hitterdal 121, 291
Village of Kragnes 135
Village of Rustad 136
Village of Sabin 113, 292
Village of Ulen 150, 292
Village Plats. Original 290
W
Water Transportation 242
Watts, Hamlet of 124
Weather Reports 293
Wells and Water Conditions 65
Wheat 71, 154
Wilson, Peter 76, 11, 95
Winnipeg Junction 292
Woman's Part in Pioneer Life 281
World War, the 246
Y
Young Men's Christian Association. 211
Young People's Farm Contests 155
Young Women's Christian Associa-
tion 193
NORMAN COUNTY.
A
Abolition of Saloons 425
Ada Commercial Directory 428
Ada Postoffice Robbed 422
Ada, the city of —
Abolition of Saloons 425
Business Interests 426
Charter Granted in 1878 419
City Building 420
City Officials 420
Commercial Directory 428
County Seat 304, 309
Electric Light Plant 420
Industries 423
Library 422
Location of 419
Municipal History 419
Parks 421
Plat of, Filed 516
Postoffice 422
Railway Depot 423
Reincorporation 420
Schools 401
Agriculture 336- 348
Agricultural Societies 344
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. 393
Anthony "Settlement" 432
Anthony Township 431
Artesian Wells 300, 469. 475
Assessed Valuation of County 329
Auditors of County 312
B
Bank Destroyed by Fire 389
Bank Robbery at Halstad 389
Banks of Norman County 383- 392
Bar of Norman County 349, 353
Bear Park Township 433
Before Railroad Days ;5J4
Bench and Bar 349
Betcher. Hamlet of 442
"Bloody Fifth," the 524
Bonds, First Authorization of 321
Borup, Village of 500, 516
Boy Killed by Falling Tree 444
Brotherhood of American Yeomen. 398
Buffalo "Wallows" 466. 471
Burial of Soldiers 325
Business Interests of Ada 426
c
Catholic Churches 382
Cause Celebre of Early Days 458
Children Burned to Death 453, 480
City and Village Plats 516
City Officials of Ada 420
Civil War Period 406
Clerks of Court 314
Churches of Norman County 360- 382
Commercial Interests of Ilcndrum.. 454
Community Hall at Hendrum 452
Company I, Third Regiment, Min-
nesota National Guard 406
Congregational Churches 381
Consolidated Schools 402
Creameries 341
Crop Statistics 336
Coroners 314
Costly Blaze at Gary 486
County Attorneys 313, 354
County Commissioners 314
County Finances 311, 328
County Government 318
County Officials 312, 334
County Organization 302
County Physicians 315
County Seat, Location of 304, 419
Court Commissioners 314
Court House, Erection of 309
D
Daughters of Norway, the 396
Destructive Fire at Ada 421
Destructive Fire at Shelly 480
Diphtheria, Scourge of 457
District Schools 401
Diversified Farming 340
Doctors of Norman County 355
Drainage 299, 326, 501
E
Early Official Proceedings 318
Early Settlers 504
Early Settlement Notes 454, 493, 503
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Educational 399- 405
Enlistments for World War 408
Evangelical Lutheran Church ; 378
F
Kaith, Hamlet of 439, 516
Farmer Frozen to Death 494
Farmers' Alliance 3^:^
Farm Losses Due to Hail 521
Farm Names 345
"Fast Mail" in 1864 335
Fight for County Seat 305
Finances of County 311, 328
Fire Department at Ada 421
Fire of 1900 at Ada 421
First and Early Events 515
First Bank in County 384
First Church in County 360
First Commissioners Court 318
First Hog in Norman County 345
First Lawyer in County 349
First Newspaper in County 412
First Officers of County 303
First Plat of County 319
First Physician in County 355
First School House in County 399
First Toll Exacted by World War.- 411
Flaming. Village of 490
Flom Township 435
Flom, Village of 437
Floods at Various Periods 519
Flour-Mill Destroyed by Fire 439
Flour-Milling Industry 423, 496, 497
Flowing Wells in Norman County.- 469
Fossum Township 437
Fraternal Societies 393- 398
"Frenchman's Bluff" 299
Fruits and Nuts 301
G
Gary, Village of 485. 516
Geological and Topographical 299
German Lutheran Churches 376
German M. E. Churches 378
Good Hope Township 439
Good Templars, Order of 398
Goose River Trading Post 512
Gophers, Bounty on 323
Government of County 318
Graded Schools 405
Grand Army of the Republic 406
Grasshopper Plague 456, 508
Great Northern Railway Strike 334
Grasses and Fruits 301
Green Meadow Township 440
H
Hailstorm of 1886 463
Halstad Township 442
Halstad. Village of 445, 516
Hegne Township 448
Heiburg, Village of 497, 517
Hendrum Township 449
Hendrum, Village of 451, 453. 516
Highest Point in County 299
Highway Robbery Near Hendrum-- 458
Hollanders in Spring Creek 482
Home Lake Township 459
I
Incorporation of City of .^da 420
Incorporation of Twin Valley 495
Independent Order of Foresters 396
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 396
Indian "Scares" 509
Industries of Ada 423
J
Judges of Probate 313, 354
Judicial Ditches 300
Journalism in Xorman County.. -412-418
K
Knights of Pythias 395
L
Lake Ida Township 460
Lakes of Norman County. — 299
Lawyers of Norman County 349
Legal Profession, the 349-354
Lee Township ^^
List of Banks in County 3W
Local Aids to War Work 410
Lockhart Township -— Zrl
Lockhart. Village of 468, 516
Lumber-Milling Industry 4^4
HISTORICAL INDEX.
M
Market Quotations in Early Days—- 339
Mary Township 469
Masonic Organizations 393
Medical Profession, the 355-359
Meteorological Conditions 518
Methodist Episcopal Churches 381
Military History 406-411
Miscellaneous Subjects 515-526
Model School Building 405
Modern Woodmen of America 397
Mosquitoes Prove a Pest 456
Municipal History of Ada 419
Mc
McDonaldsville Township 471
N
Negroes Didn't Stay Long 465
Newspapers of Norman County--412-418
Norman County in War 406-411
Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Church 376
Norwegian Lutheran Churches 360
Norwegian M. E. Church 379
Norwegian Newspaper 418
o
Official Bonds 327
Oldest Resident of County 488
Old Settlers Association 503, 511
Orchards and Nurseries 342
Order of the Eastern Star 394
Organization of County 302
Ox-Team Travel 513
P
"Paper" Railroads 331
Park at Heiberg 498
Parks of Ada 421
Physicians of Norman County 355
Pioneer Preacher's Experiences 511
Pioneer Reminiscences 454, 493
Pioneer Sketches 503-514, 523
Pedley, Village of 463, 516
Pleasant View Township 473
Political Bellwethers Deserted 526
Political Fight in Old Days 524
Political Parties 316
Polk County, Settlement With 320
"Poor Farm" Movement 324
Population Statistics 517
Postoffice at Ada 422
Postoffice Robberies 422, 496
Postoffices in County 517
Potato Culture 341
Prairie Fires 498, 522
Presbyterian Churches 380
Presidential Vote 316
Press of Norman County 412- 418
Public Library at Ada 422
Public Playground at Hendrum 452
Public Utilities at Ada 420
R
Railroad Land Prices 333
Railroads and Transportation 331
Red Cross Work 408
Registered Farm Names 345
Registers of Deeds 313
Religious Life of Community 360
Rindahl, Village of 435
Reminiscences of Pioneers— 503-514, 523
Roads and Bridges 327
Robbers Hold Up Bank 389
Robbery on Cazenove Farm 465
Rockwell Township 475
Roster of War Draftees 408
Russian Thistles 326
S
Saloons Abolished 425
Scandinavian Lutheran Church 364
Scheie Church, the 508
Schools of Norman County 399-405
School Statistics 404
Secret Societies 393-398
Seed Grain Furnished by County —
324, 327
Selective Draft of 1917 408
Settlement Notes 454, 493, 503
Seventh-Day Adventists 382
Shely Township ■ 476
Shelly, Village of 478, 516
Sheriffs 313
Sons of Norway, the 396
Spanish-American War 407
Spring Creek 300
Spring Creek Township 480
HISTORICAL INDEX.
State Representatives 312
Statistics Relating to Crops 336
Statistics Relating to Population 517
Statistics Relating to Schools 404
Strand, Postoffice of 483
Strand Township 483
Stuart-Xaruin Tragedy, the 355
"St. Vincent Extension," the 510
Sundahl Township 488
Superintendents of Schools 314
Surveyors 313
Syre, Hamlet of 459, 516
T
Taxes in 1883 328
Timber Growths 301
Topographical 299
Townships, Dates of Organization-- 304
Townships of Xorman County--431-502
Transportation 331
Treasurers of County 312
Tribute to Senator Nelson 526
Twin Valley, Village of 495, 516
U
"Union" Church at Borup oW)
Cnion of Norwegian Churches 360
V
Victim of Submarine Warfare 411
Vote Buying Scathingly Rebuked-. 525
Vote for President 316
W
War Draftees of Norman County-- 408
War Work, Local Aids to 410
Waterworks and Electric Light 420
Waukon, Hamlet of 492
Waukon Township 491
Weather Conditions 518
Weights and Measures, Standard 340
Wheat Prices In Early Days 337
White Earth Indian Reservation 302
Wild Rice Drainage Basin 299
Wild Rice Township 493
Winchester Township 499
World War, the 407
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES.
A
Aabye, Andrew T. ^88
Aagaard, Charles M. ^90
Aamoth, Ingvald H. o^j*
Aamoth, Peter H. ^^"
Aanenson, Andrew ^^^
Aanenson, A. U.
Aasen, Ole T. _^_^
Aasgaard, Martinus ^'-
Adanis, Edwin ^^^
Akesson, Ake T. -;;
Alberts, Edward '
Allen, Albert C. «0^
Allen. Charles C. °-"
Allen, John W. 'Z
Altenbernd, Frederick \\ . J
Altenbernd, Loms ;
Amlniel, Peter ^^°
Amundson, Nels
Anderson, Adolf
Anderson, Albert -
Anderson, Alfred ^^
Anderson. Andrew ^
. r- - 53o
Anderson, Anun (j.
Anderson, Bernt
Anderson, Halvor
Anderson, Henry V. ^^^
Anderson, Jens
Anderson, Joseph W. G. -
Anderson, Rev. Martin ^^
Anderson, Martin O. ^^^
Anderson, Olaf
Anderson, S. P. g
Anderson, Theodore H.
Arends, John J. ^^g
Arnestad, Alert "g^
Aschbach, Bernhart ^^^
Aske, Julius B.
Askegaard, David 240
Askegaard, Eugene l^
Awty. William J., M. D 52
B
Backman, Gust ^53
Backman. John A. ^^^
Bagne, Nels B. 55-
Bakke, Bennie °f
Bakke, Ole E. "J
Bakken, Lars A. '^y
Ballard, Prof. C. A. ^
Barnes. George S. -^^^
Barry, John S.
Barry, M. Coleman ^J-
Bauer, Emil __-- ^ ~
Bauer, George C.
Beck, William '
Beckman, Ole L. ^
Bekkerus, Askild T. "^^
Bekkerus, Halvor
.■ T- J ■ r -- loo
Benedict, Edwin L. ^^
Benson, Charles "
Benson, Henry *
Bentley. Helmer N ^^^
Bentley, Ole b. ^^
Bergh, Justus C. ^^^
Betcher, E. C ^^^
Bjerke, E. N. ^7
Bjorge, Edward E. ^^^
Bjorkquist. Carl
Bjorndahl, Adolph ^.^
Bjorndahl, Ole N. ^^
Bjornson, Lars g^j
Bodkin. William J. ^^^
Bowen, J. J- ^ 268
Braman, John H. — ^^^
Bratland. Andrew A.
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Braunschweig, Albert 756
Bredemeier, Christian 639
Bredeson, Melvin O. 797
Breiland, Adna H. 459
Brekke, Ole J. . 802
Bremer, Bennie 469
Brendenuihl, Charles W. 206
Briggs, W. R. 208
Brodine, C. B. 329
Brown, Edmund L. 231
Brunsberg, Peter 888
Burns, James 905
Burrill, Herbert F. 179
BurriU, John 123
Burrill, H. K. 131
Burrill, Jacob 42
Burrill, Dr. James S. 116
Burud, John E. 210
Bye, Andrew 252
C
Canning, Charles \V. 685
Carlson, Albert 421
Carlson, David E. 884
Carlson, John E. 310
Casselman, W. E. 504
Cederberg, August 303
Cederberg, Charles J. 281
Chloupek, Matt 727
Christiansen, Andrew 361
Christianson. Otto A. 382
Christianson, Sever 870
Clayton, Herbert 514
Colby, Charles E. 187
Comstock, Solomon G. 272
Connelly, James 133
Connelly, John 167
Cook, Walter, Jr. 88
Corneliuson, John 483
Crosby, Gunerius I. 413
D
Dahl, Henry 543
Dahl, Nils O. 795
Dahl, Ole A. 895
Dahl, Otto 235
Dahl, Otto L. 324
Dahlcn, Martin O. 487
Dalen. S. S. 404
Daniels, K. M. 417
Danielson, John 780
Danielson, Walfred 909
Darrow, Daniel C, M. D 33
Davy, VV. H. 112
Degerness, Andrew T. 853
Denenny, R. H. 37
Desing, John C. 675
Dorseth, John A. 779
Drageland, Jakob O. 480
Dullard, Patrick 423
Durling, August 573
E
Eckhoff, Henry 512
Eckmann, C. J. 195
Edwards, Prof. H. R. 128
Eeg, Gustav O. 763
Egge, Erick J. 621
Egge, Ole O. 190
Eggiman, Andrew 162
Eklund, Gust 799
Ellefson, H. O. 683
Ellingson. Iver X. 836
Ellingson, Ole I. 864
Engen, Herbrand 900
Enger, Xels J. 405
Engum, Claus , 785
Erickson, Herbran 574
Erickson, John 692
Erickson, Ole O. 197
Erstad, Gustav A. 200
Erstad, Jacob X. 642
Euren, Emil 901
Evans, Edward M. 520
Evanson, Theodore 75
Evenson, Clarence I. 183
Evje, Conrad H. 429
F
Farsdale, O. G. 400
Ferris, William H. 115
Fetting, Robert H. 666
Fisch, J. H. 846
Fischer, August 292
Fiskum, Peter O. 476
Flakne, John O 742
Flom, Elhng H. 762
Flom, Eric H. 860
Fobes, Arthur L. 135
Follett, Leiand C. 151
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Ford, John 276
Foss, Jens 374
Fossay, Charles 247
Foster, John C. 902
Freeman, John H. 171
Fridlund, Adolph J. 643
Fridlund, J. 103
Fuchs, George F. 158
Fulton, David E. 226
G
Gaare, Joseph 380
Gangler, John G. 828
Garden, Evans N. 758
Garden, Lewis 597
Garden, Martin O. 868
Garden, Ole L. 545
Garrity, James A. 153
Gartland, Albert 697
Garven, Jacob 260
Germolus, August 508
Giere, Martin A. 271
Gilbertson, Albert 424
Gilbertson, Cornelius 424
Gilbertson, Magnus O. 733
Gilbertson, Thor 481
Gilbery, William 250
Glasgovi', James, Sr. 50
Glawe, Albert C. 842
Gol, Ole H. 333
Grande, P. A. 840
Gray, Frank 570
Grettum, Henry 170
Griewe, Herman 766
Griffin, John 80
Grina, Conrad I. 775
Grina, Lars L 358
Grina, Ole 1. 214
Grinde, John E. 910
Grommesh, John W. 216
Grothe, Albert J. 419
Grothe, John P. 410
Grover, Otto J. 568
Gruhl, Fred 432
Grutle, Henning E. 904
Gunderson, Bennie J. 448
Gunderson, Gilbert 53
Gunderson, Henry E. 814
Gunderson, Oscar 305
Gustavson, Adolph 899
H
Haagenson, Alfred A. 145
Haaland, Andrew 418
Haljerle, Fred 470
Haberle, Henry W. 79
Hadler, Jacob 464
Hadler, Walter G. 817
Hagen, Andrew J. 396
Hagen, Tver O. 664
Hagen, Rev. T. A. 600
Halvorson, Hans 659
Hammer, Nels 330
Hammerud, Charles H. 463
Hammerud, L 142
Harare, Andrew 875
Hansen. Julius A. 344
Hanson, Aslak 708
Hanson, Elmer G. 140
Hanson, H. H. 95
Hanson, Martin F. 603
Hanson, Ole H. 873
Hanson, Peter H. 1 809
Hanson, Sten 314
Hassel, Peter 876
Haug, Filing 342
Hauger, Anton J. 323
Hauske, Erick 752
Havelson, Torger 850
Hcdahl. Knut E. .— — 767
Hedin, John 744
Heglie, Albert 654
Heiberg, Jorgen F. 563
Heiberg, Martin A. 592
Heinen, A. P. 539
Hellerud, Hans J. 560
Hellerud, Oswald S. 583
Hendrickson, Olaf H. 777
Henrickson, Hans P. 528
Henry, James E. 86
Henry, Purkey 44
Herman, Lambert, Jr. 914
Hermanson, Henry O. 632
Herringer, Eugene J. 280
Higgins, Michael 453
Hilde, Ole O. 426
Hillestad, John O. 279
Hilmo, Lewis 745
Hitterdal, Bendt O. 220
Hitterdal, Lars 92
Hogcnson, Hogan 854
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Ilogstad, Ole H. 64
Holbeck, Nils 63
Holden, Alexander 485
Holes, Andrew 614
Holm, Andrew E. 39
Holmes, Walter B., M. D. 880
Hopeman, Albert M. 148
Hoppe, August F. 340
Iloseth, Severin A. 701
llouglum, Andrew O. 300
Hovden. Ole 818
Hoven, Borre 640
Hovland, Andrew A. 796
Hovland, John 741
Hurner, Jacob 889
Huseby, Andrew 522
I
Idtse, Rhinehart P. 484
Ingberg, G. T. 826
Ingberg, John G. 565
Ingberg, Peter O. 606
Ishaug, William O. 898
Iverson, O. N. 186
J
Jackson, John W. 501
Jacobson, John 561
Jelsing, Andrew L. 363
Jenkins, E. S. 48
Jensen, Carl O. 684
Jensen, John 657
Johnson, Albert H. 299
Johnson, Albert H. 617
Johnson, Andrew 90
Johnson, Frank 885
Johnson, George 537
Johnson, Hans L. 295
Johnson, John T. 205
Johnson, Martin 656
Johnson, Sylvester J. 99
Johnson, Theodore 746
Jones, D. C. 107
Jones, Isaac 298
Joop, Herman W. 317
Juhl, Chris N. 774
K
Kail, Charles R. 430
Kasin, Ole H. 907
Kassenborg, Edward A. 288
Kelting, Otto F. 57
Kimm, Frank 886
Kippels, Bruno 85
Kittilson, Gilbert 479
Kittelson, K. 821
Kjelstad, Nils A. 350
Kleppe, Nels M. 331
Klokseth, Iver 375
Knutson, Carl 844
Knudtson, Louis 755
Kost, Anton 59
Krabbenhoft, Ernest F. 296
Krabbenhoft, Henning O. 248
Kroll, W. P. 87
Kuehl, Benedix 144
Kvidt, Gjert J. 771
Kvidt, Martin J. 695
Kyllander, Gustav 694
L
La Grange, Byron G. 12
Lahey, John 360
Lamb, Charles, Sr. 184
Lamb, David A. 62
Lamb, James 136
Lamb, John 848
Lamb, Patrick H. 861
Lammers, Claus P. 261
Landro, Jens N. 473
Langeland, Ole M. 526
Langseth, Carl M. 147
Larson, Hans 624
Larson, Jakob J. 768
Larson, James 213
Larson, Jens 173
Larson, Lars B. 176
Larson, Louis T. 416
Larson, Ludwig B. 676
Larson, Mads 440
Larson, Ole 445
Larson, Ole D. 371
Larson, Peter 533
Larson, Peter 587
Larson, William P. 262
Leach, Eugene E. 68
Leding, John E. 578
Lee, B. O. 739
Lee, Gustav O. 384
Lee, Hans O. 447
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Lee, Martin G. 613
Lee, Mekkel O. 608
Lee, Ole T 726
Lee, R. M. 653
Lee, S. M. 580
Lee, S. N 722
Lee, Sverre J. f^
Lee, W. C. 43^
Lee, William S. 230
Lemke, Louis 222
Lerud, Emil 856
Lerud, Jacob 6^^
Leverson, Knudt A. 275
Libok, John A. 646
Lien, Johannes P. 649
Lightbourn, David C. 588
Lindahl, John 266
Lindback, John J. 716
Lofgren, Lewis 171
Lorentz, John P 576
Lovsnes, Oscar ^^
- , r r 874
Luchan, (j. 1-.
Luedke, August J. ^53
Lunder, Julius T. ^44
Lura, Severt S. _
Lussenden, John T. 730
Luthi, John ^^'^
M
^44
Maas, August ^
Madson, C. O. "
Malakowsky, John 610
Malme, Johan M. 50U
Marden, Charles S. 6o
Marquart, Fidelis ^^
Marsden, Henry ^°^
Marston, Henry '|^^
Marth, John "
Martinson, O. C.
Martinson, Ole "
Mayer, George J. V.
Meighcn, J. J- '
Mclbostad, Lars ^
Melbye, George H. -
Meldrum, Elbert A. -^^'^
Melvey, Nels N. °J'^
Menge, Emil A.
Merkins, John A. •;
Meyer, Dick
Midgarden, Ole G.
Mikkelson, Martin L. 452
Milsten, Jacob E. 660
Moe, Nels H. 753
Moen, Nels O. 734
Moll, Albert E. 596
Moore, Peter B. 191
Morken, Torgrim O. 233
Mortenson, Otto J. 209
Mueller, Frank S"
Muhle, Torge G. 35
Mumford, Hamilton M. 101
Mc
McCabe, Thomas 152
McCartan, Arthur A. 228
McColgin, Edgar B. 89
McEvers, Smith W. 1^2
McGough, John 1^8
McGrath, John 1^0
N
Narverud, Ole S. 270
Natwick, Thomas T. 630
Nelson, Anton 663
Nelson, August G. ^78
Nelson, Hans J. °f
Nelson, Magnus P- "^
Nelson, Nikolai "S-
Nelson, Swan 32d
Nelson, Theodore S. -°^
Nereson, Nere J. ^
Nesheim, W. M. =6
Ness, Andrew O «60
Ness, Lars O.
Nickel, Wilhelm ^^-
Nicklay, Christian ^^^
Nilson, Ole
Norby, A. J 2g
Norby, Hans L. ^^^
Norby, Joris C-
Nordby, Rev. Halvor O »^^
Nokken, Ole P. ^.^
Norby, Ole L. ^^
Northrop, John H.
Nybakken, Ole A. '=^
Nye, Judge Carrol A -^^^
Nygaard, Haldor 1. ^^^
Nygaard, John P. _gj
Nystevold, Ole
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
236
403
702
449
431
Olin,' Ole J. 557
Oliver, Charles R. 105
Oliver, Orris 1^;^
Olson, Alfred R.
Olson, Anion
Oberg. John
Odegaard, Nels T
Ofstedal, Ole I. -.
Oien, B. M.
Oien, Hans P.
Olson. Oscar
Olson, Martin
Olson, Ole K.
Olson, Olaf C.
Olson, Olaus _-
Olson, Peter P. ---
Ondrush, Valentine
Opgrand, Anton —
Opgrand, Arnt
668
681
838
Olson, Carl K.
Olson, Christian 728
750
Olson, Andrew 356
Olson, Hakan 341
Olson, Halvor 326
883
585
492
301
678
712
108
108
Opsahl, Ludwig A. 347
Oss, Alfred 159
Oss. John '--
Otterson, "p. A. 605
Overbo, Peder H. 879
Pagel. William 862
Pallas, Charles 822
Paulson, Lars 761
Pederson, Aanen 84/
Pederson, Gilbert 869
Pederson, P. H. 78
Perkins, John G. 362
Perry, Albert W. 893
Peterson, Gilbert 146
Peterson, Oscar 670
Peterson, Peter A. 320
Peterson, Samson N. 395
Pilot, Chester S. 612
Pinske, Ernest 584
Plummer. Omer J. 77
Poehls, Ernest 113
Poppe, August 513
Possehl, H. C. 290
Possehl, Herman 338
Possehl, Louis ^71
Powers, J. H. 903
Qualley, Even N. 618
Quam, Lewis K. 336
Quam, Ole - 263
Rabe, William H.
680
Ramsey, Jens R. 827
Ramstad, P. N. 357
Rasey, William H. 265
Rask, Halvor O. 415
Rasmusson, Halvor ' 243
Rasmussen, Hans 478
Redland, John T. 385
Rehder, Christian -. 93
Reirsgord, Ole E. 189
Richards, Gill H. B. 242
Richards, Harry 393
Richard, Margaret E. G. 443
Richards, Max 609
601
593
Rindahl, Ole L.
Rishof, Tron
Roach, Thomas M. 832
Robertson. Mads 662
Roesch, Lambert 815
RoUe. Leo J. 460
Romkey, Charles B. 282
Rost, Elias O. 202
Rostvold, Andrew 824
Rostvold, Lars H. «03
Rude, Andrew K. 709
Russell, William 139
Rustad. Garfield H. 119
Rustvold, John A. 748
Salomonson, C. John 882
Sanders, Peter 322
Sauer, James A. 254
Schecl, Fred 141
Scheide, Iver 911
Scheie, Anthony 857
Scheie, John L. 372
Schellak, Fred 150
Schindler, Charles F. 273
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Schmidt, Jacob 713
Schroeder, Edward C. 663
Schroeder, Henry 160
Schroeder, Henry C. 566
Schulstad, Carl N. 690
Scott, Robert L. 368
Semling, C. K. (Vol. I) 527
Semlinge, Iver 688
Serum, A. O. 96
Shaide, Francis E. 518
Shea, P. J. 212
Sheets, Peter, Jr. 625
Sirjord, George K. 674
Skalet, Ole 154
Skaurud, Fred L. 547
Skaurud, Henry O. 534
Skavdalh, Karelins J. 843
Skrei, Hilbert O. 307
Skrei, Theodore H. 104
Sliper, Thomas N. 328
Smith, John I. 517
Snartland, Saavi T, 316
Solberg. George O. 705
Sulcm, Rev. O. A. Th. 427
Solum, Hans O. 651
Solum, Bernhard J. 891
Solum, Martin O. 451
Solum, M. J. 156
Solum, S. O. 245
Solwold, Andrew O. 318
Solwold, Olaf 399
Spenningsby, John 253
Spotts, W. L. 178
Sprague, Elisha C. 800
Sprung, William 264
Stadum, Norman H. 786
Stadum, Oscar 556
Steen, John G. ',. 349
Steen, Ole M. 343
Stennes, Edward H. 422
Stennes, Edward T. 390
Stensgaard, Lars J. 698
Stephenson, Erick 738
Sticn, Peter I. 736
Stiening, August 334
Stoen, Ole N. 790
Stordahl, Carl J. 496
Strand, Anund K. 467
Stromberg, Nels J. 749
Stromstad, Martin 433
Stiidlien, Edwin O. 219
Sulerud, Hon. Christen L. 40
Sulerud, John C. 224
Sundet, Johan P. 720
Sundet, Torger O. 519
Svenson, Frank V. 195
Swanson, Anthony G. ._.. 807
Swenson, August 793
Swenson Brothers 793
Swenson, Lenus 793
Swave. Erick O. 700
T
Tall, Carl 672
Tang, Prof. Severt O. 283
Tangen, Ole E. 138
Tenney, Bernard F. 369
Tatley, John K. 791
Thomas, A. T. 229
Thomas, Peter 531
Thompson, Frank P. 166
Thompson, Nels 352
Thompson, William 256
Thortvedt, Levi 376
Thorstad, Ed. O. 466
Thorson, Ole 706
Thune, Halvor W. 896
Tillotson, William R. 304
Todd, Thomas L. 472
Toftner, Johan 703
Torske, John 769
Torstenson, L. O. 348
Tronnes, Edward A. 365
Tufte, Frederick F. 549
Tufte, Hans C. 527
Turner, John (Vol. I) 297
Tucker, William J. 788
U
Ueland, Andreas O. 238
Ullrich, Hans J. 126
Liven, Andrew 687
Ulven, Bernt J. 688
Liven, Hans J. 688
LUven, Juel 687
Ulven Family, The 686
Undeland, Ole M. 631
V
Valen, Malker O. 523
Van Vlissingen, Paul 441
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Verne, Victor E., M. D. 82
Videen, William 820
Vistaimet, P. S., M. D. 456
Voje, Andrew J. 529
W
Wade, Edward U. 201
Walker, Ludvig 157
Wangen, Mons J. 289
Wardeberg, Edward O. 71
Webb, Robert B. . 834
Wefald, Knud 66
Weld, Frank A., M. A., LL. D. 60
Welley, Andrew J. 852
Welter, Leslie 715
Wendlandt, Herman G. 73
Wennevold, Ole 731
Westberg, Peter 337
Westlin, Oscar M. 620
Weum, Mons T. 100
Weuni, Randolph M 294
Whaley, Archie 913
Wiegen, Esten T. 835
Wilkins, Reinhart W. 554
Wilson, Alonzo, M. D. 312
Winjum, Jens, Jr. 174
Withcrow, James M. 84
Wold, Hon. John L. 524
Woldahl, Harold O. 345
Wolfe, J. Pierce 223
Woodward, Flavel A. 207
Works, Wright 258
Wouters, Peter 655
Wright. Albert J. 232
Y
Young, John F. 339
Z
Zervas. Hubert 673
ASU
Oi^i
\AAA.Or^A
tJL.
CJXAjC/^^J
•'IFK
Itildl;- i-.v.'
BIOGRAPHICAL
DANIEL C. DARROW, AI. D.
Dr. Daniel C. Darrow, a member of the medical profession at Moor-
head, county seat of Clay county, proprietor of the first hospital established
in that city, and one of the l:>est-kno\vn physicians and surgeons in the Red
river valley, is a native of the neighboring state of Wisconsin, but has been
a resident of Minnesota and of Moorhead since the year of his graduation
from medical college in 1884. He was born on a pioneer farm in the town-
ship of Clayton, in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, January 4, 1850, son of
Daniel C. and Isabella D. (Murray) Darrow, both natives of New York-
state and members of old Colonial families, who became pioneers of Winne-
bago county, Wisconsin, and there spent their last days.
The elder Daniel C. Darrow came West with his family from New
York in 1846 and pre-empted a tract of land between Neenah and Oshkosh.
in Clayton township, Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where he established his
home, one of the pioneers of that section, and where lie spent the remainder
of his life, his death occurring there on June 3, 1862. His widow survived
him many years, her death occurring in December, 1895. They were the
parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fifth
in order of birth, the others being as follow : Annabelle, who married James
Chamberlain, who became a soldier of the Union during the Civil War,
going to the front as a member of the Third Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, and who died at Andersonville prison after having been held tliere
for thirteen months; Seymour F., who also gave his life that the unity of
his country might be [)reserved, his death having occurred, at the age of
nineteen years, while he was serving as a soldier of the Union, a nieniber
of the Twenty-first Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantn-; Mary H.. who
died at the age of twenty-six: years; David M.. who lived to be sixty-four
years of age: Delia, wife of John G. Hubbard, now of Chicago; Grace,
who died at the age of forty-four years; Dr. Edward M. Darrow. a grad-
(3a)
^4 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
uate of Rush Medical College and a resident physician at i''argo since 1878,
one of the real pioneer physicians of the Red river country, and Gregg
E.. who died at the age of seven years. The mother of these children
was a member ui the United Rresbyterian church and they were reared in
accordance with the rigid tenets of that faith. The Darrows are an old
.\merican family, two Iirothers of that name having come to this country
from the north of Ireland in Colonial days, settling in Connecticut. .A son
of one of these brothers served as a soldier of the, patriot army during the
W'ar of Independence and it is from that Re\-olutionary sire that Doctor
Darrow is descended. He was one of the company that put a cable across
the river at Albany to stop the boats from coming up the ri\er. The Murrays
also are an old Colonial family, the ancestors of Mrs. Darrow having come
to this side from Scotland in the days preceding the Re\olulion.
The junior Daniel C. Darrow was twelve years of age when his father
died. He grew to manhood on the home farm in Winnebago county, receiving
his schooling in the schools of Xeenah, and after his marriage in 1872.
established his home there. l'"rom the days of his boyhood he had been
attracted to the study of medicine and after a while iletermined to devote
liis life to the medical profession. Presently entering Rush .Medical College
at Chicago, he was graduated from that institution in 1884. Thus admirably
qualified for the practice of his profession. Doctor Darrow came up into
the Red river country, his brother. Dr. Edward M. Darrow, having located
at Fargo six years previously, and opened an office at -Moorhead, across the
river from the city in which his brother was practicing, and has ever since
been engaged in practice at Aloorhead, now the oldest physician in continuous
practice in Clay county. In T8f)3 Doctor Darrow erected the first hospital
erected in Clay county and is still operating the same, just recently having
built an addition to the hospital, this addition being for the purpose of pro-
viding a home for the nurses. The doctor is a member of the Clay-Becker
Medical .Society, the Minnesota State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association, in the deliberations oi which organizations he takes a
warm interest, and has ever kept abreast of the wonderful advances con-
stantly being made in his profession. He also takes an active interest in
civic affairs and for twelve years served as coroner of Clay county, rendering
admirable public service in that connection. The doctor has done well in
his practice and in addition to his property interests at Moorhead is the owner
of a fine farm of two hundred acres in section 30 of Home Lake town-
ship, in Norman county. Since 1S86 he has been a member of the local lodge
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. -le
of the liulepeiident Order of Odd Fellows at .Moorlicad and lakes a warm
interest in the affairs of tlie same.
On January 4, 1872, Dr. Daniel C. Harrow was iiniied in marriage l(,
AHce J\I. Stone, who was horn at Fond (hi Lae, Wi.sconsin. daughter of
Richard Stone and wife, and who was a schoohnate at Xeenali, and to tliis
union two children have 1ieen horn, j'.crtha 1)., who married Charles Foring.
an attorney at Crookston, and has two children, Helen and (k-nevieve. and
F.dith, who married Joseph V. Godfrey, who died in kjii. leaving two
children, Vernon D. and Annahelle. Doctor and Mrs. Danow arc attendants
at the Congregational chiurh and ha\e ever taken an interested part in
the general good works of the community, as well as in its social and cultural
activities, and have heen helpful in many ways in promoting movements
designed to adxance tlie common welfare hereabout. .Mrs. 1 )arrow's father,
Richard Stone, was a iiati\e of F'ngland and for nine vears served as a
memher (d" the Royal (iuard. with the rank of corporal.
FORGF CLJNDKRSON MUHFE.
1 he late 'Forge Cuniler-o?i .Muhle. who>e memory ever will he cherished
in this section of the i\ed Ri\er country as one of the ver\- first settlers in
Cla\ county and perhaps the first .settler in diat part of the county now com-
prised withm the houmls of Aloland township, he lia\ing pre-empted a claim
there in i<S70, was a nati\e oi the kingdom of Xorwa\ . hut had heen a resi-
dent of Minnesota since he was nineteen years of age, he having accompanied
his parents to this state in iRh(). ITc liecanie a substantial pioneer farmer in
Moland township, owner of a line fai'ni. where his last da\s were spent, his
death occmTing there on .September _' i . iSc^j, and where hi^ widow is .-till
living.
Torge ( iundersou .\luiile was born in .\orwa\' in iNat). son of (iunder
and Ingeborg ( Chestersdatter ) Torge, also natives ol Xoiwvay, who came to
the United States with theii" frunil\- in iSdh and proceeded directh' on out to
.Minnesota, settling on a farm in Houston county. There Torge (i. Muhle
remained until 1869, in which \eai- he made a pros])ecting trip np here info
the then prairie wilds of the Red Ri\er country .and in 1870 pre-empted a
((uartcr of a section of land in what later came to Ijc organized as Moland
toAvnship, in (da\- countw thou.gh that was in the days before Clay county
36 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
liad been organized as a civic unit. The next year Iiis parents joined him on
that pre-emption claim and the family home was estabhshed there, one of
the very first permanent settlements made in this section of the Red River
valley. Upon the enactment of the homestead law in 1872, T. G. Muhle con-
\ erted his pre-emption into a homestead, "proved up" on the same and grad-
ually improved and developed the place until he had a well-established farm.
In 1879 there joined the Torge family a young woman just out from Nor-
way. Guro Olasdatter Rue. and on December 21. 1879, in the little neighbor-
hood school house, there then being no church thereabout in which to cele-
brate a marriage, Torge G. Muhle and Miss Rue were united in marriage.
■ imid the felicitations and well wishes of many friend>. .\ftcr his marriao-e
Mr. Muhle continued to make his home on his homestead ])lace and became
a well-to-d(i farmer and a man of substantial weight and influence in his
community, his deatii occurring there, as noted above, in the fall of 1897.
He was the second in order of birth of the si.\ children born to his parents,
the others having been Ole, Carrie, Chester, Ole (second), and one who died
in infancy, all of whom are now deceased save Chester.
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Muhle has continued to make her
home on the old home place in Aloland town.ship and has done much to
further improve the ])lace, having erected substantial new buildings, and has
also increased her lanil holdings, being the owner now of three hun<lred and
twenty acres of excellent land. She is a daughter of Ole and loraand
( Johansdatter ) Chesterson, also natives of Norway, who came to this coun-
try in 18S3. several years after the coming here of Mrs. Muhle, and for about
twehe \ears thereafter made their home with the Muhles, but later settled
on a tract of their own: later, however, returning to the Muhle home, where
then- last days were spent. They were the parents of five children, of whom
Mrs. Muhle was the fourth in order of l)irth, the others being Carrie (i),
Carrie (2). Chester and IJv, all of whcjm are still living, Chester Chesterson
now being a resident of the territory of .\laska. Mrs. :Muhle has a very
pleasant home in Moland township and has e\er taken an earnest interest in
the general affairs of the community of which .she has been a resident ever
since her coming to this country back in the early flays of the settlement of
this part of Minnesota.
To Mr. and Mrs. Muhle ten children, eight of whom are living, were
l)orn, named as follow : Gust Olaf, Olaus, Oscar (deceased), Oscar, Josephine
Emelia, Edward Julius. Eva Olive, Gina Theres-a. John and Martin Tidman,
the latter being deceased.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 37
R. H. DENENNY.
In writing tlie history of Norman county, Minnesota, and especially of
Borup it is well to mention the life's work of R. H. Denennv, a promi-
nent and successful hardware dealer of that place. He was horn in the
state of New York in the year 1877, the son of C. C. and Catherine
(Barry) Denenny, who were also born in the state of New York, where
they received their education in the public schools and grew to maturity.
They were later united in marriage and established their home in the state
of their nativity and early life. There Mr. Denenny engaged in general
farming after his marriage and there he and his wife and family lived until
the year 1880, when they decided to leave their home in that state and
establish a home in the state of Minnesota. On their arrival here they
settled in Clay county, where they homesteaded one hundred and si.xty
acres of land. The tract was undeveloped and unimproved at that time
and the prospects for a future home were not bright to the people who
had come from a thickly settled and well-developed section of the state of
New York. A house was erected, in which the family lived for some years,
and the task of developing and improving the farm was begun. By much
hard work and close application to business, Mr. and Mrs. Denenny in time
transformed the wild prairie and wood tract into a splendid farm, and
where once grew the forest tree and the wild prairie grass, there grew the
golden grain, and the pasture lands were dotted here and there with herds
of fine cattle and splendid hogs. The task was not an easy one, and it re-
quired the energy and determination of a vigorous people. It was here
that Mrs. Denenny spent the remaining days of her life, devoted to the
interests of her family and the community in which she lived. Her death
occurred in the year 1914, after a life of usefulness and well doing. She
was a woman in whom the people of her home community had the greatest
confidence, and at her death she left to mourn her passing a large circle of
friends, who felt the loss of her taking away. Since the death of his wife,
Mr. Denenny has lived at his home in Felton, where he and his wife first
came on their arrival in the .state many years ago.
C. C. Denenny has always taken the keenest interest in the affairs of
the district in which he has lived, and where he has exerted such an admu"-
able influence. He has held many of the local offices and during his official
life always ga\e the same careful care and attention to public matters that
he has given to his own business; and has always been interested in those
projects that had to do witli the growth and development of the township
38 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and the county in which lie hved. Before the teleplione became a part of
the life of the people of this section, Mr. Denenny and his son, R. H.
Denenny, installed a line between the farm and the village home for their
own convenience. This enterprise led to the extension of the system and
soon Mr. Speck connected with the line and it was not long till others had
ioined the colony of pioneers in the telephone business. This line was in
time extended to the town of Borup. after which the Borup Telephone
Compan}' was organized and the line was extended to all jiarts of the terri-
tory and other towns. This was in the year 1905. and on the organization
of the company C. C. Denenny was made the first president of the com-
pany and has since held the position. To him much of the success of the
company depends, and it is to his credit that he and his son were the very
first in their locality to enjoy the pleasure and convenience of this inven-
tion. Mr. Denenny is a man of unusual ability and business tact and his
leadership has resulted in much that has been of advantage to the com-
munity in which he has lived so long. His advent into this territory was
at a time when the settlements were few and far apart. In the great devel-
opment of the district he has done well his part and has ever devoted his
best efforts to that development. He and his wife were of Irish descent,
though they were born in this country. His parents, as well as those of
his wife, were born in Ireland and there they received their education and
grew to maturity and later came to the United States, where they estab-
lished homes.
C. C. and Catherine (Barry) Denenny were the parents of the following
children: F. C, R. H.. \\illiam. Grace. Jack, Stella. C. C. and Bernice, all
of whom are living save the last named. Mr. and Mrs. Denenny were long
active members of the Catholic church and were devoted to the cause
of religious teaching in their home community, Mr. Denennv ever being
a liberal subscriber to the support of the local church.
R. H. Denenny received his education in the schools of Felton and
Moorhead and was reared on the home farm, during his boyhood days
assisting his father with the work on the farm. .After he had reached man-
hood he and his brother, F. C. Denenny, for six vears farmed the home
place, which had been extended to comprise four hundred and eight}' acres.
In addition to this. Mr. Denenny had one hundred and sixty acres of his
own and his brother had one hundred and sixty, which, together with the
father's land, made a tract of seven hundred and sixty acres. This tract of
splendid land was all in one body and was later developed and improved
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNKSOTA.
39
and put under a In't^li state of cultivatiun. In connection with tlieir general
farming they were extensive hreeders and raisers of stock and were known
oxtv the county as successful and suljstantial farmers and stockmen. After
having spent six years in the work on the farm, R. H. Denenny located in
the town of I'^elton. where he was for two years successfully engaged in
the well-drilling hnsiness and operating a threshing-machine. He then
moved to Bfirup, -where in 191 1 he purchased the hardware and implement
business of Oscar .Mattison. which business he has since conducted w^ith
success. He has a well-stocked store and his constantly increasing tratle is
evidence of his ])iipularity and business tact. He is posses.sed of much
business acumen and is held in the highest esteem by all.
In 1904 R. H. Denenny was united in marriage to Lillian Paranto,
of X'iding township. Clay county, the daughter of Midie Paranto and wife,
who were among the earl\- pioneers of that section. To this union the fol-
lowing children have been born : Gladys, Eunice, Raymond, Curtis and
Francis. Mr. and Mrs. Denenny are devout members of the Catholic
church, and are prominent in the social life of the town. Mr. Denenny
has always taken an active interest in local afifairs and is one of the influen-
tial men of the town as well as the county. Being possessed of excellent
judgment, his advice and counsel are often sought in matters that ])ertain
to the general welfare of the community.
.\NDREW It. HOLM.
Among the native-born Norwegians who have come to America and
engaged in general farming with success, is Andrew E. Holm, who was
born in the kingdom of Norway, on May 7, 1854, a son of Even and Emilia
1 Christianson ) Tngebrightson, both of whom were also born in that same
country, where they were of the farming class.
Even Ingebrightson was educated in the schools of Norway and
worked at fanning u]) to rSji, in which year he immigrated to the United
.States, first locating in billmore county, this state. He continued to reside
there for ten years and in r88i moved to Norman county and lived with
his son, Andrew l',. Holm, until his death. He operated a .small farm,
which he contin.ued to work during his active years. His wife died in Nor-
way. Thev were the parents of live children, namely: Sirene, who died in
40 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Norway; Matliia, who also dietl in that country; Bertha, who is living in
Beltrami count}-, this state; Andrew E., the subject of this sketch, and
Torger, of Hendrum township, Norman county. The parents were mem-
bers of the Lutlieran church and their children were reared in the same
faith.
Andrew hi. Ilolni was educated in the schools of his native country
and in 1871 came to Minnesota with his father and settled in Fillmore
county, working on die farm. .About nine years later he moved to Norman
county and in the summer of 1879 he homesteaded a quarter section of
land in Hegne township, and here he has made iiis home ever since, engaged
in general farming, and since the commencement of his agricultural opera-
tions has met with a marked degree of success. He has effected a number
of substantial improvements and erected some fine farm buildings and has
set out a grove which adtls much to the general appearance of the holding.
Mr. Holm is also the owner of one hundred and thirty-five acres in section
7, Hegne township, which is given over to the production of general crops.
Andrew E. Holm has been twice married. His first wife was Christina
Anderson Holm, who was Ixjrn in Norway; she died some years after her
marriage. There were no clu'ldren of that union. Mr. Holm later was
married to Matilda JohnsDU, ;ilso a native of Norway. There arc two
children of this marriage, .\nna and ivlwin. The Ilohn family are mem-
bers of the Concordia Lutheran church and are earnest supporters of all
its good works, Mr. Holm l)eing a generous contrilnitor to the upkeep of
the ciiurch. Mr. Holm takes a good citizen's interest in public affairs and
has served as road overseer for some vears.
HON. CHRISTEN L. SULERUD.
Hon. Christen L. Sulerud, mayor of Halstad, former representative
in the Minnesota state Legislature from the sixty-first legislative district,
a well-known hardware dealer in the flourishing village of Halstad and the
proprietor of one of the best-improved and most thoroughly equipi>e(l dairy
farms in Norman county, is a native of Norway-, but has been a resident of
Minnesota and of Norman county since he was sixteen years of age. He
was born on July 17, 1865, son and last-born of the eight children of
Christen Anderson and Karen (Johnson) Sulerud, also natives of Norway,
the former of whom was a blacksmith and farmer, and lioth of whom spent
IKl.X. CIIlilSTKX L. SULERUD.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
41
all their lives in their native country, the other children of the family bcins'
Carl, Maren, Johan, ]^Iartin, Caroline, Sophia and John.
Reared on a farm in his native Norway. Christen L. Sulerud received
his schooling there and at the age of sixteen years, in 1881, came to the
United States and proceeded on out to Minnesota, his destination being
Ada, Cdunty seat of Norman county, which county had just been organized
in that year. Mr. Sulerud's residence in this county, therefore, has covered
the full period of the county's existence as a separate civic entity and he
has been a witness to and a participant in the development of the same
since pioneer days. After his arrixal at Ada, Mr. Sulerud entered school
there and attended for some time, perfecting himself in English, and for
some years after his arri\al was engaged at various forms of employment,
including several winters of service as a clerk in a store at Strand. He
then engaged in the mercantile business, as a partnership, at Gary and was
there about three years, at the end of which time he returned to Ada
and clerked in a hardware store there for about three vears. He and Iris
brother, John Sulerud, then bought a hardware store at Ada and operated
the same for one \ear, or until 1894, when they moved to Ilalstad and opened
a hardware store there, which Jjusiness they have been conducting very
successfully ever since, long having been regarded as among the leading
merchants and business men of that thriving little city.
For years Mr. Sulerud has been much interested in the dairy business
and is a practical dairyman of large experience, his dairy farm of about
three hundred and .seventy-five acres directly adjoining the town of Halstad
being looked upon as one of the best-equipped dairy farms in northern
Minnesota. During his ser\ice in the Legislature Mr. Sulerud succeeded
in securing tlie enactment of a bill furthering the interests of the dairymen
of this state, which gained for him the warm gratitude of all those tiuis
engaged. Mr. Sulerud's dairy barn, a very convenient structure, built in L
shape, one hundred by sixty Ijy sixty feet, with cement floor, is a model
of up-to-date convenience, equipped with steel mangers and stalls for his fine
herd of Guernsey cattle, steel watering basins for the cows, a milking-
machine, operated by a gasoline engine, electric lights, and other conveniences
designed to Ijring the operations of the dairy plant as near to perfection
as ixjssible. Mr. Sulerud raises little corn on his ])lacc, devoting the most
of it to alfalfa and potatoes.
Politically, Mr. Sulerud is an ardent Prohil)itiiHiist and in 1908 be
was made the nominee of that part)- for representative in the Legislature
from the sixtv-first Minnesota legislative district, carrying the election by
42 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
a vote four times in excess of the Piohil)ition vote, an evidence of confidence
on tlie part of tlie \-oters of the district very highly appreciated by ^Ir. Sulcrud
and his friends. So satisfactory did his serx'ice in the House during' the
session of 1909 prove that Mr. Sulerud was re-elected in 1910 and gave equally
efficient sei-\'ice during the session of 191 1. Mr. Sulerud has ever given his
close attention to local civic afi^airs and has served for years as president
(if the Halstad school board and in other ways has done a good citizen's
part in advancing the best interests of his home town, which he now is
further serving as mayor.
In 1893 Christen L. Sulcruil \\a> united in marriage to lunula lieise and
to this union five children ha\o been born. Hazel. Gladys, Clark. George
and Lester. The Suleruds have a \ery pleasant home at Halstad and take
an interested part in the community's various .social activities. Mr. and Mrs.
Sulerud are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and give their earnest
attention to cliurch work and other good works in the community, ever
helpful in promoting all worthy mosenients for the advancement of the
common welfare.
JACOB BURRILL.
The first of the numerous and sterling old Burrill family in America
was John Burrill, father of John Burrill, the second, who was born in
J658 and died in 1731. He was the fadier of John Burrill, the third, who
was born in \(h)4 and died in 1756. He was the father uf John Burrill,
the fourth, who was Ixnn in 1719. He was the father of John Burrill.
the fifth, who was born in 1752 and died in 1842. He was the father of
Jacob Burrill, who was born in 1818 and died in 1S91. The latter was
the father of H. R. Burrill, merchant of Hawley, Clay county, a .sketch of
whom appears on another page of this work. Paul C. Burrill, of 1518
Ninth street, Milwaukee, ^^'isconsin, has compiled a genealogical record of
the family an.] from that is copied the following:
There were at least two different families of Burrills in Massachusetts
in Lolonial times, (^ne was a descendant from (jeorge Burrill, of Lynn,
that state, who was a prosperous farmer and one of the wealthiest men
of his town. One of his descendants was for many years speaker of the
Massachusetts Assembly, another was chief justice of Rhode Island, and it
is very probable that the city of Burrill, that state, was named for him.
The other Burrill family is descended from John Burrill, of ^^'eymouth,
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 43
Massachusetts. John Burrill, founder of the Hne in i\merica, arrived at
Weymouth, a tnwn a1)out twelve miles southeast of Boston in 1639. His
wife was named Rebecca, and to them three children were liorn, John, in
iC)38: Thomas, in 1659. and Ephraim, in 1664. The son, John, married
Mercy Alden, in Taunton, Massachusetts, June 26, 1688. She was a grand-
tlaughter of John Alden and Prisciila Mullins, who came over in the "Ma}-
tlower," and who were celebrated as leading characters in Longfellow's
"Courtship of Miles Standish." It will be remembered th:it the first white
child born in Xew England was Elizabeth Alden. daughter of John and
I'riscilla (Muilins) Alden. John Burrill. great-grandfather of the subject
of this sketch, was born Se])tember 24, 17 19. He was a soldier in the
h'rench and Indian War. and was known as Sergeant Burrill.
[acob Burrill, of this review, was born at Dover, Maine, April 20,
1X18. He grew up in Xew England and married Rachel Bennett, who
was born in (juebec. Canada. Eebruary 18. 1824. ;md died June i, 1904.
|()hn Burrill. of Weymouth. ^Massachusetts, the first of the family, married
Xellie Craig. John Burrill, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
a soldier in the Revolutionary War. serving in a Massachusetts regiment.
under General Gates. He took part in the battles of Bennington and Sara-
t(jga. About the close of the war he moved to Maine, locating at Dover,
and there he spent the rest of his life, dying at the advanced a,ge of ninety-
tliree years.
Jacob Burrill. of this sketch, was educated in the schools of Dover.
Maine. He worked on the farm w lien a young man : he also learned the
carpenter's trade. About 1852 he moved to Framingham. Massachusetts.
There he hauled stone to build the first normal school building ever erected
in llie United States. He also hauled the stone for the foundation for
the house of Henry Wilson, later vice-president of the L'nited States, whose
residence was at Xatick, Massachusetts. About 1854 he moved to Fitz-
wiljiam, Xew Hampshire, where he followed the carpenter trade. In 1868
he nuived to Keenc, that state, where he was emi)loyed in the carpenter
department of the railroad shops f(jr a period of ele\en _\eai-s. In 1879
he came to Minnesota and took up a homestead in Clav county, being one
of the pioneers here. He circulated the petition lor the organization of
the township which he nanie.l Keene. alter his old home town in New Ivig-
land. He developed a good farm in that town.ship and tiiere spent the
rest of his life. He was also one of the organizers of school district Xo.
30. and he built the school house. He was a Democrat in politics.
Eio-ht children were born to Jaco!^ Burrill and wile, namely: John.
44 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
who is mentioned in a separate sketcli in this work; Adtlie, the wife of
Henr}' C. Longley, of l^'itchlKus'. Massachusetts: ]\Iarv Augusta, who first
married Charles Putney, and later Lewis Smith, and she is living in Idaho;
H. F., who is mentioned in a separate sketch on anotlier page of this volume;
Xellie, deceased, was the wife of Frank Spooner. also now deceased, and they
matle their home in Fitchliurg, Afassachusetts; H. R.. a merchant at Hawley.
Clav county, who is mentioned in a separate sketch in this work; Susie, the
wife of Ben Tacohson; Cora, who married Charles Brooks and they live in
ATinneapolis. Minnesota.
PURKEY HEXRV
Among the earliest settlers of Elkton township, in Cla)' county, were the
Henry familv, who settled there in the latter seventies, helped organize the
township and became active and influential in the work of bringing about
proper social conditions in the pic)neer community. The head of this family,
-\braiiam Henry, was a native of Pennsylvania and a man of the true pioneer
breed, moving successively from Pennsylvania to Illinois and thence to Iowa
and thence up here into the Red River valley, ever following the frontier, ;m(l
here lie spent his last da\s, one of the most intluential pioneers of Elkton
township, which he had helped to organize in the days of the beginning of
the settlement of that regior.. His fatlier, John Henr\-. was a man of much
the same type and when se\ent\-two years of age. in i<S54. headed an expe-
dition, of which liis son Abraham was a member, to the Pacific coast, acting
as scout for the party and walking almost the entire distance. John Henry
liad served during the War of 1812 as a member of Commodore Perry's
command on the Great Lakes.
In Penn.sylvania, where he had grown to manhood. Abraham Henry
married Rachel Jones, a daughter of Isaac and Esther (Xefif) Jones, the
former of whom was a native of Holland, who moved from Pennsylvania
into Illinois, driving through with a family of eleven, the essential domestic
belongings being transported in a one-horse wagon, all but the frailest of the
party walking. Later, about 1855. Isaac Jones and his wife moved to Jack-
son county, Iowa, and there spent their last davs. It was in 1854 that
Abraham Henry had moved from Kane county. Illinois, to Jackson countx.
Iowa, and there lie remained until 1878. when, finding the settlement there
Iiecoming too crowded for one of his pioneering instincts, he came up here
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 45
into the Red River valle} and homesteaded the southwest (luarter of section
2f) in Elkton township. Clay county and "tree-claimed" the northwest
(|uarter of the same section and settled down to prepare a place for his
family, who joined him here the next year, he meantime having erected a
shack of a house for their reception, and on that place he and his wife spent
their last days, among the leaders of that community. Abraham Henry
liell)id to organize the township. He and his wife were earnest Presbyterians
and the latter offered the opening prayer at the first public religious service
held in that communit}', that service having been held in the railway section-
bouse, which for a time was used as a place of worship until presently a
-chool house was built, the latter serving as a place for worship until later
the Presbyterians erected a church at Baker. Abraham Henry and wife were
the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the
last-born, the others being Clinton, Alfonzo, James E., Anna, Lsaac, Betsy
,ind Isabel.
i'urkey Henry was born in Jackson county, Iowa, in June, 1861, and
was eighteen years of age when he came up into Minnesota with the family
and settled in Clay county. Upon reaching his majority he homesteaded a
i|uarter of a section in Skree township and after his marriage in 1884 estab-
lished his home there, continuing to make that his place of residence until
1899, when he moved back to the old home place and has since occupied that
portion of it comprised in the northwest quarter of section 26 of Elkton
township, the original tree-claim entered by his father back in the seventies.
.Mr. Henry has an excellent farm and he ami his family are very comfortably
situated there. He ba^ taken an interested part in general civic affairs and
has served as a member of the local school board. He and his family are
members of the Presbyterian church and take a projier jiart in the general
good works of the communit\-.
In 1884 Purkex- Henr\ was united in marriage to Ruth Jane Daniels.
\\hn also was born in J.-ick^m county, Iowa, datighter of Kensey C. and
Enialie (Rose) Daniels, who moved from that county into western Iowa and
after five years of residence there came up into this part of Minnesota, in
1880. and homesteaded a (|uarter of a .section in .section 6 of Humboldt town-
^hii., Clav cr.untv. where Kensev C Daniels died about 1893. His widow
^urvi\ed him for more than txventy years, her death occurring at her home
in the village of Baker in nji4- They were the parents of six children, who
-r.wv to matnritv. Ruth fane Daniels had received excellent schoohng ni
Iowa and upon her arrival in Clav county was engaged at once as a school
teacher, beginning in 1881 as the teacher of the first school opened between
46 CLAY AND NdUMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
( ilvmlon and Barnesville. for llie tirst month of that term conducting her
school in an old chrt-floor homestead shack that stood on land now a part of
the farm of Charles J.amh. Sr.. a little east of the present village of Downer.
To Mr. and ^^rs. Henry four children have been horn, Joseph. I'.emis.
Lamont and IVarl. Thex have hesides an adopted daughter. Matilda.
w 1
JUDGl". r.XRROL .\. NVI-:.
S];)ecific mentinn is niaile in this history of Clay count)' of many of the
rth\- citizens wlm have figured in the growth antl development of the
cdunfy and whose interests are identified with its varit)us phases of progress.
I'^ach has contributed his share to the well-being of the ci>ninuniity, and to the
achancement of its interests. Though all do not reach the heights to which
lhe\ aspire, \et in some degree each can win a measure of success and
bring adxantages to his fellowmen. It is not necessary to follow an_\- par-
ticular line of endeavor or engage in an\- [)articular \H>cation, to be of service
to one's home communitx. In all walks of life there remains much good to
be accomplished and main opportunities for the exercise of talent and influ-
ence that in some way lotuh the lixes of those with whom one may come in
contact, making them the better ;uid the greater. Of the men of the county.
who ha\e had an ele\ating elfect on the resident pt)i)ulati(jn, as well as on the
entire district, it is well to mention one of the most prominent members of
the ( la\- county bar. and one wh(j has risen to a high position in the legal
fraternity in the county. Judge Carrol A. Nye.
Judge Carrol A. .\\e was born in St. Croix county. Wisconsin, in 1861,
and receixed his education in the common and normal schools of that stale.
After having cijinpleted his education in the schools of the state, he entered
the law office of his brother, h'nuik M. Nye, who was at that time located at
Cle;ir Lake. Wisconsin, and is now a successful attorney of Minneapolis.
.Minnesota. He later studied in the otfice of l\ol)ert M. LaFollette, the
pre.sent senator from that .state, and who was at that time located at Madison.
Me then entered die I'niversity of \\'isconsin in 1886, where he was given
the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He received the greater part of his educa-
tion ilu'ough his own efforts and. while in college, paid the larger p.art of
his expenses with money earned i)y working on the farm and in teaching
school. After completing his education and after having been admitted to
the bar. he located in Afoorhead. Minnesota, where he has since resided.
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
47
After having estaljli.slicd his residence and liaving engaged in the praclice
of his profession in Cla}- county, Judge Nye met with much success, and
always took the greatest interest in local affairs. His ability and force of
character were soon recognized and he was appointed city attorney, which po-
sition he held for five years. He was then elected mayor of the city and was
the efficient executixe for four years, and was for eight years attorney for
the county. His educational qualifications and high standing attracted to him
the attention of the officials of the State Normal, and he scr\cd on the hoard
of management of that institution for a term of six years. In all of diese
positions he gave to the pe(iple the highest measure of ser\ice and won the
approval of the entire community. In 1910 he was elected district judge,
and in 1916, was re-elected without opposition. His services on the bench
ha\-e been of the hi.ghest class, and his decisions have been regarded as just
by the people and the bar. His life as an attorney and as a judge has placed
him among the high-minded and conscientious men of the district. Few
men in the district are held in higher regard and few have had more to do with
the high standard of mcM-al excellence.
In 1886 Carrol A. Nye was united in marriage to Mary A. Gordon.
and to this union a son, James G., was born. He received his primary
education in the local schools, and later was graduated from the Philip I'-xter
College and the University of Wisconsin, and from the lalter institution he
received the degree of Baciielor of Laws. He later entered (ju the practice
of his profession and has met with the highest degree of success. Hi<
patriotism and loyalty to his government have been demonstrated by the
fact that he served with the troops on the border of Mexico during the
years iqiCi and 1917. He is n(iw a commissioned officer :U I't. Snellmg.
Minne.sota. In 1896 Mary ((Jordon) Nye passed away, and two years later
Mr. Nye was marrie.l to Harriett Rumball, and to this union one son has
been born, Carrol A., Jr. Harriett Nye was for a number of years an
instructress in reading and expression in the Moorhead Normal, and is a
woman of education and refinement. Her work in the normal school was of
the highest class, and many of the proficient teachers of the state bear evi-
dence to her abilitv as an instructress. Since assuming her i)osition in the
home of judge Nve, she has won the esteem of a large circle of friends,
who hold 'her"^ in the highest regard. She has long been identified with the
social and religious life of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Nye's best efforts
are ever exerted in the jiromotion of those enterprises that x\ ill tend to the
future greatness of the district.
nuring his student days in the university, Judge Nye .gave much atten-
48 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
tion to military training, and has always been a strong advocate of pre-
paredness and the training of young men for military duty, whereby they
may be able to assist in the defense of their countr}-. In 1916 Judge Nye
was at Plattsburg, New York, where he took part in camp life. On Januan-
5, 1917, he was appointed captain in the (|uartermaster"s division of the
reserve corps of the United States army, which position he now holds. Judge
Nye has lived an acti\e and useful life and he has accomplished much that
is worthy of note.
E. S. JENKINS.
E. S. Jenkins, a member of the board of commissioners of Norman
county, former chairman of the board of supervisors of McDonaldsville town-
ship, vice-president df the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Ada and
a well-to-do retired farmer now living at Ada, is a native of the great
Empire state, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was ten years
of age and of Norman county since pioneer days, he having settled here
on a quarter of a section of land he pre-empted in McDonaldsville township
back in 1878, in the days before the county was organized as a separate
civic unit. He was born in Warren county. New York, October 7, 1856,
son of Chauncey and Sarah (Davis) Jenkins, both of whom were born in
that same county, who later became pioneers of Stearns county, this state,
and there spent their last days.
Chauncey Jenkins was born on a farm in Warren county, New York,
February 24, 1821, and was a farmer all his life. He married Sarah Davis,
who was born on March 16. 1826, in the village of Hague, in that same
county, and remained there until 1866, in which year he came with his
family to Minnesota and settled in Stearns county, where he and his wife
spent the remainder of their li\cs. Upon coming to this state he Iwught
a farm three miles from Sauk Center, but presentl}- left the farm and moved
to Sauk Center, where he died in 1868. His widow survived him for man\
years, her death occurring in 1906, she then being eighty years of age. They
were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was
the fifth in order of birth, the others being as follow: John W., born on
May 19, 1846: Julia S., Februan- 17. 1849; George W., August 17. 185 1 :
Edith A., December 27, 1853, and Emma E., May 2"/, 1859.
As noted above, E. S. Jenkins was about ten years of age when he
came to this state with his parents in 1866 and his schooling was completed
Mi;. AND JIKS. E. S. JENKINS.
TH& NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENeX
TILDKN FOUNDATIONS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 49
ill the schools of Stearns county. His youtii was spent on the farm and
he later became engaged in a livery stable at Sauk Center, where he was
employed until his marriage in the summer of 1878, when he and his wife
straightway came up to this part of the state and establishefl their home in
Norman county, where they ever since have resided, honorable and influential
pioneers of this section. They drove up here into the Red river valley by
ox-team, riding in a "prairie schooner," and bringing with them such house-
hold goods as would be essential to the starting of their humble home in a
new lantl. They were ten days in making the trip from Sauk Center. Upon
arri\ing here JMr. Jenkins pre-empted a quarter of a section of land in what
later came to be organized as McDonaldsville township and there established
his home. The first small house he erected there presently was supplanted
by a more substantial and commodious residence and the other improve-
ments on the farm were in keeping with the same. He later added an adjoin-
ing "forty" and is now the owner of two hundred acres of well-improved land
in sections 12 and 13 of McDonaldsville township, besides another "forty"
in section 16. During his long residence on the farm Mr. Jenkins gave
considerable attention to the raising of Jersey cattle, in addition to his
general farming, and did very well. He remained on the farm until 1908.
when he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Ada, where
he and his family are now living and where they are very comfortably
situated.
Mr. Jenkins has given considerable attention to the general business
affairs of the community and is vice-president and a member of the board
of directors of the Fanners and Merchants Bank of Ada. Since the organ-
ization of the Norman County Agricultural Society in 1S95, he has been
a member of the board of directors of that organization, was secretary of
the same for five years and president for one term. He is an ardent Repub-
lican and ever since he settled in Norman county has given his earnest atten-
tion to civic affairs. For twenty-eight years he served as treasurer of his
local school district ; for ten years was chairman of the lx)ard of supervisors
of McDonaldsville township, 'and for ten years was treasurer of the same.
In the fall of 1914 Mr. Jenkins was elected a member of the board of county
commissioners from his district and is now serving in that important and
responsible public capacity, the whole county thus getting the benefit of
his wide experience in county affairs.
It was on July 4, 1878, that E. S. Jenkins was united in marriage to
Marv Revnolds. who was born in ^\'aushara county. W'isconsin, September
(4a)
50 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
9, 1861, a daughter of Solomon and Sarah ( i\rnistrong) Reynolds, Ijoth
of whom were born in the neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, the former
on March 4, 1834, and ihe latter, October 27, 1843. Solomon Reynolds
was an honored veteran of the Civil War, having served with a Wisconsin
regiment, and was with Sherman on that commander's memorable march
to the sea. He died on February 12, 1873, and his widow sur\ived him
for more than fifteen years, her death occurring on October 24, 1888. .Mr.
and Mrs. Jenkins have three children. Ruby, who married George Coldwell
and has one child, a son, Charles E. ; Effie, who married J. C. Chick and has
eight children, Vivian, Ora, Floy, Elmore, .Xrnie. Lloyd, Orin and Kenneth;
and Jessie, who married Edward E. Carmen and has one child, a daughter,
Mildred. Mrs. Jenkins is a member of the Congregational church. For
more than twenty-five years .she has been affiliated with the Daughters of
Rebekah. tlie woman's auxiliary to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and is a past i)residing officer of that organization in .Minnesota.
J.A.\[ES GLASGO\\'. SR.
James Glasgow, Sr.. manager of the Monarcii Elevator Company's
extensive plant at Barnesxille, former member of the common council of
that city and former president of the school boanl, is a native of Scotland,
but has l)een a resident of this countr\- since he was eighteen years of
age, a resident of Minnesota ever since his arrival in this country, with
the exception of a couple of years spent in the grain business in Oregon
during the early nineties. He was born in .\yr.shire in October, 1855,
son of .\iKlrew and .\nn ( f-iobertson) Glasgow, both of whom also were
natives of Scotland, the former born in .Ayrshire and the latter in Dundee,
who later became pioneers of the Red river country and whose last da\s
Avere spent in Clay county.
.'\ndrew Glasgow was a tailor and draper, who moved from his native
-\yrshire to England about the year i860 and there was engaged in the
tailoring Ijusiness until the year 1873, when he came with his family to
the United States and proceeded directly on out to Minnesota and bought
a tract of railroad land in the vicinity of Hawley, in Clay count)-, where
he established his home and where he and his wife spent the remainder
of their lives, honored and influential pioneers of that community, .\ndrew
Glasgow had a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he bought
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. CI
ill its raw prairie state and which he improved and developed into one
of the best farms in tliat part of the county. As one of tlie real pioneers
of Clay county, he took an active part in pul)lic affairs durin.y; the earl\
(lays of the county's organization, served for two or three terms as a
member of the board of county commissioners and for twent\-live years
served as justice of the jieace in and fur his home townshij). lie and his
wife also were active in the work of the church in earl\- da\s hereabout
and were among the organizers of the congregation of the Congregational
church at Hawley. They were the parents of two children, the suhjccl i>\
this sketch ha\ing a sister, Anna, widow of the late Thomas .\1. Krown,
of Hawley.
James Glasgow was but a child when his parents mo\ed from Scotland
to England and in the latter country he received his schooling, completing
the academic course. He was about eighteen years of age wlim he came
with his parents to this country and settled on a pioneer farm in the Hawley
neighborhood and he at once took an active part with his father in the lators
of developing and improving that raw prairie farm, continuing there thus
engaged until i8c)i, in which year he went to Oregon, where he became
employed in the service of the old Northern I'acific Elevator Company antl
where he remained a couple of years, at the end of which time, in 1893,
he returned to Clay county and became engaged as manager of the old Min-
nesota and Dakota elevator at Barnesville, which position he ever since
has occupied: the elevator and the extensive plant connected therewith now
being the property of the Monarch Elevator Company, and is thus one of
the be.st-known grain men in this jjart of the state, having been continuously
eneac-ed in the tirain business at Barnesville for nearly a quarter of a
century. Mr. (ilasgow is the owner of a tract of several acres ot ground
just inside the city limits, where he makes his home and where he and
his family are very comfortalily and very pleasantly situated, Mr. (Ilasgow
has for years gi\en his earnest attention to local civic affairs and for two
terms served as president of the local .school board and for two terms as
a member oi the city council from his ward. 1-raternally. he is affiliated
with the local lodges of the Ancient Free and Accepted .Masons and of the
Ancient Order of Cnited Workmen and in the affairs of l>oth n\ these organ-
izations takes a warm interest.
In 1880 James Glasgow was united in marriage to Josephine .\arveson,
daughter of Xarve Xarvesoii and wile, iiioneers of b'.glon tounship. Clay
county, and to this union eight children have been iK.rn, .\nna, .\ndrew.
Agnes fames, b,sephinc, Marv, Gretchen and Ruth, all of whom are hvm.g.
52 CLAV AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
Tlie Glasgow's are menihers of tlie Congregational clnirch and lune ever
taken an interested part in church work, as well as in the general good
\vorks and social activities of their home town, and have been helpful in
]jronioting causes designed to advance the common welfare not only there,
but throughout the county and this region at large.
WILLIAM j. AW r\', .M. D. -
Dr. William J. Awty, a practicing physician at iloorhead since the
\ear 1892, was born on a farm in the province of Ontario, in the Dominion
of Canada. January 24. 1863, .son of Foljambe and Hannah (Chapnian)
Awty, the former a native of luigland and the latter of Ontario, whose
last days were spent in Ontario. I^'oljambe .\wty was a substantial fanner
and a man of influence in the communitx in which he lived. He and his
wife were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Mary A., .Sarah !•"..,
Folj;unbe, Fannie M., Maud, Harriet G. and Kate M.
Reared on the home farm in Ontario, William J. Awty received lii>
early schooling in the schools of that ncighliorhood and remained at home
until he was nineteen years nf age, when, in 1882, he went to Winnipeg,
remaining there and at ]^t. Arthur for about five years, at the end of which
lime, in 1887. he reiurned to his home in Ontario. The next year, in
1888, he entered the medical department of Trinity University at Toronto
and was graduated from the .same in i8gi. Upon receiving his diploma
IDoctor Awty was appointed an interne in the City and County Hospital
at St. Paul and after eighteen months of very practical and \alnable ser\icc
there opened an office for the practice of his profession at INIoorhead, in
October, 1892. and has e\er since been located there, one of the best-known
physicians in the Red ri\er \allev. Doctor Awty is a member of the Cla}'-
Becker Medical Society, the Minnesota State Medical Association and the
American Medical Association and takes a warm interest in the deliberation.-
of these organizations.
In 1906, Dr. William J. .\wty was united in marriage U< Fthel ('•.
L(ird, daughter of L. C. Lord and wife, and to this union two children
have been born, William J- and Inez Lord. Doctor and Mrs. .\\vty are
members of the Fpi'^copal church at Moorhead and take a proper interest
ui the various beneficences of the same, as well as in the general good works
and -ocial and cnltunil activities of the conimunitv in which tbev live.
CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. C'
i,. GILBERT nrXDERSOX.
Gilbert Gunderson, cashier o! tlie Security State Jiauk of iiittenlal ami
one of the leaders in the business lite of that thriving village, treasurer
of Goose Prairie townshij) and otherwise interested in the general affairs
of his home community, was born in Clay county and lias lived here all
his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Highland (lro\e townshi]) on
June iJ, 1883, son of Olaf and Maren { Ivilstad) (junderson, natives of
Sweden and Norway, respectively, the former born on October 24, 1832,
and the latter. February 21. 1846, who became pioneers of Clay county
and here s])ent their last days.
(llaf Gunderson came to the United States fi-oni his native Sweden
in the days of his y<jung manhood and settled in the neighlx)rho()d of
Decorah, Iowa, where he presentl}- married, later coming up into the Red
ri\-er country in .Minnesota and settling in Clay count\. Cp()n his arri\ai
here he bonicsteaded a quarter of a section of land in Highland (jrove town-
ship and there established his home, he and his wife spending the remainder
of their li\es there. She died on June 16, 1896, and he survived her nearly
twenty years, his death occurring in .March. 1916. 'rhe\- were t!ie members
of the Norwegian Lutheran clun'ch and were the parents of fixe sons anri
one girl.
Gilbert ( lunderson was reared on the homestea<l farm in Highl.and
Grove township and sujjplemented the schooling recei\ed in the local schools
by a course in the Archil)ald Business College at Minnca[)olis, beginning his
attendance there in icpo, when se\enteen years of age. L^pon leaving college
lie began working in the store of Ole 1'. Storberg at I law ley and later
was employed in the general store of Rittiman & lude and for the Andrew
Johnson Company at th;it same place, continuing thus engaged in the mer-
cantile line until in .i()io. when be became employed in the State Bank of
Hawlev. I''(jr four \cars Mr. (iunderson remained in the Ijank at Hawley
and then, in April. 1914, was elected cashier of the Security State P.ank
of Ilitterdal. a position he ever since has occupied, one of the l>est-known
young bankers in that part of Clay county. In addition to his banking
intere.sts Mr. Gunderson also takes an interested pari in the general civic
aftairs of his borne communitv and is the present treasurer of Goose Prairie
township.
In the vear 1907 Gilbert Gunderson w;is united in marriage to .Mabel
Mitchell, dausbter of the Rev. Charles Milchell. and to ibis union five chil-
54
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
ilren have been burn, Stanley, Dorothy, Harry, I'lorence and draee. Mrs.
Gunderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Gunderson
is a member of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and
takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same. He is an active young
business man and is regarded as one of the most energetic "boosters" in
that part of the county.
PROF. C. A. T!.\LLARD.
Prof. C. A. Ballard, one of the most popular members of the faculty
of the Minnesota State Normal School at Moorhead and head of the depart-
ment of biology of that institution, is a native son of Minnesota and has lived
in this state all his hfe, with the exception (>f a few years during his youth
when he li\ed in Indiana. He was born at Zumbrota, in Goodhue county,
this state, in icSdj, son of Joshua Ballard and wife, the former of whom was
a farmer, wIim, a few years later, moved back to his old home in Hendricks
count}', Indiana, with his f;!mily and remained there until about 1883, when
he returned to Minnesota and again established his home at Zumbrota.
C. .A^. Ballard was about sixteen years of age when his parents moved
l)ack to this state and he complete<l his common-school education in the high
school at Zumbrota, from which he was graduated in 1889. He then entered
the University of Minnesota and after two years of attendance there Ijegan
teaching school, but a year later returned to the university, from which he
was graduated in 1894. with the degree of Bachelor of Science. While at-
tending the university he won a scholarship in Ijotany and held the same
during his last two years of attendance there. During several summers
while going to school he was engaged in work on behalf of the state botanical
departnient and was a member of the partv of botanists that established the
Marine botanical station on Vancou\er Island in the summer of 1891.
In the fall of 1894 Professor Ballard took up his real work as an edu-
cator and has since ilevoted his time and his energies to the cause of educa-
tion. It was in that }ear that he accepted a position in the high school at
bergus Falls and in the December following his arrival there was made
superintendent of the schools of that city to fill the vacancy created by the
resignation of Prof. Frank A. Weld, superintendent of the Fergus Falls
schools. Professor Ballard remained at Fergus Falls, superintendent of the
schools there, until 1800. Nvhen he was appointed a member of the faculty
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
55
of the State Xomial School at Aloorhead, in charge of the department of
biology, and has since occupied that position, with his residence at Moor-
head. During his residence in Moorhead. Professor Ballard has taken an
active interest in the general affairs of the city and for six years served as a
member of the city council. He owns a well-improved farm south of the
city and gives considerable attention to the operation of the same.
In 1898. the year before he moved to Moorhead, Prof. C. A. Ballard
was united in marriage to Ida Bell, of Fergtis Falls, and to this union four
children have lieen born, James, Curtis, Margaret and Edward. Professor
and Mrs. Ballard are members of the Congregational church and take an
earnest interest in church work, as well as in the general works of the com-
munity, and are recognized as among the leaders in the cultural activities of
their home town. The IVofessor is a member of the Masonic order and
takes an active interest in the affairs of the same.
REV. MARTIN ANDERSON.
The present pastor of the Trinity Lutheran church at Moorhead, Clay
county, Rev. Martin Anderson, was born in Benton county, Iowa, May
17, 1882, a son of Mons and Sarah (Tvedt) Anderson, both natives of.
the kingdom of Norway.
Mons Anderson came to .\merica in 1865 and located in LaSalle county,
Illinois, where he remainetl for two years. He then moved to Benton
county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until 1905, in which year he
retired from acti\e work and moved to Minneapolis, IMinnesota, where he
died in 1915. He was the father of eight children, as follow: Bertha.
deceased: Andrew, Celia, John, Anne, Peter, Christine and Martin.
Rev. Martin .\nderson received his elementary education in the puljlic
schools of Benton county, Iowa. He afterwards attended the St. Olal
College, at Northfield. Minnesota, and graduated from that institution in
1906. Having chosen the profession of the ministry he attended the L'nited
Church Seminary, at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he completed a course
of theological study and graduated from that seminary in roog and was
ordained in the same year. His first pastoral charge was at Madison. South
Dakota, where he remained for nearly five years. In 191 4 he came to
Moorhead and accepted the pastorate of the Trinity Lutheran church in
^6 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
this place, where he has since remained. In 191 5 he received the honorary
degree of Doctor of Divinit}-. conferred hy Fargo College.
Re\'. Dr. .\nderson has proven himself to be a man of ability, energy
and influence by his work in this community. He was instrumental in the
building of a fine new church, costing forty-two thousand dollars, whicli
was completed in 191 5. The building is of modern construction and equipped
with modern appointments. It is a credit to tlie congregation an<l one of
the attractive buildings of the town.
In 1909 Doctor Anderson was married to Cora Gunderson, daughter
of lohn E. Gunderson, of Driscoll, North Dakota. Two children have been
born to this union, Milo and Harriet.
W. Al. XESHEIM.
W. M. Nesheim, a well-known druggist at .Moorhead, was born in
Decorah, Iowa, April 19, 1865, a son of Iver H. and Elizabeth Nesheim,
the former of whom was born in Norway and came to .America in young
manhood, locating in Iowa, where he followed the occupation of a painter.
In 1880 he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and lived there until his
death. His children were : Josephine, Christine, W. M., Ida, Emma
(deceased), Oscar (deceased), and Louis (decea.sed). Iver H. Nesheim was
head of the paint department of the .\mon Scop & Coiupany, of Decorah,
and was a man of rare artistic talent, his decorative work giving him more
than local fame.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Decorah,
Iowa. At the age of fifteen he began work in a drug store in Decorah,
where he continued for about one year. In 1881 he went to Minneapolis
and was employed in drug stores in that city for fourteen years. Coming
to Moorhead in 1895. he engaged in the drug i)usiness on his own account
in that city and has continued in this business there ever since.
In 1905 W. M. Nesheim and Eleanor Albertson. daughter of Orris
Albertson, of Battle Lake. Minnesota, were united in marriage, and to this
union three children have been born: Eleanor, Roseltha and William (de-
ceased). Mr. Nesheim's fraternal affiliation is with the local lodge of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen at Moorhead. Mrs. Nesheim's father.
Orris Albertson, for many years one of the foremost residents of Battle
Lake, which town he helped to lay out. buying the first town lot sold there.
W. M. XESHEIM.
THE NEW YUhK
PIIBI,IC LIBRARY
^o,wR, LENex
TILDEN FOUNDATfONh
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 57
was born in Jefferson connly, New York, a son of Josiali and Rhoda I Kig-
gins) Albertson. natives of the state of New Jersey. When nineteen years
of age, in 1869, Orris Albertson came to Minnesota to join his sister, Mrs.
Benjamin Sherman, in Otter Tail county, and for some time thereafter was
employed as a clerk in the city of Otter Tail. In the fall of 1873 he married
Mrs. Roseltha (Gould), Corliss, a widow and the owner of a homestead farm
in Everts township. Otter Tail county, and took a homestead in his own
name adjoining that of his wife. In 1876 he established a store on that farm
and later moved the same to the new townsite of Battle Lake and for many
vears thereafter was engaged in the mercantile business there, six years of
which time he served as postmaster. For eight years he served as clerk
of the township and in 1904 was elected sheriff' of Otter Tail county, an
office he held for four vears.
OTTO F. KELTING.
Otto F. Kelting, a well-known merchant at Downer and justice of the
peace in and for Elkton township. Clay county, is a native of Germany, but
has lived in this country since he was seven years of age and in Minnesota
since he was twelve and is therefore thoroughly familiar with conditions
up here in the Red river country. He was born on February 13, 1886, son
of John and Anna (Grevey) Kelting, also natives of Germany, who came
to this country in 1893 and after a residence of five years in Chicago came
to Minnesota and located in Clay county, where they are still living, sub-
stantial residents of Elkton township.
John Kelting was born on April 9. 1861, son of Otto and .\nna ( Brown »
Kelting, l)Oth also natives of Germany, farming people, the latter of whom
is still living there at a ripe old age, and who were the parents of eight
children, those besides John, the first-born, being Henry, Kathcrine, WW-
liam. Otto (deceased), Augusta, August (deceased), and Ferdinand. Dur-
ing 1912-13 the Widow Kelting made a visit to her children in this country.
Tohn Kelting was trained as a stonemason in his native land and there
became a proficient workman. From 1882 to 1885 he ser\ed in the anuy
and in the latter year, shortly after his return to civil life, married .\nna
Grevev, who also was born in Germany, daughter of Hans and Katherme
(Lench) Grevey, the former of whom is still living there. After his mar-
riage John Kelting continued to make his home in his native land untd
1^8 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
1893, ill which year he came to the United States with his little family and
located in Chicago, wliere he became engaged working at his trade as a
stonemason and where lie made his home for five years, or until 1898, when
he came to Minnesota with his family and settled at Sabin, in Clay county,
wliere he continued working at his trade and was thus engaged there until
his appointment some years later, upon the establishment of rural mail routes
nut of Sabin, as a rural mail carrier out of that postoftice, the first carrier
thus appointed there. A year later, in 1906, he bought a quarter of a
section of land in Elkton townshi]) and has since made his home on that
place, having improved the farm in admirable shape. John Kelting has
given considerable attention to local civic affairs since liecoming a resident
of Clay county and while at Sal)in and since moving to the farm has been
a member of the school board, a period of about fifteen years. He also
served for some time as justice of the jieace. He and his wife are members
(if the German Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith.
Of the ten children born to them, seven are still li\ing, those besides Otto
l*".. the subject of this sketch and the first-born, being as follow: Emma,
wife of Marcus Ullrich; Freda, wife of David Lamb, Gusta, wdio is engaged
with her brother. Otto, in business at Downer, and Bertha, Minnie and
August, at home.
As noted abo\e. Otto F. Kelting was but se\eii vears of age when he
came to this country with his parents and his schooling was continued in
the schools of Chicago until he came to Minnesota, where he completed
his schooling in the Sabin schools. .\s a young man he became interested
in railroading and for three years was employed as a brakeman on the
Great Northern. He then became engaged in farming and was for se\en
years thus engaged, the owner of a Cjuarter-section farm adjoining the
village of Downer. He then sold his farm and on Januar_\- 25, 191 7, bought
the store building and stock of goods of Kost Brothers at Downer and has
since then iieen engaged in the general mercantile business in that village.
Mr. Kelting has been attentive to local political affairs and is now serving
as justice of the ]ieace in and f<ir his home township. He formerlv served
as constable.
On .'\pril 28, 1908. Otto V. Kelting was united in marriage to Eliza-
beth Kluck, who was born in Skree township. Clay county, daughter of
Vved Kluck, one of tlie homesteaders and pioneers of that townshi]). anfl a
biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and to
this union si.x children ha\e been Ijorn, Lawrence, Pearl, Alfred, Florence,
Evalvn and \\'illiam.
CI.AY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. eg
ANTON KOST.
Anton Kost, one of the early settlers of thi> part of Minnesota and a
snbstantial landowner, of Alary township, Norman connty. umw living re-
tired in the \ illaaje of Downer, in Clay county, is of European birth, a native
of the rei)ublic of Switzerland, but has been a resident of Minnesota since
the days of his young manhood, having settled up here in tiie Red I^iver
countr}, a homesteader in what later came to be organized as Marv town-
shi)) in Norman count\-, at that time a ])art of Polk county, and became one
of the organizers of that township and chairman of its first board of super-
visors. He was born on December 24, 1850, son of Joseph and .Mary ( Ilell-
miller) Kost, also natives of Switzerland, who spent all their lives in that
country. Joseph Kost was a butcher. He died in the middle fifties and his
widow survived him many years, her death occurring about the year 1880.
The}- were the jiarents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Joseph, Jack. Robert, Fitz-
mons, Katie and Christina.
Anton Kost was but a child when his father died. He grew to manhood
in his nati\e country and there learned the carpenter trade, remaining there
until some little time after reaching his majority, when, in 1873, he came
to the United .States and proceeded directly on out here to the Red River
country, marrving in that same year a Swiss lass who had come out here
:md had located in Clav county in that same year. I'Vir a short time after his
marriage Mr. K(jst worked as a butcher at Moorhead, working for John
Erickson, and then he entered a homestead claim on a (|uarter of a section
of land in what later came to be known as Mary township, miw in Norman
count\-, liut then ;i ]);irt of I'olk county, and there established his home. One
of his first ste]!-- in the way of developing and improving that virgin tract
was the jilanting <>\ a grove, which in the years since then has grown to
noble proportions, one of the finest groves in that part of the county. A\'hen
it came time to organize that pioneer community as a township for civic pur-
poses, Mr. Kost took an active part in the work of organization and was
chairman of the first board of sujjervisors of the township, a position he held
for four years. He was the second treasurer elected in his school district
( district No. 20 ) and held that position for twenty-one years, a strong and
able factor in the work of developing the school system of the community in
an early da\ . As he prospered in his farming operations Mr. Kost added to
his boidini/s until be became the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred
6o CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MI N NKSOTA.
and eighty acres, on which lie erected suljstantial huil(hngs, and gradually
created there one of the liest farm plants in that section. He also paid con-
siderable attention to the raising of live stock and did very well. On that
farm Mr. Kost made his home until his retirement in 1912 and removal to
the village of Downer, where he built a line house and where he and his wife
are now making their home, comfortably siluated and enjoying in quiet re-
tirement the rewards of their labors during the pioneer period of the de-
\elopment of this region.
In 1873, shortly after his arrixal in Clay county. .Mr. Kost was united
in marriage to Nina Heflicker, also a native of the rciniblic of Switzerland,
who had arrived here in that same year, and to this union four children have
been born, Katie (deceased), .\nton, .\dolph and John. Mrs. Kost's parents.
John and Katherina Heflicker. who also were born in Switzerland, spent all
their li\es in their native land. iNIr. and Mrs. Kost are Catholics and aided
in the organization of the first Catholic church in the community in which
they settled in Norman county — .St. Mary's church, which now is a strong
and nourishing parish. As pioneers of this region they are thoroughly famil-
iar with the details of the development of tin,' counlr\- hereabout and both
have man\- interesting tales to tell of the earh' da vs.
FRANK AUGUSTINE WELD. .M. .\., LL. D.
Dr. Frank Augustine Weld, president of the .Minnesota State Normal
school at Moorhead. is a native son of the old Fine Tree State, but he
has been a resident of Minnesota for the past thirty-five years or more.
He is thus as nnich a Minnesotan in spirit, and in the ardor of his service-
to this state as one "nati\e and to the manner born." Doctor Weld was
born in the city of Skowhegan. Maine. December 10, 1858, son of George and
Lucy .\nn (Robbins) \\'eld. Flis father was a cabinet-maker and farmer,
who came to this state in 1899 and spent his last days in Moorhead.
Upon completing the course in the Skowhegan high school and Bloom-
field Academy in 1877, Frank A. Weld entered Colby College at \\'aterville.
Maine, where he received his collegiate training, having made his wav
through college b\- teaching country schools, the grammar school at Machias.
ALaine, and by serving as principal of the high school at Cherryfield. in
that same state. In 1882 he came to IMinnesota, where for a short time lie
was engaged in newspaper work in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but not long
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 6l
afterward accepted a call to take the superinteiidency of the schools at
I'arniington. From Farmington he went to Zumbrota, in Goodhue county,
a position which he occupied for fi\e years. While living at Zuinl)rota,
he married, and in 1889 accepted a call to the sui)erintendency of the schools
at I'"ergus h'alls, in which city he was thus engaged for more than iivc
years, at the end of which time he accepted the ]iosition of Northwestern
representative for the ])uljlishing house of D. C. Heath & Company, with
offices at Minneapolis. .\ year later, however, he resumed school work,
going to Stillwater as superintendent of the schools of that city, and there
he remained until 1899. in which year he received the appointment as head
of the State Normal school at Aloorhead, which office he has since held,
making liis home at Moorhead. Doctor Wekl has devoted practically his
entire life since reaching maturity to the cause of education, and there
are few lietter know 11 educators in the Northwest than he. in 1899 he
received his master degree, and in 1914 Fargo College conferred upon
him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He has written and delivered
many lectures on travel, art and literature, and his services are in wide
demand on the lecture |)latlorm. Doctor Weld has served as president
of the Minnesota Educational A.ssociation ; he has been president of the
Council of State Normal School Presidents, an organization covering all
the states west of the ^lississippi : he is now a member of the state com-
mission of education, and he has held other important positions of trust.
The Moorhead Normal school was the fourth school of its kind provided
for by the state Legislature, the act passing in 1885. The site of the
school is a gift of the Hon S. G. Comstock. The buildings are modern
and include a main Imilding; two dormitories for young women; an addi-
tion to the main building, which contains a beautiful library, gymnasium and
bath rooms: a model school building for the elementary school; and an
auditorium, costing $100,000, providing space for the science departments
and a beautiful auditorium. The school was opened on August 29, 1888,
with a membership of forty-two, and since that time the growth of the
school has been steady and continuous. The present annual enrollment
in all departments is one thousand four hundred and fifty.
--Vs noted above, it was while living in Zumbrota that Doctor Wekl
was u,u-le<l in marriage to Hattie F. Flwell. To that union three children
have been born. Moselle Edna, wife of Dr. O. J. Hogan, a well-known
physician and surgeon of Moorhead; Lucy Ann. wife of Curtis Pomeroy,
au'atlor.iev at Barnesville, and I- rank F., now a senior in the Moorhead
Normal school Doctor and Mrs. Weld are members of (he Congregational
62 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
church at :\Ioorhead. Fraternally. Doctor Weld is affiliated with the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons and with the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks. He, also, is a memher of the Delta Kappa Epsilon college fraternity.
DAVID A. LAMB.
David -\. Lamh. chairman of the hoard of supervisors of Elkton town-
ship, Clav county, and the proprietor nf a line farm in section 28 of that
township, is a native of Scotland, hut has heen a resident of Miiniesota
since he was live years of age, the Lamh family having come here in 187 J.
first settling in Becker count\ and later moving over into Clay county,
heconiing prominent and influential factors in the development of the pioneer
interests of Elkton and Elmwood tcnvnships. In a memorial sketch relating
to the late John Lamh, uncle of the suhject of this sketch, and a hiographical
sketch relating to Charles Lamh, .Sr., father of suhject, presented else-
where in this volume, there are set out in considerahle detail particulars
of the coming of the Lamb family from Scotland, their settlement in the
Red river country and the ])art tiiey t(X)k in the (levelo]>nient of this region,
and the attention of the reader is respectively directed to those narratives
for further details of a genealogical ,-md historical character in this con-
nection.
Daviil A. L.aml), eldest son of his father, Charles Lamh, Sr.. was Ijorii
in Forfarshire, Scotland, June 9, 1867. and was hut five years of age when
he came with his parents and grandparents to Minnesota, the family settling
in Becker conntv and later moving o\er into Cla\' county, where he ever since
has made his home. He received his schooling in the early schools of this
latter county and grew u\i a practical farmer, thoroughl\- familiar with
pioneer conditions hereahout. When he reached his majority, in 1888, he
homesteaded a tract of one hundred and si.xtv acres in section j8 of Elkton
township and entered upon the ask of impro\ing and developing the same,
and after his marriage in 1893 established his home there and has ever
since resided there, one of the best-known and most substantial farmers
and stockmen of that neighborhood. As he prospered in his operations Mr.
Lamb added to his land holdings and is now the owner of three hundred and
forty acres of excellent land, three hundred and twenty acres of which is
in the home place, one of the best-developed half-sections thereabout. Mr.
Lamb has substantial buildings on his place and has a fiiie farm plant. In
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 63
addition to his general farming, Mr. Lamb has given considerable attention
to the raising of graded Shorthorn cattle and is doing very well. For
years he has gi\'en close attention to the civic affairs of his comninnily
and for more than ten years has been serving as a member of tiie l)oard
of township supervisors, the present chairman of the board, and in that
capacity has done much for the advancement of the general public interest.
In 1893 Da\id A. Lamb was united in marriage to Elizabeth Mann.
who also was born in Scotland and who died in 1901, lea\ing live children,
Ernest, Jessie, Laura, David and Margaret, all of whom are living. Mrs.
Lamb was a daughter of Alexander Mann and wife, who came to this counlr\-.
but who returned to their nati\e land after about two years of residence
here. Mr. Lamb is a member of the Presbyterian church and takes a proper
interest in the various beneficences of the same. He is a member of the
local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of .\merica and take^ an jictive interest
in the afYairs of that organization.
NILS HOLBECK.
Nils Holbeck, proprietor of the New Columbia Hotel at Moorhead,
former chief of police of that city, former deputy sheriff of Clay county
and actively identified with the affairs of that county since old homestead
days, he having been a homesteader in Morken townshi]). is a native of
tlie kingdom of Denmark, fnit has been a resident of Minnesota since the
days of his boyhood, having come to this state with his parents, who
settled tMi a homestead farm in Otter Tail county, this state, where the.v
.spent the remainder of their lives, honored pioneers of that county. .
Nils Holbeck was liorn on December 16, 1855, and was about tifieen
years of age when he came to Minnesota with his parents, b'or^some
time after coming here he worked as a farm hand on a farm near Fergus
Falls and then came on farther West and for a time was employed on a
farm in the \ icinitv of Fargo. He then went over to Hi.smark and thence
after a while down into the P.lack Hills, whence he presently returned to
Minnesota and settled at Moorhead, where he has made his home most
of the time since then. L'pon coming back to this state Mr, Holbeck en-
tere<l a homestead claim to a tract of Land in Morken town.ship, Clay county,
and while living there wa. made deputy sheriff of that county, movnig
to Moorhead, where be later was made chief of police. Cpon the com-
64 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
pletion of his term of service in that office lie engaged in the coal Ijusines^
at Moorhead and later became proprietor of the old Columbia Hotel. When
that building was destroyed by fire Mr. Holbeck went to Minneapolis, where
for a time he was engaged in the retail Iic|uor business, but he presently
returned to Moorhead and resumed the i)roprietorshi]) of the New Columbia
Hotel and has since been conducting the house, one of the most popular
hotels in this part of the country. In addition to the official [wsitions above
mentioned as haxing been held by Mr. Holbeck. he also for some time
served as state game warden for this district and in that capacity did
much to help preserve the native game out of season.
OLE H. HOGSTAD.
Among die [)ersevering and energetic fanners of Oak Port township.
Clav county, is Ole H. Hogstad. who was born in Norway, September 4.
1861. He is a son of Helge and Ingeborg (Nelson) Hogstad, both natives
of Norway, where they lived and died on a farm. Their family consisted of
four children, namely: Ingeborg. Bertha (deceasedj, Jacob and Ole H.
Ole H. Hogstad grew to manhood in Norway and there attended the
public schools. In 1884 he emigrated to America, coming directly to Moor-
head. Minnesota, and for some time he worked as a farm laborer in Clay
count} and has resided here ever since. He worked on farms along the
Buffalo river for nine years, then rented land in Oak Port township for
seven years, operating one hundred and sixty acres just across the road from
where he now lives : but in the meantime he had purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of unimproved land where he now resides. He moved on this
land in 1899 and in due course of time had it under cultivation, erected a
good group of buildings and set out a grove. He has one of the most de-
sirable farms in the township, and has Ijeen very successful as a general
farmer and stock raiser, now owning three himdred and twenty acres. He
raises a great deal of grain, much of which is fed to live stock, preparing
large numbers of cattle and hogs for the market annually. He plants a large
acreage of potatoes every year, his land being admirably adapted to the
growing of the white tubers.
Mr. Hogstad helped organize the Northern Potato Growers' Sales
Company, and was president of the same for two or three years. He did
much toward making it a pronounced success. He also helped organize the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 65
Farmers' Elevator Company at Moorhead and was the first vice-president of
the same. Politically, he is independent. He is township supervisor, which
office he has held during the past sixteen years.
Mr. Hogstad was married on November ii, 1910, to .Anna Grinis-
tvedt. who was born in Norway, a daughter of Sven and Signie (Ness)
Grimstvedt. also natives of Norway, where they established their permanent
home, and both of whom are now deceased. Sven Grimstvedt was married
twice and was the father of fifteen children. Mrs. Hogstad came to America
in 1897. Three children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Hogstad. namelv :
Helge, Segfred and Bertha.
CHARLES S. MARDEN.
Charles S. Marden, extensive owner of land, former member of the
state Legislature and former county attorney for Clay county, is a native
of the state of Vermont, but has been a resident of Minnesota since 1882.
He was born in Randolph, Vermont, on October 2, 1864, a son of Riley H.
and Emily M. (Clififo-rd) Marden, natives of the same state.
Riley H. Marden was born in Albany, Vermont, on January 24, -1832,
and was a member of the legal profession and a well-known member of
the bar in his native place. At the age of fifty, in 1882, he moved to
Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where he continued to practice as an attorney and
also became the owner of a tract of land. His death took place on July
22, 1900. Riley H. RLnrden served the cause of the Union during the
Civil War and was a member of Fourth and Ninth Regiments, Vermont
Volunteer Infantry, and later held a commission in the One Hundred and
Twenty-seventh United States Colored Infantry. His war service covered
the entire period of that conflict and he participated in several important
engagements, receiving his honorable discharge at the close of the war. Mr.
Marden's wife, Emily M. Clifford, was born in April, 1837, in the .same
house in Randolph, Vermont, as was her son, Charles S., the subject of
this sketch. She died in April, 187 1, eleven years before her husband
came to this state. They were the parents of two children, namely, Mrs.
Caroline E. Hooper, whose death occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, in March,
1899, and Charles S.
Charles S. Marden was reared in Bristol, Vermont, and attended the
(5a)
66 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
public schools and Bristol Academy. In 1882 he accompanied his father
to Minnesota, where they settled in Fergus Falls and he commenced taking
a law course with the view to practicing as an attorney. In 1891 he moved
to Barnesville, Clay county, where he resided until igi i. and where he served
as city attorney from 1891 to 1901. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. .Marden was
county attorney for Clay county, and from 191 1 to 1915 he represented the
Sixtieth district in the Minnesota state Senate. During all those years of
public service he commanded the unstinted confidence of the electors and
was generally recognized as one of the leading and public s[)irited men of
Clay county. In April, 191 1, Mr. Marden rcmo\ed his practice to Moorhcad.
In January, 191 1, he organized the Red i\i\er Farm F(ian Comp;uiy. and
has been president of the company ever since.
On January 2, 1886, Charles S. Marden was united in marriage to
Elise E. Cayo, who was born on April 15. 1863, in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Thev are the parents of two children. Irene Emily, who married L. V.
Repke and is living at St. Paul, this state, and Edith Josephine, who became
the wife of Fred M. Brophy and lives in Moorhead, this county. Mr. and
Mrs. Marden take a proper part in the general social activities of the
community in which the\' reside, helpful factors in the promotion of all
causes having for their object the common good of the community. Mr.
Marden is a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution ;
he is also a member of the Masonic order and is a Shriner and also holds
membership in the Odd Fellows. Knights of Pythias and the h'lks, and in
all these several organizations takes an active part. He served two years
in Company C, Second Regiment, State Militia, at Winona, Minnesota.
KNUD WEFALD
Knud Wefald, well-known lumberman of Hawlev, Clav county, was
born in Kragero, Norway, November 3, 1869. He is a son of Knut and
Karen (Pederson) Wefald. The father was born June 10, 1843. i" Drange-
dal Parish, Norway, June 10, 1843, and the mother was born in Songedal,
Sondeled Parish. Norway. They grew to maturity, w-ere married and estab-
lished their home in their native land. The father was a non-commissioned
officer in the regular Norwegian army for about twentv-five years. He
was a surveyor by profession, but spent the latter part of his life on a
farm. His was the oldest family in Drangedal Valley, the old Wefald home-
CI, AY AND iXORMAX fOl'NTIES. MINN KSdI'A, ()''
Stead being the oldest dwelling in the valley. They were all known as good
citizens and were intluential in the affairs of their locality. Four chil-
dren were bom to Knut and Karen W'efald, namely: Kniid, of this sketch:
-Martin, who lives in Minneapolis. Minnesota: Peter, who is farming in
Mountrail county, Xorth Dakota, and F.ninia, unmarried, wlio resides in
Minneapolis.
Knud W'efald grew to manhood in Norway, and there he rcccixed a
public school education: lit- also attended high school. lie immigrated to
America in 18(87, landing in -\ew \'ork City on May Jtjtli of that year.
He came on West and located in l-'ossum townshi]), Xorman count\', .Min-
nesota, where he worked on farms until i8r)r), in which \ear he came to
Hawley, Clay countw and accepted a position with tlie Wilcox Lumber Com-
|)anv, with which he remained until i()02, gi\ing eminent satisfaction and
doing much during that period to increase the business and prestige ot
the firm in the localit\' of llawle\. lie took his famil\- on a \ isit to Xorwax'
in 1902, remaining in the old country one year. He had redeemed the old
home i)lace, which he sold while there. In the fall of 1903 he returned
to Hawley. Minnesota, and in the spring of 1904 he organize<l the Hawley
T. umber Coni])an\- in partnership with Andrew Johnson and II. 1*". Mensing.
and he has been manager and secretary of the same ever since. The \enture
proved successful from the first and the business has gr.adually increased
with advancing vears until it has now reached vast proportions, which
result has been due \ ery Largely to the eft'orts and judicious management of
Mr. Wefald. .\ large and well-stocked yard is maintained and a complete
line of building material and paints is handled. It is one of the best known
and most successful lumber coni])anies in Clay county.
Mr. Wefald was married in 1899 to Sarah Skree. a d.aughter of .Mikel
Skree and wife, natives of Telemarken, Norway. To Mr. and Mrs. W'efald
nine children have been born, namely: Magnus, Harold, Egil, Karen, Martha,
Olav, Nana. Else and Sarah.
Mr. and Mrs. Wefald are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church,
in which he served several years as secretary. Fraternally, he belongs to the
Woodmen and the Sons of Norway. Politically, he is a ])rogressive Re-
l)ul)lican. l'"rom 190^1 to i()|j he served as i)resi(lent of tlie village council
of Hawley. to which otfice he was again elected in nn;. In 191-' he was
elected representative and served two terms in the state Legi.slature. or
during the sessions of 1913 and n^i.s. lie made a most commendable
record, of which his constituents and friends were justly i)roud. Durnig
the session of 191 3 be. with the assistance of Senator Charles .Marden.
68 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
secured an appropriation of one hundred tliousand dollars witli which to
erect a science huilding for the Moorhead State Normal school. He made
his influence felt for the general good of Clay county and the state. He
is a man who is well informed on current topics of the day and has kept
well ahreast of the times. He is widel}- read and is a close ohserver.
He is also public-spirited and scrupulously honest. He has done much
for the upbuilding of Hawley, whose interests he has long had at heart and
sought to promote in every legitimate way. and is eminently deserving of
the o-ood will and high esteem in which he is held by all who know Iiim.
irrespective of party alignment.
EUGENE ELLSWORTH LEACH.
Eugene I'^Usuorth Leach, member of the board of township supervisor-
of Iilkton township. Clay county, and the proprietor of a tine farm of four
hundred and eighty acres in the northern part of that township, is a native
of Illinois, born at Franklin Grove, in Lee county, that state, on August
27, 1S64, son of James and Lucy (Miller) Leach, who later moved to
Dows, Wright county, Iowa, where the latter is still living.
James Leach was born in New York state in 1839. He later moved to
1-ranklin Grove, Illinois, and was there married in 1863. to Lucy Miller,
who was born in Illinois on June 16. 1846. Two or three years after
his marriage James Leach established his home on a farm in the immediate
\icinity of Dows, low-a, and there si)ent the remainder of his life, his death
occurring in 1889. His widow is still living there. They were the parents
of four sons, the suliject of this sketch, the first-born, having three brothers,
Claud, of Dows. Iowa: Mont, who is married and is living in Clay county,
and Harry, of Dows, Iowa.
Eugene E. Leach was but a child when his parents moved from Illinois
to Iowa and settled in the neighborhood of Dows, where he received his
schooling and grew to manhood, from the days of his boyhood a valued
assistant in the labors of improving and developing the home place. In
1891. in \\'right county. Iowa, Mr. Leach was united in marriage to Eva
McCov, who was born at Galesburg. Illinois, in 1872, and in the spring
of 1904 he bought the farm on which he is now living, in Clay county,
and has ever since made his home there, he and his family being very
comfortablv situated. Mr. Leach is the owner of four hundred and eighty
CLAY AND XOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 69
acres, a lialf section in section 2 of Elklon townshij). and a (|uaitcr o\ a
section cornering on the same in section 10, and has improved and developed
the same in fine shajje, now having one of tlie l^est farm ])l;ints in that i)art
of the county. In addition to liis general farming he is .giving consideral)le
attention to the raising of li\e stock, with particular reference to l^iland
China hogs and Shorthorn cattle, and is doing well in his npcralions. Mr.
Leach gi\-es his earnest attention to the general civic affairs of the com-
munity and is now serving as a meml)er of the hoard of township supervisors.
He is a progressive and puhlic-si)irited agriculturist and for the past \'ear
has heen serving as president of the East Side Farm cluh.
Mr. and Mrs. Leach have twelve children, Ray, Roy. .Arthur. Clyde.
Lloyd. l*!arl, .Alva, Lewis, Virgil, Ruth, Lucy and A'clva 1)., all of whom
are living, a verv interesting family. They never lia\c had a doctrir on
account of sickness up to the date of this puhlicalion. The Leachc; have
a pleasant home and take a proper interest in the community's general
social activities.
JOHN \Y. .ALLEN.
[ohn W. .Mien, former well-known extensi\e landowner and now a
dealer in real e.state, is a native-horn Hoosier. whose hirth occm-red near
Brazil, in the state of Indiana, on October 7, 1870. He is the son of
William Allen and wife, the former of whom was a farmer on a lar.ge scale
for several years in Indiana., later going to the state of Iowa, where he
continued his farming operations, meeting with considerable success, and
in that .state he spent the remainder of his life.
When lohn W. Allen was ten years old he ;iccomi);niied his parents
from Indiana to Iowa and jn the public schools of the latter state he received
a sound general education. He was reared on his father's farm and assisted
in the work on the land for some years. He then commenced Kj operate
a farm on his own account in Iowa, engaged in .general farming for several
years, until the fall of 1900, in which year be came over to the state of
Minnesota, coming to Barnesville. He has owned several farms in this
vicinity, which he sold from time to time, always to advantage, and eacii
of those farms varying from one hun.lred and sixty acres to two sections
of land. Throughout the >ears he w.is engaged in the purchase and sale
of his different land holdings, he was conducting on a large scale, a gram
and slock farming business, a handsome competency accruing to him a^
/O CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
the result of his successful operation.^ in those lines. Durin<( the greater
part of his residence in Clay county. Mr. Allen has been engaged in handling
real estate and now chiefly follows that occujiation. at the same time being
engaged in tlie sale of automobiles, and in all hi> various undertakings
he has met with marked success, his knowledge of land \ alues being well
established throughout Clay county and outside it.
On October 3. 1803. John W. Allen was united in marriage to .Marv
\'. Miller, a dau.ghter of Johnson Miller and wife. To Mr. and Mrs.
Allen six children have been born as follow : Claude. Harlcv. Gladys.
Donald, William and Delores. The .Allen family are earnest members of
the Methodist church and are warmly interested in its good works and
in all community good work-, ever hel])ing every worthv cause in the town-
ship and county.
Mr. Allen is a Democrat in politics, but has never been a seeker after
public office, ])referring to devote his time to his real-estate interests. Ik-
is a member of the Modern \\'oodmen of .\merica. and in the affairs of
that fraternal order he takes a li\elv interest.
EUGEXK ASKF-:C,.VARI).
One of the enterprising yt>ung business men of Clay county is Eugene
A>kegaard. cashier of the Comstock State Bank, and a man who is doing
much toward the development of his home town in a general wav. He
was born on the home farm in Pleasant township. Cass county. Xorth
Dakota, just across the Red river of the Xorth. on l<"ebruary 1. 1884. He
is a son of D.ivid and Miimie (Dunhom) Askegaard, a sketch of whom
ajjpears on another page of this \olume. Suffice it to sa\- here that the
father is one of the leading business men of Comstock and an old .-md
influential citizen of Clay countv.
Eugene .Vskegaard grew up on the home farm in Holy Cross township.
Clay county, his father moving from Cass county. Xorth Dakota, to a farm.
the present site of the village of Comstock, in 1886, when Eugene was
two years old. Here the son assisted with the general work on the farm,
and in the winter time he attended the public schools at Comstock, later
the State Xormal school at Moorhea.l, from which he was graduated in
1004. After leaving school he taught for three winters in the district
schools of Clay county and during the summer months he worked in his
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 7 1
father's store or on the liome farm. Upon the organization of the Gmi-
stock State Bank in 1909 he hecame cashier, the (hilies of which responsible
position he has since discharged in a manner that has reflected nnich credit
upon himself and to the satisfaction of tlic stockholders and patrons of the
Ijank. He has been a close observer and student of modern banking methods
and is an alert, courteous and painstaking man, who believes in system as
well as fair dealing.
In January, 19 10, he was appointed assistant secretary of the Comstock
and Holy Cross Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and in 1916
he was elected director and secretary of the same. The pronounced and
rapidly-growing success of this company has been due very largely to his
influence, as he has done practically all the work in prcmioting and carrying
on the work of the same since it was first started.
Mr. Askegaard married Harriet Charlotte Rustad on June 4, 1914.
She is a native of North Dakota and grew to womanhood in Rustad. Min-
nesota. She received good educational advantages, graduating from the
Moorhead State Normal. She is a daughter of Sanuiel and Valliorg Rustad.
a native of Rustad, Minnesota. To Mr. and Mrs. Askegaard two children
ha\e been born, Dorothy Margaret and Rachael Helen.
Politically, Mr. Askegaard is a Republican and he lias been more or
less active in public affairs for some years. He served as village clerk
of Comstock for three \ears and is now serving his second year as treasurer
of the village. He is at present clerk of the school board. He is a member
of the Masonic order and the Norwegian Lutheran church.
EDWARD O. WARDEBERG.
One of the enterprising voung business men of Barnesville, Clay countx'.
Minnesota, is Edward O. Wardeberg, who was born on a farm in Wilkin
county, this state, the son of Ole E. and Agnetta (Jenson) Wardeberg, both
of whom were natives of Norway.
Ole E. Wardeberg came to America as a young man, and located in Wil-
kin county, Minnesota, where he made his home up to the time of his death,
September, 1909. He was the owner of a fine farm of four hundred and
sixty acres located in Prairie View township, his farm lying along the county
line lietween Cla}- and Wilkin counties. He and his wife were the parents
of four children, Edward O., Anton, George and Bertha. The family are
72 CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
earnest members of the Norwegian Lutheran cliurcli. and are among tlie
substantial citizens of their home community.
Edward O. Wardeberg received his early education in the public schools
of his native county, and later attended the Agricultural College at Fargo,
North Dakota. During his summer vacations he assisted with the work on
the home farm until 1914, in which year he came to Barnesville, and in part-
nership with O. P. I.andsom, engaged in the general merchandise business, in
which line he has met with a very commendable degree of success. Besides
dealing in all kinds of general merchandise, they buy and ship many car-
loads of potatoes. Mr. Wardeburg is well known, prominent and popula:
in the social activities of the younger residents of Barnesville, and also t
an active interest in the affairs of the Norwegian Lutheran church, of whicli
he is a member. Mr. Wardeberg on July 9, 1917, married Clara Linn, of
Maidenrock, Wisconsin.
BYRON GRAHAM LA GRANGE.
Byron Graham La Grange, proprietor of a tine farm of four hundred
acres in Elkton township, Clay county, and one of the most progressive
farmers of that .neighljorhood, is a native of the neighboring state of Wis-
consin, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was six years of age.
He was born on a pioneer farm in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, in 1858,
son of .\lonzo Graham and Anna .\1. (Hillman) La Grange, the former a
native of the state of New ^'ork and the latter of German}-, she having come
to this country with her widowed mother when she was but a child. In the
fall of 1864 Alonzo G. La Grange came with his family from Wisconsin to
Minnesota, driving through, and locating at Garden City, in Blue Earth
county, arriving there on October 13 of that year. At Garden City he estab-
lished a hotel and later a butcher shop and made his home there until 1868,
when he moved to Worthington. ccnmty seat of Nobles county, opened a
hotel there and continued in the hotel business in tiiat city until his retire-
ment. He is still living at A\'orthington, now nearly ninety years of age.
His wife died in 1912. He is a member of the I'resbyterian church, as wa'
his wife, antl their children were reared in that faith. There are three c
these children, the subject of this sketch, the lirst-born. having two sisters,
Grace and Leonice.
As noted above, Byron G. La Grange was but a child when he came
P.yUOX ti. I.AOnAXGE AND FAMILY.
Tnt Nh-'vV YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENeX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. J?
with his parents to Minnesota and his schoohng was completed in the schools
of Worthington. As a young man he followed various branches of industry,
none of these various jobs being "snaps," however, he declares: and later
became a railroad contractor and then a butcher, and for eight years was
(lei>uty sheriff of Xobles county. In the meantime he had bought a tract
of land up here in the Red River country, in Elkton township. Clay county,
and in ^larch, 1906, moved here with his family and established his home
on that farm and proceeded to improve and develop the same. Since enter-
ing upon the occupancy of his land .Mr. I.a Grange has erected a substantial
set of Ijuildings and has otherwise improved the place until he now has a
fine farm plant, one of the best-ordered places in the community. He has
four hundred acres of excellent land and of late years has gone in quite
extensively for potato raising, in addition to his extensive live-stock busi-
ness, his specialty in the latter line being Durham cattle.
On November 5, 1894, Byron G. La Grange was united in marriage to
Augusta Berreau, who was born in Nobles county, this state, daughter of
Otto Berreau and wife and to this union two children have l>een born, a
son and a daughter, .\rthur (jraham and Eudora Louise. Air. and Mrs. La
Grange are members of the Presbyterian church and take a proper part in
church work, as well as in the general good works and social activities of
the communilv in whicii the\' live. Mr. La Grange is a member of the local
lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and takes a warm interest in the
affairs of that organization.
HERMAN G. VVENDLANDT.
Herman (i. Wendlandt, well-known merchant of Sabin, in Clay
county, and for \ears postmaster of that village, also formerl\- and for
years justice of the peace in and for Elmwood township, is a native son
of Minnesota and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a
pioneer farm not far from St. Cloud, in Steams county. May 16, 1869, son
of Fred and Ernestine (Schultz) Wendlandt, natives of Germany, who
were married in Stearns county and there spent their last days.
Fred Wendlandt was born in 1844 and was eleven years of age when
his parents. Christian and Rebecca Wendlandt. left Germany in 1855 and
came to the United States with their family, settling in Wisconsin, where
they remained until 1863, in which year they came o\er into Minnesota
and settled in Stearns county, where they spent the remainder of then"
74 CLAV AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
lives. Christian Wendlandt had served as a soldier in the army of his
native country and was in the army at the time Poland took up arms against
Germany, but did not participate in any active engagements. Fred Wend-
landt was under twenty years of age when he came to Minnesota with his
parents from Wisconsin and in time he homesteaded a tract of land in
Stearns county and after his marriage in thai county estalilished his home
there. His wife, Ernestine Schultz, was horn in 1S45 and was eighteen
years of age when she came to this country. She was a daughter of
Gottfried Schultz and wife, tlie latter of whom was a Moede. Her mother
died in her nati\e land her father later married \\'ilhelmina Ernst and
in 1863 left Germany with his family, and after spending a year in Canada
came to Minnesota and hecame a homesteader in Stearns county, where he
spent the rest of his life, living there to the age of ninety-one years. His
father was a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars and carried a hullet in liis
knee to his gra\e. l'"red Wendlandt hecame a substantial farmer of Stearns
county and a man of influence in his community. He died there on Sep-
tember 12, 1916. and his widow surxivetl him a little less than a year,
her death occurring on February 5, 1917. They were the parents of nine
children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the- others
being Rebecca. Emelia. Augusta. Ji>hn, Eouisa. Mathilda. Lena and
William.
Reared on the home farm in the vicinity of St. Cloud, H. G. Wend-
landt received his early schooling in the schools of St. Cloud and was
later graduated from the State Normal school there, after which he was
engaged in teaching school for three years, in the meantime becoming ac-
<|uainted with commercial forms and the mercantile business, and remained
there until 1899. when he came up into the Red River country and opened
a general store at Sabin. in Clay county, where he ever since has been
engaged in business, one of the best-known business men in that part of
the count}-. In December of that same yeai- Mr. ^^'en(llandt was commis-
sioned postmaster of .Sabin and has ever since occupied that position. From
the beginning- of his residence in Clay county Mr. \\'endlandt has taken
an earnest interest in local political affairs, served for some time as a
member of county Republican central comi-nittee and for vears served as
justice of the peace in and for his home township.
In 1900, the year after he became established in business at Sabin,
H. G. W^endlandt was united in marriage there to Minnie Schroeder,
daughter of Frank Schroeder and wife, pioneers of the Sabin neigh1)or-
liood. and to this iu-iion three children have been born. Fred. Erna and
CLAY AND XOKMAX COUNTIES, M INNICSOTA.
/D
liuijert. The Weiullandts are members of tlie Lulheran cliurch and take
a proper interest in chnrch work, as well as in the <,rcneral good works
and social activities of their home commnnity.
THEODORE EVANSON.
In the case of 'J'lieoddre Evanscjn, a farmer of Ulen township. Clay
county, the opportunity to succeed may not have sought the man, hut most
certainly the man sought and took advantage of the opportunity and he has
made good application of the gifts which nature has bestowed upon him.
Mr. Evanson was born in Decorah, Iowa, May 4, 1866. He is a son of
John and Catherine | Anderson) Evanson, both natives of Norway, where
they spent their earlier years, but were not married until after they came to
the United States. He came in 1850 and she preceded him by aljout one vear,
coming with lier ninther and stepfather, Iver Ringstad. .Mr. Ring-
stad bought government land in Winneshiek county, Iowa, on which
he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. The parents of the
subject of this sketch located near Decorah, Iowa, where they were married,
in 1 85 1, being the first couple to marry in Winneshiek county, and were
among the early pioneers there. They worked hard to get a start in the new
country and eventually became very comfortably established. They owned
one hundred and twent\- acres for which they paid only one dollar and twenty-
five cents per acre. They subsequently bought and sold other farms in that
county. Mr. Evanson made all the improvements on the homestead, erecting
.good buildings, his first house being of logs. Later a large frame dwelling
was erected, ^^■hen he married, Winneshiek county had not Ijeen organized
and Ik- was cnm]ielled to go a long distance to the county seat of .Allamakee
countv. in order to ])rocure the necessary license. Not knowing the customs
in America very well be took his bride to the parson's residence and when
asked for the license handed the preacher his first naturalization papers. So
he had u> leave bis bride there and make a long jnurney to secure the proper
license.
John Evan.son took an active interest in the early affairs of Winneshiek
count)-, which he helped organize, also assisted in organizing the township
in which his land was located. He was thereafter incumbent of some town-
ship office, most of the time, until his death, the township being Madi.son. He
was assessor of the same for a period of twenty-five years, also served as
76 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
treasurer for more than a quarter of a century; a part of the time he lieUl
both offices simultaneously. He gave a lot for the first cemetery and also
for the first E\angelical Lutheran church in his community, and it was liuilt
on one corner of his farm. He and his wile s])ent the rest of their lives in
that county, each reaching an advanced age.
To John Evanson and wife ten childen were horn, named as follows:
Enielia, deceased; Nora; Eliza, deceased; Evan, deceased; Maria, Theodore,
Lena, Edva, Anna, deceased, and Emma. They .grew up on the home farm
in Iowa and attended the district schools there.
Theodore Evanson grew to manlmod on tiie home farm in W'inneshiek
county, Iowa, and he received his education in the district schools there. He
continued to work on his father's farm until he went to Ada. Minnesota, in
1885, east of which town he rented a farm one summer: then returned home
for a year. He later went to Xnrman county, Minnesota, and located in Green
Meadow township, where he bought a tree claim of one hundred and sixty
acres, which he rented out most of the time and worked in the vicinity of
LHen, Clay county. He has made his home in Ulen township for a period
of thirty years, or since 1887. During that time he has seen the township dc-
\ eloped from a sparsely settled prairie to its present advanced position as a
modern farming community. Upon coming here he bought a homestead
right of one hundred and sixt\ acres, which he proved up on, but later sold
out and in 1900 bought one hundred and twenty acres on which he has since
resided. He made all the present excellent im|)ro\ements on this land and
has been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He is also a stock-
holder in the I'armers" Co-operative Creamery at Ulen. whose pronounced
success has been due very largely to his efforts. He was formerly a director
of this concern and in 1916 he became manager and vice-president, but later
gave up the office of manager; he is still discliarging the duties of vice-
president.
Mr. Evanson was married in September. i8qi. to Gena Mobeck. who
was born in Norway, from which country she came to America when young.
She is a daughter of Lars Mobeck and wife. Three children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Evanson. all of whom live at home at this writing: thev
were named as follows : Leonard. Eliza and Mildred.
Mr. Evanson has long been active in public aff'airs. Politically, he is a
Republican. He was first road boss; later served about seven years as town-
ship assessor and is now clerk of the township, which position he has held
for eighteen years, or ever since the village of LHen was separated from the
township. He served as school clerk while living on his homestead farm
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. 'J-J
from 1892 to 1900, when he moved to his present farm. At that time he was
made clerk in this school district, which office he has since held. He helongs
to the Lutheran church.
OMER J. PI.UMMER.
Omer J. Plummer, a suhstantia! farmer and stockman of Humboldt
township, owner of a half section of land in that township, is a native of the
state of Illinois and has been a resident of Clay county for the past ten years.
He was born in \\'hiteside county. Illinois, on January joth, 1852, a son of
Kaleb and Rebecca (I'ittenger) riummer, the former a native of the state
of Marvland and the latter, of the state of Ohio, and whose la.st days were
spent in Iowa.
Kaleb I'lummcr was born in Maryland in 1803 and was educated in the
schools of that state. He follcnved the occupation of a farmer and thus con-
tinued in his native state for some years, later moving to Iowa, where he
resumed his farming oi)erations and spent the remainder of his life, his death
taking place in 18^4. at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. He was a
.good, practical farmer of the old school and trained his sons to lives of use-
fulness. In 1830 Kaleb I'lumnicr was married to Rebecca Pittenger. who
was born in Ohio in 18 14. The marriage was performed in Ohio and Mrs.
Plummer died in Iowa in iSSS. having reached the age of seventy-four years.
To Kaleb Plummer and wife the following children were born: John, Susan
and Hiram (twins). Anna. Thomas, Joseph, Nicholas, Elizabeth, Mary,
lulia, Wavne, Omer J.. I.ydia, Belle and Catherine. Of the sons of this
faniih-. all are dead but Omer J., the subject of this sketch. Four of them
\-olunteered for service on behalf of the Union during the Civil War. a family
record to be justlv proud of, and three of the four boys died while in the
service.
Omer f. Plummer was educated in the public schools of Illinois and was
reared on his father's farm. He accompanied his parents to Iowa and settled
on the farm, where he continued to work, a valuable as,sistant in the develop-
ment of the home place. He came to Clay county in 1907 and rented a farm
in Eglon township, which place he worked for two years. 'Hie next year he
rented a farm near Hawley and in 1910 he bought the farm which he now
occupies, consisting of a half section of prime land, located in .section 10,
Humboldt township, and on this tract he is engaged in general fanning and
in the raising of a choice strain of Hereford cattle and is doing very well.
78 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA.
When Mr. Plummer took over tlie holding a set of good liuildings had lieen
ahead}- erected and his farm is now regarded as one of the best-kept and
productive in the township.
On November ist, 1S74. Onier J. I'lunmier was united in marriage to
Ida Downs, who was born in Ogle county, lUinois. July 9th, 1857, the mar-
riage taking place in Iowa. To this union eleven children were born as fol-
low : Luc\', married and hves in .Missouri; Xicliolas. married, lives in \e-
Ijraska: Mary, deceased: Calel), married, in Iowa; lielle, married, in Iowa;
luldie. who is married and lives in Clay county: Cora, killed by a cyclone
while the family livetl in Iowa: Ida, at home, Hazel, deceased, and Sylvester
and Henrv, at home. Mr. Plummer takes a good citizen's interest in local
affairs and in all movements intended for the benefit of the public. He is a
director and vice-president of the Clay County I'"air Assix'iatiou, proving a
v.ilua1)le factor in making the annual fairs a success, :md in other ways he
tri\'es of his time and energy to the liest interests of the communitv.
P. H. PEDRRSON.
P. H. Pederson. one of Moorhead's leading business men. proprietor of
a hardware store in that city and president of the Ivpiity Manufacturing
Company, is a native of the Kingdom of Xorvva\, but has been a resident of
Minnesota since he was seven years of age and of Moorhead since he was
twenty. He was born in 1862 and was seven years of age when his parents,
Peter E. and Mary (Chri.slock) Pederson, left their native Norway in 1869
and with their children came to this country.
Upon his arrival in this countr\- in 1869, Peter E. Pederson proceeded
on out to Minnesota with his family and settled in Goodhue county, where he
engaged in farming and where he made his home until 1882, in which year
he came over into this part of the state with his family and settled in Norman
countx. l)U\ing a tract of land near Twin \ alley, where he for a second time
established his home in a pioneer section of this state and where he and his
-wife spent their last days. They were the parents of five children, of whom
the suljject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being
ICrick, Ral])!!. Caroline and Gertina.
.\s noted abo\e, P. H. Pederson was but seven years of age when lie
came to Mimiesota with his parents in 1869 and he grew to manhood on the
home farm in Goodhue county, receiving- his schooling in the neighborhood
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 7g
schools and at the same time gaining- some practical business experience
which, when he came over to this part of the state in 1882 with his parents,
he presently put into use. Mr. Pederson was twenty years of age when he
came up into this section and he secured employment at Moorhead. where he
ever since has made his home. Some time after locating- there he engaged in
the wholesale liquor business in that city and later engaged in the lunil)er
business over the river in North Dakota, though continuing to make his
home in Moorhead. Gradually he accjuired other interests and it was not long
until he came to be recognized as one of the most active business men in his
home town. In 19 13 he became connected with the Moorhead Hardware
Company, as a partner in that concern, a corporation, and presently became
the sole owner of the same, now operating the business alone. Mr. Pederson
also is president of the Equity [Manufacturing Company of Moorhead and is
vice-president of the Bergerth Fish Company at Fargo.
In 1893 P. H. Pederson was united in marriage to Emma Thorson, and
to this union four children have lieen born, Irene, Esther, Clifford and Earl.
The Pedersons are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and take an
active interest in church wcirk and the general good works of their home city.
HENRY WITJJ.VM HABERLE.
Flcnrv William Flaberle, one of the pioneers of Clay county and the
owner of a half section of excellent land in Elkton township, where he and
his familx- make their home, is a native of Germany, but has been a resident
of this county since 1882. He was born on December 25, 1854, son of John
and Fredericka ( Caesemann ) llal)erle, also natives of that country, farming
people, who spent all their lives in their native land and who were the par-
ents of five children. Fred, Fredericka, Katherina, Henry W. and Elizabeth,
all of whom are still living. John Halierle and his wife were members of the
LtUheran church .ind their children were reared in that faith.
Reared on the home farm in his native land, Henry W. Haberle received
his .schooling there and remained at home until 1882, when he came to the
United States and after a year spent in New York state came to Minnesota,
in 1883, and homesteaded a (juarter of a section of land in b:ikton township.
Clay countv, and proceeded to improve and develop the same, .\fter his mar-
riage in 1887 he established his home on that place and has ever since resided
there. As he prospered he added to his land holdings until he now owns three
8o CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
hundred and twenty acres, one of the best-improved farms in that part of the
county. Mr. Haberle has long given his earnest attention to the general civic-
affairs of his community and was for years road overseer in his district.
Mr. Haberle lias been twice married. In 1887, about four years after
settling in Clay county, he was united in marriage to Paulina Beck, also a
native of Germany, who died leaving two sons, Henry John and William
Fred. In 1895 Mr. Haberle married Christina Weber, who also was born in
(rermany, daughter of Eberhart Weber and wife, and to this union foiu"
chikiren have been Ixirn. Emma, Fred. Christina and Mary. The Haberles
have a pleasant home un their well-kept farm in Elkton township and take a
proper interest in tlie general afifairs of the community.
JOHN GRIFFIN.
The late Jolin (jriffin. one of the pioneers of Clay covmty, who died at
liis home in Barnesville, that county, in the fall of 1913, was a native of
County Kerry. Ireland, l)ut had Ijeen a resident oi this country since the
early seventies, he iiaving come to the United States shortly after reaching
his majority. He was Ix)rn in 1850 and grew to manhood in Ireland. Upon
coming to this country he located in Massachusetts, but after awhile came
West, proceeding on u[) into the Red River country, and after awhile home-
ste;i(ietl a tract of land in .Alliance township. Clay county. In 1885 he re-
turned East and at Holyoke, Massachusetts, in that same year, married
.Margaret Griffin, wlio also was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and who
liad come to this country in 1882.
.\fter his marriage John Griffin returned to Clay county with his bride
and established his home on the homestead farm in Alliance township, one
of the most .substantial pioneers of that part of the county, a continuous
resident of Clav cotmtv for more than forty years. Mr. Griffin wa> the
owner of a fine farm of four liundred and eighty acres of land, which he
had ini])ro\ed in a<imirable s!iape and brought to ;i higli state of cultivation,
he long having been regarded as one of the most progressive farmers of his
neighliorhood. He developed that land from its virgin state, built up an
excellent farm plant and was very comfortably circumstanced at the time of
his death, which occurred on October 29, 1913.
To John and Margaret (Griffin) Griffin were born ten children, namely:
John, deceased: Thomas, deceased: Catherine, deceased; Mamie, who is
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN fOU.N-D-\T10NS
JOHN GRIFFIN.
MRS. MARGARET GRIFFIN.
TH -
PUBl aY
ASTOR, LENOX
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. Si
married and livint; in Iowa; Josephine, wIkj is now living in I'argo; James,
who is assisting widi the management of the home farm; Wilhani, de-
ceased; Patrick, who is assisting with the management of the home fann,
and Margaret and Ceceha, also at home. The Griffins have a very pleasant
home and have ever taken an interested part in the general social activities
of the ct)mmunity in which they live. Besides her e.xtensive farm holdings,
Mrs. Grif^tin also is the owner of a honse and lot in Barnesville, and she and
her family are cjuite well situated. They attend the Catholic church at
Barnesville.
JOHN S. BARRY.
John S. Barry, clerk of Alliance township. Clay county, owner of a
fine farm of five hundred and sixty acres in that township and president
of the Baker Telephone Company, is a native of die great Empire state, but
has heen a resident of Clay county since 1881 and a landowner there for
the past twenty-five years and more. He was horn on a farm in St. Law-
rence county. New York, on January 21, 1859, son of John and Margaret
(Clemnions) Barry, both natixes of Ireland, who were married in St. Law-
rence county, New York, and there spent their last days, the former dying
in 1902, at the age of seventy years, and liis widow surviving until 1909,
she being over ninety years of age at the time of her death. The Barrys
are genealogically connected with the famous Commodore Barrv* of Revolu-
tionary fame. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the subject
of this sketch was the eighth in order of birth, the others being as follo\v :
Hannah, w'ho is now living in Wisconsin; Mary, deceased; Bridget, died in
Felton; Thomas, who came to this part of Minnesota and spent his last
days in the village of Felton ; Kate, deceased ; Julia, who lives at Massena,
New York; Joseph, (if Louisville. New York; William P., of Felton;
.Samuel, deceased, and Ilenrw who is now a practicing attorney at Dickinson,
North Dakota.
Reared on the home farm in St. Lawrence county. New York. John
S. Barry received his schooling in the neighboring schools and early began
teaching school. In i88r he came to this part of Minnesota and began
to teach school at Georgetown and was for seven years thereafter engaged
in teaching there and in other schools in the county, during the summers
giving his attention to farming, and after his marriage, in 1891, l)ought
(6a)
82 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
a farm and established his Iiome. In 1900 he bon_y;ht the farm on wliich
he is now Hving, in section 2 of Alhance township, and has since made his
home there, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Mr. Barry
has an excellent farm of fi\-e hundred and sixty acres and has the same
improved in admirable shape, one of the best general farm plants in that
part of the county. In addition to keeping up his farming interests, Mr.
Barry has long given his earnest attention to the civic affairs and general
business life of the community and for seventeen years served as a member
of the school board and is now serving as town clerk. He is also president
of the Baker Telephone Company and has done much to extend the telephone
ser\ice throughout that part of Clay county.
.\t Moorhead, Minnesota, June 25. 1891, John S. Barry was united
in marriage to Cora Agnes Burns, who was born in Mason county, West
Virginia, near Glenwood, June 25, 1867, and to that union have been born
scAen children, namely: Irwin, who was married on June 2, 1917, and who is
the owner of a quarter of a section of land in the neighborhood of his
father's home : Edith, who is a teacher in the schools of Clay county ; Paul,
deceased, and Malcolm, Russell, John and Philip, who are at home. The
Barr\s are Catholics, members of the church at Barnesville, and take ;i
Ijroper interest in parish affairs, as well as in the general social and cultural
acti\ities of their home neighborhood, and are helpful in promoting all
movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare
thereabout. Mr. Barry is a member of the local lodge of Woodmen and
takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same.
\ ICTOR E. VERNE, M. D.
Dr. \ ictor E. \'erne, a practicing physician at ^Moorhead since the sum-
mer of 1909. is a native son of Minnesota and has lived in this state all his
life. He was born in the city of Minneapolis, March 2, 1883, son of Olof and
Charlotte (Blom) \'erne, natives of the kingdom of Sweden, who are still
living at Minneapolis, where Olof \"erne is engaged in the merchant tailoring
Inisiness and where he has made hi< home since he came to this country in
1871. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church. They
have four children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest, the others
being Dr. Paul C. Verne, a well-known dentist at Moorhead ; Dr. .\rthm-
\'erne, of Cando, North Dakota, and Charlotte.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. 8^
Reared in the city of Minneapolis, the place of his hirtli, Victor E. Verne
was graduated from- the high school there and in 1902 entered Minnesota
State University, later entering the State College of Medicine and Surgery,
a department of the University, from which he was graduated in 1906, witli
the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Upon receiving his diploma. Doctor \'erne
was appointed an interne at the City and County Hospital at St. Paul and was
thus engaged for a year, at the end n{ which time, in the sunmier of 1904. lie
took a course of supplemental work under Doctor DeLee. In 1906 Doctor
Verne opened an ofifice for the practice of his profession at Biwabik, in St.
Louis cdunt}- and was located -there from June to December of that year, when
he returned to St. Paul and was further engaged there in the City and Conntv
Hospital for a few months, at the end of which time, in 1907, he opened an
office at Parker's Prairie, in Otter Tail county. The next )-ear he marrietl
and he continued in i)ractice at Parker's Prairie until in July, 1909, when
he moved to Moorhead, where he opened an office for the practice of his pro-
fession and where he since has lieen located. The Doctor is licensed to prac-
tice in North Dakota as well as in this state and is doing very well in his
practice. He is a member of the Clay-Becker Medical Society, the Minne-
sota State Medical Association, the .\merican Medical .\ssociation, Associa-
tion of Military Surgeons, United States Army, and Southern Minnesota
Aledical Society, and takes a warm interest in the deliberations of these bodies.
He is a Scottish Rite ]\Iason and Xoble of the Ancient Arabic Order of
Nobles of the Mvstic Shrine. In 1908 Doctor \'erne married Charlotte
Granell and has one child, Marion, bom on July 26, 191 1.
Dr. Paul Conrad \^erne, younger lirother of Dr. V. E. Verne, was born
in .Minneapolis in 1882 and after his graduation from the high school in that
city entered the dental department of the State University, from which lie
was graduated in 1909, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, b'ol-
lowing his graduation he began the practice of his profession at Minneapolis
and was thus engaged there for two years and six months, at the end of
which time, in 1912, he joined his brother. Dr. V. E. Verne, at Moorhead
and has ever since been engaged in practice there. Dr. P. C. Verne is a mem-
ber of the National Dental Society and of the state organization of dental
surgeons, as well as of the local society maintained at Fargo and MoorheatI
and at Crookston, and the North Dakota Dental Society. He is a Scottish
Rite Mason and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine and a member of the Moorhead Commercial Club. Dr. P. C. Verne
married Cora Agnes Christopherson and has two children, Paula and Jeanne,
both daughters. Both of the Doctors \'erne have pleasant homes at Moor-
84 CLAY AND XOKM.W COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA.
head and take an acti\e interest in tlie t;eneral social and cultural activities
of their home city.
On Mav 2. U)i/. Dr. \'. E. \crnc applied for a commission in the
.Medical Ofificers' Reserve Corps. United States .\rniv, and on July lo, 1917,
he received his a])])ointnient hy President Wilson as first lieutenant in the
medical service.
JA.MI-:S .M. W ITIIl'.ROW.
lames M. Withcrow. court commissioner for Clay county, former city
attorney of Moorhead, a practicin.i; attorney in that city for the past twenty
vears and one of the best-k-no\vn lawyers and public s])eakers in this part of
the state and in the neighboring state of North Dakota, is a nati\e of the
Emerald Isle, but has been a resident of this country since he was s-eventeen
\ears of age. He was born in the north of Ireland on December 19, 1869.
son of James W'itherow and wife, both of Scottish descent, and received his
earlv schooling;- in his native land, remaining- there until he was tlfteen years
oi age, when, in 1884. he came to the United States.
Upon arriving in this country Mr. W'itherow [)roceeded on up uilo the
i\ed River vallev. his ])oint of destination being Grandiu, Traill county. North
Dakota. After two years in Ncjrth Dakota, he left and came into Minne-
sota for the purpose of attending school, stoi)ping in Norman county, where
he worked on farms during vacations. During the winter of 1887-88 he
attended Carlton College and later entered the Minne.sota State Normal at
Mocrhead. from wliich he was graduated in 1892. During the year follow-
ing his graduation. Mr. W'itherow was engaged in teaching school at St. \'in-
cent. up in Kittson county, and during tlie succeeding winter, 1893-94. was
enga,ged in teaching at Caledonia, Traill county. North Dakota. Upon the
completion of that term of school Mr. W'itherow returned to Moorhead and
entered systematically upon the study of law, a subject to which he had for
some time been gixing his thoughtful attention, having carried on his law
studies and the stuch' of elocution;ir\ expression privately during the time he
was engaged in teaching school, many hours having thus been put in prac-
ticing expression. On June 21, i8g8, Mr. W'itherow was admitted to the bar
and has since Ijeen engaged, in the practice of his profession at Moorhead, for
years having been regarded as one of the leading lawyers in this part of the
state, his recognition as a trial lawyer having come early in his practice. For
ten years he served as attorney for the city of ]\Ioorhead and for the past
CLAY AND NOUMAN CUL'NTrES, Ml N .\-KS( IT A, gc
twenty years has been court commissioner for Clay county, which official
position he now occupies. Mr. Witherow is an active and anient Repul)!ican
and has done much campaigning^ for his party, particularl\- in Xortli Dakota,
under engagement to the Republican natidual committee, lie also is widelv
known as a lecturer and his lectures on travel, literature and kindred subiecls
are in much flemand among farmers' clubs and school organizations.
On Xovember j6, 1904, James .\1. Witherow was united in marriage to
hjnnia Jane liund, daughter nf James I'xind and wife, the former of whom is
a farmer lixing near 1 Funter, North Dakota, and to this union four children
have been burn, (irace, ALargaret (deceased), James and b'rank. The W'itli-
erows are lUL-mbers of the Episcopal church and take an earnest interest in
cburch woik. Air. Witherow was reared in the Presbyterian church, his
])eople for generations ha\ing been I'resbyterians, and one of his uncles was
for some time moderator of the General Assembly of that church in Ireland.
Fraternally, Air. Witherow is affiliated with the Alasons and takes a warm
interest in the affairs of that order.
BRUNO KIPPELS.
l!run(i Ki]ipel>, proprietor of the Aloorhead laundry, owner of the public
abattoir in Abjorhead. formerly and for years a well-known building con-
tractor in that citv and in other ways identilied with the comnuuiity of which
he has been .a part since pioneer days, is a native of Germany, but has been a
resident of this country since he was twenty-four years of age. He was
born in 1856. son of William and Katherina ( Isaacheimer) Kippels, also
natives of German)-, the former of whom was a farmer and a manufacturer,
who spent all their lives in their native land and who were the parents of
eight children.
In his native Germany, I'.runo Kippels learned the trade of a miller and
that of a baker and remained there until the summer of 1880, when he came
to this country, landing at the port of Baltimore, August i. A few weeks
later he came on out to A/finnesota and located at Moorhead, presently home-
steading a (piarter of a section of land in Spring Prairie township, Clay
county, and the next spring entered up(jn the task of developing and improv-
ing the same, giving that place his close attention for nine years, at the end
of which time he disposed of his farming interests and at Aloorhead engaged
in carpentering. Three vears later he began work as a building contractor
86 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
on his own account and for ten or fifteen years was engaged at Moorhead
as a contractor. In tlie meantime Mr. Kippels had engaged in the retail meat
Inisiness at Moorhead. in partnership with Hubert Zervas, and that partner-
ship continued for ahout eighteen years, or until it was dissolved in 191 1. It
was about 1906 that .Mr. Kippels built the public abattoir in Aloorhead and
he still owns the same. In October. 1914. he bought the Moorhead laundry
and has since owned and operated the same with much success, the excellent
cliaracter ni the work turned out at his laundry having recommended the
])lacc widelv throughout this section. Mr. Kipi)cls has put on the markc
three (|uite successful inventions, a children's merry-go-round, a clothes
hanger and a ])!aitc'r. and has diuu' fpiite well in the several enterprises with
which he is connected.
.On October 4. 1904. I'.runo Kippels was united in marriage to Martha
Kopi-h. and to diis union four children have been born, Joseph, John, Bruno
and Mar\. The KijJiiels are members of the Catholic church ;uid take a
iiriiuer interesi in parish affairs.
I.AMES E. HEXRY.
Elsewhere in this volume there is set out at considerable length some-
thing of the genealogy and history of the Henry family, which settled in
Clav county in the seventies and became among the most useful and influen-
tial factors in the early settlement and organization of Elkton township, and
it therefore will not be necessary to repeat those details in connection with
the subject of this sketch.
lames V.. Henrv was born in Kane county. Illinois. .April 11, 1852, son
of .\lirahani and Rachel (Jones) Henry, who later moved with their family
to Jackson countv, Iowa, and thence, in 1878, up into this section of Minne-
sota and settled in Clay comity, as set out in another part of this volume. In
the meantime, in 1875, James E. Henry had gone from Jackson county, Iowa,
to Cass countv. in that same state, and in 1880 he left there and came up
here to join the other members of the family in Clay county and upon his
arrival here homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in Elkton township
and there established his home, he having married the year previously. To
that quarter section be added, by purchase, an adjoining "eighty" just across
the road on the east, and now has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres.
Mr. Henry has an interest in the fanners' creamery and in the farmers' ele-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. g-
vator at Barnesville. For sixteen years he served as a member of the town-
ship board and for the past twenty years has been treasurer of his local
school board.
In 1879, at Greenfield, Iowa, James E. Henry was united in marriage to
Alary E. Daniels, who was born in Jackson county, Iowa, daughter of Ken-
sey Daniels and wife, further reference to whom is made elsewhere in this
\olume, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Marion Henry. Mr.
and Mrs. Henry have an adopted daughter, Ida Ellen.
W. P. KROLL.
Among the many enterprising Germans who have made a success in
their adopted country is W. P. Kroll, who is die owner of a fine farm in
Elklon township, Clay county, and is also the affable proprietor of a fiourish-
ing livery business in Barnesville. He was born near Stetien, Prussia, on
September 3, i860, and is a son of Charles and Augusta (Riemer) Kroll,
both of whom were also natives of Germany.
Charles Kroll and family came to America in 1870, settling (irst in St.
Cloud, Minnesota, from which i)lace they dove overland with an ox-team to
Long Prairie, Todd county, Minnesota. They were among the early pioneers
of that county, where they homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land.
In those early days their market and base of supplies was either St. Cloud or
Long Prairie, and supplies had to be hauled one hundred miles, the round
trip requiring six days. In addition to farming, Charles Kroll freighted
supi)lies to the early settlers of Todd county for four or five years, and his
death occurred in Long Prairie in 1876. In 1884 the mother and family
moved to Hawlev, Clay county, Minnesota, where the mother died in 191 5.
Charles Kroll and wife were parents of six children, B. E., Charles, W. P.,
Ann:e, ^■'j.rlclph cr) .\."""-\ t'"? b'* *""r vi'v.f.d being deceased. The family
were sll fcitiiiji rr.;; iini.: i t ;« vjC liiii j.iitheran church.
W. P. Kroll rcccivcii hiS early edcKation in the public schools of Kbng
Prairie, later attending the schools of Moorhead. .\fter leaving school he
worked for a time with his brother in a flour-mill at Hawley, but in 1887
he homesteaded land in Elkton township, and proceeded to develop and culti-
vate his tract. He placed all the improvements on his farm, which now con-
sists of two hundred acres, and lived there until 1910, when he moved to
88 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Rarnesville, and in tliis little city he has been engaged in the livery business
very success full\- for the past seven years.
In 1887 Mr. Kroll was married to Isabel Wilson, the daughter of A.
Henry Wilson, a resident of Elkton, Minnesota. He is a member of the
Modern Woodmen lodge, and takes an active interest in the affairs of that
(irganization. While living in Elkton township. Mr. Kroll very efficiently
served his township as school clerk for eighteen years; was supervisor of
Elktown township for a period of four years, and also served as road overseer
for eight ^■ears, and alilv discharged his duties as a citizen of his community.
WALTER COOK, JR.
Walter Cook, Jr., a [jrosperous farmer and stockman, the owner of a
lull section of land in Clay county, is another of those enterprising Cana-
dians who have come across the l)or<ler tcj Minnesota. He was born in Can-
ada on July 8, 1866, a son of Walter and Eleanor (Ching) Cook, both of
whom were natives of Devonshire. England.
The elder Walter Cook and his wife left luigland in 1857 and went to
Toronto, Canada, where they resided up to the year i88j, in which year
they crossed over to the United States and settled in this part of Minnesota.
Walter Cook had learned the carpenter trade and participated in the "Fargo
boom" of 1882. In the .same year he settled on a homestead and farmed
during all the vears of his active life and met with marked success in his
farming operations. He was among the early settlers in this part of the
county and lived on the homestead farm, which he acfjuired in 1882, until
1909, after his wife died, when lie came to live with his son, Walter, Jr.,
and has reached the line old age of ninety years, honored and respected bv
tlie community in which he has lived for more than thirty-five vears. His
wife, Eleanor (Ching) Cook, died at the advanced age of eighty-three years.
.She was born on March 4, 1826, in Devonshire, England. To Walter Cook
and wife the following children were born: \\'illiam .Alfred, living in Flint.
Michigan; .\nna, who resides in Canada; Jennie, in Minneapolis, this state;
Pollen, deceased; Carrie, Josephine, Mary Grace and \\'aUcr, all living in this
country, and Joseph, who was drowned when a boy of nine years old. The
Cook family were members of the Episcopal church.
Walter Cook, Jr., came with his parents from Canada to Clay county
in 1883 and settled on the homestead farm which his father entered the
"•{E NEW YORK
''BRARY
ASTOR, LEN©X
TILDEN FOUNDATiONS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MIN NKSOTA. 8q
;i'
previous _\ear. He worked ou his father's farm for several \ears, and late
decided to engage in farming on his own account. In 1889 he purchased a
tract of land and coniinenced to cultivate crops, and as he prospered in his
labors he added to his holdings from time to time until he liecanie the
owner of one full section of land. He has set out eighty acres to the cultiva-
tion of potatoes and has had good average crops from that source. He is
extensively engaged in general farming and stock raising and is recognized
as one of the most substantial farmers in Elmwood township. He has car-
ried out many costly improvements, iiis outbuildings and dwelling house
being in the front rank in the district in which he resides. In addition to his
farming interests Mr. Cook finds time to give attention to pulilic afYairs and
has been township assessor for three years, and is a warm advocate of all
movements calculated to serve the public welfare.
On February 11, i8(;i, \\'alter Cook, Jr., was united in marriage to
Jane T.;imb. :i daughter of Charles T.amb and wife, and to their union the
following children have been born: Cora, who married Merle Schenck, of
Elmwood townshij), and the\ have two children. Vera and Milo; Elsie.
Myrtle, Allen, l\dith, Charlie. Jennie. Robert, Etta, Clifford and George.
The family are earnest members of the Presbyterian church at Baker ;ind
are warmly interested in all its good works as well as in the general social
activities of the community in which they live.
EDGAR B. McCOLGIN.
Edgar B. McColgin. postmaster of the village of Downer, in Clay county,
and the proprietor of a well-improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres
adjoining that village, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a
resident of the Red River country and of Clay county since he was twenty-
four years of age. He was born on a farm in .\rmstrong county, Pennsyl-
vania! April 14. 1872, son of Thomas and Mary (Marshall) McColgin, both
natives of that same state and the former of whom is still living there, being
now past ninety years of age. Thomas McColgin served as a soldier of the
Union during the Civil War, a member of a Pennsylvania regiment. He
and his wife were the parents of nine children, Oscar, William, Luella, Anna.
Elizabeth, (irant, Totton, Edgar and one who died in infancy. Thomas
McColgin and wife were members of the Presbyterian church and their chil-
dren were reared in that faith.
go CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Reared on the home farm in his native Pennsylvania. Edgar B. McCol-
gin received his schooHng in tlie schools of that neighborhood and for two
terms taught school there. He continued to make his home there, helping in
the cultivation of the iiome farm, until he was twenty-four years of age,
when, in 1896, he came to Minnesota with a \iew to estalilishing himself as a
farmer up here in the Red River country, and located in Clay county. Two
years later he married and after his marriage established his home on a farm
southeast of Havvley, where he remained until about 1905, when he moved
to his present quarter-section farm in the vicinit)- of Downer, where he ever
since has been activelx- engaged in general farming and stock raising and has
done well. For years Mr. McColgin has given his clo.se attention .to local
civic affairs, for some time served as a member of the board of township
supervisors and is the present treasurer of l^lkton township. On January i,
icjio, he was commissioned postmaster of Downer and has ever since occu-
pied that position. In that same year he bought a store at Downer and has
since continued to manage the same, at the same time giving his general
direction to the management of his well-kept farm. Mr. McColgin is a mem-
ber of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at the neigh-
lioring village of Baker and takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same.
On Decemlier 7, i8c)8, Edgar E. McColgin was united in marriage to
Anna Mix, daughter of Charles Mi.x and wife, of Clay county, and to this
union four children ha\ e been born, Thomas, Totten, Elohama and William.
The McColgins have a very pleasant home and give proper attention to the
ciimmunitv's gcner;d social affairs.
ANDREW JOHNSOX.
One of the enterprising and influential citizens of Hawley, Clay countv.
who has forged to the front by his own eft'orts, often in the face of obstacles
that would have discouraged men of less courage and mettle, is Andrew-
Johnson, well-known general merchant. He was born in Norway, February
12, 1857, and there he grew to manhood and attended school. He remained
in his native land until 1876, when he immigrated to the United States, locat-
ing in Trempealeau county, Wisconsin.
In 1879, with William E. Bennett and James Craig, :Mr. Johnson came
to Hawley, Clay county, and worked in this vicinity for two years at the
carpenter's trade. In 1882 he and Pete Larson started in the luinber business
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. QI
under tlie firm name of Johnson & Larson also taking contract building at
Hawlcv. This partnership continued with mntna! Iicnetit and ever-increasing
success until tlic spring of 1887, at which time Mr. Johnson engaged in gen-
era! merchandise, lumber and machinery business on his own account, in fact,
he handled everything that could be bought and sold in this part of the state
to advantage. He did a large business from the start and carried an exten-
si\e stock of goods, his customers coming from all over the eastern part of
Cla\- county. In the spring of 1904 he organized the Havvley Lumber Com-
pany, in j)artnership with Knnd ^Vefald and H. L. Mensing. They estab-
lished a large yard and i)nl in an extensive stock of all kinds of lumber and
nthcr materials used by builders. Lender the wise foresight and counsel of
.Mr. Johnson the venture has proven more successful even than was at first
antici])ated, and it is now one of the leading lumber firms of the county.
Afr. Johnson is a heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of Haw-
lev and is a director in the same. He is also a dealer in potatoes at Hawley
on a \ ast scale, buying and shipping many carloads annually. He sold his
machinery business a few years ago, and he now devotes much of his atten-
tion to the operation of his fine department store in Hawley, which would be
a credit to towns much larger than Hawley. It is modern in all its appoint-
ments ; a varied, extensive and carefully selected stock of goods is carried at
all seasons and everything is managed under a superb system. The thou-
sands of regular customers of this popular store always are assured of hon-
est. i(romi)t and courteous treatment I)y both the management and the
employees.
Mr. John>on was married in iS8_' to Louise Anfinson, who was born in
Houston county, Minnesota. She was educated in the public schools. Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of six children, two boys and four girls.
a1I living at Hawley.
I'oliticallv. Mr. Johnson is a Repuljlican. He served as president of
ilawlev, also on the village council for some time. He has done much toward
the general welfare of Hawley in fact, has been one of its principal boosters
ever since he located here, believing in its future with implicit confidence. He
always supports any mo\ement having for its object the good of his town and
county. Fraternaliv. he lielongs to the Masonic Order, and he is a member
;uid liberal supporter of the Lutheran church, which he helped to organize.
He is deser\ing of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished,
unaided and bv sheer force of character, having started out in life with no
capital, a stranger in a strange land. He is a m:m whose word is as good
as the bond of most men, and he has the respect and good will of all who
know him.
92 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
LARS HITTERDAL.
One of the well-reniemljeiecl citizens of Clay county iluring tiie genera-
tion tliat is past, whose name is deserving of perpetuation on the pages of
local history was the late Lars Hitterdal, for many years a successful farmer
of Goose Prairie township. He was born in Norway in 1859, a son of Ole
and Berat Hitterdal, both natives of Norwa\-, where they grew to matur-
ity and married. They finally came to .\merica and located in Houston
county, Minnesota, when their .son, Lars, was nine years old, and when he
was about sixteen }ears old his parents moved to Clay county and took up a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in section 34, Goose Prairie town-
ship. The father had improved the place only slightly when he died, leaving
It to his son, Lars. The mother, who spent her l;ist years with her dau"hter,
.Mrs. I'aregan, in Hitterdal. died in 1914 at the advanced age of eighty-four
\ears.
To Ole Hitterdal and wife six children were born: Bens, who
lives on a farm in Highland (hove township: Lars, of this sketch; Marie,
deceased; Mrs. Marie Faregan, of the village of Hitterdal: Ole, living in
Hitterdal, and Hanna. who lives in the state of Washington.
Lars Hitterdal grew to manhood on the home farm and he was edu-
cated in the district schools, .\fter inheriting the homestead he continued
to develop it into a tine farm and as he prospered he bought adjoining land
untd he owned one of the choice farms of the township, consisting of live
hundred acres, which his widow now owns. He erected an attractive home
and a good group of outbuildings. Lie carried on general farming and stock
raising on an extensive scale, raising vast quantities of grain and large num-
bers of live stock. He was regarded as one of the most progressive farmers
of this locality.
Mr. Hitterdal married Isabel Clenientsoii. who was born in Xorway on
-March j^, 1864. She came to .\merica when ten years old with her mother
and six other children, about the year 1875. Her father was a farmer
and died in Norway. His widow came to America, as stated, in 1S75 and
located with her children in Houston county, Minnesota, and there the chil-
dren worked out. The mother took up a claim near Ulen, Clay county. She
was a woman of courage and business ability and she provided well for her
family, keeping her children together and giving them educational advan-
tages. She lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years, dying in 19 14.
To Lars Hitterdal and wife seven children were born, namelv : Clara,
CLAY AND NORMAN COL-NTIES, MINNESOTA. 93
married and living in North Dakota; Mrs. Olga \'iner, married and living in
Highland Grove township; [Minnie, Oden. Clifford, Leona and Harry, are all
lixe at home.
Mr. Hitterdal was a Repul)lican. He served as a meniher of the school
lioard in his district; also as a member of the township hoard. He was a
meml)er i)f the United Lntheran church, of which he was a trustee. He was a
mail who believed in keeping abreast of the times. He raised full-blooded
live stock and did much to encourage raising better stock in his township,
especially cattle. He and liis l>rother. Bens, owned the first steam tractor
engine in their localit) .
The death of I.ars Hitterdal occurred on November 21, 1900, at the
age of forty-one years. Mrs. Hitterdal later married for her second husband
Carl Rroton, who owns a harness shop in Hawley, Clay county, also a store
there. This last unimi has been without issue.
CHRISTIAN REHDRR.
Christian Rehder, owner of se\en hundred and twenty acre.s of fine
land in Alliance township. Clay county, for many years chairman of the board
of supervisors of that tovvTisJiip, president of the Farmers Elevator Com-
])any of Comstock, vice-president of the State Bank of Comstock, a member
of the board of directors of the Northwestern Hospital at M(K)rhead, formerly
treasurer of his home township, formerly overseer of roads in his district
and in other ways for vears actively identified with the civic and business
interests of the community in which he has lived since pioneer days, is a
native of Germany, but has been a resident of this country since he was
twenty-one years of age and of Clay county since the year 1884, one of the
most substantial citizens and homestead farmers in the soiuheni part of the
county. He was born on .\u,gust 13, i860, son of John and Magdalina
Rehder, l)oth also natives of Germany, the former of whom died many
vears ago in his native land. The widow Rehder later married I'red K'uehl,
father of Bendix Kuehl, a hiograpliiacl .sketch of whom is presented else-
where in this volume, .\lioul 1889. some time after he had become well
settled in Clav county. Christian Rehder .sent lor lii's molher and his .step-
father and thev came from Germany and located at Sabin, where Mr. Kuehl
spent his last days, his widow thereafter making her home with her son
Christian, her last days being spent there.
94 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
Reared in his nati\e land, Chri-stian Rehder received his schooling- there
and remained there until he was twenty-one years of age. when, in 1881,
he came to the United States and located at Davenport. Iowa, in which cit\
and in the vicinity whereof he remained for about eighteen months, the most
of that time being engaged in farm labor. He then went to Des Moines
and was there engaged, driving a delivery wagon and working in the coal
mines, until his marriage in 1884. in which 3'ear he came up here into the
Red River country, Sabin being his destination, ;md in June of that year
homesteaded the southeast quarter of section 30 of Alliance township, in
Clay county, established his home there and has e\er since resided there, he
and his family being Acry comfortably situated. When Mr. Rehder settled
on that quarter section it was raw prairie land and for si.\ years after set-
tling there he farmed with oxen. He planted a line grove, which is now
an attracti\e feature of the landscape thereabout, and gradually impro\ ed
his place: replacing his original homestead building with buildings of a sub-
stantial character, and has for years had one of the best-ordered farm plants
in that part of the countr\-. .\s his affairs prospered Mr. Rehder added
to his homestead holdings b\- |)nrchase of .additional land and now has a
well-improved and profitably cultivated farm of seven hundred and twenty
acres. Of late years he has given considerai)le attention to the raising of
potatoes, which have proven to be such a desirable crop in this region, and
has done much to encour;ige potato culture among his neighbors. Not only
has he done well in his farming operations, but Mr. Rehder has for years
given his intelligent attention to the general business affairs of his commun-
ity. He helped to organize the Farmers Elevator Company at Comstock
;ind is now president of the same. He also as.sisted in the organization of
the State Bank of Comstock. ;i member of the board of directors from the
beginning of that sound financial institution, and is now vice-i)resideut of
the same. In all measures having to do with the community's general wel-
fare he also has taken a warm personal interest and is a member of the board
of directors of the Northwestern Hospital at Moorhead. In civic affairs Mr.
Rehder also has taken an .active interest and for many years has been serving
as a member of the Ixiarcl of township supervisors, for years past chair-
man of the board. He also for years served as overseer of roads in his
district, in that capacity doing much to encourage the better-roads move-
ment hereabout, and also served for some time as treasurer of his home
township. He also helped to organize the Comstock and Holy Cross i'"arm-
ers»Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he is treasurer.
In 1884, about three years after coming to this country. Christian K'ehder
CLAY AND XOKMAN COrXTIES, MINNKSOTA.
95
was united in marriage to Christina Sclmoor, who also was born in Germany,
and to this union eight children have been born, Franz. Adelia, Bertha, Sclnia!
Paulina, Henning, Edward and Alax, all of whom are living. The Rehdcrs
are members of the Lutheran church at Sabin, with the affairs of which the\-
ha\e been closely identified for years, Mr. Rehder having helped to build
the present house of worship and parsonage of that congregation, and take
an earnest interest in cliurch work, as well as in the general good works
and social activities of the communitv in which thcv live.
H. H. HANSON.
H. H. Hanson, a well-known and substantial retired farmer of Hendruni
town.ship, now living retired in the village of Hendrum, former member of
the township board and actively identified with the interests of that part
of the county since pioneer days, is a native of the kingdom of Norway,
but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was seven \cars of age and
of Norman county since shortly after attaining his majority. He was liorn
on July 17, 1858, and was seven years of age when his parents. Hans and
Bertha (Gilbertson) Hanson, left their native Norway in 1865 and came
to the United States, proceeding on out to Minnesota and settling in Houston
county, whence, two years later, they moved over into Fillmore county and
there established their home. Hans Hanson became a substantial farmer in
Fillmore county and remained there until 1881, the year in which Norman
county was organized, when he disposed of his interests in h'illmore count\-
and with his family moved to Norman county. He Ivnight a tract of two
hundred and twenty acres in section 21 of Hendrum township, established
his home there and there he and his wife spent their last days, his death
occurring in 1903. Hans Hanson and wife were members of the Norwegian
Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. There are two
children, the subject of this sketch, the first-born, having a sister, Annie,
who married R. ?I. Thompson,
Having been but a child when his parents came to this state, H. iJ.
Hanson completed his schooling in Fillmore county and from the days of his
boyhood was a valuable aid to his father in the labors of the farm. Upon
moving to Norman county with his father he practically took charge of the
operations of the new farm in Idendrum township and did well, at one lime,
in as.sociation with his father, owning aboiU five hundred acres of land.
96 CLAY AND NORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
He still owns two humlred ami eight}- acres and has the same well improved.
In IQIO he rented his farm- and retired from active farming, moving to
Hendrum, wliere lie and his wife are now lixing and where they are very
comfortably sitnated. \Vhile living on tiie farm Mr. Hanson took an active
part in local cixic affairs and for some time ser\ed as a nicmher of the town-
ship board.
On Novemljer JiS, 1888. H. H. Hanson was united in marriage to Jnlia
H. Harvey, who was horn in l'"illmore county, this state, daugiitcr of H.
and Martha (Solberg) Harvey, natives of Norway, the former born in
November, 1837. and tlie latter, in 1838. H. Har\ey was but a toy when
he came to America w ilh his parents, the family locating in Houston county,
this state, later moving to Fillmore county, where lie married .md where he
remained until 1882, when he moved to Norman count)- and engaged in the
mercantile business at .\da, remaining thus engaged until his retirement in
1914. Both he and his wife are now living at Ada. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson
are attendants of the serxices of the Lutheran chuich ami contril)ut(jrs to
the support of the saiue.
A. O. SERl'M.
A. O. Serum, one of the real pioneers of Norman county, a well-to-do
farmer of Halstad township, clerk of that town.ship practically all the time
since its organization, secretary of the Halstad Telephone Company e\er
since the organization of that company, for more than a cjuarter of a century
secretary of the Halstad Fire Insurance Compan_\-, a member of the school
board ever since his local district was organized, and in other w ays prominently
identified with the development of the community in which he has lived since
pioneer times, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident
of Minnesota since the days of his boyhood and of Norman county since
i87_>, nine \ears before the county was organized as a .separate civic entit\^
Fie was born in the parish of Selboe, in the stift of Trondhjem, February
28. 1849, a son of Ole and Annie J. (Norby) Serum, both natives of Norway.
the latter of whom spent her last days in Minnesota, one of the pioneers of
Norman county.
Ole Serum was a farmer in his native Norway. There he married Annie
J. Norby and to that union eleven children were born, of whom the subject
of this sketch was the hfth in order of birth, the others living being Ingeborg,
Maret, Karen, Mollie. Annie and Ole. In 1862 the elder Ole Serum was
THE NEW YORK
PMPTTP LIBRARY
\^T'!H, LENOX
THE NEW. VOHK
L PUBLIC •■- ;y
ASTOR, LENQX
TILDEN fOrj.N-D,vT,ON,s
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 97
drowned while taking part in a loj; drive on the river not far from his
home, his body being carried over a waterfall when the log boom broke
away from the drivers. Five years later, in 1867, the Widow Serum and
four of her children came to the United States and proceeded on out to
Minnesota, settling in l"'illmore county, where she had kinsfolk living. There
she remained until 1872, when she accompanied her son, A. O. Serum, uj)
into this part of the state and settled on the homestead he took in what
later came to be organized as Halstad township, Norman county, and there
she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring in 1907. She was
an earnest member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and her children
were reared in that faith.
A. O. Serum was eighteen years of age when he came to Minnesota
with his mother from his native Norway and settled in Fillmore county.
For a time after his arrival there he attended school, furbishing up his
limited knowledge of the English language, and even after he moved to
Norman county and became a homesteader he attended school a while, per-
fecting himself in the tongue of his adopted country. In 1872 he left Fill-
more county and came up into this part of the state, having l)ecome convinced
in his own mind that here there were great opportunities awaiting the earnest
young homesteader. He entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in
sections i and 6 of what later came to be known as Halstad township and
there he and his mother established their home. He drove through with
a team of oxen, leading two cows and besides what essential household articles
and a few farming implements could be loaded in the wagon, had practically
nothing. Upon his arrival here he built on his homestead tract a house
sixteen bv eighteen feet and that sufficed as a home until 1896, when he
built his present commodious residence. The year of his arrival here was
the year of the great grasshopper scourge in this part of the state and
everything that he attempted to grow during the first season of his residence
here was destroyed by the pests. At that time the nearest market was at
Fergus Falls, to which he made a trip that fall, the journey requiring about
two weeks. After the first discouraging year, when the grasshoppers almost
ate him out of house and home, Mr. Serum's affairs began to prosper and
it was not long until lie had his quarter section well improved and profitabl\-
cultivated. After his marriage in 1877 he further improved his home and
earl}- became regarded as one of the most forehanded and substantial pioneers
of that section. .\s he ])rospered in his farming operations he gradually
added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of a little more
(7a)
g CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
than a half section of land, which he has improved in excellent shape and
has brought the same up to a high state of cultivation.
It was in the fall of 1879 that Halstad township was organized. The
following pioneers comprised the poll list of those present at the first meeting
called to' consider the question : A. A. Scheie. L. B. Larson, A. B. Larson,
Ole Halstad. W. Christopherson. T. Stennes, Ole E. Olson and Anthony
Scheie. .\t a later meeting held on November 6, 1879. A. O. Serum was
present and helped to organize the township, being elected first clerk of the
same, the other officers elected being as follow : Supervisors, J. L. Scheie.
L. B. Larson and Ole E. Olson, the first-named being chairman of the board ■
treasurer, Antliony Scheie: justices of the peace. E. L. Iverson and Ok
Halstad and constables. John (i. Paulson and J. L. Houske. With the
exception of a period of about five years Mr. Serum has continued to serve
as clerk of the township ever since that date, a record of such service prob-
ably not exceeded in this part oi the state. When his local school district
was organized he was elected a member of the school board and has ever
since served in that capacity, ha\ing done much to advance the interests of
the schools thereabout. In addition to his earnest i)ublic service Mr. Serum
has been an equally earnest promoter of the general interests of the com-
munity and has done much to advance the common welfare in that part of
the county. In 1904, when the Halstad Telephone Company was organized,
he was elected secretary of the same and has ever since occupied that office,
doing much to promote the extension of telephone service throughout this
section, and for more than twenty-six years he has been secretary of the
Halstad Fire Insurance Company, a mutual organization that has been of
large benefit in the territory its policies cover.
In 1877 A. O. Serum was united in marriage to Anna Rustvold. who
was born in Nonvay in i860 and who had come to this country with her
parents in the days of her girlhood, the family settling in this state, and
to that union nine children were born, Mary .'\nn, Oliver, Anton, Joseph
(deceased), Clara, Minnie, Anna Isabel, Clarence A. and Edwin (deceased).
The mother of these children died in 1896. Mr. Serum is a member of the
Norwegian Lutheran church and was one of the organizers of the local
congregation, which was organized in 1875, about three years after he located
here. Since the day of the organization of that congregation he has opened
and closed the church services and has led the singing and has also been
clerk of the congregation practically ,ill the time since it became an organized
body.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. 99
SYLVESTER JAMES JOHNSON.
S_\lvcster James Jolinsoii, who nuns tlie fine farm in Elmwood town-
shi]). Clay county, developed ])y his late father, Sever Johnson, was born at
Dwatonna, in Steele county, this state, in 1881. He was but two years of
age when his parents. Sever and Bertha (Johnson) Johnson, came up into
this i)art of the state and settled on the farm on which he is still living and
of whicli he has had practical charge since the lamented death 0i his father.
\\lif> was killed in a railway-crossing accident at Moorhead in 1907.
Sever Johnson was born in Wisconsin, son of Louis and Dora Johnson,
who had come to this country from Norway and had settled in Wisconsin,
later going to Montana, afterward settling in Steele county, Minnesota. Louis
Tohnson was living in Montana at the time of the Indian uprising, and for
the valuable service he rendered in giving warning to other settlers of the
uprising, was awarded a medal by the state. Reared in Steele county, Sever
lohnson was there married to IJertha J(jhnson, who was Ixirn in the kingdom
of Xorwav and who had come to this country with her parents, the family
lirst settling in Wisconsin and later coming to Minnesota. After his mar-
riage he continued to make his home in the vicinity of Owatonna, where he
was engaged in farming until iXX;;, in which year he came with his family
u]) into the Red River country and located on the farm on which his son
SvKester is now living, in Elmwood township. Clay county, and proceeded
to develop and improve the same, becoming the owner there of a well-
improved place, comprising one-half a .section of excellent land. The father
was prospering in his affairs when he accidentally met his death at a railway
crossing in Moorhead, as ncjted above. Ifis widow is now making her home
in the village of Sabin. They were the parents of three children, Dora, Teda
and Sylvester J., and had besides an adopted son, Alvin.
Sxlvester J. Johnson was I)ut a child when his parents settled on the
|)ioneer farm in lilmwood township and there he grew to luanhood, Ijecom-
ing ;i i)ractical farmer. Upon completing the course in the district school in
the neighliorhood of his home, he entered the high school at Moorhead. He
tlien took a course in the State Normal School in that city and for ten years
afterward was engaged in teaching school, his service in that cf)nnection being
rendered in four districts, in one of \\hich he taught for seven years. Mean-
while, he continued to he actively engaged in farming diu-ing the summers,
and after his father's shocking death took charge of the home place and has
since been managing the same, making a pronounced success of his opera-
87S962
lOO CI.AY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. .MINNESOTA.
ti(in>. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Johnson gives considerable
attention to the raising of potatoes and is doing well. He has an excellent
farm plant and carries on his operations in accordance with approved and
up-m-date methods. Tliough not particularly active in politics, he has held
liK-.il otifices and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs.
In 1907, Svlvester J. Johnson was united in marriage to Margarette
Malchose, daughter of Hubert Malchose and wife, of Clay county, and to this
union twi) children lia\e l)een l)orn, sous I)otIi. Xiles and Gordon. Mr, and
Airs. Johnson have a \erv pleasant home and take a proper interest in the
social affairs of the community. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Modern
r.rotherhood, and in the affairs of that organization takes a warm interest.
MONS T. WEUM.
Mons T. W'eum. |)resident of the State Bank of Moorhead, president of
the I'irst State Hank of .South Haven and a director in several other banking
concerns in this part of the state, formerly engaged in the retail clothing
business at Moorhead and still the ]K)ssessor of mercantile interests, is a
native of the kingdom of Xorwa\-. but has been a resident of Minnesota
since he w;is twehe years of age. He was lx)rn on March 20, 1857, a son
of Tosten .\. and Ingeljorg W'eum. also natives of Xorwav, who spent all
their li\es in their natix'e land.
W hen he was twelve years of age, Mons T. Weum came to the United
States with a 1)rother and a sister, the three proceeding on out to Minne-
sota and locating in Goodliue county, where he began working on farms, later
liecoming a clerk in a store at Owatonna and was engaged in the latter occu-
l)ation for se\eral years, :it the end of which time he started a store of his
own at Xorcross, in Grant county. Two years later, upon the establishment
of the village of Georgetown, in Clay county, he moved to that new town
and started there the first real store started in the place. His business there
prospered and he still is a partner in that pioneer store, though a resident of
Moorhead for the jxist fifteen years. It was about 1902 that Mr. Weum
located at Moorhead. where he started a ck^hing store. He also for a time
was connected with the jobbing trade at Minneapolis. In 1903, about a year
after becoming a resident of Moorhead, Mr. Weum was made the president
of the State Bank of Moorhead, a position he ever since has held and to
the duties of which he gives his active attention. Mr. Weum has other
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA. lOI
banking interests throughout this part of the state, incKiding his position of
president of the First State Bank of South Haven : a director of the Farmers
and Merchants' Bank of Perley, and a director of the Farmers and ^^ercl^-
ants' Bank of Steele, all three of which banks he helped to organize. Mr.
Weum has long been recognized as one of the active and public-spirited busi-
ness men of Moorhead and as an influential member of the Commercial Club
of that city. He also gives his earnest attention to local civic affairs and is
now serving as a member of the school board of his home city.
Mr. Weum is a member of the Trinity Lutheran church and takes a
proper interest in church work. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local
lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in the affairs of which
he takes a warm interest, and is a member of the ^Iinnea])olis .\thletic Club.
; HAMILTOX MEECH MUMFORD.
Hamilton Meech Muiuford, cashier of the Farmers" State Bank of Glyn-
don and a substantial landowner in the vicinity of that thriving village, is a
native of Connecticut, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was five
years of age and of Clay county since the summer of 1875, '^'^ parents having
been among the early pioneers of the Glyndon neighborhood. He was born
at Norwich, Connecticut, February 15, 1870, son of Robert B. and Helen M.
(Phillips) :\lumfortl, both of whom also were born in Connecticut and who
later became honored and influential pioneers of this section of Minnesota, the
former spending his last days at Glyndon and the latter later moving to
Seattle, where her last days were spent.
Robert B. IMumford. who is well rememljered hereabout as one of the
.most jjotent influences in the development of this region in pioneer days, was
a veteran of the Civil War, having been one of the first to resporrd from his
home town of Bozrah, Connecticut, upon the President's call for volunteers
in April, 1861, and served with a Connecticut regiment until the close of the
war. Some time after the completion of his mihtary service he married and
after his marriage continued to make his home in Connecticut, a resident of
Xorwich, until 1872, when he came with his family to Minnesota, coming by
way of Duluth, and settled on a homestead fanu in the vicinity of Rochester,
in Olmstead countv, where he remained until the summer of 1875, when he
disposed of his interests there and moved with his family to Clay county,
establishing his home on a homestead tract of a quarter of a section of land
I02 Cl.AY AND NORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
at the edge of what later came to he the village of Glyndon, and tliere he spent
the remainder <>{ his life, althmigh his later husiness activities kept him trav-
eling far and wide over the then rapidlx developing country in this section
of the Northwest. The }ear after his settlement at Glyndon, Robert B.
Alunifiird imported a large herd of dairy cattle into Clay county, driving
them through from Fergus Falls, and distributed the cattle among- the pioneer
settlers throughout the neighborhood in which he had settled and from the
])rn(lucts of that herd there was established here in that same year the first
cheese factory in the county. He also shipped in many horses from Roches-
ter and became an extensive dealer in horses as well as in cattle. .At the same
time he became largely interested in real estate ventures, acting- for a .Minne-
apolis firm of realty dealers, and in that capacity did a .a;reat deal of develop-
ment work, handling- land ihrougbout the Red River valley and as far west as
Bismarck, with particular reference to the creation of townsites along the line
of the Northern Pacific railroad, acting as land agent for the railroad coni])any,
being- thus the means of inducing the immigration to this section of many
settlers. On one occasion he and his wife drove all the way from Glyndon
to Bismarck in a buggy, inspecting the progress of the settlements he had been
instrumental in projecting. Mr. JMum ford's special interest ever centered in
and aliout (ilyndon, and he did niucli tn promote the development of that place
during the early da\s of the settlement, continuing to make that his estab-
lished home the rest of his life, his death occurring there in March, 1889. His
willow sur\-i\cd him more than twent\--five years, her death occurring at
Seattle, Washingt-jn, in May, IQ16. They were the parents of six children,
of whom the subject of tliis sketch was the second in order of birth, the others
being Arthur .\.. Hale H., Leonard J., Morris C. and Mary .Vnne, all of
whom are living sax'c- the last-named, who died at the age of nine months.
As noted above. Flaniilton M. Mumford was but five years of age when
his jjarents settled at r,iyndon in 1875 and he has ever since made that place
his established home, though six \ears of his life were spent in developing a
couple of sections of land in Canad;i. Reared at Glyndon. he received his
carl} schooling- in the schools of that village and supplemented the same by
a course in the State Normal School at Moorbead. from which he was grad-
uated in 1894. In the meantime he had taught several terms of school and
after his graduation taught two more terms of school. He then became con-
nected with an agricultural implement house and for ten vears thereafter was
■"on the road" for that concern, meanwhile, however, continuing to make his
home at Glyndon. lie having married in 190J. I'pon leaving the road Mr.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. IO3
Mum ford bougiit a couple of sections of land in Canada and for six years was
engaged in developing the same, his family spending two summers with him
there. He still holds and operates his Canada land, as well as the quarter
section homestead farm entered by his father at Glyndon in 1875 and on
which he has founded a herd of Shorthorn cattle; he and his family being
very comfortably situated in a home in the village, where he is active in the
bank work. In January, 1917, Mr. Mumford and others organized the Farm-
ers State Bank of Glyndon and Mr. Mumford was made cashier of the same,
a position he now occupies and to the duties of which he is giving his most
earnest and intelligent attention.
On September 20, 1902, Hamilton M. Mumford was united in marriage
to Anna Osborne, daughter of Luther Osborne and wife, further and fitting-
mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union four
sons have been born, Leonard Phillips, Kenneth Osborne, Ralph Vernon and
Luther. Mr. and Mrs. Mumford are members of the church at Glyndon
and take a proper interest in church work, as well as in other neiglilx)rhood
good works and in the general social activities of the community in which
they live, helpful in pminoting all a.gencies designed to advance the cominmi
welfare thereatout.
T. FRIDLUND.
J. h'ridlund was l)(irn in .Sweden in 1853, a son of C. M. Fridlund, and a
brother of Adolpli Iridlund, whose personal sketch appears in another place
in this work.
J. F'ridlund rccei\ed his elementary education in tiie common schools of
Sweden. He came to America in 1874 and located in Goodhue county, Min-
nesota. From 1875 to 1878 he attended Augustana Colege, at Rock Island,
Illinois: also attended the high school at Red Wing, Minnesota. In 1881 he
located at Fargo, North Dakota, where he was engaged in the flour and feed
business for about four years, and has been buying grain since that time. For
the last six years he has been manager of the Farmers' Elevator Company at
Hawley, Minnesota.
Mr. Fridlund was married to Matilda Samuelson in 1880, and to this
union three children have been born, namely: Minnie, who married C. A.
Bye, a general merchant at Pine Wood, Minnesota : Ruth, who is attending
the normal school at ]\Tankato, Minnesota; and Carl, who is attending Gus-
I04 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
tavus College, at St. Peter. Minnesota. Mr. Fridlund is a student and well-
read man and is giving his children the advantage of a good education. He
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a member of the Masonic
Lodge, in both of which he takes a deep interest.
THEODORE H. SKKKI.
Theodore H. Skrei, a substantial aiul progressive farmer, engaged in
raising blooded Holstein cattle, former township treasurer and former clerk
of the school board, is a native son of Minnesota, born on Buffalo River on
December 15, 1870, tlie first white child born here, a son of Norwegian
parents, who were married in their native land before coming to America.
He is the son of Targe T. and (iunhild (Herve) Skrei, the former of whom
was born in 1836 and the latter ten years later.
Targe T. Skrei was educated in the schools of Norway and grew u[>
to the work of the farm. He was married in that country to Gunhild
Berve. who was born in 1846 in Xorway, and in 1866 they decided to try
their fortunes in the new world, where so manv of their countrA-men had
found a himie ar.d an ;unplc means (j1 li\ing. On arriving in this country
they came on to Houston county, Minnesota, where they remained for four
years. Targe T. Skrei then moved west, joining a party, the journey being
made by o.x-team, and came to Clay county, where he homesteaded the
southwest i|uarter of section 28. Moland township, and on that place he im-
mediately l)egan farming operations and was thus engaged for the remainder
of his active life, being regarded as a hard-working and skillful agricul-
turist, popular with iiis friends and neighbors. He died in 1895 at the
age of fift\-nine years and his wife survived until 1908, when her death
occurred at the age of sixty-two. Targe T. Skrei and wife were the jiarents
of the following children: Signa, who is living with Hilbcrt; Theodore H..
the suliject of this sketch, and Hilbert, who is married. Targe T. Skrei
took a good citizen's part in public affairs, but never sought office.
Theodore H. Skrei attended the public schools of Clay county and was
reared on his father's farm, where he became a valuable assistant in the
work of improving and develoiiing the holding. At the age of twenty-one
he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 29, Moland town-
ship, which he improved and now has in an excellent state of cultivation. In
1909 he l)ought out die old homestead and four years later, in 1913. he
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
JTOR, LEM©X.
N fOUNDATlONS
1
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I05
iii.iight an additional eighty acres in section 29, and is now the owner of
four hundred acres of prime land, from which he is ohtaining most satis-
factory results, the land being set out to wheat, barley, oats, corn, alfalfa
and potatoes. He raises a fine strain of blooded Holstein cattle and has
some spendid specimens of that breed on his place. In 1912 Mr. Skrei built
a nine-room house, fitted with all modern requirements, including electric
light, waterworks, hot-water heat, etc., and here he and his family are com-
fortably situated.
On September _>/, 1897, 'it Aloorhead, Theodore H. Skrei was united
in marriage to Tilda Juve, who was lx)rn in Houston county, Minnesota, in
1867, a daughter of Ole and Gunhild Juve, who came to Clay county in the
early seventies. Mr. and Mrs. Skrei are the parents of four children, name-
ly : .\nna, Obert, Milo and Targe. They are also providing a home for
Robert and Nellie (Mson, children of Mrs. Skrei's sister, the latter and her
husband being both deceased, the children having been living with Mr. ami
Mrs. Skrei for the past five years.
Mr. Skrei and family are members of the Concordia church, of which
he has been trustee and in connection with which he has held other offices.
He has been identified with public affairs for several years and served the
people as township treasurer, in which responsible position he gave general
satisfaction. He was clerk to the school board for six years, proving a
satisfactory olficial. He is interested in the Farmers' Grain and I.umber
Company of Glyndon. to the affairs of which he gives close attention. Mr.
Skrei's life has been one of usefulness and hard work and proves again that
being born in a log house with a sod roof is no barrier to progress.
CH.^RLES R. OLIVER.
Charles R. Oliver, former cashier of the First National Bank at Barnes-
ville. Clay countv, and now president of that flourishing institution, an exten-
sive landowner, his land holdings amounting to four thousand acres, was
born in the state of Wisconsin, but has been a resident of this part of Minne-
sota for the past twenty-six years. He was born in August, i860, in Grant
county, Wisconsin, a son of Douglas and Sarah (Fitzgerald) Oliver, whose
last days were spent in Kansas.
Douglas Oliver was born in Tennessee in 18 19 and died in 1885, at the
age of sixty-six vears. During his active life he was a well-known woolen
I06 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
manufacturer, havin.g a large mill for that purpose, and he also farmed on
an extensive scale, in Grant county, Wisconsin. Some years before his death
he moved to Kansas and there spent his last days. His wife, Sarah Fitz-
gerald, was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1834 and died one year after
her husband, her death occurring in 1886, in Kansas at the age of fifty-two.
They were the parents of the following children: i-rank, living in Santa
Cruz, California: Duighi, married and ii\ing in Lancaster, Wisconsin;
Grant, married, lives in Dinuba, California; h'red, in Fresno, California:
Charles R., the subject of this sketch. ;md Mrs. TTarriet Mullen, of Tempc,
Arizona.
Charles R. 01i\er was educated in the schools of (iraiu county, Wis-
consin, and was reared on his father's farm, with the work of which he
assisted during a few of his early years. His business inclinations led him
to follow the profession of a banker and before coming to Clay county he
was associated with the b'irst National Bank of Breckenridge. In 1891 he
moved to Clay county and became assistant cashier in the First National Rank
at Barnesville and has ser\ed through all the departments and official positions
of the bank's service, for the past three years being president of the company.
Much of the success of the institution is traceable to Mr. Oliver's sound and
conservative methods of banking and he is generally regarded as one of the
far-seeing bankers in this part of the state. In addition 10 his banking inter-
ests, Mr. 01i\er is tlie owner of four thousand acres of land located in Clay
and Wilkin counties, the greater part being in Wilkin. His farming is tarried
on according to modern methods of agriculture and he is fully abreast in
the ecjuipment of his farms, everything being maintained in first-class con-
ditit^m, the improvements being fully e(jual to the best in the county. He
also owns business i)roperty in the town of Barnesville and is generally
accounted one of tlie most pros])erous and enterjirising citizens of the town-
ship and count}-.
In .\pril. 1898. Charles R. Oliver was united in marriage to Mary E.
McGinn, who was born in Blooming Prairie. Minnesota, the marriage taking
place in Barnesville. There are no children to this union. Mr. Oliver takes
an active part in the general social conditions of the township and has long
lieen holding membership in various fraternal organizations. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic lodge at Barnesville and Shrine at I'argo. the Knights of
Pythias and IModern Woodmen of .\merica. and lias a warm interest in the
successful working of these popular organizations. Mr. Oliver, however,
devotes the greater part of his business life to his banking interests.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I07
D. C. JONES.
D. C. Jones, one of tlie best-known and most substantial ti.t;ures in
financial circles of tbis part of tbe state, president of tbe b'armers and Alercli-
ants State Bank of Ada, president of tbe Fir.st State Bank of Gary and
president of the First State Bank at Lockbart, is a native of tbe nei.e^bborinf;-
state of Wisconsin, born at Cambria, in Columbia count>-, that state, .Vu.^ust
23, 1866, son of Morris and Margaret (Jones) Jones, natives of tbe princi-
pality of Wales, whose last days were spent in tbe nciejiborini; stale of
South Dakota.
Morris Jones w.-is reared in his native Wales, where he received bis
schooling, and about 1S40 came to the L'nited States with his father, Joini
Jones, tbe family settling;- in Racine, A\'isconsin. There be ])resently became
engaged as a contractor and builder and later moved to Cambridge, that same
state, where be remained until 1S80, when be mo\ed with his family to
Ib'ow n county. South Dak(jta. about nne hundred miles ahead of tbe railroad,
and settled on a homestead farm there. He later entered a tree claim to
an adjoining cjuarter section, proved up the same, and on that half-section
farm spent the rest of bis life, brin.ging bis place u]) to an excellent state
of dex'elopment. Morris Jones and bis wife were tbe [)arents of five children,
of whom tbe subject of tbis sketch was the last born, the others being as
follow: IMary, wife of Hugh Pugh ; Sarah, wife of Owen Evans; John, of
Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Susie, wife of T. A. Jones.
D. C. Jones was about i'onrteen years of age when his jjarents nio\ed
from Wisconsin to Brown county. South Dakota, and be grew to manhood
on the homestead farm in that county, completing bis schooling at Groton
College at Groton, South Dakota, and at Carbon College at Nortbfield, this
state. Upon leaving school be became engaged as a grain buyer for tbe St.
Anthony & Dakota I'llexator Company and was thus engaged in his home
state for eight vears. or until i8(;4. when be was transferred to Minnesota
and given charge of that company's business at Ada. fn [900 Mr. Jones was
made cashier of the First State Bank at Gary, in Norman county, and for
eleven years was in charge of that bank's affairs, in 191 1 returning to Ada,
where he enga.ged in the banking and real-estate business and where be since
has made his home. Mr. Jones retained bis intei-est in die b'irsl State
Bank of Gary and is now president of tbe same, as well as president of tbe
First State Bank at Eockbart. a flourishing village in tlic northern part of
the county. In 19x5 Mr. Jones and Eambert Koescb organized tbe h'armers
lOS CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
and Merchants Bank at Ada and Mr. Jones is president of the same. Tn
addition to his e.xtensive banking interests he also is the owner of some \al-
nable land in Xonnan county and in South Dakota. .Mr. Jones is a Repub-
lican and lias ever criven his earnest attention to local political aft'airs. Ib-
is a member of the Bene\olent and Protective Order of Elks. When the
village of Gary was organized he was elected treasurer of the same and
served in that capacity until lie left there, lie also for some time served
as president of the village council and was also for some time the president
of the village school board.
In Octol:)er, 1897, D. C. Jones was united in marriage to Clara ri'und.
daughter of John Pfund and wife, and to this union three children have been
l)orn, Beatrice, Law rence and Deverau.x, the latter of whom died in child-
hood. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a very peasant home at Ada and take a
proper interest in the general social activities of the city, helpful in ])ro-
moting all movements basing ti> do with the advancement of the general
welfare hereabout.
-\RXT .\xn .\XTOX OPGRAND.
Arnt and .Knton Opgrand, general mercliants at Haistad, doing busi-
ness there under the firm style of Opgrand Brothers, ha\"e been residents of
Xonnan county since the days of their Ixnhood. ha\ing come here with their
[jarents in pioneer days, and are active and energetic members of the busi-
ness community in the flourishing village in which they are conducting their
well-stocked mercantile establishment. They are the sons of M. A. Opgrand.
one of the pioneers of X'orman county, who settled in Haistad townshi])
back in the early eighties and is still living there, one of the substantial and
well-to-do farmers of that [jart of the countv.
M. A. Opgrand was born in Xorway on April 8, 1847, ^"fl there spent
his youth and young manhood, being about twenty years of age when he
came to this country in 1867 and proceeded on out to Minnesota, locating
in Houston county. There he married Joran Xelson, who was born in Xor-
way on January 16. 1836, and who had come to Minnesota with her parents
in die days of her girlhood, .\fter his marriage ?*Ir. Opgrand continued
to make his home in Houston county until the early eighties, when he came
up to this part of the state with bis family and settled on an eightv-acre
farm which he bought in Shelly township. Xonnan county, on the line
adjoining Haistad township. In 1893 he bought a quarter of a section in
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 Oy
section 5 of Halstad townsliip, adjoining his eighty in Shelly, sold the eight}'
and established his home in Halstad township. To the quarter section he
bought at that time he later added an adjoining quarter and now owns a
half section of well-imprii\ed land in Halstad townshij). where he still lives
and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. He and hU
wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and their children
were reared in that faith. There are nine of these children, .Vrnt, Anton,
.\nna, Pedra, Clara, Pauline, Ole, Carl and James, all of whom are living.
Arnt Opgrand was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, over the line
from Houston county, this state, .\ugust 24, 1S74, and was eight or ten
years of age when his parents moved from the latter county up into this part
of the state and settled in Xorman county. He received his elementary
schooling in the district schools of Halstad township and supplemented the
same by a course in Concordia College at Moorhead, after which he resumed
his place on the home farm and there remained until iqoo, when he began
clerking in the hardware store of J. H. Xokken at Halstad and was thus
engaged for two years, at the end of which time he transferred his services
to the Halstad Mercantile Company and was engaged as a clerk for thai
concern for three vxars. He then worked a year in the general store of
Iver Lien at Halstad and then he and his brother, Anton, went over into
North Dakota and each homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in .\dams
countv, that state. A \ear later they returned to Minnesota and Arnt
Opgrand resumed lii-, fcrnier pusitinn in the store of Per Lien at Halstad.
where he worked a year, at the end of which time he returned to the store
of the Halstad Mercantile Comjiany and was there engaged until in May.
U)i2. when he and his brother, .\ntou, .started in the mercantile business
on their own account at Halstad and have ever since been thus engaged,
having a well-equipped and well-stocked general store, and have built u]i an
extensive trade in the village and throughout the surrounding countr\-. In
addition to his mercantile interest, .Arnt Opgrand is the owner of a jiotato
warehouse, which he has operated for the past four years. He has served
as a meml)er of the village council and has for years taken an earnest inter-
est in local civic affairs. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodge
of the Modern Woodmen of America and is clerk of the same.
Pi 1904 Arnt Opgrand was united in marriage to Emma Larson, a
daughter of Ole Larson, .and to this union three children have been born,
Judith. Evalyn and :\Iilburn. Mr. and AP's. Opgrand are members of the
PInited Lutheran church and Lake a proper interest in church affairs.
Anton Opgrand was born in Houston county, this state, .September 14.
no CLAY AND NORMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
1876, and was Init a l)oy wlien his parents settled in N'unnan county. L'pcm
completing tlie course in the district schools of Halstad township he entered
the normal school at Minneapolis and later took a course in a business
college in that city. In the spring of 1907 he and his brother each home-
steaded a quarter of a section of land in Adams count)'. Xorth Dakota, and
a 3'ear later returned to this state. Anton Opgrand ihcn went to Minne-
apolis, where for three \ears he was em])loyed in the wholesale mercantile
establishment of W'yman & T'artridge. On May 15. 191 _', lie and his brother.
Arnt, opened their mercantile establishment at Halstad. as above set nut.
and have since been very successfully engaged in business together. In
addition to his mercantile interests, Anton Opgrand is the owner of a farm
of eighty acres in Cass county, this state. He is a member of the local
society of the Sons of Xorwav and takes .a warm interest in the alfairs of
the same.
On January i. 11)13. Anton 0])grand was united in marriage to ( )lga
Stordahl, a daughter of Carl Stordahl. .Mr. and .Mrs. Opgrand are member^
of the ATorwegian Lutheran church and take an active interest in the affairs
of the same. The Opgrand brothers are energetic and enterprising busi-
ness men and are doing well their part in the i)romotion of the best interests
of the communitv in which the\- Ii\-e.
E. C. BETCHER.
E. C. Betcher, manager of the i)lanl of the I'armers Ele\ator Company
at Ada, member of the cit\- council and a substantial landowner and retired
farmer of Norman county, is a native of Germany, but has been a resilient
of A'linnesota since the days of his childhood and of Norman county since
the days of his )oung manhood, having settled here with, bis parents in pio-
neer days. He was born on January 22. 1S58, and was but four years of age
when his parents, John and l^rnestine (Tobranz) Betcher, also natives of
that country and the former of whom was a weaver, left German\- many
years ago and came to the United States in 1862 and settled in Goodhue
count3% this state, not far from the city of Red Wing.
Upon his arrival in Goodhue county John Betcher homesteaded an
eighty-acre tract there and proceeded to develop the same, making his home
there until 1880. when he disposed of his interests in that countv to
advantage and came up into this part of the state, pre-empting a quarter
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I I t
of a section of land in what later came to be organized as Green Meadow-
township, Norman county, and there estahHshed his second and final home
in the land of his adoption. Mr. Betcher developed a good farm in (ireen
Meadow township and took an active part in the affairs of that township in
pioneer days. There he spent his last days. He and his wife have hoth
passed away. They were members of the German Lutheran church and their
children were reared in that faith. There were seven of these children, of
whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being" Ro1)ert.
Lena, Arthur, Richard (deceased), Fred and Charles.
As noted above, E. C. Betcher was but a child when he came to this
state with his parents and he .grew to manhood on the home farm in Good-
hue county, receiving his schooling in the schools of Ked Wing. Being the
eldest son he was a valuable aid to his father in the labors of developing
the homestead farm, even from the days of his boyhood, and when the
family moved to Xorman countx' he aided his father in the initial develop-
ment of the new farm here, being thus occupied until his marriage in i88(i.
when he started farming on his own account in Pleasant View township,
where he established his home and where he remained until i8gS, at the time
of the or.ganization of the h'armers I'llevator Company, when he was elected
mana.ger of the same and in order to .give his whole attention to the affairs
of that company moved to Ada, the site of the elevator, where he since has
made his home. Mr. Betcher continues to retain his farm lands, however,
and is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Pleasant
View township, one of the best-improved farms in that part of the countv.
Mr. Betcher has made a distinct success of the affairs of the Farmers Ele-
vator Com])any and is widely recognized as one of the leading men in this
section of the state. He has done much to advance the general interests of
the countv seat and of the county at large and has long been regarded as
one of Norman county's most substantial and influential citizens. For nine
years he has been a member of the Ada city council and in that capacity has
rendered excellent service in helping to "boost" the county seat into its pres-
ent high place among the flourishing little cities of northern Minnesota.
It was in 1886 that E. C. Betcher was united in marriage to Minnie
Mackel, daughter of Ignatius Mackel and wife, and to this union five chil-
dren ha\e been born, Alfred, Ida, Walter, Raymond and I'lrvin. Capt.
Alfred Betcher, first-born of Mr. and Mrs. Betcher's sons, is ;i graduate of
the United States Military Academy at West Point and is now a captain in
the United States regular army. \\r. and Mrs. Betcher are members of the
Congregational church at Ada and take a proper interest in church work and
112 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
in the general good works of the community, helpful in promoting all worthy
causes. Mr. Betcher is a Republican and has ever gi\en a good citizen"*
attention to local iiolitical affairs. Fraternally, he i> affiliated with the local
lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and takes a warm interest in the
aft'airs of that orsani;?ation.
W. H. D.WY.
W. H. Davy, former mayor and one of the most substantial citizens
of Moorhead, was born in Bath, Ontario, Canada, June 19. 1844, a son of
William H. Davy and Sarah M. (Perry) Davy, both of whom were born
in Ontario, Canada. William H. Davy was a shipbuilder in Bath, Ontario,
and lived there practically all his life. He was the father of three children:
Sarah Minerva, Mary I'erry and W. H. Mr. Da\y, Sr., was a member
of the Episcopal church.
\\'. H. Davy was educated in the public schools of Bath. Ontario.
Canada, where he spent his early years. During the Civil \\'ar he came
to Chicago, Illinois, and li\ed there until the close of the war and then
returned to Canada. In 1869 he came ag.'iin to this country and located in
Duluth, Minnesota, where he remained for about three years, .\bout 1872
he came to Moorhead and spent one winter, and in the following year he
came here to live and has since made this his home. For the first three
or four years after coming here he was empkned as bookkeeper and ca.shier
for the firm of Brunes & Finkle, and also was agent for the American
Express Company. At that time express matter was carried by a stage line
running from Breckinridge by way of Moorhead, to Minneapolis, also
from Aloorhead to Vt. Gary. Following this employmerit Mr. Davy was for
several years engaged in the grocery Inisiness. Later he started in the grain,
flour, building-material and fuel business, in partnership with I*". Goodsell,
under the firm name of W. H. Davy & Company. After about eight or
nine years in that business Mr. Davy retired from active management and
left the business in the hands of Mr. Goodsell, his partner.
For the past thirty years Mr. Davy has been interested in farming and
has large land investments. He now owns about three sections of land in
Clay county and carries on farming on an extensive scale. His time for
the past eleven or twelve years has been mostly occupied in superintending
his farms. In 1914 he had a patch of potatoes within the citv limits, adjoin-
W. H. DAVY.
•: NEW YORK
A STOP.
TTLDEN F
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. II3
ing- the Normal Scliool grounds, on which was produced over fifteen thous-
and bushels of potatoes.
For the last twenty-five years ^Ir. Davy has spent most of his winters
in Florida or California and has thus been able to escape the rigor of Minne-
sota winters. He is among the wealthiest farmers in the state, yet he is very
unpretentious and li\es in ]\Ioorhead in a modest way. He is a member of
the Episcopal church of Moorhead and has served for many years as warden
in that church. He served several years as county commissioner of Clay
county, and was chairman of that board for several years. He served two
tenns as mayor of Moorhead.
Mr. Daw is one of the living pioneers of Moorhead and is still one of
the citizens of the town who is actively interested in public affairs.
ERNEST POEHLS.
Ernest Poehls, proprietor of a well-kept farm of two hundred and
sixty acres just north of the \ illage of Sabin, in Elmwood township, Clay
countv. former constable for that township and former supervisor of high-
ways in his district, was born in Scott county, Iowa, November 23, 1876,
son of Chris and Elizabeth ( Krabbenhoft) Poehls, who lx;came residents
of Clay county in 1883 and are still living, prominent and influential resi-
dents of Elmwood township.
Both Chris Poehls and his wife are of European birth, natives of
Schleswig-Holstein, who came to this country in 1866, settling with their
respective families in Scott county, Iowa, where they were married in 1868
and where they remained, engaged in farming, until the latter part of 1883,
when they came to Minnesota and established their home in Clay county,
arriving at their new home there on December 10 of that year. Chris Poehls
had bought a farm in Elmwood township, during the prexious summer, and
came well-equipped for successful farming. As he prospered in his opera-
tions, he graduallv added to his land holdings until now he is the owner
of eleven hundred and fifty-three acres of excellent land. Despite the fact
that he is now past seventy-five years of age, he is still hale and hearty and
continues to give his active attention to the general direction of his extensive
farming interests. During eight years of his residence in Iowa, Mr. Poehls
was supervisor of roads in liis home district, and, since taking up his resi-
(8a)
114 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
dence in ATinnesota, also has given considerable attention to general local
affairs, one of his active business connections being with the local telephone
company. He and his wife are acti\e members of tlie Lutheran church
and their children were reared in that faith. There were twelve of these
children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth:
the others being: Eureka, Minnie, Henry, Emma, John, Laura (deceased),
Hulda, Fred (deceased), Emil, Lena and .\nna.
Ernest Poehls was but se\en years of age when he came to Minnesota
from Iowa with his parents in 1883, and he completed his schooling in the
Sabin schools. From the days of his boyhood, he was an active assistant
to his father and brothers in the labors of developing and improving the
li(5iue place in Elmwood township, and he remained at home, thus engaged,
until his marriage, in the fall of 1904. He then engaged in farming on
his own account, establishing his home on the farm on which he is still
living, in that same township, just north of Sabin, and where he and his
familv are \ery comfortably situated. Mr. Poehls is the owner of a well-
developed farm of two hundred and sixty acres, and has an excellent farm
]>lant. He has erected good Iniildings on his place and carries on his opera-
tions in up-to-date fashion. Upon taking possession of that farm, he planted
a good-sized grove which is now well developed, a very attractive feature
of his farm. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Poehls has given
considerable attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and is successful
in this enterprise. He gives close attention to local civic affairs and has
served his community in the capacity of constable and as "road boss."
In the fall of 1904 Ernest Poehls was united in marriage to Mary
Mickelsen, who was born in the \icinity of her present home, in Elmwood
township, daughter of Jens and Sophia (Wright) Mickelsen, early settlers
in that neighborhood, the former of whom spent his last days there. Jens
Mickelsen was born in Denmark and came to this country in the days of
his young manhood. He came on out into the Northwest and for some time
was engaged as a freighter out of Fargo, hauling to points along the then
frontier as far north as one hundred and twenty miles and more. He mar-
ried, after coming to this country, and in 1879 homesteaded a quarter of a
section of land in Elmwood township. Clay county, where he established
his home and where he spent the remainder of his life, one of the sub
stantial and influential pioneers of that neighborhood. His widow is now
living at Sabin. The}- were the parents of seven children, of whom Mrs.
Poehls was the first-born: the odiers being: \\'illiam, Andrew, Martin.
Matilda and George.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. II5
To Ernest and ilary (Alickelsen ) Poehls five children have been born;
Argan, Calvin, Harold, Ethel and Vivian. Mr. and Mrs. Poehls are mem-
bers of the Lutheran cliurclT and take a proper interest in church work, as
well as in other local good works and the general social activities of the
community, of which they have l)een residents since the days of their child-
hood, and which they have seen develop from its pioneer state to its present
high stage of development and cultivation.
WILLIAM H. FERRIS.
W'ilHam H. Ferris, the proprietor of a fine farm of five hundred and
sixty acres in Elmwood township. Clay county, and the owner also of a
tract of three quarters of a section of land down the river in Wilkin countv
in the neighborhood of Kent, anil long recognized as one of the most sub-
stantial fanners in the Sabin neighborhood, is a native of Ireland. He has
made his home on this side of the water since he was twelve or thirteen
years of age, and in Minnesota since 1880, having come down here froui
Canada in that year, and has therefore been a witness to, aud a particijiant
in, the development of this region since pioneer days. He was torn in
County Down, Ireland, Septeml)er 22, 1862, son of William aud Eliza Jane
(Beggs) Ferris, both born in that same county, and the former of whom died
when his son was a mere child. His widow later, about 1S65, emigrated
to Canada, where she married again, later coming to Minnesota and is now
uiaking her home at Minneapolis.
Having been left fatherless when little more than an infant, aud liis
mother later leaving Ireland, William H. Ferris was reared by his grand-
mother Beggs in County Down, and, in 1875, came with ber to this side
of the water, locating in Canada. In July, 1880, William II. b'erris came
down from Canada with his uncle. Henry Beggs, who homesteaded a (piartcr
of a section of land in Elmwood township. Clay county, aud there estab-
lished his home. William FI. Ferris gave his active assistance to the labors
of impro\-ing and developing that farm and, upon the death of liis uncle
in 1887, bought the place, and continued the work of improvement. In the
meantime, his grandmother Beggs had come down here from Canada aud
he. cared for her in her declining years, her death occurring at his home
.some years later. Mr. Ferris prospered in his farming o])erations and grad-
ually increased his land holdings until his home farm now comprises fwi:
Il6 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
hundred and sixty acres of excellent land, well inijiroved and i)rofital)Iy cul-
ti\ated. In addition to this farm, Mr. l-'erris is the owner of tin-ee-qiiarters
of a section in the neighhorhood of Kent, down in Wilkin county, and is
regarded as heint;- (|nite well circumstanced. lie is a niemher of the local
school board and is interested in the Xorlhw estern Hospital at Moorhead.
In No\enil)er. 1890. William H. |-"erris vv;is united in marriage to Nel-
lie Xolan, daughter of \\'illiam Xolan and wife, of Wilkin county, and to
this union five children have been horn. 'I'homas, Ma\, W illiam, Alfred and
Cecelia. The Ferrises have a \ery pleasant home and ha\e e\er taken an
interested pait in tlie general social affairs of the community. They are
members of the Catliolic clinrch at Sahin. ?\linncsota. and take a proper
interest in the jjarisli affairs.
DK. JA.MES S. UrRKlLL.
Dr. James S. liurrill a ])rogTessi\e \oung dentist of IJlen, Clay county,
was born in Keene township, Clay county, July 27. 1892, a son of H. R.
and Harriet (McDonald) lUirrill. the former of whom is now a well-known
dealer in farming imi)Iements in ilaulev, this county. 11 K. IJurrill was
liorn on September 19, JS58, in bitzw illiam, of the Granite state, a son
of Jacob Burrill. who was born in 1S18 a.nd died in 1891. The father of
James Burrill was educated, in the common schools of Keene, his native
state of Xew Hampshire, and in iX^fi bf liegan working in a store at Dana.
^Massachusetts. In the sj)ring of 1878, he came to Hawle\', Minnesota, and.
soon after arri\ing in Clay county, took up a homestead in Keene townshi])
whicli he developed into a good farm. He and Lewis Smith were among
the earliest pioneers in Keene township, breaking the first sod in this vicinit\-
with ox-teams. He remained on the old homestead until 1897. when he sold
the same and bought another farm in section 10, f)ne and one-half miles west
of the village of Hawley, where be lived until 1907. In that year, he moved
to Hawley and formed a partnership with Hans Rushfeldt in the machine
business. In 1912. his son, Robert, bought out the interest of Mr. Rush-
feldt. and formed a partnership with his fattier. The new firm is located in
a large and niodernly-e(|uipped implement store, where they handle an exten-
sive stock of all kinds of farming machinery. On April 19, 1885, H. R.
P.urrill was married to Harriet ]\IcDonald. a daughter of fohn McDonald,
CLAY AND NDRMAX COIXTIES, MINNESOTA
117
and to their union the following;- clnUh-cn have hcen liorn; Uobert H., wiio
is in business with his father: Dan \V., who married i-'annie Skinner and
\\h(j died Ijy accidental asphyxiation on April 28, kjK); Henr\'. Allen. i,ei)la.
an adopted child, and James S., the subject of this review.
James S. Burrill received his elementary education in the public schools
of Hawley, ij^radnating from the high scIiodI of that place in i()io. He then
entered the L'nixersity of Minnesota, where he spent one year, pursuing the
agricultural course of study. In the _\ears, 191 1 and \()\2. he was engaged
in teaching at Velva, Xorth Dakota, and in the fall of kjI-', he returned
to the state university and took a course in dentistry, which he com[)leted.
graduating in 191 3. He then engaged in the practice of his profession at
Hawle)-, remaining there until the spring of 1916, when he came to I'len
and opened an office as a dentist and has been here ever since.
Dr. Burrill was marrieil in 11)14 to Edna Rapp. daughter of Louis Rapp,
of Minneapolis. They have one child, Herman Robert James. 'Vhtv are
members of the Congregational church.
Dr. Burrill is a niemljer of the Masonic Lodge and of the Indeiiendent
Order of Odd h'ellow s. lieing \-ery wide-awake and progressive in his
profession. Dr. Bui-rill is a member of the Crookston District, the state and
the National denial associations. He is also a member of the Psi Phi dental
fraternity.
JOHN A. BACKMAN.
John .\. Backman, a farmer of Eglon township. Clay county, was born,
April 2, 185-', in Sweden. He is a son of Andrus and Kajsa (Svvenson) An-
derson, both natives of Sweden, where they grew up, married and established
their home on a farm, and there the father died at the early age of thirty-three
years, when his son John was only eight months old. The mother was mar-
ried a .second tiiue. her last husband being Andrew Berg-, who initnigrated
with her to .Vnierici in i<S8i. They located in Highland Grove township,
Cla\- count V, on a farm in section 36. and there the death of Mr. Berg
occurred in the summer of 1916, having survived his wife, the mother of the
subject of this sketch, whose death occurred there in the autumn of 1914 at
the advanced age of ninety-one years. She had only the one child, John A.,
bv her brst marriage, and four children by her second marriage, namely:
Gust, who is farming in Highland Grove township; Mary, deceased; Hannah,
wiir
1
\\
ll8 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
a widow, living in Detroit. Minnesota: and Sarah, the wife of the chief of
police of Fargo, North Dakota.
Tames A. Backman spent his boyhood in Sweden where he attended the
common schools. He immigrated to America, when a young man, and first
ked two months on the Northern Pacific railroad in Minnesota, then three
nonths on the Stillwater railroad, which extended from W^hite Burr Lake to
Stillwater, this state, .\fter spending the winter of 1870-71 in St. Paul, he
went to St. Cloud, where he took the stage for Crowing, and from there
alked for three tlays to a place eighteen miles east of the present village of
I'criiam. where he worked until April, 1871. -\t that time he came to Becker
count\, locating on a farm, hut later settled on land in sections 6 and i, Eglon
township, Clav count), on his uncle's claim. Two of his uncles had come whh
him to America and had at once taken up claims in Minnesota. In 1876, Mr.
Backman homesteaded eighty acres in section 2. Kglon township. He later
l)OUght fort\ acres more in section 11. l-".gl<>n township, and subsequently
another fortv in section 3. Eglon township. He now owns a well-improved
farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He has continued to reside on the
same claim that he took up over forty years ago, and has made all improve-
ments, including a good home and numerous outbuildings, and is making a
success as a general farmer and stock raiser.
On January 16. 1880. Mr. Burns was married to Mary Xelson, who was
lioni in Sweden, January 24. 1861, and there she grew up and attended
.school. She came to .\mcrica in 1873 ^^'''i ^^^^ parents. .After her father had
worked in the mines of the iron district of Michigan for some time, he came
to Eglon township. Clay county. Minnesota, and established the family home
on a farm in section 8, where his death occurred in 1899. His widow is
still living in this townshi]) at the unusual age of ninety-seven years.
To John -\. Backman and wife, nine children were born, namely: Min-
nie. Mho is married and lives in \'ale, Minnesota: Ida, who works in Fargo.
North Dakota: Fretiof, who works in Lake Park, Minnesota; Matilda, who
lives at home and is a school teacher; Olga, living at Dilworth, Minnesota, in
the employ of the Northern Pacific railroad; Kail, who operates the home
farm : Hulda. Henr}' and August, all of whom are living on the home place
in Eglon township and assisting their parents with the general work on the
farm.
Politically. Mr. Backman is an Independent Democrat. He was a mem-
ber of the tow'-nship hoard of Eglon township for ten or eleven years, and was
clerk of the school hoard for a twelve-year period. He was one of the organ-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. HQ
izers of the Lake Parke Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He is a member,
also formerly a trustee, of the Swedish Lutheran church, the plans for the
church edifice of which he drafted, the same being- accepted by the congre-
Q-ation.
GARFIELD H. RUSTAD.
Garfield H. Rustad, a well-known young attorney-at-law, with offices at
Moorhead, city attorney there and former president of the Moorhead Com-
mercial Club, was born in the neighboring state of North Dakota, but has
lived in Moorhead since the days of his I)oyhood. He was born at Larimore,
North Dakota, in 1887, son of August J. and Thea (Thorson) Rustad, who
later became residents of Moorhead, where their last days were spent.
August J. Rustad was born in the kingdom of Norway and lived there
until he was grown, when he came to this county and located in Larimore,
North Dakota, where he presently became engaged in the clothing business,
t-emaining there for some years, at the end of which time he moved to Grand
<"orks, in that same state, engaging there in the same line of business, after-
vvard "coming over into Minnesota and locating at Moorhead, where he
engaged in business and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their
lives. His wife's parents, Ole Thorson and wife, also spent their last days
in Moorhead, at which place they had settled shortly after the laying out of
tlie town, having located there straightway upon their arrival in this country
fmni Norway, of which country they were natives. Ole Thorson was
engaged in the fiour-milling business at Moorhead and was one of the best-
known and most active among the pioneer residents of that city. He died
about fifteen years after locating there. August J. Rustad and wife were the
])arents of three sons, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born,
tlie others being Oscar and Fred.
Garfield H. Rustad was but a child when his parents located at Moor-
liead and he finished his course in the common schools there. Upon gradu-
ating from the high school at that place in 1905 he entered the law depart-
ment of the UniversitN of Minnesota and was graduated from that institu-
tion in igo8, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. For two years after his
adinission to the bar Mr. Rustad was engaged in the ofifice of the county
attorney at Moorhead, N. I. Johnson being county attorney at that time, and
since then has been maintaining an ofifice of his own and has acquired a fine
practice. In 1911 Mr. Rustad was elected city attorney and has since been
I20 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
serving in that capacity, giving his earnest attention to local civic affairs. He '
also has given his close personal attention to the general affairs of his home
town and during the year 1916 served as president of the Moorhead Com-
mercial Cluh. doing much in that time to promote the general interests of
the city.
On January 1. 1Q13, Garfield H. Kustad was united in marriage to Agnes
E. Aladsen, of Fargo. JNIr. and Mrs. Rustad are members of the Episcopal
church and take a warm interest in the general good works of their home
town. Mr. Rustad is a ^klason and a member of the local lodges of the
Knights of Pythias, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of the
Ancient Order of United \\'orkinen and of the Royal League, and in the
affairs of all these organizations takes a warm interest.
JOHN MARTI I.
John Marth, well-known and well-to-do retired farmer and an honored
veteran of the Civil War, throughout which he had seen much service, was
liorn in Germany, but has been a resident of this country for sixty years,
having come tn the United States in 1857. He was born on June 6, 1837,
the only son of George and Sophia (Hohman) Marth. also born in the
Fatherland and wiio spent all their lives in that country.
George Marth was born in Germany in February, 1793. and was edu-
cated in the schools of his nati\c land, where he followed the occupation of
a farmer during all his active years. He died in the old country in 1876.
having reached the advanced age of eight\-three years. He was twice mar-
ried, his second wife being Sophia Hohman. who was born in Germany in
1814, and who died at the earh- age of twent\-ninc vears, in 1843. They
were the jjarents of two children. F,lizal)eth Keiser, who lives in Delano.
Minnesota, and John, the subject of this sketch.
John Marth was educated in the schools of (jerman\- and was reared on
his father's farm, where he helped in the agricultural labors up to the age of
nineteen, when he immigrated to .\merica. arriving in this country in 1857.
He engaged in farming, at which he contiinied for a few years, and .some
six months after the Civil War l)egan. he enlisted on October 4, 1861, and
served to the end of the war. He enlisted at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, and
saw service in the battle of Shiloh and at the siege of Corinth, at the end of
which engagement he followed General Price through Tennessee and Mem-
MR. AND MRS. JOHN MARTH.
CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 121
phis. He was also at tlie battle and siege of \'icksburg. He re-enlisted at
the end of the first term and was with Sherman's army on the march to the
sea. At the end uf the conflict between the states he was honorably dis-
charged at Ft. SneJling on Jnne i, 1865. having served three years and nine
months on beliaif of tlie Union cause. He was in ten battles and was never
captured, nor did he receive any wound.
Following his discharge from the army, Mr. Martii engaged in the mer-
cantile business in Wright county, this state, and continued in same until
1877, when he mo\-ed to Barnesville, Clay county, and Iniilt a store and
stocked it with a full line of general merchandise, his venture in this line
proving very successful. In ic)o8 he soid out tlie stock, but still retains the
ownershi]) of the Iniilding. In 1877 li<^ had homesteaded a quarter section
of land in section 18, Humboldt township, and continued to operate it for
twenty-one years, selling out in 1899. About 1891 lie bought a quarter
section in section 18, Barnesville township, which he still rclains. and is now
the owner of six hundred and eighty acres in all. Mr. Marth carried out
many Aaluable improxements on his holdings and during his active life on
tlie land be was regarded as one of the most .substantial farmers in that part
of the township.
Tn June, 1867, John .\larth was united in marriage to Wilhelmina
Kleinent, who was born in (iermany on b'ebruary 15. 1851, and who came to
America four years later, in 1855. The marriage took i)lace in Wright
count}', .Minnesota, and the following children w^ere born: Mrs. Mathilda
Englis, deceased : Sophia, at home : Amanda, deceased ; John, who is now
managing his father's farming interests; Rosa, a clerk at Frazee, Minnesota,
antl Mrs. .\lvina Partridge, who lives at Dodge Center, this state. The
senior John Marth. notwithstanding his extensive mercantile and land opera-
tions, found time to devote to matters connected with the civic affairs of the
township. He was president of the townshi]) Ijoard of the village of Barnes-
ville for several \ears, and at a later time, when the i)lace was incorporated,
he was alderman of the cit> of Barnesville, and in these representative jiosi-
tions he gave general satisfaction to the public. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and in that organization continues to take a warm in-
terest. Mr. Marth is now living retired at Barnesville. and has reached ten
years beyond the allotted span of three-score and ten years, still vigorous in
mind and body.
The junior John Marth is nc^w carrying on the farming operations
since his father's retirement. He had been living in Canada, where he was
engaged in farming, and sold his land there in 1916 and returned to the old
122 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
farm, which he is now managing very successfully. He carries on general
farming and raises mule-foot hogs, and is doing \ery well. He was mar-
ried to Ida Nelson on December 28. 1898, and the\- are parents of one child,
a daughter, Winifred, now three years old.
An interesting item in connection witli the Alartli fanuly on tiie female
side is worth recortling. Rosalia Ziel)erth, grandmother of Wilhelniina
Klement. who became the wife of John Alarth. Sr., was the third white
woman to cross Crow river from Wright county, .Minnesota.
]OHN OSS.
John Oss, an in\entor now living in Hitterdal. Clay county, was born
in Norderhow, Ringerike, X(jrway, September -'3, 1845, a son of Nels Paul-
son and Kari Ellinger, both natives of Norway. The father was a farmer
in Norway and spent his entire life in that country. He was the father of
five children, namely: Paul. .Martin. Thomas, John, the subject of this
review, and Nels.
John Oss. who was a sergeant in the Norwegian army, received there
his education, passing his examination in the higher studies with honors.
In 1882, he came to America and located in .\tlanla township, Becker
county, Minnesota, and engaged in farming. In 1886, he came to Keene
township, Clay county, and took up a homestead consisting of one hundred
and sixty acres, where he built a house and other Iniildings, making this
home until about i8q0. In that year he returned to .Atlanta township, Becker
county. Minnesota, and bought a farm of eighty acres, which he later sold.
and then bought another tract of one hundred and sixty acres in the same
township. He lived on this farm and engaged in general farming until 1914.
when he sold out and removed to Hitterdal, Clay county, where he has since
resided.
For fourteen Aears, while living in Becker county. Mr. Oss was county
surveyor, and, being of an in\entive turn of mind, worked out several
improvements on surveyors' leveling rods and computing machines, at Ids
spare time. He was for twenty years a member of the school board, and for
two years assessor of Atlanta township. While living in Keene township,
Clay county, he serxed as chairman of the school board of that township,
also as constable for a time, and as justice of the peace. Mr. Oss was t)ne
of the organizers of the Clay County Bank, of Hitterdal, of which he has
CLAY AND NOUMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I23
l)een a trustee since its org-anization. He is a member of the Synod Lutheran
church, of whicli lie was for three years trustee before becoming treasurer,
which office he now holds.
Before coming to America, Mr. Oss was sergeant in the Norwegian
armv which he entered in 1867. serving until 1872. After leaving the
arm\-, he went to Christiania, Norway, where he was empoyed for eight
years as superintendent of a manufacturing plant, where many kinds of
machinerx', tools, stoves, and the hke were manufactured. Because his health
was failing he was advised by his physician to gi\e up inside work and he
quit the factory. He then decided to come to America, where there was
larger opportunity fnr outdoor work.
John Oss was united in marriage to Johanna Wenner, and to this union
six children were horn, namel\- : Oscar, Ra)-, Jennie, who married Anton
Melbye: Tlieoclore, Helga. the wife of Julius Schloesser : Alfred, the post-
master at Hitterdal, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Oss. being members of the Synod Lutheran church, have
reared their children according to the jjrecepts of this creed.
JOHN BURRILL.
One of the well-reniembered and highly esteemed citizens of Hawley,
('la\ count\. during a past generation was the late John Burrill. He was
born at \i)l)ott. Maine, tm August 2, 1842, a son of Jacob and Rachael (Ben-
nett ) r.urrill. who are mentioned on other pages of this volume.
hihn lUirrill spent a part of his boyhood in his native town, where he
attended the public schools, but before he had reached man's estate, he
reuKived with his parents to I'raminghani, Massachusetts, and later to Fitz-
willi.im. New Hampshire, where he was employed in a woodenware factory.
In the spring of 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Second New Hampshire
\"olunteer Infantrv, l)eing the first man from his county to enlist in the three-
year service. At the expiration of his first term of enlistment, he re-enlisted
for the duration of the war. a jjcriod of one year. He took part
in many of the leading battles of the Civil War, including Bull Run
(first and sec<Mnl). Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg, siege of Rich-
moud. and many others, being present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
\'irginia. Soon, thereafter, he was detailed as a guard. He had previousl\'
been an orderlv for Gen. Joe Hooker, and he had the honor of escorting Pres-
124
CLAY AND XOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNKSOTA.
C)
ident Lincoln from the Ijoat-landing at Fredericksburg to General Hooker's
head(iuarters on one occasion, when the chief executive paid the commander
f the .\rmy of the Potomac a visit. In all, Mr. Burrill took part in about
thirty battles and skirmishes. He was a lirave and efficient soldier for the
Union. Other battles in which he took part were those of Cold Harbor, siege
of ^'orktown, Williamsburg, siege of I'etersburg and those of the Peninsular
campaign. The dates of his enlistment were as follows: April 25, 1861 ; one
uKuitli liter. May 31. 1861. when he enlisted for three years in Company A.
-Second Xew Hampsliire \'olunteer Infantry, and on February i. 1865. when
he enlisted a third time, in Company C, of his old re.giment.
After the war J(jhn P.urrill went tn .St. John!)erry. \'ermont, and worked
a \ear in ;i scale factory, then returned to bitzwilliam, Xew Hampshire, and
l)oupht a saw mill. In 1870 be moved to Iowa, where he remained until 1872.
then went to Minneapolis. Minnesota, and later moved to Brainard, this
state. He came to Hawley in iH;;,. and helped build the present Northern
Pacific depot. He located on a homestead in section 26, Cromwell town-
siiip, Clav countv. at this time, and about 1878 he moved from his farm in
1887. In 1880. he moved to Superior, this state, where he remained one
year, and tlien returned to Hawley. li\ ing there until his death, which occurred
on June 12, 1906.
Mr. Burrill was married in i8()() to i.ewellyn I't^-istall, who died in 1873.
leaving three children, (lertrude. who married .\rthur ShoUey and lives in
Minneapolis; Mabel, the wife of I.. D. Libbey, a farmer of Honey Creek.
Wisconsin, and Allen F., who served in the Spanish-American War as a
memljer of Companv C. Thirteenth Minnesota N'olunteer Infantry, and also
in the Philippine W ar. and who married Daisy I'ryor. after which he moved
to luigene. Oregon, where he died.
John Burrill married for his second wife Jane Colborn, and two children
were born to them, namely: Paul C, who married Hilda Andrea and is a
lieutenant in the Minnesota Xational (iuard, and Margaret, who makes her
home in Minneapolis.
John Burrill was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Po.st at
Hawley. of which he was commander at the time of his death. He belonged
to the Masonic Lodge. In his early days here he served on the school board
and for many years was justice of the peace at Hawley. He gave eminent
satisfaction as a public servant, being conscientious, loyal and painstaking;
prompt and obliging. He was a great student of history and was a well-
informed man along general lines.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. IJ5
DICK MEYER.
Dick .Me\er, a well-kiuiwn and siil>stantial farmer of Humboldt town-
shi|), owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in sections 2 and 3,
that township, at present township treasurer and in other ways connected with
the public life of Humboldt township, is a native of Germany, born in that
country in July, i860, but has been living in America since 1882. He is the
son (if Herre and Marv ( Hein ) Meyer, natives of Germany and who lived
and died in that country.
iierre Mever was hurn in (jermany in 183 1 and was educated in the
schools of that country. R\- occupation he was a farmer and continued thus
engaged throughout Iiis active life, his death taking place in 1917, at the
advanced age of cightv-six years. The intimation of his father's death
reached his son, Dick, the subject <>f this sketch, through a newspaper notice.
His wife, Mary Hein, was also Ijorn in the fatherland and spent all her life
in lier native land, her death occurring in 1907, having reached seventy-three
\ears of age. To Iierre Meyer and wife the following children were born:
Hey, a farmer, living in Germany; Trenty, married and living in Germany;
Dick, living in Humboldt township; Volke (i) deceased, and Volke (2),
.also deceased.
Dick Meyer recei\cd a sound education in the excellent schools of Ger-
m.anv and was reared on liis father's place, where he assisted in the labors
of developing the farm. At the age of twenty-two, in i88j, he immigrated
to tlie United States, liis lir^t place of residence in this country being Madison
countv, Illinois, where he worked on farms for some years. In 1901 Mr.
Mewr moved to ("lay county and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty
acres of prime land in section J. lIuml)ol(lt townshi]). the farm on which he
now lives. He is also the owner of another one hundred and sixty acres in
section 3, in the same townshi]). He carries on general farming and since
the commencement of his oiieratious he has been most successful, everything
al)out his two tracts of laml l>eing in excellent condition. The dwelling
house in which Mr. Meyer and his family reside was erected before he be-
came the owner of the farm, but all the other buildings, including a new barn,
were ])ut u]) by him. His place is well improved and he is generally regarded
as one of the substantial and progressive farmers in the township, operating
his place according to modern methods of agriculture. He plants about
I'orly-live acres of jiotatoes, the yield to the acre being well up to the average
for the district.
126 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Tn 1 89 1 Dick Meyer was united in marriage to Cena Johnson, who was
lioni in Christian county. Illinois, in 1869. the marriage taking place in Iowa.
They are the parents of the following children : Herman, John. Mary, Cena
and Kattie. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer take a proper interest in the affairs of the
community in which they reside, helpful factors in the promotion of all
causes ha\ing for their object the common good of neighborhood and town-
ship. Mr. Merer gives a good citizen's attention to public affairs and is now
serving as township treasurer, filling the office with a marked degree of abil-
itv. He also was a director on the district school board for six years, his
attention to educational matters during that period being unremitting.
HAXS I. ULLF'tlCH.
o
Hans J. L'llricli, wcll-kndvvn grain buyer at the \illage of Downer,
and clerk of the to\vns]iii> of Elkton, Clay county, was born in Germany,
but has been a resident of this country since he was ten years of age, and
f Minnesota since 1885. He was born on October 27, 1870, son of Hans
and Wibv (Glohe) Ullrich, also natives of Germany, who came to the
United States with their family in 1880 and settled in Boone county. Iowa.
Five years later they came to Minnesota and settled on a farm in Martin
county, and there Mrs. Ullrich spent her last days. Some time after his
wife's death. Hans Ullrich, Sr., mo\ed to Elkton township. Clay county,
where he was engaged in farming until his death. He took an active inter-
est in local ci\ic aft'airs and was ser\ing as a member of the board of
township supervisors at the time of his death. He and his wife were mem-
bers of the Lutheran church and tiieir children were reared in that faith.
There were fi\e of these children, all of whom ;ire living, the suliject of
this sketcli having three brothers. Henry. Julm and Marcus, and a sister.
Anna.
Having Iieen Init a boy when he came to ihis country with his parents
in 1880, Hans J. L'llricli completed his schooling in the schools of Iowa
and Martin county, Minnesota, where he began farming on his own account.
He remained there until the fall of 1899. when he came up into the Red
River country, where he has e\er since made his home, living in Downer
and vicinity. For a time after coming here, he was engaged in farm labor
and then for five years was engaged as a clerk in a store at Downer, work-
ing first for John Seini and later for Mrs. Hawkins, the latter having sue-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 12/
ceeded the former in the proprietorship of tlie store. Mr. Ullricli then was
engaged by the Hennepin Grain Company as buyer at Downer and, after
two years of connection with that concern, was employed Ijy the St. Anthony
& Dakota Grain Company as buyer in the same place and has ever since
been thus engaged, one of the best-known grain men in that part of the
country. Mr. Ullrich is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres at
Downer, a part of the townsite hax'ing been laid out on his place. In addi-
tion to his activities as a grain Ixiyer, he gives his personal attention to the
management of his farm. He also handles the local agency for the Fargo
Implement Company. Ever since coming to this section, Mr. Ulrich has
given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, having served for two
terms as justice of the peace in Rlkton townshi]) and for the past eight
years as clerk of the same.
In 191 2, Hans J. Ullricli was united in marriage to Lydia .\. Austin,
who was born in Clay county, daughter of C. W. Austin and wife, and to
this union two children ha\e been born, John Arthur and Myrtle Anna.
Mr. and Mrs. Ullrich are members of the Lutheran church, the former being
one of the organizers of the local congregation of that rluirch. in the affairs
of which he and his wife take a warm interest.
FREDEf^ICK W. ALTENBERND.
Frederick W. Altenhernd, a well-known and substantial farmer of the
southern part of Clay county and the proprietor of a fine place of four
hundred and eight acres in Elmwood township, where he and his family are
very comfortably situated, is a native of Kansas, Irarn on a pioneer farm
in Douglas county, that state, on January 4, 1871. He is a son of William
and Katie (Hill) Alten1)ernd, natives of Germany, the former of whom
came to this country in r80o. he then being twenty-seven years of age, and
the latter of whom came to .America with her parents \\hen she was eight
years of age. Both are now deceased. 'I'hey were the parents of eiglit
children.
Reared on the home farm in the neighborhood of Lawrence, Kansas,
Frederick \V. Altenhernd received his schooling in the public schools of
that city and in the business college there. Not long after leaving, he came
up here into the Red River country and bought a farm of two hundred and
forty acres in Elmwood township. Clay county, and started in to improve
Ij8 clay and NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
and develop the same, establishing his permanent home diere after his mar-
riage in 1901. Mr. .\ltenbernd has done well in his farming oi)erations.
and has increased his original holdings nntil now he is the owner of a fine
place of four hundred and eighty acres. He is now regarded as one of the
most securely established farmers in that section of the county, his place
being well improved and profitably cultivated. In addition to his general
farming, he has, of late )ears, gone somewhat extensively into potato rais-
ing and has done well in that line, having discovered, along with many
other thoughtful agriculturists hereabout, that potatoes constitute one of
the most profitable crops raised in the Red River valley.
In 1901, Frederick W. Altenbernd was united in marriage to Wilhelmiua
Schroeder, who was born in Elmwood township, daughter of Henry
Schroeder and wife, pioneers of Clay county, further and fitting mention
of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union two children
ha\-e been born, sons both, Carl and Clarence. ^Ir. and Mrs. Altenbernd
are members of the German Lutheran church and give proper attention to
the various beneficences of the same, as well as to the general good works
and social affairs of the community in which they live, and are doing well
their part in advancing the neighborhood's common welfare.
I'ROF. II. R. i;d\\ards.
Prof. H. R. Julwards. .superintendent of the Moorhead city schools,
past president of the Minnesota .State .Vssociation of School Superintend-
ents, an acti\e memijer of the National Education Association for more than
twentv vears and for years one oi Minnesota's best-known and most influ-
ential schoolmen, is a nati\e of the great ICmpire state, but has been a resi-
dent of Minnesota, actively engaged in school work here, for nearly a quar-
ter of a century. He was born in the village of Alfred, in Allegany county.
New York, Decemljer i. 1870, son of Joseph and Harriet fW^lliams)
Edwards, both natives of that same state, who spent all their lives there.
Joseph Edwards was a substantial miller and landowner and a man of
influence in his community, tie and his wife were members of the Baptist
church and their children were reared in that faith. There were seven of
these children, all of whom grew to maturity and of whom the subject of
this sketch was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Horace G., .Allison
TKOF. II. ];. KUWAKDS.
-5- up, NEV_V
AlM
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 29
]., Elsvvorth J., William S., Lillian M. and Lewis D. Professor Edwards is
of distinguished lineage both on the paternal side and on the maternal side,
being a lineal descendant of Jonathan Edwards, the great America:i divine,
theologian, metaphysician and early president of Princeton College, and of
Roger Williams, Welsh clergyman and Puritan, who fled from England to
escape persecution and settled in New England in the early days of the Pil-
grim colony, where he hoped to enjoy the religious freedom he was denied
at home.
Reared at his home village of Alfred, H. R. Edwards spent his youth
as an assistant in the labors of his father's mill and farm, meanwhile giving
careful attention to his studies, and after his graduation from the Alfred
high school entered the university at that place and was graduated from the
same in 1894. Upon receiving his diploma Professor Edwards entered at
once upon his long and useful career as an educator and has since taken post-
graduate work in the University of Wisconsin and in the University of Min-
nesota. He began his high-school work in Minnesota in the fall of 1895
antl has ever since been actively engaged in school work in this state, before
entering upon his present position of superintendent of city schools at Moor-
lead in 1909 having had successive connection with the schools at Wheaton,
.t Browns Valley, at Redwood Ealls, at Worthington and at Morris. It was
in 1909 that he accepted the position of superintendent of schools at Moor-
head and he has been retained in that useful and influential position ever
since. During' the past fifteen years Professor Exiwards has occupied his
summers as a teacher in the State Normal Schools at Mankato and at Moor-
head and has long been one of the best-known schoolmen in Minnesota. For
the past twenty-one vears he has Iteen a member of the National Education
Association and has attended most of the meetings of superintendents. In
1975 he was the president of the Minnesota State Association of School
Superintendents. For vears he has taken an active interest in the delibera-
tions of this association and in tlie general school work of the state, and was
a memljcr of the state high-school committee that formulated the present
high-school curriculum in use in this state.
In' 1894. the year of his graduation from the university. Professor
Edwards was united in marriage to Harriet M. Potter, of Albion, Wisconsin,
and has two children, Carrol and Helen. Professor and Mrs. Edwards are
members of the Baptist church and take an active interest in the various
beneficences of the same, as well as in the general social and cultural activ-
(9a)
I^O CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
ities of the comnniniity in which they live. Professor Edwards is a member
of the local lodges of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and of the
Knights of Pythias and takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same and
is an officer in llie Ro^al League.
JOHN McGRATH.
John McGrath, former member of the Legislature, former mayor of
Barnesville, city treasurer for several years and in otiier ways identified
with public affairs, is a native of the state of Wisconsin, born in Outaga-
mie county, on Octol^er 20, 1857. He is a .son of Dennis and Ellen (Cashman)
McGrath, both of whom were natives of Ireland, and who came to this
country in 1847 — the year of the great immigration from that country —
and soon located in Wisconsin.
Shortly after his arrival in Wisconsin, Dennis McGrath settled in
Outagamie countw and commenced ojjcrations as a farmer, success attending
his efforts from the very l)eginning. He continued thus engaged until iS()7.
when the family moxed to near Owatona. Steele county, Minnesota, where
he bought a farm and operated the same for a short time only, death claim-
ing him that same year. His wife survived him several years. Dennis
and Ellen (Cashman) McGrath were the parents of eight children as fol-
low: Alice, Mary Anna, Thomas. John, the subject of this sketch; Johanna.
D. F., Michael and Edward. Dennis McGrath and his wife were earnest
memljers of the Catholic church, always interested in its good works, and
their children were reared in the same faith.
John McGrath was ten years old when his parents left Wisconsin and
came to Steele county, Minnesota, and he was educated in the public schools
of that county. At the age of twenty-two, in 1879, he came to Barnesville.
Clay county, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Barnes-
\ille township. .\t the time he settled here there was no town where the
present village is located, and the place at the time Mr. McGrath. settled
there, consisted of two or three stores. He continued to reside on his home-
stead for about two years, at the end of which time he came to Barnesville.
where lie has since li\ed. His first residence was northwest of what is
now the main portion of Barnesville.
On settling in Barnesville John McGrath started in the butcher business
and was engaged in that branch of work up to 1909, meeting with encourag-
CLAY AXD NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I^I
ing- success during the long period he was in that trade. In addition therein.
al)out 1885, he opened up an ini])lement and harness Ijusiness, in which lie
was equally successful and which he cnntinued to operate until igOQ, when he
disposed of the harness branch of his store. He still conducts the imple-
ment department which he first opened in 1885, being thus one of the oldest
merchants in tli;it branch of commercial enterprise in Clay countv, and
from the operations of which he has reaped a handsome cnmpetency.
On September i, 1885. John AIcGrath was united in marriage to Alice
Brislaim. formerl\- a resident of Steele county, this state. Mr. and Mrs.
McGrath are the parents of seven children, namely : F"rances, .Mice, Cecilia,
Luc\\ Ruth, John and Harold Robert. The McGrath family are mem-
bers of the Catholic church and are warm supporters of all the good works
and societies attached to the church. They take an active interest in the
affairs of the C( immunity and are earnest advocates of all movements
designed to further the general welfare of the township and county.
.Mr. McGrath is a supporter of the Republican party and was returned by
the votes of that party to the Le.gislature, in which he served for one term,
giving general satisfaction in that important office to the interests he repre-
sented. He was elected ma\or of Trlarnesville and served the jniblic very
acceptably for a period r)f six years, during which period many improvements
of an important character were carried out. Mr. McGrath was elected to
the office of treasurer and occupied that responsible ofifice for the long tern?
of thirteen vears — a period during which he enjoyed the undiminished con-
fidence of the public. i''or many years he was a member of the local council
and is now serving as justice of the peace in and for the Barnesville town-
ship. Mr. McGrath holds membership in the Knights of Columbus and in
the affairs of that popular order takes a warm interest.
H. R. BURRILL.
H. R. Burriil, dealer in farming implements at Hawley, Clay county,
was born on September 19, 1838, in Fitzwilliam, Xew Hampshire, a son
of Jacob Burriil, who was born in 1818 and died in iSqi. He was edu-
cated in the common schools of his native town, and at Keene, New Hamp-
shire, until 1876. After that, he worked in a store at Hana. .Mas.saciiusetts.
In the spring of 1878, he came to Hawley, Minnesota, arriving in Clay
county on April 19th. Fie took up a homestead in Keene township, which
132 Cl.AY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
lie developed into a good farm. He and Lewis Smith were among the
earliest pioneers there, hreaking the first sod in Keen township, using oxen
fur the pvn-pose. Hawley, twelve miles away, w^as their nearest base of sup-
jilies. They continued farming until 1897 when they sold out. While living
in that township, Air. llurrill was the first treasurer of school district Xo.
30, which office he held many years until a new district was formed out of
part of the old. In 1897, he bought a farm in section 10, Hawley town-
ship, one and one-half miles west of the village of Hawley, and there
he lived until 1907. in which year he moved to Hawley and formed a part-
nership with Hans Rushfeldt in the machine business. In 1912. he formed
a partnership with his son Robert, who bought out the interest of Mr.
Rushfeldt, the new firm also taking over the Andrew Johnson machine
business. They have a large and well-eciuipped store and handle an exten-
sive stock of farming implements, making a specialty of the John Deere
machinery, and they now carry on a large and constantly growing trade
with the surrounding country.
Mr. Burrill was married on April 19, 1885, to Harriet McDonald, a
daughter of John McDonald, and to their union the follow-ing children have
been bom: Robert H., who is in business with his father at Hawley; Dan
\\'., who married b'annie Skinner, and who died by being accidentally suffo-
cated by gas on April 28, 1916; James, who married Edna Rapp, and is
a dentist at Ulen, Minnesota; Henry, Allen, and Leola, an adopted child.
Politically, H. R. Burrill is a Democrat. He has served three terms
as a member of the Hawley school board, and is, at this writing, a member
of the \illage council. He belongs to the Congregational church.
Robert H. P>urrill, son of H. R. Burrill and partner in business with
his father at Hawley. was l;oni, January 24. 1888, at Hawley, where he
was reared and received his education in the public schools, graduating
from the high school. In 1907, he went to Minneapolis and found employ-
ment with the Deere & Weber Implement Company, where he learned the
\arious phases of the farming machinery business. He was alert, faithful
and courteous and gave his employers eminent satisfaction. In the spring
of 1910, he returned to Hawley and worked for his father-in-law, in the
store of the Andrew Johnson Company until the spring of 1912, when he
formed a partnershij) with his father, as related in a preceding paragraph
in this sketch. He has remained here in the farming implement business
which has steadily grown until it has now assumed vast proportions.
Robert H. Burrill was married to Laura Johnson, a daughter of Andrew
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1^3
Johnson and wife, well-known citizens of Hawley, where Air. Johnson lias
long been a leading merchant. To Robert H. Burrill and wife three chil-
dren have been born, namely: Robert H., Jr., Laton Herman, and Henry
Willard.
TAMES CONNELLY.
James Connell)-. (Hie of the best known and most progressive young
farmers in the central western part of Clay county and who, in association
with his elder brother, William Connelly, is farming the old Patrick Con-
nellv farm in Glyndon township, is a native son of this county and has lived
here all his life. He was born on what is now known as the Wright farm,
in the vicinity of Moorhead, in Moorhead township. May 2, 1884, son of
Patrick and Bridget (Lundy) Connelly, natives of County Monaghan, Ire-
land, who became pioneers of Clay county, settling here in 1880, and fur-
ther and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Patrick
Connelly was a substantial and influential pioneer citizen, and for years
served as a member of the board of supervisors of Glyndon township, in
which he established his home three or four years after coming here and
where he spent his last days. His widow is still living on the home place.
They were the parents of three sons, William and James Connelly having a
brother, John Connelly, also a Glyndon township farmer, a biographical
sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume.
Reared on the home place in Glyndon township, to which his parents
moved from Moorhead township when he was but an infant, James Con-
nellv completed his schooling in the public schools at Moorhead and early
became a practical farmer. At the age of fourteen he became fireman in a
threshing crew and at seventeen years of age qualified as an engineer, in
which position he acted for five years or more during the threshing seasons.
Since the death of their father, he and his elder brother, William, have been
operating the home place and have done well. They also own and operate
a threshing outfit and have a wide ac(iuaintance throughout the field of then-
operations. The Connelly farm consists of two hundred and forty acres
of excellent land and the brothers have one of the best-equipped farm
plants in that part of the county. William Connell}-. who is unmarried, was
born in 1877, in Pennsylvania, and was but three years of age when his par-
ents moved from that state to Minnesota, where he has ever since lived,
making his home on the home place in Glyndon township, with the exception
134 C],AY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of the period spent in "proving- up" a liomestead tract of a lialf section of land
in tlie vicinity oi ?^Iiles City, Montana. He is the eldest of the three Con-
nell\' brothers and his judg;inent is highly \alued h}' them.
On Deceni1)er g. 19 14, James Connelly was united in marriag^e to
Amanda Hetn-ietta Kuehl, who was hurn in the neitjhboring township of
Jilmwood, daugliter of I'red Kuehl and wife, pioneers of that section of
Cla\ county, the latter of whom died suddenly on March 4, 191 7, at Sabin,
Minnesota, at the age of fifty-nine )ears. He was of German ancestry, and
was the father of ten children, si.x girls and four box s. Mr. and ]\frs. Janie^
Connellv are the ])arents of one child, a son. Raymond. Thev are members
of the Catholic church and have e\er taken an active interest in ])arish
affairs, liberal contributors to the work of the same and helpful in other
ways in advancing the good works of the ncighhorliood. in which they have
been residents since pioneer days.
ORRIS OLIN'ER.
Orris Oliver was. born in Grant county. Wisconsin. July 5, 1873. a son
"f Douglas and Sarah ( Fitzgerald) Oliver, the former a native of Ten-
nessee and the latter (jf Grant countv. Wisconsin. Douglas Oliver came to
firani county. Wisconsin, when a }Oung man and there was interested in
a woolen and flour mill, and also was engaged in the mercantile and farm-
ing business. About 1879, he removed to Kansas, where he conducted a
large farm, on wiiich he engaged in general extensive agriculture. He
died at Junction City. Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were born the fol-
lowing children: Charles R.. Dvvight. Grant, Hattie. Fred, and Orris, the
subject of this review. Mrs. Oliver, who was a devoted member of the
Methodist Episcojjal church, survived her husband a few years, her death
occurring also at Junction City.
Orris Oliver was educated in the public schools at Kansas, and later
took a Inisiness course in a school at Fargo, North Dakota. In 1893, he
entered the Barnesville bank :is a bookkeeper, and on December i, 1894, he
entered the law office of Charles S. Marden, at Barnesville. to take charge
of the real estate department in which that office was largely engaged. In
1897, he went to the Klondyke, where he remained for two years, and
after returning to Minnesota in 1899, 'le located at Minneapolis, where he
was cni])loyed until T901 with a threshing machine companx'. Then he
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 135
returned to Barnesville and again took charge of the real estate business
in the office of Charles S. Marden. In 1910, on Mr. Marden's removal to
Moorhead. the Red River Farm and Loan Company was organized in
Barnesville to handle the real estate business of the community, and Mr.
Oliver took charge of the enterprise and has continued in this business
since.
Air. Oliver was married to Minnie G. Cornish in 1902, and to this
union three children have I)een born: Charles D., Frank C, and Lew D.
Mr. Oliver's fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic, the Knights of
Pythias and the Woodmen lodges. He has served on the city council two
terms and is at present serving his second term as a meml>er of the school
lioard.
.ARTHUR L. FOBES.
-Vrthur L. Fobes, one of the best-known and most progressive farmers of
Ehnwood township, Clay county, and the proprietor there of a fine farm of
three hundred and twenty acres, was born on a farm in the vicinity of
Racine, in Racine county, Wisconsin, January 21, 1866, son of Orange and
Cxnthia (Morse) Fobes, natives of the state of Ohio. His parents settled
in Wisconsin about 1S65. Init later moved to Iowa, where the former spent
his last days and where the latter is still living.
Orange l'"nl)es was a farmer through life. He was of old Colonial and
of Revolutionary descent and his wife was descended from "Mayflower"
stock. He and his wife located in Racine county, Wisconsin, about 1865,
and remained there until 1876, when they moved to Grundy county, Iowa,
where the former died in 1881. His widow is now living' in Butler county,
Iowa. They were the parents of six children, those besides the subject of
this sketch, who is the second in order of birth, being Homer L. ; Stiles,
who died in infancv: Clarence M. and Clara E., twins, and one other, who
died in infancv.
.\rthur L. Folies was aljout twelve years of age when his parents
moved from Wisconsin to Iowa, and he completed his schooling in the latter
state. He began farming on his own account in Butler county, Iowa,
where lie was married in i8q2, and continued to reside until 1902, when he
came u]) into Minnesota and bought the farm on which he is now living,
a half section in Elmwood township, Clay county. He has since made this
his ])lace of residence, he and his family being very comfortably situated
136 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
there. In addition to his general farming interests, Mr. Fobes has given
considerable attention to other interests and is president of the Home
Farmers Mntual Hail Insurance Company of Minneapolis, which he helped
to organize and of which he has been the president since the date of its
organization. He also is active!}- interested in the local telephone com-
pany. In civic affairs he likewise has taken a proper interest, and has been
clerk of the school l)oard in his home district ever since it was organized.
On Septeniljer 28. 1892, in Iowa. .A.rthur L. Fobes was united in
marriage to Cora G. Bronson, daughter of G. M. and Margaret (Hendrick^
Bronson. natives of New York state, who became residents of Wisconsir
and later of Iowa. G. M. Bronson was a veteran of the Civil War, who
performed service in a Wisconsin regiment, a member of the Twelfth Wis-
consin Batterv, and also was for some time connected with the United
States secret service. Mr. and Mrs. Fobes have four children: Charles V.,
Orange G., Joseph and Josephine, all of whom are at home. Mr. Fobes
is a member of the Baptist church and the children are connected with the
Presbyterian church. Mr. Fobes is a member of the local lodges of the
Modern Woodmen of America and of the Knights of the Maccabees, and
in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest. He is now
serA'ing as supervisor of bigliwav construction in his home district.
I AMES LAMB.
The late James Lamb, one of the pioneers of Clay county, who died
at Fergus Falls, and whose widow is still living on the home place, the
owner of three-quarters of a section of land besides a quarter section in
North Dakota, was a native of Scotland, born in Forfarshire in 1847, ''"J"
of John and Elizabeth Lamb, also natives of Scotland, the former of whom
died in his native land and the latter of whom came to Minnesota with
her younger son, John, in the seventies. The son pre-empted a claim in
Elkton township. Clay county, and here she spent her last days on a quarter
section near Dormer. In a memorial sketch relating to the late John Laml
and in a biographical sketch relating to Charles Lamb, Sr., of Baker, brother:
of the subject of this memorial sketch, presented elsewhere in this volume,
there is set out at some length further details of the settlement of the Lamb
family in Clay county and the attention of the reader is respectfully invited
JAMES LAMP. AND FAMILY.
THE NEW YORK
PUB! '^ ' '^RARY
ASTOR. LENOX
TILDEN FO'Jf: O \TinNS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. ] T,J
to those narratives for further information of a genealogical and historical
character relating to this well-known and influential family.
Reared on the home farm in his native Forfarshire, James Lamb there
grew to manhood and in that neighborhood was married in 1868 to Ann
Anderson, who also was born in Scotland, a daughter of George and Agnes
(Todd) Anderson, the former t)f whom was an extensive stock dealer and
had many business interests. He was an ardent church member and he
and his wife spent all their lives in Scotland. George y\nderson and wife
were the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. Lamb was the last-born,
the others being Mary, who is still living in Scotland, and Agnes and
James, both now deceased. In 1882 James Lamb came to the United States
with his family and proceeded on out to Minnesota, locating in Clay county,
whither his mother and his brothers had preceded him some years before,
settling on a homestead tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Elkton town-
ship, where he and his family established their home. L'nhappily, not long
after locating there, Mr. Lamb became incapacitated for the physical labor
necessary to the development of a pioneer farm and the laborious ta.sk of
developing and improving the place fell upon his wife, who with fine cour-
age and indomitable spirit surmounted the difficulties in her way and pres-
ently had an excellent farm plant there, a substantial set of buildings and a
profitably-cultivated farm. Mrs. Lamb is undoubtedly one of the niDst
remarkable pioneer \\omen in the state. She did not lia\e a dollar of lier
own, or a wagon team, implement or seed with which to start her crops,
when she took hold of this pre-empted claim. With true Scotch grit .she
managed to keep her family together and paid off every dollar she borrowed.
She succeeded in accumulating the land interests she now owns, all of the
work being the outcome of her own energy. She has numerous friends who
hold her in the highest esteem. .\s she prospered in her undertak-
ings Mrs. Lamb bought three hundred and twenty acres more of land and
now has three-quarters of a section of valuable land, continuing actively
engaged in the mana.gement of her well-improved place.
To James and Ann (Anderson) Lamb the following children were lioru,
namely: George,- deceased; Mary, deceased; Andrew, now a resident of
North Dakota; Agnes. decea.sed, Avife of Gu.stav Erstad; Albert, of Clay
county; William, deceased; James, who is at home assisting his mother in
the management of the home farm, and one who died in infancy. Besides
rearing this family, Mrs. Lamb rearecl her grandson. Walter, son of lier
deceased daughter.' Mary (Lamb) Morey, and the young man has adopted
I ^8 CLAY AND XOR.MAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
the surname Lamb, being known as Walter Laml). Mrs. Lamb is an active
member of the I'resbyterian church and has ever taken an interested part
in tlie affairs of tlie church, as well as in the general good works of the com-
niunitv of which she has been a resident since i)ioneer days.
OLE E. TAXGEN.
The career of Ole E. Tangen, a farmer of Kragnes township. Clay
county, is a good example of what may be accomplished by a man of grit
and perseverance, who comes to a strange land without capital. There have
been many such in :\Iinnesota during the past half century, principally from
Scandinavia, and we have always welcomed them, knowing that most of
them would turn out to be good citizens.
Mr. Tangen was born in Norway, January 19, 1851. He is a son of
Evan O. and Inge Marie (Stensgord) Tangen, both natives of Norway, the
father born on January i, 1829, and the mother, in 1825. They grew up
in their native land, where they married and where they lived until they
came to America and established the family home in Fillmore county, Min-
nesota, where they s]5ent the rest of their li\es on a farm, the father dying
at the age of fifty-four years. The mother reached the advanced age of
eighty-five vears. To these parents the following children were born:
Andrew, who died in New York City at the age of fifty-four years: Ole
E., the subject of this sketch: Ivathryne, who died in South Dakota at the
age of forty-five: Gust, who is engaged in farming in Montana: Christ, who
lives at Livingston, this state: Christina, who married B. B. Hetland and
died in Moorhead, Alinnesota. June 16, 191 7.
Ole E. Tangen was ten years old when he came to America in 1861.
He spent his boyhood on the farm of his father in iMllmore county, Minne-
sota, where he attended the district schools: but his education was limited,
for he had to go to work when only ten years old. He came to Clay county
in 1878 and the following year bought one-half of section i6, Kragnes town-
ship, and here he has since resided. During his residence of thirty-eight
vears in this locality he has seen the country change from a wild prairie to
a fine farming section. He made all the improvements on his land, erecting
a splendid group of buildings, good fences, etc.. and has been very success-
ful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He makes a specialty of raising
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 39
Shortliorn cattle. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at
Kragnes.
Mr. Tangen was married in Houston county. Minnesota, on March 30,
1878, to Gelina Studlien, wlin was born in that county June G, i860, and
tiiere she grew to wonianhr)()<l on the farm and received a common school
education. She is a daughter of Ole and FJertha (Lien) Studlien, both natives
of Norway, where they grew up and married and from there immigrated to
America in 1850. and established the family home in Houston county, this
state, being pioneers there. The father owned a good fann there, which
was sold a number of years ago. They moved to Clay county and here
both passed away.
Fourteen children ha\e I)een Ijorn to Mr. and Mrs. Tangen, namely:
Mrs. Bertha Montgomery, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri; Edward, who
died in 1900 at the age of nineteen years; Bernice. who is at home; Clara,
who li\es in Missouri; Mrs. Genelia \\'liitsel. who lives in Montana; Selma.
at home ; Oberlin, also at home ; Jennette. at home ; Martin Walter, who died
at the age of eighteen months: and Winnifred, Walter. Esther. Rudolpli and
Norman, all at home.
Politically. Mr. Tangen is a Rei)ublican. He has held all the offices
on the school board in district No. 24 and is now a director. He has also
held all the offices on the township board and has been assessor, etc. He
is a member of the Lutheran church and is chairman of the board of trus-
tees of the same.
WILLLVM RUSSELL.
William Russell, formerly and for years the official reporter for the
seventh Minnesota judicial district, with residence at Moorhead, and for
tile i):ist seventeen years a practicing attorney in that city, is a native of the
Dominion of Canada, but has been a resident of Minnesota since the njiddle
eighties and is thus thoroughly familiar with the development of this part
of the state for more than thirty years. He was born in Stratford, in the
l)r(ivince of Ontarirj. and there received his schooling and grew to manhood.
In 1883 Mr. Russell left his native Canada and came to Minnesota,
locating at Moorhead. where, and at Fargo, he began the study of law. In
ilie year 1886 he removed to St. Cloud. Minnesota, having been appointed to
the |)osition of reporter for the seventh judicial district, comprising the
counties of Stearns. Benton. Afille Lacs, Morrison, Todd, Douglas, Otter
140 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Tail, W'abena, Becker and Cla)-, and held that position continuously until in
January, 1900, wlien he engaged in the practice of law at Moorhead and has
since been thus engaged. During his many years of experience as reporter
for this judicial district, Mr. Russell gained an acquaintance throughout the
district and a familiarity with legal procedure that has been invaluable to
him since he entered upon the practice of the profession, to which he had
lieen giving his studious altentiun since the days of his young manhdud, and
there is perhaps no better known lawyer throughout this whole section of
the state than he. !\Ir. Kussell has ever given a good citizen's attention to
the general afifairs of his home town and is an active member of the Moor-
head Commercial Club, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest. Mr
Russell is the owner of a half section of well-improved land in the neigh-
borhood of Moorhead and gives considerable interested attention to the oper-
ation of his farm.
In iqoi, \\'il!iani Russell was united in marriage to Esther Davis, of
Marshall, this state, and to this union one child has l>een born, a daughter,
Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Russell are members of the Presbyterian church and
take a proper interest in the general good works of their home town.
EOIER G. H.-\NSOX.
I'llmer G. Hanson was born in Badger, Iowa, .\ugu.st 17, 1890, a son of
H. P. Hanson, Ixirn at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and Rena Hanson, born
at Rushford, Minnesota. The former is a retired merchant, of Badger,
Iowa, and is now living at Driscoll. .Vorth Dakota, the owner of several
farms which he operates by tenants.
Elmer G. Hanson received his elementary education in the public
schools of Iowa, and then attended St. Olaf College, at Northfield, Minne-
sota, where he took a course of preparator\- studies, after which he entered
the University of Wisconsin for a regular college course. He completed
the course and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leav-
ing college, he took up the banking business and received his training in that
line in Iowa. In October. 1916, he came to Hitterdal. and in November of
that year he opened up the Clay County State Bank. He was made cashier
of this bank and has held that position since.
On January 4, 19 17, Mr. Hanson was married to Annette Davenport,
daughter of N. S. Davenport, of Dennison, Minnesota. Mr. Hanson is a
member of the United Lutheran church.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. I4I
FRED SCHEEL.
Among- tlie well-knuwn residents of long standing in and about the
town of Sabin, Glay county. Fred Scheel. fuel merchant at that place, de-
serves recognition. He was born in German) on February 22, 1858, a son
of Wilhelhi and ]\Iargaret ( Kraino) Scheel, both of whom were also born
in Germany and sjjent their entire lives in that country, the son. Fred, liein.g
the only member of the Scheel family to settle in the United States.
Wilhelm Scheel, father of the subject of this sketch, followed the occu-
pation of a railroad man for several of the active years of his life. His
diligence and attention to his duties brought him recognition and he was
eventuall\ promoted to the important position of railroad inspector, his
journeys in connection with this work taking him on long trips over the
railroad system on which he was employed. Wilhelm Scheel was also in
the military service of his country and saw active campaigning in 1866
during the war between Germany and Austria. Mr. and Mrs. Scheel were
the parents of five children. namel\- : Caroline. Fred, Wilhelm. Margaret
and Henry.
I'red Scheel was educated in the public schools of Germany, and some
short time after the close of his school days he started life for himself as a
sailor. He made several voyages to this country, the first being in 1874,
and eventually decided to seek fortune as a landsman, settling permanently
in the United States.
In 1885 Fred Scheel made a tri[) to America and located in Chicago,
where lie took up sailing on the Great Lakes, and continuefl thus engaged
for some years. In i8<;4 he came to Clay county and worked for two year^
as a brick layer in Sabin and then started in the hardware business, buy-
ing out a former hardwareman, Fred Hafifen. Mr. Scheel continued in that
line of trade for several years during which time bis hardware business
proved a financial success, and in 19 15 he turned the store over to his son.
Fred M.. who has since been conducting it. giving the business the same
care which made it successful under his father's management. Following,
the transfer of the hardware business to his son, Mr. Scheel started in the
fuel business and has been so engaged since 1915, making a success of his
operations in that line as he had done previously in the hardware enterprise.
In i8gj. l*>ed Scheel was united in marriage to Augusta Fraino, who
was born in Germany, a daughter of Fred Fraino and wife, both of whcjui
spent their lives in Germany, where the former was a fanner. To Mr. and
142 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
^Irs. Scheel three children have been bom, namely : Fred AL, Alargaret.
and Helen. The Scheel family are earnest members of the Lutheran church
and are active in all its good works and in all community good works. Mr.
Scheel was for three years chairman of the Klmwood township board, and
also served on the school board for some time.
I. HAMMERUD.
I. Hammerud. manager of the Farmers' Elevator at Comstock, Clav
county, was Ixnn in Xorway, June u, 1874, a son of Halvor and Jennie
(Hanson) Hammerud. bnth natives of Norway, where they grew up, were
married and established their home. They continued to reside in their
native land until 1880, when they immigrated with their family to America,
locating near Lake I-'ark. in Becker county, Minnesota, where the father
liecanie \ery well situated, owning a farm which he developed through his
close application and persistency. He continued general farming and stock
raising there until liis death, which occurred in 1912. He was a member
of the Norwegian Lutheran church, as was also his wife. They were par-
ents of eleven children, as follows: Ole, Hans, Christine, I., Mary, .\ndrew ,
Charles. Henry. George, .Albert and Rudolph.
L Hammerud was six years old when his parents brought him to the
L'nited States. He grew to manhood in Becker county, Minnesota, and
assisted his father with the work on the home farm. During the winter
months, he attended the district schools of Clay county, since the nearest
school house was in Clay county. Later he attended Concordia College at
Moorhead, this county. He continued farming until about 1902, when he
came to Comstock. Clay county, and conducted a pool hall for about twelve
}ears with success. In August, 1916, he became manager of the J-'armers'
Elevator at Comstock, which position he still holds and has discharged his
duties in an able and faithful manner to the satisfaction of the stockholders
and all concerned. He handles a large amount of grain each year and has
made this the best-known elevator in the southwestern part of the county,
doing a thriving business with the farmers on every^ side.
'Sir. Hammerud was married on June 12, 1908, to Jennie Monson, who
was born in Comstock, Clay county, Minnesota, where she was educated in
the public scliools. She is the daughter of Ludwig and Eliza (Knoph)
?iIonson, both natives of Norway-, who immigrated to America and are still
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 143
living. They are the parents of three children, as follows: Jennie, the wife
of the subject of this review; and two sons, Henry and Reinard, both at
home. They also have an adopted daughter, Dora, who is also living at
home. To ]Mr. and Mrs. Hammerud three children have been born, namelv :
Leonard. Chester and Ivin.
Politically. Mr. Hammerud is a Republican. He was assessor of Holy
Cross township four years^ and has performed his duties as a public servant
in a highly acceptable manner. He is a member of the Norwe.gian Lutheran
church, which he has served as treasurer.
LOUIS ALTENBERND.
Louis Altenbernd, a well-known landowner and the proprietor of sev-
eral potato warehouses in and alx)ut Clay county, was born in the Blue
Grass state on February i8, 1876, the son of William and Katie (Hill)
Altenbernd, both of whom were natives of Germany. William Altenbernd
immigrated to the United States in i860, when he was twenty-seven years
old, and his wife, Katie Hill, came to this country with her [larents, when she
was twelve. Thev were the parents of eight children. William Alten-
bernd and his wife were memlx;rs of the Lutheran church and ever were
active in its affairs.
Louis Altenbernd was reared on his father's farm in Kansas, and he
attended the public schools of the community in which he lived. Later he
supplemented this training l)y a course in the business college of Lawrence.
Kansas, from which institution he was graduated. After helping in the
work on his father's farm fcjr se\eral years, he finally lie.gan agricultural
pursuits on his own account. In 1903. he removed to Sabin, Clay county.
Minnesota, and there began to farm on a modest scale, his efforts meeting
with success. As he i)rospered in his farming operations, he added to his
land holdings and is now the owner of sixteen hundred and sixty acres of
choice farming land in and around the Sabin vicinity.
In 1905. Mr. Altenbrend began to handle potatoes on a large scale and
now has several warehouses where potatoes are stored. To meet the grow-
ing demands for his potatoes, which crop is one of the most im|)ortant on iiis
farms, he built the present large potato warehouse at Sabin in 1905, and
also operates warehouses at such different points as Rustad, Baker, Downer.
Watts and Hawley. His operations in potatoes are on a very extensive
144 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
scale and he is generally recognized as one of the largest and most substan-
tial potato growers in this part of the state. In addition to the potato trade,
he also conducts general farming and has been very successful.
In the summer of 1909. Louis Altenbernd was united in marriage to
Alary Brandt, a native of the state of Ohio, and a daughter of Louis Brandt
and wife, residents of that state. To Mr. and Airs. Altenbernd four chil-
dren have been born, namely: Walter, Esther, Louise and Hilda, all of
whom are at home witli their parents. The Altenbernd family are members
of the Lutheran church and are active i)articipants in the good works of the
same. They are warm advocates of all movements designed to advance the
cdmmunitv interests. Air. .Altenbernd is an independent in politics, but
has never been a seeker after public office, preferring to devote his time to
his large potato warehouse interests.
BENEDIX KUEHL.
Benedi-x Kuehl, a substantial and prosperous farmer, owner of three
hundred and twenty acres of prime land in Elmwood township. Clay county,
is a native-born German, but has been a resident of this country for more
than twenty-seven years. He was born in Germany in 1855 and is a son
of Fred and .Anna Kuehl, also n;itives of the Fatherland, where .\nna Kuehl
died in 1869.
Following the death of his first wife, l-'red Kuehl was married a second
time and in company with some of the members of his family he immigrated
to the United States in 1890. On his arrival in this country' he came on
out to the state of Alinnesota and settled in Clay county. He engaged in
farming in Elmwood township, at Sabin. and continued thus engaged for
the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1903. He was the father
of the following children : Dora, Lizzie, Alargaret, Kattie, living in Germany :
Fred, who is deceased, and Benedi.x, the subject of this sketch.
Benedix Kuehl was educated in the common schools of Germany and
\vorked for some time at farm later. At the age of thirty-five, in 1890.
he accompanied his father to the United States and on reaching this country
they came on out to Alinnesota and settled in Clay county. Benedix Kuehl
worked for various farmers in and about this county for a period of about
eight years. In 1898 he decided to purchase land and to commence the
life of a farmer on his own account. He bought a tract of prime land and
w
'A
O
7\
d
a
Th., . .
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LEN©X
TILDEN fOUNDATfONS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I45
immediately proceeded to place it in a state of cultivation. He ))rospered
from the very beginning of his farming operations and added dther I.ind to
his original purchase, and he is now the owner of three hundred and twenty
acres of choice land. He is engaged in general farming and has now a well-
developed tract, and is generally regarded as one of the most progressi\e
and energetic farmers in Elmwood township; his farming operations being
carried on according to modeiMi methods of agriculture. Mr. Kuehl made
.all the present substantial improvements on his farm, and his buildings and
<lwelling are among the best in the district.
On July II, 1880, Benedix Kuehl was united in marriage to Henrietta
Neve, while they were living in Germany. They are the parents of the
following children ; Fred, who is married : Henning : Hans, married ; Ferdi-
nand : John; Lena, Margaret, A'lary, Dora, the latter four being married, and
Lincke. The Kuehl f;imilv are earnest members of the Lutheran church and
take .'I ])roper interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in the general
.social activities of the communitv in which thev live.
ALFRED A. HAAGENSON.
Alfred A. Haagenson was born at Sacred Heart. Renville county. Min-
iKxjta. December 13, 1879, a son of Arne Haagenson, born in Saaler, Nor-
wav, and Ida A. (Ericson) Haagenson, born in Dakota county, Minnesota.
/\rne Haagenson, father of our sul)ject, came to America from Norway at
the age of fifteen years and found employment, working on the Mississippi
ri\er for three or four iiears as a river man. Then he went to Renville,
Minnesota, in 1877, and was one of the jjioneer homesteaders in that county.
He established a home on his homestead, improved the land and remained
there the rest of his life. He was the father of eight children, namely:
Alfred A., the subject of this review: Sina, John, Carl, Matilda. Bennie.
Olivia and Robert. He was a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
Alfred A. Haagenson was educated in the public schools of Sacred
Heart and Renville, Minnesota, working on the farm when not in school.
Later he attended a private school in Minneapolis. From 190 1 to 1905, he
\\as employed in the state grain department at Duluth, and for three years
following this employment he was manager of the Farmers' elevator at
W^elcome. Minnesota. In 1908, he came to Barnesville, Minnesota, and
( loa.)
146 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
I)ecame manager of the Farmers' elexator at this place and has been in this
Inisiness since. He also has a farm implement business here, and is inter-
ested in other business enterprises.
Mr. Haagenson was married, in 1904, to Sigrid 1*1 Bolinder, daughter
of Andrew Bolinder, of Maine township, Otter Tail county, Minnesota, and
to this union three children ha.\c been Iwrn : Alfred, Jr., Margaret, and
Ida. Mr. Haagenson is an ;ictive member of the Norwegian Lutheran
church. He served as alderman of Barnesville in 191 1 and 1912; as mayor
in 1913 and 1914; clerk of the board of education since 1915, which position
he holds at the present time. He is a member of both the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Erickson. born in
Sweden, as was his wife, Lou\isa. They came to .\merica in the spring of
1849 and located in Minnesota. At that time the entire white population
of Minnesota, not yet a territory, was estimated to be one thousand. They
were among the first of the Swedish colony to come to Minnesota. John
Erickson was among the men from Minnesota who enlisted in defense of
his adopted country when it was threatened with disunion in 1861. He as
a soldier in the Ci\il War, enlisted in Company ¥. First Regiment. Minne-
sota \'(ilunteer Infantrv. and was killed in the battle of Gettysburg.
GILBERT PETERSON.
Gilbert Peterson was born in Norway, January 11, i860, a son of Peter
and ^latikla (Peterson) Gubbrandson. both natives of Norway, the former
being a carpenter by trade and spending his entire life in Norway.
Gilbert Peterson was educated in the public schools of Norway. In
1878. he came to .America with his uncle, Gilbert Hanson, and located in
Polk count), Minnesota, where he remained until 1880, when he came to
St. Croi.x county, Minnesota. In 1883, he removed to Ada, Norman county,
Minnesota, and was there for eight years engaged in farming and carpenter
work. In igii. he came to Hitterdal, Clay county, and has made this his
home since that time. He is engaged in carpentering and contracting work.
making a specialty of the latter, and has been doing most of this work in
North Dakota.
JNIr. Peterson was married in 1883 to Anna Anderson, and to this
union four children have been born, namely : Bennie. Gunda Christina,
Carl and Emma. Thev are members of the Svnod Lutheran church.
CLAY AND NORM AN COl'NTIES, MIXNKSOTA. 1 47
CARL MARTIN LANGSETH.
Carl Martin Langseth, former member of the l^oard of township super-
visors in Elkton township, Clay county, and the proprietor of a fine farm of
four hundred and eighty acres in section 5 of that township, on the line of
the Great Northern railroad, was born on a farm in Worth county, Iowa,
May 13. 1879, son of Hans N. and Anna (Benson) Langseth, both natives
of the kingdom of Norway, the former of whom is still living, now a resi-
dent of Richland c"untv. North Dakota, where he owns and farms a half
section of land.
Hans N. Langseth was born in 1856 and remained in his native Norwa\-
until he was sixteen or seventeen years of age, when, about 1872, he came
to the United States and located in Iowa. Two or three years later, he
returned to Norway after his sweetheart, Anna Benson, and after their
retmn here, the\- were married and established their home in Worth county,
Iowa, later moving to North Dakota, where the former is now living, as
noted above. His wife died in 189 1, she then being forty-one years of age.
They were the parents of six children, the subject of this sketch having four
brothers, Oscar, Nels, William and Peter, and a sister, Emma, who is mar-
ried and now lives at New Ulm, this county. .\11 the brothers are farming
in Richland county, North Dakota.
In 1901. at Moorhead, Carl M. Langseth was married to Marta Seter,
who was born in the kingdom of Norway in 1877, and who came to this
country in 1897. About two years after his marriage, Mr. Langseth Iwught
the farm on which he is now living, in section 5 of Elkton township, and
has since made his home there, he and his family being very comfortably
situated. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Langseth gives consider-
able attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and is doing well. He has
a well-improved place of four hundred and eighty acres and has an excellent
farm plant. During the season of 19 12 he had in sixty acres of potatoes.
For eleven }ears Mr. Langseth ser\-ed his community as a member of the
township l)oard of supervisors, his term of office having just recently
expired, and for the past thirteen years has been serving as clerk of his local
school district. He is a stockholder in the Glvndon Telephone Company
and in other ways has displayed hi^ interest in the general affairs of his
community.
Mr. and Mrs. Langseth have ten children: Hans, Anna, Selma. Alice,
:^Ielvin and :Marv (twins), Albert, Norman, Helen and Alma, all of whom
148 CLAY AND NORMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
are living-. The Langseths are menil)ers of the Xorwegiaii Lutheran church
ami take a projjcr interest in the attairs of the same. They have a very
jjleasant home and give their interested attention to the community's various
social affairs. licl|)fu! in [iromoting all agencies having to do with the ad-
vancement of the general welfare of that neighborhood.
.\LBERT M. IIOPEMAN.
.\lhert .M. Ilopeman, one of the well known and prominent residents
ni .Moorhead. Cla\ conntv, was born at Preston, Minnesota, in 1878. He
recei\ed his education in the common and high schools of that place, and
after completing his education in the latter, he entered the University of
Minnesota and was graduated from the department of civil engineering with
the class of 1905. .\fter he had completed his work in the university he
was with the Chicago Sr Great Western Railway Company for one and
one-half vears. a fur which he ser\ ed for one year as civil engineer of the
city of St. I'aul. lie then came to Moorhead. where he engaged in the gen-
eral construction work until the year 1912, when he organized the Ilopeman
Material Companv. -au^] was elected president and general manager of th ■
same. The conii)anv does an extensive work in the handling of building
materia! and in construction work. Their territory has covered a large part
oi the state of .\drth Dakota and the northwestern part of Minnesota. In
addition to his large interests in the Hopenian Material Company. Mr. Hope-
man, in 19 1 4. organized the ^loorhead Hardware Conrjiany, and was presi-
dent of the organization until 1916, at which time he sold his interests in
the concern. He was most active in the enterprises in which he was inter-
ested and much of their success was due to his untiring effort to make them
a success.
It was in the spring of 1907 that .\li)ert M. Hopeman was united in
marriage to T^illie Ul,g. one of the prominent young women of Moorhead.
anil to tills union ha\e been horn two children, Albert and Lillian, both of
whom are now attending the home schools. Mr. and Mrs. Hopeman are
active members of the Congregational church, and have long been proni-
inem in the social life of their home community. Mr. Hopeman has always
taken a very keen interest in local affairs and is now the president of the
C ommercial Club. He is a member of the Free and .Accepted Masons, hav-
ing filled all the chairs of the local lodge, and of the Ancient Order of
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I49
United Wurkinen, of which he is a past master. For the past five years, he
has served as a member of the school board, where he has given most effi-
cient scr\ice. As a member of tlie Progress Club, lie has done much active
work and lias given his best servive to the home city. Few men in the com-
munity have done more for the welfare of Moorhead antl the surrounding
country than has Mr. Hopeman. whose best efforts have always been
e.xerted for the district in which be has lived and where he is held in the
iiighest regard.
OFF P. XOKKEN.
.NuKing the natixe-boni Xorwegians wlio ha\c come ti) the L'nitcd
States and engaged in general farming and stock raising in Clay county.
is Ole P. Nokken, the owner of a fine farm in Moorhead, Kurt township.
He was born in Norway in liS^j and is the son of Peter P. and Anna
(Ouamme) Xokken. the former of whom was horn in Sogn. Norway in
1825 and the latter, in i82_|, in the same country.
Peter P. Nokken, who is still living at the advanced age of ninetv-
two years, was a farmer in his nati\e country. He was married in Xorw ax-
to Anna Ouamme. and, in 1870. lie and liis wife and clu'ldreii ininiigrated
to this country, where he resumed his farming operations and continued in
such during the acti\e years of his life. Peter P. Nokken and wife were
the parents of four children, as follow : I'eter, deceased: Ole, the subject
of this sketch; iiertha. deceased, and S\en, who is married and li\ing in
North Dakota. His long residence in Clay coiuit\- has endeared Peter
Nokken to a wide circle of friends. He and bis wife were earnest mem-
bers of the United Lutheran churcii, and were e\er interested in all its
good works.
Ole P. Xokken was educated in the schools of his native land and
for some time afterwards assisted his father in farming operations. At
the age of eighteen years he came witli his parents to tliis comitry, in 1870.
On arrixing here, the familv came on out to Minnesota and, in 1871. ( )le
P. Xokken came to Clay county, where he acquired a tract of kuid and
commenced farming on his own account. .Vs be prospered in iiis labors
on the farm, he added to his Land holdings and final!}' became the owner
of three hundred and se\enty-three acres of the choicest land, having pur-
chased the place on which he lives outright in i88j. He is engaged in
general farming and is very successful, his land being profitably and sys-
150
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
tfiiiatically cultivatetl. ;\Ir. Xokken has made many valuable and costly
improvements on his place to bring it up to the standard of modern require-
ments, and he is now accounted one of the best farmers in this section of
the county.
In 1883. Ole 1'. Xokken was united in marriage to limlic liettland.
who was born in i8()5, and following their marriage, they settled on the
farm where they have ever since been living. Mr. and Mrs. Xokken are
the parents of the following children: .Mabel, wiio is married; Kmma, also
married; Anna, Henry, Gilford, Engel, Caroline and Bertha. The Xokken
family are memljers of the United Lutheran church at Salem and are earnestly
interested in all its good works, as well as in the general social activities
of the community, ever supporting all movements having for tlicir purpose
the advancement of the public welfare.
FRED SCHEI,1..\K.
Fred Schellak. owner of a half section of tine land in Elkton town-
ship, Clay county, where he and his family are very comfortably situated,
is of European birth, a native of western Germany, but has been a resi-
dent of this country for the past twenty-five years or more. He was born
on September 16, 1864, son of Gustav and Augusta (Parsharlus) Schel-
lak, also natives of (lermany. the former of whom, a stonemason, died
when his son Fred was but six weeks of age. Tlu- Widow Schellak was
still living in Germany at the time communication was interrupted u])on
the declaration of war between the United States and that country in
the spring of 191 7. (Justav Schellak and wife were the parents of two
sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Carl Schellak. who remained
in his native land.
Reared in his native land, h'red Schellak received his schooling there
and grew up a practical farmer, remaining there engaged in farming until
1892. when he came to the United States and located at St. Louis, where
for three years thereafter he was employed working in a factory. He then
decided to take up farming and went to Iowa, where he rented a farm in
Buchanan county, that state, and was engaged in farming there for three
years, at the end of which time he came up into Minnesota and bought
a farm of eightv acres in Elkton township. Clay county. Three years later
he sold that place and bought the farm on which he is now living, in that
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I5I
same township, and lias since made that his phice of residence, having
developed an excellent piece of property there. Mr. Schellak has three hun-
dred and twenty acres of fine land, on which he has an attractive grove
and substantial farm buildings, one of the best-ordered farm plants in that
neighborhood. In addition to his general farming, he has gi\en considerable
attention to the raising of live stock and has done well in his operations.
On June 19, 1898, Fred Schellak was united in marriage to Bertha
Wendtland, who also was born in Germany, and who came to this country
with her sister, and to this union seven children have been born, Ella.
Otto, Herbert (deceased), Eddie, Alma, Elsie and Clara. The Schellaks
have a pleasant home on a rural mail route out of Glyndon and take an
interested part in the general social activities of the community in which
they live.
LELAND C. FOLLETT.
Leland C. Follett, cashier of the First State Bank of Sabin and treas-
urer of Elmwood township. Clay county, was born at Mapleton, in the
neighboring county of Cass, over the river in North Dakota, on January
28, 1891, son of Charles C. and Sarah E. (Ohr) Follett, the former of
whom was a native of the state of New "S'ork and the latter of Illinois,
pioneers of the Red River countiy.
It was about 1874 that Charles C. Follett came up into this part of
the country and settled on a homestead farm in the immediate vicinity of
Lisbon, in Ransom county. North Dakota. There he made his home until
his removal to Mapleton, in the adjoining county of Cass, where he became
engaged in the grain business. Later, however, he moved to Oriska, where
he remained until about 1912. when he returned East and is now living,
retired, at Williamstown, Pennsylvania. His wife died in 1904. Of the
children born to this parentage, three are still living, the subject of this
sketch having two brothers, C. O. Follett, of Fargo, vice-president of the
Fargo Mercantile Company, and Dr. W. C. Follett. a practicing dentist
at Devils Lake, North Dakota.
Leland C. Follett received his schooling at Fargo and, upon the com-
pletion of the course in the high school of that city, became employed
as bookkeeper and teller in the Dakota Trust Company of Fargo. He
remained thus engaged until his appointment on February i, 1914, as cashier
of the First State Bank of Sabin, which position he still occupies, one of
152 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
the best-known young bankers in Clay county. He established his home
in Sabin in October, 1915, and he and his fainil}- are now \ery pleasant!}-
situated tliere. Mr. Follett gives his earnest attention to local civic affairs
and is now serving as treasurer of his home township.
On December 25. 1914, Leland C. Follett was united in marriage to
leannette Johnson, of Moorhead, and to this union one child has been
born, a son Robert C. Mr. and Mrs. FoUelt are members of the Method-
ist Episcopal church at Sabin and take a proper interest in church work,
as well as in the general good works and social activities of their home
communitv. Mr. Follett is a member of the Ancient Free and Acceptec
Masons, in the affairs of which fraternitv he takes a warm interest.
THOM.XS McCABE.
Thoiuas McCabe, a member of the board of directors of the Sabin State
Bank and the proprietor of a fine farm of seven hundred and twenty acres
in Elmwood township. Clay county, is a native of County Cavan, Ireland.
but has l)een a resident of this country since he was fourteen years of age
and of Minnesota since he established his home here in the spring of 1884,
shortly after his marriage. He was born on March 10, 1858, son of John
and Kate (Murphy) McCabe, also natives of County Cavan, who spent all
their lives in their nati\e land.
At the age of fourteen years Thomas .McCabe left his native Ireland
and came along to the United States. He proceeded on out to Wisconsin
and located at Oshkosh, in the vicinity of which city he began working on
farms and for several years afterward spent his winters attending school. In
the spring of 1880 he came over here into the Keel River country on a pros-
pecting tour and bought the homestead right to a tract of land, the place
on which he is now living; but at that time did nothing toward the develop-
ment of the same, presently returning to Oshkosh, and worked in the timber.
fn the fall of 1883 he was married at Fargo. North Dakota, and shortly-
after his marriage, he and his wife came to Clay county and entered ui)on
the occupancy of the homestead tract he had Ixiught three or four years
before, and have e\er since made that place their home. .Mr. McCabe pros-
pered in his farming operations from the very start and has increased his
holdings until he now owns seven hundred and twenty acres of excellent
land surrounding his home and has long been regarded as one of the most
o
'^'■g^'a^^^.qfll ^Ml^
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY'
.•.«TOB LENOX.
CLAY AXD NOUMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I :; ^
substantial citizens of that community. In addition to his general farmin.t;-.
he gives proper attention to the general business affairs of the community
and is a member of the board of directors of the Sabin State Bank of the
neighboring- village of Sabin.
On October i, 1883. Thomas AlcCabe was united in marriage to Carrie
Moon, daughter of .M. O. Moon and wife, of Pierce county, Wisconsin,
natives of Norway, bi)th of whom are now deceased, and to this union
fire children have Ijeen born, Margaret, Frank H., Emma, Edward G. and
Thomas M., all of whom are li\ing. The McCabes have a very pleasant
home on their well-ke])t farm and have ever given proper attention to
the community's social activities. Mr. McCabe is a member of the local
lodge of the .\ncient i*>ee and Accepted Masons at Barnesville and takes
a warm interest in Masonic affairs.
JAMES A. GARRITY.
James A. Garrity, a well-known and energetic young lawyer of Moor-
head and local attorney there for the Xorthern Pacific Railroad Company,
is a native of the neighboring state of Wisconsin, but has been a resi-
dent of Moorhead since entering upon the practice of his profession upon
completing his studies at law school in 1913. He was born at Hudson,
Wisconsin, July 24, 1892, son of Thomas Garrity and wife, and grew to
manhood at that place. He was graduated from tiie Hudson high school
in 1910 and afterward entered the St. Paul College of Law at St. Paul,
from which institution he was graduated in 191,3, with the degree of Bache-
lor of Laws, and was atlmitted to practice law.
In the December following bis graduation from law school, Mr. Gar-
rity located at Moorhead for the practice of his profession and, until Sep-
tember I, 191 5, was associated there in practice with Edgar E. Sharp.
Upon the termination of that connection, Mr. Garrity formed a partner-
ship for ])ractice with Grover McGrath, a connection which was shortl\-
afterward terminated, since which time he has maintained offices alone.
In addition to his general practice, Air. Garrity is the legal representative
of the Xorthern Pacific Railroad Company at Moorhead. Since taking
u]} his residence in Moorhead, he has given his thoughtful attention to
the .general affairs of this part of the state, and, as a member of the Moor-
head Commercial Club, is doing all he can to advance the material interests
J54 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
of his home town, of whicli lie was elected city attorney on l*'el)i"uar\ 20,
1917.
Mr. Garrity is an earnest member of the Catholic church and is promi-
nently affiliated with the local council of the Knights of Columbus and with
the Catholic Order of Foresters. He also is a member of the local branch
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in the affairs of these several
organizations takes a warm interest.
On May 31, 1917, Mr. Garrity was united in marriage to Marguerita
luans, of Ottumwa, Iowa, the daughter of (ieorge W. and Regina Jivans.
the former being one of Iowa's prosperous farmers in Wapello county,
that state. Mrs. Garrity was the teacher of domestic science in the public
schools of Moorhead before her marriage.
OLE SKALET.
Ole Skalet, one of the best-known and most substantial first settlers
of Clay county, general manager of the Ulen Grain Company at Ulen,
president of Citizens Auto Company of Ulen. vice-president of the State
Bank of Ulen, former president of that village, former chairman of the
board of supervisors of Keene township, former assessor of that township
and the owner there of four hundred and forty acres of fine land, is a
native son of Minnesota and has lived in this state all his life, a continuous
resident of Clay county since he was twenty -one years of age, having come
up here into the Red River country in 1883. He was born on a pioneer
farm in Houston county on Octol>er 14, 1861. son of Knut and Helga
(Olson) Skalet, natives of the kingdom of \orwav. who came to this coun-
try in 1852 and proceeded on out to Minnesota, settling on a farm in
Houston county, where they reared their family and spent the remainder
of their lives, substantial and useful pioneers of that section. Knut Skalet
antl wife were the parents of ten children, of whom the subject of this
sketch was the fifth in order of birth, the others being; Gutrum, Helga,
Mary, Anna, Knut, Gura, Berget, Andrew and Olaus.
Reared on the pioneer home farm in Houston county, Ole Skalet re-
ceived his early education in the local schools, and from the days of his
boyhood was a valued assistant in the labors of developing and improving
the home farm, becoming practical manager of the same when in his teens.
He continued to he thus engaged until he was twenty-one years of age,
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 55
when, in 1883, he came up into the Red River country and began working
in Clay county. He married in 1885, and shortly afterward bought a farm
in section 2 of Keene township, where lie estabhslied his home, liis iirst
place of residence there lieing a humijle shack, nine by eleven feet, enclosed
in lap-siding, with Init one door and one window. This is a distinct ccni-
trast to tlie present substantial farm house and excellent farm buildings
that mark the Skalet farm. When Mr. Skalet took that tract, it was
wholly unimproveil and he "broke" e\'erv furrow and planted e\er}' tree
on the place. As he prospered in his farming, he gradually added U) his
holdings until now he is the owner of two hundred and eighty acres sur-
rounding the home place, and an additional tract of one hundred and sixty
acres in section 4. The old original home shack on the home place is
still standing, and Mr. Skalet is carefully preserving the same as an inter-
esting relic of his experience as a pioneer farmer.
In 1901, Ole Skalet retired from the farm, lea\-ing the same in re-
sponsible hands, and moved to Ulen, where he became engaged as local
manager of the Monarch Elevator Company and was thus engaged until
1911, when he returned In the farm. The next year, however, he returned
to Ulen and there bought the Great Western elevator and has ever since
been operating the same, the elevator now being under the management
of the Ulen Grain Company, of which Mr. Skalet is general manager,
the company doing a general grain, coal and seed business. In addition
to his interests in the grain and coal business, Mr. Skalet takes an active
interest in the general business affairs of his home village, being president
of the Citizens Auto Company of Ulen and vice-president of the State
Bank of Ulen. He has ever taken an interested part in the civic affairs of
the community and for six years served as i)resident of the village council.
During his residence in Keene township, he served for about five years as
chairman of the board of township supervisors, and at the time of his
remo\al t(.) Ulen was serving as township assessor. He also served for several
years as clerk of the local school board and in other ways has given of his
time and energies to the public service. Mr. Skalet is a member of the
Lutheran (Synod) church in Keene township. He helped build the church,
being a member of the building committee when the church was erected,
and for years served as a member of the board of trustees of the same.
In 1885, Ole Skalet was united in marriage to Martine Martinson,
daughter of Carl Martinson and wife, who died in 1909, leaving nine
children: Xedia, Charlotte. Charles, Ella. Hermana. .Myrtle, Elvina, Olga
and Carl.
l^(, CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
M. J. SOLUM.
.M. f. Solum, president ui the Security State I'.ank of Hitterdal, clerk
of Goose Prairie township, and for the past i|uarler of century actively
engaged in the general hardware and farm-iniplement husiness at Hitterdal.
one of the veteran business men of Clay county, is a native of the kin.s^di.ni
of Norway, but has been a resident of Minnesota and of Clay county since
he was fifteen years of age. having come here in the year 1888. He was
l)orn on June 14. 1873, one of tlie three children born to John and Mette
(Solum) Johnson, also natives of Norway, who si)ent all their lives there.
When fifteen years of age M. J. Solum came to the L'nited Staler
in 1888, alone and jiroceeded on out to the Red River country in Min-
nesota, which then was attracting large numbers of settlers, making hi--
honie with some kinsfolk in the township of Tausem. in Clay county.
He arrived there, owing sixtv-hve dollars of money advanced on his steam-
ship ticket, and began working at farm labor, his first wages being eight
or ten dollars a month. Later he learned the carpenter trade, at which
he began working for seventy-five cents a day. his wages being graduall>
increased twenty-tive cents a "raise" until he was receiving one dollar and
seventv-five cents a day. the highest wages he ever received for a (la\"s
labor. During the winter of 1892-93, Mr. Solum took a course of instruc-
tion in Hope Academy ;it .Moorhead; and in die fall of 1893, engaged in
the hardware business at Hitterdal, erecting there a little store building,
eighteen by twenty-four feet, and starting with a stock of goods \alued at
about two hundred and fifty dollars. From that small lieginning Mr. Solum's
present well-established and extensive business has had a continuous growth.
iMom time to time, as the demands of his growing business required, he
built additions on to his original store rocmi and it was not long until he
was doing a large business in the general liardware and farm-implement
line. On January 3. 1914. his store was destroyed by fire, and in that same
year he erected his present substantial store building of brick and cement
i)locks. the same being thirty-three by eighty feet, with a full basement,
and at the same time added to his stock a full line of furniture. In addi-
tion to his mercantile business at Hitterdal. .Mr. Suluni has ever given his
close attention to the general business atYairs of the community. He was
one of the organizers of the Security State Bank of Hitterdal, of which
he has been president for the past ten years. It was also largely through
his initiative that seven or eight years ago the present flourishing Solum
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 57
Elexator Company was organized. He also has given close attention to
local civic affairs and for the past eight or nine years has been clerk of
the township of Goose Prairie.
In the year 1896. abont three years after embarking in bnsiness at
Hitterdal, M. J- Solum was united in marriage to Anna Anderson, and
to this union three children ha\e been Ixjrn, Xorman, Mette and Raymond.
Mr. and Mrs. Solum are members of the L'niled Lutheran church at Hitterdal
and take an active interest in the affairs of the same. Mr. Solum being the
liresent secretar\- of the local congregation.
LUDVIG WALKER.
Ludvig \\'alker, one ni the well-known and prosperous farmers of
Kurtz township, owner of a full section of laud of prime quality, was born
in the kingdom of Norway on Christmas Eve, 1848. He is the son of Kristen
and Brita ( Marum ) Walker, natives of Solvorn, Norway. The original
faniilx- name was Walaker, which has been changed to Walker in recent
years. Kristen Walker wa^ born in 1809, and his wife. Brita (Marum)
Walker, was born in 1809. Thex' were the parents of the following children :
Anna, a widow, now living in Norway: Lars, deceased, and Ludvig. the
subject of this sketch.
Ludvig Walker was educated in the schools of Norway and worked
for some time at farm labor. At the age of twenty-one he decided to .seek
his fortune in tlie United States and came to this country in 1869. On
his arrival, he went to the state of Wisconsin and worked on farms for
about seven or eight years. In 1878, he came lo the state of Minnesota
and settled in Clay county, where he has ever since been engaged in the
active duties of farming aufl is recognized as one of the most progressive
and substantial agriculturalists of Kurtz township. .\s he prospered in Ins
labors, he added to his land holdings and is now the owner of six hundred
and forty acres of ])rime l.-md. one hundred acres of which is set out to
the cultivation of potatoes. .Mr. Walker carried out a series of systematic
improvements on his farm, and his outbuildings and dwelling house are
among the best in the district.
In 1883 Ludvig Walker was united in marriage to Carrie Grove, who
was born in Minnes(.la in November. 1862. They are the parents of the
following children: Annie, deceased: Thomas, Carl and Minnie, all living
158 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
at home with tlieir parents. The Walker family aue members of the Luth-
eran church and take a proper interest in the affairs of the same, as well
as in the general social activities of the community in which Mr. W .ilk-cr
has resided for nearly forty years. Mr. Walker is an independent in ixjli-
tics, and has served the public as township super\isor and as treasurer of the
district school board. In addition to this, he has in other ways given of his
time and ability to the furtherance of all nioxemcnts having for their object
the general good of the community.
GEORGE F. FITTIS.
Among the native-born German settlers of Clay county, who are en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits, is George V. h\ichs, who was born in tiie
Fatherland in 1863, but has l)een a resident of this country since he was
seventeen years old. He is a son of Martin and Mary (Bick) I'uchs. also
natives of Germany.
Alartin Fuchs w.is born in German\' about the _\ear 184J and died
there in iS/J at the early age of thirty. He was married to Mary Bick,
who came to this country some three years after her son, George F., and
spent her last days in this county, dying about 1913. after she had reached
the advanced age of seventy-seven years. Martin Fuchs and wife were
the [larents of two children. C harlie W .. deceased, and (ieorge 1'"., the subject
of this sketch.
George F. Fuchs was educated under the e.\celleiu school system pre-
vailing in Germany and at the age of seventeen, in 1880, immigrated to
the United States. He was but nine years old at the time of his father's
death and the responsibility of doing for him.self was early cast upon him.
On his arrival in this country, he started for Ottawa, Illinois, and remained
in that place for three years. He then moved to Chicago, that state, and
work in that city for about seven years, at the end of which period he
went to the state of Kansas and engaged in farm work for some twelve
years. About 1902, Mr. Fuchs made a further change, coming to the state
of Minnesota and settling in Clay county, where he has ever since been
engaged in farming and has been very successfid. Me purchased land in
Glyndon township, and, as he succeeded in his farming operations, he added to
his holdings, and is now the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of
fine land, the equal of any in the township. He follows general farming
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 59
and. at the present time, one of his important crops is potatoes, of whicla
he has about sixty acres in cultivation. He is regarded as one of the
progressive and substantial farmers, following modern methods in his work.
In 1887, George F. Fuchs was united in marriage to Lena Gutyahr,
who was born in 1862. They are the parents of five children, as follow :
George M., who is married; Carl F., Archie, Jennie and Emily, who are
at home with their parents. The Fuchs family are members of the Lutheran
church and take a proper interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in
the general social activities of the community in which they live. Air. Fuchs
gives a good citizen's attention to public affairs, having been treasurer of
the school board for ten years and is now ser\-ing as township trustee, in
which office he is giving general satisfaction.
ALFRED OSS.
Alfred Oss was born in Keene township. Clay county, Minnesota,
March 27, 1893, a son of John and Johanna (Wenner) Oss, l.)oth nati\es
of Norway.
John Oss came to America in 1882 and located in .\tlanta township,
Becker county, Minnesota, where he engaged in farming. In 1886, he came
to Keene township, Clav county, and took a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres of government land. He built him a home and improved tliis
land and continued to live there until 1896, when he returned to Becker
county, Minnesota, and bought a farm of eighty acres. Later he sold this
farm and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 33.
Atlanta township, where he lived, actively engaged in farming until 1914.
when he sold out and remo\ed to Hitterdal, Clay county. I'or fourteen years,
while living in Becker county, he was county surveyor; he also ser\ed
twenty years on the school board, and f(.ir two years as township assessor.
A more extended sketch of John Oss appears in another jilace in this work.
Alfred Oss was educated in the public schools of Atlanta townshij
Clay county. He learned the barber trade, when a young man, and 1
lowed that occupation for three years. In 191 5, he and his sister, Helga.
started a general grocery store at Hitterdal, which the\- operated jointly
until his sister married Julius Schloesser, and then he assumed entire control
of the business. Mr. Oss was appointed postmaster in 1914 and now holds
that position. On October 5. T915, he married Lillian Tingdahl, dan.ghter
of Theodore Tingdahl. .Mr. Oss is a member of the Synod Lutheran cbnrcli.
),
.,1-
l6o CLAY AND NORMAN COl'NTIKS. MINNI-SOTA.
HENRY SCHROF.DKR.
Henry Scliroeder, who began his activi- Ute in an humble way, now
president of the First National BanU at Moorhead, also interested in other
banking institutions, and owner of extensive land holdings in and about Clay
county, is a native-born German, but has been living in this county siuce
1871. He was born in Renesburg. Holstein. Germany, August 31. 1853. a
son of Henry and W'ilhelmina (May) Schroedcr, both of whom were natives
of that same country and there spent all their lives.
The senior Henry Schroeder was engaged in the tannery business in
his native land, and bad followed that occupation during all of his active
life, the tannery still being carried on by his son. Adolph. The elder Henry
Schroeder died in German>- before the sul)ject of this sketch came to America.
Wilhelmina Schroeder, his wife, died the summer after her son, Henry,
immigrated to this country. The tannery has been in the possession of the
Schroeder family for upwards of one hundred years. To Henry Schroeder
and wife three children \\ere born, namely: Adolph, who still operates the
tannery in Germany; Emil, who came to America about 1867, now living
in San Francisco, where be is engaged in the fur-dyeing and dressing busi-
ne.ss; and Flenry, the subject of this review. The parents of these children
were members of the German Lutheran church.
Henry Schroeder attended the excellent .schools provided by the edu-
cational system of Germany and received a very thorough education. Ik-
came to the United States in 1871 and proceeded out to P.enson, Minnesota.
which town was then the terminus of the Great Xorthern railroad. From
this point he started out on an eighty-mile walk, going north to .Mexandria,
the journey occupying a few days, to join an uncle. AMiile living at the lat-
ter place he worked on farms during the summers, going for that purpose
to different parts of southern Minnesota. When winter would set in he
generallv returned to .Mexandria, and north of that town he spent most of
the winter seasons bunting and trapping, still continuing to reside with his
uncle, and during a portion of the time he lived in a very rude shack.
In 1878 Henry Schroeder left Alexandria and came to Wadena, accom-
panying the mail carrier on the journey. From Wadena be traveled on to
Glyndon, Clav countv, via the Northern Pacific railroad, and then walked
to where Sabin now is, most of the way being partly under water. He
purchased a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres in F.lmwood town-
ship, Clav county. He then returned during tlie next winter, going on foot.
. DaTIONSI
MRS_ HENRY SCHROEDER
HENRY SCHROEDER.
THE NEW vf,HK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A STOP
TILDCN '
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. l6l
to Alexandria and there bought a team of horses, whicli lie brought back
to Elmwood township, the following January. In the preceding summer
he had purchased oxen near Sabin and used them to break the land for till-
age. He continued at the laborious task of breaking and clearing the land
on his tree claim, and finally got it fit for the planting of crops. Later, he
added forty acres to the tree-claim holding and still lives on that farm,
where he was first housed in a small shack, which had been standing up to
a recent date.
Prosperity attended j\lr. .Schroeder's efforts from the very start. He
became an extensive farmer and potato grower. He is now the owner of
two thousand six hundred acres of prime land, one thousand acres of which
is lying near Sabin and sixteen hundred acres near Glyndon, Clay county.
He has effected numerous costly and substantial improvements on his various
tracts of land, the entire amount so expended being seventy-five thousand
dollars. He erected warehouses at Watts and Sabin. and bought potatoes
for some years, storing them in these warehouses, but the latter he now
operates for his own use. In addition to his vast land holdings Mr. Schroeder
is connected with banking. He is now the president of the First National
3ank of Moorhead, which institution has flourished under his wise guidance,
u'n 1908 he helped to organize the First State Bank of Sabin, and is also
the president of that thriving bank. He is also interested in the operations
of other banks, principally as a stockholder, and is recognized throughout
the entire county as one of the foremost bankers in this part of the state,
as well as being one of the most substantial landowners in the county.
In 1879 Henry Schroeder was united in marriage to Wilhelmina Krab-
benhoft, who was born in Germany, a daughter of Wolf Krabbenhoft and
wife, also natives of Germany. Her parents were farmers in their native
land. They immigrated to the United States in 1874, coming on the same
shi]) which had brought Mr. Schroeder three years earlier. On their arrival
in this country they came on out to Minnesota and located near Sabin,
Clay county, and bought land on which they carried on general farming for
several vears, later dying in the vicinity where they had settled. They were
members of the German Lutheran church. Their eldest son, W. C, who
had come to America some couple of years before them, is still living near
Sabin. Mr. and Mrs. Krabbenhoft. were the parents of the following chil-
dren: W. C Chris. Eliza, Anna, Henry O.. Wilhelmina and Henry.
To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder the following cliildren were born:
E. C. Theo, Minnie. Emma, Ernest. Irene, Erhart and Henry. Mrs.
(iia)
l62 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Schroeder passed away on April 5. 1917, and \va^ l)uried in the (kninan
Evangelical Lutheran cemetery at Sabin on April S. Tlie Schroeder famil\-
are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and are active work-
ers in all church affairs, wanuly interested in all that concerns the welfare
of the community, where din-ing their long years of residence they have
been universally esteemed and regarded as representing the highest type of
citizens. In politics. Mi: Schroeder is a supporter of the Republican party,
but has never been a seeker after public ofiice, preferring to devote his nnic
and energies to his commercial, banking and land-holding interests.
ANDRLW l-.GGIMAN.
Among the native-born Swiss who have come to .\merica and engaged
in general farming with considerable success in Elniwood township, Clay •
count\-. is .Andrew Eggiman, who was born in the republic of Switzerland,
.August 24. i86(;. He is the son of John and .\nna (Merkendahl) Eggi-
man, also natives of the same country, the former of whom is now about
seventy years old. but the son, .Andrew, has not heard from his father or
mother for some twent\- years. John and Anna Eggiman are parents of
three children, namely: Anna and Elsie, who are living in Switzerland.
and .\ndrew. die subject of this .-sketch. The members of the Eggiman fam-
ily in the old countrv are members of the Lutheran church. The parents
came from ;i long line of ancestors, noted for upright lives in the part of
their native country in which they lived.
\ndrew Eo-giman attended the schools of his home district in Switzer-
land, and when he reached the age of twenty-three in 1892, he immigrated
to the United States. On arriving in this country, he went on out to Liv-
ingston. Illinois, where he was eiuployed at farming work for two years. .\t
the end of that period, he went to Calhoun county. Iowa, where he also en-
gaged in the labors of the farm, living in that state for nine years. He then
decided to acipiire land for himself and. with that purpose in view, came to
Minnesota in 1900. and settled in Elmwood township, Clay county. Here
he is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of choice, land, which has
been placed in a high state of cultivation. He has placed important and valu-
able improvements on his farm, on which his operations are very successful.
When Air. Eggiman assumed possession of his farm, a house stood on the
land, but this he has torn down and a new- and substantial dwelling erected
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 163
in its place: here lie and his family are comfortably and pleasantly situated.
On February 9, 1895, .\ndre\v Eosriman was united in marriage in
.\nna .\'yt1er, a daughter of Jacob Xyller and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Eggiman
are the parents of the following children: WilHam, Martha, Walter, Her-
man and Rudolph, all of whom are living at home with their parents.
Andrew Eggiman and his family are members of the Presliyterian church,
and he is a Renujjlican in ixilitics.
H ALDOR P. NYGAARD.
ll;ildcir I'. .Vygaard, fi)rmer president of the village of Halstad, former
recorder and treasurer of the same, former justice of the peace, present sec-
retary of the local school l.ioard, secretary of tlie local creamery company
and head of the lirm of Xygaard & Hostad. retail dealers in meats at Hal-
stad. is a nati\e of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident of Min-
nesota and of Xoi-nian county since the days of his childhood. He was born
in the cit\- of Troudlijem on May 30, 1871, son of 1'. J. and Jonette (Moen)
Xvgaard, nati\es of that same country, who came to Minnesota in 1881
with tluir family and settled in Hendrum township, Xorman county, remain-
ing there on a farm until the station at Halstad was established, when, in
1883, t!ie_\' moved to that [jlace, where Mrs. Xygaard siJent her last days and
where Mr. XA.gaard is still living, an honored pioneer of Xorman county.
1'. |. .Xygaard was a carpenter in his native land and he built for him-
self one of the fust houses erected in Halstad, besides building many other
houses there in ;iu early day. On April 9, tgio. he and his wife celebrated
their golden wedding anniversary, about sixty guests being present, besides
six of iheir ciiildreu, forty-three grarid-children and one great-grandchild.
Mr. Xvgaard now has fifty -one grandchildren and fourteen great-grand-
children. To iiim and his wife eight children were born, all of whom are
living sa\e Ole. the last-born, who died in 1883, the others being Jacob,
Ingeborg-, Hansine, Haldor and John P.
ilaldor P. Xygaard was ten years of age when his parents came to
Minnesota and he grew to manhood at Halstad, early learning the carpenter
trade under the skillful direction of his father. Upon completing the course
in the local public schools he took a cour.se at Concordia College at Moor-,
head, and upcjn leaving school engaged in the carpenter trade and was thus
engaged at Halstad for ten vears. Tn igoo he started a meat market at Hal-
164 CLAY AND NOKMAX COr\'TIKS. MIN.VESOTA.
stad in partnership with S. Ftjrseth and tliat connection continued for a
couple of years, at the end of which time Forseth sold his interest in the
business to A. Melting, who remained a partner of Mr. Nygaard until 1908.
when he suld liis interest to A. M. Hostad and the business has since then
Iseen continued uncler tlie firm name of X\gaard & ITostad. Mr. Xygaard
lias ever taken an acti\e interest in local affairs and particularly in the affairs
of the village schools, in the upbuilding of which no one has been more
enthusiastically attentive than he. it benig generally admitted that the present
splendid school in the village owes its present form largely to his long-con-
tinued, energetic and unselfish service in thai behalf. Me has been a member
of the local school board since 1897 and is now ihc efficient secret:iry of
the hoard. In other ways Mr. Nygaard has devoted much time and labor
to the public welfare and has long been accounted one of Halstad's most
l)ui)lic-spirited citizens. He has served as a member of the village council,
was for two terms president of the same and has also served as village
recorder, as treasurer and as justice of the peace. He has ever been active
in promoting local enter|>rises and is now the secretary of the local creamery
company.
In 1906 Haldor P. Nygaard was united in marriage to Hansine Grend-
stad. and to this union seven children ha\ e been born. Pcrcival H., Elmer.
Julia B.. Amanda Belinda, Oliver, Herman and Ethel N'ictoria. Mr. and
Mrs. Nygaard are members of the United Lutheran church, in the affairs of
\vhich they take a warm interest, as well as in the general social activities of
their home town, and Mr. Nygaard fur some years has been a member of
the board of trustees of the church.
EDWIN ADAMS.
Edwin Adams, one of the well-known and successful attorneys and
prominent business men of Moorhead. Clay county, was born in Lanark
county, Ontario, Canada, on July 19, 1852, a son of Daniel Adams and
wife, both natives of the Dominion of Canada, where they received their
education in the public schools, and lived their li\es. they having died in
the land of their nati^•it^• some years ago. The paternal grandfather, Joshua
•Adams, was a native of Vermont and was a captain in the British Army.
during the time of the Revolutionan.- War. After that memorable cf)ntlict. he
located in Canada, where he established his home and continued to live
CLAY AND XOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 05
until the time of his deatli. Daniel Adams, as a young man, engaged in
the milling business and in time became the owner of a saw, flouring and a
woolen mill, in the operation of which he met with success. He and h\<
father, during the time of the Mcivenzie Rebellion in the year 1837. took
an active part in assisting the government to quell .the disturbance. The
family were ever prominent in local aiTairs, and were active in the social
and religious life of the communit\- where they liveil. being held in high
regard and esteem by all.
Edwin .\dams received his education in the schools of Ontario and
there he grew to manhood. He later studied law in the office of T. B.
Pardee and others in Ontario, after which he came u> the United States
and established himself at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was with the
Omaha Railroad C"oni])any for one and a half years. He came to .\l<„ior-
head, Minnesota, in the year 1881, and, on July 13 of that year, entered
the employ of H. G. Finkle in the mercantile and grain business, remaining
until 1884. His desire had been to engage in the practice of the law, and
in the last year mentioned :>.bove opened an office at Hawley, where he
practiced with success until 1892, when he returned to Moorhead, becoming
cashier of the First National Bank. Sometime later he opened a law office
and has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. In
connection with his legal practice, he is engaged in the insurance and real-
estate business, and is today regarded as one of the successfid and substantial
men in his line of work in the state. His careful businesslike methods
have won for him a large circle of friends and clients, who regard him
as a man of the highest integrity.
It was in the vear 189J that Edwin Adams was united in marriage
to Georgia Axtel of Troy, Penn.sylvania, and to this union the following
children have been born: E. Maurice, Helen M., John C. Grace E., .Man
K., Henry A., and Laura C, all of whoiji are now living.
Mr. and Mrs. Adams are active members of the F.piscopal church and
have long been prominent in the social and the religious life of their home
town. Their interests have ever been for the betterment and the growth
of the district in which they have lived, and their best efforts have ever
l>een exerteil in the promotion of those enteq^rises that would tend to the
substantial growth and improvement of the city of Moorhead and the sur-
rounding country. They have had much to do with the high sentiment of
their city in its educational anfl moral development.
Mr. Adams is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the i<o\al
Arcanum, the .\ncient Order of United Workmen and the Commercial
l66 CLAY AM) XORMAN ('( H' XIU:S. MINNESOTA.
Club. He ha.^ never been a seeker after oliice. yet he has taken the keenest
interest in local affairs and has had much to do with the civic life ot
the district. While living in Canada, he was a member of the C"anadian
Volunteers and saw active service iii the I'enian Raid, and held a commis-
sion as lieutenant. Mr. .Adams is a man of much force of character and
is a leader in the \arious organizations of which he is a member. I le has
lived a useful and active life anc! i-~ today known as one of the prnminent
men of Moorhead.
"R.\XK P. THOMPSON.
]-"rank 1'. 'riionipson. proprietor of a well-kept farm in Elmwood town-
ship. Cla\- county, and one of the pioneers of that neighborhood, is a native
of the kingdom of Denmark, but has l)een a resident of this county since he
was nineteen years of age and of Minnesota since 1880, the year in which he
liomesteaded the tract on which he is now living and where he has made his
home since his niarria.ge in the year following his location there. He was
born in 185J, son of I'eter and Cecelia ( Johanson) Thompson, also natives
of Denmark, industrious farming jieople. who spent all their lixc^ in their
native land.
Reared on the home farm in Denmark. Frank P. Thompson received
his schooling in his native schools and he remained at home until he was
nineteen years of age. when, in 1871. he came to the United States and
located at Ivan Claire. Wisconsin, where for two years thereafter he was
engaged working in tlie lumber mills and in the big timber adjacent to that
place. He then went to Okoma. in that same state, and a short time after-
ward went over into the big timber region of Michigan, where he worked
for some lime in the luniljer woods. He then returned to Wisconsin and
located at Oshkosh. where he became acfjuainted with Thomas McCabe and
in 1880 the two of them came over into this part of Alinnesota and home-
steaded neighlx)ring quarter sections in Elmwood township, Clay county. In
the ne.xr year. 1881. Mr. Thompson married and established his home on his
(|uarter section, but Mr. McCabe did not settle on his tract until after his
marriage in 1883. The old neighbors are still living alongside each other
and the fine neighborly relations established back in the days of their pio-
neering together have remained altogether amicable and wholly undisturbed
all these years : the fine friendship which sprang up between the two young
men from a foreign shore, for Mr. AfcC.abe .also is of European birth, a
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 167
native of the Emerald Isle, remaining as tinii as in the days when it was
cemented by their mutual interest upon coming up here into the Red River
country to look for homes. Mr. Thompson has improved his place in admir-
able shape and has been quite successful in his operations, for years having
been regarded as one of the most substantial farmers in that neighborhood.
In 1881 Frank 1'. Thompson was united in marriage to Katie .\. Gal-
ligan, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and to this union five children have been
born, Stephen, Thomas, Marie, Marjorie and Katheryn, all of whom are
living. The Thompsons have a very pleasant home on their well-kept farm
and from the days of the beginning of their residence there have ever given
their thoughtful attention to the general improvement of the community
in which they have lived since the days of the pioneers.
JOHN CONNELLY.
John Connelh , proprietor of a line farm of two hundred acres in
Glyndon township, and one of the best-known young farmers in that part
of Clay county, was born on a pioneer farm in that township on April
lo, 1883, son of Patrick and Bridget (Lundy) Connelly, natives of Ireland,
who became pioneers of this section of Minnesota and the latter of whom
is still living on the old homestead farm in Glyndon township, where the
family settled about the year 1880.
It was in 1877 that Patrick Connelly and his wife came to the United
States from their native Ireland and located in New York City. Not
long afterward they moved to Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1879, Pat- *
rick Connelly started West on a prospecting tour and his good fortune
directed his way up here into the Red River country, his destination being
Moorhead. Becoming deeply impressed with the possibilities of this region,
Mr. Connellv returned East and in the fall of that same year brought his
family here and located at Moorhead. Three years later, he settled on
the farm in Glyndon township, where he established his permanent home
and where be .spent the rest of his life, a well-to-do farmer, his death
occurring there on May 12, 1912. Patrick Connelly from the very beginning
of his residence there took an active part in local civic affairs and for
fifteen years, or more, served his home township in the important capacity
of a member of the board of supervisors, and in other ways contributed
of his time and his energies to the public service. He and his wife were
]68 CLAY AND NORMAN C0T;NTIES. MINNESOTA.
members of the Catholic church and took an active part in local parish
affairs. They were the parents of three sons, the subject of this .'sketch
having two brothers, William and James Connelly, who are still living on
the old home place with their widowed mother.
John Connelly was reared on the home farm in Glyndon township
and attended the common schools of that neighlmrhood. .Vs a youth, h-
learned the carpenter trade and worked at the same until 1909, two years
after his marriage, when he bought a quarter of a section of Jand in Glyn-
don township, not far from his old home, and has ever since made that
place his home. In 1914, he bought an adjoining tract of two hundred acres
and is very successful in his farming operations, being regarded as one
of tlie substantial farmers of that neighborhood.
On February 2-], 1907, John Connelly was united in marriage to .Mannc
Krabbenhoft, who was born in Elmwood townsliip. Clay county, daughter
of W. C. Krabbenhoft and wife, pioneers of that township and further
and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work To this
union three children have been born. I^wrence. ]'"<lna and Helen. Mr. and
Mrs. Connelly have a very pleasant home and have e\cr taken an interested
part in the general social activities of the community in which they have
lived all their lives. Mr. Connelly is a member of the Masonic lodge at
jNIoorhead and of the ^lodern Woodmen of America at that place. In
the affairs of both of these organizations he takes a warm interest.
EDWIN C. BENEDICT.
Edwin C. Benedict, clerk of Glyndon township. Clay county, and one
of the best-known and most substantial farmers of that part of the county.
is a native of Wisconsin, but has Ijeen a resident of Minnesota and of Cla}-
county since he was seventeen years of age, his parents having settled here
in 1887. He was born at Oshkosh. Wisconsin. January 19, 1870, son of
Stephen D. and Sarah F. (Pride) Benedict, the former a native of Ohio
and the latter of Maine, who were married in Wisconsin and later came to
Alinnesota. becoming pioneers of Clay count\-. where the fomier died, tht
latter going to California, where her last days were spent.
Stephen D. Benedict, who was an honored veteran of the Civil War,
was but a child when his parents moved from Ohio to Wisconsin, becoming
pioneers of the Oshkosh neighborhood, where he was reared on a pioneer
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 69
farm. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he eiiHsted for service as a
member of Company C, Fourteenth Regiment, Wisconsin VoUinteer In-
fantry-, and with that command served for four years and three months,
during whicli long period of service he never was wounded nor taken pris-
oner. After the war Mr. Benedict continued for some time in service, on
guard dut}-, and ujion the completion of his military service returned to his
home in Wisconsin, where he presently married Sarah I'. Pride, who was
Ijorn in the state of Maine and who was but a girl when her parents came
over into the northwest and settled in the vicinity of Oshkosh. After his
marriage Mr. Benedict continued to make his home in Wisconsin until 1887,
in which year he moved with his family over into Minnesota and bought a
homestead right to a (|uarter of a section of land in .\lliance township, Clav
county, which he "proved up" and improved and to which he added by later
purchase until he became the owner of six hundred and forty acres there,
one of the best farms in that part of the county, and on that place he spent
his last days. His widow later moved to California, where her last days
were spent. Stephen D. Benedict took an active part in local civic affairs
and fur some years served as assessor of Alliance township. He and his
wife had three children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mabel,
wife of Henry Legler, of Blackduck, up in Beltrami county, and a brother,
Henry Benedict, of Oakland, California.
As noted abo\'e, I^dwin C. Benedict was seventeen vears of age when
he came into the Red River country with his parents in 1887, the family set-
tling in Clay county, and he at once became an active factor in the labors of
developing and improving the home place in Alliance township. After his
.marriage ten years later he rented the home place and operated the same for
four years, at the end of which time he bought the place on which he is now
living, in Giyndon township, and has since made his home there. He has
done well in his operations there and has increased his holdings until now
he is the owner of nine hundred and twenty acres and has long been re-
garded as one of the most substantial citizens of that part of the county. In
addition to his general farming, Mr. Benedict gives considerable attention to
the raising of live stock and makes a specialty of his fine Percheron horses.
His place is improved in admirable sliajie and he has one of the best farm
plants in Clay county. The year in which he moved to Giyndon township
Mr. Benedict was elected township clerk and by successive re-elections has
ever since been retained in that office, giving his most thoughtful and intelli-
gent attention to local civic affairs. He likewise gives his interested atten-
tion to the general business affairs of the community and is a stockholder in
I JO CLAY AND NORMAN COUNXmS. MINNESOTA.
the Equity packing plant at Fargo and in the creamery i)iant at .Moorhead.
On November lo. 1S97, Edwin C. Benedict was united in marriage to
Kallierine Wiedenian. daughter of Ewald W'iedenian ;ind wife, of Clay
county, and to this union ten children have been born, Mabel, Ewald, Lila,
l-'.sther. Alice. Ethel, I'Vances, lulwin. George and ('".dith, all of whom are
living. The Benedicts have a very pleasant home on their fine farm ;uid
have ever given their iinijicr attention to the general social activities and
good works of the community in which they live, helpful in many ways in
liromoting movements ilesigned to adxance the common good thereabout.
HENin" GRETTUM.
One of the most promising of the younger farmers of Cla)' comity is
Henry Grettum, who lives on the farm on which he was born in L'len
township. He has been wise in remaining on the homestead where he has
found all the opportunities necessary for a successful career as a tiller of
the soil. Too many of our farmer boys hasten away to some distant city
to start their careers. The life of the average farmer is more satisfactory
in many respects than that of his city brother.
Mr. Grettum was born on May 11, nSgi, in L'len townshij), Clay
county, a son of John and Bertha ( Klemmetson ) Grettum, both natives
of Xorwav, where they spent their earlier years, but were still single when
they immigrated to America. They were married in Houston county, Minne-
sota, where he had settled in the seventies. John Grettum worked as a
farm hand until 1882, when he came to Clay county and took up a home-,
stead of one hundred and si.xty acres in Ulen town.ship, where he has since
made his home. He dexeloped the raw land into a good farm, placing it
under excellent improvements, including the erection of a substantial group
of buildings. He has engaged in general farming and stock raising. His
wife died in 191 5. She was a member of the Lutheran church to which
he also belongs. He was treasurer of the .school board in his district
for a number of years. To John Grettum and wife six children were born,
namelv : Clara, Julius, Selma, Clarence, Henrv and Helen, all of whom
are living at this writing.
Henry Grettum received his education in the district schools. He has
always lived on the home farm, which he has l)een managing successfully
since 1916. He received excellent training tinder his father and is a student
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. \J\
of modern methods of agriculture. He feeds much of the grain the phice
produces to h\e stocic, fattening large numbers of cattle and hogs for the
market annually. He has remained unmarried He has been treasurer of
the local school district for two years. I'oliticallv. be is a Republican.
JOHN HENRY FREEA'IAN.
John Henry Freeman, manager of the Moorhcad Nezvs, is a native of
the state of Illinois, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was a
child, having been lint four years of age when his parents settled at Moor-
head. He was born ;it Rdckfnrd,. Illinois. May 27. 1878, son of C. W. and
Anna M. ( Blomf|uisl i breeman. who came to Minnesota in March, 1882,
and settled in Mooriiead. where they since have made their home.
Jn ]<)07 John 11. breeman became proprietor of the Moorhcad Iiulc-
l^cndcnt and continued as the publisher of that paper until 191 1, in which
year he disjiosed of his paper and was thereafter engaged in operating a job-
printing plant in Fargo. North Dakota, until in April, 1916, when he was
enga.ged as manager by the Moorhead News Company, of which he is one
I'f the stiickholders.
LEWIS LOFGREN.
Lewis Lofgren, cashier of the First National Bank of Ulen and one
of the most"acti\e real-estate dealers and promoters of immigration in
Clav county, is a native of Sweden, but has been a resident of this country
since he was four years of age. He was born on March u. 1864. son
of Olaf and Margaret (Johnson) Lofgren. also natives of the kingdom
of Sweden, who came to the L'nited States with their famil\- in 1868 and
-ettled in Trempealeau cmint)'. Wisconsin. Two years later, in 187c. they
came over into Minnesota and located on a homestead quarter section in
I 'ope comity, between Tdenwood and Sauk Center, remaining there until
their retirement from the farm and removal in 1908 to Duluth, where
both are now living. To Olaf Lofgren and wife were l)orn seven children,
of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth: the
others being: Charles J.. August. Julius. Fred. Melvin and Clara L.
.\s noted above, Lewis Lofgren was but four years of age when he
came with his parents to this country and was but six when they moved
1J2 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
from Wisconsin to Pope county, this state. He grew to manhood on the
home farm in the latter county, a valued assistant to his father and elder
brother in the labors of improving and tleveloping the home place. lie
supplemented the schooling he received in the local schools by attendance
at the high school at Sauk Center and at a business college at La Crosse.
Wisconsin. In the meantime, his elder brother, Charles J. Lofgren, had be-
come engaged in the drug business at Sauk C^enter and, uiX)n leaving the
business college, Lewis Lofgren liecame engaged as prescription and general
clerk in his brother's store, continuing thus engaged for three years. At
the end of that period, in 1886, he transferred his services to the Bank of
Park Kivcr at Park River. Xorth Dakota, and was there employed as lx)ok-
keeper and assistant cashier until 1890, wlien he returned to Minnesota
and became engaged as assistant cashier in the bank of his brother, Charles
T. Lofgt;en. at Ada. n(n\ the First National Bank, and was thus engaged
there until i8c;_'. In that year, he went to the coast and for two years
thereafter was employed in a bank at Sumas City, Washington. In 1894
Mr. Lofgren returned to the i)lace he had left in the bank at Ada and
remained there until 1897, when he went to Chicago ami was for a year
engaged in the maimfacturing business in that city. He then returned
to the bank at .\da and was there again employed until in June, 1899,
when he was elected cashier of the State Bank of L'len and moved to that
village, where be has since resided. In December, 1903, the State IJank
of Ulen was reorganized and was rechartered as the First National Bank
of Ulen, Mr. Lofgren being retained as cashier of the same, a jwsition he
still occupies, one of the best-known bankers in this part of the state. Since
taking up his residence in Lien, Mr. Lofgren has been also actively engaged
in the general real-estate business, with particular reference to farm lands,
and in that capacity has done much to stimulate immigration to this part
of the state, having encouraged many settlers to locate in this region.
In the year 1897 Lewis- Lofgren was united in marriage to CharloUe
C. Irwin, and to this imion five children have been born: Lowell I., ?^Iar-
, garet L., Lawrence, Mildred and Charles. The Lofgrens have a very pleas-
ant home at Ulen and take an interested part in the general social activities
of the community. Mr. Lofgren is a member of the local lotlges of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest. He
gives careful attention to the general business and civic activities of W\>
home village and of the county at large, and has long been regarded as
one of Clav countv's "live wires."
CLAV AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MIXXESOTA. 1 73
JEXS LARSON.
Jens Larson, a suljstantial and progressive farmer, ihe owner of large
tracts of land in Clay county, former treasurer of the township school board,
and otherwise identified with public affairs, was born in the kingdom of
Sweden, but has been living in the L'nited States for the past thirty years,
ha\'ing immigrated from his native land in 1887. He is the son of Lars
and Anna Fireson. also born in Sweden and who spent their last days in
that country.
Lars Fireson was educated in the schools of his native land, following
which he engaged in farming and continued thus occupied during the years
of his active life, his death occurring in 1902, when he had reached the
age of seventy-seven years. His wife, Anna Fireson, died in 191 2 at the
ad\anced age of eighty-five years. They were the parents of the following-
children : Peter and John, living in this country ; Torkel, who lives in
Sweden; Johanna, the wife of Ingle Christianson, and who lives in Sweden;
-Marie, who married Xels Pearson and lives in Haver, Montana, and Jens,
the subject of this sketch.
Jens Larson was educated in the schools of his native land and was
reared on his father's farm, where he was an able assistant in the work
of the farm. In 1887, he left Sweden and came to this country, locating in
Clay county, Minnesota, where he settled in section 16, Hawley township.
There he bought two hundred acres of land, which he continued to operate
for several years and which he still owns. His first venture in farming
in the new country pro\ing successful, he continued to add to his land
holdings and in T902 he Ijought a tract of two hundred and sixty-seven
acres in section 8, Hawley township. Mr. Larson and his sons now own
among them about one thousand acres of the choicest land to be found
in the township. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising, having
an excellent herd of Shorthorn cattle, and since the commencement of h{>
operations he has been most successful, everything about his farms l>emg
in good order and condition. He has entirely remodeled some of the
outbuildings and erected new ones, including potato storage accommodation
and additions to the dwelling house. He allots about seventy acres to
the cultivation of potatoes and is generally regarded as one of the progres-
sive and substantial farmers of the township.
In November, 1889, Jens Larson was united in marriage to Anna
iThvsell) Tolson. Mrs. Larson had been married before, the first husband
174 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
being Andrew Tolson. who died in Clay county. .Minnesota, in 1888. Tliere
were no children Ijorn to this union. Mrs. Larson was horn in Sweden in
February, 1867, and came to .\nierica twenty years afterward, in 1887. She
was the daughter of Andreas and Emma (Helstrom) Thysell, both i\ative~
of Sweden, where the father died in 1901. The mother, who survived the
father, came to .\merica in igo6 to join her children, all of whom have
come to this country except one. Albion, who still resides in Sweden: the
others are: Anna, the wife of the subject oi' this review: August, wh"
was drowned near I'ortland. Oregon; Tilda, the wife of John Larson,
living near St. Cloud. Minnesota.: Xels, who resides in Hawley, and Carl.
living in Hawlex' township, .\ndreas and lunula Tliysel! were de\out and
conscientious iiieniliers of the Lutheran church, rearing their children in
that faith. Jens and .\niia Larson are the parents of eleven cliildren all
of whom are living: Lewis, Edward, who owns eighty acres anil rents a
half section: Anna. Carl. Hilda. Selnia. Clarence. \'ictor. X'endal. Oscar
and Ida. Mr. Larson takes a good citizen's interest in the local civic affair--
and in the general conditions of the cominunit\ in which he li\es. He
served on the township board and as super\isor iov ten years, and was
treasiuer of the schcjol board for two terms. In these representative posi-
tions he rendered a good account of himself, serving tlic ]ienple with fidelitx'
and abilit\-.
li:XS WIXTU.M. IK.
L the husbandman is fortunate enough to have the true vision of
farming and starts out to make it a reality, he will certamly find this busi-
ness a most profitable one. He will urge the l)ackward acres of his farm
into actix it\ that will make them produce abundantly, keep a good grade of
li\e stock and use the most modern implements. S\ich a man is lens W'inium.
Jr., of Goose Prairie township. Clay county.
Mr. Winjuni was born in Fillmore countv. Minnesota, belirnary 21.
1871. a son of Jens. Sr., and Margaretta W'injum. both natives of Norway,
where they .sjient their earlier years, finally coming to America and locating
in I<"illmore county. Minnesota. The mother died in 1905 at the age of sixty
years. The father was twenty years okl when he came to America, coming
at once to Fillmore county, this state, where he worked out as a farm hand.
He came up to Clay county in 1871 and homesteaded one hundred and sixty
acres in section u. Highland Grove township, bein,g one of the pioneers of
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. T
/.I
the county, and there he followed general farming successfully for a period
of a))out forty years. He added to his original holdings by buying eighty-
six acres and, later, one hundred and sixty more. He became one of the
leading farmers of his township and was influential there in the early histor\-
of the locality. He finally sold out and moved to Norman cmmty, where he
has since li\ed retired, after many years of hard work, at the age of seventy-
four years. His family consists of nine children, namely : Ella and Louise,
who are both dead; Andrew, who owns and operates a farm in Norman
county, Minnesota: Claia, Anna, Mary and Sam, all four of whom are
deceased, and Jens, Jr., t>\ this sketch, the youngest of the family.
Jens Winjum, Jr., who was an infant when his parents brought him
here from I'"illmore county, grew to manhood on the home farm where he
assisted with the general wofk during crop seasons, and in the winter time
he attended the district schools. When a young man, he began farming for
himself, and in 1897 bought his present farm of two hundred acres, one
hundred and sixty acres in section 21, Goose Prairie township and forty
acres in section 5, Highland (Irove township. It was all wild land, and he
worked hard ])utting it under its present hi.gh state of cultivation and devel-
opment. He has erected a substantial rmd convenient set of buildings, set
out a grove, and added other excellent improvements, and has oile of the
choice farms in his locality. He raises wheat, oats and flax, principally, and
also sends large numliers of cattle and hogs to the market every year. He
is one of the leading farmers of bis vicinity. He is a stockholder and direc-
tor in the State Bank at Hitterdal.
Mr. Winjum was married June i, 1898, to Jennie Iverson, who was
burn in Norway, December 8. 1880. She came to America with her parents
when fourteen years old, the family locating near Hitterdal, Clay county,
^Minnesota, where Mr. Iverson bought a farm. He carried on general
farming there' until a few years ago, when he sold part of the farm and
mo\-ed to the \illage of Hitterdal, where he and his wife are now living in
retirement. To Mr. and Mrs. Winjum, six children have been born, all
of whom are'living; they are: Clara, now (1917) eighteen years old, who
is attending the State Normal school at Moorhead, and ex])ects to become
a teacher: I'.lla, aged fourteen: George, who has reached the age of thir-
teen; Arnt, who has passed his tenth birthday; Norman, who has attained
the age of eight; and Murkle, who is now six years old.
Politically, Mr. Winjum is an independent. He .served as assessor
of Goose I'rairie township for six or seven years, but is not now incumbent
176 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
of til is oFfice. He took the census for the government of Goose Prairie and
Keene townships in 1910, and is at present a director on the school hoard in
his district. He helongs to the Lutheran church, in which he is a trustee.
LARS B. LARSON.
Lars B. Larson, one of the real pioneers of Norman county and a well-
known and substantial retired farmer of Halstad township, now living in
the pleasant village of Halstad, has been a resident of this section of the
state from the days of the beginning of permanent settlement up this way.
having come here before the city of Moorhead had been laid out and some
years before the city of Ada even had been projected in the mind of man.
In those days the old Hudson Bay Company was still doing a. thriving busi-
ness in furs throughout this section of the country and for some time after
taking his homestead here Mr. Larson found profitable incidental employ-
ment as a freighter in the service of that company. When settlers began
coming in and there were enough of them in the vicinity of the location of
Mr. Larson's place to effect a township organi;;ation he took an active part
in the organization of Halstad township and afterward served for some
time as a member of the board of township supervisors and for two years
as chairman of the Iward, while in other ways he performed well his part
in the general development of this section in pioneer days.
Lars B. Larson was born in the kingdom of Norway on January 18,
1846, son of Bjorn and Ingeborg (Johnson) Larson, natives of that same
country, \\'ho came to the United States with their family in 1854 and located
in LaSalle county. Illinois, whence, two years later, in 1856, they came to
Minnesota and settled in Fillmore county, where they remained until along
in the middle or later seventies, when they came up to this part of the state,
whence their son, the suljject of this sketch, had preceded them some \ears
before, and located in Halstad township, Norman county, where they si)ent
their last days. Bjorn Larson was a substantial pioneer farmer. Though
reared a Lutheran, he died in the faith of the Methodist church. He and
his wife were the parents of nine _ children, of whoin the subject of this
sketch was the first-born, the others being Andrew B., Martha B.. B. B.,
Lena, Daniel, Eli, William and Christen.
Eight years of age when he came with his parents to this country, Lars
B. Larson completed his schooling in the schools of Fillmore countv. this
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY'
I JTMOX
CLAY AND NORMAN COL'NTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 77
State, and there grew to manhood on the farm on which his parents had
settled, farming on his own account after he had attained his majority. In
1 87 1 he married and in that same year he and his wife came up to this part
of the state, thus being among the very first permanent settlers in this
section. That was one year before Clay county was organized as a separate
civic body and ten years before the organization of Norman county, Moor-
head, the county seat of Clay county, not being founded until a year after
lie came up here and Ada, seat of Norman county, not for some years after-
ward. Upon coming up here Mr. Larson entered a quarter of a section of
land, a portion of which was situated in section 13 of what later came to Ije
organized as Halstad township and tlie remainder in section 18 of the adjoin-
ing township, establishing his home on that portion in section 13. When
the "odd" sections later were set off to the state to be held in trust for the
promotion of railroad Iniildiiig, Mr. Larson was required to buy that portion
lit his homestead l>ing in section [3. ^Slr. Larson and his wife drove through
from Fillmore count\- with two ox-teams, two cows, two calves and two
sheej), a wagonload of household goods and essential farming implements,
one sack of flour and five dollars in cash. During the first year of his resi-
dence here Mr. Larson was able to add to his small supply of cash by doing-
some freighting lor the Hudson Bay Company, which at that time was
still doing an extensive business in the Red River vallc}-. .\s he gradually-
]irosiicrcd in his farming operations Mr. Larson added to his land holdings
imtii be became the owner of four hundred and seventv-five acres of excel-
lent land and was counted one of the substantial pioneer residents of that
section. He continued to make his home on the farm until 1896, when he
retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Halstad, where he
since has made liis home. In 1912 he bought a furniture store in that village,
but after conducting the same for about three years again retired and is now
taking things easy again. As noted above, Mr. Larson was one of the
organizers of Halstad township and served for years as meml)er of the
l:)oard of super\isors of the same, for two years serving as chairman of the
lioard. He is a member of the Methodist church and has ever given his
earnest attention to neighborhood good works and in other ways has been
helpful in bringing his home tow^nship to its present high state of develop-
ment.
Lars B. Larson has been twice married. It was on January 18. 187 1.
the year in which he movetl to this part of the .state, that he was united in
marriage, in Fillnn>re county, to Anna K. Faae, who shared with him the
(12a)
178 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
trials and privations of a life on the frontier and who died in 1896, after
a residence of more than twenty-five years in Halstad township. To that
union seven children were born, Bernhardt, Emma, Isabel, Theodore, Clara.
Emelia and Lawrence. On January 2, 1907, Mr. Larson married Betsie
Bloom, who died on July 10. 1915.
W. L. SPOTTS.
W. L. Spotts, [jostmaster at Dilworlh and a well-known railway con-
ductor in the ser\ice of the Northern Pacific, was bom in Sterling, Illinois,
August 7, 1869, a son of Adam and Margaret (Lichtenwalter) Spotts,
who were both natives of Ohio, the father having lieen born in Akron and
the mother, in Massilon, that state.
Adam Spotts was a farmer in Ohio. Later he removed to Sterling.
Illinois, where he lived and followed the same occupation for several years.
In 1880 he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and entered one hundred
and sixty acres of land near that place under the homestead law. Me
improxed this lanil and maintained his home there until about 1886. when
he removed to OI)eron, North Dakota, and made a pre-emption and tree-
claim entry of three hundred and twenty acres. He farmed this for a
number of years and then returned to Fargo where he continued to live
until his death, which occurred in .\ugust. 1916. Adam Spotts was the
father of six children: Flla, Laura, Emma, William L., Herbert F. and
Jennie. He was an active member of the Congregational church and was
for many years a deacon in the Plymouth church of that denomination in
Fargo.
William L. Spotts was educated in the public .scliools of Sterling,
Illinois. In his young manhood he was employed as a salesman for the Luger
Furniture Company, at Fargo, and continued with that firm for six years.
He was then with the American Express Comi)any for two years, and
then entered the employ of the Great Northern Railroad Compan\- as a
brakeman. He continued with this company for several years, working his
way up to the position of conductor. He was conductor on this road
running out of Fargo, for about twelve years: then came to Dilworth, in
1904, and took a position as conductor on the Northern Pacific railroad,
a position which he still holds. In 1916 Mr. Spotts was appointed post-
master of Dilworth but did not give up his railroad position. He still
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1/9
runs as conductor on the Northern Pacific, while his wife, as assistant
postmaster, attends to the postoffice.
In 1892 W. L. Spotts and Minnie J. Phimmer were united in marriage.
To this union two cliildren have Ijeen horn, William P., who is in the
L'nited States navy, and Margaret. They are memhers of the Christian
Science church at Fargo. The Order of Railway Conductors is Mr. Spotts's
only lodge affiliation.
HERBERT F. BURRILL.
Herbert V. Burrill. well-known contractor and Iniilder, of Hawley.
Clay county, was born in b>amingham, Massachusetts, January 24, 1853.
He is a son of Jacob and Plachael (Bennett) Burrill and a brother of H.
R. Burrill, sketches of whom will be found in another part of this volume.
Herbert F. Burrill received his education m the public schools of Fitz-
william. New Hampshire. .\s a boy he worked in a woodenware factor\-
at Fitzwilliam, then worked in a tlouring-mill for two years at Winchendon,
Worcester county, Massachusetts. He later secured employment in Keene.
New Hampshire, in a sash-and-door factory, where he remained about four
vears, at the end of which time he went to Dover, Maine, where he learned
the trade of bricklayer. In 1878 he came to Minnesota, locating at Hawley,
and proved up on a homestead in section 28, Keene township; living there
about ten vears, working at the mason's trade at intervals the meanwhile.
In 1895 he moved to Hawley, where he has since resided and followed a
contracting and building business ever since. He has worked on every
brick building in Hawley, with but one exceptif)n. He helped build the
first brick roundiiouse for the Northern Pacific railroad at T-'argo, North
Dakota, in 1879. He also helped build the second brick dwelling house
in Moorhead.
On March 19, 1884, Herbert 1*". Burrill was married to Jean AIcDonald.
a daughter of John McDonald and wife. Her death occurred on Septem-
ber 22, 1915. She was the mother of five children, namely: Addie. born
on Tanuary 13, 1S85, who married Ray Williams, h'ebruary [4, 1912, and
lives in Alberta, Canada: John, July 4. 1887, who is a bricklayer by trade:
Herbert drover, June 15. 1892, who is in the newspaper business: Mary
Augusta, October 13, 1895. a"'! Wallace Douglas. March 10, 1903.
Politically, Mr. Burrill is a Democrat. He was chairman of the first
lioard of supervisors of Keene township, and later was cliairman of the
l8o CLAY AND XORMAX COf XTIKS. MINNESOTA.
l)oard of supervisors of Hawiey township. He also served two terms as
justice of the peace at Hawiey, and was special census agent for the United
States in 191 5, covering ten counties. As a public servant he has discharged
his duties in an aljlc. faithful and highl\ accciitahlc manner.
BERXH.XRT .\SC1I P.. \CH.
Bernhart .\schi)ach. one of Xornian county's best-known and most sub-
stantial pioneer farmers, now living retired at Ada, secretary and treas-
urer of the Ada Creamery Association and secretary of the Xorman County
I'air Association and for years actively identified with the development of
those useful enterprises, is a native of Germany, but has been a resident
of Norman county since the days of his young manb(»od. Iiaving come <>ul
to this part of .Minnesota early in the days of the .settlement of this section.
Born on May 13. 1858, Bernhart .\schbach was reared in his nati\e
Gernianv and ilu-ie received his schooling and learned the trade of shoe-
maker. VVlien twenty-one years of age he married and two years later,
in 1881, he and his wife came to this country and proceeded on out to
Minnesota and settled in Xorman county, which has been their home ever
since. That was the \ear in which Norman county was organized as a
ci\ic unit and the country hereabout was very sparsely settled. Not long
after his arrival in Ada Mr. .\.-;chbach bimghl a tract of eighty acres in
AIcDonaldsville township and there established hi> home, improving and
developing the ])lace and remaining there for eight years, at the end of
which time he bought a half section of unimproved land in Winchester
township. On this Litter place Mr. .\schl)ach made his home from 1889
to 1913, in wliicii latter year he retired from the active labors of the farm
and moved to .\da. where he and his wife are now living and where the}'
are very comfortably situated. ^Ir. .\schbach improved his farm of three
hundred and twenty acres in excellent shape, putting up fine buildings,
and has there one of the best farm plants in the county. In addition to
his general farming Mr. Aschbach gave much attention to dairying and
when the Ada Creamery .Association \\as organized in 1903 was made
secretary and treasurer of the same and has ever since occupied those posi-
tions, doing much to help promote the dairy interests of this section of
the state. He also for years has given his earnest attention to the affairs
of the Norman Countv Fair Association and is now the secretary of that
CI.AY AND XORMAX COINTIES, MINNKSOTA. l8l
useful au(l inlluential urganization. During liis long residence in Winchester
township Mr. Aschhach gave proper attention to the civic affairs of that
township and served for some lime as township assessor. He also was
clerk' of his Ujcal school district an^l did much to advance the work nf
the school, while in other ways he also did what , he could U> a<lvance the
common welfare.
It was in 1879, two years hefore he came to America, that P.ernhart
Aschhach was united in marriage to Matilda Glaesner. who also was horn
in Germany, and to that uni(jn eight children have heen horn, Olga, Oscar.
William, (Jtto, Clara, George, Hilda and Elma, all of whom are living.
The Aschhachs are nienihers of the Lutheran church and have ever gixen
their earnest attention [n church work.
IL'LILS BAKER ASKE.
One of the large landowners of (lay county is Julius Baker Aske,
who resides in Moorhead. He was horn in Eillmoi'e county, Minnesota,
Decemher 13, i^~^, a son of Lars and Martha ( Bersagel ) .\ske. The
mother also was a native of that cijunty, hut the father was horn in Norwav,
from which country he came to America when a young man, locating in
Fillmore county, this state, where he married. Ahout 1882 he moved to
Norman county, hringing' his family and household effects overland hy ox-
team and wagon. He located on a homestead of one liundred and si.\t\'
acres, four miles northwest of Ada, later selling out and huying another
farm in the same \icinity and there he remainefl a number of years. He
worked hard developing the raw land and hy ])erseverance Ijecame \erv
comfortably establisherl, continuing farming during his active life. His
wife died on the farm in Norman county, hut he died in California. Their
family consisted of five children, Lewis, Louise, Julius, .\nna and Ella.
Julius P). .\ske attended- the early-day schools in Norman county, being
four yeJirs old when his |)arents located there. He assisted his father
with the work of imjjroving and culti\ating the homestead. ,\s a young
man he engaged in the ice and dra\age business at ,\da, then followed the
saloon business two vears, after which he spent one \eru- in Twin Valley,
in the same liusiness ; then came to Moorhead and continued in that line
until 1906. since which year he has been interested in a saloon in .Min-
neapolis. In 19 If) he started a pool hall and soft-drink business at his
l82 CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
old Stand next to the north bridge in Mnorhead. He owns six hundred
acres of vahtable land in Clay county, and four hundred and twenty acres
in Cass county, over the river in Xorth Dakota. Most of Mr. Aske's time
during the crop seasons is taken up with the management of his land. He
carries on general farming on a large scale.
Mr. Aske was married in 1903 to Rosella Schill. a native of Mariim
township. Norman county, and a daughter of Lambert Schill and wife.
To this union three children have been born. Jerome. Egienia and W'endal.
Politically, Mr. Aske is a Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Improved
Order of Red Men and to the I'ratern.al Order of Eagles.
OLE MARTFXSOX.
(31e Martinson was Ijorn in Xorway. Januar\- 19. 1847, ^ son of Martin
Anderson and Olava Jerswald, both natives of Xorway, where they lived
their entire life, the father being a farmer. Their children were: Erick,
Uergette, .Vnna, Xickolena, Karlen Marie, Ole and Olena.
Ole Martinson was educated in the schools of Norway. He worked on
his father's farm during the summer season, and in the winter engaged
in the business of cod fishing which was a common and remunerative voca-
tion of the people in that community. With a view of seeking a larger
opportunity for a livelihood, he followed the foo^teps of many others of
liis neighborhood and nationality and came to America in 1872. He landed
in Xew York, May 2T,, of that year, and came directly to Minnesota, locat-
ing first in St. Peter, Xicollet county, where he remained for three years. He
then went to ^Minneapolis, where he found employment for about seven years
in a planing mill. In 1882 he came to Moorhead, Minnesota, where he
has made his home since that time. For more than twenty years Mr.
Martinson was engaged in the mercantile business here, conducting a grocery
and crockery store, but in 1904 he sold this store and retired from business.
Mr. Martinson was one of the organizers of the First State Bank of
IMoorhead, and ser\ed as vice-president of this institution for several years.
He finally sold liis interest in the bank and retired from official connection
\vith this institution. For about sixteen years he has been a stockholder
in the Moorhead Xational Bank and is at present one of the directors of
this bank. ]\Ir. Martinson is also interested in farming. He is the owner
of a half section of land in Kurtz township. Clay county. Minnesota, a
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 183
tract of land well-adapted for general fanninq- and stock raising, in whicli
Air. Martinson is largely engaged.
The maiden name of Mr. Martinson'.s wife is Christine Otto. Three
children have been born to them: Mollie, who is at the head of the piano
department in Concordia College: Eric and Oscar. Mr. Martinson and
family are members of Trinity chnrch, Moorhead, Mr. Martinson being
one of the organizers and charter members of this church, of which he was
the first church treasurer. He has served several terms as school director
in Moorhead.
Eric Martinson, son of O. Martinson, was born in Moorhead, Minne-
sota, October ii, 1888, and was educated in the public schools of that citv.
He afterward attended the North Dakota Agricultural College, from which
he graduated as a civil engineer in 19 12. For the first three years after
graduating he was employed in engineering work in St. Paul, Minnesot;i.
In 1915 he returned to Moorhead and was appointed district engineer of
Clay county, which position he holds at present. He is a member of the
Norwegian Lutheran church, and a member of the Commercial Club of
Moorhead.
CLARENCE I. EVENSON.
Clarence I. Evensnn was born in Moorhead, January 17. 1890. a
son of Even and Olena (Anderson) Evenson, both natives of Norway.
The father came to America in the spring of 1882 and located first in
Decorah, Iowa, where he remained for four years, at the end of which
period he came to Moorhead, Minnesota, and has since made this his home.
He is the father of three children: Alvina E., Clarence I., subject of this
sketch, and Ethel. His church relationship is with the Norwegian Lutheran
church, at Moorhead.
C. I. Evenson was educated in the public schools of Moorhead, and
found employment, as a liny, in working for a grocery firm in Moorhead,
delivering groceries. Later he held the position of a clerk in the same store
and was thus employed for eight years. On November 9, 1912, he started
in the grocerv business for himself and has continued in this enterprise
since. He handles an extensive general grocery line and has established a
good trade in the town and surrounding country.
Mr. Evenson is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, in the
afifairs of which he takes a deep and consistent interest. He is fraternally
]84 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
atililiated witli the local lodges of the Modern Woodmen of America. Ini-
jM-oved Order of Red Men. Degree of Honor, the Royal League and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is president of the Moorhead
Retail Merchants Association and is a member of the board of directors
of the State Retail Merchants .\ss(Kiation. Mr. Evenson is also keenly
alive to the civic progress of his comnnmity and was elected a membei- m'
the city council in January of 1917.
CHAUl.l'.S L.\MB. SK.
Charles Lamb. Sr., the hrst permanent settler in Llkton township. Clay
county, one of the organizers of that township and for twenty-four years a
member of the board of supervisors of the same and for ten years town-
ship clerk, a substantial landowner and retired farmer, who is noW varying
his residence between his tine farm home in l-llkton township and his town
house in Baker, is a native of Scotland, but has been a resident of Minnesota
since 187^. one of the early residents of the Red River country and one of
the most influential pioneers of the section in which he settled back in the
days of the beginning of the development of this region. He was liorn in
b'orfarshire. Scotland, April 30. 1844, son of John and Llizabeth Lamb, also
natives of Scotland, the former of whom died there many years ago and
the latter of whom came to this country with her younger son, the late John
Lamb, a meuKnial sketch of whom is ]>resented elsewhere in this volume,
in 1873, '^'^'l li\ed in Becker count\. this state, until ai)out 1878, w'hen she
homesteaded a quarter section in Rlkton township. Clay county, where sin-
spent the remainder of her life, making her home with her son William and
family. That quarter section is now owned by her grandson, Charles Lamb.
son of the subject of this sketch, whom she reared and who is now making
his home there. Of the chiklren born to the senior John Lamb and his wife,
the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being
David. .\nn. Magdaline. Charles, James. John, Alexander, Marv, lane and
William.
Reared on the h(jme farm in his native Forfarshire, Charles Lamb there
grew to manhood and was married. In 1872 he came to the United States
with his famil}' and proceeded on out to Minnesota, settling in Becker county,
which not long before had been opened for settlement, and there made his
home for five years, or until 1877. when he moved over into Clav countv
CHARLES LAMB. SR.
THP NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
astor. LENes.
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 85
and hume:^teade(I a quarter of a section of land in what later came to be
organized as Elkton township, tiie first permanent settler in th.it township.
At the same time he bought the tree-claim right to an adjoinin.g quarter sec-
tion, the original claimant having become discouraged and willing to dis-
pose of his claim, and later bought an adjoining tract of one hundred acres
of railroad land, thus making him a i)!ace of four hundred and twenty acres,
which he gradually improved and which he still owns, now one of the most
valuable farms in the townshi]). As the premier pioneer of that section of
the county. Air. Lauib look an active part in the organization of the town-
shij) when increasing settlement jiresently necessitated the organization of
the community for civil purposes, and was elected a member of the first board
of township supervisors, a position he occupied for twent}-four years and
in the performance of the duties of which he did much for the development
of the substantial interests of Elkton township and of the community in
general. For ten years he also served as clerk of the tcnvnship and likewise
helped to organize his home school district, the first school district in the.
townshi]). He also was a prominent factor in the organization of the first
religious congregation in that community and was a charter memlier of the
Presbyterian church, which at first conducted services in the school build-
ing, but later erected a house of worshij:) at Baker, of which congregation Mr.
Lamb is still an active member. During the days of the Good Templar
crusade in this countrv Mr. I.amb helped organize a branch of the (lood
Templars in his community and was active in the work of the same, the
meetings being held in the school house, which was the general social
center of the communit\- in those days. Mr. Lainb improved and developed
his land in fine shape and in (hie time had an excellent farm plant there, con-
timiing activelv engaged in farming and stock raising until his retirement,
since which time he has divided his time between his town house in Baker
and the farm. In addition to his extensive farining interests, Mr. Lamb is
the owner of a tidy bit of real estate in Baker and is quite well circiunstanced.
Mr. Lamb has been twice married. In Scotland he married Jessie
Taylor, who also was born in i-'orfarshire and who died some years after
the family settled in Clay county. To that union were born seven children,
Mary, David .\., John, Jennie, t'harles, James fdecea.sed). and Jessie
(deceased). Some time after the death of the mother of these children.
Mr. Lamb married, in Clav countw F.lizabeth Stewart, also now deceased,
who was born in Scotland and who came to Minnesota with iier parents,
Charles and Elizabeth Stewart, natives of Scotland, in 1S77. the family
1 86 CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
.-ettling- on a homestead farm of one lumdred and sixty acres in section 8
of Elkton township. Clay county. To this second union seven children were
horn, Elizabeth. Fred. Mabel, Ronald and three who died younf,^ As one
of the pioneers of Clay county Mr. Lamb has a remarkable fund of
reminiscences relating- to the early days of the settlement of this region and
his stories of pioneer days are interesting and informative. He has been a
witness to and a participant in the development of Elkton township and of
the Baker neighborhood since the days of the very beginning of a social
order therealxjut and has done well his part in that development.
O. N. IVERSOX.
O. N. Iversoii, the present postmaster at Baker, where he is an enter-
prising merchant, is well known in the southern part of Clay count}', although
he is but a young man. He was born in Tansem township, this county,
January 9. 1887, a son of S. O. and Anna (Herbranson) Iverson, the
father a native of Dakota county, Minnesota, and the mother, of Wisconsin.
About 1880, the father came to Clay county, Minnesota, and took up a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Tansem township. He de-
veloped the raw land into a good farm and there he has since resided. He
put all the buildings and improvements on the place, and, prospering through
hard work and good management, has added to his original holdings until
he now owns three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land, and is one
of the leading general farmers and stock raisers of his township. To S. O.
Iverson and wife eight children have been lx)rn, as follow : O. X., of this
sketch : Theodore. Emma. Cora. George. Xettie, Melvin and Alexander.
S. O. Iverson and wife belong to the Xorwegian Lutheran church. He has
Ijeen active in local public affairs for many years, serving on the board for
Tansem township for al)out fifteen years, and as a member of the school
board ten or twelve years.
O. N. Iverson grew to manhood on the home farm, and he received
his education in the rural schools of Tansem township. When seventeen
Acars old. he began clerking for Thompson Felde & Company of Barnes-
ville. this county, remaining in that capacity about four years, giving satis-
faction in every respect, for he was alert, courteous and faithful. He then
'spent two years in Adams county. Xorth Dakota, on a homestead of one
hundred and sixty acres. He left there in the spring of 1910 and came
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 187
to Baker, Clay county, Minnesota, where he worked for Possehl Brothers
in tlieir store for two years, giving them excellent service, for he had
fdnnerly mastered the various phases of the mercantile business. In 1912,
lie launched out in business for himself, starting a general grocery store
at Baker, where he has built up a large trade and carries an extensive stock
of staple .-md fancy groceries. In 1917 he and his brother, Theodore, who is
unmarried, bought the implement business of H. C. Possehl and N. C.
Xoice and this the\- are operating with gratifying results, their trade with
the surri3unding country for many miles being on the upward trend.
On December 8, 19 14, O. X. Iverson was appointed postmaster at
Baker and has since been discharging his duties in a manner acceptaljle t'>
the people of this vicinity and to the postoffice department.
Mr. Iverson was married in 1912 to Clara Butenhoff, a daughter of
August Butenhoff and wife. Two children have been born to ^Ir. and
Mrs. Iverson. namelx- : Francelia and Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Iverson be-
long to the English Lutheran church at Barnesville. in the affairs of which
thev have a devout and conscientious interest.
CHARLES E. COLBY.
Charles E. Colby, ecHtoi and publisher of the Banicsz'illc Headlight at
Barnesville, and former president of the Clay County Editorial Associa-
tili)ii, is a nati\e son of Minnesota and has spent all his life in this state,
witli the exception of four \'ears spent in the postoffice service in South
Dakota back in the eighties. He was born on a pioneer farm in Plain-
view township, in Wabasha county, but was reared and educated at Glencoe,
where he finished the high school course : later becoming a student in the
Archibald Business Cnlle.ge at Minneapolis. His father, George H. Colby,
a native of Xew York stale and a veteran of the Civil War, lived on his
farm in McLeod countv until his retirement and removal to Hector, where
his last days were spent.
.\t the age of thirteen years, Charles E. Colby began his ai)prenticeship
in "'the art preservative of all arts," and before he entered the business col-
lege had become a proficient printer, thoroughly familiar with the details of
that important trade, and was engaged working at that trade until 1884,
when he went to Groton. South Dakota, where he spent the ensuing four
\ti-Ar< as a clerk in the postoffice and as mailing clerk in the railway post-
l88 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
office at that jjlace. In 1888 Mr. Colby returned to Glencoe und there bought
the plant of the Enterprise and was editor and manager of that paper for
two years, at the end of which time he scjld the Enterprise and moved to
Duluth, where he established a jobiirinting- ])lam and was there engaged in
the jolj-printing business until i8()_^. In the meantime Mr. Colby had mar-
ried at Duluth and in 1893 he mo\ ed with his family to (Irand Rapids, thi-
state, where he entered upon the position of foreman of the plant of the
Magnet and where he remained until his removal to Barnesville, which has
ever since been his place of residence. It was in January, 1897, that Mr.
Colliy established the Rarnesville Record, the lirst number of which \\a.'~
dated January 2S. Mr. Colby started the Record as a stanch supporter of
the principles of the Republican party and continued to publish the same
until he sold the i)aper to the P.arnesville Record-Review Company in 1903,
after which, for two years, he acted as local agent for the Money-Weight
Scale Company, of Toronto. Mr. Colby then returned to the print shop and
took uj) the duties of foreman of the plant of the Barncsz'ille Rccord-Rei'iezv.
Two years later he was made manager of the Record-Reinciv and continued
in that position nnlil 11)13. in which year he established his present news-
paper, the Baniesz'ille lleadiight. .\t the same time he bought the plant
of the Moorhead Independent and on July 18, 1913, merged that paper with
the Headlight, which has ever since been published under that name, the pub-
lishing linn being Colby Brothers. The BaruesviUe Headlight is well
ei[uipped mechanically, not only for ne\\si)aper work but for general job
printing, the efiuipment including a linotype machine and all the up-t<i-date
appliances for the successful operation of a modern ()rinting ])lant. Mr.
Colby is widely known in newspaper circles throughout this part of the
state and for three years or more served as president of the Claj' County
Editorial .As.sociation, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest.
It was while living at Duluth that Charles ]•.. CoUiy was united in
marriage to Anna Termath, also natives of Minnesota, born in the village
of LeSuenr, in LeSueur county, of German descent, though her parents
both were of American birth. Mr. and Mrs. Colby have two sons, Dana
T. and Everett C, the latter of whom is associated with his father in tlie
publication of the Barnes^c'ille Headlight, an energetic and progressive voung
newspaper man. Dana T. Colby also is engaged in newspaper work, which
has been his life-long vocation, and is now coiinected with the Fargo (North
Dakota) Daily Eornin. He received his early training in new.spaper work
under the able direction of his father and then for some time was emploved
on the force of the Courier-Neivs at Fargo, later going to the Fargo Eonini
CLAY AND NOKMAK COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. " 189
and thence to the Capital at Jamestown. North Dakota, later to tlie Bis-
inark Tribune and then returning to the Forum, wliere lie holds an editorial
chair.
OLE E. REIRSGORD.
Ole E. Reirsgord was horn, July 2T,, 1875, in Norway, a son of Evan
Gury (Ellingson) Reirsgord. hoth natives of Norway, the former l)eing
horn, Septemher 4, 1851, and the latter, January i, 1852. The father came
to America in 1875 and located in Houston county, Minnesota, his wife and
child coming the following \'ear. In 1877, Evan Reirsgord came to Clay
county and legated a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Ulen
township, section 10, where he lived two years and then sold the impro\e-
ments to Robert Syverson. He then removed to another location in Hagen
township, six miles west, taking a homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres. He lived on this for about sixteen years and then sold out and
removed to Thief River h'alls, Minnesota, where he li\ed for four years.
Disposing of this ])lace, he removed to Canada, where he still lives. His
first wife died in ]888, and four years later he married Julia Halvorson,
who died in 1898. He was the father of six children by his first wife:
Ole 1'^., the subject of this review; .\nnie, Ella, Julius. Olof and Carrie; and
of four children by his second wife: Edward, Gilbert. P>ert, and Hilman.
He was a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
O. E. Reir.sgord was educated in the puhhc schools of Hagen township,
and in the city .schools of Moorhead which he attended about three winters.
In the spring of 1893, he be.gan teaching school in Clay county, continuing
in this profession every sjiring and fall until the spring of 1898. In the
winter and spring of 1894, he attended Concordia College at Moorhead,
where he completed a business course, graduating from that institution. In
the spring of 1898, he iiought the plant of the Ulcn Union, took jiossession
as sole proprietor, Mrw 17. of that year, and has been editor and publisher
of the same since that date.
Air. Reirsgord was postmaster of Lien from June, 1909, to June, igi.V
lie is the present chairman of the Republican central committee of Clay
county, and president of the public school lioard. He has served as presi-
dent of the village council, villa.ge recorder and justice of the jieace. lb-
held all these official positifms before he became postmaster.
On June 3, i8()7, O. r:. Reirsgord and Clara Bjerke, a daughter d'
igO CLAY AXD XORMAN COUXTIKS. MINNESOTA.
Nels and Catherine Bjerke, were united in jnarria,<;c. They have seven
children: Alice, Erwin, Cora, Lila, Reuben. .Milton and May. Tlicy are
members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Reirsgord is at present superin-
tendent of the Sunday school and takes a jironiinent part in all church
activities. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd I'ellow^ and
of the Modern \\"oodmen of America.
OLE O. EGGE.
Ole O. Egge. a well-to-do and prominent farmer and owner of a
several tracts of land in HumI)oldt township. Clay county, director on the
township school board and on the township board and otherwise active in
public affairs, was bom in the kingdom of Xorway. .March i, iSf>i. i)ut
has been living in this country since 1884, having settled in Clay county in
.\pril of that year. He is the son of Ole Hanson and Carrie (Dahlen) Egge,
also born in Norway and who lived and died in that country.
Ole Hanson Egge was educated in the schools of Xorway where he
was a farmer liy occupation and continued thus engaged for the remainder
of his active life, his death occurring in his native land in 1878. Ole H.
Egge was twice marrieil, his lirst__wife being Goro Dahlen, to whom he was
married alxnit i8j8. and to that union the following children were born:
Hans, who was born in i8.:;o and died in Xorway at the age of eighty-seven
vears: Paul: .Anders and .\nn.i. By his second marriage, in 1846, to Carrie
Dahlen he was the father of four children, namely: Ole O., the subject of
this .sketch; Goro, Bertha Marie and Carrie. Mr.s. Carrie (Dahlen) Egge
died in Xorway in 1890. Ole H. Egge was a member of the Norwegian
T,utheran church.
Ole O. Egge was educated in the schools of Xorway and was reared
on his father's farm, where he assisted in the labors of the same. His father
died when he was se\enteen years old. and for six years thereafter, or until
1884 when he immigrated to this country, he continued to remain oti the
old home farm and help the other members of the family. Upon his arrival
in Clav county, Mr. Egge purchased eighty acres of land, part of his present
farm, and, as he prospered in his farming operations, he made further pur-
chases and now has a tract of five hundred and eighty acres of choice land'
in section 12, Humboldt township, and has additional land in sections i
and II, in the same township. He carries on general fanning according to
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 1 (J I
modern methods of agriculture and is very successful. His place is well
improved with new buildings and dwelling house, and he is accounted
one of the substantial and progressive farmers of this section of the county.
On November 7, 1894, at Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, Ole O. Egge
was united in marriage to Anna Egge, who was born in Norway in 1861
and came to America in 1884, ten years before the date of her marriage.
To this union the following children have been born : Clara, Oscar, Olga
(deceased), Gena and Henry. The Egge family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church and are warmly interested in all its good
works, and to the congregation of the church Mr. Egge has been secretary
for the past twenty-three A'cars. He takes a good citizen's interest in the
civic and general affairs of the township and has served as a member of
district school board No. 45 for upwards of twenty-four years. He has
rendered further pul)lic service through his connection with the township
board, at the deliberations of which he has been a constant attendant for
the long period of eighteen years. In many other directions he has given
evidence of a warm interest in ,ill matters tending toward the common
good of the community.
PETER B. MOORE.
Peter B. Moore was born in Becker county, Minnesota, November 10,
1878, a son of Peter and Kari (Oppen) Moore, natives of Norway, who
came to America in 1872 and located in Becker county, Minnesota, where
they took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of government
land in Cuba township, of that county. Here they built a home, improved
the land, and continued to live until Peter Moore's death in 1881. His
wife is still living. There were seven children in this family: Christina,.
Bertha, Andrew, Atlanta, who was born on the .\tlantic cjcean on their
way to this country: Ellick, Hans and Peter B. 'I'lie father was an active
member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
Peter B. Moore was educated in the public schools of Cuba township.
Baker county, and worked on the farm in his early years. In the spring of
1897, he came to Ulen. Clay county, and was employed as a clerk in the
store of Robert Hanson for two years. He was afterward employed for
three years as a clerk for L. V. Herreid, and then with the Ulen Mercantile-
Company until 1910, in which year, Mr. Moore, in partnership with (iill
Fevig, bought out this company and assumed full control of the busuiess
192 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIKS. MINXKSOTA.
and liave continued thus e\er since. They are <;;eneral niercliaiidise dealers
and have also a potato warehouse business in connection with their store.
In 1902, Peter B. Moore and Helma Fe\ig were united in marriage,
and three children ha\e been born to this union: Ruby. T'ern and Ray.
Mr. Moore is a member of the United Lutheran church, and also a member
of the Modern \\'oodmen of .\merica.
SMITH WESLEY McEVERS.
Smith Wesley AlcEvers. former member of the board of supervisors of
I'^lmwood township, Cla\- county, former assessor of that township and the
proprietor of a fme farm of si.\ hundred and thirtv-.sevcn acres in the
vicinity of Baker, where lie has made his home since his marriage in 1883.
is a native of the Dominion of Canada, but has been a resident of Minnesota
since he was twenty-five years of age. He was horn on a farm in the prov-
ince of Ontario in 1.S55. <on of Hiram and b'lizabeth (Grieves) McEvers,
the former Of whom also was born in C)ntari(j and the latter in Sc(jtland.
whose last days were spent on their well-kept farm in Ontario. Hiram
McExers and wife were the parents of eleven children, Jane, John, Elizabeth.
Mary Ann. Hiram, William. Stephen. Benjamin, Emily. James and Smith
W'esley. all of whom are now deceased sa\e the three last named.
Reared on the liome farm in Ontario, Smith W. McEvers received his
schooling in the .schools of his Ikmuc neighborhood and rerrmined there until
he was twenty-five years of age. when, in 1880, he came down into the States
and located at St. Paul, where for three years he was employed in the estab-
lishment of E. B. Stickney & Company. In iSHt, he married and, seeking
a place to establish a permanent home, came up into the Red River country
and bought die farm on which he is now living, in ICImwood township. Clay
county, and has ever since made his home there, having created there one
of the liest farm jilanis in that part of the county. ^Mr. McEvers has a well-
improved place of six hundred and thirty-seven acres, on which he is en-
gaged in general farming, potato raising and stock raising, making a spe-
cialty of his fine Percheron horses, and has done'well in his operations. From
the time of die l)eginning of liis residence there, Mr. McEvers has given a
.good citizen's attention to local civic attairs and has served his township
;is a member of the board of supervisors and as assessor.
In 1883, the year in which he settled in Clav countv. Sniidi W'. McEvers
v.
THE NEW YORK 1
PUBLIC LIBRARY
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA, 1 93
was united in marriage to Bessie Larson, who was born in the kingdom of
X(irw;iy and who had come to tlie United States in 1866, when but a small
child, with her parents. Andrew and ^Marian Dorothy (Halverson) Larson,
the family settling in Wisconsin, where Andrew Larson and his wife spent
the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of five children, those
besides Mrs. McRvers being Mar\-. Lars. Hans and Josephine. Of these
children but two are now living. Mrs. McEvers and her brother Lars. Mr.
and Mrs. McEvers have five children. Charles A., George W., Joseph S.,
Stephen and Daniel L., all of whom are living. The family are members of
the Presbyterian church and take an interested part in church work and in
the general good wdrks and social activities of the neighborhood, helpful in
man\- ways in promoting movements having to do with the advancement of
the common welfare.
O. C. MARTINSON.
O. C. Martinson was born in Moorhead, Minnesota, December 27, 1890,
a son of O. Martinson, who was a native of Norway, born on January 19,
1847.
O. C. Martinson was educated in the public schools of Moorhead, and
after the completion of his elementary studies, he attended Concordia col-
lege, at Moorhead. and graduated from that institution in 1909. Later he
engaged in business, and with .i view of fitting himself for the profession
of optometrist, he attended an optical school, at Minneapolis, where he took
a full course of instruction, passed the required examination and received
a certificate as a registered optometrist in the state of Minnesota.
In 191 1 O. C. Martinson, associated with j. Ouale. purchased
the jewelry store of Sweningsen & Company, in Moorhead. and engaged in
that business under the firm name of Quale & Martinson. In March, 1916,
.Mr. .Martinson purchased his partner's interest and has since conducted
the business alone. He carries a full line of jewelry and optical goods and
has a good trade among the substantial people of the town and county.
Mr. Martinson is a member of the Trinity church of Moorhead, and
:i member of the church quartette. He is a baritone singer and is prom-
inent in musical circles. Mr. Martinson is not married and makes his home
with his parents.
(13a)
194 CLAV AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JOHX LUTHI.
John Lutiii. a well-known and substantial farmer, li\in^- in Haw ley
township, the owner of a (luarter-section of prime land and actively engaged
in farming- oiierations, is a native of the republic of Switzerland, but has
been living in this country since he was seventeen years old, having immi-
grated from his native land in 1886. He was born in June, 1869, a son of
Christ L. and .\nna liarbara 1 l-'iman ) l.uthi. who came to the I'niled States
in 1891.
Christ L, Luthi was born in Switzerland in 1830, and in that countr\-
he was educated and brought uj) to the life of a fanner. He was marrieil
in his native land and immigrated to .\merica in 1891, his son. John, the
subject of this sketch having preceded him some five years before. He
continued to follow fanning after coming here, and is now living practicalb
retired in the state of Iowa. His wife. .\nna iJarljara FZiman, was born
in 1838, also a natixe of Switzerland, and came witli lier husband to this
country in 1891 and is now living in Iowa. Christ Luthi and wife are
the parents of the following children: Charlie, iMed, .\lbcrt, .\nna, Louisa.
Lena and John. During their active lifetime the parents were inlluential
residents of the district in which they lived and were helpful in promoting
all good causes for the benefit of the communitv.
John Luthi was educated under the excellent .school system that pre-
vails in Switzerland, and, on coming to this country in 1886, he commenced
to work on farms and came to Clay county in 1898, after his marriage in
the previous year. He entered into occupation of his present farm in 1903
and now is the o\\ ner of a (|uarter section of choice land in section 9, Haw-
ley township. Here he is engaged in general farming and since the com-
mencement of his agricultural operations he has been most successful, his
place Ijeing well improved and his farming methods being modern in all
particulars. He sets out a portion oi his holding, exclusivelv. to the culti-
vation of potatoes.
In 1897, John Luthi was united in marriage to Hermina Sinkler, a
native of Germany, who was born in that country in Ajiril, 1877, and who
has been living in this country since she was si.x years old. Mr. and .Mrs.
Luthi are the parents of eleven children, as follow: Rosie. who is inarrieil:
Minnie. Loui.sa, Lena, Elau. John, Freda. George, Clara. Margaret and
A'label. Mr. Luthi takes a good citizen's interest in all community affairs,
and for years has been giving attention to the cause of education, serving
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I (J5
as treasurer of the t(nvnship sdiool Ijoarcl. His efforts are not confined
to that form of puljlic usefuhiess. and in many other wavs he has given
of his time and enert,^- to furtlier the welfare of the cuinniunitv.
FRAXK \-. SVENSON.
Frani< \'. Svenson. son of Sven Anderson and Ehia (Nelson) Svenson,
and a native of Sweden, as were his father and mother, was horn. April 5.
1882. His father still lives in Sweden and follows the occupation of a
farmer, the ^uhject of this sketch hein.g- the only child in this family.
i-'rank \'. Svenson was eflucated in the puhlic schools of Sweden and
s])ent his early manhocjd in werkint;- with his father on the farm. In 11)04
he came to America and located at Hitterdal. Clay county, Minnesota. He
found emplo\nient in carpenter work and followed that trade until 1912. He
then hecaniL- niana,t;er of the Wilcox Lumber Company at Hitterdal, and
has been thus enc^a^ed since that time. He is not married.
C. T. KCKMANN.
C. J. Eckmann. he.id nt the C. J. Eckmann Euniher Company at Hen-
drum, present treasurer of the \illa.ge of Hendrum and one of the best-
known and most wideawake business men in Xorman county, is a native
of the king-dom of Norway, but has been a resident nf Minnesota fin-
more than a quarter of a century, having li\ed at Hendrum e\'er since he
was twenty-five years of age. He was born in the city of Stavanger. on
the southwest coast of Norway, October 14. 1866, son of Ca])t. Carsten
and Malena (Johnson) Eckmann, both of whom were born in that same
city, the former of whom is now living in the xillage of fTendrum and
the latter of whom spent her last days there.
Capt. Carsten Eckmann grew uj^ to the life of the sea and became the
captain of a merchant vessel, which he sailed for \ears, or until he tired
of the sea and. in 1891, came to the United States with his family, pro-
ceeding on out t<i Minnesota and coming on up here into the Red River
valley and locating in Norman county. He bought a farm of four hundred
acres one-half mile east of the village of Hendrum and there made his
]g6 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
home for ten years, or until 1901. when lie sold his farm and retired,
moving to the village of Hendruni, where he still lives, one of the sub-
stantial citizens of that village. His wife died there nn January 10, 1913.
They were the parents of four children, of whom the sul)ject of this sketch
was the last-horn, the others being Hans, who lives in England: Caia. who
lives at Halstad, and Albert M.. of Hendruni.
C. T- Kckniann grew uj) among seafaring folk in Ins native Stav-
anger and upon completing his schooling took to the sea. remaining on
liis father's ves.sel until he became a thoroughly (pialified navigator and
at the age of twent\' ])assed the official examination and was commissioned
a ship's officer. He Cdiilinued a seafaring life until i8(,ii, when he came
to this countrv with his parents and located in Xorman county, shortly
afterward being employed by the Imiierial Elexator Company as that com-
pany's local grain buyer at Hendruni. In 1904 he was transferred by that
company from the elevator U> the lumber yard it alM) controlled at Hen-
drum and was thus engaged as manager of the lumjjer yard when, in 1907.
the same was sold to the Stenerson Brothers Lumber Compan\-. Mr. Eck-
niann remained in the employ of the latter conipaiix' until in i'"ebruary,
i()i5. when he bought the lumber yard from Stenerson Brothers and has
since conducted the lumber business, under the firm style of the C. J. Eck-
mann Lumber Company. Mr. I'A-kmann has long been regarded as one of
the leading lumber men of this \rdrt of the state and is doing very well in
his operations. He gives close attention to the general business affairs of
the village and is now the treasurer of the local Commercial Club. Ever
since locating at Hendruni he has given a good citizen's attention to Ipcal
ci\ic affairs, has served as recorder of the village and is now treasurer
of the village, secretary and treasurer of the Hendruni fire department
and director of school district Xo. i, giving to his various public duties
his most intelligent attention.
On October 10. iS()4. C. j. bx-kmann was unitetl in marriage to Julia
C. Seines and to this union seven children have been born, Chester, Carsten.
Lillie. Millard, Vivian, one who died in infancy, and Lillie, who died at
the age of two years and nine months. Mr. and Mrs. Eckmann are meni-
liers of the Cnited laitheran church and take a proper part in the various
beneficences of the same, as well as in the general social activities of the
coniniunitv in which they li\e. heljiful in promoting all worthy causes there-
about. Mr. Ecknianu is a member of the local lodge of the Indei)endent
Order of P'oresters and is financial secretary of the same.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. I97
OLE O. ERICKSON.
One of the liest known and most successful farmers and stockmen
of the northeastern part of Clay county is Ole O. Erickson, of Ulen town-
ship. He was horn in Filhnore county, Alinnesota, Marcli 24, 1864. a son
of Ole and Christie ( Christophersdatter) Erickson, hoth natives of Nor-
way, from which country they came directly to \^'isconsin about 1830.
After remaining there about two years, thev came on to Fillmore counlw
^Minnesota, driving an ox-team to a co\'ered wagon, the trip requiring nearl}-
a rnonth. The father took up a homestead of one hundred and si.xty
acres in I''illmore ccjuntv. six miles west of Rushford. which land he improved
into a good farm, erected such outbuildings as his needs re(|uired and a
comfortable residence. There he and his wife spent the rest of their li\c-,
the mother reaching an advanced age. dying in January, iqi/. They were
among the earliest pioneers of that county, there being only five other
families in that part of the county when the}' went there. Eight children
w ere born to Ole and Christie Erickson, namely : Christopher and Erick-.
both deceased; Turena, Ole O., of this sketcli; Helge, Mar)-, Bengt and
Helen.
Ole O. Erickson, of this re\"iew, grew to manhood on the home farm
in Fillmore county, \\here he received a limited education in the early-da\-
schools. He remained in his native community until 1890. when he came
to Clay count}' and worked in the \icinity of Ulen two years. He then
married and began farming for himself, buying forty acres in section 2-j.
L'len township, which was all in timber and \\ithout Iniildings. The [lari
of his land which he cleared he put under culti\atioii. He also erected
.suitable buildings and continued to reside there until March, 191 1. when
he moved to the fann he now occupies, just across the road from his origi-
nal forty, which contains one hundred and sixty acres. He added an eight}-
acre tract to his original forty many years ago, and all this he sold upon
mox'ing to his present farm. He has a we!I-impro\'ed and prijducti\'e place,
the improvements having been made b}' Helge Klemmetson, his brother-
in-law, of whom he bought the farm. .Mr. Klemmetson took the land up
as a homestead in 1879. Mr. Erickson has been very successful as a general
farmer and stock raiser, breeds full-blooded Holstein cattle and is a deaU'r
in all kinds of live stock, of which he is an excellent judge.
.Mr. Erickson was married on May 28, 1892, to Karen Klemmet,-on,
who was born in Xorwav, a daughter of Klemmet and Christie (Halvorsdat-
HjH CLAY AND NORM AN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
ter) Lia. both natives of Norway, where tliey grew up and married and
there the fatlier died a few montlis before his <hiughter Karen was Ijorn.
The widow siibsequentl\- brought fwi; rhilchen to America, three weeks
after her daughter's liirtb. coming' (hrectlv to Houston county. .Minnesota,
and locating in Spring (iro\e townshiij. where lier son I lel.ge had preceded
her l)v one \ear. About iHjg, Helge Klenimetson came to Clay county
and ,1 \-ear later his mother i()ine<l him here, bringing the rest of her chil-
dren. She homesteaded nne hundred and sixty acres of prairie laiul in
section 14, L'len township, and nn this she erected Iniildings and resided
for seven years. .\t the end of this time she sold out and built a small
house on the farm of her son, Helge. and there li\ed for some time, but
her death occurred in the home where the subject of tiiis sketch now resides.
Her death occurred in i<;i5 at the unusual age of eighty-nine years. She
was the nu)ther of the following children: Helge, Ingeborg, Bertha,
deceased; Andrie. lulling. Andrew and Karen. The Klenimetson frunily
heljied organize the lirst church at l^'len.
To Mr. and .Mrs. b'rickson four children, all li\ing at this lime, were
born, namely: Clara Olena. l"'dva Castelia, Clifford (Oliver, and .Mice
llehena. Mr. I'lricksou is a member of the Lutheran church, j'olitically.
he i> an inile]>endent.
lOHX MrCOCGH.
The late julin Mr(iciugh. first postmaster of the village of Downer, a
pinneer home-^teader of that neighborhood, formerly chairman of the board
<if supervisors of Elklcin township, for years a representative of the railroad
ciimpany's interests at Downer and a substantial landowner in the vicinity
i>\ that \'illagc and one of the bestd<nown men in Clay county, was a native
tif the Dominion f)f Canada, but had been a resident of Clay county since
about the \ear 1880. and had therefore been a witness to and a participant
in the de\clopnient of that region since the days of the pioneers. He was
born on June 11. 1840. and was reared and educated in his native Canada,
where lie became a teaming contractor and where he married.
Xot long .after his marriage John McGough came to the States and
became engaged ni railroad wurk. being thus employed at various places
until about 1880. when he liecame engaged on the construction work of the
railrojid at Downer, where he ever afterward made his home, spending the
re^t of his life there, his death occurring on May 30, 1917. Though actively
Cl.AY AND XOKMAN COUNTIES, MIXXESOTA. J 99
engaged in the work of the raih'oad after his arrival at Downer, serving the
company variously as foreman of the section, superintendent of the gravel
pit and foreman of the extra gang, Mr. McGough found opportunity mean-
whilc to de\eliip an excellent piece of farming property adjoining the vil-
lage, he having homesteaded the northwest quarter, of section 22, l^lktou
township, shortly after entering upon his duties at the railroad station, estab-
lishing his home there. When the postoffice was established at Downer
Mr. McGough was a])])ninte(l postmaster and for several years occupied that
jjosition, being succeeded by his daughter. Miss Alice McGough, who made
iier home with him and who held the office until the postofifi'ce finally was
located in the store building at Downer, the office previously having been
located in the McGough residence. The McGoughs are Catholics and John
McGough helped to organize the Catiiolic parish at Barnesville, his famih
still being attached to that parish. He took an active part in the various
civic affairs of the community in pioneer days and at one time and another
held .ibdut all the t(n\nship ofhces, including that of chairman of the board
of supervisors, .\fter he became pretty well established at Downer, Mr.
McGough gave up his railroad work there and thereafter devoted himself
to the development and improvement of his homestead farm, adding to the
same until he became the owner of a fine place of two hundred and eighty
acres. His wife died on I'cljruary 23, 1889, and lie survived her eighteen
years, his death occm-ring, as noted above, on May 30, 191 7. She was born,
l'.ridget Mahone\', in Ireland, Init was reared in Canada, having been but a
child when she crossed the water witli lier widowed mother. Mr. and Mrs.
Mc(iough had live ciiildren : Thomas, who is living at Downer; Anna, de-
cea,sed, who was the wife of William Hogan : .Mice, who is still on the old
home farm : James, deceased, and Edward J.
I'.dward J. McGough was born on September 17, 1874, and was about
six vears of age when his parents settled at Downer. He received his
schooling in the local scliools and from the days of his boyhood was a valued
assistant in the labors of improving and developing the home place, lie and
his father working together to that end. About fifteen years ago Edward
J. McGough established his home on his present fine farm of one hundred
and sixty acres in the Downer neighborhood and has since lived there, de-
veloping that place from the raw prairie. He has excellent Iniildings on his
place and has a well-ordered farm plant.
On .\ugust q. 1894, Edward J. McGough was united in marriage to
Dela Burlev, who was born near Tama, Iowa, but who was reared in Elkton
200 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
township, daughter of Frank and Matilda (Croskey) Burley, and to this
union seven children have been born: Mary, Agnes, Emma (deceased),
Tames, Edward, Etta, Effie and Thomas.
GU,ST.W .\. ERSTAD.
Gustav A. Erslad, proprietor of "Elmwood 1-arni,"' a line place of four
hundretl and eighty acres lying on the line between I'^lnnvood and Glyndon
townships in Clay county, is a native son of Minnesota and has lived in this
slate all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Mineola township,
Goodhue count}. Jul\ 3, 1869, ^on of Andrew and Olene (Lebeck) Erstad.
l)t)th natives of the kingdom of .Xorway, wht) were married in Goodhue
county, this state, and there spent their last days, honoretl i)ioneers of that
community.
Andrew Erstad came to iJie United States in i'^53 and about two \ears
later, in June. 1855, pre-empted a tract of l;uid in what later came to be
organized a.> Mineola township, in Goodhue county, this state, the second
settler in that township : Christian Peterson, the first entrant there, having
made his location in the previous month of May. \ot long after filing on
his claim Andrew Erstad married Olene Leljeck, who had not long before
come to this country with her parents, the family settling in Goodhue county,
and after his marriage established hib home on his pre-emption tract and
jjroceeded to develop and imj)ro\ e the same, in time coming to be one of the
most substantial farmers in that community and a considerable landowner.
He was one of the organizers of his home township and for some time
served as a member of the board of township sujjcrvisors and also for .some
time was assessor of his townshij). He and his wife were the parents of
eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of
liirth, the others being Cornelius, John, Albert. Marv, Selma (deceased).
.\ugaistus (deceased) and one other, who died in \outh. Andrew Erstad
and wile were meml)ers of the Lutheran church and their children were
reared in that faith.
Reared on the home farm in Goodhue county, Gustav A. Erstad re-
ceived his schooling in the schools of that county and early l)ecame a prac-
tical farmer, remaining there until 1897. w^it-'" ''^^ L'-ime up into the Red
River country and locateil on the place where he is now li\ing, in Elmwood
townshii). and where he and his family are very comfortably and very pleas-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 201
antly situated. When IMr. Er.stad took possession of "Elmvvood Farm" the
place was Ijut a tract of raw i)rairie lantl and he has made all the substan-
tial improvements which make the place one of the best-appointed farm
plants in that part of the county. He has three-quarters of a section there,
one (|uarter being over the line in Glyndon township, and in addition to his
general farming and potato raising has .given considerable attention to the
raising of pure-Ijred Shorthorn cattle and has done well in his operations.
He is a stockholder in the Glyndon Elevator Company and in other ways
gives his earnest .attention to the general business affairs of the communitv
in which he lives.
In 1901. abcjut four vcars after taking up his residence in Clay countv,
Gustav A. Erstad was united in marriage to Maggie Lamb, daughter of
James Lamb and wife, pioneers of Clay county, and to this union five chil-
dren have been born, .Mbert. Lawrence, Earl Wallace, Ede (deceased), and
I'earl. Mr. and Mrs. Erstad are memliers of the Lutheran church and take
a proper interest in churcli work, as well as in other neighborhood good
works.
EDWARD U. WADE.
Edward U. \Vade, the present efficient and well-known police magis-
trate of Moorhead. was born in Albany, New York, July 3. 1867, a son
of Edward Wade, who was a prominent lawyer at Albany for forty-two
years. He is a descendant of an old American family, one of the oldest,
in fact, the first of the name to land on the shores of the western continent
coming to Massachusetts in the year i^),V- James Wade, a direct ancestor
of the subject of this sketcli, fought in the Revolutionary War, with a
Massachusetts re.giment.
Edward U. Wade grew to manhood in his native city, and he received
his education in the Albany Boys Academy. Later he was a student in the
Albany Law School, from which institution he was graduated with the class
of 1888; however, he never practiced. He came West as a surveyor to
Duluth. Minnesota, and after remaining there and at Superior, the adjoining
city, until Jul\- f, 1891, he came to Fargo, North Dakota, and established
his home. For some time he represented a mercantile company as collector
in this section of the northwest, but after the great fire at Fargo he located
in .Moorhead, where he engaged in the bicycle sales and repair business.
About 1007. he was elected justice of the peace and has since discharged the
-202 CLAY AND ,\<)K.MAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
duties of this office in an able, faithful and eminently satisfactorv manner.
Smce 191 5 he has also been incumbent of the office of police magistrate and
has looked after the affairs of both offices in a manner that has reflected
much credit iqion himself and has given satisfaction to all concerned. His
decisions show not only a profound knowledge of the basic principles of
jurisprudence but also an unbiased fairness in dealing with all cases, his
decisions never being reversed at the hands of higher tribunals.
Mr. Wade was married on March 3. 1892, to Anna G. I'.orgen. of
I'argo, Xorth Dakota, a daughter of T. L. P.orgen. To Mr. Wade and wife
eight children have been born, as follow: l-'.dward, who is deceased; Dudley
P.radstreet, deceased; Ivlward, Dudley P.radstreet, Richard, Ellen Anna,
Alary and Anna Borgen.
Politically, Mr. Wade is a Republican. He is a member of the state
b. i.ucl of man.-igers of the .Sons of the .\merican Revolution to which he
belongs, and ha^ been on the board four years. He belongs to Moorhead
Lodge Xo. i_'6. .\ncient Free and .Accepted Masons, of which he has been
secretary for ten years, and also past master. He has always taken an
abiding interest in local affairs and is a pnblic-.spirited and highly esteemed
resident of Clav conntv.
ELIAS O. ROST
It is not the weaklings that accomplish worthy ends in the face of
obstacles and opposition, but those with nerve and initiative, whose motto
IS. "He never fails who never gives up," and with this terse aphorism ever
m \iew, they forge ahead until they reach a definite goal in life. Elias
U. Rost, a farmer of L'len township. Clay county, is a man who has won
despite adverse circumstances.
Mr. Rost was born in Norway. December 5, 1845. He is a son of
Ole X. and Ann (Syverson) Rost, both natives of Xorway, where they
grew up, married and continued to reside until 1870, when they came tf.
America to join their son Elias, who had precedefl them to Osceola, Clear
county, l^ennsyhania. After spending a year there they all went to F.auder-
dale county, Tennessee, remaining there until the fall of rSji. when they
went to Chicago, in which cit>- the\- resided until 1879. when thev came
to Alinnesota and located on the farm in Clay county, where the suljject of
this sketch now resides, in I'leii township. Ole X. Rost, the father, took up
CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 20 ?
a homestead in Hagen township, where he developed a good farm on which
lie spent the rest of his life, dying at an advanced age. His widow spent
her last }ears in the \illage of Ulen. reaching tlie remarkable age of nearlv
ninety-nine. To these parents three children were born, namely : Xich,
deceased: Elias, the subject of this sketch, and Ellen, wlio is the wife nf
lulling Wang.
Elias O. Rosl .grew to manhood in Xorway and there attended the
common schools. He came to America in 1868. locating in Osceola, I'enn-
syhania, where he spent three years, working on a farm the first summer:
then worked in the coal mines during winters, but continued working un farms
in the croj) seasons. He then came West with his parents, as related in the
preceding paragraph, remaining with them until the fall (if 1879, when
he came to Clay county a little aiiead of them and took up a homestead of
one hundred and sixty acres in Ulen townshi]). i'his he (le\el(i|)ed int(^
a good farm, putting on all impro\ements, including an excellent group
of buildings, and here he has since resided. He worked hard and managed
well and, prospering with advancing years, he added to his original place
until he now owns li\e hundred and twenty acres, constituting one of the
most desirable farms in Lien townshiij: and he has been very successful,
carrying on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He
raises large cpiantitics of grain and prejiares live stock for the markets in
large numbers.
Mr. Rost was married in rSjf'i to Anna 'riiompson, who was burn in
Xorway. She is a daughter of Halger Thompson and wife and came to
.\merica when youn.g. To Air. and Mrs. Rost six children have been liorn.
namely: Olaf, .\dolph (deceased), Eliza, Matilda, Emil and .\lbert. who
grew up on the home farm and were educated in the juililic schools.
.\lr. Rost has seen .threat changes "come o\er the face of the land"
since he took up his residence in Ulen township some thirty-ei.ght years ago.
for lie was an earl\- pioneer there, the country being then but a wild,
sparselv settled prairie. He has taken a good citizen's interest in this develop-
ment, helped organize the school district where he lives and was the first
clerk of the same. In fact, he helped organize Ulen township and was one
of the first members of tlie board of the same and was clerk of the fir^t
board. Later he served as chairman for many years. He is well known
i>\ei- the northeastern part of the county and is higb.ly respected. He i-
an active member of the Xorwegian Lutheran church at the village of L'leii.
which church lie helped organize. This was the first church in Ulen.
204 CLAY AND NORMAX CULNTIES, MINNESOTA.
C. O. MADSON.
C. O. Madson, postmaster of tlie \illage of llalstad, was Ijorn on a
pioneer farm about two miles northeast of that village and has lived in that
neighborhood all his life, with the exception of a year spent at Warren.
He was born on January 4, 1889, son of Christ and Christine (Baggerudj
Madson, tlie former a native of the kingdom of Denmark and the latter
of the kingdom of Xorwa}', who are now living on their old home farm
northeast of the village of llalstad, pioneers of Xornian county.
Christ Madson was born in the town of Xystad, on the south coa:^t
of the Island of Laaland, Denmark, and from the time he was fourteen
years of age until he was twentj'-four he followed the sea as a sailor.
About 1874 he came to the United States antl hjcated at IJeloit, Wisconsin,
where he found employment as a blacksmith in the Thompson plow works.
and w litre he remained for a time, when he came over into Minnesota
and homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in what later came to be
organized as Halstad township, Xorman county, two miles northeast of
the present flourishing village of llalstad. and there he still li\es. one of
the honored and inHuential pioneer citizens of X'omian county. Mr. Mad-
son has ever taken an active part in local civic affairs and serveil for alwut
fourteen \ears as chairman of the board of supervisors of Halstad town-
ship and for four years, 1902-06, served as a member of the board of
county commissioners from the second district. He and his wife are earnest
members of the L.utheran church and their six sons were reared in that
faith. Of these sons the subject of this sketch is the second in order of
liirili, the others being Martin, Charles, Mandley. Odin and Walter.
C. O. Madson was reared on the homestead farm in Halstad town-
ship and following his graduation from the high school at Halstad learned
the art of photography under the direction of C. V. Olson, of Halstad.
He then went to Warren, up in Marshall county, where, he worked as a
photographer for a >ear. at the end of which time, in 1909, the year of his
marriage, he returned to Halstad and opened a photograph studio of his
own and was thus very successfully engaged in business at that place until
his appointment as postmaster of Halstad. Mr. Madson entered upon die
duties of postmaster on January i, 1915, and has since given his full atten-
tion to the affairs of that office, renting his studio.
It was on June 7, 1909, that C. O. Madson was united in marriage
to Julia Xelson, daughter of T. A. Xelson and wife, and to this union
CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 20^
three children liave been born, two daughters, Charlotte and Karren, and
one son, W'oodrow Jennings. Mr. and .Mrs. Madson are members of the
Lutheran cliurch and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of
the same, as well as in the general social activities of their home village
and are helpful in promoting all good works thereabout. Mr. Madson is
a member of the local lodges of the Modern A\"oodmen of .\merica and of
the Knights of Pythias and takes a warm interest in Ihe affairs of these
organizations.
TOHX T. JOHNSON.
jfihn T. Jiihnson. nieniher of the board of county commissioners of
Clay county and a pmininent real-estate dealer at Ulen. was born in Fill-
more count}-. Minnesota, March 5, 1867, a son of John Johnson, born in
Norway in 1825. and Ingebor (Ellefson) Johnson, also born in Norway.
The elder John Johnson came to America in the spring of 1843 ^"d located
in LaSalle county, Illinois, where he li\ed for several \ears engaged in
farming. In 1856 he removed to Fillmore county, Minnesota, and took up
a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres which he improved and on
which he established his home. He continued to live there, engaged in gen-
eral farming, until lii^ death, which occurred in 1905. His wife died in
1^1 J. They were members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. The\' had
quite a large family consisting of twelve children: Thomas E.. who died at
the age of fiftv-four; Martha, E\\s.s. Robert, Inger, Elvina, John T., Isabel,
Christine, Jose]jhine. Allicrt, who died at the age of nine years, and Edward.
John T. Johnson recei\ed his elenientar\- education in the public
schools of I'"illniore count\-, and in the high school at Rushford. After com-
pletion of his prepur;itorv studies in this school he entered Augustana Col-
lege, at Canton, South D.ikota, and was graduated from that institution in
the spring of 1888. He then came to Clay county, and for three years fol-
lowing was engaged in teaching at Ulen. He then spent six months attend-
ing a business college in Minneapolis, and for two years following was en-
gaged in office work in I'reston. Minnesota. In the fall of 1892 he returned
to Clav countv and was engaged in teaching for five years, three of which
were in the \illagc of Ulen. After he quit teaching he was engaged in the
iiardware business in Ulen for about three years. He then started in the
real-estate business and has continued in that business since. In 1906 he
was elected countv commissioner of Clay county and has been elected as
206 CLAY AXD XOK.MAX COUNTIES. MIXXliSOTA.
his own successor on the lioard at e\cry election since tliat year, and is now
lioUling that position.
Mr. Johnson was married ni i8go to Tohina Thompson, daughter of
her Thompson, of Ada. county seat of Xorman county, and to this union
two children have heen horn, .Adeline and Franklin. Mr. Johnson's fra-
ternal affiliation is with the Woodmen's lodge.
CHARLES W. BRENDKMllll..
Few farmers in flay county take greater ])leasure in their work llian
Charles \\'. Brendenmhl. of Kragnes township. He was horn at Rochester.
Minnesota, in June. 1S71, a son of Charles .\. and Wilhelmina ( I'ink )
Brendenmhl. The father was horn in Germany, from which country he
came to .\merica with his i)arents when ten years old. the family locating
on a farm eighteen miles from the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was
the custom of the mother to carry eggs to that city, for which she received
onlv six cents a dozen, making the trip on foot. Later the family moved
to near Rochester, Minnesota, where they lived several years. One of
the sons, August T.. was one of the first settlers on the present site ol
Moorhead. Charles A. lirendemuhl owned land where the court house
now stands. He hecame ow ner of sixteen hundred and forty acres in Kragnes
township. Clay county. He ga\e each of his sons a large farm as they
attained the age of twenty-five years. The father died in the spring of
i(ji3. at the age of .seventy-nine years, on the old home place in Kra.gnes
township, to which he removed in 1878. His wife died there in 1909 at
the age of sixty-nine years. She was a native of Wisconsin. These parents
were married in 1S65. Eleven children were born to them, as follow:
Clara, who is married and lives in California; Will, who also is married:
Fred, who is married and lives in North Dakota: Charles W., the subject
of this review : Albert, who died when two years old: .\nna, who lives in
[•"ergus Falls, Minnesota: August, who lives in Idaho: Henry, who ha>
remained on the old home place: Mrs. Minnie Xorljy. who al.so lives on
the homestead, and Lilly, who died at the age of thirty years.
Ch.irles W. Brendemuhl grew up on the farm and attended the public
schools. He has devoted his life successfully to general farming and slock
raising, and is now the owner of a well-im]5ro\ed farm of three hundred
and twenty acres of productive land in Kragnes township. He built a
CLAY AND NOUMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 20/
new residence in 1899, which he remodeled in 19 15, making it modern
in every appointment, installing a bath, hot and cold water, sewerage sys-
tem, furnace, electric lights and the like, making it one of the most com-
fortable homes in the count)-. All the outbuildings are well kept and every-
thing about the place denotes that a gentleman of good taste and progres-
sive ideas is at the helm. In connection with his general farming and
stock raising, Mr. Brendemuhl makes a specialty of potato growing, thirtv
acres being planted in tubers in 1917, and the crop for the pix-ceding \ear
was sold for thirty-six hundred dollars.
On October 26, 1899, Mr. Brendemuhl was married to llulda Poelils,
who was born in Iowa in 1881. To their union sexen children have been
born, Lena, Nellie, Lizzie, Emma, Howard, Roy and Ruth, all of whom
live at home.
Politically, the subject of this sketch is independent. He served as
chairman of the township board for eight years and is at present a member
of the school board. He is a stockholder and director in the Farmers
Elevator Company at Kragnes, also in the telephone company that operates
in Oak])ort and Kragnes township, known as the Oak and Kragnes Tele-
phone Company. He has been treasurer of the school board in district No.
24 during the past fifteen years, takes a general interest in local public affairs
and is regarded as a good citizen in every respect.
FLA\1':L .\. WOODWARD.
I''la\el .\. Woodward, president nt the farmers State Bank, of Glyndon,
Minnesota, and one of the enterprising and substantial business men of that
progressive little city, is a native of Michigan, born in Barry county, on
Septemlier 28, i860, a son of Oliver Z. Woodward and wife, natives of New
York state. About 1872, (Jliver Z. Woodward came from Michigan to
Wright countx. Minnesota, but alter residing there about a year he returned
to Michigan, later going to Kansas, where his death occurred.
E. A. Woodward is the only child of his parents who grew to maturity.
.After his mother's death occurred when he was onlv an infant nine days
old, he was given to a neighbor woman to rear, Ijut at the age of si.x years,
he went to live with his father. When he was twelve years old, he and his
father drove overland with a horse team from Michigan to Minnesota.
l''rom that time Mr. W(;od\\ard has made his own wav in the world, and
208 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
1)\- hard work, close application and diligence, he has won a very com-
mendable success in the business world. In 1880 he came to Glyndon, Clay
county, Minnesota, and has made his home here practically ever since.
\Mien he first came to the county, he worked at various occupations, among
which were farming and lumbering. He lived on a farm alxjut a half mile
mirth of Glyndon until k;!^, in which year he went to California, hut the
following year he returned to Glyndon, and, in partnership with Walter
Shave, engaged in the machinery business, which they are still ver\- suc-
cessfully carrying on. dealing in farm implements and other machinery.
Mr. Woodward was one of the organizers of the i'"arniers State Bank, a
progre.ssive financial concern of Glyndon. and is now serving as president
of that institution.
In June, 1897, Mr. Woodward was married to Bertha M. Webb, the
daughter of R. 15. Webb, of Glyndon, and to this union one son has been
born, Roy W. .Mr. Woodward and family are prominent in all the social
activities of the community, having an active interest in the welfare and
betterment of their village. Mr. Woodward has served several terms on
the village council.
W. R. BRIGGS.
W. R. Briggs, a well-known lloriculiurist at Moorhead, was born in
lUoomington. Illinois, .\ugust i. 1875, ^ son of W. R. and Mary (De Board)
Briggs. The father was born in Ireland and the mother in Pennsylvania.
The senior W. R. l!riggs came to America when a young man and located
in Illinois, near lUooniiugton, where he engaged in the business of a gar-
dener and continued in this business for manv years. His children were:
Minnie, W. R., B. H., R. H., J. W., Frank and David. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bloomington.
The suliject of this sketch received his education in the coiumon schools
of llliu-ois, where he spent his boyhood years. He worked widi his father
as a gardener until the death of bis father. .\t the age of eighteen years he
started out to make his own living and worked for farmers in the neighbor-
hood for four or five years and then engaged in farming on his own account.
He farmed in Illinois for about two years and then removed to Missouri and
farmed in that state for two years. Then, with a cash capital of three
thousand dollars, he packed up his household goods and removed to Texas,
with the expectation of increasing his property possessions. After an expe-
o
6?'
W
:^
IS
S
s
02
HE NEW YORK
BLIC LIBRARY
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 20g
rience of about one \ear and a halt in the business of farming and gardening;
in Texas he found that liis expectations were not reaHzed. He lost practi-
cally all that he had brought with him, as well as the profit on his labor dur-
ing the time of his sojourn in Texas. In igo6 he removed to Tower City,
Xorth Dakota, arriving at that place with ei.ghty dollars in cash and very
little in the wa_\' (if household goods. He engaged in farming in that state
tor two years and b}' econonn- and industry greatly improved his condition
in the way of worldly possessions. In 1908 he came to Moorhead, and
bou.ght a tract of ground and engaged in gardening. In the fall of that
year he built the first one of his greenhouses. He has added others as the
!)usiness increased and now has five large greenhouses, with all modern ap-
pointments and conveniences, his plant now carrying about thirty thousand
square feet of glass. Mr. Briggs cultivates all varieties of vegetables, plants
and llowers and finds a ready market for his product in Moorhead and Fargo.
On February 19. 1902, W. R. Briggs was married to Eva Kate Miller
and to this union four children have been born : Harold, Gertrude, Mildred
and Francis. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are members of the First Methodist
Episcopal church at Moorhead. Mr. Briggs is a member of the school
board and his fraternal affiliation is with the Independent Order of Odd
l'"cllo\\>. Politicalh'. he is independent.
OTTO J. MORTENSON.
Otto J. ^lortenson. secretary of the Moorhead Realty Company at
Moorhead and one of the best-known real-estate dealers in this part of the
state, is a native of the Red River valle}' and has lived in this section most
of his life. He was born on a pioneer farm, over the river in Cass county.
North Dakota, July ri. 1880, son of Paul and Maren (Lee) Mortenson,
natives of Norway, who came to this country in 1870, proceeding on up
into the Red River \ alley and settling on a homestead farm in Cass county.
North Dakota, where the latter spent her last days and where the former
is still living, one of the well-established pioneer farmers of that communit\-.
Paul Mortenson has held office in his home township and was one of the
organizers of the church in his neighborhood.
Reared on the homestead farm. Otto J. Mortenson received his ele-
mentary schooling in the schools of that vicinity and then entered Concordia
(14a)
2IO CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
College at Moorhead, from which institution he was .<>;raduated in 1900,
with the degree of Bachelor of Accounts. Upon leaving school Mr. .Mor-
tenson became engaged in the office of a real-estate dealer at A'loorhead
and after awhile engaged in the real-estate business on his own account in
that city and was thus engaged there until IQ04, when he went to Sawyer,
over in \\'ar(l county. Xorth Dakota, where he established the Sawyer
State Bank and remained there, acting as cashier of that concern, nniil
1908, when he went over into Montana, homesteaded a quarter of a sec-
tion of Ian din that state and remained there, improving and developing
his tract, until January i, 1911, when he returned to Moorhead, where he
since has made his residence. L'pon returning to Moorhead Mr. Morten-
son resumed his connection with the real-estate business and was engaged in
the interest of various land firms until 1915, in which year he organized
the Moorhead Realty Comjjany, of which he since has lieen the secretary,
and has worked up an extensive business in that line, his operations in
realty covering a wide territory hereabout.
On June 23, 1904, Otto J. Mortenson was united in marriage to Leonora
II. Dahl, daughter of T. II. Dahl and wile, of Moorhead, and to this union
si.x children have been born. Kthel, Carroll, Kenneth (deceased), Philip.
W'illjur and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Mortenson are members of Trinity
Lutheran church at Moorhead and take a proper interest in church works,
as well as in the general good works of the community. Fraternall}-, .Mr.
Mortenson is affiliated with the .Masonic order and takes a warm interest
in the affairs of the same.
JOHN E. BURUD.
Success as a general farmer has come to John E. Burud because he
worked hard and managed well and he is now enabled to spend his declin-
ing years in retirement. He is one of the well-known citizens of Goose
Prairie township, Clay county. He was born on November i, 1854, in
Norway, a son of Ellef Jenson and Barbara ( I'.rickson) Burud, both
natives of Norwav, where they grew up, married and established their home,
l)nt came to .America in 1881, locating in Clay county, Minnesota. There
they took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Hagen town-
ship, which they developed into a good farm through their industr}-, and
there continued to carry on general farming until .alxjut 1894 when they
CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 211
sold uut and spent the rest of their li\es witli their son John E. on his
farm in Goose Prairie township. The death of the father occurred in 1910
at the ad\anced age of eighty-seven years, and that of the mother in 1907.
She was t\\o years )"ounger than her husband. To these parents five chil-
dren were born, namely: John E., of this sketch; Mary, who died in the
spring of 1Q17: Edward, who owns and operates a farm of one hundred
and sixty acres in section 4, Goose Prairie township; Mrs. Tilda McTeney,
living in Chicago, and Olc. who lives in Ulen, ]\Iinnesota, and works on the
Xorthern Pacific railroad.
John v.. Burud grew to manhood in Norway and there attended the
common schmils. lie immigrated to America when twenty-three years old
in 1878, alone, and came on west to Clay county, where he worked out for
two and one-half years, dien took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres in section 12, Goose Prairie town.ship. He worked hard developing
this land, but prospering with advancing years, he later bought more land
and now owns one of the choice farms of his township, consisting of four
hundred and iortx acres. He has made all improvements on this land,
erecting a comfortable bume and numerous substantial outbuildings, and
setting out a large grove. Everything about the place denotes thrift and
good management. He has been very successful, carrying on general farm-
ing and stock raising on an extensive scale. He raised some pure-blooded
stock.
Mr. r.urud was married in Lake Park, Minnesota, in 1880, to Caroline
Thompson, who was born in Rice county, this state, in 1859. Her parents
were natixes of Norway, from which country they came to Minnesota in
pioneer da}-s, locating first in Rice county. Later they moved to Becker
countv, where they spent the rest of their lives, both being now deceased, the
mother dying when her daughter Caroline was twelve years old. Not long
thereafter, Mr. Thompson sold out and bought a farm in Becker, where he
lived until his death in 1910. To Mr. and Mrs. Burud four children were
torn, namelv : Theodore, who died when twenty-two years old ; Albert.
Oscar and Joseph.
Mr. Burud bought property in the village of Ulen, Goose Prairie
town.shiii, in 191 5, and moved thereto, retiring from active farm work. He
has since rented out his land to Ole Holt. Mr. Burud served as township
supervisor for many years, also as a director of the school board in his dis-
trict. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, of which he was
a trustee for a numlier of \-ears.
212 CLAY AND NORilAX CdLXTIES. MINNESOTA.
P. J. SHEA.
P. J. Shea was hmn in Jlainpton county. Massachusetts. t)clol)cr 13.
1866, a son (if Mich.iel ami ^Nfary (Sullivan) .Shea, both natives of Ireland.
His father came to .Xnierica in 1856 and located in Hampton countv. Massa-
chusetts, where he enijaged in his trade as a brick mason for alx)ut twenty
years. In 187(1. he l)r(iu.<,dit his family t>> Minnesota, located in Glvndon.
(lay county, and fnund employment with the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad
('(>m])any. He entered a homestead of one hundred and sixtv acres, and
entered a tree claim of antnher one hundred and sixty acres in I*"elton town-
shii>. He continued his employment with the railroad company while his
.son worked the farm. He is still living at Glvndon; his wife died several
years ago. Their children are: Rose. P. J., the subject of this review; Mary
and James. Michael Shea was the first postmaster of Felton.
P. J. .Shea had a \er\ limited schooling when he was young and is
liractically self-educated. As a boy. he assisted his father in the postofifice,
and also was emploxed as a time-keeper for the railroad company. When
yet m his youthful years, he was occupied in looking after his father's farm,
while the father was working on the railroad. .Mr, Shea did some of the
In-t breaking of the virgin soil in Clay county, using an ox team to draw the
]ilow. He continued on the farm until be was twentv-one, and then st.arted
to work for the r.iilroad. in the employment of which he continued for
al)out four years. He first worked for the dreat Xorthern and afterward
tor the Xorthern Pacific railroad. In 1893 'i^ embarked in the general
mercantile business ;it Saliin, Minnesota, in partnership with his uncle,
James Shea. He continued in business at this jilace for about five years
and then came to Clynder and established the firm of P. J. Shea & Com-
pany in the general merchandising business. He has conducted this busi-
ness alone since that time. In 1889, he started a hotel at this place and
conducted that in connection with his mercantile interests for about eight
years Mr. Shea also has large farming interests to occupy his time and
attention. He began making investments of his savings in land sc\-eral
\ears ago and secured a considerable body of land when it was available for
purchase at a k)W price.
Mr. Shea was one of the organizers of the First State Bank of Glvndon.
and has been vice-president of this bank since the time of its organization.
lie has served twt. terms as president of the school board, and was president
of the \illage council some years ago. He helped to organize the Glyndon
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 2I3
Telephuiie Company, of which he was the first president. In 1914 he
Ijuilt a fine two-st(jry modern home with heautiful .orounds and modern
eqnipnient. In addition to the othur l)usiness activities in which ^Ir. Shea
has been interested he was one of the organizers of tlie Farmers' Grain and
r^nmher Company of Glyndon. of whicli he is president and E. D. Grant,
vice-president. In tiiese, and in all other lousiness enterprises, Mr. Shea is
a ieadini;' -.])irit. He is tlie leading; l)nsiness man of Glyndon and is always
readv to contribute his fuU sliare in the promotion of anv enterprise or move-
ment that tends to the growth and welfare of the town .and commnnitx'.
In iS8<), I'. J. Shea and Julia Timrue were united in marriage, and to
this union live children have been born, namely: Florence M., Frances E.,
.\fjuinia, Adeline and lulward T. The Shea family are very delightfully
situated in their new two-story, modern home at Glyndon, wdiich Mr. Shea
built in 1914.
TAMES LARSON.
James Larson, cashier of the State Bank of Halstad, a member of the
school board at Flalstad and the manager of a well-improved farm on
the outskirts of that \illage. was born on a farm in Mouston county, ihis
stale. May 10. 1873. son of I'cter and .Maria ( Christopherson) Lar.son
((iagnum). natives of .Vorway, who came to Minnesota about 18C9 and
settled in Houston county, where they remained until 1879. when they
moved to Cass county. Xortb Dakota, where they spent the rest of their
li\-es. with the exception of fi\e _\ears sjient in Ransom county, that state.
Peter Larson and wife rearefl a family (;f twehe children.
Reared on the paternal farm in Xorth Dakota, James Larson com-
])leted his common-school course in the schools of R;insom county, X(.irili
Dakota, and supplemented the same by a course in Concordia College at
Moorhead. In this connection he gratefully acknowledges a debt of grati-
tude to his uncle. K. F.. Bakke, of Onawa. Iowa, who supported him for
eighteen months during his school days there. L'pon completing his school-
ing in [ow.-i lames Larson resumed his labors on the home farm in Buffalo,
Xorth Dakota, and there remained until he was twenty-five years of age.
when, in 1898. he came over into Minnesota and located at Ilalstad. where
he remained until his marriage in 1901, when he moved up into Polk county
and there remained until igii, in which year he returned to Halstad and
has ever since been en.gaged there as cashier of the State Bank of Halstad.
214 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
In addition to his lianking interests. Mr. I.arson is the manager of a well-
iniproved farm located just one-lialf mile cast of Halstad and gives con-
siderable attention to the raising of early Ohio ])Otatoes and has done much
to stimulate the cultivation of potatoes in that part of the county. Air.
[.arson gives his earnest attention to local affairs and for the past five years
has been serving as a member of the local school board.
It was in h)oi that James Larson was united in marriage to Margaret
Holmberg. daughter of Charles and Beret Ilolmberg. and lo this union
seven children have been born. Harriet. Alton. Victor. i:;rdis. Helen.
Erling and Aaron. .Mr. .md .Mrs. Larson are members of the Norwegian
Lutheran rhiu-ch and Mr. I.arson has served as secretary of the local con-
gregation of that church.
OLE I. GRIXA.
Ole I. (hina, local manager of the plant of the Stenerson Brothers
l.nniber Company ;it Halstad, is a native son of Minnesota and has lived
in this state the greater part of his life. He was born on a pioneer farm
in Trondhjem township. Ottertail county, .\pril i<). 1874. son of Tver O.
and Oline L. ( Ohe ) Crina. both natives of the kingdom of Xorway, the
former of whom, a pioneer of this section of Minnesota, is now living at
I'clican Rapids and the latter of whom died on P^bruary 22, 1914.
Iver O. Grina was but three years of age when his parents, Ole H.
and Martha (Moger) Grina. left their native Norway and came to the
I'uited States, settling in Clayton county. Iowa, where they homesteaded
a quarter of a section of land and where they remained for twenty years
or more, or until their removal to Minnesota and settlement in Ottertail
county, where their last days were spent. Reared on the homestead farm in
Iowa. Iver O. Grina remained there until the days of his young manhood.
when he started out to do for himself and came up into this section of Min-
nesota, locating" on a homestead farm which he bought from a dissatisfied
homesteader in Trondhjem township. Ottertail county, later buying one
hundred and twenty acres of railroad land adjoining the same, and there
he li\ed until his retirement from the farm, after the death of his wife, in
it)i4 and removal to Pelican Rapids, where he is now living. Mrs. Grina
was a daughter of Lars and Ingeborg ( W'aterud) Ohe. who were among
the earliest settlers of Erhard Grove townshii). Ottertail county. To I\-er
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 215
O. Grina and wife nine ciiildren were born, those besides tiie subject of
this sketch, the first-born, being as follow: Lars I., who is engaged in
the lumber business at Felton ; Melvin I., who is engaged in the hardware,
implement and lumber inisiness at Erhard; Conrad I., who is engaged in
the lumber and machine business at Borup ; Joseph, who died in infancy ;
Joseph, second, who is farming his grandfather's farm, which was bought
by I. O., in Ottertail county: Theodore, who is in business at Erhard: Inga,
also living at Erhard, and Emma, who is living with her father at Pelican
Rapids. Iver O. Grina is a member of the Lutheran church, as was his
wife, and their children were reared in that faith. In 1913 Iver O. Grina
helped to organize the Erhard State Bank at Erhard and is a member of
the board of directors of the same. During his long residence on the
farm he served his home township in various public capacities and did
much for the development of the region in which he settled in pioneer days.
Ole I. Grina was reared on the homestead farm on which he was born
and received his schooling in the district sch(jol in that neighborhood. He
remained on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age and in Xo\em-
ber, 1895, started working for O. E. Juverud at Rothsay, and was thus
engaged for something more than three years, at the end of which time
he went over into North Dakota and took a homestead in Benson countw
A year later, in April, 1901, he returned to this state and began working
for the Stenerson Brothers Lumber Company at Borup. He was married
in the summer of that year and remained at Borup for fixe years and one
month, at the end of which time he returned to Xorth Dakota and engaged
in the lumlter business for him.self, locating at Columbus, in Ward county.
North Dakota, remaining there for nearly four years, from July, 1906, to
March, 1910, in which latter month he went to Montana and was there
engaged for four years in the lumber trade, connected with the Northern
Montana Lumber Company. On April 4. 1914. he returned to Minnesota,
resuming his former connection with the Stenerson Brothers Lumber Com-
pany and has since been engaged as the local manager of that company's
extensive plant at Halstad, one of the best-known lumber men in this part
of the state.
It was' on June 15, 1901, that Ole I. Grina was united in marriage to
Anna C. Ringstad, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter.
.'\lice Onida. Mr. and Mrs. Grina are members of the Lutheran church and
take a proper part in church affairs. They have a very pleasant home at
Halstad and take an interested part in the general social activities of that
2l6 CLAY AXD NOKMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
village. .Mr. Grina i.s independent in his political views. l)ut takes an earnest
interest in local civic affairs, ever willing to promote any movement lia\ ing
as its object the advancement of the common welfare.
JOHN \\-. GROMMliSlI.
John W. Grommesh, a well-known retired landowner, living at Barnes-
\ille. Clav count}, was Iiorn in Sand Creek township, Scott county, Minne-
sota, on October 14, 1855. lie is the son of John and Clara (Wagner)
Grommesh, both natives of Luxemburg, who left that country and came
to .\nierica the year before their son. John \V., was born.
On arriving in this country John (irommesh and his wife proceeded
out to .Minnesota and settled in Scott county about 1854, being among the
early settler> in that jiart of tiic state. John Grommesh pre-empted a tract
of timber l.md in that county and proceeded to clear and prepare it for the
planting of crops, .\fter c(3nsiderable labor he succeeded in getting the land
into condition, .ind remained there engaged in general farming until 1861.
In the latter year lie moved to Jackson township, Scott county, and resumed
farming operations, meetin.g with success during the greater part of the
time. In 1873 he moved to L;ike\ille township, Dakota county, and settled
on a farm located twenty-four miles south of St. Paul, where he remained
for five years. In 1880 John Grommesh made his final move and went to
House township. Cass county, .\orth Dakota, and there Ixnight out a home-
steader. On the land thus acrjuired he contiinied to farm for the remainder
of his life, his death occurring in I'ebruary, looj. His wife had predeceased
him l)y many years, her death having occurred in 1885, on the homestead
.settled on by her husband in 1880. To John Gronnnesh and wife the follow-
ing children were born : John W., the subject of this sketch, Celia, Michael,
Clara, Hubert. Mary (deceasetl), and Lewis. They were earnest members
of the Catholic church and their children were reared in the same faith.
John W". Grommesh was educated in the public and parochial schools,
after which he helped his father in the work of the farm for some time. He
then started for himself as a farmer in Dakota county, Minnesota, and re-
mained there engaged in general farming until the fall of 1880, at which
time he went with his parents to Cass county. North Dakota, and there
bought out a homesteader, as his father had done, and stayed on the home-
stead for six months, at the end of which time he .sold out. He later farmed
o
u;
7:
7
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 21/
some scliool land and put in two crops wliile in that territory, but the grass-
hoppers came along and destroyed everything.
In June, i88j. Mr. firommesh came to Clav cotuit\- and commenced
to farm a tract of railroad land in Alliance township, six and one-half miles
west of Barnesxille. and continued thus engaged for six years. In 1888 he
moved to tiie town of Barnesxille, li\ing there for two years, and worked
for the great Northern Railroad Company. By the winter of 1890 he had
saved one thousand five hundred dollars by hard work and thrifty habits, and
proceeded to iiurchase land for himself. He bought a farm of one hundred
and si.xt}- acres in Wilkins county, six miles southwest of Barnesville, and
engaged in general farming for alxjut six years. In i8g6 he returned to
Barnesville: but in the meantime, in 1891, he had bought two hundred acres
of the land he had previously been farming in .\lliance township, Clay
county. He has Ii\ed in Barnesville since 1896 and has bought and operated
several farms up to recently, when he retired from the more active duties
of farm life. He now owns three hundred and ninety-four acres of prime
land at the edge of Barnesville and twenty acres within the city limits,
which latter jiarcel be operates personally. He is also the owner of one
hundred and sixtv acres uf what was formerly railroad land in Barnesville
townshi]), and one hundred and twenty acres which adjoins die latter, con-
sisting of school land, and which is situated in Alliance township. In all
iiis i)urchases and sales of land Mr. Grommesh has met with marked suc-
cess, and he mainlv attributes his good fortune to hard work and to good
crops, which latter have resulted in his case from close attention to all de-
tails of cultivation.
On September 23, 1878, John W. Crommesh was united in marria,ge to
Julia Stork, who was born in New Alarket, Scott county, this state, a
daughter of John and Katherine (Zeimat) Stork. Her parents were born
in Luxemburg and came to .\merica in 1854 and located first at Lakeville,
Scott countv. and later went to New Market, in the same county. The
Storks were farming people and spent the remainder of their lives in Scott
countv. Mr. and Mrs. Stork were the parents of nine children, as follow:
Katherine (deceased), Richard, Nicholas, Henry, ]^Iinnie. Mary, Kate,
Joseph (deceased) and Julia, wife of Mr. Grommesh. Tliese i)arents and
their children were 'members of the Catholic church.
^Ir. and Mrs. Grommesh are the parents of two children, namely, John
and Hubert, who are engaged in f.irming at Barnesville, ant! are well-known
citizens of that district. The Grommesh family are earnest members of the
Catholic church and are warmlv interested in all its good works as well as in
2l8 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA.
all moveineiit? makings: for the welfare of the community. Air. Grommesh
ami his two sons. John and Hul)ert, are members of the CathoHc Order of
h'oresters and are ardent supporters of that fraternal organization and of all
neighborhood good works. Mr. Cironimesh was for two years clerk of the
Alliance lownshi]i school board. He also served as township chairman for
three rears and as alderman in Barnesville for some years, and in all these
public positi(jns he rendered excellent services to the citizens.
John Grommesh, eldest son of the subject of this sketch, was married
to Minnie Palman. of Barnesville, and they are the parents of two children,
Cecilia and Kenneth. Hubert Grommesh, the younger son. married Chris-
tina Lander, of I'rior Lake, Scott count \. this state, and they are the pa-
rents of one child. T.ucv.
ALERT ARNESTAD.
Alert .\rnestad, tire warden of .\da, who operates a general automobile-
repair and vulcanizing shop at that place, is a native of the kingdom of
Norwa\', but has been a resident of Xorman county since 1881, the year
in which that county was organized as a ci\ic entity. He was born on Sej)-
tember 28, 1858, son of Hans Gulmonson Jacob and Eliza Leeberg. natives
of that same country, farming people, who spent all their lives there. They
were the parents of nine children. Thee, Carl, Olaf (deceased). Ludwig,
Alert, Charlotta, Ole. Casper and Halvor (deceased).
Reared on a farm in his native Norway, Alert .Arnestad early began
learning the trade of wagon-maker and became a proficient craftsman in
that line. In March of 1881 he married there and he and his bride straight-
wav started for the United States. U])on their arrival here they came on
out to this then frontier section of Minnesota and settled at Ada, where
they ever since have made their home, thus being recognized as among
the real "old settlers" of that city. Upon his arrival at Ada Mr. Arnestad
secured employment at his trade in a local blacksmith shop and was thus
engaged for about two years, at the end of which time he engaged in
carpenter work and was thus occupied for five years or more, during which
time he erected many of the houses built at .\da and surrounding coun-
trv during that period. Mr. Arnestad then began farming near Ada, but
after two years of that form of work gave up farming and began working
in the establishment of Andrews & Hanson, hardware and lumber, at .Ada,
CLAY AXD XORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 219
and remained with that tirni lor eleven years, at the end of which time he
transferred his services to Lofsness & Shordahl, hardware, and was with that
concern for some \ears. He then started a liardware store and tin shoj)
of iiis own and o])erated the same for three or four years, or until failing
health cf)mpelled his temporary retirement. About a year ago Air. Arnestad
started a vulcanizing and repair shop at Ada and is meeting with a good
measure of success in his new enterprise. Mr. Arnestad has e\er given a
good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and is now serving his fourth
year as fire warden at Ada.
It was on March 21, 1881. in Xorway, that Alert Arnestad was united
ill marriage to Martha Hang, who also was born in that countrv, a daugh-
ter of Ingebright anrl Olena (Ingebrightson) Hang, farming people, and
to this union seven children ha\e been born, Eliza, Arnold, Helga, Bertha,
Adel, Ruth and Esther, all of whom are li\ing. Mr. and Airs. Arnestad
are members of the Hauges Lutheran church and ha\e ever taken mucii
interest in church work.
EDWIX O. STL'DLIEN.
Edwin O. Studlien, a farmer of Kragnes township. Clay county, was
born in Houston county, Minnesota, in March. 1865. He is a son of Ole
(). and Bertha ( Lundelein ) Studlien, both natives of Xorway, where they
grew up and married and made their home tuitil 1853. when the}' immi-
grated to America, locating in Houston county, Minnesota, and liought a
farm. There the father established a comfortable home and developed a
fine farm. He was one of the earliest pioneers of that county and he and
his family endured the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life.
Ole O. Studlien continued to reside there until 1874, when he moved to
Clay count}- and bought the farm in Kragnes township on which his son
Edwin O. now resides. There he spent the rest of his life, engaged in gen-
eral farming with his usual success, his death occurring there in 1908 at
the advanced age of eighty-two years years. His widow also reached the age
of eighty-two, dying in 1914 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Olena
Kragnes. To these parents eight children were born, namely: Inger, who
is married and lives in Houston county; Jane, deceased: Galena, the wife
of O. E. Tangen : Mrs. Olena Kragnes, mentioned above: Edwin O., the
subject oi this sketch: Mary Ann, who is married and li\es in Moorhead :
Otis, who disappeared in St. Paul, Minnesota, in December, 1891, and it is
220 CLAY AXD NljUMAN COUNTIES. MIX XHSOTA.
believed that he is dead, and Roljiii. who Hves with Mrs. ( )lena Kratjncs,
his sister.
Edwin O. Studlien grew up on the home farm in lltnistoii county and
there attended the district schools. He has dexotecl his life to .tjeueral
farming and has lived on his present farm in section 2^, Kragnes tnwii-
ship. since 1876. huyino- the place from his father in the year 1899. lie
has kept it well improved, replacing- all the ultl huildings with new ones.
He first bought a half section, later one huudrcd and lift}- acres in section
j6, and later a quarter section in section 13. which he later sold. He now
owns li\e hundred and forty acres, on which he carries on general farming
and stock raising- on an extensive scale, ranking among the leading farmers
of liis town.ship.
;\Ir. Studlien was married in 1889 to Engeborg Rc)holt. who was born
in 1863 in Xorway. where she grew up an<l attcmled school. She came
to America in the fall of 1885. making the trip to .Minnesota alone, to join
her two brothers who had come here from .\(jr\\a_\- several years previously
and had settled in C\:iy county. Five children ha\-e been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Studlien. namely: Oiaf, ' Eugene, Elida. .\nna and iulwin, ail of
whom are living.
Mr. Studlien is now- a member of the board of township supervisors
and is also clerk of school district Xo. 101. having iiekl this latter position
since the district was organized in 1901. He has been a member of the Moil-
ern Woodmen lodge for twenty years, or since 1897. His family are
Lutherans. He is one of tlie well-known and intluential men in pubhc
aftairs in Kragnes township.
BENDT O. HITTERDAL.
There is no better farmer in Goose Prairie township, Clay county, than
Bendt O. Hitterdal, who was born in Norway, November 30, 1855. ^^ '*
a son of Ole and Bertha ( Hertse) Hitterdal, both natives of Norway, where
the)' grew up. married and made their home until 1869. In that year they
immigrated to America and located in Winneshiek county, Iowa, where they
spent two 3 ears, then came to Clay county, Minnesota, driving an ox-team to
a prairie-schooner overland, in 1871, and thus were among the early
pioneers of this county. The trip from Iowa took about one month. The
father at once took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, lying
CI.AY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 221
less than a mile east of the present village of Hitterdal. in Goose Prairie
township. He worked hard at developing the land into a farm, erected
suitable buildings and there he and his wife spent the rest of their lives,
his death occurring about 1874. The village of Hitterdal was named in
honor of this old family, which was one of the first to settle in that locality.
Six children were born to Ole Hitterdal and wife, namely: Mary, the oldest;
Bendt O., of this sketch; Lars, Maria, Ole, Jr., and Hannah.
The father of the ai)n\e named children was influential in the affairs
of his township, and he helped organize the first church in the comnumitv,
known as the Conference Lutheran church.
Bendt O. Hitterdal spent his boyhood in Xorvvay, where lie .ittended
school. He went to school only alxiut one month in ;\merica. He was
fourteen years old when his parents brought him to Iowa, and he came
with the family to C'l;iy county, ATinnesota, and helped develop the home
farm at Hitterdal. When he became of legal age, in 1878, he took up a
homestead of one Imiidred and si.xty acres where he has since made his
home. He worked hard at adding all the improvements on his land, includ-
ing a comfortable home and a convenient set of outbuildings. He has seen
the county develop from ;i wild prairie to a fine farming region during his
continuous residence here of forty-six years and has played well his part in
tliJN i!e\elopmciU. being regarded as a public-spirited and useful citizen all
the while. AMien he first located on the land he planted a large grove which
is now tall and flourishing. He has prospered through good management
and close application until he is one of the substantial men of his vicinity.
He later took up three-fourths of a section, one-fourth of which was a treie
claim, and this he has also well im])roved. He has been very successful as a
general farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Hittedral was married about 1879 to yVnna Setter, who was born in
Wisconsin, a daughter of Paul Larson Setter, who removed to Goose Prairie
township, Clav county, Minnesota, about 1877. To Mr. and Mrs. Hitterdal,
six children have been liorn, namely: Oliver, Albert. Joseph, deceased;
Andree, Ldjul and Bernhard.
Politically, Mr. liittcrdal is an independent. He helped organize Goose
I'lairie townshij) and was the first chairman of the township board. He has
since held various townshi]) offices. He helped organize the school district
ill which he resides, when the district included the entire town.ship within
its borders. He was a member of the first school board and he has been
treasurer of his .school district most of the time since. He also helped or-
ganize the L'luon Lutheran cliurch at Hitterdal.
222 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES. iMINNESOTA.
LOUIS LEMKE.
Louis Lenike. one iif the most suljstantial farmers of Clay county and
proprietor of all of section 31 of Elkton townshi]), the seat of his pleasant
home just north of the xilla^e of Baker, is a native of Germany, but has
been a resident of this country since he was fourteen years of age. He
was born on .September 5. 1858. son of Carl and Christina (Blomk) Lemke,
lioth nati\es of that same countrw who came to the LTnited States in 1872
with their family and setlled on a farm in die vicinity of Chicago, in Cook
county, Illinois, where the father spent his last days. His widow died at
the home of one of her sons in Charlton county, Minnesota. Carl Lemke
and his wife were the parents of three sons, the subject of this sketch having
two brothers. John Lemke. now a resident of Martin county, this state, and
August Lemke. of Nebraska.
.As noted al)ove. Loui'; Lemke was fourteen years of age when be came
to this country with his parents in 1872 and for nineteen years thereafter
he made his home in Cook county, Illinois, engaged in farming. In 1892
he mo\ed from Illinois to Iowa and located on a farm in Franklin county,
that state, where he remained for eighteen years and where he developed a
fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres. In 1909, Mr. Lemke disposed of
his interests in Iowa and came up into Minnesota, locating on the farm
just north of Baker, where he is now living and where he and his family
are very comfortably situated. Mr. Lemke owns the whole of section 31
in Elkton township and has improved the place in fnie shape, having erected
an entirely new set of farm buildings there since taking possession of the
same, a ben-house being the only structure of the old set of buildings re-
maining. In addition to his general grain farming. Mr. Lemke has for some
time given considerable attention to the raising of potatoes and has done
nnich to encourage the cultivation of that crop in that neighborhood.
In 1 881 Louis Lemke was united in marriage to Sophia Pos.sehl, a
sister of H. C. Possebl, a biographical sketch of whom is ])resented else-
where in this volume, and to this union have been born fourteen children,
all of whom are living, namely: Fred, who lives in Franklin county, Iowa:
Amanda, who married Fred Fahrmann and is living in Elmwood town-
ship; ^linnie, wife of Louis Lenthe, of Elkton township: Herman, who is
at home: Eddie, also at home: Martha, wife of George Meyer, of Franklin
county. Iowa: /\nna. wife of Carl Carr, of Elkton township, and Edna.
Louie. Alvin. Arthur. Albert: Melinda and Lillie. who are at home. The
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 22^
Lenikes are members of the German Evangelical Lutheran church at Sabin
and take a proper interest in church work, as well as in the general good
\\orks and social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in
promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common
welfare thereabout.
J. PIERCE WOLFE.
One of the substantial and successful men of Mourhead, Clay countv,
who is engaged in the insurance business, in which he has met with much
success, is J. Pierce Wolfe, who was born at Osseo, Hennepin county, Min-
nesota, on July II, 1872, a son of John Wolfe and wife, who are prominent
farmers and well-known and highly respected people of Nicollet countv, Min-
nesota. The parents were much interested in the education of their children,
and after the son, J. Pierce, completed his education in the local schools at St.
Peter, Minnesota, he entered the Gustavus Adolphus College at St. Peter,
where he later completed the course of study, in 1892.
Soon after having completed his work at St. Peter, Mr. Wolfe came to
Moorhead, where he established himself in business and where he has since
resided. When he first came to Moorhead, he kept books for Jacob Kiefer
for some years, and in April. 1898. he entered the general insurance busi-
ness, in which he has met with much success. He has devoted his best
efforts to this business and is today the agent and adjuster of the Security
and Reliance Insurance companies for the states of North and South Dakota,
Montana and the western |)art of Minnesota. Further, he is associated with
E. A. Davis of Minneapolis as general agents of the hail department of the
Security Insurance Company of Connecticut for North and South Dakota.
Montana and Minnesota. Withal, as an insurance man, he is today recog-
nized as one of the best in the state. Moreover, he is one of the directors of
the Equity Manufacturing Company of Moorhead, and is an advisory direc-
tor of the U. S. I. Realtv Company, a million-dollar corporation of Minneap-
olis. Even though Mr. Wolfe's business interests cover a wide extent of
territorv, \et his methods and progressive spirit place him in a positi(jn to
know every detail in the territory in which his interests are located.
It was on May 12, 1904, that J. Pierce Wolfe was united in marriage to
Alice Ambs of Moorhead, and to this union two children have been born,
Sarah and John, both of whom are now attending the local schools and are
at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe are active members of the
224 CI. AY A.XD XOR.MAN COI-NTIKS. MINXliSOTA.
l-^piscopal clnirch and have long lieen prominent in the social and the relig-
ious life of tlie coninuinity in which they live, and where they are held in the
highest regard and esteem by all who know thcni. 'riicy have always taken
the greatest interest in the educational and moral development of the district,
and their inllncncc has ]iad a marked effect on the high standing of the
communitw
Mr. Wolfe i-^ a memlier ni the IVec and .\ccepte(l Masons and has at-
tained the Shriner degree, and is also a member of the Elks Lodge, Ancient
Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees. Of the
latter organization he is a member of the state executive board, a position
he has held for twelve years. He has also taken a prominent part in the
local alYairs anrl for the past eight years he has been a member of the state
Democratic central committee, to which he has devoted much time, thus
winning much praise for the efficient work that he has rendered.
JOHN C. SLI.I'.KUD.
John C Sulerud, president of the State Bank oi llalstad, former pres-
iclent of the \illage of Halstad, for years actively engaged in the hardware
business at Halstad and the owner of a fine farm of two hvmdred acres
north of that village, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a
roident of this cnuniry since he was twenty-one years of age, having made
his home in Xorman county ever since he came over. He was born on
Januarv 5, 1862. seventh in order of birth of the eight children born to his
parents. Christen .\. and Karen (Johnson) Sulerud, also natives of Nor-
way, the former of whom was a blacksmith and farmer and both of whom
spent ;dl their lives in their native land. The others of these children are
Carl. Maren. Johan, Martin, Caroline, Sophia and the Hon. Christen I..
Sulerud. former representative in the Legislature from the sixty-first Alinne-
sota district, who is engaged with his brother, the subject of this sketch, in
the hardware Inisiness at Halstad and a biographical sketch of whom is pre-
sented elsewhere in this volume.
Reared on a farm in his native land, John C. Sulerud received his
schooling in the common schools there and at the age of fifteen went into the
citv of Christiania. where he became engaged as a clerk in a store and where
he remained until he was twenty-one years of age, when, in 1883. he came
to the United States and proceeded on out to Minnesota, his destination
p
m
id
/
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 225
being Norman county. For the first year after his arrival here he was
engaged in farm labor and then, in the fall of 1884, he secured employment
as a clerk in a store at Ada and was thus engaged at that place for about
nine years, or until 1894, when he and his brother, C. L. Sulerud, opened a
hardware store at Halstad and have ever since been thus engaged at that
place, long having been regarded as among the leading merchants and citi-
zens of that thriving little city. Since 19 14 John C. Sulerud has been the
president of the State Bank of Halstad and in addition to his banking and
mercantile interests at Halstad is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred
acres, two miles north of the village, to the operation of which he gives his
interested attention. Mr. .Sulerud has given his earnest attention to local
civic affairs and has served as a member of the village council and as presi-
dent of the same.
Mr. Sulerud has lieen twice married. His tirst wife, who was Anna
.\aker, daughter of Hans .\aker, died in 1895 withont issue and on August
i,. 1902. he married Christine Holmberg, to which union three children have
been born: Allen C, l^uth and John Clintdn. Mr. and Mrs. Sulerud are
Mienibers of the Norwegian Lutheran church and take an active interest in
■hurch work, for the past twenty }ears Mr. Siderud having been treasurer
• >\ the local congregation.
Mrs. Sulerud is the daughter and only child of .\rnt and Bereth
( lirotten ) Reiten. natives of Norway, who upon coming to this country set-
tled in Houston countv, this state, later coming up into the Red River conn-
try and settling in Xnrman county, where -\rnt Reiten died in 1876. His
widow married Charles Hulml)erg two years later and by his death in 1879
was again left a widow. .She is still living and is now making her home
with her daughter, Mrs. Sulerud. By her second marriage she is the mother
of one child, a daughter. Margaret, wife of James Larson, cashier of the
State Bank of Halstad and a biographical sketch of whom appears else-
where in this volume. Charles Holmberg was one of the pioneers of Nor-
man c>iuntv. hax'ing settled in the neighborhood of what is now the Brant
farm, near Halstad, in 1870. he and his party camping there in a tent until
the\- could make arrangements for permanent places of habitation. At that
time Indians still were numerous throughout this region and game was
plentiful. In 1914 Mrs. .Sulerud visited the scene of that jiioneer camp and
there unearthed some of the camp utensils that had been left by the party of
settlers.
(iSa)
226 CLAY AND NOKMAX COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA.
D.WID E. I'-ULTON.
13a\i<I v.. I'liltuii. auditor of Xorniaii couiitv, casliic-r of the Fanners
Bank of Ada and for years actively engaged in tlic real-estate business in
that city, is a native son of Minnesota and has lived in this state all his
life, a resident of Xorman county since he was eigliteen years of age. lie
was horn in the city of Red Wing, this state, in 1861, a son of Sanmel .\l.
and Elizaheth J. (Hutchinson) Fulton, hoih of whom were horn in llutlcr
county, Pennsylvania, and who came to Minnesota in 1859, locating at
Red Wing, where Samuel M. Fulton engaged in the d ravage business.
In i87() Samuel M. F\ilton left Red W'ing and with his family came
up into this part of the state and settled on a homestead tract in what later
came to be (organized as Winchester township, Norman county, which farm
he improved and there made his home for fifteen years or more, or uniil
his retirement from the active labors of the farm, when he moved to .\d,i,
where he and his wife spent their last days in the lujuie of their .son. ihc
subject of this sketch. Samuel .M. l-'ulton and wife formerly were mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church, but when the Congregationalists effecte<l
an organization here they became affiliatefl with that denomination. Of
their children five are now living, .\lzada, David K.. Mary, J. H. and Min-
nie M.
.\s noted al)(ne, l)a\id F. I'ulton was eighteen years of age when he
came to this section with his ])arents fn:>m Red W ing in 1879 and he at
once entered upon die task of aiding in the development of the homestead
farm in Winchester township. In 1883, he by that time having arrived at
legal age. he took a homestead claim of his own and for a short time fol-
lowed farming on his own account, but presently gave that up and engaged
in the buying of grain in the neighboring county of Polk, presently engag-
ing in the real-estate business at Ada. in which he was engaged for about
four or five years, at the end of which time he was made cashier of a
bank at Beltrami, where he remained for four years. He then returned to
.\da, resuming there his real-estate business, and in the fall of 1904 was
elected auditor of Xorman county, a position of trust and responsibility
he ever since has held, the voters of the county displaying their confidence
in him by successive re-elections. Mr. Fulton helped to organize the Farm-
ers Bank at Ada and is the cashier of that institution.
In December, 1887. Da\id E. Fulton was united in marriage to I^Ila
M. Phelps, of Dane county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Rolland Phelps and
CLAY AND XORMAN COtNTIES, MINNESOTA. 22/
wife, and to this union two dauijliters lia\e been l)orn, Jean .\[aric and
;\Iillicent. Mr. and Mrs. l-'ulton attend tlie Congregational cliurch and take
a ])roper i)art in the \arious beneficences of the same, as well as in the
general social acti\ities of their home city. Mr. Fulton is a member of tlic
local lodges of the Independenl ( )r(ler of Odd Fellows, of the Knights nf
Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of .\merica, and in the atTairs of
these or.c;anizations takes a warm interest.
MAGNUS P. NFLSON.
Magnus P. Xelson is of Swedish nativity and ancestry, which runs
back through several generations. He was born in Sweden. February 20.
1845, '^ ^o" "^f Nels Pearson, and .\nne Xelson. both born in Sweden. The
father was a farmer in Sweden and spent his entire life in that country.
He had five children: Xellie, Ole. Ma.gnus 1'.. Sii,M-e and Fllcn. He was a
member of the Swedish Lutheran church.
Magnus P. Xelson was educated in the public schools in Swetlen and
worked with his father on the farm in his youthful days. Later he started
farming on his own account. With a view of seeking larger opportunities
for a livelihood, he came to America in 1866. Lie located first at Red Wing,
Goodhue count\. Minnesota, where he found employment on a farm, con-
tinuing at that iilace for six years. In 1871 he returned to his native land
for a visit and after remaining there for a short time returned again to
America, bringing his mother with him. He located again in Goodhue county.
Minnesota, and resumed w(jrk on the farni. In 1880, he came to l"la\- county.
Minnesota, and located on a tract of land that he had bought in 1878. '^lli^
land comprises a farm of one hundred and twent\- acres, lying on the river
three miles south of Moorhead. In 1883 he bought eighty acres of land in sec-
tion 30, on which he put up buildings and made other improvements. He
made his home on this place and was engaged in general farming until the
sjiring of 1014, at which time he removed to Moorhead, where he has since
continued to live. .\t one time Mr. Nelson was the owner of four hun-
dred and ei,ght\- acres of l;md. ;i part of which he ha-> sold. ;uid now owns
three hundred and twenty acres of good farming land. Though living a
somewhat retired life, Mr. Xelson continues to look after his farming inter-
ests and continues to take an active interest in public affairs. .\s one of the
pioneers of Clay county, he has always occupied a iimminent place in ct)unty
228 CL.W AND XOKMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
affairs and is lield in ln.t;h esteem in the cumniunity ut which he has been
an honored citizen.
Mr. Xelson was one of the organizers of the Swedish Lutheran church,
in Moorheatl. in 1880. and has been for many years a deacon in the same
and prominent in all the activities of the societ) . In civic positions he has
ser\ ed as supervisor in the township of Moorhead ; also as chairman of the
township l)oard. At the time of removal from the township to the town of
Moorhead, he was treasurer of the former. He also served for some time
as clerk of the school board of the township.
In 1884. Mr. Nelson was married to Carrie Jenson and to this union
five ciiildren were born, namely: Edith. Agnes, Manfred, .\lfred and
l\rnest : the latter is living on the old home farm.
ARTHUR A. McCAKT.W.
.\rthur .\. McLarlan, president of the l>arnes\ille Record-Review
rul)lishing Company, head of the real-estate firm of McCartan & W'halen at
Barnesville and a member of the common council of that city, for years one
of the most energetic and public-spirited citizens of Barnesville, was formerly
an Iowa farmer, hut since l)ecoming a resident of Barnesville in lyoi has
been engaged in tiie real-estate and newspaper business and has done well
there. He was born in the city of Dubuque, Iowa. October 3, 1867, son
of Bernard and Mary ( McXamara) McCartan, the former of whom was
I)orn in Ireland and the latter in the city of Buffalo, Xew York, who were
the i)arents of thirteen children, all of whom grew to maturity sa\e three.
For some time after he came to this country, as a young man, Bernard
McCartan followed the vocation of a miner, Init later became a farmer and
his last days were spent in Iowa.
Reared on a farm in Iowa, .\rthur A. McCartan received his school-
ing in tlie schools of that state, and early became engaged in farming.
which \ocation he followed in that state until 1901. in which year he came
up here into the Red River coimtry and located at Barnesville, where he
l)ecanie engaged in the real -estate business and where he has ever since con-
tinued actively engaged in that line, head of the firm of McCartan & W'halen.
About two years after he locatctl at Barnesville the Record-Review Publish-
ing Company was organized at tliat place and that company has since been
engagefl there in the publication of the Banics2nlle Record. Since the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 22g
organization of that company .Mr. McCartan lias taken an active interest
in tlie same and most of tiie time has served tlie companv in the capacilv
of president, which position he now occupies, thougli until lately giving little
attention to the actual details of newspaper work, his real-estate operatiuns
occupying the greater part of his time. In January, icji/, the manager
of the Record died and Mr. .McCartan was compelled to assume the manage-
ment of the paper until such time as he could find a successor for the late
manager. Mr. McCartan takes an active interest in local political affairs
and for the past four years and more has been serving as a member of tlic
city council from his ward.
In November, 1914, Arthur .V. McCartan was united in marriage t'l
Gundrun Scow, daughter of Erick O. Scow, of Halstad, in the neighboring
county of Norman, and to this union one child has been Ixjrn, a son, .\ithur
.Vustin. ;\Ir. and Mrs. McCartan are members of the Catholic church ;ind
take a proper interest in parish affairs.
A. T. THOMAS.
A. T. Thomas, a farmer of Kragnes township. Clay county, was born
in Norway on June 24, 1848, and there he grew to manhood and attended
the common schools. He is a son of Torge and Kenne Islik (Tommas)
Tonimas, natives of Norway, where they grew up. married and established
their home, spending their lives there, the father dying when about forty-
six years old, his wife having preceded him to the grave by three years. The
father was a laborer all his life. To these parents four children were born,
namel}-: Osmon, who makes his home in Alaska: Sarah, who is married and
lives in Minnesota: .\. T., the subject of this sketch, and Christie, who died
at about the age of seven years.
A. T. Thomas was nineteen years old when his father died. He re-
mained in Norway until he was twenty-one, when he immigrated to Amer-
ica, locating first in Houston county, Minnesota, and for some time worked
out as a hired hand on a farm. He .saved his earnings and in 1878, after
he had spent three years in Clay county, he purchased one hundred and sixty
acres in section 15, Kragnes township, later buying one hundred and sixty
acres in section 10, same township. He has made all the improvements on
his land, including a substantial set of buildings. He has been quite suc-
cessful as a general farmer and stock raiser and has one of the best farms
27,0 CI. AY AM) XOK.MAX COL'XTIKS. MINNESOTA.
ill Ill's locality, in which he has lived since the ]iioiieer days, when this sec-
tion of tlie state was sparsely settled.
On I line ,^o. iS()o, Mr. Thomas was married to .Anna K. Gletna, in
l''argo, Xorth Dakota. She was horn in Norway on March ii. 1862. and
there she sjient lier girlhood and attended school. Her parents. Knut K.
and Maria 1 .. 1 lierystal ) Gletna. were natives of Norway. He died in
.\orwav in about loi.V I ''e mother is si ill livins;- in Norway. Tliere were
seven children in the (iletna family, six of whom are livin.t;. Two of these,
Johanna and Marie, came to .\iiierica; the others are still living in Norway.
.\lr>. Thomas came to .\merica in 1889, locating at Fargo. To Mr. and
Mrs. Thomas live children have been horn: Theodore. Regina. Louis. Clar-
ence and .Arthur.
Politicallv. .Mr. Thomas is a Uepuhlican. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
WILLI A. M S. LEE.
William S. Lee, cashier of the Citizens .State liank of Baniesviile and
one of the best-known and most energetic bankers in Clay county, is a
native son of Minnesota and has lived in this state all his life. He was
iiorn at Little l-"alls. in Morrison county, on December 2. 1872, son of
Samuel Lee. an early merchant at that place and who was one of the first
to operate a ferrv across the Mississippi river there. During the seventies
Samuel Lee mo\ed from Little Falls to Long Prairie and in the latter place
started a store, which he continued to operate until bi< death .M>nie years
later.
Reared at Long Prairie, to which place his parents had moved when
he was but a child, William S. Lee received his schooling there and early
became thoroughly familiar with business forms and the mercantile busi-
ness, through association with his father in the latter"s store. .After his
father's death he continued to operate the store for about two years, at
the end of which time he disposed of his business interests there and entered
a store at .\kelev. Not long afterward he was employed to take charge
of a department store t'or .\. L. Cole at .Akeley, going thence, after a while,
to Eagle Bend, where for five years he was engaged as assistant cashier of
the First National Bank of that place. In 1907 Mr. Lee went from Eagle
Bend to Elizabeth, where he organized the Merchants State Bank and was
CI.AY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 23I
made cashier of the same: remaining there until 191 1, in which vear lie
moved to Barnesville and tliere organized tlie Citizens State P'.anl< of Barnes-
ville and since May 31, 191 1, has heen cashier of the same. Mr. Lee not
only is an active 1)anker, but lie takes an interested part in the general
business and civic affairs of liis Iiome town, a consistent "Ijooster" of the
various enterprises of that thriving city. While living at Long Prairie he
served for some time as village recorder, probably the \oungest otficial that
village ever had. He also served as a member of the village council there
and served in a like capacity during his residence at Eagle Bend.
In 1905, while living at Eagle Bend, William S. Lee was united in
marriage to Myrtle A. Euller, daughter of George E. Euller, of Moorhead.
and to this union two sons have been born, Robert G. and Charles S. Mr.
and Mrs. Lee are members of the Baptist church and take an interested
part in church work, as well as in the general good works and social activi-
ties of their home town, helpful in many ways in promoting agencies having
to do with the advancement of the common welfare thereabout. Mr. Lee is
a Mason and a member of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and
of the Independent Order of United Workmen, and in the affairs of these
several organizations takes a warm interest.
EDMUND L. BROWN.
Edmund L. Brown, a well-known realty dealer at Barnesville, was
born in Memphis, Tennessee, March 10, 1872, a son of Judge B. C. Brown,
who was born in Pulaski, Tennessee, and Jeanette B. (Booker) Brown,
who was born in .Memphis, Tennessee. Judge B. C. Brown was attorney
for the Southwestern division of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and had an
e.xtensive general law practice at the tiiue of his death, which occurred at
Little Rock, in 1888. His children are: Benjamin C, wlio is an artist in.
Pasadena. California: Annie, who married Isaac B. Gardener, superintendent
of the state institute for the deaf and dumb, at I-ittle Rock, Arkansas; and
Edmund L., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Brown, mother of these chil-
dren, died in 1872.
After the death of his first wife. Judge Brown married Ida Jordan, who
is now living in I'asadena, California. The children by the second wife
are: Howell J., a designer living in Pasadena, who designed the floats for
232 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
the tournament of roses in that city, and Sibley, who also lives in Pasadena,
California.
Edmund L. Brown was educated in the public schools of Little Rock,
Arkansas. As a young man he served an apprenticeship in the office of the
.4rkansas Gascffc, at Little Rock and was for some time reporter and city
editor of that paper. In 1894 he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he
was married to Lucy Huxley, of Martinsville. Indiana. He removed to
Martinsville, where he was engaji^ed for nine years in the manufacture of
old hickory chairs and rockers. Then he went to Seymour, Indiana, where
he had a factor}- in the same line of business for six years. Then he wen)
to Janesville, Wisconsin, and established a factory for the making of fireless
cookers, and continued in that business at that place for four years. In
1913 he came to Minnesota and engaged in the real-estate business at
Baniesville, and has been thus engaged in that city ever since.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one daughter, Frances, who is now a student
at Oberlin College, ()l)erlin, Ohio, taking a special course in that institution.
Mr. Brown is a Scottish Rite .Mason, aftiliated with the consistory of the
\'alley of Indianapolis, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of
X'obles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple of that order at
Indianapolis.
.\LBERT T. WRIGHT.
Albert J. Wright, undertaker and funeral tlirectnr at Moorhead, is a
native of Norway as were all his ancestors. He was lx)rn in Norway
on August 14, 1858. a son of .\ndrew and Oliaima (Sannes) Wright, who
were born and spent the greater part of their lifetime in that country. In
i860 the father of our subject came to America and located at LaCrosse,
Wisconsin, where he remained until 1876. In that year he rcmo\ed to Fill-
more county. Minnesota, where he is still living. He is a minister in the
United Lutheran church. His children are Albert T-. -Anna W., Marie O.,
Laura J.. Edwin P.. William R.. Ella T., Samuel J. and Hilma Louise.
.\lhert T. Wright came with his father to America in his chiidhocKJ
vears. He received his education in the schools of LaCrosse, Wisconsin
anil in the high school at Rushford, Minnesota, from which he was grad-
uated. He taught school for two years and then was engaged in farming
for about three years in Mower county. Minnesota. In 1881 he came to
Moorhead and engaged in the undertaking business and has contiiuied in
■PM
■
^H^gK^H
^H
H
r^
3
i/x ^
^
ALBERT J. WRIGHT.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
TILDE.N
vVlONS
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 233
this business ever since, liis beino; the oldest undertaking- establishment in
Moorhead.
-Mr. W'ritjht lias been twice married. His first wife was Julia A.
Colberg. to whom he was married in 1878. To that union four children
were born : Albert Lawrence, ^Valter Collins, Russell Sherman and Lillian
C. The mother of these children died in 1893. Mr. \Vright"s second wife
was Christine Soreng, and by this marriage five children have been born :
Edgar Eugene, Alice Marie, Henry Morris, Clarence Bernard and Norman
Eerdinand. The family are members of the United Lutheran church. Mr.
Wright served for twenty-eight years as superintendent of the Sunday
school in this church, and lias held uther official positions in the same.
-Mr. Wright has held several official civic i)ositions. Eor three or four
}ears he ser\ed as city recorder ; was chief of the fire department for eight
years; in 1912 he was elected county commissioner of Clay county and was
re-elected to that office in 19 16 and holds that office at present. Fraternally,
he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United \\^)rkmen, with the Knights
of the Maccabees and with the Sons of Norwav.
TORGRIM OLSON MORKEN.
Among the successful self-made men of a past generation in Clay
county, whose efforts and influence contributed to the general welfare of
his locality, the late Torgrim Olson Morken, one of the sterling pioneers
of Morken township, occujjied a conspicuous place, and his record is well
worth setting forth in a volume of the province of the one in hand.
Mr. Morken was born in Norway on October 14, 1846, and there he
grew to manhood and attended school. He was a son of Ole Torgrim
Morken and wife, natives of Norway, where they grew up. married and
continued to reside until 1867, when they immigrated to America, locating
in Houston count}', Minnesota, where they established their home on a
farm, and there the death of the father occurred in September, 1888. The
subject of this memorial sketch came to America with his parents at the
age of nineteen years. He was the youngest of a family of five children.
the others being as follow: Tona. who is married and lives in Houston
countv; Nels, who is also married and lives in that same county: Salva.
deceased, and Ole. deceased.
Torgrim O. Morken de\oted his active life to general fanning ami
234 CLAY AXD NOK.MAN COUNTIKS. MINNESOTA.
Stock raisino- and met with s'latifyins- success. He worked out as a larni
hand while Hving in Houston county, later worked in the Lake Superior
copper mines for some time, and also worked several months tor the South
Minnesota railroad. He came to Clay county in 1S73, being one of the
pioneers in this section of the state. He took up the first homestead in
.\lorken townshi]). ac<|uiring one hundred and sixty acres in section 30.
He broke the wild prairie sod with oxen and continued farming with ox-
teams for two vears. He finally had his land under an excellent state of
cultivation and erected a substantial set of buildings on the same, and there
he carried on general farming until his death, ranking among the best
farmers of his townshii). After his death his widow bought one hundred
and sixty acres in the same section as the original homesteail, and there
she still resides. She is a woman of much business ability and has man-
aged the farm well, raising a great deal of grain and large numbers of live
stock annually.
Mr. Morken was married in 1878 to Augusta Kassenborg, who was
jjorn in Houston county, Minnesota, in i860, and there .she spent her girl-
hood and received her education in the early-day rural schools. She is a
daughter of Andrew and Tilda (Olson) Kassenborg. natives of Norway,
the father born there on December i, 1836. They had come to this country
with their res))ective jiarents in 1850, the families settling in Rock county,
Wisconsin. There thev were married in 1858 and continued to reside there
until 1S76. when they came to Minnesota, beginning life in Clay county
ill t>pical pioneer fashion. They endured ten years of hardships and pri-
vations, but perse\ered and eventually developed a good farm from the
raw prairie and established a comfortable home. The death of Mr. Kas-
senborg occurred in September, 191 3. He held numerous township oftices
and was an influential man in his community. His widow is still living,
at the adxanced age of eighty-three years. They had eight children.
To Mr. and Mrs. Morken ten children were born, as follow: Andrew,
who owns a farm in Marshall county, Minnesota, which he is operating;
Gilbert, who works in a lumber camp at Rose Lake, Idaho; Salve, who
owns a farm at Park Rapids. Minnesota, and is actively engaged in farming
there: :\lartin. who is farming near the place of his brother Andrew; John,
unmarried, who is a commercial traveler; Obert, who is helping operate
the home farm in Morken township: Henry, who also lives at home and
works on the farm: Tilda, who works out. and Trina and Sophia, who
live at home and assist their mother keeping house.
Mr. Morken was independent in politics. He was a member of the
CLAV AND XOKMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 235
Norwegian Lutlieran cliurcli, to whicli his family also belong. He had been
in failing health for a numijer of years and, in 1883, made a visit to Nor-
way, believing that the change would benefit him. He took an active interest
in public affairs, and was the first townshi]) clerk of Morken township:
was also treasurer of his township for a number of years and served as
supervisor and clerk of the school board in his district. He was one of
the public-spirited and useful men of his townshi]) and the entire locality-
expressed sincere regret at his death, which occurred on October 7, 1908.
he then being sixtv-two }'ears of age. He was a. man of good character-
and was highly respected.
OTTO DAHL.
Otto Dahl. (if Miiiirhead, was burn in Alnnrcjc county. Wisconsin, I'^eb-
ruary 22, 1871. a son of Anton ( )lean ( Opsahl ) Dahl. both natives of Norway.
Anton Dahl came to America about 186S and first located in .Monroe county.
Wisconsin. In 1871 he removed to Trem)iealeau countw \Visconsin. where
he entered a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He improved this
land and made hi^ home there until his death, which occurred about 1883.
He was the fatliei- of six children: ( Ml<i, Matilda. Ingo, Mahin. .Xdoljih
and Marie.
(Jtto Dahl was educated in the public scliools of Trempealeau county,
Wisconsin. His father died while he was still _\^oung and the charge of
the farm came to him at the age of fifteen \-ears. lie continued to work
on the farm until he was twenty-fi\'e years of a.ge. at which time his brother
was old enough to take charge, ami he then went to Luther College, at
Decorab, Iowa, to take a course of study in that institution. In 1897 he
came with his uncle. Jens J. Opsahl. to Mimie.sota and they opened a store
in the line of general merchandise at b'elton, in Clay county. They con-
tinued the business as jiartners for two years, at the end of which time
Otto Dahl (lis])osi.-(l of his interest to his uncle and. in connection with his
brother-in-law. T. ( ). Alelby, opened uj) another general st(jre in Felton.
They continued in this business, under the firm name of Dahl & Melby.
until 1907. In the meantime the business liad grown to such an extent
that a branch store had been established at Wilton, in Beltrami county,
and in 1907 Mr. Dahl bought his ])artner"s interest in the Felton and Wil-
ton stores, and took in his two brothers as partners in the branch store
at W'illon. Mr. Dahl continued business at Felton tmtil December. 1914.
236 (LAY AND NORMAN COUNTIKS. MINNESOTA.
wlien he removed to Moorhead, wlicre he lias since hved. He still owns
the business at Felton.
In 1897 Mr. Dahl was married to Mae l)ewell. a daughter of lierlieri
O. Dewell, of Le Roy, Minnesota. To this union four children have been
horn: .\nton. who died at the age of ten years: Doris, \'irgil and Oliver
Wendell. Mr. and Mrs. Dahl are members of the Congregational church
at Moorhead.
While li\ing at i'"elton Mr. Dahl served as a meml)er of the .school
Intard and as a member of the village council, of which he was president
for two years, and also held other offices of trust. lie was actively inter-
ested in getting the first church built in Felton. Mr. Dahl has always been
interested in music, and while living in Felton organized and was the director
of the brass band at that place, the membership being composed of village
and Cfjuntry boys.
JOHN OBERG.
.\o life is more satisfactory than that of the farmer, provided he has
the right outlook and the proper attitude toward his work. One of the
contented and successful agriculturists of Clay county is John Oberg of
Kragnes township, who is also interested in the banking business and is one
of the leading citizens of his locality, a splendid example of a self-made
man.
Mr. Oberg was born in Xorway in 1855. a son of luigebrigt au.d Maria
Oberg, both natives of Xorway. where they grew up. married and establisheil
their home, never coming to America. They devoted their active li\es 1 1
farming. The death of the father occurred in 1905 at the advanced age
of eighty-six. and the mother reached the luiusual age of ninety-tw-o. dying
in 1909. To these parents the following children were born: Xels, .\ndrew,
Ola, Mar\, Ole and John, three of whom are living in Xorway on farnis.
John Oberg grew to manhood in Xorway, where he attended school
there, and. as a boy. helpetl his father on the farm. He came to .'\mcrica
in 1879, first locating in Houston county. Minnesota, but in a short time
went to \\'isconsin where he spent three years working in a lumber camp.
He came to Clay county in 1882 and, during his residence here, of thirty-
i\ye years, has .seen the country transformed from a wild stretch of plains
to one of the foremost farming communities in the state. He has played
well his part in this transformation, being a useful citizen from the first.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 237
He owned a store at Kragnes for about six years and in i8gi bought six
hundred and eighty-five acres in sections 24 and 2() in Kragnes townshii).
which he still owns. He replaced the old Iniildings with substantial new
ones and made other improvements. In 1900 he bought one-fourth of
section 13 and subse(|uentl_\- another one- fourth of the same section, on
which holding he also erected new buildings. He is now ow-ner of one
thousand and seven acres, and also owns the picturesque Riverside Addi-
tion in the city of Moorheacl. He has carried on general farming and
stock raising on an e-\tensi\e scale for man}- _\ears and is regarded as one
of the foremost general agriculturists in Clay county. He keeps an excel-
lent grade of live stock, preparing many cattle for the market annually,
feeding to them a large portion of the immense amount of grain he raises,
liis land is all under a high state of scientific cultivation.
Mr. Oberg is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he ha'^
accomplished unaided, ha\ing started out with very little capital and no
influential friends in a new land, where e\en the language was strange,
but be has forged to the front amid discoura.ging environments and is today
one of the representative citizens of western Minnesota. Besides farming,
he is interested in a financial wa\- in various enterprises, being a business
man of rare foresighl and acumen. He is a stockholder in the Norwegian-
American Steamship Line, the ()lness Luml)er Company in Montana, of
which he is president, the Houglam b^umiture Company of Moorbead, also
the Pederson Mercantile Conijjany of that city, the Cream of Barley Com-
pany of Minneapolis, and the Service Machine Company of Chicago. He
is also financiallv interested in numerous banks. He was one of the organ-
izers of the First State Bank of Moorhead and has been vice-president of
the same almost all tlie time it was organized. He is a stockholder in the
State Bank at South Haven, Minnesota; the Farmers and Merchants Bank
at Steele, North Dakota: the State Bank at I'erley. Minnesota: the TM|uit\-
Bank at Fargo, North Dakota: the Peoples Bank in St. Paul, and the
Bankers Trust and Savings Company in Minneapolis.
Air. Oberg was married in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1890, to Christina
Nelsen, a native of Goodhue county, Minnesota. She received a good edu-
cation and was a woman of man\ commendable traits of bead and heart.
Her death occurred on the home farm, in Clay county, in 1903, at the
earlv age of thirty-four years. Si.\ children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Oberg, all of whom are now living at home with the exception of the
eldest, who is deceased; tbe\- are Ingemann. who died when seventeen years
old; Goodman, Maria, Josephine, Nettie and Martin.
238 CLAY AND XOKMAN COUXTIES, MIXXESOTA.
Politically, .Mr. ()ber<f is an independent voter. lie has never been
\ery active in public affairs, nor a seeker for politica.! leadership, however,
he has always stood ready to support all movements luuing for their objeel
the general upbuildino- of his locality, trying at all times to perform ihv
duties of a good citizen. He was a memljer of the school lx:)ard in district
Xo. 101 for many years, and he also served as treasurer and supervisor
of the town board for many years. Other business interests with which Mr.
(^berg has been and is connected are: the Farmers Elevator Company of
Moorhead, which he helped to organize; the Moorhead Telephone Com-
pany, of which he was treasurer, and the Comstock antl Ploly Cross Insur-
ance Company, of which he was a director and also an agent. He is .1
wide reader and has kept well informed along general lines and personally
his reputation has ever been alKive all idle cavil. He is held in high esteem
bv all who know him.
ANDRE. \S O. lEL AND.
.Andreas O. Ueland, lawyer and banker, of Halstad, recorder of ili.it
village for a number of years, and one of the best-known citizens of Xorman
county, is a native of the kingdom of Xorway, but has been living in Minne-
.sota. a resident of Xorqian count}', since he was eighteen years of age. He
was born on October i. 1871, son of C). M. and Bertha (Eeg) Ueland.
lK)th natives of Xorway. farming people, who spent all their lives in th.it
country. They were members of the Lutheran church and their children
were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, of whom
the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of l)irth. the others being
Martha. .Anna, Ole G.. Enoch. Christine. -\rne. Olga, Christan and Tine.
Reared on a farm, .\ndrcas O. I'eland completed his local schooling in
the schools of his native amt and when eighteen years of age, in iSSc).
came to the United States and proceeded on out to Minnesota, his point
of destination being Xonnan county. He spent the first two years after
his arrival here in Shelly tow nship. attending school there during the winters,
advancing his study of English, and during the following winter attendeil
Concordia College at Moorhead. He then entered Curtis Business Col-
lege at Minneapolis and after a course there returned to Xorman county
and, in 1893. ^^^* installed as bookkeeper in the State Bank of Halstad.
The following winter he returned to Minneapolis and in the fall of 1894
entered the law department of the University of Minnesota, from which
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 239
he was graduated in the spring of 1896. Upon receiving his diploma Mr.
Ueland remained employed in a law office at Minneapolis until the summer
of 1897, when he returned to Xorman county and opened an office for
the practice of his profession at Halstad, where he e\er since has made his
home and where he has continued in practice, one of the best-known mem-
bers of the bar in this section of the state. For years .Mr. Ueland served
as recorder of the \illage of Halstad and since 1907 has been engaged as
assistant cashier of the State ISank of Halstad. In his jiolitical affiliation
he is a Democrat and gives his thoughtful attention to local civic affairs.
In 1897 Andreas O. Ueland was united in marriage to Elsie Ueland.
daughter of Nels N. Ueland and wife, of Shelly township. Xorman county.
She died in 1899 without issue. Mr. Ueland is a member of the local
society of the Sons of Norway and of the local lodge of the Knights
of Pythias, in the affairs of both of which organizations he takes an acti\e
interest.
OSCAR LOVSNES.
Oscar Lovsnes, a well-known hardware merchant of Halstad antl for-
mer member of the village council there, is a nati\e son of Xorman count\'
and has li\ed there all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Halstad
township, August 28, 1878, son of Engel and Mollie (Serum) Lovsnes,
natives of Norway, who came to the United States in 186C) and proceeded
on out to Minnesota, locating in Fillmore county. There they remained
until about 1872, when they came up into this part of the state and home-
steaded a farm in what later came to lie organized as Halstad township.
Xorman county, and there spent the rest of their lives, substantial antl
influential pioneers. Engel Lovsnes and his wife were the i)arents of eight
children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of
birth, the others being: Camella, Syvert, Isabel, Ella, Clara, Marie and
Emma, all of whom are living save Ella, who died when about fifteen years
of age, and Clara, who died at the age of twelve years. Mr. and Mrs.
Lovsnes were earnest members of the Xorwegian Lutheran church, active
workers in the same, and their children were reared in the faith of that
denomination.
Reared on the paternal farm in Halstad township, Oscar Lovsnes re-
ceived his early training in the schools of that township .and at the village
school at Halstad and supiilemented the same by a course in the Metro-
240 CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
politan Business College at Minneapolis. In 1902 he began his mercantile
career as a clerk in the hardware store of the Solerud Brothers at Halstad.
and four years later, in 1906, bought a hardware store at Ada, remaining
in business there for four years. .At the end of that peritxl. in 1910, he
returned to Halstad. bought an interest in the store of his former emi>Ioyers,
Solerud Brothers, and has ever since been thus connected with that long-
established and progressive firm. Mr. Lovsnes gi\es proper attention to
local civic affairs and has served for one term as a member of the Halstad
village council. He is affiliated with the local lodge of the Knights of
Pythias and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that order.
In 1905 Oscar Lovsnes was united in marriage to Minnie Beise, daugh-
ter of .August Beise and wife, and to this union three children have been
born, Russell, A\'allacc and Eleanor. Mr. and Mrs. Lovsnes have a very
pleasant home at Halstad and take a proper part in the general socird
activities of the village.
D.WID ASKKG.\ARD.
A well-known citizen of the southwestern part of Clay county is David
.Askegaard, merchant, banker, lumber and elevator man of Comstock, where
he owned a farm before the village was started. He was born in Norway,
June 19, i<^53. and is a son of David and Johanna Askegaard, both
natives of Norway, where they grew up and married and continued
to reside until 1872, when they immigrated with their family to the
L'nited Slates, locating in Cass county. North Dakota, where the father
entered a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Pleasant town-
ship, which he developed into a farm and there he and his wife spent
the rest of their lives. Their family consisted of the following children :
Corrinne. Ingeborg, Clara, Ole, David, John, Otto. Peter, Johannes and
Mary.
The junior David Askegaard grew to inanhood in Norway and there
he attended the public schools. He was nineteen years old when he came
with the rest of the family to America. As a young man he took up
a homestead of eighty acres in Pleasant township, Cass county, North Da-
kota, which he developed into a farm through hard \vork and perseverance,
remaining there until 1886. when he removed to Holy Cross township.
Clay county, Minnesota, and bought the land on which the \illage of Com-
stock now stands. Here he improved another farm and established the
>rr!. AM) Mi;s. kavih askhcjaakd.
tsEV^'
Y0R1^
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 24I
l';iniil\- home. In 1890 he iiio\ecl to Conistock and started a general store
in partnership witli a .Mr. HaHand under the firm name of Halland &
Askegaard. and he ha.s lieen successfully engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness ever since, enjoying a large and constantly growing trade. He carries
an extensive general stock of goods. In 1909 he assisted in organizing
the Comstock State Bank and was elected vice-president of the same. He
is now president of the bank. The rapid growth of this sound and popular
institution has been due very largely to his able management and local
prestige. In 1891 Mr. .Vskegaard established the Askegaard elevator at
Comstock and he also manages a lumber yard in Comstock. Both have been
very successful and are growing industries. In fact, whatever Mr. Aske-
gaard turns his attention to results in gratifying financial returns, for the
is a man of rare foresight and soundness of judgment and is one of the
strong financial men of Clay county, as well as one of the most influential
men of affairs in this locality. From 1892 to 1913 he was vice-president
of the First National Bank of Moorhead. In addition to the five and a
halt sections of fine land Mr. Aske.gaard owns in his home township, he
is the owner of three cpiarter sections in another township in Clay county,
a section in Montana and a quarter section in North Dakota.
In 1876 David Askegaard was united in marriage to Minnie Dunhoui.
who was born in Xorwax', daughter of Fric Dunhom and wife, who spent
all their lives in their native land. .Mrs. .V.skegaard and her three sisters
came to the United States in 1870 and after a year spent in Fillmore county,
ihis state, came up into this part of the state and was living in Otter Tail
county at the time of her marriage. To that union were born ten children,
of whom four are deceased, Milla. .\rthur, Delia and Henry, those living
being Milla (second), Edwin, Eugene, .\rthur (second), Corrinne and Delia
(second). In July, 1917, -Arthur .A.skegaard enlisted for service in the
regimental hand of the Washington Coast .\rtillery and is now serving with
that command. The mother of these children died in 1890 and Mr. Aske-
gaard later married Christine Larson, who was born in Sweden, daughter
of .\ndrew and Hannah (Nelson) Larson, who came to the United States
with their faniilv in 1880 and located at Moorhead. Mr. Larson became the
owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of that
city, but later moved to a farm near the home of his daughter, Mrs. Aske-
gaard. and there died in 191. t. His widow now makes her home with Mrs.
.\skegaar(l. .\ndrew Larson and his wife were the parents of two chil-
dren. Mrs. Askeg-aard having a brother. To David and Christine (Larson)
(i6a)
242 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Askegaard six cliildren have been born, namely : Aileen (deceased), an
infant (deceased), Tekia (deceased), Henry, Tekla (second) and Rolfe.
Political!}', Mr. Askegaard is a Republican, and from 1892 to 1896 he
served as county commissioner. He and iiis family are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church. He has always borne an unblemished reputa-
tion as a man and citizen and is one of the highly esteemed men of Clay
county, a plain, ])ractical, unassuming gentleman who takes an active interest
in whatever pertains to the development of his town and county.
(".ILL 1I()\\\RD BARKER RICHARDS.
One of the enterprising young farmers of the western part of Cla\'
county is Gill Howard Barker Richards, a member of a well-known and
highly-respected family in the vicinity of Kragnes, where he was born on
the old home farm, .\ugust 11, 1886. He is a .son of Roljert and Ellen
(Giffin) Richards. The mother, who was torn in Belfast, Ireland, in
August, 1844, came to America in early life, and her death occurred here
in 191 3. Robert Richards was Iwrn in Cornwall, England, in December,
1844, and there he grew to manhood and attended the common schools.
He immigrated to America in 1864, first locating at Calumet, Michigan,
where he worked in the copper mines for some time as foreman. He
came to Clay county, Minnesota, in 18^2, locating on a farm in Kragnes
township, and there engaged successfully in general farming and stock rais-
ing until his death in February, 191 2. which, however, occurred in a hos-
pital in Fargo, North Dakota. His family consisted of seven children,
as follow: John, who died in 1903; Tom, unmarried, who was born in
September. 1871, and has remained on the home place, consisting of one
hundred and sixty acres, which he owns, also operating another farm of
one hundred and sixty acres, which l>elongs to his sister, Margaret, farm-
ing in all three hundred and twenty acres; Max, who was born in April,
1873, and is married, living in Fargo, North Dakota; Alexandria, born
in May, 1874, and living on a farm in section 17, Kragnes township;
Margaret, who is operating a rooming house in Moorhead, and also owns
a good farm in Kragnes township ; Will, who is married, having three
children, and is farming on the homestead in section 17, Kragnes town-
ship; Gill H. B.. of this sketch, the youngest of the family.
Gill H. B. Richards grew to manhood on the home farm in Clay county.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 243
where he worked hard wiien a 1)oy. He received his education in the
(Hstrict schools of his native community. \Mren a young man he began
for himself on a farm, belonging to his brother John, !)ut now owns an
excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 17, Moland town-
ship, on which he has made all improvements. He mo^'ed to this place
in KJ14, where he is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He
was married in 1906 to Carrie Rassmussen. who was born in 1888, at
Blooming Prairie, Minnesota. To their union six children have been l)orn.
namely : Clara Belle, Harold, Arnold, Robert, .\lfred and Violet.
Robert Richards, father of the subject of this sketch, was a prominent
man in his township for many years. He held a number of county offices,
having served seven years as county commissioner, of which board he was
chairman for some time.
HALVOR RAS^IUSSOX.
Halvor Rasmusson, former clerk of the district court of this district,
former recorder of the cit)- of Aloorhead, one of the incorporators and
first treasurer of Concordia College and for many years a well-known real-
estate dealer and banker, now living retired in the city of Moorhead, is a
native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident of this country
since he was twenty years of age and of Moorhead since 1878, having
come up here into the Red River valley from Houston, this state, of which
city he was the first mayor. Mr. Rasmusson is one of the numerous band
of Telemarkens who found Minnesota so hospitable a place of abode in
the sixties and seventies of the past century and has never regretted the
decision which prompted him to locate in this state. He was born in the
pari.sh of Kritseid, in the district of Telemarken, Norway, September _M).
1841, a son of Rasmus and Anna ( Halv(jrson) Gunderson, who. with the
other members of their family, followed their son, the subject of this sketch,
to America in 1866 and settled in Houston county, this state. There Mrs.
Gunderson, who was born on November 10, 1817, died on March 2, 1875.
Rasmus Gunderson remained in Houston ccjunty, engaged in farming, for
fifteen years, at the end of which time he sold his farm there and mo\cl
to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he spent the rest of his life, retired, hi-
death occurring there on August 8, 1903. He was born on June C), 1819.
Rasmus Gunderson and wife were the parents of six children, of whom
-'44 CI. AY AXl) XOKMAX COINTIKS. MIXXIiSOTA.
tlie subject of this sketch \v;i> the first honi. the dtliers l)eiiig as follow:
Mrs. Signe l\ice. who died at her hmne in ('la\ county in IQ12; .\nna, wile
of l)(x-tor Hoegh. of .Minneapolis: (iunder, who is married and is engaged
in farming in Roseau county, tliis state: .Mrs. Christie llals. a widow, of
.Minneapolis, and Hans, who is engaged in farming in .Montana.
Ilahtir Kasnnisson grew to manhood on the paternal farm in Te!-
emarken and in the spring of 1861 was niarrietl, he and his bride straight-
way thereafter setting sail for the countrv of promise across the sea. 'I'hc}'
landed at the jxirt of Quebec on June S. 1861, after a voyage of eight
weeks, dming which twenty-four persons died on board the vessel on which
they had taken passage. I'Vom Oueljcc Mr. Rasmusson and his bride pro-
ceeded to Chicago and after a stay of some time in diat city went to
Afadison, Wisconsin, where they remained until their not oxerly large stock
of funds was exhausted, after which they walkeil sevent\' miles to the
farm home of .Mr. Rasmussou's uncle, in the vicinity of Kilborn City,
Wisconsin, where they found a cordial welcome. .Mr. Rasmusson found
employment in a store at Kilborn City and there remained thus engaged
until 1864. when he caiue to .Minnesota and was for a year thereafter en-
gaged in farm labor in b'illmore coimty. He then secured a position in
a store at Winona and remained there until 1866, in which year he mo\ed
to Houston, where he became engaged as grain buyer for the liergendahl
ele\ator, a position which he held for twelve years, or until his removal
to .Moorhead in 1878. During the time of his residence in Houston Mr.
Rasmusson took an active part in the conmiercial and ci\ic affairs of that
place and was elected first mayor of the town upon its incorporation as a
cit\ He also served as a member of the school board of that city and in
other W'ays did his part toward promoting the best interests of the ])lace.
Upon locating at .Moorhead in the spring of 1878 Mr. Rasmusson
became enga.ged in the hotel business, but after a year's experience in that
line abandoned that form of endeavor and became engaged in the real-estate
business, in the office of Comstock & White. In 1883 he was elected rec-
order of the city of Moorhead and was re-elected to that office in the sjiring
of 1884, also clerk of the municipal court. In the fall of 1884 Mr. Ras-
nuisson was elected clerk of the district court and by successive re-elections
was retained in that important ofTice for a period of si.xteen years, during
much of which time he also served as a member of the board of education
and was clerk and treasurer of the board. Mr. Rasmusson has e\er given
his earnest attention to the promotion of the educational interests of his
adopted state and when the moxenu'ut which culminated in the establish-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 245
nient of Conconlia College at AI(jorhfa<l in i8gi was under way he became
one of the incorporators of that institution and was elected first treasurer of
the same. In the meantime Mr. Rasmusson had continued his activities in the
real-estate line and for years was regarded as one of the best judges of
realty in the Red Ri\er valle\'. carrying on cjuite extensive operations in
that hue hoth at .Moorhead and at Winnipeg. In Kjoj; he became one of
the incor])oralors of the Iwrst State iJank of Moorhead. Of late years,
howe\er, he has been living practically retired from business cares, "taking
things easy" in his declining years.
Mr. Rasmusson has been twice married. ( )n .March J4, 1861. in his
native Norway, just a few daws before he and his bride took their depar-
ture for this country, he was united in marriage to Li\- Johnson, who also
was born in Xorwaw June 24. \i^42. and whose parents died when she
was an infant. To that uiu'on were horn six children, namely: John, who
is engaged in the hardware business at Crookston, this state; .Anna, wife
of (). ]). Dahl. of I'argo: Julia, who died at Moorhead in .\ugust, 1913;
Rud(il]ih, who is lix'ing at Minneapolis: Dr. b'rederick Rasmusson, of 01i\er
count)-, Xorth Dakota, and Xora, wife of Mar\in b'ullerton, of l*"argo.
The iui>ther of these children died in 1909 and in ii)ii, during a visit
b.'ick to his (lid iiomc in Xorwa\', .Mr. Rasmusson wa^ married in that
countr\- to .Marie ( hristijuison. who was burn in Xorw.'iy on December
iN, iS(Sj. .\lr. and .Mrs. Rasmusson ba\'e a \ery pleasant home at .Moor-
head and Mr. Kasmussou is also the owner of some \;iluablc business
houses on Front street.
S. O. SOLl'M.
S. O. .Solum, cashier of the hirst Xational liank of li.-irnesN ille. jiresi-
deiu of the mercantile firm of Xorby. Solum & Company (incorporated),
city treasurer of Barnesville and for years activel\- identified with the com-
mercial and other interests of that city, one of the best-known bankers
;nid merchants in this section, is a nati\e son of Minnesota and has li\ed
in this state all his life, a resident of Cla_\' county since he was three years
of age. and ma\' thus \erv properly be accoimted as one o( tlie leal "old
settlers" of this jj.'irt of the Red River country. F fe was born on a pioneer
farm in hillmore county on June 18, 1869, son of Ole H. and Karie
( Stadum ) Soluiu. natives of the kingdom of X'^orway, who became ])ioneers
of Clay countv in 1872 and here spent their last days.
246 CI. AY AND NORMAN- COl'NTIKS. MINNESOTA.
Ole H. Sdluni was horn and reared in Xorway, as was his wile. In
1868, W'ith tlie two cliildren. Hans and .Andrew, born to them in their native
land, they came to the United States and ]5roceeded on out to ^[inne.sOla,
selthng in I'ilhnore county, where the\' remained for four years. At tlie
end of that time, in iSjJ, they came up into tlie Kt.'i\ River vallex' with
their family, drivinj^ thruuijh with a covered waj^on and a team of oxen,
and located in Clay county, which had just been erected into a civic unit
that year. Upon his arrival here. Ole H. Solum honiesteaded a ([uarter of
a section of land in Tanscm townshii) and there established his home. .\t
that time, Indians still were mimerous herealjout and there was not another
settler between the Solum place and Glyndon. During the first summer of
his residence here. Mr. Solum eked out his slender means of subsistence
by working as a freighter to I't. .\bercrombie. Though he started with
practically nothing save his homestead right, he was a good farmer and
an excellent manager and presently i)egan to see his way clear to the de-
velopment of a fine piece of farm propert}-. .\s he prospered in his affairs,
he gradually added to his holdings until he became the owner of an excel-
lent farm of three hundred and forty acres. He and his wife were earnest
workers in the church and were among the organizers of the First North
Kmanuel church. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the
subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others Ijeing :
Hans, Andrew, Uars (who died at the age of eleven years), Martin, Chris-
tine (who (lied at the age of fourteen), and Peter.
.\s noted above, S. O. Solum was but three years of age when hi-
parents settled in Clay county and he grew up on the homestead farm in
Tansem townshij), thoroughly familiar with pioneer conditions thereabout.
Upon completing the course in the local schools, he entered W'illmar Semin-
arv and wa?- in attendance at that institution for the better part of two
terms, after which, in 1890, then being twenty-one years of age, he began
working in a lumber yard at Barnesville. In 189J he accepted the position
as bookkeeper in the Barnesville State Bank, and not long after that bank
was rechartered as the I'irst National Bank of Barnes in 1895 he was
made assistant cashier of the s^ame and, in 1910, was elected ca.shier, which
position he still occupies, one of the best-known bankers in this part of the
state. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Solum has other business
interests in Barnesville and is the president of the mercantile firm of Norby.
Solum & Company (incorporated). For the past sixteen years and more,
he has served as treasurer of the city of Barnesville and has in other
ways given of his time and his energies to the public service.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 2^/
In the year 1893 S. O. Solum was united in marriage to Christine
Austin, daughter of John and Bertha Austin, of Crawford county, Wis-
consin. Mr. and Mrs. Solum are members of the Norwegian Lutheran
church and take a proper part in church work, as well as in the general
social and cultural activities of their home community.
CHARLES FOSSAY.
There is no more persevering tiller of the soil in Kragnes township. Clay
county, than Charles F"ossay, who was born in Norway in 1853. He is a
son of Ole E. and Olia F. Fossay, both natives of Norway, where they
grew up, married and made their home until immigrating to America in
1866, locating in Mitchell county, Iowa, where the father bought one hun-
dred and twenty acres of land, for which he paid five dollars an
acre. The same land is now worth one hundred and seventy-five
dollars an acre. Here they engaged in farming, developing raw land
by hard work. The father's death occurred there in 1907 at the advanced
age of eighty-eight years. The mother died some three years later at the
age of eighty-four. To these parents the following children were born :
Eberhart, who was killed by a bull in 1912 in North Dakota; iVnton. who
died in Mitchell county, Iowa ; Charles, the subject of this sketch ; Bertha,
who is married and lives in Mitchell county, Iowa; Emma, who is mar-
ried and makes her home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Minnie, who
died near Davenport, North Dakota ; Oliva, who was married and who died
in Foster county, North Dakota, in 1915; Oliver, who lives in McHenry
cfjunty. North Dakota, and Mary, who died in Cass county, that state.
Charles Fossay was thirteen years old when his parents brought him
to America. He received a common-school education and grew to man-
hood on the farm. Like all sons of pioneers he worked hard when a bo_\-,
helping his father develop the home farm. In 1S77 he went to Fargo,
Xorth Dakota, anrl there operated a dray line for twelve years with very
gratifying results. He then, in 1889, came to Clay county and bought his
present farm in Kragnes township. The farm originally consisted of four
hundred acres, but Mr. Fossay later sold half of it and now owns the two
hundred acres, which lie in sections 30 and 31. He made all the improve-
ments on this land, including the erection of a modern and substantial set
248 CLAY VXD XORMAN COUXTIICS. MINNESOTA.
of buildings. He has been very successful as a general farmer ami sioclc
raiser, and makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle.
On September 6. 1886. at Ivargo. Mr. Fossay was married to Anna
Danielson. who was Ixmi in Sweden in i85<). She spent her girlhood in
her native land and there attended school,, coining to America alone whin
eighteen years old. locating at Fargo, North Dakota, where she remained
until her marriage. Five children have been born to .Mr. and Mrs. I'ossav.
namely: Charles, who is married and lives in the province of Manitoba,
Canada: I'^dward, who makes his home with Ch.uJes in Canada, and Obcii,
.Mice and Maliel. at home.
Politically. Mr. Fos.say is an "Independent", lie served as treasurei
of the .school board in his district for many years and was also a niemlu)-
of the township board for many years. He is a member of the Congrega-
tional church, in which he is a deacon, and is active in church affairs.
HENNIXG u. KRABBENIIOI 1.
Henning O. Krabbenlioft. one of Clay county's most successful farmers
and substantial landowners, proprietor of a section and a half of fine land in
the Sabin neighborhood of l^Imwood township, former assessor of that town-
ship, former chairman of the board of supervisors of the same and in other
ways actively identified with the affairs of that community since pioneer
days, is a native of Germany, but has been a resident of Minnesota and of
Clay county since he was eighteen years of age, having come here with his
parents, who became the first permanent white settlers of what later became
organized as Elmwood township. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein on
May 27, 1856, son of W. F. and Katherine (Jess) Krabbenhoft, natives
of that same province of Prussia, who came to the L'nited States with their
family in 1874 and proceeded on out to Minnesota, settling on a homestead
tract in what later came to be organized as Elmwood township, in Clav
county, and there spent the remainder of their li\es, useful and influential
pioneers of that community, their original homestead tract there now being
the place of residence of the subject of this sketch.
It was in 1872 that the Krabbenhoft tract in Elmwood was entered,
W. C. Krabbenhoft, eldest son of W. F. Krabbenhoft having come here in
that year and made his claim to the same, ])utting up a homestead shant\
and preparing the way for the coming of his parents and the other members
a
5?
2
■31
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 249
of the family, who anivctl in 1874, and established their hmne there, the
lirst permanent settlers in that section of the county. VV. F. Krabbenhoft
bought the claim from his son and completed the development of the same,
later increasing his land holdings to two hundred and thirty acres, which
in 1882 he sold to his son Henning, who has continued to reside there since
his coming in 1874, one of the real '"nld-timers" now living in Clay county.
On that pioneer farm \V. F. Krabbenhoft and his wife spent their last days.
They were members of the Lutheran church and took an active part in the
organization of a con.gregation of their faith in the neighborhood of their
home in tlic early days. The\- were the parents of twelve children, six of
whom died in the old country, the other six coming with them to this country,
these latter being as follow : Wolf C, now deceased, who was the first of
the family to come to this country, as noted abo\e ; Christ, also now deceased :
Henning O., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Katherine.
wife of Chris I'eohls : Anna, wife of Chris Wright, and Wilhelmina,
now deceased, who was the wife of Henry Schroeder.
.\s noted above Henning O. Krabbenhoft was eigliteen \ears of age
when he came to Minnesota with liis parents and the otiicr members of the
family and settled in Clay county. He had received his schooling in iiis
native land and upon coming here he at once took an active hand in the
difficult labors of improving and developing the homestead place in Elm-
wood township. He married in tiie fall of 1881 and the next year bouglit
the home place from his fatlier, who was prepared to retire at that time,
and there established his permanent home. Since taking possession of that
place he has erected excellent buildings and for years has had one of the
best-ecjuipped farm plants in Clay county. As he prospered in his farming
operations, Mr. Krabbenhoft gradually added to liis land holdings until he
became the owner of two and three-quarter sections of land, but has since
sold a section and a f|uarter, retaining a section and a half, which he has
brought under a hi.gh state of cultixation. About 1892 Mr. Krabbenhoft
began to recognize the peculiar adaptability of the soil of the Red river
^■alley to the raising of potatoes and in that year made his first really exten-
sive plant of potatoes. Since then he has made much of potato crops and has
on his place one of the largest ]:)rivate potato warehouses in this part of the
state. He has also given considerable attention to the raising of pure-
bred live stock and has done very well in his operations. From the be-
ginning of his residence here Mr. Krabbenhoft has taken a .good citizen's
interest in local political affairs and at one time and another ha,s held
most of the offices within the gift of the ])eoplc of his home township.
250 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
including that of chairman of the l)uard of township supervisors and assessor.
Of late years, however, he has practically retired from politics. Among
the other interests to wliich he gives his earnest attention is the North-
western Hospital at Moorhead, in the affairs of which he has been deeply
interested since the day of its establishment.
On November 29, 1881, Henning O. Krabbenhoft was united in mar-
riage to Margaret Kuel, also a native of Holstein, who came to this country
in that same year. Some years later, in 1890, her parents, Fred and Mag-
daliua (Naeve) Kuehl, also came to this country and their last days were
sjK'nt in F.lniwood townshi]). Mr. and Mrs. Krabbenhoft have thirteen
children, Katlierinc, August, Herbert, Anna, .Alfred, Tiicodore, Waller, John,
Adoli)h, Christian, Siefried. Lizzie and Elsie, all of whom are living in this
communiiy, save John, who is now a resident of .Ambrose, North Dakota.
There are also four children deceased, Herman, Rudolph. Heinrich and Dora.
The Krabbenhofts have a very pleasant home and have e\er taken a proper
part in the general social activities of the community, helpful in many ways
in advancing movements having to do with the betterment of conditions
hereabout. As one of the real pioneers of Clav county, Mr. Krabbenhoft
has a wonderful fund of information regarding the conditions in the early
days of the settlement of this part of the state and some of his tales of
pioneer days are interesting indeed.
WILLIAM GILBERY
William Gilbery. a well-known fanner of Kragnes township, Clay
county, was Ixjrn in Devonshire, England, on May i. 1855. He is a son of
U. Hugh and Dina (Newcombs) Gilberj-, both natives of England, where
they grew up. married and established their home. In 1874 they immigrated
to Canada, where they resided until 1879, when they moved to Wisconsin and
spent the rest of their lives in Grant county, that state, each reaching an ad-
vanced age, the father dying in 1910 at the age of eighty-two, and the mother,
in 1914. at the age of eighty-three. Three children were born to these pa-
rents, namely: U'illiam, the subject of this sketch; Richard, deceased: and
Charles, who lives on a farm in Wisconsin, is married and owns his own
place.
William Gilberv grew to manhood in England and there attended the
pul)lic schools. He immigrated to Canada in the spring of 1873 and lived
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 25 1
there three years, at the end of wliich time, in 1876, he moved to Hancock,
Houghton county. Michigan, wliere he hved three years with an uncle. In
tlie fall of 1878 he came to Minnesota and worked at Crookston that winter.
His uncle, with whom he lived in Michigan, came here in 1879 and bought
two hundred and twenty acres in Oak Port township, Clay county, and this
land was farmed by the subject of this sketch for three years. He continued
to work on various farms in this county and finally bought land in Oak
i'ort township for another uncle and farmed the place for seven years. In
the spring of 1890 he ]nirchased his present farm in section 20 of Kragnes
township, on which he has made all imjirovements, including an excellent
group of buildings. He has three hundred and twenty acres of well-kept
and productive land, which is well adapted to potato growing and he planted
thirtv-five acres of the white tubers in 1917. He al.so raises a great deal of
wlieat and has been (|uite successful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
On September 9, 1879. Mr. Gilbery was married to Clara Milden, who
was born in Houghton county, Michigan, Septemlier 23, 1859. She is a
daughter of John and Mary ( Westley ) Milden. both natives of Devonshire.
Rngland. where tliev grew up. ni;irricd and made their home until coming
to America over sixty years ago, or about the year 1856. They located at
Hancock, Michigan, being pioneers of that section of the Wolverine state.
.Mr. .Milden was a carpenter by trade and he helped build the first house in
the present town of Hancock. His death occurred in 1907. at the age of
seventy-three years. He was twice married, his first wife, mother of the
wife of the subject of this sketch, dying in 1882, at the age of fifty-one
vears. He was the father of four children by his first wife and eight by his
second wife.
To William Gilbery and wife eight children have been born, namely:
.\nna, who is married and lives on a farm in Kragnes township; Charles,
who is married and lives on a farm in the same township; William, who is
ni;irrie(l and lives at Hitterdal. in Clay county; Ida. who is married and lives
on a farm in Xortli Dakota, and George, Minnie, Robert and Raymond, at
home.
Mr. Gilberv is a Republican and has served as a director on the local
school Ixjard for thirteen years. lie was also a member of the township
board for some time and was for a number of years a member of the board
of supervisors of Kragnes township, a director and chairman of the board
for some time. He has been active in the affairs of his locality since com-
ing to Clay county, and has done much to develo[> the \aried interests of
that community.
2Z^2 CLAY AND NORMAX COUXTIF.S. MINN'KSOTA.
ANDREW BYE.
Andrew Bye, former memlier of the village council at Halstad an<l
manager of the local plant of the Northwestern EJevator Company at that
place, is a native son of Minnesota, born in Houston county, November
-5. 1873, a son of Peter (). and Bergit (Ilcfte) Bye, both natives of \\w
kingdom of Norway, who are now living in Grand Eorks county. Xnrth
Dakota, where they have resided for years, among the substantial i)i(inccr
residents of that section.
Peter O. Bvc was burn in 1S44 and was leu years of age w hi-n iic-
came to this country with his i)arenls, in 1854. the family settling in lions-
ton county, this state, among the pioneers of that section of the state, and
there he grew to manhood. In that county he married Bergit llefte. who
liad conic to Minnesota with licr parents from Norway in the days of her
girlhood, and after his marriage remained in that county until 1877, when
he went pioneering over into North Dakota and settled in the township
of Bentru, Grand ]-"orks county, where he and his wife still m.ikc then-
home and where they are very comfortably situated. They are members
of the Norwegian Lutheran church and their children were reared in that
faith. There are six of these children, of whom the subject of this .sketch
was tile fifth in order of birth, the odiers being Nellie. Inga. Glaus, .\nton
and Theodore.
Andrew Bye was four years of age when his parents moved from
.Minnesota to North Dakota and he was reared on. a pioneer homestead
farm in (iraiul I'orks county, in the latter state, receiving his schooling
in the district school in the neighlxjrhood of his home, .^s a young man he
started fanning on his own account in Grand Forks county and was thus
engaged until he was twenty-five years of age, when he engaged in the
grain business, buying grain at .Mapes. North Dakota. Six months later he
was made buyer for the Minneapolis & Northern Elevator Company at
Felton. in t^lay county, this state, and remained there, agent for that com-
pany, for nine years, or until 1909, when he transferred his services to the
Northwestern Elevator Company and was made agent and buyer for that
c(imi)any at Halstad, where he ever since has rnade his home and where
he has quite successfully managed the Northwestern elevator, becoming one
of the best-known grain men in this part of the state. Since becoming a
resident of Haltsad Mr. Bye has taken an active interest in local civic affairs,
has served for two or three terms as a member of the village council and
also served for two or three terms as village assessor.
CI.AY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 253
On December 30, 1901. Andrew Bye was united in marriage to Eliza
Moe, a daughter of E. ]'. Aloe, of Caledonia, Xortli Dakota, and to this
union one child has been liorn. Alpha Eugene, Ijorn at Felton on Februar\-
1 1, 1903. The Byes have a very pleasant home at Halstad and take a proper
part in the general social actixaties of the community. Mr. Bye is a mem-
ber of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and takes an
active interest in the affairs <if the same.
JOHN SPENNIXGSBV.
John Spenningsby, proprietor of a harness shop at Ada and formerly
a farmer in Hegne township, Xorman county, was born in the kingdom of
Norway on Se]:itember 16, 1S77, and was about six years of age when his
parents, Knut and Julia (Braaten) Spenningsby, also natives of Norw^ay,
came to Minnesota and settled in Xorman county, where tliey ever since
have made their home.
It was in 1883 that Knut Siienningsln' and his family came to Min-
nesota, their destination being Ada. Upon their arrixal here Mr. Spen-
ningsl))- located on a farm in Halstad township, but later bought a home-
steader's right to a tract in Ile.gne township and there established his home,
remaining there and improx-ing the same until 1903, when he retired from
the farm and mo\ed to .\da, where he and his wife are now li\ing. They
are memljers of Trinit}- Lutheran church (of the Hauges synod) at Ada
and their children were reared in that faith. There are four of these chil-
dren, those besides the subject of this sketch being Emil, Lewis and Inga.
As noted above, John Spenningsby was but a child when his parent^
settled in X'^orman county and he .grew to manhood on the home farm in
Hegne township, remaining there, a \-alued assistant to his father in tho
development and improvement of the same, until the time nf his parents'
remo\'al to Ada in 1903, when he also left the farm and located in Ada.
In 1907 he started a harness shoj) in that city and has buill up a ]iros[)erous
business in that line.
In June. 1915. Jnhn S|)enning.sl:)y was united in marria.ge 4o Mrs.
Serena X'elson. .Mr. and Mrs. Spenningsby are members of Trinity Luth-
eran church and take a pn)]icr interest in clnu'cli work and other loc;:l
.good works.
254 CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JAMES A SAUER.
One of the genuine pioneers of Clay county, who was wilh'ng to take
the hardships of tlie early days that he might acquire the soil and the home
that was sure to rise in due course of time, was James A. Saucr, who is
one of the leading general farmers of Spring Prairie township.
Mr. Sauer was horn in Norway, October ii, 1864. He is a son of
.Vndrew and Rachael (Sauer) Sauer, both natives of Xorway, where thev
grew uj), married and made their home until 1870, when they brought
ihcir fami!) to America, locating in Humboldt county. Iowa, where the
I'atlier engaged in general farming until the spring of 1881, when he moved
to Minnesota, taking up a homestead in section 26, Spring Prairie town-
.ship. Clay county. His wife had died in Towa. He and his children de-
veloped a good farm here on which he continued to reside until 1892, when
he moved to Cromwell township, and there spent the rest of his life, dying
in December, 1916. ha\ ing l>een retired for many years from active labors,
leaving the real work of the farm to his son, Ole Sauer. He was a true
])ioneer and had been very successful as a farmer and slock raiser. His
family consisted of ten children, .\mbrose, A. K., Tina. Rachael, Belle.
James A., Andrew. John, Samuel and Ole, all of whom are living.
James A. Sauer was six years old when his parents brought him from
Xorway to this country and he grew to manhood and atten.dcd the public
schools in Humljoldt county, Iowa. He came to Minnesota with his father
in 1 881 and started out for himself, taking u\> a homestead, the northwest
quarter of section 2t of Spring Prairie township in Clay county. About
three years later he secured the southwest ciuarter of the same section, as
a tree claim, and has made his home on the latter quarter e\er since. He
now owns a \aluable farm of three hundred and twenty acres, including the
northwest (|uarter of section 20. Spring Prairie township, although he has
sold his original homestead. He made extensive improvements on his land.
erecting a large. comfortal>le residence and substantial outbuildings, and
put out a tine gro\e. raising many of the trees from the seed. He has
been very successful as a general farmer and stock miser, making all by
his own efforts.
In 1887 Mr. Sauer was married to Jennie Torgeson. a native of Nor-
way, wiiere her parents lived and died, and from which country she came
to America when young. To her unicm w-ith Mr. Sauer two children were
born, namelv : .\ndrew and Gena. Mr. Sauer married a second time. No-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 355
vember 20, 1897, liis last wife being Minnie Torkildson, a daughter of
Tonnes Torkildson, a native of Norwa}- and an early settler of Riverton
township, Clay county. Tonnes Torkildson married Trene Larson, also
a native of Norway, and there they made their home until immigrating
to America in the spring of 1883. I" t'le fall of that year he homesteaded
one hundred and sixty acres in Riverton township. Clay countv, improving
the place and building a good home, and there he spent the rest of his life,
dying in April, 1894. His widow still lives on the homestead, which now
contains two hundred and forty acres, Mr. Torkildson having added eighty
acres more to his original farm. His family consisted of six children,
Ole, Gust, Abin, Louise, Albert (deceased) and Lena. To Mr. Sauer and
his second wife eight children ha\e been born, Theodore, Gilbert, James,
Rudolph, Mabel, Esther, Arthur and Alfred.
Politically, Mr. Sauer is independent. He circulated personally the
petition to organize Spring Prairie township, and also the petition for the
organization of the first school district, which then included the entire town-
ship and was appointed one of the first supervisors by the county board.
He was later a memlier of the township board and is now chairman of tlie
school board.
OLE G. AHDGARDEN.
Ole G. Midgarden, of Aloland township, is one of Clay county's farmers
who seems to have the right idea about agricultural matters, and although
he does not farm on so large a scale as some, he does his work in a scien-
tific way and is making a comfortable living. Mr. Midgarden was born
in Norway, September 2, 1849, a son of Gunder and Thorberg G. (Spokali)
Midgarden, natives of Norway, where they spent their lives on a farm.
They were parents of seventeen children, ten of whom .grew to maturit)'.
namely: Tolef, deceased; John; Tore, deceased: Ole G.. of this sketch:
Howard and Gunder, both living; Signe, who lives in Norway; Ingeborg,
Halvor and Johanna. These children all came to America but Signe.
Ole G. Midgarden spent his boyhood in Norway where he attended
the common schools for a while, and also went to school a short time in
America, whither he came in 1866, reaching Houston county, Minnesota,
in June of that year, being a pioneer in that section of the state. He
remained there until 1870 and then, with other settlers, came to Clay county
and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Moland town-
256 CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
ship and li\e(l iliiTc until 1874, when he sold out and went back to Xorway.
remaining in his native land five years. At the end of that period he returned
to .\merica and spent a few months in Wisconsin, then came on to Clay
county, Minnesota, and rented land for about six years, after which time
he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Moland township, where he has
since made his home, making all the ]>resent improvements, including the
erection of the buildings. He carries on general and mixeil farming.
Mr. Midgarden was married in 1882 to Jorainl Thortvedl, who was
born in Norway, from which country she came to Houston county, Minne-
sota. When young, and when her people moved from that county to Clay
county, she walked most of the way. helping dri\e the sheep and cattle.
Three cliildren. all lix ing. were torn to Mr. and Mrs. Midgarden. namely:
Thorherg Gundelki. Thcckla Linda Josc])hine and tiottfred Otto I.eandcr.
Politically. Mr. Midgarden is a I^epublican. He has been treasurer
of school district Xo. (> nearly all the time since he has lived in the district,
with the exception of the period of his absence in Xorway. He is the
treasurer at this writing. He was the third man to hold this oftice. He
belongs to the Lutheran church.
WILLL^M THOMPSOX.
William Thompson, one of the real ])ioneers of Clay county, first clerk
of I'-lkton townshi]). a position he held for many years, or until his removal
across the line into Llmwood township, and the proprietor of a line farm
of four hundred acres lying in Elmwood and Elkton townships, his home
now being in the former township, is a native of Scotland, but has been a
resident of this country since 1870 and of this part of Minnesota since 1878.
and has therefore been a witness to and a participant in the development
of this region since pioneer days. He was Ijorn in the city of Montrose, an
important seaport town in Forfarshire, thirty-four miles southwest of Aber-
deen, March 14. 1842, son of Dougal and Mary (Shand) Thompson, also
natives of Scotland, the latter of whom spent her last days in her nati\e
land; the former later coming to this country, his last days l)eing spent in
?kIinnesota. Of the three children born to his parents, the subject of this
sketch is tlie onlv survivor, his brother John having died at the age of four-
teen vears, and his sister Mary, at the age of ten months.
Dougal Thompson was a laborer in Montrose and was not in extra good
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENSX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONh.
Ml;s. ANN THOMPSON".
WII.I.IAM TlIOMrSOX.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC "--■^Y
ASTOR, LENSA
TTLOEN' Four: U .1 IONS.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 257
circumstances financially, hence his son William was given small opportuni-
ties for acquiring much more than the rudiments of an education in his
native land, never attending school at all until he came to this country long
after he was grown. Before he was eight years of age William Thompson
was set to work in ;l factory and worked there until he was sixteen years
of age, when, he learned the stone-cutter's trade, including general masonry,
and the early years of his manhood were spent in that form of labor. He
married in 1866 and four years later, in 1870, determining that there
was small opportunity for making much headway toward financial inde-
pendence in his native land, decided to come to the United States. He left
his wife behind until such time as he could see his way clear to the making
of a home in this country, and after his arrival in New York City began
working there at his trade. Two years later he was joined by his wife and
his father and about six years after their arrival left there and came out
to Minnesota with a view to finding a home on the free lands of the North-
west. At Idaborn, this state, his father died and he remained there a
short time before proceeding on to this part of the state. It was there
that, together with a party of other Scotchmen, he became interested in the
homestead proposition here in the Red River valley and about 1878 he
and his companions drove up here seeking a location. One of the party
had Iieen here for a short time previously and had left a few old tires on
the open prairie, which was the landmark toward which the party journeyed.
They arrived there about dark and their first night on the prairie was spent
under the friendlv shelter of the stars. Mr. Thompson and his three com-
panions staked out four (piarter sections and drew lots for the respective
possession of the same. When the survey later was made and the town-
ship lines run, it was found that Mr. Thompson's claim was just on the
west edge of Elkton township. Without delay he erected a temporary
house there and entered upon the task of developing and improving the
place. Wheir settlers gradually began to fill up the region round about and
b'.lkton township came to lie organized Mr. Thompson was elected first clerk
of the township and by successive elections was retained in that position
until his removal in 1896 across the line into Elmwood township, he mean-
while having acquired additional land to the west of his homesteafl place and
built a new and up-to-date set of buildings on the same. Ui)on his removal
from Elkton town.ship a public township meeting was called in Elkton town-
ship and appreciative resolutions were adopted expressing the sincere appre-
ciation of the people of that township for the valuable services which Mr.
(17a)
258 CLAY AND NORMAN COLNTIES. MINNESOTA.
Thompson had so long rendered as clerk, and a handsomely printed copy
of the same was presented to him, a testimonial which, it is needless to say,
is valued very highly by him. .Mr. Thompson now lias a well-improved farm
of four hundred acres and has never regretted the decision that prompted
him to come up intu the Red River country h.ick in the days of the beginning
of the settlement here.
Mr. Thompson's wife died at hei- new home in {•llmwuod town.ship in
1899. She also was born in Scotland, and before her marriage was .\nn
Lamb. Her father, also a native of Scotland, spent all his days in his native
land, but the mother came to .\merica in 1872 and died at the iiome which
she homesteaded in Elkton townshi)>. To .Mr. and Mrs. Thompson two
children were born, Mary, who died in 1902, and John Dongal, who died
in 1901. Mr. Thompson is a member of the Presbyterian church ami was
one of the organizers of the local congregation of that church back in
the early days. During the activities of the Good Templar societies many
years ago, be was an active Good Templar and his influence in the com-
munity in which he has resided from the \ery beginning of its settlement
h;is ever l)een exerted in behalf of better conditions.
WRIGHT WORKS.
It will always l)e a mark of distincticju to have .served the Lnion during
the great Civil War. The old soldier will receive attention no matter where
he goes, if he will but make him.self known, and when he passes away
friends will pay him a fitting eulogy for the sacrifices he made over a halt
century ago on the sanguinary fields of battle in the Southland or in the no
less dreaded prison, fever camp or hospital. One of these honored veterans
in Clay countv is Wright Works, who is now living in retirement at Haw-
ley after an active life as a farmer.
Mr. Works was born in February, 1844. in St. Lawrence county, Xew
^crk. He is a son of Joseph T. W. and Susan (Thornton) Works. Her
father settled in New York state in the year 1807. Her death occurred
in 1849 3t the age of thirty-six years. Joseph T. W'. Works was born
in Cuyahoga county, New York, in October, 1803. He devoted his life to
school teaching for the most part, and farmed some. He finally left his
native state and located in Hardin county, Ohio, where his death occurred in
1866 at the age of sixtv-two vears . His family consisted of four children.
CLAY AND XOUMAX COLNTIES. MINN'ESOTA. 259
namely: Wright, suljject of tliis sketcli ; Luciaii. ileceased ; W'aiien, who
came to Cla}' county among tlie early pioneers in 1873, took ui) a homestead
in section 20, Cromwell township, which he later sold and l;ought a farm
in Hawley township, operating the same until 1907. when lie sold out and
moved to the state of Washington, where he now resides, and Lena, the
youngest child, who died when nineteen years old.
Mr. Works is descended from an early founder of this great nation,
one f)f his ancestors being one of three W^orks brothers who came ovcr
from Ireland, aljout twenty years after the landing of the Pilgrims, and
.settled in Massachusetts. Moreo\er. .\lr. Works is of Revolutionary stock.
His grandfather, Asa Works, was a soldier in the Revolutionary W^ar and
received a broken arm in the battle of Monmouth. .Vccording to tradition.
In's mother's Grandfather Rounds and his father's (irandfather Mark were
also soldiers in the Revolution.
\\'right \Vorks grew to manhood in St. Lawrence county, Xew York,
and there attended the common schools. He and all his brothers were sol-
diers in the L'nion arm\- during the war between the states, and he and hi--
brother Lucian served in Company B, Sixtieth Xew \'ork Volunteer
Infantry, the latter being only sixteen years old when he enlisted. He was
with Sherman on his march through Georgia to the sea. Warren, who was
in I lattery H. l'"ourth Xew York Heavy .Artillery, was also only sixteen
when he enlisted in the sjjring of iH'')^. They all three came out of the
service with wounds, but th'ise of Lucian and Warren were not serious.
Wright, who was eighteen when he enlisted, took part in the great battle
of Getty.sburg, where he was injured b\- a musket ball destroying his right
eye, passing through the nose ami injuring the left side of his bead. He
spent the latter part of his term of enlistment in the hospital.
Wright Works returned home after he was honorably discharged from
the army and engaged in farming in his nati\e state luUil 1S91, when he
came to Clay county, .Minnesota, and lived with his brother Warren. He
hrst bought eighty acres in Keene township, where he farmed until he moxed
to section [9. Hawley to\\nsbi|). where he continued farming, buying a
good ])lace there, which he sold in the fall of if)i6 and moved to the \-illage
of Hawle\', where he has beei; lixing retired. He owns a ])leasant home
there.
Mr. Works was married at .Moorhead. .Mintiesota. in .\hiy. 1907. to
.Maude Whaley. who was bori^ in .\pril, 1863, in London. England, from
which country she came to America when ten years old. Tlie union of Mr.
26o CLAV .WD NIIRMA.V COUNTIKS. MINNESOTA.
and .Mrs. W'ork.s has resulted in the l)irili of a S(jn, Wright Works. Jr.,
who is ten years old at this writing.
.Mr. \\'orks takes a good .American citizen's interest in his political
parly. lie is a member of the local post of the Grand ^\rniy of the Repub-
lic, of which he was commander for one year. He has served four terms
as justice of the peace, discharging his duties in an able, faithful and accep-
table manner. His decisions were always characterized by an accurate
knowledge of the law and by fairness to all parties concerned.
JACOB G.VRVEX.
The late Jacob Garven, who died at his home in Alliance township,
Clay county, on June 2, 1914, was bom in Wisconsin on August 30, 1867.
and in the days of his young manhood came over into Minnesota and settled
in Clay county, where he spent the rest of his life, becoming a substantial
landowner and farmer. On June 17, 1892, at Barnesville, he married
MrUhilda Peter, who was born in Germany, September 8, 1875, and who
had come to this country with her parents, .\ugust and Hannah (Becker)
l^eter, in 1891, the family coiuing on out to Minnesota and settling at
Barnesville, where .August Peter spent the rest of his life, his death occur-
ring in 1903. His widow is still living in Clay county, being now past
eighty-two years of age. August Peter and wife were the parents of five
children, of' whom Mrs. Garven was the fourth in order of birth, the others
being Mary. Millie. Herman (deceased) and Bertha. Mrs. Garven's sis-
ters are all married.
It was in 1896 that Jacob Gan-en established his home in section 23
of .\lliauce township and there he spent the remainder of his life, becom-
ing a well-to-do farmer. He was the owner of seven hundred and twenty-
three acres of land, now owned by his widow, and at his death in 1914 left
his family in comfortable circumstances. He made all the improvements
on his home place and hatl an excellent farm plant there. The management
of this plant is now l)eing carried on by his widow and her sons, who are
successfully engaged in general farming. In the summer of 1917 the Gar-
vens were cultivating sixty-five acres of potatoes, in agreement with many
other farmers hereabout that potatoes form one of the most profitable crop.--
that can be raised in the Red River valley.
To Jacob and Mathilda (Peter) Garven were born eight children.
CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 261
George, Alfred, Walter, Delia, Charles, Harold, Lester and Ernest, all of
whom are living on the home place with their mother. The Garvens atteml
the German Lutheran church and take an interested part in tiie work of
the church, as well as in the general good works and social activities of
the c'jnimunity in which they live.
GLAUS P. LAMMERS.
Glaus P. Lammers, a nati\e-horn German, l)ut wIkj has heen a resi-
dent of this country fur more than thirt}--five years, and is now the owner
of a fine farm in Elmwood townshi]). Clay county, was born in the h'ather-
land in 1859. He is the son of Frenz and Anna (Keuh) Lammers. also horn
in Germany and both of whom are now deceased. They were of the farm-
ing class and trained their children to lives of usefulness and self-reliance.
Frenz and Anna Lammers were the parents of the following children : John.
Jurgen, Mary, Margaret, Catherine and Glaus P.. the subject of this sketch.
Glaus P. Lammers was educated in the excellent schools of his nati\e
land. For some time after leaving school, he worked at farm labor and
later decided to try his fortune in America. He left Germany in 1882
and, on his arrival in this country, came on out to Minnesota and settled
on a farm in Elmwood township. He commenced farming on his own
account and, after the lapse of some time, purchased a tract of land and
proceeded to put it under cultivation. As he prospered in his farming, he
added more land to his original holding and is now the owner of five hun-
dred and twenty acres of prime land. He is now carrying on general farm-
ing according to modern methods of agriculture and is iloing very well. When
Mr. Lammers accjuired his present holdings, there were very few improve-
ments on the place. He has, however, been to considerable expense to bring
the farm up to a good standard in this respect and there are now on the
place large and substantial outbuildings and a fine dwelling, and Mr. Lam
mers and his family are here comfort^ibly situated.
In 1886 Claus P. Lammers was united in marriage to Minnie I'oehk
and to their union the following children have ])een born : Frank, who is
married; bjnma. married; John, married; and Louie, Hulda, Edward and
Anna, all at home with their parents. .Mr. and Mrs. Lammers are not mem-
bers of any church, but their children have all been confirmed at the Lutlieran
church. Mr. Lammers takes a good American citizen's interest in his
262 CLAY AXn XIIKMAX COl-NTIKS. MINNESOTA.
|K)litical ])arty ami lias sjiveii (jf his time and attention to the interests of
the ])ul)iic for many years. He was elected to the tcnvnship board and served
as a member for six years. He is now the treasurer of the school hoard,
which ofifice he has been fillino^ for the past six years, and tt) the duties
of which he yixes nnreniiltint;- care and attention.
\\"TTJ.T.\M P. T.ARSOX.
\\ illiaiu 1'. l.arson. an enerj^etic antl substantial yount; farmer of Kiver-
ton township, this county, proprietor of a tine farm in section 29 of that
township, also member of the school and township boards and in other ways
identified with public affairs, was born on .\uiJiist 12, 187C). at Byron, Min-
nesota. He is a son of Chris and .\lar\- (Jensen) Larson, both nati\es of
the kingdom of Denmark and who were married in that counlr\- before
coming to .\merica.
Chris Larson was born in Denmark in i<'^47 and was educated ni the
schools of that country. He worked at farm labor up to the time of his
leaving the ok! country to try his fortune in the land of opportunity at
this side of the .\tlantic. .\t the age of twenty-four, in 1871, he immigrated
to America and came on out to Minnesota, settling on a farm at Byron,
and there be farmed for the remainder of his life. He prospered in his
farming o])eraiious and was regarded as an expert in the agricultural neigh-
borhood where he made his home. He was married in Denmark about the
year 1870, to Mary Jensen and his death occurred in January, 1914, at
the age of sixty-five years. His wife's ]>irthplace also was in Denmark,
her birth taking place in 1847, and she is still living on the home farm at
liyron, vigorous in mind and body, at the age of seventy. They were rec-
ognized in their home comnumity as active and influential residents, ever
helpful in neighborhood good works. Chris Larson and wife were the par-
cius of the following children: Jens, who is married: .Alfred: Lewis, mar-
ried : Christine, marricfl, and William P., the .subject of this sketch, and all
of who)n arc li\ing in the Inited States.
William P. Larson was educated in the common schools of his home
neighborhood in Byron and was reared on his father's farm. From boyhood
he was an able assistant in the labors of developing and improving the
home place and continued to work on the I'arm until 1902. In the latter
\ear he ac(|uircd his present holding in Clay count}, in section 29. Rivertou
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 263
township, wliere he is tlie owner of two Iiundred and forty acres of prime
land, as good quality as any in the township, and a1)out twenty-five acres
of which are given over to the raising of potato crops. Air. Larson carries
on general farming and raises Dm-oc-Jersey hogs. Since the commence-
ment of his o])erations he has heen quite successful, evervthing a1)out his
farm teing in excellent condition and the impro\ements of a suhstantial and
durahle character.
Mr. Larson gives a good citizen's attention to puhlic affairs and lias
served on the district school hoard for seven years and on the townshiii
hoard for nine years; and in these representative capacities .he has given
unqualified satisfaction. In other ways also he shows a warm interest in
local civic affairs and in the general affairs of the community. He is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is known to he an
active supporter of the objects of that order.
OLE OUAM.
Another of the alert and perse\ering farmers of Highland Grove
township, Clay county, who is making a success at his chosen life work is
Ole Quam, who was born in Norway, April 6, 1875, a son of John and
Unnia (Peterson) Quam, both also nati\'es of Norwa)', who immigrated
to America in 1880 and came to Minnesota, locating in Eglon township.
Clay county, where they spent about six montiis, then took up a homestead
of eighty acres in the adjoining township of Highland Grove, where their
son Ole now resides. Later John Quam bought an additional tract of one
hundred and twenty acres, all of which he placed under good improvements,
and carried on general farming successfully until his death. His widow-
is still living on the home place. The family erected a fine group of build-
ings and set out a large grove. Seven children were born to John (juani
and wife, namely: Tnga, Ole, Christian, Se\erin;i, Anna, I'eter and John,
all of whom are living.
Ole Quam was five vears old when his parents brought him to America.
He grew to manhoofl on the hrmie farm in Highland Grove township where
he has continued to reside. He helped his father with the general work of
the farm when a boy, and he attended the local rural schools in the winter
time. He owns two hundred acres of the homestead, which he has kept
well improved and under a fine state of cultivation, carrying on general
264 CLAY AXD XORMAN CdUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
farming and stock raising successfully. He has taken an interested part
in local civic affairs and for live years served as townsliip supervisor. The
family iielped organize the United Lutheran church at llitterdal, but is now
afiiliated witli the Synod church.
WILLIAM SPRUNG.
Among- the native-born citizens of Germany who have come to tiie
United States' and engaged in general farming and the raising of .stock,
is William Sprung, who was born in the Fatherland in 1871. He is the
son of August and Rika (Lau) Sprung, who were also born in Germany
and who remained there until thirty-three years ago.
August Sprung was born in Gemiany in 1835. and in that country
he followed the life of a farmer. In 1884 he decided to try his fortune
in .Vmerica and arrived in this country after a voyage of about two weeks.
He started out for Illinois and remained in that state for three months and
then moved to Iowa, where he operated a farm for about nineteen years.
At the end of that period he came up into the state of Minnesota and
settled on a farm in section 19, Moland township. Clay county. There
he established his home and continued to give his undivided attention to
the labors of his farm and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring
in the fall of 1908. Prior to leaving Germany, .\ugust Sprung had for
some years been married to Rika Lau, who came to America with her inisljand
and the other members of the family, in 1884, and is now living with iier
son, William, the subject of this sketch. To August Sprung and wife the
following children were born : Otto, who is married ; .Anna, living in Clay
county : William, .\ugust, Rudolph. Manda, and Edith, tlie latter four chil-
ilren being deceased. Mr. Sprung was an acti\e and influential man of the
district in which he had lived.
^\'illiam Sprung was educated iit the sch(jols of Germany and in 1884
came with his parents to .\merica and accompanied them to Illinois and
later to Iowa, where under the careful training of his father he learned tlie
rudiments of farming. He moved to Clay county in the spring of 190J
and shortly afterward commenced farming on his own account. He is
now the owner of three hundred and ten acres of |)rinie land, and plants
an average crop of seventy-five acres to potatoes, all liis farming opera-
tions being carried on in accordance with modern nietliods. In addition
wd.i.iAM srraxr; and fajiily.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC "--'RY
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES^ MINNESOTA. 265
to his general farming' lie lias for some )'ears paid considerable attention
to the raising of a good grade of live stock and now has some excellent
Shorthorn cattle on his place. Mr. Sprung's farm is well improved and
his outbnildings are snbstantial and modern in equipment. He has recently
remodeled the dwelling house and has converted it into a modern residence,
provided with all conveniences, including electric lights. He is accounted one
of the substantial and progressive farmers of this section of the county.
Mr. Sprung's maternal grandfather, Christian Lau, was a farmer in
Germany, where he died at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Sprung's
maternal grandmother, Rika Lau, also died in Germany, at the fine old age
of eighty-seven, her death occurring about 1898.
WILLIAM H. RASEY.
William H. Rasey, a well-known and successful lawyer, living at Ulen,
Clay county, was born near St, James, Watonwan county, Minnesota,
September 14, 1885, a son of Elwin Z. and Llelen Adele (Sargent) Rasey,
the former of whom is a native of Hartford, Washington county, New York,
being born November 2^, 1844, and the latter, a native of Fond du Lac
county, Wisconsin. They are the parents of seven- children, namely: Roy
S., Ruth A., Inez E., William H., Jessie A., Flora E., and Nina O. Both
father and mother are living in St. James, Watonwan county, in substantial
and well-earned retirement.
\\^illiam H. Rasey received his elementary education in the schools
of St. James, ]\Iinnesota, graduating from the high school of that place
in 1905. In the same year, he entered Hamlin University to pursue a
supplementary course of study. In Ihe fall of 1906, he took up a home-
stead of government land in Williams county. North Dakota, and proved
up his claim in the fall of the following year. Since the laws of Ontario,
Canada, at that time allowed a homestead to be taken and proved up by an
alien without his beconnng a British subject, Mr. Rasey went up into that
])rovince in the spring of i()o8 and there filed a claim. In the fall of
that year, he returned to his studies in Hamlin Lhiiversity and completed
his sophomore year, but the following winter of 1909 and the spring and
summer of 1910 he spent on his homestead, during which time he cleared
fifteen acres and marketed the timber. Returning to Minnesota in the
fall of 1910, he began a law course in the St. Paul College of Law, but
266 CLAY Wn X()[<M.\X COrXTIKS. MINNESOTA.
on the coniintj of the following sprin*;-. lie returned again to his Canadian
claim, where he remained until the fall of 1913. occupying his time in
working on his holding and in reading law. He then resumed his studies
in the St. Paul College of Law. and in the summer of the following vear,
proved up his claim in Ontario. He then returned to college, and in the
spring of 191 5 came to Clay county and entered the law ottice of C. G.
Dosland. in ^haorhead. He then, in the fall oi 191 5. located in the practice
of his ])rofession at Lake Park, Becker county, Minnesota. His husiness
in the nortiiwestern part of Becker county brought him to Ulen on his week-
end trips, and. after three months, he decided to locate in Ulen. He came
here January i. 1916, and has been here ever since engaged in general
law ])ractice.
in 1915. September 9, William II. k;i.se\ and liia Chainbanl, daugh-
ter of F. G. and Emma C. (Torrey) Chambard, of Valley City, North
Dakota, were united in marriage. Mrs. Rasey is a musician of considerable
talent, having been a student of music practically all her life. She is teacher
of both ])iano and voice and has attained great success as an instructor.
Mr. and Mrs. Rasey are members of the Congregational church, in
Lien, and are interested in all the activities of that church. Mr. Rasey
is affiliated with the local lodges of .Ancient Free and .Acce])ted Masons, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of .\merica.
He is a member of the Communitv Club, of which he is secretarv.
JOHX LLVnXHl.
John Lindahl. a venerable farmer of Spring Prairie township, Clay
county, who has lived beyond the age of fourscore years, having reached
the advanced age of eighty-four years, the last three decades or more of
which have Ijeen spent in this locality, can relate tales of many interesting
e\ents that have transpired here since this locality was first settled. He
has witnessed with his own eyes the many changes that have taken place
;ind in the processes which ha\e brought these changes about he has played
no inconspicuous part himself.
Mr. Lindahl was born in Sweden, .\ugust 8. 1833, a son of Johanas and
Ingeborg Swenson. also natives of Sweden, farming people, who spent all
their- lives in their native land. The father reached the unusual age of
ninety-seven. Five of their children grew to maturity, namely : Carl, who
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 267
came to Minnesota and died in Cla)- county; Sarah, wlio died in Sweden;
Martha and Johanna, who also died in the old country, and John, whose
name forms the caption of this biographical review.
John Lindahl grew to manhood in Sweden and there attended the com-
mon schools. Dn January i, 1857, he married Sarah Johnson, a native of
Sweden, in which country her parents spent their lives on a farm. Mr.
Lindahl lived in Sweden, where he followed farming, until the year 1884.
when he came to the United States, but his wife antl some of their children
did not follow him until 1885. Two of their sons and two daughters had
preceded them here in 1882. Mr. Lindahl located first in Cass county. North
Dakota, but after spending one summer there he moved across the river into
Minnesota and about a year later settled on the farm on which he still lives
in Spring Prairie township, Clay county, taking up a homestead, the north-
east quarter of section 30. He endured the usual hardships and privations
of pioneer life and by perseverance succeeded in de\eloping a valuable farm
and a comfortable home, carrying on general farming and stock raisin.g
until old age made it necessary for him to turn the active management of
the place o\'er to his sons. Tlie\' have put up excellent new buildings, planted
a large gro\e and made other important improvements.
To John Lindahl and wife sixteen children have been born, named as
follow: Martha, who lives in Sweden, the widow of Carl M. Dahl; Charles,
will) died in infanc\' in Sweden: Charles, the second, who died in Alinne-
sota at the age of twenty-seven years; Johanna, wife of Ole Lundeene, of
Clay county; Johanas, who is a blacksmith by trade and lives in Minneapolis;
Ligre, wife of T,. T. Larson, a farmer, of Spring Prairie township, Clay
county; Christine, deceased, who was the wife of Nels Thompson, of Spring
Prairie townshi]). a biographical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this
volume; I-'rank. who is farming on the home place; Gustav, who died in
infancy in Sweden; Matilda, wife of P. P. Chandler, of Fargo; Carolina,
wife of Theodore Ekroth, of Minneapolis; .\ugusta. wife of Gust Eurin, of
Moorheafl ; Gust, who lives in Canada; Louise, a nurse in the L'nited States
army, who spent three years in tlie Philippine Islands and who is now ( 1917)
in Panama; Au.gust, who is at home and helping on the farm, and Amanda,
the only one of the cliildren born in America, her liirth havin,g occurred \n
Clay county. She is the wife of Herst Miller and hves at Stockwood. The
Lindahls are mcniljers of the Lutheran church and have ever taken an inter-
ested part in local church work. Mr. Lindahl is a Republican and has ever
given his earnest attention to the causes of good local .government.
268 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIKS, MINNKSOTA.
JOHX H. BRAMAN.
John H. Braman, a well-known antl substantial farmer of Alliance
township, Clay county, was horn at Ludlow, Massachusetts, in January.
1868, son of Albert H. and Augusta H. (Pike) Braman. the former of
whom was born in Granville. .Massachusetts. July 14. I'^.v*^. and the hitler,
in [-"ranklin, New Hampshire, Xoveniber 29, 1S39. who were married on
Xo\ember 20, 1858, and continued to make their home in Massachusetts
until in 1869, when they came West and settled in Iowa, remaining there
until i8(S6, in which year they came up into Minnesota and settled in Clay
county, where ihey are now living, honored pioneers of that county. L'pon
coming up into the \\ei\ River country. Albert H. Braman homcsteadcd a
cpiarter of a section of Iruid. the place where he is now living, in Alliance
township. Clay county, and there established his home. In 1909 his house
was destroyed by fire and he and his son erected a new and much more
commodious residence, the two families making their home together, the
father now lixing practically retired from the active labors of the farm,
though still making his regular weekly trips to Moorhead with butter and
eggs. Albert 11. Braman for many years took an active interest in local
civic affairs and was for some time justice of the peace in and for his
home townshij) and for iwehe years served as chairman of the Ijoard of
township supervisors. To him and his wife six children have been born,
of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the
others ijeing as follow: Ella, deceased; Charles, of Moorhead; George,
deceased: Grant, of Portland. Oregon, and Gertrude, of Thompson. North
Dakota.
John H. Braman was little more than an infant in arms when liis
parents moved from Massachusetts to Iowa in 1869. and in the latter state
he received the greater part of his schooling, having been seventeen years
of age when the family nioxed from Iowa to Clay county. From the begin-
ning of his residence here he has been an energetic factor in the lalKjrs of
developing and improving his father's homestead place in Alliance town-
ship and is now farming that place as well as a quarter of a section adjoin-
ing, in section 12. which he homesteaded on his own account ujwn reach-
ing his majority, and is doing well as a general farmer and stockman. In
addition to his grain farming. .Mr. Braman has of late years been giving con-
siderable attention to the raising of potatoes, and in the current season
(1917) had out fifty acres of potatoes. He and his father have made all
CLAY AND XORMAX COVXTIES, MINNESOTA. 269
iIk- improvements on the place and have one of tlie best-equipped farm
plants in tliat neighlic irhooct. John H. Braman has given a good citizen's
attention to local civic affairs and for some time served as constable in
his home township and is now treasurer of the local school board.
In October, 1896. in Fargo, John H. Braman was united in marriage
to Anna Johnk. whu was born in the city of Chicago in January, 1875,
and to that union two children have been born, sons both, Alljert H., named
for his grandfather, and Clifford. The Bramans have a very pleasant
home and take a proper interest in the community's general social activities.
THEODORE S. NELSON.
Theodore S. Xelsun. cashier of the State Bank of Georgetown, Clay
cuuntv, was born in iMJlmore county, Minnesota, June 23, 1879. a son of
Severt and Barbara ( Moen ) Nelson, both natives of Norway, in which
country they spent their earlier years. Severt Nelson immigrated tf) Amer-
ica about 1862, locating among the early settlers of Fillmore county, Min-
nesota. About 1 88 1 he came up to this part of die state and bought a
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Hendrum township, Norman county,
where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 191 2, when he re-
tired from active life and moved to the village of Hendrum. where be
still makes his home. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
His family consists of the following children: Cornelius. Theodore S..
Anton. Julia, Martin and Amanda.
Theodore S. Nelson grew to m.-mbood on the home farm in Hendrum
township. Norman count\-. and there attended the public schools, later be-
coming a student in Concordia College at Moorhead. He worked with
his father on the home farm until he was twenty years of age, then began
working in a store at Twin Valley, in the eastern part of Norman county,
remaining there seven months: then worked three months for G. T. Ing-
berg in a store in the village of Hendrum. In 1901 he became assistant
ca.shier of the State Bank of Hendrum and continued with that institution
for three years. He then took a course in the Dakota Business College at
Fargo, and in the spring of 1904. helped organize the State Bank of George-
town and has been cashier of the same ever since, discharging his dutie>
in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the entire
satisfaction of both the stockholders and patrons; in fact, he has done much
270 CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
to increase tlie prestige and popularity of tliis sound and safe banking hou.->e,
which has had a very satisfactory growth. He is also secretar\- and treas-
urer t)f the h'anners Elevator Company at Georgetown, which operates
one of the thri\ing elevators in Clay county.
In i<)U4 .\Ir. Nelson was married to Burgetta Gunderson, a daughter
of I'eter Gunderson and wife, of Hentlrum. where she grew to womau-
liood and attended school. Mrs. Nelson was called to her eternal rest on
\])ril 16. igiT). leaving three children, SyKester, Eunice and Hubert.
Mr. Nelson is a Republican and is one of the leaders of his party
in Clay county. He was treasurer of the Republican county committee
in 1916; is treasurer of the village of Georgetown, and is also treasurer
of the local school district. .\s a public .servant he has always discharged
his duties in an able, faithful and credital)le manner. He is a member of
the Masonic order and of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
OLE S. N.Xin i'.IUI).
Ole S. Narverud was born in Norway, l-'ebruary 26, 1855, a son of
-Stengrim Ostenson and Birgit (Bakhus) Narverud. both natives of Nor-
way, where they spent their entire life. They were the parents of eight
children: Osten, Sunnev, Halvor. Ole S., Gurine. Barbro. Stengrim and
Sivert.
Ole S. Xarverud received his early education in the public schools of
Norway, supplemented by attendance of i)ublic schools in Clay county for a
few months after coming to this country. .\s a young man, he learned
the carpenter trade, at which he worked for some time in his native country.
In 1879 he came to .\nierica and located first in Goose Prairie township.
Clay countv, Miiniesota, and three years later he bought one hundred and
twenty acres of unimproved land in Highland (irove township. Clay county,
and located on this land. He i)ut up buildings and improved the land,
l)reaking the sod and clearing the land of the wild growth of underbrush,
and in time had the land in a fair condition for the production of crops.
He lived on this farm for seven years and during that time expended a vast
amount of hard labor incident in putting the land in condition for culti-
vation. In i8<Sq he sold the farm and worked out for about one year, and
in July, 1890. he embarked in the hardware and implement business, at
Hitterdal, in which he has continued ever since.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 2/1
Mr. Xarverud was married in 1882, to Gor Ostenson. and to this union
eight children have Ijeen horn, namely : Bertha Gustina, Tillie, Gustav O.,
Henry, Stina, Olga, Mabel and Lillian. Mr. Narv^eriid and family arc
members of the Synod Lutheran church. While living- on the farm Mr.
Xar\erud ser\ed as superviosr of the township for six years.
M.\RTn\ A. GIERE.
Martin A. Giere, a farmer of Cromwell township. Clay county, was
born in Olmsted county, Minnesota, April 19, 1861. He is a son of Amund
and Kari (Jesme) Giere, both natives of Norway, from which country ihcy
came to America, single, and were married in Dane countx , Wisconsin.
Nels and Mari Giere, the paternal grandparents, natives of Norway, came
to America in 1846, locating first in Dane county, Wisconsin, among the
early settlers, driving out how. Milwaukee to Dane county with an ox-team.
There the grandmother died ten years later. In 185(1 the grandfather,
with the parents of the subject of this sketch, made the trip in a prairie
schooner, drawn by an ox-team from there to Olmsted county, Minnesota.
Amund Giere bought one hundred and sixty acres in Wisconsin, which he
later sold, and then bought land in Olmsted county, this state, of the govern-
ment, and there he developed a good farm, on which he spent the rest rif
his life. His widow is still living there. Fifteen children were born to them,
namely: Nels, Torbjern, Ole, Martin, Ingeval (deceased). Lew Columbus,
Alfred (deceased). Otto Enoch (deceased) Alexandria, Tedman (who died
m infancy), Technan Oscar and Josephine Emilia (twins), Amanda Matilda
and Clara Louisa, both of whom died in infancy, and Alfred.
Amund Giere, father of the above named children, was an intluential
man in his locality. He served as treasurer of the school board from the
lime it was organized until within a few years of his death. He helped
organize the district he lived in. in Olmsted county, and also helped organize
the first church in his community. This church was Iniilt of stone and he
helped build it and remained an active church worker. This church has the
reputation of being one of the finest rural churches in the state. Torbjern
and Inga (Lee) Jesme, the maternal grandparents of the subject of this
sketch, were natives of Norway, from which country they came to America
in 1846 and located in Dane county, Wisconsin; later moved to Iowa and
272 CLAY AN'D NORMAN COL^NTIES, MINNESOTA.
then joined the parents of Martin A. Giere and spent the rest of tlieir hves
with them, she living there twenty-five years and he thirty years.
Martin A. Giere grew u[) on the farm and attended the common schools
ill Olmsted county, and there he lx)ught one hundred and si.xty acres, which
he improved and farmed until 1896, when he came to Clay county and
located on his present farm in Cromwell township, his place consisting of
two hundred and eighty acres, which is well improved and well cultivated
and on which he has carried on general farming and stock raising, breeding
Shorthorn cattle, in a very successful manner. He is also interested finan-
cially in the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Company at Hawley, which he
helped organize, and of which, for the first five years of its organization,
he was president.
In the fall of 1891 Mr. Ciere was married to .\nna Maria Fingerstjn.
a daughter of Ole h'ingerson, and to this union the following children luue
been born: Archie Oliver, who died when eighteen years of age; Amie
Elvilta, Xels Rudolph, Helen Constance, Olga Maria, Logan, Morris and
Alice. Mr. Giere is a Republican and is now township chairman, having
been a member of the board for about fifteen vears.
SOLOMON G. COMSTOCK.
The lion. SuK^mon (i. Comstock, former member of Congress from
this district and one of the well-known and successful residents of Moor-
head, was born in Penobscot county. Maine, on May 9, 1842. He received
his education in the local schools and was reared on the home farm, where
he remained until he was of age. After completing an academic course of
studv. he completed a course in law and was admitted to the bar in the year
i86(). He later left his native .state and located at Omaha, Nebraska, where
he was identified with the legal profession for a time. In the year 1871
he came to Mof.rhead. where he has since resided. Here he engaged in the
practice of his profession until 1884, when he engaged in die real-estate
business. In this business he has met with much success, and although
advanced in vears he is still one of the active business men of his home city.
It was during his life as a practicing attorney that ^Ir. Comstock was
elected to the position of county attorney, and while holding that office gave
the most efficient service to the duties that were incumbent ui)on him. His
abilitv as a lawyer and an advocate won for him the approval of a large
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TTLDEN fOUNDATI.-
MltS. SAKAll CO.MS'mCK.
HON. !SOr.O.\[()N G. COMSTOCK.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 2/3
circle of friends wlio liold liim in the highest regard. In 1875, the voters
of his district, recognizing iiis ahiHty and integrity, elected him to the Legis-
latnre, a position he held for several terms, with credit to himself and
honor to his constitnents. He was later elected to the fifty-first Congress
of the United States and served in that body with distinction.
In the year 1874, Solomon G. Comstock was united in ni.irriage to
Sarah Ball, a lady of high intellectual ability, and one held in the highest
regard and esteem. She has devoted her life to the interest of her husband,
her family and the good that she might do in the community in which she
has lived. To this union three children have l^een 1)orn : Ada Louise, Jessie
M. and George M. Mr. and Mrs. Comstock are most hospitable people and
bv their pleasing personalities and high ideals have had an elevating and
substantial influence on the moral, educational and civic life of the district.
Since coming to the state Mr. Comstock has taken the greatest interest
in .ill local affairs, and has taken a i)rominent part in all enterprises that
had a tendency to the greater growth and advancement of his section of
the state. He secured the location of the State Normal School at Moorhead
and donated to the state tlie site occupied by that institution. His greatest
desire at all limes, has been for the general welfare of the community. His
work in the real-estate Inisiness has given him an enviable position from
which to work for a greater and a l)etter community, in one of the greatest
sections of one of the greatest states in the Union.
CHARLES F. SCHINDLER.
Charles F. Schindler, one of the substantial and progressive farmers of
Ilarnesville township, owner of eight hundred and eighty acres of prime
land in that township and one hundred and sixty acres in Can;ida, breeder
of a choice strain of Hereford cattle, is a native of Germany, but has been
living in this country since he was nineteen years of age. Fie was born on
October 4, 1853, a son of Joseph and Catherine Schindler, who lived and
died in Germany.
Joseph Schindler was born in Germany in 1814, was educated in the
schools of that country and for the remainder of his life followed the occu-
pation of a farmer. He died in his native land in 1868 at the age of fifty-
four years. His wife, Catherine Schindler, was also born in Germany in
1817 and died in- 1870, being then sixtv-two vears of age. They were the
(i8a)
274 CLAY Ax\D NORMAN COl'XTIES, MINNESOTA.
parents of eleven children, Alexander (deceased). I'erdinaud (deceased).
Joseph, Angus T., Charles, Louisa, l-"edoria, Marie, l>arl)ara. Catherine and
Christine. These parents were prominent and influential residents of their
home locality.
Charles F. Schindler was educated in the excellent schools of Germany
and lor a few \ears he helped his father on the farm. In 1872. at the aije
of nineteen years, he immigrated to the L'nited States and went on to Con-
cinnati, Ohio, where he remained for six months, lie then went to the
city of St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked for two and a half years, at
the end of which time he moved to St. Paul. Minnesota, in 1878 he came
to Clay county and took a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land
in section 14. Rarnesxille township, and on this place he is now living. Me
immediately .set to work to break the land and ])Ut out crops and he was
successful in his agricultural operations from the very beginning. He con-
tinued to add to his land holdings as time went on, and he is now the owner
of eight hundred and eighty acres of the best quality of land in Barnesville
townshij), two hundred acres of which, in section 2^. he has rented. lie
carries on general farming and stock raising and is accounted one of the
most substantial farmers in this section of the county. He has carried out a
.systematic series of improvements and his outbuildings and dwelling house
are among the best in the district. In addition to his land holdings in Clay
county, Mr. Schindler is the owner of one lumdred and sixty acres of land
across the border in Canada. On his home place he plants al)Out eighty acres
of potatoes, and his cattle, forty-two head of Herefords, are of the best
strain obtainalile.
On June 10, 1888, Charles F. Schindler was united in marriage to Ennie
Moran, who was born on October 18, 1866, in Paris, I'Vance. and who came
with her parents to .\merica in 1872. Her parents are now dead. To Mr.
and Mrs. Schindler the following chiUlren were born : August, who reside^
in Canada: Charlie, the captain of a vessel, who makes his home at San
Diego, California; Christian, on the home tann: Louise, who died in 191 5:
Victoria, wife of E. V. McDunn. of Barnesville: Madeline, a nurse in the
Fargo Hospital, and Cecelia, at home. Mr. Schindler gives a good citizen's
attention to local civic afifairs, with special reference to educational matter-;,
and served several years as a director of the school board. He was also
a member of the township board for a long period and in each of these
public offices he applied himself to the duties with ability and energy. The
lamilv are members of the Barnesville Catholic church.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 2/5
KXl'DT A. LEVERSON.
Farming is Ijoth pleasant and pr(_)titaljle wlien entered into witii the
spirit that has always dominated Knudt A. Leverson, one of the best tillers
of the soil of Clay county, for he has never regarded it as drudgery and an
undesirable occupation. He was born in Worth county, Iowa, May j;,
1870, a son of Amos and Julia Isabell (Ouarve) Leverson, Ijuth natives
of Norway, the former of whom came to America about 1849 and the latter,
a year or two later, with her parents. Her father died in New York City
shortly after reaching the New World, and the rest of the family came on
to Wisconsin. Her parents were Teman and Kjersti (Sjong) Ouarve. The
mother later moved to Worth county, Iowa, and finally to Spring Grove,
^Minnesota, where her death occurred at the unusual age of ninety-six years.
The father of the subject of this sketch located in Wisconsin upon his
arrival in this country, but subsequently moved to Wnrtli enunty, Iowa.
He devoted his active life to general farming. In 1898 he came up into
Minnesota and located on a farm in Cromwell township, Cla\' county, where
he lived until his death, and there his widow is still making her home. The
place consists of three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land, well
improved in every way. To these parents the following children w ere born :
Betsie, wife of E. Bronsvold, of Clay county; Clara, wife of A. Holm, of
Clay county; Temen, of Fargo; Levi, of Clay county: Knuch, the subject
of this sketch; George, who resides at Hawley: Oliver, whd resides ncar
Salem, North Dakota; Sanuiel. who resides on the old hduie farm, and
Cora, deceased.
Knudt A. Leverson grew to manhood in Worth counl)-, lnwa, and when
a boy assisted his father with the general work on the farm, attending the
public schools in the winter time. Upon lea\ing there he came to Minnesota
and bought the farm on which he still resides, in Cromwell township. Clay
coimty. He owns two hundred and forty acres of productive and well-
cultivated land, all under excellent improvements, including a C(jmmodious
residence and numerous outbuildings, all of which he has put up himself
He carries on general farming and stock raising, keeping a good grade of
Shorthorn cattle. He had been a cattle raiser a number of years before
leaving Iowa. Besides his farming, he is interested financially in the Farm-
ers Elevator Company at Hawley, which he helped organize. He is also
a stockholder in the company which operates the co-operative creamery at
Hawley.
2/6 Cr.AV AND XORMAX Ci U' XTII'.S. .\f I XXICSOTA.
On June S. 1S94. Mr. I.everson was niarrietl Id Julia Ixnulson. wlio
was Iiorn in Iowa, where slie grew to womanliood and was educated in the
ciiuiniDn schools. She is a daughter of lulling Knutsoii. a native of Xor-
way, from which countr\- lie came to .\nierica when young. He has devoted
his active life to general farming in Iowa, where he owns a good fariu.
l)iu is now li\ing in retircmenl. To Mr. and Mrs. l,e\erson seven chil-
ilren have heen born, namely: .Vdolph. Ida and Ruth (twins), Karling.
Mvrtle, Alva and Cora (deceased). Mr. Leverson is a member of the
Lutheran church. Politically, he is a Repuljlican.
JOHN FORD.
When Clav comitv was covered with prairie grass and wild animals
roamed the \irgin plains over which wound Indian trails, John Ford came
here from far-away lingland and assimied the life of a pioneer, voluntarily
forsaking the advantages of civilization in its highest forms for the hard-
ships and privations of life on the Western frontier. Me assisted in estab-
lishing schools and churches and in introducing the general customs of
modern life.
Mr. Ford was born in Wiltshire, h-ngland, June jO, 1847. a son of
William and Jane (Smart) Ford, both natives of England, where they
grew up. married and established their home. The father was a baker
bv trade and was also engaged in the grocery business. He and his wife
both spent all their lives in England. They were the parents of eight chil-
dren, namelv: James. decea.sed : Anna, who was next in order of birth;
Thomas, who is a member of the Yeomanry, a military organization in
Fmgland; John. William, F'lizabeth. Sidney and luiiily.
John Ford grew to manhood in luigland and there attended school
and was married. He came with the fust luiglish cijlony to settle in this
part of the Red River country, arriving at Havvley on .\pril 17, 1873. In
the following May, or about a month after his arrival, he took up a home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres in Cromwell township. He had the
foresight and judgment to select good land in a community diat was bound
to prosper in future }ears, and he has remained on his first purchase to the
present time, or during a period of fort\-five years. He worked earnestly
and managed well and in due course of time he had his land under a fine
state of cultivation and a comfortable home established. Today there arc
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 2"/
tew better or more lii<(hly improved farms in liis localitv. lie has a large,
substantial (lueiling and numerous convenient farm buildings. Air. l-'onl
planted a grove in the early days here, which is now large and inviting, a
most valuable addition to his farm and a distinctive feature of the land-
scapes thereabout, f^e later added one hinidred and si.xtv acres to his orig-
inal farm, making one of the best three-hundred-and-twenty-acre farms in
the tow-nship. He raises a large quantity of grain and big herds of live
stock, especially sheep. He has been a breeder of Shropshire sheep for the
past thirty years. He also raises Berkshire hogs and Red Polled cattle.
Air. Ford is also a stockholder in the l-'armers Co-o])erati\e C"reamei-v at
Hawley, which he helped organize.
()n Au.gust 2(), ](<()■/. Mr. l-'ord married Alary ,\. I'arsuns, who al^o
was born in Wiltshire, I'ji.gland, a dau.ghter of Xehemiah I'arsons, a car-
[jenter In- trade, who spent his entire life in lui.gland. There Mrs. l-"ord
.grew to womanhood and attended school. .Mr. and Airs. I-'ord ha\e one
child, a sou. Siflney. who lives on the home farm, which he helps operate.
roliticalK, Mr. l~ord is inilependent. He lieljjed organize Cromwell town-
ship and was the first townshi]) assessor. He has also served as supervisor
and as treasurer of the townshi]), ami has been a member of the local school
board ever since the school district was organized, with the exception of
one vear when lie was out of the count}'. \\'hcn the district was first
organized it embraced the entire eastern half of the towiishij). known as
district Xo. 44, which he helped to organize. \\ heo' it w ;is subdixided he
helped to organize district Xo. 104.
JOHX P. XVG.\.VRD.
John P. Xy.gaard. former president of the \illage of Ilalstad, manager
of the Halstad .\uto Company and of the electric-light ])lant in that villa.gc.
a former deputx' Indian agent and former grand chief templar of the
Independent Order of Good Templars for Alinnesota. is a native of the
kingdom of Xorway. but has Iieen a resident of Alinnesota and of Norman
count}- since he was about seven years of age. He was born near tltc
city of Trondhjem, a seajxirt tow 11 of Xorwa}-, at the mouth of the Xid,
Alav 7, 1874, son of I'. J. and Jonette (Moen) Xygaard, both natives
of that country, the former of whom is now living at Halstad. an lionored
pioneer resilient <jf Xorman count}-.
P. J. X'vgaard was trained as a car])enter in his native land. He mar-
278 CI. AY AXD XORMAX COL' NTIF.S, MIXXESOTA.
ried on April 9, i860, and continued to make liis home at Trondhjem until
1881, when he came to the United States with his family and proceeded on
out to Minnesota, settling in Hendrum township. Xorman countv, among
tile e.'irly settlers ot" that part of the county. In 1883. upon the estahlish-
nient of the station at Halstad. he moved there and has ever since been a
resident of that village. He lias one of the hrst houses built at Halstad
and. in his xocation as a carpenter, did much of the building there at an
early day. On .\pril (). i<;io. !'. |. .Xygaard and his wife celebrated the
hftietb anniversary of their marriage, the "golden wedding" celebration
being the occasion of a joyful gathering of the family and about si.xty
guests. Of their seven surviving children there were si.x present, besides
forty-three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. In the Nygaard fam-
ily there are now li\ing the father, P. J. Xygaard, seven children, fifty-one
grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. P. J. Nygaard is a mem-
lier of the United Lutheran church, as was his wife, and their children were
reared in that faith. There were eight of these children, of whom the sub-
ject of this sketch was the seventh in order of birth, the others being:
Lovi.se, Karen. Jacob. Ingeborg. Hansine, Haldor and Ole, all of whom
are living sa\e the last named, who died in 1883.
John P. -Xygaard was seven years of age when his parents came to
this country and be grew to manhood in the \illage of Halstad, where he
still makes bis home. Upon completing the course in the village schools,
he started in as a boilermaker and later worked for a year as a blacksmith
lor the Rush ford Wagon Cf)mpany. He then took employment with Sule-
rud & Lovesnes as a tinner and plumber, and worked for that company for
fourteen years, or until in January, 191 3. when he helped to organize the
1 lalstad .\uto Compan\ at Halstad and has since been manager of the
same, the com[)any doing a general garage and auto-repair business. Mr.
Xygaard also operates the Halstad light plant, which is owned by the Hal-
stad .\uto Company, bor three years he served as president of the village,
two years as trustee of the village board and for two years he served under
William K. Johnson as a deputy Indian agent for this district.
On June 7. 1895, Joli" I'- Xygaard was united in marriage to Jose-
phine Griffin and to this union six children have been born, Esther, Orin,
Elva. Vernon, Edna and John, the latter of whom died in infancy. Mr.
X'ygaard is an ardent and active member of the Independent Order of Good
Templars and has served a term as grand tem])lar for the state of Minnesota,
a work in which he took much interest and in which his earnest efforts in
behalf of temperance were widely felt throughout the state.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 270
JOHN O. HILLESTAD.
The business of the farmer is to make the farm produce the utmost
possible at the lowest cost, and to be certain of a ready cash market for
all that is produced. Thus the farmer who succeeds nowadays must use
both his brain and his brawn. One of the tillers of the soil in Cromwell
township, Clay county, who seems to be both a good planner and a hard
worker is John O. Hillestad, who was born in Norway, July 12, i860. He
is a son of Ole J. and Thora Christina (Hillestad) Hillestad, both natives
i)i Norway, where they grew to maturity, married and established their
home and where the mother still resides, the father dying several years ago.
They never came to America. To these parents eight children were born,
namely: Karin Ellina, John O., Hans, Peter, Sophia (deceased), Martin,
Andrew and Gustav.
John O. Hillestad spent his boyhood in Norway where he attended
school. He came to Minnesota in 1879 and located in Fillmore county,
where he remained four years, working as a farm laborer. He came to
Clay county in 1883, driving up here with three horses and a buggy. He
continued to work out on farms until 1887, when he moved on his present
farm, in Cromwell township, as a "squatter," later buying the land from the
railroad, when it was placed on the market. He worked hard improving the
place, built a house and outbuildings and by perseverance and good man-
agement has succeeded as a general farmer and stock raiser and now owns
two hundred and forty acres. He not only has exceptionally fine farm
buildings, but a large and inviting grove surrounding them. Mr. Hillestad
has become one of the substantial men of affairs in his township and is
a director in the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Company at Hawley.
which he helped organize. Fie is also a stockholder and director in the Lake
Park and Cuba b'ire Insurance Company.
On December 24, 1884, Mr. Hillestad was married to Stena Maria
Nelson, a native of Norway and a daughter of Andres Nelson and Helga
(Flyhus) Eck. the former a native of Sweden and the latter of Norway.
Thev came to .\merica in 1883, coming directly to Minnesota, and at once
located in Parke township. Clay county, where they bought an eighty-acre
farm, on which they established the family's future home, and there sjient
the rest of their lives. Their family consisted of four children, namely :
Jennie, who came to Wisconsin in 1S80, later came to Clay county, Minne-
sota, where her death occurred some time ago; Siena Maria, wife of the
28o tXAY AND NORMAN CULNTIES. MINNESOTA.
subject of this sketcli; Ingeborg-. deceased; and Carrie, tlie youngest. The
eldest daugliter came to .America alone, but the three younger children came
with their parents in 1883. To Mr. and Mrs. Hillestad ten children have
l)een born, namely; Oscar, .\lbert (deceased), Tilda, Henry, John, Sarah.
Edwin, Carl. William and Ida (deceased).
Politically, .Mr. Hillestad is an 'Tndependent." He has .served as town-
ship supervisor and was township assessor for a period of fifteen years.
-\s a public servant he has performed his duties ably and acceptably. He
;inil his faniilv are meniliers of the Lutheran church.
EUGENE J. HERRINGER.
Eugene J. Herringer, abstractor and real-estate dealer, of Ada, former
auditor of Norman county, former mayor and former clerk of Ada and one
of the best-known and most progressive citizens of that city, is a native of
Canada, but has been a resident of Ada since he was eighteen years of age.
Upon completing his .schoolintj- in the public schools of his native
province of Ontario, Eugene J. Herringer came to Minnesota and in Ma>',
1882, located at .\da, where he ever since has resided. Upon his arrival
there he secured employtnent as a meinber of Norman county's excellent
teaching corps and for eight years sjjcnt his winters teaching school, the
summers being employed at various forms of clerical labor. He then was
engaged in the office of the auditor of Norman county and servetl as deputy
county auditor for six years, at the end of wdiich time he was elected county
auditor. In the succeeding election he was re-elected to that ofifice thus
served for eight years as auditor of the county. Upon the completion of
his term of public service Mr. Herringer engaged in the abstracting busi-
ness as a partner in the Norman County -Abstract Company and about 1908
became sole proprietor of the business of that company, which he since has
conducted alone, at the same time giving his attention to his flourishing
real-estate business, long having Ijeen recognized as one of the leading realty
dealers in this part of the state.
In addition to his considerable term of service in the court house, Mr.
Herringer also has performed valuable service in behalf of the city of .\da.
For five years he .served as clerk of that city and he also has served a term
as mayor of the city, in all his public acts doing all in his power to advance
the growing interests of his home city.
KlCiKNlO .T. lIKUKI.XGKi:
"HE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
LEnex
^••D \TtONS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 28 1
CHARLES J. CEDERBERG.
There came to our great western plains some tliree decades ago, "a
youth to fortune and to fame unknown," Charles J. Cederberg, who, by
perseverance and good management has become one of the progressive farm-
ers of Highland Gro\e township. Clay county. He was liorn in Sweden.
Movember 30, 1859, and is a son of Carl Cederberg and wife, fitting men-
tion of whom is made in the sketch of August Cederberg, which appears
on another page of this work.
Charles J. Cederberg grew to manhood in Sweden and there attended
the public schools. He also attended school a while after coming to the
New World, for which he set sail from his native shores when twenty-tive
vears of age. He came directly to Minnesota, arriving in the village of Haw-
ley, Clay county, in March, 1884. He worked as a farm liand in that vicinity
for two years, during which time he made his home in Hawley. He saved
his earnings and in 1886 purchased the farm on which he has since made
his home, the place consisting of eighty acres in Highland Grove town-
shii). He has increased his holdings to two hundred acres, which he has
bnniglit up to a high state of cultivation and improvement, putting up an
excellent group nf buildings, and has been quite successful as a general
farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Cederberg helped organize the Earmers Ele-
vator Company at Hawley and was elected first president of the same, serv-
ing thus two years; remaining a director until 1917, and a heavy stock-
holder. He was also the .second president of the company, which |)osition
he occupied two years, and did much for the successful growdi of the same.
Mr. Cederberg was married on December 31, 1886. to IngelHDrg West-
lierg, a nati\e of Sweden, where she si)ent her childhood. She came to
America aknit 1882, taking up her residence at Hawley. To this mar-
riage two children were born, Jennie and Selma. In iSq.). Mr. Cederberg
was married again, his second wife being known in her maidenhood as
Johanna Danielson, also a native of Sweden, in which country she grew to
womanhood, immigrating to the United States in 1894 and coming directlx-
to Hawlev, Minnesota. Two children have been bom to this second union,
.\lma and Alice.
Politically, Mr. Cederberg is independent. He helped organize the
school district in which he resides and has been a member of the school
1)oard ever since. He was elected township supervisor in 1888 and has
continued a niemljer of the board e\cr since, with the excei^tion of about
282 CI.AV AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
three years ; chairman of the same chiring- the past eighteen years, w ilh
the exception of the year 1916, when he was prevented from serving on
account of illness. As a public servant -Mr. Cederherg has always performed
his duties in an able, faithful and highly acceptable manner, for he has
at heart the best interests of his community, which he always seeks to
promote in every legitimate w'ay.
CHARLES B. ROMKEY.
Charles B. Romkey, a substantial and progressive farmer of Clay county,
justice of the peace in and for Riverton township, former chairman of the
township IxDard, former treasurer of the school board, and in other ways
identified with public affairs, is a native of the state of Iowa, but has been
a resident of this part of Minnesota for more than twenty years. He was
born on January 4, 1873, near Burlington, Iowa, a son of Conrad D. and
Catherine Romkey, natives respectively, of Prussia and of Hessen Darm-
stadt.
Conrad D. Romkey had a somewhat varied career. When yet not
more than a mere boy he was with Xapoleon some few years before the
final defeat of that great soldier, .\nother member of the Romkey family,
a brother of Conrad D., had also military tastes and was one of Emperor
William's body guards. Conrad Romkey immigrated to the United States
in 1822. coming on to Defiance. Ohio, where he owned land and operated a
lioat yard for several years. In 1854 he moved to Iowa, had a fine farm
of land and continued the work of the farm for the remainder of his acti\e
life. He was regarded as an excellent farmer and he and his wife were
acti\e and influential residents of the district in which they had made their
homes. Both lived to good ages. Conrad Romkey dying in 1880 and his
widow in 1909. both deaths occurring at Burlington, Iowa. Mrs. Rom-
key owned one-half of a section of land in Riverton township. Clay county.
They were the parents of the following children : Frank C, deceased ; John
H.. deceased: Edward W.. married; Emma, married; Carrie E., married:
Sarah, married ; Anna, married, and Charles B., the subject of this sketch.
Charles B. Romkey was educated in the public schools of Iowa and was
reared on his father's farm, where he helped in the labors of the same for
several years. He is quite a machinist, having operated several threshing-
machine outfits and assisted also in the contract work on the Northern
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 283
I'acific recentl}-. He has been a resident of Clay connty for upwards of
twenty years and is recognized throughout the township as one of the most
progressive and substantial farmers in the district in which he resides. He
is now the owner of four hundred and si.xty-five acres of prime land,
located in sections 9, 16 and 17. Riverton townsiiip. Mr. Romkev carries
on general farming and since the commencement of his operations he has
been t(uite successful, everything about his holdings being in excellent con-
dition. He has carried out many \aluable improvements at considerable
e.xpense, and his farming is managed according to modern methods of a.gri-
culture. thus ensuring a maximum of profitable results.
In the summer of 1897 Charles B. Romkev was united in marria,ge
to Xellie M. Miller, who was born in Burlington, Iowa, in 1876. To this
union two children ha\"e been b(irn, Horace C, aged seventeen, and Alargaret
C. aged thirteen. .Mr. and Mrs. Romkey take a proper interest in the
general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful factors
in the promotion of all causes having for their object the common good
of people ;ui(l district. .Mr. Romkey served as postmaster at Stockwood,
for many years, giving general satisfaction to the patrons in the discharge
of the duties of the office. He was chairman of the township board for three
years: was treasurer of the district school board for six years, and is at
present serving as justice of the peace. In many other ways also he has
given of his time and energy to the interests of the public.
PROF. SE\'ERT O. T.\XG.
Prof. Seven ( ). Tang, superintendent of schools of Clay county and
one of the best-known and most influential citizens of Moorhead, is a native
of the neighboring state of Wisconsin, but has been a resident of Minne-
sota since he was two }'ears of age, and is therefore as much a Minnesotan
as one "native and to the manner born". He was born at Wauzeka, in
Crawford county, \Msconsin, .\ugust 26, 1866, son of Ole and Sophia
(Guam) Tang, natives of the kingdom of Norway, who came to this coun-
tr\- in i8(')_> and ])n)ceeded on out to Wisconsin, settling first at Stougli-
ton. in that state, and after spending the siunmer there moved to Madison,
the capital of the state, where they remained for four years. .\t the end
of that period they mo\ed to Wauzeka, where they remained until 1868, \v
which \ear thev came o\-er intfi Minnesota and located at Albert Lea. where
284 CI.AY AND XOKMAN COl ' N 11 ICS. M I X Nl'.SOTA.
lliey resided until 1878. wlit-ii ilif\ came up into tliis part of tlie state and
located in Lake Park townsliip. Becker county. A year later they moved
over into Clay county and Mr. Tani^- lioniesteaded a tract of eightv acres in
legion township, where he estahlished his home and where he and his wife
spent the remainder of their li\es, honored pioneers of that section of the
county. Ole Tans;- was a substantial farmer, and he added to his homestead
tract until he became the owner of a tine farm of twi) hundred acres, which
is now owned by his .son, I'rofessor Tant,'. (^le Tani^- ;ind wife were the
l)arents of twelve children, of whom six are still living', those Ijesides I'm
fessor Tang being: Susan, who marrie<l O. X. Larson: .\min. who nianie<l
L. N. Larson, and Henry .M.. .Si>phia and Christian.
Severt C). Tang was but two years of age when his ])arents mmed
from Wisconsin to .\lbert Lea. this state, and was about thirteen years
of age when they came up here and settled in Clay county. He completed
the common-school course in the grade<l schools at Lake Park and then
began teaching school, rendering service in the school roc)in during the
winters and continuing a valuable aid in the labors of improving and develop-
ing the home farm during the summers. He was thus engaged for two
years, at the end of which lime he entered the State Normal School at
Moorhead and was graduated froni that institution in t8()6, meanwhile
continuing his teaching- service, thus working his way through the Xornial
school. Following his gra(luati(jn, he continued teaching and, after three-
years of service in the district school, was hired as grade teacher of the
schools at Hawley. where he remained one year and then accepted the
position of principal of the schools at Auburn. There he remained for
three years, at the end of which time he was made principal of the schools
at Xew York .Mills and was thus engaged when, in 19CH9. he was elected
superintendent of the schools of Clay county, with his office at Moorhead.
I'pon the expiration of that term of service two years later. Professor Tang
was made principal of the consolidated .schools at Comstock and was thus
engaged there for two years and six months, at the end of which tinu- he
transferred his services to the new consolidated schools at Oak Mound, i le
was engaged as principal of the schools last named when, on January o.
19 1 4, he was appointed to fill an unexnired term in the office of superin-
tendent of schools of Clay county and thus resumed his former official
position. He then was elected county superintendent for a term of foiu'
years and is still serving in that important public capacity, long having
been regarded as one of the leading schoolmen in this part of the state. In
addition to his official duties. Professor Tang retains an active interest in
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 285
Ilis farming- operations and is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred
and forty acres in Eglon township, having added to the old home farm,
which he owns, a tract of forty acres. During his residence in Eglon tow ii-
shij), he served for five years as assessor of that township and also served
for twehc years as justice of the peace in and for that township.
On July K), 191^), T'rof. Severt O. Tang was united in marriage lo
Jennie Ronning. a former teacher in the schools of Clay county. Pro-
fessor and Mrs. Tang are memhers of the Norwegian Lutheran church and
take an earnest interest in church work, as well as in the general good
work'- of the communitw iiclpful in advancing all worthy causes hereabout.
A. T. XORBY.
.\. J. Xorhy, merchant and banker at Ilitterdal. was born in Norway
DU Januarv 12, 1867, a son of John G. and 'iliorena (Akre) Norby, bodi
natives of that country. John G. Norby came to America in the spring of
iH()j and located for one \ear in .Vllamakee county, Iowa. He then came
to Minnesota, and for three years lived in Fillmore count\ . In 1871 he
nio\ed to Becker countv and located on a farm two and one-half miles
west of Lake Park, where he made hi'-- home until his death, which occurred
on ^Larch 17. 1913. He owned two hundred and seventy acres at the time
of his death. He was the father of ten children: G. J. Norby: Louise,
who married C K. I'.keru : L. J., L. M.. \. J.. Henry (who died at the age
of thirty-five). Hannah. Martin. William and Hilda. Mr. Norby was a
member of the Norwegian church.
A. J. Norby was educated in the [jublic schools of Lake Park, and
worked on his father's farm until his marriage, in the summer of 1892.
In that year he mo\-ed to Moorhead and was engaged in the general grocery
business there until the spring of igi6. In that year he moved to Hitter-
clal, opened uj) a general u-ierchandise store there and has been engaged in
this business since. He is a successful business man and is ii-iterested in
ihe promotion of ])nsiuess enterprises. He was one of die organizers of
("lav County State Hank, of Hattcrd:il, and is at present one of the direc-
tors of this bank.
In 1892 Mr. Xorln- was married to I'lorence May Peck, daughter of
\l. A. Peck, of Lake Park. Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Norby have four
children: Sarah. Myrtle. Corrall and Lucile. They are members of the
Svnod Lutheran church. Mr. Norbv is a member of the Yeoman lodge.
286 CLAY AND NOUMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
CHRISTIAN NICKLAV.
Christian Xicl<Iay, a proniinent and well-to-do farmer and owner of
a fine farm of four hundred and forty acres of land in Barnesville town-
ship. Clay county, treasurer of the township board for the lon.sj period of
thirty-two years and treasurer of the district school hoard for l\ventv-t\vo
years, was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, March r, 1861, a son of John
and Susan ( Birk ) Xicklay, both of whom were natives of Germany and
who immigrated to the United States while still young.
John Xicklay was born in Germany in 1833 and was educated in the
schools of that country, coming to America when about twelve vcars old.
He moved from lUitifalo county. Wisconsin, to .Minnesota in 187c), driving-
two teams: leaving Buffalo on May i, that year, and arriving at Barnes-
ville, Clay coimty. at the end of twenty-eight days. He immediately home-
steaded a farm in section 14. Barnesville township, and shortlv afterward
took a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres, south of Barnesville. Mr.
Xicklay proceeded at once to break u[> his land and get it into a state lit
for the |)lanting of crops and presently had things well luuler way, his
labors from the very start being successful. He continued to operate hi>
land for the remainder of his active life and died in Xovember, 1897. at
the age of sixty-four years. His wife. Susan Birk. also was a native of
(iermany. born in that country in 1835. She came to America when eighteen
years old and four year;> after her arrival was married in Dane countv.
Wisconsin, to John Xicklay. They were the parents of the I'ollowing chil-
dren : Christian, the subject of this sketch ; Jacob, a farmer in l?arnesville
township: .Anna, married and living in the state of Washington: Peter, in
Humboldt township: l.izzie. married, living in Montana: William, a rail-
road engineer, and John, a railroad conductor. The mother of these children
died in 1905.
Chri-stian Xicklay was educated in the i)ublic schools of Dane countv.
Wisconsin, and in 1879 accomnanied his father to Clay county, and worked
on the farm of the latter until he was twenty-three years old, at which
time he made his first purchase of land. He bought eighty acres in Barnes-
ville township and commenced the life of a farmer on his own account and
as he prospered in his labors he continued to add to his holdings and
is now the owner oi four hundred ;uid forty acres of excellent land in
sections 11, 14 and 15. Mr. Xicklay has carried out many valuable improve-
ments and his farms are now classed among the best in that section of
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 287
Clay county, he being accounted one of the substantial and progTessi\e
farmers of the township.
On January 9, 1890, at Mankato, this state. Christian Nicklay was
united in marriage to Anna Bruels, who was born on August 4, 1868, in
Blue Earth county, Minnesota. To this union the following children have
been born: George, Leo (married), Mary (married), Catherine, Dora,
Anton, rVed, Francis (deceased), Edmond, Mathilda and Mildred (twins)
and Olivia. The family are members of the Catholic church of Barnesville
and are active in support of all its good works. Mr. Nicklay is a member
of the Catholic Order of Foresters. He served as treasurer of the town-
ship board for thirty-two years and has been treasurer of the district school
board for twenty-two years, and in these representative public positions has
rendered valuable service to the people of the district.
EDWARD ALBERTS.
The Inisiness of the farm ;ni(l ihe business of farming, while in many
jioints analogous, are in realit\- (|uite distinctive. The former carries with
it the consideration of dollars and cents in the employment of labor, the
outlay of capital on buildings and improvements; the cost of raising crops,
as against the revenue received after harvesting and sale, the maintenance
and repair of machinery and implements, and the saving to be made possible
if improved machinery be installed on the farm. One of the citizens of
Cromwell township. Clay county, who understands all phases of farming
is Edward Alberts.
Mr. Alberts was born in (ioodhne county, Minnesota, November 30,
1 868. He is a son of Klaus and Margaret (Bauman) Alberts, both natives
of Germany, from which country they came to America when young and
sina-le After their marriage thev located in Goodhue county, Minnesota,
where they made their h<jme for al)out fifteen years, then moved to Dodge
county, this state, where they spent the rest of their lives on a farm. Their
family consisted of eleven children, all of whom survive at this writing
but one daughter, namely: George, William, Hiram, Mary, Edward, Kale,
Ida (deceased), Margaret, Elizabeth, Frank and T'.enjamin.
Edward Alberts grew to manhood on the home farm and attendetl the
public schools in Dodge county, this state. There he l)egan farming for
himself. In the spring of 1899 he came to Clay county and located on
j88 clav and xouman couxtif.s, mixnesota.
the farm on which lie still resides, in Cromwell township, and here he
has been very successful as a .general farmer and stock raiser. His place
consists of three hundred and twenty acres. Me has erected an excellent
sroup of l)uildiiigs and everything al)out the place is kept in shipshajje.
indicating the good taste of the owner. He raises a large quantity of grain,
much of which he feeds to live stock, preparing a number of carloads
of stock annually for the markets, and is one of the l)est-known stockmen
in Cromwell and adjoining townships. He was one of tlie organizers oi
the Hawlev T-ive Stock .Shipping Association an<l is a member of the l)oar;l
of directors of the same.
On March 7. 1894. lulwanl .\lberts was married to I"~liza Carter, win.
was born at Winona. Minnesota, a daughter of Harry and Sarali May
Carter, natives of Devonshiie. h'.ngland. where they married. They came
to America in 1875 and located at A\inona, Minnesota. Mr. Carter died
there in 1879 and his widow now resides in Mantorville, Minnesota.
Seven children ha\e been born to Mr. and Mrs. Alberts. Guy, Ralph,
Esther, Russell (deceased). .Marjorie. Lloyd and Miklred. Mr. .Mberts
is a Republican and is township supervisor. He belongs to the Union church
at Hawlev.
I':i)\\ARl) A. KASSI-:XBORG.
.\nother of the painstaking farmers of Clay county, who has worked
Iiard for the success he has won is Kdward .\. Kassenborg. who owMis a
valuable farm. ])art of which lies in Kragiies town.ship and part in Morken
township. He was born in Houston county, .Minnesota, in rS68, a .son of .\.
G. and Tilda ( Krageness) Kassenborg, natives of Norway, who located
in Houston county in pioneer days and established the family home on a
farm. The following children were born to A. G. Kassenborg and wife:
Mrs. Carolina Rergliu. wlm lives in Moorhead: .Mina .Augusta; Gilbert, who
is unmarried and lives on a farm in Clay county; Mrs. Mary Moe, who
lives in Moorhead: Edward, the subject of this sketch; Eliza, the wife of
[ohn Olnes; Julia, who married Christ Twedten and lives in Crookston,
Minnesota, and Malina, deceased.
Edward A. Kassenborg grew up on the home farm in Houston county,
and there he attended the common schools. He has devoted his life to
general farming and stock raising and has been very successful. He came
to Clav countv as a voung man and is now owner of a well-improved and
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 289
well-cultivated farm of three huiidred and ninety acres, part of which lies
in Kragnes township and part in Morken township. He makes a s]iecialty
(if raising Shorthorn cattle.
On Octoher 15. 1890, Edward .\. Kassenborg was married at Con-
cordia church, Clay county, to Christina Kragnes, who was born in 1871
in Houston county, this state. She is a daughter of Levi and Sarah (Oleson)
Kragnes, natives of Xorway, the father born in 1837. They came to Minne-
sota in an early day and located on a farm in Houston county. The father
died in 1900. His widow is still living on the homestead in Houston count} .
being now seventv-three years old. There were fourteen children in this
family, eleven of whom are now living.
Eleven chiklren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kassenborg-, namely:
Dora, the eldest: Aha, at home; Mabel, who is working as a bookkeeper
in St. Luke's Hospital at Fargo: Louise and Selvene, twins; Elmer, Florence,
Edna, Bennie, Gilbert and Ernest. They all live at home but the three
elder children.
Politically, Mr. Kassenborg is a Republican. He served as Irea.surer
of the school board in district No. 103, and was a director on the lioard for
a period of twenty }ears.
MONS 1. WANGEN.
Anv man who works on the land, who feeds a field and watches the
result, gains a real fundamental knowledge of the underlxing foundation
on which rests all our civilization. Tt makes him a sober man, a thoughtful
man ; and, if he experiments wisely, a hopeful optimist. Such a man is
Mons J. Wangen, a farmer of S])ring Prairie township. Clay county. He
was born in Norway on Septemlier i, 1851. He is a son of Johanas Mon-
son and Carrie ( Aslaksdater) Wangen, both natives of Norway, where
they grew to maturity, married and established their future home. They
never came to America and died in their native country. He was a car-
])enter by trade. To these parents seven children were born.
Mons J. Wangen grew to manhood in Norway and there he attended
the common schools. As a young man he learned the carpenter's trade
under his father and in due course of time became an expert workman. He
came to America about 1871, locating in Goodhue county, Minnesota, where
he spent six vears. then came to Clay county with Ole G. l-'arsdale. a sketch
(19a)
290 CLAY AND XdKMAN COl'XTIKS, MINNESOTA.
(if whom appears elsewhere in tins work. .\flcr lonkini; uver tliis sec-
ticm of the state Mr. Wangeii took up a homestead of one hundred :uid
sixty acres in section t,2. Spring Prairie town.sliip. wliich was the tn-'-t
liomestead in tliat townsliip. He was therefore the first ])ioneer in this
locaHty, and lie endured the usual hardshijis and privations incitlent td lite
on the frontier in those days, hut he persevered, worked hard and has suc-
ceeded, remaining- here ever since. He has hrought his place up to a
high slate of improvement and cultivation and has huilt a cozy home and such
.luthuildings as his needs require. He set out a large grove which is now
\ery attractive, lie hegan with nothing, hut he has forged ahead unaided
and is now verv comfortably situated. He passed through the lean yea'-s
with hope for better times ahead, which finally came.
On March 17. 1876. in Goodhue county. Mr. Wangen was married
to Aiuta Olson, a native of Trogenlien. Norway, and a daughter of Ole
Irneson and Anna I'eterson, also natives of Norway, who died there. Mr.s.
Wangen came to .America in 1S74. To Mr. and Mrs. Wangen seven chil-
dren have been born, namely: Caroline, John (deceased); Anna, wife of
William Moore, of (dyndon; a son who died in infancy; Oscar and two
daughters who died in infancy.
Mr. Wangen is a Republican and has taken an active interest in local
public affairs from the first. He heli)ed organize Spring Prairie township
and was one of the first members of the township board. He l^elongs to
the Lutheran church and built the church, donating his labor to the congre-
gation.
H. C. POSSEHL.
H. C. Possehl. fanner and potato dealer of near Baker, in the southern
jjart of Clav countv. and former postmaster at Baker, was born in Cook
countv, Illinois. May 24. 1871. He is a son of Fred and Minnie (Schlede)
Possehl, both natives of Germany, where they spent their earlier years. The
father immigrated to America about t86i. locating in Dupage county, Illi-
nois, where he worked out the first few years, then rented a farm. He con-
tinued farming in that state, mostlv in Cook county, until 1892, when he
moved to Franklin county, Iowa, where he farmed .seven or eight years.
then retired from active life, locating in the town of Latimer, Iowa. In
igri he moved to Minnesota, locating at Baker, where he has since lived
retired. His wife died some \ears ago. Fred Possehl started out with lit-
"~ CLAY AND XORMAX COINTIES. MINNESOTA. 29I
tie capital, but bv perseverance lie became \er\- conifurtably establisheil
through his own efforts. His family consisted of the following children:
Sophia, Emma (deceased), Herman. H. C. Fred, Martha. Louis and Minnie.
H. C. Possehl grew to manhood in Illinois and there he attended the
puljlic schools, in Dupage county. He worked with his father on the fariu
when a boy and when a young man he began farming for himself in iM-ank-
lin county, Iowa, and became tlie owner of eighty acres there, where he
remained until i()0_'. when he moved to Minnesota and bought the L. H.
Uaker farm of two hundred and lifty acres adjoining the townsite of Baker,
and in the following year he bought the general store from Mr. Baker
and conducted the saiue with ever-growing success from 11)03 ""t'' ")'.t-
enjoying a large trade with the peojile of the surrounding country, and
carrying an extensive and well-selected stock. He also served as postiuastcr
at the town of Baker during that period, giving entire satisfaction to the
])eople and the department. While po.stmaster he was (jne of the princi])al
jiromoters of the rural mail n^ute out of Baker. He subse(|uently bought
the Evans farm of four hundred and eighty acres in section [O of Alliance
toNvnship, and now operates both farms, carrying on general farming and
stcjck raising on an extensive scale: also deals extensively in potatoes, main-
taining a large modern warehouse on the Great Northern tracks at Baker.
Mr. Possehl is also interested in the automobile business at Barnesville.
His land is well improved and he has an attracti\e, modern and well-
appointed home and large, convenient outbuildings, everything al)oul his
place denoting good management, thrift and prosperity. He has been \ery
successful as a business man and is one of the sul)stantial citizens of Cla\'
county, also one of her most public-s]jirited citizens, always doing his
part in furthering movements having for their object the getieral welfare
of his town and county. Mr. Possehl raises a got)d grade of live stock,
preparing large numl)ers for the markets annually, and is regarded as an
excellent judge of stock. He keeps well abreast of the times in all that
pertains to modern agriculture.
On January 15. 191 1. Mr. Possehl was married to Rosa IJutenhoff.
who was born at Franklin. Iowa, .September 18. 1880, a daughter of .August
Butenhoft" and wife, natives of (iermany. To Mr. and Mrs. Possehl the
following children have been born: Edward. Arthur, Rudcilph. Morence,
Clara and Adaline.
Mr. Possehl is a Republican and has served as town.shi]) supervisor,
l-'or a i)eriod of fourteen years he also was a meiuber of the local school
board. He lielongs to the German Lutheran church, to which his parents
292 CLAY AND NOKM.W Col" Xll l-.S. .MINXKSOTA.
also belonged. He is a man of nnqnestioned honesty ami his lielpful. yenial
and neighborly characteristics have made him popular with all whom ho
has come in contact.
AUGUST FISCHER.
Angnst Fischer, a retired lumberman of Georgetown. Cla)' county, was
bom in the province of Ontario, Canada, December 14, 1854, a son of
b'idilias and Celia (Gould) Fischer, both natives of Germany, where thev
spent their earlier years. h'idilias b'ischer was a civil engineer and was
\ery proficient in bis line. He immigrated to Canada when a young man.
establi.shing his future home in Ontario, where he spent the rest of his
life. His famil\- consisted of eight children, namely : .\ugust. Mary, Pauline,
Lucas, John, Lena, George and Eliza.
August Fischer grew to manhood in his native community and there
attended the common schools. As a young man he learned the carpenter's
trade, becoming an expert in the same, and he followed that vocation until
he was twenty-eight years old. He left Canada in 1881 and came to Min-
nesota, locating at Georgetown, Clay county, and has l^een there ever since.
He has seen the ct)untry develoj) from a sparsely settled and little developed
stretch of wild plains to its present high state of cultivation and improve-
ment during his residence here of thirty-six years. He was local manager
of the W. H. White Lumber Company for twenty-seven years, his long
retention in this responsible position indicating that he gave eminent satis-
faction to his cmijloyers, being able, faithful and reliable, ffe carried on
an extensive trade with the people of this section of the state and kept
an up-to-date and well-ecpiipped lumber yard. He resigned his position
in 1915 and retired from the lumber business, and soon thereafter opened
a billiard hall in connection with a soda fountain and owns the fixtures and
liuildin^. He has met with success in this new venture anil his place is very
popular. He is living practically retired and merely oversees his business.
In 1883 Mr. Fischer was married to Mary Hoffman, a native of Michi-
gan, who was reared in North Dakota, where she attended the common
schools. She is a daughter of John and Grace (Schuler) Hoffman, natives
of Germany. John Hoffman was a brewer in Germany for about fifteen
years. He nuned to North Dakota in 1877 and took up a homestead. Both
he and his wile are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. l-'ischer the following
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 293
children ha\e lieen liorn; Clara. Alary, Kdward, August, Jr., Fred, Frank,
Herbert, William and Claude.
Air. Fischer is a Democrat. He served as justice of the peace for four
years, as \-illage treasurer for four years, as health commissioner for si.v
years and as clerk of his school district for thirteen years. Fie has been
acti\e and influential in public affairs since locating at Georgetown and as
a public serxant he has discharged his duties in an able and conscientious
manner. He is a member of the Catholic church, in which lie was reared.
JOFIX H. XORTHROP.
John H. Xorthroi), farmer and grain Inner of (jeorgetow n. Clay county,
was tjorn in Allegan count}, Michigan, May i8, 1863. Fie is a son nf
Stephen and Mary (Osterhout) Xorthrop. The father was a native of
the state of Xew York and when young he went to Allegan county, Michi-
gan, where he engaged in farming until 1882, when he removed with bi-^
family to Minnesota, and settled on a farm in Moland tnwnship, Clay
county, where he continued farming until 1885, in which year he moved
to Aitkin county, this state, and there he sjjent the rest of his life on a
farm. His wife died in 1873. Their family consisted of five children,
Charles, .\lhert, .Mice, Jdbu IF and May, the last named of whom dieil
when she was a child.
John H. Northrop grew tcj manhood nn the farm in .Mlegau county.
Michigan, being eighteen years old when lie came with tlie family to Min^
nesota. He received his education in the rural schools near Troy, Michi-
gan. During the crop seasons he worked with his father raising the vari-
ous crops adapted to this latitude. When nineteen years old he began
farming for himself in Kragnes township. Clay county, and he has con-
tinued general a.gricultural pursuits ever since, raising grain and live stock
and his efforts have been amply rewarded. In r88c) he moved to Cass
county, X'^orth Dakota, just across the river from Clay county, remaining
tliere until 1903. when he movdl back to Clay county, locating at George-
town and this has been his place of residence ever since. Since 1902 he
has been local manager of the St. .Vnthony elevator and has built u\) a
large and growing business with the surrounding country, making this one
of the leading and pupular ele\ators in the county. He is owner of two
hundred and twentv acres of \ahiable and well-impn i\ed land in section
2(J4 I I.AV AM) XdKMAX COUN'TIES. M IN N'KSOTA.
30. GeorgetDwii towiishii). l)ut lu- maintains liis residence in tlie \illage.
where he lias a comtortahle lionie.
.Mr. Xiirthro]) was married in iS(/) tn Helle Xortin-uii, who was Ixirn
at Dowagiac, Michigan, a danghter of Charles 1). and Charlotte ( Sarbner )
Xorthro]). natives of that same place. Mr. Xorlhrop is a Democrat and
is the present jiresident of the town council of Crcorgetown. He has done
mucli in hnilding up his home town, whose interests he has e\er had at
heart, ever seeking to promote tiie same along all legitimate lines. In his
fraternal relations Mr. Xorthro]) is a mcmher of the Modern P.rotherhood
of .\merica.
U.\Xl)()l.ril M. WELM.
Randolph M. W'eum, a successful merchant at Georgetown, Clay county,
and postmaster of that village, was born in Xorway. March 2/. 1879. He
is a son of Mons \'. and Johanna ( Landgaad ) W'eum. natives of Xorway,
where the\ li\ ed and died. They w ere i)arents of six children, namelx' ;
I'lllen. lidward. .\likel, John. Randolph M. and Jennie.
lvaudoli)h M. \\ eum grew to manhood in Xorway and there he received
a common-school education. He immigrated to America in 1900 and located
;it Gardener, Cass county. .Xorth Dakota, just across the Red River of the
.Xorth from Clay county, Minnesota, and there he worked out as a farm
hand for two years, in the crop seasons, laming the w inter time he attended
Concordia College, at Moorhead. In 1902 he came to Georgetown and
began clerking in the general store of M. T. W'eum and S. S. Dalen. prov-
ing to lie an alert, wide-awake, faithful and reliable emplovee. lie con-
tinued as a clerk, saving his wages and mastering the various ins and outs
of the general-merchandising business luitil 1909. when he purchased a
third interest in the business and has since devoted his attention to the build-
ing up of the store, which is one of the well-known and popular mercantile
estal)lishments of Holy Cross township. He is the only member of the
liini lixing at Georgetown. .A large and carefully selected stack of goods
is carried, including^ everything used by the farmers and citizens of George-
town, The lirni naiue is W'eum. Dalen & Company.
Mr. W'eum has Ijeen postmaster at Georgetown for the jiast nine years
• nid has gixen entire satisfaction in this capacity to both the people of his
community and \o the ])ostoffice department, lieing i)rompt. faithful and
]:ainstaking. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 295
HANS L. JOHNSON.
There is both ])leasure and pmht to be derivetl from farming when
one goes about it in an intelligent and ambitious manner like Hans L.
Johnson, of Cromwell township, Clay county, who has forged his way up
from an early enxininment none too promising by sheer courage and per-
severance.
Mr. Johnson was born in Fillmore county, Minnesota. June 4, 1879.
He is a son of Lewis C. and Karin Ellina (Hillestad) Johnson, both natives
of Norway, from which country they came to America, single, the former
locating in Freeborn county, Minnesota, in 1871. She came to Fillmore
county, this state, in 1873, with her parents, wiio are mentioned on another
page of this work. There she li\-ed with her folks until her marriage.
Lewis C. Johnson was the son of Carl and Johanna (Peterson) Johnson,
natives of Norway. Carl Johnson died in his native land and his widow
came to Minnesota in 1873 and spent the remainder of her life in Fillmore
county. Lewis C". Johnson and family came from Fillmore county to Clay
county in 1882, driving an ox-team to a "prairie schooner." and located
in Cromwell township, where he entered a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres, which be still owns. He put on all improxements, including
an excellent .groU[) of buildings. He has a fine farm of two hundred and
eighty acres. He also owns timber land in Becker county, this state. His
family consists of fi\e children, namely: Johanna, Hans L,, Emma, Ida
and Nora, all of whom are living.
Lewis C. Johnson helped organize the first Lutheran church in his
locality. He also helped organize the Farmers Co-operative Creamery Com-
pany at Hawley, his interest in that concern now being owned liy his son,
TI;ins L. The father has held township c>fiices nearl\- all bis active life.
but is now retired from public life, as well as from active farming. He
organized his home school district and served on the board of the same
for many years, from the time of its organization until be was succeeded
!)}• liis son, the subject of this sketch.
Hans L. Johnson .grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated
in the public schools of Clay county. He worked on the farm with his
father when a bov and started life for himself as a young man by working
in the Evans elevator at Hawley for six years, giving his emplo}'er entire
satisfaction and becoming known as one of the leading grain buyers in this
section of the state. He then took up farming on the old home place
296 CLAY AND NUK.MAN COINTIKS, MINXliSOTA.
in Cronnvell township, whicli he lias since operated with success, carryinj^-
on general farming and stock raising on an extensi\e scale, and keeping
the land well impro\ed and well cultivated. He also owns eighty acres
of good land of his own. Init he lives with his father. Besides general
fanning he raises a large acreage of potatoes each \car. also pays con-
siderahle attention to dairying.
On November 22, 1906, Hans L. John.son was unitcii in marriage to
I'etra Solum, who was horn in Tanseni township, Clay county. M'here she
grew u]) and attended school. She is a daughter of P. P. Sohun and wife,
a sketch of whom will be found on another [)age of this work. Four chil-
dren have been born to Hans L. Johnson and wife, namely: Leon, Harvev.
Orpha and Bertram.
ERNEST FREDERICK KRABBENHOFT.
Ernest J'"rederick Krabbenhoft, chan-man of the board of supervisors
of Elniwood township, one of the most substantial and progressive young
farmers in Clay county and the proprietor of a fine farm of four hundred and
sixty acres in Elmwood township, where he and his family ha\e an admir-
able, modern establishment, is a native son of Clay county, born in the
neighborhood in which he is now living, and has lived there all his life. He
was born on June 10, 1880, son of Wolf C. and Mary (Jensen) Krabben-
hoft, natives of Germany, who became pioneers of Clay county and the
latter of whom is still living on the old home place in Elmwood township.
Wolf Christopher Krabbenhoft was born in the Prussian i)rovince of
Schleswig-Holstein in 1847 and in 1872 came to the United States and pro-
ceeded on out to the Red l\iver country and homesteaded a tract of land in
what later came to be organized as Elmwood township, Clay county, being
the first permanent white settler in that township. He was the eldest son
of his parents and had come to "spy out the land" for the family, who were
desirous of setting up a new home in the land of the free far away to the
west, and in 1874 his parents, W. 1". and Katherine (Jess) Krabbenhoft.
and the fi\e other members of the family joined him here on his home-
stead place, the Krabbenhoft family thus becoming recognized as among
the very early settlers of that part of the county. \\". F. Krabbenhoft bought
the homestead place from his son Wolf and in 1882 sold it to his vounger
son, Henning, who is still living there and a biographical sketch of whom,
together with further details of the .settlement of the Krabbenhoft familv
y.
Eh
V.
e
y.
\.
Wdl.F C. KKAP.r.KNHOFT.
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 29/
in Clay couiitv. is presented elsewliere in this vi:)lume. After selling his
homestead tract \\'olf C. Krabbenhoft bought another iract nearby and
after his marriage in 1878 establislied his home there, continuing to make
that his place of residence the rest of his life, his death occurring there in
May, 1910. He was an excellent farmer and as he prospered he added to
his holdings until he became the owner of eighteen hundretl and eighty
acres of land and was accounted one of the best-circumstanced men in this
part of the state. He had an admirable farm plant, in full keeping with
his extensive operations, one of the features of which was a grain elevator
•of his own. Air, Kral)benhoft's widow is still living on the old home place.
She also was born in German}-, in 1856, Mary Jenson. and has been a resi-
dent of this country since 1867. She has nine children, of whom the subject
of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow:
Mamie, wife of John Connelly, of Glyndon township. Clay count}-; Richard,
who is managing the home farm; Cora, wife of Fred Kuehl, of Glyndon
township: Helen, wife of ^\'illiam W'usson, of Moland township, and Carl,
Otto, Edna and Stella, at home.
Ernest 1*". Kral:)l)enhoft "was reared on the honie farm in Elmwood
township and received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood.
As the eldest son of his father he from the days of his boyhood was a
valued aid in the dex'elopment of the extensive interests created by his father
in connection with the big fan-1-1 and remained at home until his marriage
in the fall of 1910, when he estaljlished his home on the farm on which
he is now- li\-ing, in Elmwood township, and has since made his home there,
he and his family being very comfortably situated. Mr. Krabbenhoft has
a fine farm of four hundred and sixty acres, on which he has made excellent
improvements, including a handsome, modern house electrically lighted and
otherwise ef|uipped for the best comfort and convenience of the family.
Air. Krabbenhoft carries on his farming operations in accordance with up-to-
date methods and is doing verv well. He has for some time given his earnest
attention to local civic ati'airs and is now serving as chairman of the board
of supervisors of Elmwood township, to the duties of which im])ortant office
he gives his most thoughtful and intelligent attention.
On Xovember 9, 19 10, Ernest F. Krabbenhcjft was united in marriage
to Rosalie Schroeder. daughter of Frank Schroeder and wife, and to this
union one child has been born, a son, Ernest Frederick, jr. .Mr. and Mrs.
Krabbenhoft take a proper part in the general social affairs of the commun-
ity in which they live and give their thoughtful attention to all mattei--
having to do with the advancement of the common welfare thereabout. In
298 CI.AV AND XOU.MAX COUXTH-.S. MIXXKSdTA.
tlie Schroeder faiiiil\- tliere are twehe children ; Minnie. l''rank, Rniil, Clara.
Rosalie, Christine, Otto, Henry, Herbert, Walter, Hulda and Margaret, all
nf whom are all living in Clay county. Minnie is the wife of II. G. Wend-
land. postmaster at Sabin. Clara i-~ the wife of Chris Legler. livins; i>n a
farm. I lenr\- m.arrit'd i'dl;i Miller and lives near Moorhead.
IS.V.VC JOXES.
Isaac Jones, a well-known grain buyer of Baker, in the southern part
of Clay county, was l>orn in Jackson county, Iowa, January 30, 1872. He
is a son of William and Rowena Jones, the father a native of Crawford
county. I'ennsyhania. and the mother, of Jackson couiUy. Iowa. Wil-
liam Jones spent his boyhood in his native county in the old Keystone
state and there attended the public schools. When a young man he came
West, locating in Jackson county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until
1880, in which year he came to Minnesota, taking u\) a homestead of one
hundred and sixt\- acres in Clay county, and tree-claiiued one hundred and
sixty acres also, in Elmwood township. He worked hard clearing and de-
\eloping his land, but by perseverance he made a good iiome and there he
followed general farming imtil about 1897, when he rented his land out
and retired from active life, moving to the village of Baker. He subse-
([uently sold his farm to R. X. Lewis. He had been (piite successful during
the last vears of his active life as a farmer and stock raiser. He spent
his la.st days in Baker, his death occurring there in July, 1915. He was
a member of the German Lutheran church, and his wife was a Presbyterian.
To these parents four children were born, namely: Mary, the wife of
I. M. Wright: Hcttie. wife of .\. C. Duke: Isaac, the subject of this sketch,
ami Hannah, who is the youngest child.
Isaac Jones grew to manhood in Jackson county, Iowa, and in l^lmwtjod
township. Clay county. .Minnesota. He attended school in both, and later
attended tlic high school at Barnesville. He grew up on his father's farm
and assisted with the general work, remaining with his father on the farm
until he was about twenty-seven vears old, when he started farming for
himself in Elmwood township, continuing successfully thus engaged until
1910, when he m<ived to Baker and for four years was manager of the
local atTairs of the Anchor Grain Company. Since 1914 he has Ijeen buying
grain for the Red River Seed and Produce Company, and is accounted one
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 299
of the best-known i;raiii liuyers in tliis secti(jn (if the state ;ui(I one of
the best-informed men in liis line. His work in connection with these
two companies lias been entirely satisfactory to the stockholders and rdl
concerned.
On January 25, i<S99, Mr. Junes was married to Ella Lafayette, who
was Ixirn in Iowa and was educated in the public schools. She is a daughter
of James and Elizabeth Lafayette, the former of whom was born at St.
Charles, Illinois, and the latter, at fronton, Ohio. James Lafayette was
a carpenter. He died in June, 1914, at Plummer, Minnesota, at the age
of eighty-four. Iii> widow, who is seventy-eight years of age, is living
with her daughter, Mrs. Jones. T(j Mr. and Mrs. Jones two children have
been tjorn, Hettie and Cdarence. Mr. Jones is a Democrat, but he has never
Ijeen \-ery active in ]iuhh'c attairs. h'raternallv, he belongs to the Masonic
Order and to tlie Independent Order of Odd I'eliows.
.\LBERT il. lOHXSON.
Albert H. Johnson, a farmer of Cromwell township. Clay county, was
born on his father's homestead in Highland Grove township. Clay county.
May 6, 1882. He is a son of Henry and Betse\- (Jensen) Johnson, both
natix'es of Norw'ay, from which conntr\- they came to America in the early
fifties, the parents of each accompanying- them. They all settled in Win-
neshiek county. Iowa, and there the parents of each sjient the rest of their
li\es and died. Henr\ Johnson came to Minnesota, in iS/6, accompany-
ing a ])ig train of wagons to Moorheail. the overland journey requiring
three weeks. He located on a farm in Highland Gro\e township, Clay
county, taking u]) a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in section
18, where he (le\'eloped a farm on which lie iii.ade his Jionie until kjoj,
when he moved to the farm on which his scm. .Mhert H.. now lives, in
Cromwell township. lie became one of the leading public men in Clay
county, and was \ery active in politics. He was a delegate to county, state
and national conventions of the Republican party. During the Civil War
he served in Coni|)any (i. Twelfth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantiy. He
was a memlier of the township lioard in Highland Grc\e township for
many years. He heli)ed organize the creamery at Hitterdal, also the one
at Hawley, and was president of the former for some time. He hel])ed
organize tlie Cniled Lutheran church at Hitterdal. His familv consisted
300 CI, AY AND XDRMAN COVJN'TIKS. MTXN'F.SOTA.
of llie folldwiuif cliildren : Ellen (deceased), Christina. Theodore, Han-
nah (deceased), Matilda (deceased), and Albert H.
Albert II. Johnson grew to manhood on the farm and was educaicd
in the common schools. He remained with his father and helped him with
the general \vnrl< on the farm an<l now operates the home place of one
hundred and sixty acres in Cromwell township. The place was well im-
))roved b\' Iiis father, who erected substantial buildings and l)rought a pvo-
dncti\e farm up from the wild ])rairie sod.
In the fall of 1914 -\lben 11. Johnson was married to Tilda Hillestad.
who was born in Cromwell township. Clay county, where she grew up and
attended school. She is a daughter of John O. Hillestad. a biographical
sketch of wh<im api)ears elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. John-
son two children have been born, namelv : Gundrn and Kaakon. Mr.
Johnson is a Republican and has lieen a member of the school board in
his district and has also served as justice of the peace in a very able and
satisfactory manner.
ANDREW O. HOUGLUM.
.Xndrew O. Ilonglum. auditor of Clay county and one of the best-
known residents of the city of Moorhead, was born in the neighboring
cotinty of Becker and has l)een a resident of Minnesota all his life. He
was born on a pioneer farm in Lake Park township, Becker county, April
19. i<S75, son of Ole A. and Ragnhild (Sande) llouglum. natives of Nor-
way, who came to Minnesota about 1867 and located in Goodhue county,
whence, in 187 1. they came over to this part of the state and settled on a
homestead farm in Lake Park township. Becker county, among the lirst
settlers of that ])art of the county, and there established their home. Ole
.\. llouglum s])ent his last days on that homestead farm and after his
death his widow moved to the \illage of Lake Park, where her last days
were spent.
Reared on the homestead farm on which he was born. Andrew O.
Houglum com])leted his schooling in the high school at Lake Park and
for two years taught school in his home county. He then entered a busi-
ness college at Minneajjolis and was graduated from the same in 1897.
after which for a .short time he was engaged as a clerk in a store at Min-
neapolis. He then returned to Lake Park, where he was engaged as a
bookkeejier f<ir three \ears, at the end of which time he was appointed to
CLAY A\D NOUMAX COUNTIES, JIINNESOTA. 3OI
the position ot deputy auditor uf Clay county and nicived to Moorhead.
where he since has made his home. For eight years Mr. Houglum oc-
cupied the position of deputy county auditor and during that time made
sucli an achiiirable record for pubhc service that he was elected counix-
audit<ir and has since been retained in that ofifice by the people of the c<iunt\,
his successi\-e elections never ha\ing jjeen contested. In aildition to his
official connection Mr. Houglum also has an interest in the Houglum l*"ur-
niture Cfjmpany. of Moorhead. and is a member of the Moorhead Com-
mercial Club. He has for years given close attention to the affairs of
the County Auditors Association of this state, was formerly treasurer of
tlie same and is nnw a member of the committee of that association engaged
in the labor of codifying and revising the laws relating to drainage. Mr.
Houglum from the da\s of his youth has enjoyed singing, is an active
member of t!ie Xnrrona Singing Society, of which for two years he was
president, and is vice-president of the Scandinavian Singers Association
of the Red l^iver Valley. He is a member of the local lodges of the Modern
Woodmen of .\mcrica and of the Royal Arcanum. He is now in the mili-
tary service of the United States, having first served as one of the three
members of the registration board for Clay count}-, and is now a commis-
sioned member of the local board for said county in connection with the
military draft.
In 1905 Andrew (). Houglum was united in marriage to Sophia Ebel-
toft, daughter of I'eter Ebeltoft and wife, of Lake Park, and to this union
four children ha\e been born, Celest, who died at the age of four years,
antl Muryel, X'irgic and Audrey. Mr. and Mrs. Houglum are members
of the I'nited Lutheran church.
OLAL'S OLSON.
The viewpoint of the twentieth-century farmer has changed greatly
with his increased knowledge and he has discarded many of the early-day
methods of tilling the soil One thing he lias learned to bear in mind is that
it is often (|uite as impcirtant to do a thing at the right time as it is to do
it at all. One of tlie careful farmers of Highland Grove township, Cla\-
county, is Olaus Olson, who was Ijoni in Detroit townshi]), Becker county.
Minnesota, December 13, 1872.
Mr. Olson is a son. of Ole D. and Ragna ( Ingebrightsdatter ) Olson.
302 CLAY AND XoKMAX COlXTir.S. M I X N" i:S()TA.
liulh natives oi Hallingdale, Xorway. when.' tliev ijrcw to maturity, mar-
ried and continued to reside until in May, 1S7J, the father proceeding directly
{o Becker county, Minnesota, but the mother spent a few months in St.
i'aul l)efore joining him there. His brother, Christ Olson, preceded him
to Becker county b}' ti\e \ears. Christ is now a resident of Lake I'ark.
Ole D. Olson took up a homestead in section 8, Cuba township, Becker
county, in 1873 and there he has since made his home. His wife died on
the homestead there, January 14, hji<k He has developed an excellent
t'arm from the wild prairie. ])Ianting a large grove and erecting a substantial
group of buildings. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres. He
formerly owned more, but sold one hundred acres some time ago. He has
been one of the leading men of his township. He helped organize the school
district in which he lives and served as treasurer of the same from it--
organization in 1882 until 191 1. He also helped organize the Conference
congregation (Lutheran) oi Cuba township and was treasurer of the same
from the time of its organization for many years. Later he affiliated witii
the United Lutheran church. To Ole I). Olson and wife nine children
were born, namely: Olaus, Edolph, Mary, Carl, .Minnie (deceased), John
(deceased), Minnie (second), John and Julia.
Olaus Olson grew to manhood on the home farm in Becker couniy.
working on the farm during the crop seasons. He attended the district
schools of his home comnnmity and also attended school at Lake Park
and at Detroit. .Minnesota. He remained at home until lie was twentv-
iwo years old. when he began farming for himself on rented land in his
nati\e county and later bought eighty acres in Cuba township, Becker county.
He continued general farming there until 1901, when he moved to High-
land Grove tt)wnhip, Clay county, buying one hundred aiul sixty acres of
raw prairie land, which he has developed into a good farm and on which
he still makes his home. He planted a large gro\e and erected good build-
ings, and has met with encouraging success as a general fanner and stock
raiser. Mr. Olson assisted in organizing the Hittcrdal I'armers Co-opera-
tive Creamery, and was a member of the board of directors of the same from
the second year of its organization until 191 7. He has been financially
interested in the company from the start.
On October tq. igoi. I\lr. Olson was married to Gundhild Midtdahl.
a native of Norway and a daughter of Jorgen and Chestine (Moen) Midt-
dahl, both natives of Norway, where they spent their earlier j'ears, immi-
grating to America in 1881, locating in Highland Grove township, Cla\-
county, where they took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres
CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA, 3O3
and there they still reside. Their family consists of five children, Lewis.
John, Gundhild, Sarah and Lena. Four chilclren have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Olson, namely: Ole, Clara, Gladys (deceased), and Gladys (second).
Mr. Olson and family belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church. Politi-
cally, he is independent.
AUGUST CEDKRBERG.
A farmer when he has raised his crop has performed only half his
duty; the other half is in selling, which determines his profit for the year's
work. It is just as important for the agricultural producer to know what
the markets are as it is for the lumberman, the ore producer or the manu-
facturer to know what his goods are worth in the market and what com-
peition he must meet in his selling. One of the farmers of Highland Gro\e
township. Clay county, who understands both the production and sale of
his crops is August Cederberg, and therefore he has been successful.
Mr. Cederberg was born in Sweden on November 9, 1857, a"<^I ^'''^'^
one of five children born to his parents. These parents spent all their lives
in their native land. August Cederberg grew to manhood in his nati\e
land and there attended the common schools. As a young man he worked
on the farm until immigrating to .\merica in 1882. He located in Meeker
county, Minnesota, but remained there only si.x months, then moved to
Hawley, Clay county, and worked on the Northern Pacific railroad as a
section laborer, being boss of the section gang part of the time. He save<l
his earnings and finally bought eighty acres in section 32, Highland Gro\e
township, which he improved and farmed so successfully that he was sub-
sequently enabled to buy three "forties" in section 5, Eglon township. He
is now owner of two hundred acres of excellent and well-impro\'ed land
in Highland Grove township, having made all the improvements himself.
His fields are well fenced and his land well tilled. He has a cosy dwelling
and convenient outbuildings. In connection with general farming he raises
graded stock, making a specialty of Shorthorn cattle. Besides the grains
adapted to this latitude he raises several acres of potatoes each year.
Mr. Cederberg was married to Anna Anderson, in Sweden on March
25, 1882, shortly before his departure for the New World. She was born
in 1858 in Sweden, of which country her parents were natives, and there
she grew to womanhood and was educated in Sweden. Ten children ha\e
304 CLAY AND XOKMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
been b(jrn to this union, namely : Gusta, Emma, Oscar and Anna, wlio arc
all married; Ella, wlio lives in Fargo: Sarali. who is deceased, and Olga,
Victor, Ida and George, who are at home.
Politically, yir. Cederberg is independent, lie served at one time as
road supervisor of his district, and he has been a director on the local
school board for the past nine years. He is a member of the Mission church.
He is a public-spiritetl man, always interested in the affairs of his township
and readv to do hi> part in furthering any worthy movement, and lie i''
pojjular with the people of his locality, being helpful, neighborly and coni-
jjanionable.
W ILLIA.M RIPLEV TILLOTSOX.
William Ripley Tillotson, one of the oldest and best-known lawyers
in this part of Minnesota, former mayor of the city of Moorhead and for
years a member of the school board in that city, secretary and treasurer and
one of the organizers of the National Loan and Improvement Company
at jMoorhead and in other ways actively identified with the interests of the
city of which he has been a resident since its village days, is a native of
the old Clranite state, but has been a resident of Minnesota for more than
thirty-five j'ears and is thus thoroughly identified with the citizenship of
the great Northwest. He was born at Bath, in Grafton county, New Hamp-
.shire, April 22, 1856. son of Bradley P. Tillotson, a farmer, and in his
youth was familiar with the labors of the farm.
Mr. Tillotson obtained an ample educational equipment for the exacting
])rofession to which he early devoted himself. Upon completing the course
in the common schools of his home town he entered Dartmouth College
and was graduated from the academic department of that excellent old insti-
tution in 1877, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. T'ollowing his admis-
sion to practice law. Mr. Tillotson remained for a while in the East, but
presently he became attracted to the great ix)ssibilities then opening to the
earnest settler in the Northwest and in 1882 came out to this part of Minne-
sota and l)ecame a member of the firm of Burnham, Mills & Tillotson, enter-
ing upon the practice of his profession at Moorhead, then little more than
a lively frontier station, but giving promise of Ijecoming one of the chief
cities in the then rapidly developing Northw-est, and has ever since made
his home in that city. On January i, 1886, the firm became Burnham &
Tillotson and so continued until 1898. when Mr. Burnham died. As one
^^^^^^^^H 1h^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^H
^^^^^^^^^S*^ '~ ^^^^m ^^^^^^m^ \ iilH^B .^^^^^^^^^1
WILI>IAM R. TILLOTSOX.
THE NEW YORK
"^RARY
■, LENOX
.r;NDATinNS
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 305
of the pioneer lawyers of this part of Minnesota, Air. Tillotson has a wide
acquaintance throughout this part of the country and has done much to aid
in tlie development of the region to which he became attracted more than
tliirtv-live years ago. Twice he was elected mayor of Aioorhead and while
serving in that important capacity did much to advance the interests of
his home town. For many years he has been a member of the local school
board and no one has done more to promote the development of the school
s\stem in Alooriiead than he. He also for several terms served as a member
of the library board of the city and in other ways has done his part as a
good citizen in advancing the general cultural activities of the city. Air.
Tillotson was one of the organizers of the National Loan and Improxement
Company of Aloorhead, which was established in 191 1, and has been secre-
tarv and treasurer of the same ever since its organization.
On April 19, 1888, William R. Tillotson was united in marriage to
Harriet C. Tanner, of Moorhead, and to this union two children have been
born, Bradley P. and Francis AT. Air. Tillotson is a member of the Catho-
lic church and his family are affiliated with the Episcopal churcli. He is
a member of the local council of the Knights nf Columbus and in the atYairs
of that organization takee- a warm interest.
OSCAR GUXDERSON.
The Gunderson family has long been well and favorably known in
Clay county, being progressive and law-abiding citizens. Oscar Gunderson.
a farmer of Highland Grove township, was born on the farm on which
he still resides, July 8, 1877. He is a son of Olaf and Alarie (Olson)
Gunderson, the father a native of Sweden and the mother of Norway. The
paternal grandparents were natixxs of Sweden, where they spent their lives
on a farm. Andrew and Karen Olson, the maternal grandparents, were
both natives of Norway, from which countr\- they came to America about
1872, locating at Decorah, Iowa, where they spent about six years: then
came to Highland Grove township, Cla_\- county, Alinnesota, Andrew Olson
and Olaf Gunderson making the overland trip here at the same time, driv-
ing through in prairie schooners, but their families came by railwav- train.
Air. Gunderson took u]) a homestead in the northwest quarter of section
28. Highland Grove township — the place where his son, Oscar, now resides.
(20a)
306 CLAY AND XOK.MAX COrXTIES, MIXNESOTA.
Andrew Olson located on the northeast quarter of section 28, and there
he spent the rest of his life, iiaxini; made an excellent farm of the place.
His widow spent her last years at the home oi Olaf (ninderson.
Olaf Gunderson, father of the f;entleman whose name forms the caption
of this sketch, grew to manhood in Sweden, l)ut was married in Norway.
In 1874 he came to Decorah, Iowa, where he lived t\\o years, coming to
Clay county, Minnesota, in 1876, as noted in the preceding paragraph. He
develo])ed his homestead into an excellent farm, putting on a substantial
group of buildings, and finally adding one hundred and sixty acres more
to his original holdings. He carried on general farming and stock raising
very successfully and became one of the leading men of his township. His
family consisted of six children, namely: Carl, Andrew and Anna, wlui
are now deceased: Oscar, the subject of this sketch, and Clarence and
Gilbert. The father of these children and .Andrew Olson, his father-in-law .
helped establish the United Lutheran church at Hitterdal. Mr. Gunder-
son was also active in the organization of the local school tlistrict and was
a member of the first school board, continuing a member of the same until
his death. He was, at different times, a member of the township board.
Oscar Gunderson grew to manhood on the home farm. He attended
the local district schools and Concordia College, spending several terms
at the latter. He has always lived on the home place, which he has kept
w'ell-improved and well-cultivated. He owns two hundred acres, and in
connection with general farming he makes a specialty of dairying, handling
Holstein cattle.
On February 21, 1902, Oscar Gunderson was married to Annie Sanden.
who was born in Eglon township. Clay county, where she grew to woman-
hood and attended the public schools. She is a daughter of John and
Saralisa (Johnson) Sanden, both natives of Sweden, from which country
they came to America, single, and were married in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The parents of each lived and died in Sweden. John Sanden was alx)ut
twenty-one years old when he came to .\merica, about the year 1866. His
wife came about a year later. Ijeing eighteen years old ;it the time. She
came directly to Lake Park, .Minnesota. He stopped a while at Superior,
Alichigan, and at Duluth. Minnesota, before coming on to Clay count\ .
Here he took up a homestead in Eglon tow nship, which he improved into a
good farm on which he still resides. His wife is deceased. To these
parents seven children were born, all living at this writing but one, namely :
Annie, .Andrew, Hulda, Carl, Carl Johan (deceased), Oscar and Ellen.
To Oscar Gunderson and wife seven children ha\e been born, namely:
CLAY AXD XOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 307
Laura, Herbert, John P. (deceased). Clarence, Ray, Lillian, Mabel and
Clifford.
Politically, Oscar (junderson is independent. He is miw ( 1917) ser\-
ing his eleventh consecutive year as township assessor. He lias also served
as school director and as treasurer for the past twelve or thirteen years,
being treasurer at this writing. He was also justice of the peace at one
time. He helped organize the b'armers Elevator Company at Hawley, of
which he has been secretary since its organization, and is a heavy stock-
holder in the same. He also helped organize the P'armers Co-operative
Creamery at Hawley and has been financially interested in the same e\er
since. Fie is a member of the Idawlev Li\'e Stock Shipping .Vssociatinn.
Like his father before him he is one of the influential men of his township,
always ready to assist in any movement having for its object the general
good of all the people in this localil\ .
IIILBRRT O. SKREL
Hilbert O. Skrei, a well-known and energetic farmer of Goose Prairie
town.ship, Clay county, owner of a compact and well-kept farm of one
hundred and sixty acres in section 22, that township, and of ei.ghty acres
in Montana, is a native .son of Minnesota, born on his father's homestead
on Buffalo river, August 28, 1875. He is the son of Torge T. and C.unhild
( Bervie) Skrei, natives of Norway.
Torge T. Skrei was married in his native land and immigrated to the
L'nited States in 1866. On arriving in this country he proceeded to Hous-
ton county, this state, in which ])lace he lived for four x-ears. Some time
Later he came to Clay county, where he homesteaded ;i tract of land in
section 28, Moland township, and there spent the rest of his life. He
died in 1895 ^'""^1 ^''■'^ widow died in 1908. They were the ])arents of three
children, Signa, Hilbert O. and Theodore H. .\ re\ie\\ of the life of the
latter appears on another pa.ge of this vokime and in it are .gi\'en further
and extended details of the history of the Skrei family in this state.
Hilbert O. Skrei was educated in the schools of Clay count\- and later
worked on his father's fariu, where he was well trained in the rudiments
of agriculture. In .\pril, 1917. he became the owner of one hundred ;ind
sixty acres of prime land in section 22, Goose Prairie township, and is now
enga.ged in .general farming ;ind contemplates adding blooded stock at an
^OS CLAV A\D NOU.M A\ C'orXTlKS. MINNESOTA.
earlv tlatc. lie raises wheat, corn, oats, rye ami potatoes on the home larin,
and since tlie commencement of his operations he has met with a com-
mendable measure of success. Mr. Skrei is also tiie owner of eighty acres
in Montana. He Hved on tlie old place near Tdyndon liefore takini^- over
his [)rescnt ho](lin<;'.
In |une. \<)\(<. liilhert O. Skrei was united in marri.age to Enielia
Dennison, who was horn in Augu.st, \Sj><. Tlie marrias^e took place in Gien-
dine, Montana. Mr. Skrei is a memjjer of the Lutheran church and is
carnestK interested in all its s^ood works, and he and his wife participate
ni the social and cullural activities of the neighborhood in which tliey live,
ever readv to assist in all movements tending to the welfare of tlie com-
mimitv.
GEORGK S. H.\U.\ES.
The success wliich George S. Barnes attained would alone entitle him
to special mention in a work of this character as one of the really promi-
nent men of Clay county and of the state of Minnesota: hut in citizen-
ship as well he did that which causes hi- name to be honored, for hi-
labors were a factor in promoting the growth and development of the
great Nortliwest. The real up-lmilders of a county, state or nation, arc
not those wiio handle the reins of government, but those who give their influ-
ence to contiiuious municipal progress, and who found, promote and control
extensive business interests. Laudable ambition, ready adaptability to every
contingency, and a capacity for hard work are and were essential elements
of success, especially in the early jjioneer days, and in none of these elements
was George S. Barnes lacking. It. therefore, is ntjt a matter of marvel
that he occupied a pre-eminent position among the builders of Clay county
;md the state, 'i'he eminence to which he attained was also due to the fact
that he had the ability to recognize the opportune moment and to correctly
ai)praise the value of a .situation and determine its possibilities.
In the ])assing of George S. Barnes it is well for us to stop in the
midst of the stress, luirry and turmoil that go to make up life as we live
it — to consider the character of one who has quit the scene, to estimate
his plan of life and to draw from it more clearly than we possibly could
from mere theories a conclusion as to what makes this life of ours worth
li\ing: and we who step aside from the c|uick march of our daily duties
to do honor to the memory of the subject of this review will at the same
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
3"9
time i)a\' tril)ute io ;i lite wiiose theory and practice went band in hand.
This theory of life was the simple hut difficult one that dut\ to God, neigh-
bor, and self are one and the same, and the record of his long, husv years
shows not only the discharge of that duty, but a force and serenity that
could only come from a nature as gentle as it was strong, joined to a con-
science as sensitive as it was tireless. The communitx' kudws only in pari
of his public sjiirit, his liberality where any measures for the public good
were concerned. All who were associated with him in business or financial
matters recognized his absolute integrity as well .'is his fairness. His was
the symi)athy of real wisdom, the gentleness of true force, the full \a!ue
of a life well lived from day to day.
George S. Barnes was born in Vermont in 1840, a son of I'bilo Barnc-.
who died when George S. was a young man. The famih' liad long reside^l
in Xew England. 'i"he subject of this review grew to manhood in Vermont,
and attended the pui)lic schools, and there he resided until 1864, when he
came to Ononoco, Minnesota, and bought a farm in Olmsted county, on
which he resided until iSji, when be sold out and moved to Clay countv,
and in partnership with I.. H. Tenney bought a farm near where the vil-
lage of Glyndon now stands. His widow now resides on the original farm.
He and Air. Tenne\' increased their farmin.g interests luitil thev operated
about h\e thousand ;icres. carr\ing (jn general farnu'ng and stock raising
on an extensive scale and with pronounced success all along the line. Neither
of them resided on their land, but made their homes in Glyndon, where
they opened a general store, the lirst store in the \'illage, and they also
bought and cold grain in large quantities.
.\fter the death of Mr. Tenney, a Mr. Bangs became a partner with
Mr. Barnes in the .grain business. Mr. Barnes became associated with the
Northern I'acific Grain Company, of which he was later president, in which
capacity he had charge of the elevators along the Northern Pacific railroad
all the way from .St. l\-tul. Minne.sota, to Tacoma, Washington, thus becom-
ing one of the best-known .grain buyers of the .great Northwest. Mr. Barnes
made ins home ;it Glyndon until 1883. wiien be moved to bargo. North
Dakota, where he spent practically all of his life thereafter. However, he
was li\-in.g at Glyndon at the lime of his de;ith, which occurred on Novem-
ber 28, IQ12.
On June H). 1864. .Mr. Barnes was married to Maria L. Paige, a
native of Vermont, where she grew to womanhood and was educated and
where her family had long been well and favorably known. .She is tlie
3iO CLAY AND NOkMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
inotlier of three children, namely: deorge S.. Jr.. Hector G. and .Marie,
wife of Otto J. Morrow.
.\lr. Barnes was a tlnrt\ -third degree Mason and was prominent in
the affairs of that order: in fad, few men in this state ever attained to
such a high position in this ancient order. He was an active memher of
tlie Congregational church. Politically, lie was a Repuhlican.
Such, in brief, is the life history of George S. Barnes. While .\mer-
ica is the home of the self-made man. it is not so usual for an individual
to ach'ance from a humble jiosition tn one of marked prominence — anrl
such a course always awakens admiration and interest. Such was tlie life
record of Mr. Barnes, and there was not a single esoteric i>hase in his career,
his life ever being an open book. Diligent in business, he was also loyal
in citizenshi]) and faithful in fricndshii) — while in his jiome he was a de-
\()ted husband and father.
lOHX RLOI" CARLSON.
That period following the close of the Civil War. covering two or
three decades, was characterized by the immigration of the pioneer element
which made the great state of Minnesota what it is today. These home-
seekers were sturd\-, heroic, sincere, and for the most i)art. u[)right and
law-a])iding people, such as constitute tlie strength of the commonwealth.
One of this sterling type of citizens is John Klof Carlson, a farmer of
1 1 ighland Gro\e township. Clay county.
.Mr. Carl.son was born in Sweden, October 24. 1H57. He is a son
i>f Magnus and Lena CarLson, both natives of Sweden, where they grew
to maturity, married and established their home, but immigrated to Amer-
ica in icSog, when their son, John E., was twelve years old. The familv
located at Rochelle, Ogle county, Illinois, but a year and a half later removed
t(i Minnesota, locating near Brainard, where the father worked at con-
struction work on the Xorthern Pacific. On April 2, 1871, he arrived at
Lake Park, Becker county, and soon thereafter took up a homestead five
miles northwest of the \ illage of Lake Park, in Cuba township. There he
developed a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres, putting the wild
])rairie land under cultivation, erecting a group of suitable farm buildings
and planting a grove. There he and his wife spent the rest of their lives,
influential factors among the other pioneer settlers in this locality. The-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. ^11
lather lielped organize Cuba township about five A-ears after he located
tliere. He also helped organize the Eskjou Swedish Lutheran church of
that township, and later was one of the organizers of the Swedish Grove
Lutheran church. He was a successful farmer and a good citizen in every
respect, having the respect and good will of all who knew him. Six chil-
dren were born to Carl M. and Lena Carlson, named as follow : Frank,
who makes his home at Lake Park, Becker county ; Emma, deceased ; Hanna,
deceased; John Elof. the subject of this sketch; Carl W.. who lives at
Lake Park, and Axel, who is deceased.
John E. Carlson spent his childhood in Sweden, where he attended
school a while. He had little opportunity to obtain an education after
coming to Minnesota, for there were no schools in Becker county to which
the children of the first settlers could go. However, by close observation
and home reading and study he became, in due course of time, a very well-
informed man. He assisted his father with the general work on the home-
stead, for there was plenty of hard work for the entire family. He con-
tinued to work with his father until 1880, when he homesteaded one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Highland (irove township, Clay county, where he
has since resided — a period of thirty-seven years, during which he has
seen the country developed from a vast, wild prairie to a fine farming lo-
cality, dotted with attractive homes, numerous chiuxhes and school houses,
and has played well his part in this transformation. He brought his land
up to a high state of cultivation and impro\ement, setting out a large gro\e
and erecting an excellent group of buildings, suitable to the needs of a
thrifty farmer in this latitude. His farm is well located at Manitoba Junc-
tion and he has been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
On July 5, 1886, Mr. Carlson was married to Caroline Johnson, a
native of Wisconsin and a daughter of .\nton JohnscMi Hanger, one of the
early homesteaders of Highland Grove township, Clay county, Minnesota,
where he still resides. A sketch of Mr. Hauger and family will be found
on another page of this volume. Eleven children ha\e been born tri Mr.
and Mrs. Carlson, named as follow: Lena, Josie, Manda, Jennie, who mar-
ried Edward Eastman, who died in 191 3, leaving two children, Edward,
Jr.. and Margaret. Mrs. Eastman and children now making their home with
the subject of this sketch; .Anna, the fifth in order of birth; Emma, Carl.
.Arthur, a daughter who died in infancv. unnamed, and Lillian and Roy.
Mr. Carlsf)n helped organize Highland Grove township, also the school
district in which he lix'es. He is now (1917) serving his second year as a
T,\2 CLAY AND XOKMAX COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
member of the school hoard. He belongs to the Swedish Grove Lutheran
church. Politically, he is independent. He has always been a helpful man
in his township, doing much for its general development.
ALONZO W ILSON. .M. 1).
.\mong lilt real old settlers of Clay county there are few who ha\e
a' wider acquaintance throughout this section of the Red River valley than
has Dr. Alonzo Wilson, a well-to-do retired physician, of Moorhead, an<l
an honored veteran of the Civil War, who has been a resident of Moorhead
since the \car 1876 and who has conse(|ueutly been a witness to and a
participant in the (le\ clnpnient of this region since pioneer days. Doctor
Wilson is a native of the kingdom of Sweden, but has been a resident of
this country since he was twenty years of age. He was Ixtrn in the year
1834, a son of O. L. Wilson and wife, the latter of whom died on board
vessel iiu the way to this country in 1854 and the former of whom later
became a resilient of Clay county and here spent his last days, his death
occurring in 1901.
O. L. Wilson was a small landowner in his nali\e Sweden and he and
his wife were the parents of five children. In 1854 he sold his farm and
with his family sailed for the United States. During the voyage an epi-
demic of disease broke out among the passengers and .Mrs. Wilson and one
of the sons and two of the tlaughters (lied and were buried at sea. Mr.
Wilson and his two remaining sons, the subject of this sketch and the
hitter's younger brother, Peter Wilson, proceeded to Chicago upon their
arri\al at j>ort and during the first winter of their residence in this country
were engaged working in a wood yard in that city. The father and his
\ounger .son remained in that city for a year or two, but the elder son left
in the spring following his arrival for the Northwest and has ever since
l)een a resident of Minnesota, .\fter his son. Doctor Wilson, had become
established at Moorhead, O. L. Wilson joined lu'm here and his last days
were spent on one of the Doctor's farms, his death occurring sixteen
years ago.
Peter Wilson, who died some years ago, was one of the pioneers of Clay
county and was for years one of the best-known and most influential resi-
dents of this county. Upon leaving Chicago he came u[) into the Northwest
and was a resident of the Red River valley when Clay ccMuity was organized
:e new yofk
PUBLIC LIBRARY
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 3I3
in 1872 and, with .Viulrew Holes, was appointed In Governor Austin as
one of the two commissioners to set in motion the wlieels of government
in the new county, as set out in the historical vokinie of this work. Before
coming up here Peter Wilson had serxed as a soldier of the L'nion, a mem-
ber of the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, and with that gallant command served
for two years and six months, at the end of which time he was honorabh'
discharged on a certificate f)f disability, he having suffered severe injuries
when a horse fell on him. In additit)n to liaving been one of the earliest
settlers of Clay county and one of the original commissioners of this countv,
Peter Wilson also served for some tin'ie as justice of the peace, also as
register of deeds and for three terms was auditor of the coiint\-, in all of
his public ser\ice rendering a faithful account of his duty to the i^eople. l*"or
years he was engaged in the hardware business at Moorhead, but later
moved across the river to I'^argo. He left four ilaughters. Mrs. William B.
Bartlett, wife of an attorney at Minneapolis; Mrs. Ross, a widow, living
at Los Angeles, California, and two living at Cannon Falls, this state, these
nieces being the only kinsfolk Doctor Wilson has in this coinitry.
As noted above. Doctor Wilson was about twenty years of age when
he came to this country in 1854. He had received an excellent education
in his native land, completing his studies in the l^niversity of Lund, and had
been engaged for a time there in teaching school. The first winter of his
residence in this country was spent in Chicago and then, in the spring of 1855,
he struck out for the Northwest and found employment in a lumber camji
on the St. Croix river. In the spring of 1856 he went from Taylors Falls
to Superior City and there became em])loyed as an agent to help retain land
claims, at the s.ame time locating something more than a f|uarter of a sec-
tion of land in his own behalf. Durin.g the winter of i85''>-57 he and three
others formed a partnership in the lumber business and from the fall of 1857
to the fall of i86r he was engaged in contract work, building wagon ixiads
through the timber. In the fall of iS^i he enlisted for .service in the Union
army, going out from Ft. Snelling with Company K. Fifth Iowa Cavalry,
and was in active service for three years, the last year of bis service being
spent in the Red River country fighting Indians.
Upon the completion of his military service Doctor Wilson went to
Wisconsin and seriously entered upon a design he long had cherished, that
of the study of medicine, and after some preliminary study unflcr the pre-
ceptorship of local physicians entered the Medical College at Keokuk and
was graduated from that institution in 1870. Upon receiving his diploma.
Doctor Wilson opened an office for the practice of his ])rofession at Keokuk
^i4 n.AV AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNK.SOTA.
and remained there until iHj(>. in wliich year he rejoined his brother I'eter
at Moorliead and opened an oftiee for the practice of his profession in tliat
city, continuing actixely engaged in practice until his retirement. Upon com-
ing up here in 1876 Doctor Wilson honiesteaded a quarter of a section of
land in Oakport township, C"iay county, at the same time taking a tree claim
to an adjoining quarter section. He later added to his land holdings and
at one time was the owner of no less than a thou.sand acres of land, all of
which, however, he has closed out and is not now a landowner. Doctor
Wilson is quite comfortably situated at Moorhead. Though now past eighty-
three years of age, he retains much of his former physical vi.gor and con-
tinues to take a hearty interest in current affairs. .\s one of the pioneers
of Clay county, the Doctor has seen the development of this region from
its primitive state to its present state of substantial development. His inein-
ory of the early days hereabout is clear and distinct and he has long been
regarded as one of the ablest and most accurate authorities on the history
of this section of the famed Red Kixcr valley.
Some time after locating at Moorhead Doctor Wilson married Ida
Broberg, who died at the age of fortv vears. 'j'he Doctor has no children.
STEX HANSOX.
It is scarcely probable that in the future of the American republic
another such periotl can occur when such a solid phalanx of strong-armed
men and self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country, dis-
playing the courage and perseverance of the pioneer element that invaded
the plains of Minnesota some four or five decades ago. One of this number
is Sten Hanson, a venerable farmer of Highland Grove township. Clay
county.
Mr. Hanson was born in Sweden. I-'ebruary 7, 1838, and is, therefore.
now in his seventy-eighth year. He is a son of Hans and Sigrid (Pehrs-
datter) Stensun. both natives of Sweden, where they grew up and married
and where the father's death occurred, after which the widow brouglit her
children to America in 1868. After spending two vears in Winneshiek
county, Iowa, they all came to Clay county, Minnesota, driving an ox-team
to a covered wagon, in 1870, the trip requiring over a month in the early
summer of that year. The family located in Highland Grove township.
The country wa^ l)ut a wild prairie and had not yet l)een surveverl. The
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 3I5
family located in what is now section ii, where the subject of this sketch
nuw lives, having resided liere ever since, a period of forty-seven years,
and lie is, therefore, one of the oldest pioneers in the county. Here his
uKjther died in 1884. She had five children, namely: Gertrude and Anna,
twins, the former of whom is deceased; Sten, the subject of diis sketch,
and Peder and Hans. This family helped start the first church in Cla>-
countv, which was a Xorwegian church, and later helped organize the Swed-
ish (irove Lutheran church, which is near the old homestead and to which
the family still belong.
Sten Hanson was thirty years old when he came to America. Fie
has devoted his acti\e life successfully to farming and has accumulated
t\\M hundred and sixty acres, only eighty acres of which is a part of the
original homestead, buying the rest as railroad land. He has erected an
excellent group of farm buildings and early set out a magnificent gro\e.
Being advanced in \ears he has not engaged actively in farming for many
\ears.
On June 24, 1866, in Sweden, .Mr. Hanson was married to Ringnel
Svvenson, who was born and reared in Sweden. To this marriage ten chil-
dren were born, all in .\nierica but one — the eldest. They were named
as follows: Hans S.. Sven S., Severt (deceased). Caroline, Anna (deceased),
Christine (deceased). Lewis, wlm is living, and Olaf, Severt and Sven, de-
ceased.
Sten Hanson helped organize Highland Grove township and later held
township offices. He also assisted in organizing his school district and was
treasurer of the same for many years. Politically, he is indejiendent. He
has always been regarded as an industrious ;md useful citizen.
.\nton Johnson, son-in-law of the subject of this sketch, was born in
Sweden, December 6. 1872. He is a son of Johan and Johannah (Samuel-
son) Johanson, both natives of Sweden, where they grew up, married and
established their permanent home and where the mother is still living, the
father dying there some time ago. They were parents of six children, all
living at this writing. Anton Johtison grew to manhood in Sweden and
there attended the comtnoii schools. When twenty years old, in 1892, he
came to the L'nited States, stopping in Chicago. Illinois, a month : then spent
a vear and a half at Escanaba. Delta county. Michigan. He then came
to Clav countv, Minnesota, where he has since made his home. Here he
was married on June 29, 1901, to Caroline Hanson, a daughter of Sten
Hanson, the immediate subject of this sketch. She was born in Clay count}-.
Minnesota, where she grew to womanhood, and was educated in the i)ubhc
3l6 CLAY AXD XOR>r\X COIXTIF-S. MIXNESOTA.
schools. Six children have been Ijorn to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, '.lanicly :
Salley, Adolpli. Carl. Grace, Henry and Morris.
.Mr. Johnson has followed j^eneral farming- e\er since coming to Clay
county and is now snccessfull)' operating the farm of his father-in-law.
Politically, lie is independent. He was township supervisor and clerk of
the local school hoard for a period of ten years and dischar.<jed his duties
in hoth positions in a highly acceptable manner.
S.\.\V1 T. SX.\RTL.\.\1).
Saavi 1'. Snartland is one (.)f the many native-horn .Norwegians who
have come to the L'nited States and to this part of Minnesota and become
successful farmers. He was born in Norway on January 22, 1871, a son
of Torkel and Gro (Salveson) Snartland, both also natives of Norway
and who came to .\merica in 1880 and settled on a farm in Clay county.
Torkel Snartland was born in Norway in 1837, and was etlucated in
the schools of that countr\'. He engaged in the life of a farmer in his
native land and at the age of forty-three years he and his family immigrated
to this country an<l came on out to Minnesota and settled in Clay county.
Here he resumed his fanning oi)erations and alMiut the year 1897, was
in a position to purchase land for himself. He is still li\ing on the farm
which he then bought and which is located in section 5. Moland township.
Clay county. Some years before leaving Norway, Torkel Snartland was
united in marriage to Gro Salveson, who was also born in Norway in 1847.
and who met a tragic death in 1900, l)eing killed by lightning on her hus-
baiurs farm. Torkel Snartland and wife were the jiarents of the following
children: Saavi T.. owner of a half .section of land; Olaf, a general fanner:
Mary, now a widow; Gonel,' married, and W'illa, married. Mrs. Snartland's
lirother, Halxer Salveson, was one of the first settlers in this part of Min-
nesota.
Saa\ i .Snartland received part of his education in \'orwa\'. He came
with his parents to this country in 1880 and lived on his father's farm.
From boyhood he was an able assistant to his father in the labors of de-
veloping and improving the home place. He is now engaged in fanning
for himself and is the owner of a half section of prime land, on which
he is engaged in general fanning and has done very well, being regar(le<l
as one of the sulistantial agricultm-ists of Moland township.
CI.AY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 3I7
On Jul\ II. i8(;7, Saa\i Snartland was united in marriage to Helen
Svenkenson. \\li<i was born in Clay county, Minnesota, a daughter of Gun-
der Svenkenson and wife, natives of Norway. To Saavi Snartland and
wife three children have been born, Thorance, Gladys anrl Gerard, all livin.t,'
at home with their parents. Mr. Snartland takes a good citizen's interest
in local civic affairs and was a director of the district school board for
six years. He and his faniilv are members of the Norwe.gian Lutheran
church and are warm supi^orters of all its good works.
Olaf T. Snartland was Ijorn in Norway in .Uigust. 1S79, and came
to this country with bis jiarents. He is the owner of one hundred and
twentv acres of land and is engaged in general farming. All the improve-
ments on his farm were carried out by his father. He was married in
1904 to Lillv .\nderson. who was !)orn in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1883.
They are the parents of the following children: Anna. Torkel, Jacob,
(iertie, and an infant born in 1917. The family are members of the Nor-
wegian Lutheran church and take a general interest in all the affairs of
the communitv calculated to serve the public welfare.
HERMA.V W. TOOP.
Herman W. Joop, of I'ellon township. Clay county, has applied busi-
ness principles to his farming and has used his mind as well as his brawn.
He has therefore met with encouraging success all along the line. He was
born in Germany on December 2, 1879. He is a son of Gustav and Tm i
(Camps) Joop. both born in Germany, where they grew up and married
and lived on a farm until in the seventies, when they came to .Vmerica.
locating in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, where they lived several years, the
father working in the steel mills. The_\- then returned to Germany and
remained there a few years, then came to .America a second time and located
in Blue Earth county. Minnesota, where they engaged in farming until
T896, when the\ mo\ed to Felton townsbi]). Clay county, and located on
the farm where their son. Herman W.. now resides. Here Gustav Joop
farmed imtil his retirement and he now lives with his son, Ludwig. in
Norman countv. His family consisted of six children, three of whom are
still living, namely: Ludwig, Bertha and tierman W.
Herman W. Joop spent his boyhood on the home farm in Blue Ivirth
count}' and there he attended school. He came to Clay county with his
3'^ CLAY AND XOK.MAN C()L-\TIKS. :M1 N N' HSOTA.
parents ami as a youny- man took up railroad wurk as a tircnian on the
Northern Pacific railroad, running between Fari^o and Jamestown. Xorth
Dakota. He remained in railroad service until 1907 when he came hack to
his father's farm, in January of that year, and has since operated it with
success, owning; one hundred and sixty acres, which he operates in connection
with his father's (|uarter section. lie keeps it all under a tine stale of
cultivation and is making a pronounced success as a general farmer and
Slock raiser. He raises a large acreage of potatoes each vear.
Mr, Joop was luarried on December 16. 1903, to Clara I'arnow, who
was born in Germany. She is a daughter of William and Othelia (P.erns-
dorf) Parnow. both natives of Germany, where they grew up. married and
e.stabli.shed their home on a farm. .Mr, Parnow came to .\merica ai)oui
1893, his wife coming later. They located lirsl in Blue i'.arth count v,
Minnesota, and in 1896. came from there to Clay count v and bought one
hundred and sixty acres in Feiton townshi]), where thev lived until U)04.
when they moved to a farm east of Thief Ri\cr h'alls, and there they both
>till reside, owning a gOfKl farm of one hundred rind sixtv acres there,
on which they have made extensive improvements, including the erection
of good buildings. The following children were l)orn to Mr. and Mrs.
I'arnow: Selma. Clara. Otto. Paul. William. Oscar, who is in the United
.States navy: Frma, .\le\, wlm died when .seven davs old, and h'.rnest, who
died when three years old.
Three children have been Ixjrn to Mr, and Mr.^. Juop, namely: Walter,
who died when three months old, and Myrtle and Elnora. Mr. loop is
independent in his political views. He is a member of the Futhcran church.
A.XDREW O. SOLWOLD.
.A. man's life work is the measure of his success, and he is truly the
most successful man \vho. turning his powers into the channel of an honor-
able purpose, accomplishes the ol>ject of his endeavor. In the study of ever\-
man's life we find some mainspring of action, something that he lives for.
In .\n.drew O. Solwold. farmer of Goose Prairie townshi]), Clav county,
it seems to have been an ambition to make the best use of his native and
ac([uired powers.
Mr, Solwold was born in .Xorway on June _'6, 1841. He is a son of
Olaf P. and .Andrea (Eidshaug) Sohvold. both natives of Xorwav. where
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 319
thev grew to maturity, married and established their home. The father was
a farmer, also superintendent of forests for many years. His death occurred
in his native land at the age of fifty-eight years. His widow later immi-
grated to America, in i8Si, and spent her last years in Tacoma, Washing-
ton, where her death occurred in 1897. She was born in 18 16. To these
parents the following children were born : Peter, who is engaged in farm-
ing in Keene township. Clay county: Andrew O., the subject of this sketch:
Olaf, who owns a farm near Tacoma, Washington, it having been at his
home that the mother of these children died ; Gunder, who also lives near
that city; George, who lives in Utah, and Bertena, who died at Tacoma,
Washington.
Andrew O. Solwold grew to manhood in Xorway and there attended
the comm.on schools, completing bis schooling at .\sker Seminary there.
He immigrated to America in 187-' when thirty-one years old. He spent
his first year in the New World at Oconomowoc, Waukesha county, Wis-
consin, then came to Minnesota, and spent five years teaching school in
[•'illmore county. He then came to Clay couny and took up a homestead
near Hawlev, in section 12, Cromwell tow^nship, and there be developed
an excellent farm, making all improvements. He engaged in general farm-
ing and stock raising there with success until 1895, when he sold out and
moved to his present farm, of one hundred and sixty acres in section 22.
Goose Prairie township, which iiis wife owned. He ])urchased another
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the same section, and later bought
forty acres more in that section. He now owns three hundred and sixt\-
acres, comprising one of the best-improved and choicest farms in his town-
.sliip. His wife inherited her farm from her mother. Mo is making a
pronounced success as a farmer and raises large quantities of grain and
large numbers of live stock annually. He has made all modern improve-
ments, including the erection of good buildings.
Mr. Solwold was married on the farm where he now resides on Decem-
ber 6, 1884, to Maria Larson, who was Ijorn in Lafayette, Wisconsin,
November 11, 1858, a daughter (jf .\ndrew and Nicoline (Grindvold) Lar-
son, natives of Norway, from which country they came to America, locat-
ing in Wisconsin, later coming to Clay county, Minnesota, the father
renting land in Goose Prairie township, where he and his wife spent the
rest of their lives, the father dying in 1880. The mother was born in
1822 and died in 1903. To Mr. and Mrs. Solwold eight children have
been born, namely: Olaf, who was graduated from the State Normal and
the \'allev Citv Normal, is a school teacher by profession and lives at
3_'0 CLAY AND XOR.MAX COLXTIES. MINNESOTA.
liDine; Agnes, deceased; Borgliild. wlu) is inarried and lives on the home
farm: Alt', who was graduated from the Park Region College at Fergus
{-"alls, Minnesota, later taking an advanced course at the State Normal
School, and is also a teacher hv profession, and Agnes. Ingeborg. .\lvilda
and Dagmar, who arc also engaged in school teaching. They all recei\efl
excellent educational advantages and are successful teachers.
Politically. Mr. Solwold is independent. While living in Cromwell
township he served as township clerk. He has also served as chairman
of the township hoard in Goose Prairie township, also as supervisor of
the latter, and was clerk of school district No. 95 for a period of twenty
vears. He is a member of the Lutheran church, in which he is a deacon.
He was also a deacon of the church of this denomination in his early days
in Fillmore county. He is a well-informed man, having been a student
and a wide reader, as well as a close observer, all his life and is well
posted on c<irrcnt events, one of the leaders of public affairs in this locality.
PETER .\. PETERSON.
Peter .\. Peterson, whc for more than twenty years has held the
important office of sheriff of Norman county, is a native of the kingdom
of Norwav. but has lived in Minnesota since he was ten years of age and
in Norman county since he was twenty -five, he having been a homesteader
here back in pioneer days. He was born in 1857, son of Andrew and Bertha
Maria ( Hanson ") Peterson, both natives of Norway and the former of whom
died there when the subject of this sketch was nine years of age. The
widow and her two sons, Peter and .\nton. a short tiiue afterward, in 1867,
came to the L'nited States and proceeded on out to Minnesota, settling in
iM-eeborn county, where the Widow Peterson presently married Sterner
Hansijn and where she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring
in 1897. Her husband dieil a few years prior to that date. Her younger
son, Anton Peterson, two years younger than his brother, Peter, is now
living in Santa Cruz, California.
As noted above, Peter A. Peterson was about ten years of age when
he came w ith his mother to this state and located in Freeborn county. There
he completed his schooling and early began work on a farm, becoming an
excellent farmer. During the last two years of his residence in that county
Air. Peterson owned a horse-power threshing-rig. which he operated with
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 32I
much success througliout the neighborhood hi which he Uved. In 1879 Mr.
Peterson married and in 1882 he and his wife drove over to this part of
the state, bringing through some essential household articles, four horses and
several cattle, the trip requiring twenty-three days. Upon his arrival here
Mr. Peterson homesteaded a quarter section of land in section 10 of Strand
township, Norman county, and there established his home, putting up a
comfortable house and adequate farm buildings, and made other improve-
ments on the place. After a while he sold that place to advantage and
bought two hundred acres of railroad land in Bear Park township, which
he proceeded to improve and on which he made his home until his election
to the office of sheriff of Norman county in 1896, when he moved to Ada,
where he ever since has made his home, occupant of the sheriff's residence ;
for he ever since has occupied that office, his manner of conducting the
affairs of the sheriff's office having so warmly recommended him to the
voters of the county that he has been re-elected at each succeeding election.
Sheriff Peterson had had ])revious public exi^erience before taking up the
duties of the sheriff's office, for during his residence in Bear Park township
lie was chairman of the board of township supervisors all but two years
of the time he spent there and during the last two years of his residence
there was township assessor. He also was acti\'e in the general affairs of
the community and helped organize the creamery, company at Rindahl, the
company that established the first real creamery in Norman county, and
until he left the farm remained a member of the board of directors of that
company. Not long after locating in Norman county iNlr. Peterson bought
a horse-power threshing-rig and operated the same for two seasons, at the
end of which time he bought the first steam-traction outfit in that section
and for years operated the same widely over the four nearby townships.
Strand, Sundal, Bear Park and Waukon, his experience as a threshcrman.
including the time spent at that business in Freeborn county before he came
up here, covering twenty-two years. For some years after moving to Ada
Slierift' Peterson also owned and operated a livery stable in that city.
In November, 1879, Peter A. Peterson was united in marria.ge to
Helena Thronson, who was born on a pioneer farm in the vicinity of Calmer,
in Winneshiek county, Iowa, daughter of Thron and Guri (Helgeson)
Thronson, natives of Norway, who had located in Iowa in 1S54, and to
tliis union seven children have been born, ;\Iary, who died in infancy, Mary
(.second), Tillie. Bertha, Flby, Carl and Arthur. Slieriff and Mrs. Peter-
(2ia)
^22 CLAY AND XflR.MAN COl" XTUIS. MIX X ICSi ITA.
soil are members of the Synod Lutheran churcli and were among the most
active factors in the movement that resuUed in the erection of a churcli of
that denomination east of Gary.
PETER SANDERS.
The country has many ad\antages over the cit}-. Likewise, it has its
disadvantages — one of the greatest being tlie laci< of opportunity to gain a
competence within a reasonable period of time. Many farmers have grown
rich through increased valuation of their land ; others through carefull\
husbanding their resources, rigid discipline and economic living and good
business ability, ofttinies combined with favorable seasons for their principal
products. One of the successful 'farmers of Felton township, Clay county,
is Peter Sanders.
Mr. Sanders was born in Sweden, August 29, 1870. He is a son of
Peter and Celia Sanders, both natives of Sweden, where they grew uj).
married and made their home until 1884, when they came to America,
locating at Vasa, Goodhue county, Minnesota, where the father followed
the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in the old country when a
voung man. He and his wife are still living at Vasa, many of the buildings
of which town he helped erect during his residence there of over thirty
vears. Six of the children born to these parents grew to maturity, namely :
Peter. Jr.. .\nnie. Matilda, Albertina, John and .\lma. Two children died
in earlv life. The parents of these children are members of the Swedish
Lutheran church.
Peter Sanders was fourteen years old when his parents brought him
to America. He attended the ])ublic schools in Sweden, also went to school
three months after coming to Vasa. .Minnesota. He began working out in
Goodhue county as a farm hand, remaining there until 1887, when he
came to Moorliead. where he worked in a brick yard for four years. During
that period he learned the brick-making business thoroughly, but upon leav-
ing Moorhead he turned his attention to farming, which he has continued
ever since, in Clay county, and in Felton township since 1909. He operates
a half section near the village of Felton. carrying on general farming and
stock raising and during the summer months he also operates a hay bailer.
Mr. Sanders was married in 1891 to Thresa Brandt, a native of Sweden,
from which country she came to .\merica with her parents, Frank G. and
CLAY AND NORMAN COrNTIES, MINNESOTA. ^2i,
Johanna ( Peterson) Brandt, wlien young. She is ihc nnly child. Tier
parents located in Clay count}', Minnesota, in 1879. The father died in
Moorhead some time ago, but the mother is making her liduie with her
daughter, Mrs. Thresa Sanders.
Six chilflren ha\-e been horn tn Peter and Thresa Sanders, namely:
Hilda. Edith, Carl,. I'" red, Lillian and .\lma. Mr. Sanders and family belong
to the Swedish Lutheran church. I'olitically. he is a Uepuljlican. He has
been a member of the township Imarrl since 1914 .and was chosen chairman
of the board in 19 17.
.WrOX JOHNSON HAUGER.
As everyone knows, methods o{ farming are changing and we are
learning many things tliat the husbandman of half a century ago did not
know, or at least did not attach much attention to. .\ dif-ferent system of
general agriculture has had to he adopted from that used hv the ]iioneers.
for conditions ha\e changed in many respects : even the climate and the
soil have changed, to say nothing of markets, methods of trans])ortation
for the farmer's jiroducts and the laws of supply and demand.
One of the careful and thoughtful farmers of Hi.ghland ( h-o\e town-
ship. Clay county, was the late Anton Johnson Hanger, who was born in
Norway, November 24. 1H35. He grew to manhood in his native land.
attended the common scIkxjIs and was luarried there to Karen Christiansnn.
also a native of Norway. They remained in their native land until iiS'17.
when they came to America, by way of Quebec. Canada, proceeding thence
to Wisconsin, locating near the town of Boscobel. Grant county, where
they spent eight years nn a farm. Then the\' made the long o\erland
journey by team to Clay county, Minnesota, where the father took u]) a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Highland Grove township,
which he developed into a good farm, erected suitable l;)uildin,gs and there
continued general farming until his death. His wife died at the h(jme of
their daughter. Mrs. John 1-1. Carlson, of Highland Gro\e township, dying
while on a \-isit there. .\ sketch of Mr. Carlson and family will be found on
another page of this work. Mr. Hauger later took up a tree-claim of one
hundred and sixty acres just south of his homestead. Lie was one of the
active men of his township. He helped to organize the Lhiited Lutheran
church at Hitterdal, and was long a member of the official board of the
3^4 CLAV AND NORMAN COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA.
same. In the early days he also helped organize the Buffalo Lutheran con-
i^regation.
To Mr. and .Mrs. llauger six children were horn, namely: Carl }..
who was horn in Christiania. Norway; Christian A., who also first saw the
light of (lav in that city: Olaf E., who was born on the train between
(}uehec and Montreal, Canada, wliile the family was en route to the United
States from XcDrway : Caroline .\., who married John E. Carlson, a farmer
of Clay county, was born in Grant county, Wisconsin: Julia 1"., who was
also horn in the last-named county and state, and Hans Martin, who was
born in Ma\', 1875, and who died on the homestead at the age of thirteen
rears. The death of Anton J. Hauger occurred on November 2'4, 1894.
OTTO L. DAHL.
An enterprising mercliant at Eelton. Clay county is Otto L. Dahl, who
was horn at Sparta, Wisconsin. January 18, 1874. He is a son of Lauritz
;ind Thea (Blegen) Dahl, l)oth natives of Norway, where they spent their
earlier years, immigrating to America in 1865. establishing their future
home at Sparta. Wisconsin. There the mother's death occurred in 1877.
ill 1S84 the fatlier removed to Polk county, Minnesota, taking up a home-
stead of one hundred and si.xty acres in Hill River township, which Ik-
(levelopeil into a good farm through years of hard work and close application
and there he still resides. He belongs to tlie Norwegian Lutheran church.
He has onl\ two children, the subject of this sketch having a brother.
Oscar J.
Otto 1.. Oahl grew uj) in Wisconsin, attended the public schools at
Baldwin, that state, and as a young man started clerking in a store at
Woodville. his native state. He had a natural inclination to mercantile life
and gave eminent satisfaction as a clerk, .soon mastering the various ins
and outs of the business. He remained there until 1892, when he came to
Polk county. Minnesota, and clerked in the store at Mcintosh for nine years,
his long retention there being suf^cient evidence of his faithful and honest
work. From 1901 to 1907 he devoted his attention to the picture busi-
ness, then turned his attention to farming, filing on a claim of one hundred
and sixtv acres in Red Lake county. Minnesota, in 1907, and he lived there
until 1910, in which year he built a store and established Roland postofifice,
in Red Lake county, remaining there four years, enjoying a very satisfactory
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 325
business. He sold out in 1914 and soon thereafter made an extensive
trip to Europe, visiting England, Holland, Germany. Denmark, Sweden
and Norway. Upon his return home he purchased a farm in Polk county,
Minnesota, but in the fall of 1914 he came to Felton and has made his
home here ever since. He was manager of the Otto Dahl store, owned
l)y his cousin. In January. 1917, he bought a partnership interest in the
business and is now manager and resident owner of this popular and suc-
cessful store. He has everything under a superb system and a large and
well selected general stock of goods is carried. A brisk trade is carried
on at all seasons with the people of Felton and the surrounding country.
Mr. Dahl was married in 1907 to Anna Broin. who was born in ^^lin-
nesota and was educated in the public schools. She is a daughter of John
and Lena (Quale) Broin, natives of Wisconsin. Six children have liecn
l)orn to Mr. and Mrs. Dahl, namely: Vernon, Arlie, Or\-ille, Otto, Doris
and Llewellyn.
Mr. Dahl was appointed postmaster at Felton in July, 1915, and lie
has filled that office ever since in an able and creditable manner. Politicallw
he is a Democrat.
SWAN NELSON.
Swan Nelson, proprietor i.f a fine farm of four hundred acres in Elk-
ton township. Clay county, and one of the most substantial farmers of
that part of the county, is a native of the kingdom of Sweden, but has been
a resident of Alinnesota since the year 1881. He was born on Januar\-
10, 1857, son of Nels and Cecelia (Swanson) Swanson. both also natives
of Sweden, who spent all their lives in their nati\-e C(juntrv, the former
dying in 1909 and the latter, in 1910. During the active years of hi-
life Nels Swanson was a coachman. He and his wife were the parents of
six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom the subject of this
sketch was the first-born, the others being Edith, deceased; Cecelia, who
is still making her home in Sweden ; Olaf, also a resident of his nati\e
land, and August and Mary, deceased. The Sw^ansons were members of
the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith.
Reared in Sweden, Swan Nelson received his schooling there and, in
1877. was married. About four years later, in March, 1881, he came to
the LTnited States w'ith his family, his wife's widowed mother accompany-
ing them, and proceeded on f)ut to this part of Minnesota, Hawley being
T^26 CL.w AM) Xdk.M AX i()r.\rii:s. .mixxesota.
his destination. l-"or a year after liis arrisal here Mr. Nelson was engaj^ed
working on the farm x>f Nels 'J'iesei. in tiie Hawley neif^hhorhood, <ind
llien homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in section 12 of Elktun
township, in Clay county, where he established his hcinie and has ever since
resided, one of the best-known and most substantial farmers in that part
of tlie countw I'pon taking possession of his homestead tract Mr. X'elson
planted a gro\ e and gradually im])roved his place, putting up good build-
ings, and as he prospered added to his holdings by the piuchase of an addi-
li<mal tract of two hundred and forty acres and now has a fine farm of
four hundred acres. Though still making his home on the farm, Mr. Nelson
has been practicalU retired from the active labors of the same for the past
six vears or more, lie has ever taken an interested i)art in local affairs and
for some years past has been serving as treasurer of the school district in
wliich he lives.
Mr. Nelson's wife died in 1906. She also was born in the kingdom of
Su'eden, Helen Torkelson. and as noted above, her widowed mother. Elena
(Johnson) Torkelson, came to this country with her. Mrs. Torkelson ever
afterward made her home with Mr. and Mrs. Nelson and her last days
were .spent there. Mr. Nelson has three children, Edith. Theodore and
.\nna. The family has ever given proper attention to the general social
affairs of the community in which they live and have been helpful in manv
ways in a<lvancing movements designed to promote the common welfare.-
thereabout.
HALVOR OLSON.
A large number of Scandinavians have immigrated to Minnesota where
ihev have found broader opi)ortunities than existed in their native land, and
they have been welcomed everywhere for reasons too obvious to mention
in detail here. Clay county has been fortunate in securing a large number
of these aliens, among whom was the late Halvor Olson, a skillful farmer
of Eglon township, who, like others of his countrymen, benefited alike him-
self and us after casting his lot in this locality, where he was highly esteemed.
Mr. Olson was born in Norwa\- on January 1, 1843. ^'s parents were
also natives of that country, where they lived and died on a farm. Thev
were parents of the following children: Ole, who died in Norway: Halvor.
the first, who came to .\merica and died in this ci>untr\-: Tom and Fiiii.'i,
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 327
who also died in the I'nited States, and Halvor, the second, subject of this
brief review.
Halvor Olson, the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood in Norway
and there attended the common schools. While living in his native land
he engaged in farming. He crossed the .\tlantic in 1S69 and came to Min-
nesota, locating in Houston county, where he lived two years, at the end of
which time, in 187 1, he came up into the Red River country and home-
steaded a c|uarter of a section of land in section 28 of Eglon townshi]).
Clay county. The Indians still were numerous hereabout at that time and
just about the time Air. Olson came here a white family was massacred
by the redskins. During the spring of his arrival here Mr. Olson was
stricken with typhoid fe\-er and notwithstanding the fact that he had to
subsist on salt pork, his wonderful constitution pulled him through. He
established his home on that homestead farm and there spent the rest of
his life, and his widow is still living there. He worked hard develo[>ing the
place from the wild prairie, and by perseverance and good management
prospered with the advancing years, and later added one hundred acres to
his original farm, in section 27, Eglon township, on which land he also
made all improvements. He carried on general farming and stock raising
extensively and became one of the leading farmers of his community. He
built a comfortable home and a number of convenient outbuildings. Mrs.
Olson has made considerable improvements since her husband's death and
has managed the place successfully, continuing the work of the same along
the lines which he had inaugurated. In connection with general grain and
stock farming she raises a large cpiantity of potatoes, planting fifteen acres
in 1917. A good grade of live stock is always to be found on the place.
Mr. Olson was married at Lake Park, Eglon township. Clay count}',
on January 3. 1882, to Anna Ness, who was born in Norway on December
4. 1855. Her parents were natives of Norway, where they grew up and
established their home, the father dying there in the year 1877. After
his death Mrs. Ness came to Minnesota and died in Clay county, in 1892.
Mrs. Olson came to .America in 1881, unaccomi)anied. She came to Min-
nesota and located in Clay county, wlnere. not lon.g thereafter she met and
married Mr. Olson, of this memoir.
To the union of Halvor Olson and wife eight children were born,
named as follow: Sophia, who is married and lives on a farm near Wadena,
this state; Sarah, wdio is married and lives in Minneapolis: Oscar, who has
remained on the home farm, which he is operating: Mollie. who has remainetl
at home with her mother: Helen, who is married and lives at Lake Park,
328 CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
Minnesota ; Ella, w ho is married and makes her home on a farm in Eglon
township ; Edward, who has remained with his mother and is assisting;'
in running; the farm, and Mabel; who is also at home. These children
were all educated in the district schools of Clay county. The family are
meml)ers of the Solum Norwegian Lutheran church.
The death of Halvor Olson occurred on his farm in Eglon tovvnshi))
in 1909.
THOMAS N. SUPER.
Thomas N. Sliper, a progressive farmer of Cromwell township, Clay
county, was born in Norway on July 15, 1852. He is a son of Nels X.
and Jaqumina (Peterson) Sliper, both natives of Norway, where they grew
to maturity, married and established their home. They came to Canada
in July, 1868, their vessel taking eight weeks to cross the ocean, and stopped
first in Quebec ; and from there they came to ^^'inneshiek county, Iowa,
where the father worked out until the spring of 187 1. when he came to
Clay county, Minnesota, driving an ox-team to a covered wagon, also drove
along his cows, and began life here in typical pioneer fashion, in June, 1871.
He took up a pre-emption claim of one hundretl and seventy acres in
Cromwell township, where his soi> Thomas X. now li\es. He later made
it a homestead. He worked hard and managed well and placed the land
under a fine state of improvement and cultivation and was one of the suc-
cessful general farmers of Cromwell township. He spent the rest of his
life on this farm, dying in 1888, his widow surviving until 1895. To these
parents five children were bom, namely: Peter X., now deceased, wlm
came to Minnesota in 1866 and settled in Houston count)-; Jacob, also
deceased, who came to Minnesota in 1867 and settled in Houston county:
Thomas N., the subject of this sketch: Kari, and Edward (deceased). The
family hcljjed start the first Lutheran church in Clay county.
Thomas N. Sliper spent his boyhood in Norway, where he attended
the common schools. He was sixteen years old when he came with his
parents to America, living with them in Quebec, Canada. Winneshiek county,
Iowa, and Clay county. Minnesota. He worked hard, like all pioneer boys
of that period, helping develop the new farm on the wild prairies. When
he reached his majority he took uj) a homestead of one hundred and twenty
acres and a tree claim of one hundred and thirty acres, in the same section
in which his father had located. Upon the death of his father he bought
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 329
out the Other heirs and now owns a total of about four hundred and fifteen
acres, on which he for years carried on general farming and stock raising
on an extensive scale, but is now retired from active labor, renting his farm.
He formerly raised a large quantity of grain, also large numbers of cattle
and hogs, and shipped many carloads of live stock to the market annually.
He has a modern home, large barns and other first-class improvements.
There is a large, fine grove by his home, which he set out many years ago.
Politically, Mr. Sliper is a Republican. He has been township treasurer
since 1887 and in other ways has taken an active and an earnest interest
in the general public affairs of the community in which he has lived since
pioneer days.
C. B. BRODINE.
C. B. Brodine, manager of the Felton Elevator Company at Felton,
Clay county, was born in Sweden, September 29, 1855. He is a son of
C. B. and Anna (Henrickson) Brodine, both natives of Sweden, where
they grew up. married and established their home; in fact, spent their lives
in their nati\e country. The father was engaged in the lianking business.
To these parents eight children were born.
C. B. Brodine grew to manhood in Sweden and there attended the
public schools. In 1882 he immigrated to America and the first few years
of his residence here traveled extensively, visiting" places of interest all
over the United States. About 1887 he located on a farm near Luce, in
Otter Tail county, Minnesota, carrying on general farming there several
years. Later he bought and sold grain, also handled lumber. He came to
Clay county, about 1898, locating on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
four miles .south of Felton, and continued farming there until 1905, when
he rented out his land and moved to Felton and has since been manager
of the Felton Elevator Company, building up a large and growing busi-
ness. He handles feed, grain, flour, fuel and machinery.
Mr. Brodine was married on November 14, 1890, to Ida Rassmuson.
who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of B. F. and Margarette (Larson)
Rassmuson, natives of Denmark. To Mr. and Mrs. Brodine six children
have been bom, Anna E., Ruth E., .\da M., Alonzo G., Calvin J. and
Philip O.
Politically, Mr. Brodine is a Democrat. While living on the farm in
Flowing township he served for some time as chairman of the township
33^ CI.AV AXl) XdKM AX CorXTIKS. .MIXXi:S()TA,
hoard, also as assessor and clerk of the school district. Since locating in
h'elton he has heen a member of the \illage conncil. clerk of the scliool
district, and is at this writing- clerk of Felton township. As a public servant
he has performed his duties in a faithful and satisfactory manner, and is
always deeply interested in public affairs.
XFT.S Il.\.\lArF.R.
One of the leading farmers of Goose Prairie towiishrj). Clay county,
is Nels Hammer, who was torn. May 3, 1862, in Norway. He is a son
(if Nicholi and Inge (Torreson) Hammer, lioth natives of Norway, where
they lived and died, the father passing away at the early age of thirty-
eight, when his son. Nels, was five years old. He owned and operated a
farm in his native land. His widow survived to 1881, reaching the age
of lifty-seven years. They were parents of the following children; Mary,
who is married and lives on the old homestead in Norway; Tom, who died
when three years of age; Tom (second), who is a road master in Norway,
having been in railroad service there many years; Olaf, who came to Min-
nesota, and is farming a place of two hundred and forty acres in Keene
township. Clay coimty ; Margaretta, who died in Norway, and Nels, the
subject of this sketch.
Nels Hammer spent his b(\vhood in Norwa)- and there attended school.
He came to .\merica in 1882, coming directly to Minnesota. After working
one summer for Peter Nelson on his farm in Eglon township. Clay county,
he went to A\'i,sconsin, spent one year in the lumber camps at Rice Lake,
then went to Dnunmond, that state, and continued to work in the timber
and in a saw -mill there "for three and one-half years. He returned to Clay
county in 188O and during the summer of that year worked on the Northern
Pacific railroad — the branch through the village of Hitterdal. He worked
for Ole Gunderson the next winter, then on a farm for one year. He
then purchased his present farm of eighty acres in section 33, Goose Prairie
township, later buying .-mother eighty, and he now owns a good farm of
one hundred and sixty acres. It was all raw land when he bought it and
he has placed it under a fine state of cultivation, erected a substantial group
of buildings, set out a grove and otherwise improved it. Mr. Hammer carries
on general and mixed farming and raises a good grade of Shorthorn cattle.
He is one of the pioneers of his community and was the first man to
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 33 1
borrow tlie sum of five dollars from the Hank of Havvley, just after it
\\'as started.
Mr. Hammer was married in Fargo, North Dakota, June i6, 1888,
to Jennie Salvevokl, who was born in Norway, November 27, 186.5, ^nd
who was about fourteen years of age when her parents brought her to
America. Tlie family located in Otter Tail county, Minnesota, where the
father spent the rest of his life on a farm, dying a number of years ago.
The mother is still li\ing on the homestead there with her son. She is now
about eighty years old. To Mr. and Mrs. Hammer eight children have
been born, namely: Theodore who owns and operates the hotel at Hitter-
dal, and Engar, Minnie, Nels, Jr.. Nora, Stella, Elmer and Lillian, who
arc all at home.
Politically, Mr. Hammer is independenl. He has been a member of
the township board in Goose Prairie township for a period of twenty years,
and chairman of the same part of the time. He is a member of the United
Norwegian church, in which he is a deacon, and is an active worker in
tlie same.
NELS M. KLEPPE.
Nels M. Kleppe, justice of the peace in and for Spring Prairie town-
ship. Clay county, and for many years engaged in the grain business at
A\erill. but who is now gix'ing his chief attention to his c|uarter-section
farm in the immediate vicinity of that village, is a native of the kingdom
of Norway, but has been a resident of this country and of Minnesota since
he was an infant. He was born on November 22, 1885. son of S. R. and
Nellie (Nelson) Kleppe, also natives of Norway, who came to this country
in 1886 and located in N'ellow Medicine county, this state remaining there
abi)ut sixteen years, at the end of which time they moved to Lyon count}-.
In this latter county S. R. Kleppe spent his last days and his widow is still
living there. Of the children born to them three surviv'e. those besifles the
subject of this sketch being R^asmus and Sikke.
.\s noted above. Nels M. Kleppe was l)ut a babe in arms when his
parents came from Xorway to Minnesota ^ind his youth was spent in Yel-
low Medicine countv. where he received the greater ])art of his schooling.
After the family moved to Lyon county he became a valued assistant in
the labors nf the home farm there and remained there until 1908, when
2iS- CLAY AND NOKMAN COUNTIES. MINXKSOTA.
lie came up into the Red River country and located at A\erill, being there
engaged as grain buyer for the Minnesota & Western Grain Company, and
continued thus engaged until 191 5, since which time he has been chiefly
engaged in farming, operating a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres
nearby the village. In the meantime, in 1912. he married Mrs. Effie Jolm-
son, who was then and still is conducting a general store at Averill, and
until he took up active farming assisted in the management of the store
as well as looking after his grain business. Mr. Kleppe has given close
attention to the general civic affairs of his home community since locating
here and for tlie past six years has been sending as justice of the peace.
Mrs. Kleppe was born, Effie Hawkins, on a pioneer farm in Rockwell
township, in tlie adjoining county of Norman, daughter of Christian Inge-
bright and Johanna John.son (Slater) Hawkins, the former a native of
Norway and the latter of Sweden, who were married in Minnesota and
became pioneers of Norman county, where Christian Hawkins spent his
last days. His widow is still living. She was born in Sweden and was
liut six years of age when she came to this country with her parents.
I'eter and Mary (Johnson) Slater, who first settled in Wa.shington county,
this state, later moving to Carver county, where they spent their last days.
Christian Hawkins came to the L'nited States from Norway when about
twenty-one years of age and located at Minneapolis, where he became en-
gaged working at his trade as a tailor. He married about 1876 and about
two years later, after a year spent at Fergus Falls, homesteaded a quarter
of a section of land six miles east of Borup, in Norman county. Cpon
his retirement from the farm he moved to Averill and later to Ada, where
be died in May, 1905, at the age of sixty-four years. His father died in
Norway and his mother later married again and came to this country. Chris-
tian Hawkins helped to organize tlie first church established in the \icinity
I if Borup.
On OctoI)er 30. I1S97. Effie Hawkins was united in marriage to John
Jolinson, who was liorn in .Sweden on September 17, 1867, son of John
and Johanna Johnson, who spent all their lives in their native Sweden. When
twenty years of age the younger John Johnson came to the United States
and after a while located at Felton. in Clay county, later moving to Averill.
where in March. 1898, he started the first store established in that village
and also ojierated a farm in that \icinity. Mr. Johnson was for years a
member of the school board at Averill and credit was due him for the move-
ment which led to the erection of the school house there. Though reared
CLAY AXD NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 333
as a Lutlieraii he lielped to organize the Congregational church at Felton
and also aided in the organization of the church at .Vverill. John Johnson
died on February 20. 191 1, leaving a widow and four children, Clara.
Evelyn, Leonard and Ruby.
OLE H. GOL.
Some people seem to forget that a fertile soil is a living, breathing
thing, well fed by nature or by the hand of man, with the natural mineral
elements and the organic matter necessary for the use of the soil bacteria
in the manufacture of plant food, and for a delightful environment in which
they can live and work. Ole H. Gol, a farmer of Highland Grove township,
Clay county, has not overlooked this fact, and consequently he is making
his farm produce good crops annually and is living comfortablv as a result
(if his good management.
Mr. Gol was born in Norway. Xo\eml)er 15, 1868. He is a son of
Hans and Ragna (Tollefson) Tollefson, both natives of Norway, where they
spent their li\es on a farm. Eight children were born to them, namel}- :
Tollef Hanson, the first : Tollef Hanson, the second ; Berget Hanson, and
.\rnna Hanson, all of whom live in Norway; Hans Hanson, who came to
Minnesota and lives in Eglon township. Clay county: Nels Hanson, who
lives in Norway: Ole H., the subject of this sketch, and Tngebright. the
wife of Christ Erickson, of Parke township, Clay county.
Ole H. Gol spent his boyhood in Norway and there attended the com-
mon' schools. He remained with his parents on the home farm until alxnn
1896, when he immigrated to America and came to Minnesota, locating on
a farm in Eglon township. Clay county, where he remained about eight
years, then removed to Highland Grove township, buying his present excel-
lent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where he has since been engaged
in general farming and stock raising.
In the spring of 1906 Mr. Gol was married to Emma Sophia West-
lierg, who was born on her father's homestead in Highland Grove township.
Clay county, where she grew to womanhood. She was educated in the local
district schools. She is a daughter of Peter and Annie (Anderson) W'est-
berg, both natives of Sweden, from which country they came to Minnesota
when young and were married in Clay county in 1881. Mr. Westberg came
directly to Clay countv in 1879 and was one of the pioneers in Highland
334 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
Gro\e township, wlicrc he now owns a fine farm of two liundred acres, on
which he lias made all the improvements. His family ctinsists of eiijht
children, named as follow: lunma, the first (deceased): Lewis. Jennie,
luiima (second), wife of Mr. Gol : .\dol])h. who lives on the Imnic fai'ni
and assists his father in operating the place, and .\nnie. Minnie and Tilda.
.\ separate sketch of the W'estherg familv will he fitund i)n another jiagc
of this work.
To Mr. and ^[rs. (iol one child has heen hum. a son. Ilelnier Knv
Gol. Mr. Gol is a Repnhlican and lias always heen interested in the affairs
of his home community. lie was a meniher of the village council at Mani-
toha Junction. Clay county, where he lived a while many years ago. He
and his famih- helou"- to the Xorwctrian Lutheran church.
.\UGUST STIEXTXG.
The name of August Stiening. hanker of Felton, is loo well known
to the ])eople of Clay county to need any formal introduction by the bio-
grapher. He was l)orn in Germany, July 17, 1868, and is a son of Carl
and .\nna Maria (Knollmann) Stiening, both natives of Germany, where
they grew up and married. The father was a wagon-maker by trade and
he became a well-known manufacturer of wagons in Guernheim, Germanx'.
but later in life he devoted his attention to the lumber and merchandise
busine.ss. His family consisted of fi\e children, namely: Heinrich. who
lives in Germany, a painter and decorator by trade; Carl, who died at
\\ aterloo. Illinois: Wilhelm, who makes his home at Waterloo, lllinMs:
Herman, who resided in Waterloo, Illinois, and is now deceased, and .August,
who is the youngest of the family.
August Stiening grew to manhood in Germany, and where he attended
tile public schools and worked with his father when a young man. W'licn he
w.is alK)ut twenty years old his father was appointed postmaster at Guern-
heim. in 1888, but it was the understanding of the government that the
son, August, was to run the office, which he did for a period of eight
years, performing his duties in an able, faithful and acceptable manner.
He had five carriers and two sub-stations under his direction. His health
failing, he was advised, in 1896. to take an ocean trip in the hopes of
restoring it. On September 3 of that year he sailed from his nati\e laml
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 335
lor the New World. He came on West to Waterloo, Illinois, to visit
his brothers and was so favorably impressed with the United States that
he decided to remain here, so he sent back to Germany for his wife and
two children. The first year he worked with his brother, Wilhelm, at
Waterloo, painting and paper-hanging. In the fall of 1896 he purchased
a farm of two hundred acres about six miles south of W'aterloo, erected
a large brick house thereon and made other important improvements, living-
there three years. There were good buildings on the place when he bought
it, but his renter occupied them. In the summer of 1900 he was overcome
by the heat while working in a cornfield. Believing that die climate of
the Northwest would be better for him, he made an extensive trip, finally
selecting the vicinity of Anamoose, North Dakota, and homesteaded one
hundred and twenty acres six miles northwest of that town. He soon had
a good farm improved there and, prospering through close application and
good management, he now owns a half section. In 1904 he started buying
grain for the Osborn McMillan Elevator Company at Martin, North Dakota,
working for that firm about a year. He then worked for the A. D. Zien
Company, wholesale liquor dealers of Duluth, Minnesota, as a traveling-
salesman, but in a short time he accepted a similar position with the Jung-
Brewing Company, of Milwaukee, being stationed at the company's branch
house at East Grand Forks, this state, at good wages and all expenses paid,
and was manager of the house there for eighteen months. In August,
1910, he came to Clay county, as cashier of the First State Bank of Felton,
and has held this position ever since, giving his usual satisfaction, being
able, loyal and courteous to the patrons of the bank. He has also been
treasurer of the Felton Rural Telephone Company. He and Otto Dahl
built the first brick building in Felton — a bank building and store house.
On September 5, 1H93, Mr. Steining was married to Johanna Meyer,
and four clrildren have lieen born to tliem, namely : Maria Elizabeth, Carl
H., Marie and Jenny. Mr. Steining is independent in his political views.
He has been active and influential in the affairs of Felton since coming here,
was for some tinie president (if the village, has done much for the upbuild-
ing of the town and community, served for five years on the local school
board and has also served as justice of the peace. He put in the first
cement sidewalks in I'^lton and otherwise improved the place in a general
way. He has been a leader among the people of this locality, is a man of
progressive ideas and has discharged his duties as a ])ulilic servant in a
capable and faithful manner.
336 CLAY AXD .NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
LEWIS N. QUAM.
Lewis N. Quam, one ol the wideawake Iwentielh-century farmers of
Spring Prairie township, Clay county, was born in Steele county, Minnesota.
October 25, 1856. He is a son of John N. and Anna (Lysne) Quam, both
born in Sogan, Norway, wliere they grew up and married. In the spring
of 1854 they came to America, locating in Dane county, Wisconsin, where
they spent two years, moving from there to Steele county, in the southern
Ijart of Minnesota, in the spring of 1856, making the journey from the
I'adger state in a covered wagon, drawn by an o.x-team. Three other
families came along at the same time, crossing the Mississippi river at
.McGregor On tiie ferry. Mr. Quam took up a pre-emption claim in Steele
county, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres. He made a splendid
farm of it and operated the same until 1879, when he moved to Kandiyohi
countv. this state, where he bought a farm on which he spent the rest of
his life, dving some years ago, and there his widow still makes her home.
To these parents ten children were born, five of whom died before reaching
maturity. Those who grew up were as follow : Lewis X., the subject
of this sketch; Nels, who lives in Willmar, Minnesota; Wilda, who lives
in Kandiyohi county, this state; Metha, who lives in the state of Washington,
and John, who took up a homestead in Bowman count)-. X'orth Dakota, where
he is engaged in farming.
Lewis X. Quam spent his boyhood on the farm in Steele county. Min-
nesota. There he attended the district schools and later was a student in
the Augustberg Seminary at Minneapolis two winters. In the spring of
1882 he went to Montana, where he worked two summers and one winter
in the Placer gold mines. He then returned to Minneapolis and was a
student in the above-nained seminary for another four months. He then
made a prospecting trip through Clay county, bringing horses, a wagon,
plow, etc. He traded his three horses for a homestead right of one hundred
and sixtv acres, in section 26 of Spring Prairie township. The following
vear. 1885. he began developing the place and has resided there ever since.
He prospered with advancing years through perseverance and good man-
agement and added to his original holdings until he now owns a total of
four hundred acres, all in one body. He has erected a handsome residence
and substantial outbuildings, also planted large groves. He has been quite
successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, operating on a large scale,
and ranking among the leading agriculturists of his township and county.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 337
In the fall of 1885 Lewis N. Ouam was married to Carrie Arneson,
who was born in Norway. She is a daughter of Arne Arneson, who died
in Norway, but whose widow came to America about the year 1897 and
is still living, making her home with her daughter in Spring Prairie town-
ship. Fourteen children have been torn to Mr. and Mrs. Ouam, namely :
John A., Agnes M., Lalia Clarisa, Harry Edwin, Ralph W., an infant
(deceased), Nina, Mathia, Andrew L., Goodhue N., Sophia May, Roy E.,
Anha Gladys, Lewis Norris, and Morrel O'Neil.
Politicallv, Mr. Ouaiu is an "Independent." He helped organize the
school district, which then comprised the entire township. He was the first
school clerk and has held that office ever since in his district. As the county
was settled there were a numljer of small districts formed from the old
one. He is now chairman of the township board, which office he has held
for fifteen vears. The Ouams iiavc a veiy pleasant home and have ever
taken an interested and influential part in the general social activities of
the community in which they live.
PETER WESTBERG.
Peter Westberg, one of the older farmers of Highland Grove township.
Clay county, was born in Sweden, September 21, 1847. He is a son of
Nels Peterson, a native of Sweden, where he grew up, married and lived
until immigrating to the United States in 1879, following his son Peter,
w ith whom he spent the rest of his life. His wife died in Sweden.
The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in Sweden and there at-
tended the public schools. He landed in America on October 20, 1878, and
came to Minnesota, locating at Lake Park, in Becker county. In 1880
he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Highland Grove
township. Clay county, and here he has lived continuously to the present
time. He later jjurchased forty acres more, making him at present a fine
farm of two hundred acres, all of which he has brought up to a high state
of improvement and cultivation. He has a cozy residence and such out-
buildings as his needs require. Mr. Westberg was a pioneer here, most of
the land in his locality being raw prairie when he came here, and he has
Ijeen very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Westberg was married in Clay county on June 23, r88i, to Annie
(22a)
338 CLAV AXD XORMAX CorXTIES, illXXESOTA.
AiidersiMi, a native of Sweden, in which country she spent her girlhood and
attended tlie common schools. She came to America the latter part of 1880.
Her i)arents lived and died in Sweden. To Peter Westberg and wife nine
children have been born, namely: Emma (deceased), Lewis, Jennie, Emma
(second), Adolph, Annie, Minnie, Tilda and one who died in infancy.
Adolph Westberg operates the home farm, having assisted his father
with the crops and stock raising for years, and he still lives at home. He
was married April 8, 191 5, to Anna Carlson, a daughter of John E. Carlson,
a well-known farmer of Highland Grove township, a sketch of whom appears
elsewhere in this work. To Adolph Westberg and wife one child has been
born, a son, Adolph Willard Westberg.
Politically, Peter Westberg is independent and has nc\er .sought public
honors or mixed up with political affairs. He helped organize the Ejska
Lutheran church, of which he is an active member, he and his family taking
an interested part in church work.
IIEinLXN POSSEHL.
.\nothcr member of the well-known Possehl family in Clay county,
who is making a success as a general farmer is Herman Possehl, of near
Baker, Barnesville township. He was born in Cook county, Illinois, August
2. 1869, and is a son of Fred Possehl and wife, mention of whom is made
at proper length in the sketch of H. C. Possehl, appearing on another page
of this work, to which the reader is respectfully directed. Suffice it to say
here that Fred Possehl was a native of Germany, from which country
he came to the United States in young manhood and began life in Illinois,
.starting with practically nothing: but by good management and hard work
he forged ahead, farming in that state and later in Iowa, and now is living
in retirement at Baker, Clay county, having accumulated a comfortable
competency through his own efforts. He marriefi Minnie Schlede, also a
native of Germany, and to their union eight children were born, namely :
Sophia. Emma. Herman, H. C. Fred, Jr.. Martha, Louis and Minnie.
Herman Possehl grew up on the home farm in Dupage county. Illi-
nois, being but a child when bis parents removed there from Cook county,
that state. He received his education in the public schools. As a young
man he started farming in Franklin county, Iowa, where his family moved
upon leaving Illinois. There he became owner of eighty acres, which he
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 339
farmed until in February, 191 1, when lie sold out and came to Minnesota.
He bought one hundred and sixty acres in section 6, Barnesville township.
Clay county, and there he has since been successfully engaged in general
farming and stock raising, and has since added another quarter section
of land to his fine farm, in the same section. He also conducts a dairy,
the output of which is constantly increasing. His place is well improved
in every respect and he is regarded as one of the progressive general farmers
and stock men of his township.
Mr. Possehl was married in 1894 to Emma Hopkey, a native of this
country, who was educated in the common schools. She is a daughter <if
John and Minnie Hopkey, of Latimer, Iowa. Three children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Possehl, namely: Walter, Herman, Jr.. and Aleda.
Politically, Mr. Possehl is a Republican and is at present a member of
the board of supervisors of Barnesville township. He is a member of
the German Lutheran church, in which faith he was reared. While living
in Franklin countv, Iowa, he was assessor of his township.
JOHN F. YOUNG.
land
bjhn F. Young, an energetic and substantial farmer, also renter ot
and engaged in general farming, is a native of the Empire state, but
has been a resident of Clay county for the past fourteen years. He is the
son of John and Ann (Miller) Young, both of whom were natives of Eng-
land and who left that country while yet young and came to the United
.States.
[ohn Young was born in England in 1838 and some years later immi-
grated to the United States and went to Cortland county, New York, and
there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring about twenty-
five years a.go. He was married to Ann Miller, who was also a native of
England and who came to this country when a young girl. They were
married in Cortland, New York. Mrs. Young died in the fall of the year
1916. They were the parents of the following children: Wilfred, living;
Jennie and Anna, deceased ; Ella, married ; Rose, married : \\'illiam, deceased :
Henry, John and Nancy, the latter also deceased.
lohn F. Youn.g, the subject of this sketch, was born in Cortland county.
New York, in 1874. He was educated in the public schools and early
decided to follow the V\ie of a farmer. He came to Minnesota in 1903 and
_^4" CLAV AM) XOKMAN' COL" NTUCS, iM IXXICSOTA.
immediately proceeded to rent some land in Clay county. He succeeded in
his early venture and later ac(|uired a tract of land by purchase and is now
the owner ot one hundred and fifty acres of choice land, in addition to which
he rents three hundred and twenty acres. Me carries on general farming,
including the cultivation of potatoes, and since the commencement of his
operations he has lieen most successful, everything about his farni being in
excellent ccmdition and the inipro\ements of modern class. Mr. Young
contemplates raising Red Tolled cattle and success in this line is also pre-
dicteil for him.
In August, K)Oo, John 1-'. \ nung was united in marriage to Christina
Larson, who was burn in Olmsted county, .Minnesota, in 1879. To this
union the following children have been born : Ruth. Robert, Arthur and
Helen. Mr. "N'oung takes a good citizen's interest in local civic afifairs and
in the general aftairs of the community, but has never been a seeker after
political office. i)referring to devote his time to his agricultural interests.
AIT.UST F. HOPPE.
August 1'. i ioppc. one of the progressive young fanners of .Mliance
township. Clay county, the owner of a quarter section of fine land adjoining
his father's place in that township, is a native son of Minnesota and has
lived in this state all his life. lie was born at \\'inona in 1884, a son of
.\ugust and Augusta Hopjie, natives of Germany, the former of whom was
burn in iS5(>. who came to this country with their family in the early
eighties and settled at Winona, this state, where they lived until about
iX()5, when they came up intcj this part of the state and settled in Clay
county, where they ha\e since made their home. August Hoppe is the
owner of a half section of land in Alliance township and has developed
a line bit of farm property there, his place being well improved and [)rofit-
,ibly cultivated. His son .\ugust owns a quarter of a section adjoining,
the [ilaces being in sections 20 and 21. .August Hoppe and wife have
nine children. \\'illiam. I'red. Charles. I'rank. John. August. Bertha, .\nnie
and Ida. Of these, Fred. /\ugust. Annie and Bertha are married.
August 1'. Hoppe was about eleven years of age when his parents
settled in Clay county and his schooling was completed in the .schools of
his home neighborhood. From the days of his boyhood he was a valued
aid in the laljors of improving and developing the home place and in time
CLAY AND XORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 34I
liecame the owner of :i ()uarter of a section of land atl joining his father's
farm and since his niarrias^c in 1911 has made his home there. He has
a modern house on tlie place and his well-kept farm plant is in keeping
with the same, exer^'thing being up-to-date and indicative of the progressive
spirit of the owner. Of late he and his father have been giving consider-
able attentinn to potato culture and im his farm in the summer of 1917
he had out aJiout twenty-hve acres of potatoes, while his father had out
fortv acres.
In [91 I .\ugust !•'. Hoppe was united in marriage to Charlotte Ernst,
who was born in Clay county in 1891, and to this union two children ha\e
been born, Harry and Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Hoppe have a very pleasant
home anrl take a pro])er ]);u"t in the communitv's general social affairs.
HAK.W OLSON.
I lakan Olson, a well-known and progressive farmer, owner of a fine
fa'-ni of one hundred and sixty acres in section 22, Rixerton township, this
county, is a native of the kingd<im of Sweden, but has l)een a resident of
this country fnr thirty years, or since 1887. He was born in Sweden in
1866 and is a son of Ole H. and Anna Olson, also natives of the same
coimtry and in which the_\- spent all their li\es.
Ole H. Olson was born in Sweden in 1822 and was educated in the
public schools of his native place. He was engaged throughout his active
life as a farmer and died sevetiteen years ago, in 1900, at the age of seventy-
two years. His wife, Anna ( )lson also was a native of Sweden, born
there in 1833, aufl w;is educated in the schools (jf her home neighborhood.
She died in 1903. at the age of seventy years. Ole H. Olson and wife
were the parents of two children, Anders and Hakan. The parents of
these children were members of the Swedish Lutheran church and took
a proper interest in the affairs of same, active and influential residents of
the district in which tliey lived.
Hakan Olson was educated in the schools of his native Sweden and
was reared on his father's farm. From boyhood he was a valuable assistant
to his father on the farm and continued thus engaged up to 1887. In
the latter year he left the old country and immigrated to the United .States,
and on his arrival proceeded on out to b'argo. He began working for
himself at farm lalxir, saving all the money possible with the view of
34- CLAY AXD XOKMAX Ci IL' NTIKS. MIXXESOTA.
acquiring- land ftir liiniseit. In this latter purpose he was successful and
settled on his present farm eleven years ago. He is now the owner of
one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land in section 22, Riverton town-
shi]i, on which he carries on general farming', and since the commence-
ment of his operations he has been very fortunate, everything about his
farm disclosing an air of pros])erity. Mr. Olson has carried out a syste-
matic series of improvements on his place and in the summer of 1917
remodeled the dwelling- from the foundation up.
In 1002 Hakan Olson was united in niarriage to Freda Knutson. who
was born in Sweden in 1879. Mrs. Olson came to this country when about
nine years old and later catne to reside in this county, her marriage taking-
place at Moorhead. To Flakan Olson and wife the following children have
been jjorn : John, Clara. Adolph, Olof, .\nnic, Henry, Herman and Lilly,
;iil uf whom are living at home with their parents. The Olson family are
members of the Swedish Lutheran church and are warmly interested in the
aiTairs of the same, as well as in all the general community interests of the
district in which they li\e. ^Ir. Olson takes a good citizen's part in the
public and civic welfare of the township, but has nexci- been a seeker r.fter
]>o!ilical office.
KLLIXG HAUG.
Elling- Haug. a well-known and substantial farmer of Keene township,
owner of two hundred and twenty acres of splendid farming land, engaged in
raising a fine grade of Shorthorn cattle, former supervisor of the towuiship
and former clerk of the school board, is a native of the kingdom of Norway,
but had been a resident of this county since he was nineteen years old. He
is a son of Gilbert and Gunel Haug, both "natives of Norway and who were
111' the farming class in that country.
Gill)ert Haug, who died many years ago, at the age of sixty years, spent
all his life in Norway, where he was a farmer, holding rented land. After
the death of Gilbert Haug. his widow. Gunel Haug, came to America, about
1S77, accompanied liy ;i brother and two sisters, and proceeded to the state
of Minnesota, locating in the southern part of Minnesota, where she lived for
one year. She then moved to Ulen township, Cla\- county, and took a home-
stead f)f one hundred and sixty acres in section 18, and lived there up to the
time of her death in 1889. Gilbert ;uid Gunnel Haug were the parents of
tlie following children: Carrie, deceased: Maria, who died in 1915; Elling,
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 343
ilu- subject of this sketch; Erick, married, wlio hves in section 2 of Keene
township, and is the father of ten children; Mrs. Lizzie Broset, who hves in
Ulen township, and Thea, who is married and Hves in Twin Valle3^
On arriving^ in this county Elhng Haug took charge of his mother's
Immestead farm and worked it until the death of the mother, when it was
sold. Later, he decided to begin farming life on his own account and home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres in section 2, Keene township, and im-
mediately proceeded to the task of preparing the land for cultivation and
soon had things going in good shape. Mr. Haug erected all the buildings
to be seen on the place today and carried out many improvements, finally
bringing the place up to a standard not surpassed in the township. He later
bought an additional sixt_\' acres in section 3, of the township, improving the
farm and bringing it up to date, and is now the owner of two hundred and
twenty acres of choice land and on the two holdings is engaged in general
farming and in the raising of .Shorthorn cattle.
lulling Haug was united in marriage to Gurine Grandahl, a native of
Norway, born there in 1863, who came to this country alone at the age of
twenty years. Her parents lived and died in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Haug
are the parents of six children, namely : Mabel, living in Viding township ;
Gena, working at Devil's Lake : Eline, at home : Emma, working at Devil's
Lake, and Gilman ;ind Clarence, at home. Mr. Haug is a member of the
Synod church, of which he acts as treasurer, and formerly served as deacon
and trustee. He takes a good citizen's interest in public affairs and was clerk
to the local school board for four years, and served as supervisor of the town-
ship board for one term. He helped to organize the creamery and co-opera-
tive store at Ulen and is a stockholder in the same. In all matters appertain-
ing to the welfare of the community he is ever ready to lend a helping hand
and is regarded as one of the progressive men of the township in which he
lives.
OLE M. STEEN.
Ole M. Steen, one of tiie most painstaking farmers of Oakport town-
ship. Clay countv, was l)orn in Norway, May 12, i860. Mr. Steen grew to
manhood in Xorwa\- and there attended the common schools, also a military
training school for officers. Upon completing his course he came to the
United States in 1882, single, making the long continuous journey to Fargo,
North Dakota. .Since then he has made his home in Clav countv, Minnesota.
344 CLAY AXD NOKMAN CiirXTIES. MINXKSOTA.
JULIUS A. HANSEN.
Farming has become an exact science and tlie best and Ijriglitesl miniis
in tlie country have not thought it beneath their dignity to give it the best
of their efforts and genius. JuHus A. Hansen, of Highland Grove township.
Clay county, is a type of our better class of farmers, a man who uses
more brain than brawn in operating his place.
Mr. Hansen was Ixjrn in Henry county, Illinois, October 20, 1876,
a son of !''red and Anna (Johnson) Hansen, jjoth natives of Denmark. The
father came to America with his parents in 1868, the family locating in
Hcnr}- county, Illinois, where they resided until 1879, when they remo\e«l
to Seward county, Nebraska, taking uj) a homestead on wliich the parents
of Fred Hansen spent tKe rest of their lives. The father was a tailor l)y
trade and followed that trade in Denmark, but after coming to the United
States he followed farming. His name was Hans Hansen and he married
.Marn Stena Beck. They were both natives of Denmark. Anna Johnson,
mother of the subject of this sketch, was a daughter of Hans Christian
Johnson and wife, also natives of Denmark, where the mother's death
occurred. The father later came to .America and died in Nebraska. Their
daughter, .\ima Johnson, was nine years old when her father brought her
to America, in 1868. They located in Henr}- county. Illinois, where the\
resided until 1880. when he moved to Seward count), Nebraska, where he
.spent the rest of his life. He was a farm laborer. The paternal grand-
father was a soldier in the Danish army and fouglit in the war between
his country and Germany.
i'he i);irents of the subject of this sketch were married in Illinois and
from there, in 1879, moved to Seward county, Xebra.ska, where the mother's
death occurred in 1882, and where the father spent the rest of his active
life engaged in farming. However, he farmed in Kansas for a while. He
returned to Denmark in 191 3. where his death occurred. Two. children
were Iwrn to Fred and .\nna (Johnson) Hansen, namely: Julius A., the
subject of this sketcli. and Rosa. After the death of his first wife, Fred
Hansen married Mrs. Margaret (Hansen) Johnson, a native of Denmark.
who had one child, Emma Johnson, Ijy her former husband. She bore her
second hu.sband five children, Rudolf. Fred (deceased). May. Walter and
Harold.
Julius A. Hansen grew up on the farm in Seward county, Nebraska,
having been but six years of age when his parents moved there from Illi-
.TIT.TIS A. TIANSKX AND FAMILY.
THE NT
PUBLIC 'i...
ASTOR, LENOX
TTLDEN fO':r:DATinNSj
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 345
nois. He \\orkecl on the farm during the crop seasons and attended the
common schools in the winter time. .Vs a yomig man he engaged in farming
in Seward county, Neljraska. for himself, remaining there until the fall of
1914, having made a decided success along general lines of mixed farming
and stock raising. L'pon coming to Minnesota from Nebraska he located
on his present farm in Highland, ()ro\'e t<i\vnship, Clay county. ])urchasing
there one of the choice farms of the township, the same consisting of four
hundred acres, which is well improved and on which he is carrying on general
farming and stock raising with very gratifying results.
On March 17, 1897, -^I''. Hansen was married to f'llsie Nelson, who
was born in Henry county, Illinois. She is a daughter of Rasmus and
Caroline (Palle) Nelson, both natives of Denmark, from which country
they came to America, single, each coming alone, the father in 1869 '"'"■'
the mother about 187J. They were married in Henry county, Illinois, and
continued to reside there until 1894, when they removed to .Seward county,
Nebraska, where they still live. They followed general farming until retir-
ing some time ago. They now reside in the town of Cordova. Rasmus
Nel.son is a son of Nels ;ind FJsie Jensen, both natives of Denmark, where
they lived and died. The parents of Mrs. Rasmus Nelson also lived and
died in Denmark. Two children, a son and a daughter, were born to Rasmus
Nelson and wife, namely : Axel and Elsie.
To Julius A. Hansen and wife eight children have lieen liorn: Alfred.
Clarence, Anna, Arthur, Josei)h, Harvey, Elmer and Hazel. The Hansens
are members of the Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Hansen is a Repub-
lican.
HAROLD O. WOLDAHL.
Tlie tiller of the soil who has a true vision of twentieth-century farm-
ing will utilize every acre of his land, raise a good grade oi live stock,
purchase labor-saving machinery and will make his surroundings attractive
in a general way. Then he will experience the full reward of his labors.
Such a man is Harold O. Woldahl. of Goose Prairie township. Clay county.
Mr. Woldahl was born in Norway on August 20, 1839. He is a son
of Ole and Bertha (Woldahl) Roeros, and took his mother's maiden name
upon coming to America.' His parents were natives of Norway, where
they grew up, married and resided all their lives. The father died in
1887, when past the age of seventy years. He owned two farms and en-
346 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
gaged in fanning all his life. His wife, who was his junior b)- two vears.
died the day following his death. To these parents eight children were
born, namely: Jens, who died in Sweden in 191 5; Johanas, who lives on
one of tlie farms which the father left in Norway ; Ole, who lives on the
other farm which the father left; Berge, who is living with Ole; Johanna,
who died when sixteen years old ; Elizabeth, now deceased, was a twin,
the other child dying in infancy, unnamed; Harold, of this review, is the
youngest of the family.
Harold O. Woldahl spent his boyhood in Norway and was there edu-
cated. He worked on the home farm with his father until 1881, when
he immigrated to America and located in Blue Earth county, ^Minnesota,
where he worked out as a farm hand. He then came to Clay county,
arriving at Hawley on l-^ebruary 2, 1882. He worked for his cousin there
for over a year, and in the spring of 1883 went to Otter Tail county, rented
a farm, and while there was married. In the fall of 1883 he came to Goose
Prairie township, Clay county, and bought the farm on which he now
lives, his land lying in sections 31 and 32. He also owns land in section
6, Highland Grove township. His excellent farm is well improved in every
respect, all the improvements ha\ing been made by himself. His place
consists of three hundred and twenty-three acres. He has been quite suc-
cessful as a general farmer and stock raiser and makes a specialty of raising-
Shorthorn cattle.
Mr. Woldahl was married in Otter Tail county on May 23, 1883, to
Merian Salvevold, who was born in Norway on March 16, 1858. She spent
her girlhood there and attended the common schools. She came to America
with her ])arents in 1880. the family locating on a farm in Otter Tail county.
Minnesota, where the father took up a homestead, buying a right, and there
establishefl a comfortable home and spent the rest of his life engaged in
general farming, dying in 1890 at the age of sixty-five years. His widow-
still lives on the old homestead there and is now (1917) seventy-nine years
old. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Woldahl, namely:
Berdia. who was Ijorn in 1885; Oscar, who is living on a rented farm one
mile east of where his father resides: Johanna, who died in June. 1907:
Edward, who li\es in Montana: John, who died in November, 1911 ; Minnie,
who lives at home; Louis and Christ (twins), at home, and Malven.
Politically, Mr. Woldahl is independent. He has been a member of
the township board for many years and he also served as road boss several
}-ears. He and his family belong to the Uniteil Lutheran church and he
was formerlv a trustee of the same.
CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA, y ' 347
LUDVVIG A. OPSAHL.
Most farms succeed in spite of certain weaknesses. Some of these weak-
nesses can be corrected ; others are due to conditions that cannot be im-
proved, such as naturally poor soil, short growing seasons, steep hills and
various things. No better example of a good general farmer than Ludwig
A. Opsahl could be fimnd in Ulen township, Clay county.
Mr. Opsahl was born in Norway, September 27, i860. He is a son
'if .\ndrew and Anna (Larson) Peterson, both natives of Norway, where
the^• grew up, married and, in fact, spent all their lives. They have been
deceased many years. The father was a carpenter, and followed that trade
during his active life. To the.se parents the following children were born:
Lduisa, the eldest, who came to ,\merica when young and has remained in
this country; Ludwig .\., the subject of diis sketch, and Maria, Olena and
Christian, who are living in Norway, where they have always resided.
Ludwig A. Opsahl spent his boyhood in Norway and there attended the
common schools. He set sail for the shores of the new world in 1881, when
twentv-one years old, and upcjn his arrival at port proceeded on out to Min-
nesota, arriving at Red Wing in June of that year and at once began working-
near there as a farm hand. He remained in that vicinity until 1886, in which
vear he moved to L'len townshij). Clay county, and bought a relinquishment
to a quarter .section, and later homesteaded the same. To this he later added
eighty acres just across the road from his original holdings and also pur-
chased one hundred and si.xty acres in section 7 of LJIen township. Mr.
Opsahl has placed all his land under an excellent state of cultivation and im-
provement, including the erection of a large modem home and numerous out-
buildings, and has bv infinite effort and patience transformed the wild prairie
into choice farming land. He set out a large grove when he first came here,
which is now very attractive. He engages in general and mixed farming,
raising a large (|uantity of grain ;uuuially; also prepares large numbers of
cattle and hogs for market and makes a specialty of raising a good grade of
Percheron horses. He handles Shorthorn cattle.
In 1886 Ludwig .\. Opsahl was married to Elena Johnson, who was
liorn in Norway, from which country her mother brought her to Minnesota
when she was five years old, settling at Red Wing. She is a daughter of John
and Sarah (Borstad) Melha, natives of Norway, where they grew up, mar-
ried and established their home and where the father died when compara-
livelv young, after which his widow lirought her children to the United
34^ CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, M 1 N NK.SOTA.
States. She remarried in Kcd Wing, this state, lier second hnsband heint;
John Tildon. They i-emo\-ed to Norman county in the fall of 1881, Air.
'J'ildon taking u|) a homestead there of one hundred and sixty acres in Home
T.ake township, where he still lives, his wife, the mother of Mrs. Opsalii.
d\ing (here a number of years ago. Slie had one cliild h\ her last liusband,
Julia 'J'ildon. Seven children, all living, have been born to Air. and Airs.
Opsahl, iiamel) : .\dolph. Joseph, Lewis. Rachael, Selma. Ole and Inez.
I'olitically, Air. Opsahl is a Republican. He served as a member of the
townsliip board several years ago and has been township chairman since 191 5.
L. O. TORSTKXSON.
Life is where things arc born and live and grow. (3n tlie farm is real
life. It is not to be found in the city. Realizing this when young L. O. Tor-
stenson. a farmer of Cromwell township. Clay county, took up agricultural
pursuits and he has always been contented with his environment.
Mr. Torstenson was born in Fillmore county, Alinnesota, and he is a
son of Ole and Anna (Larson) Torstenson, both natives of Norway, where
they grew up, were married and continued to make their home until 1S67.
when they immigrated to America, locating in I'illmore county, Minnesota,
where they lived on a farm until 1873, when they removed to Douglas county,
this stale, where they spent the rest of their lives on a farm, the father dying
in 1S83 and the mother in H)ii. To these parents six children were born,
named as follows, and ail still living: Tosten O., L. O.. Belle, Otto, Knut.
and Gulick.
L. O. Torstenson grew to manhood on the home farm in Douglas county,
and there he attended the district schools. He worked hard when a boy, as-
sisting his lirolliers with the general work on the home farm, for when he
was ten years old his father was killed in a runaway accident and the labors
of developing the home farm fell on the brothers. Later L. O. Torstenson
took charge of the farm and continued to operate it until 1897, in which
vear he purchased the farm on whicli he now lives, consisting of one hun-
dred and sixty acres. By perseverance and good management he has pros-
pered a,s a general farmer and stock raiser and has added to his original hold-
ings until he now has a total of two hundred and forty acres. However, he
did not begin im[)r(iving his farm at once after coming to Clay county, but
w orked out and rented land, for five years. Since about 1902 he has engaged
CLAY -\XD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. T,^g
I
in farming for himself on his own land. In connection with general and
mixed farming he specializes in potato growing, planting a large acreage
every year. He was formerly one of the stockholders and for two years a
director of the I'anners' Elevator Company at Hawley. He is also a stock-
holder in the Rollag Telephone Company at Rollag, also a stockholder in
the Equity J'acking I^lant in Fargo. He is financially interested in the
Xorthwestern Hospital in Moorhead.
Politically. Mr. Torstenson is a Republican. He has served ten years
consecutively as treasurer of the local school district and is still holding that
])osition. He is unmarried.
JOHX G. STICEN.
It is a pleasure to look over a well-kept and productive farm like that
owned by John G. Steen, of Spring Prairie township, Clay county, where
he has long been regarded as a representative citizen and a man of many
commendable traits, a useful and highly respected gentleman.
Mr. Steen was born in Honefos. Norway, in 1864. and there he grew to
manhood and attended school. He came to America, single, in 1882, and
located first at Lake Park, Minnesota, from which point he traveled for the
Xorlhern Pacific l'"lcv;itor Conipanx-. with which he remained seven years,
.gi\ing the firm entire satisfaction and doing much to increase the business
and prestige of the same. He then came to Spring Prairie township, Clay
innnty, and wiih the exception of two years, during which he was engaged in
tin- niercrmtile business in Sjiokane, Washingtcjn, has l)een here continuously
e\er since 1897. living on his present farm all the while. Through hard work
and perseverance he developed a fine farm from the raw prairie, and, adding
lo his original farm, he now has three hundred and twentv acres of well-
impri)\-ed land, nn wliich he has been very successful as a general farmer.
He makes a specialty of raising Holstein cattle.
Mr. Steen was married in Clay county to Bertha Thuney, a native of
Goodhue count}', this state, and a daughter of Erick Thuney. They have
iinly one cliild, I'.dwin Sleen, whose birth occurred on October 15, 1887. He
grew up on the home farm and was educated in the ])ublic schools and in the
State Xormal at .Moorhcad. He has remained on the homestead with his
father and assists with the operation of the farm. He was married in 1910
to I'jniK- Hougi-nd. who was l)orn in l"illniorc count\-, .Minnesota, and a
350 CLAY AXD NORMAN CdVNTIES, .MINXESOTA.
(laughter of Ole Hougnid. To this union two children have been born,
Jarvis and Bernard Steen. Politically. John G. Steen is a nienihcr of the
Nonpartisan League. He has served as township a.ssessor.
Gulbrand Larson and wife, parents of the subject of this sketch, spent
their entire lives in Norway. Four chililrcn were torn to them, naniely :
Mary, who lives in Grand I'orks. .North Dakota; Mollie, who died in Moor-
head, Minnesota; Carrie, who lives in Xorway, and John G., the subject of
this sketch. F.rick and Martha Thuncy, parents of Mr. Steen's wife, were
born in Norway, from which country they came to .\merica, locatiijg in
Goodhue county. Minnesota, later moving to Clay county, where the mother
is still living, the fatlier ha\ ing died some years ago. They were the parents
of the following children : .\nna. Jacob. Ole. John. Susan. Minnie. Ik-rtha.
Ida. l>ick and Julia.
NILS A. kii:lstad.
Nils A. Kjelstad. a farmer of Highland Grove township. Clay county,
was born in W'armland, Sweden. November 4, 1870. Me is a son of .Andrew
and Stena (Nelson) (lunderson. both natives also of the above-named local-
ity in Sweden, where they grew to maturity, were married and established
their home. There the mother's death occurred, after which the father
immigrated t(j .\merica in 1880 and located at once in Highland Grove town-
ship. Clay county, Minnesota, taking up a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres in section J9. lie was one of the pioneers of that locality and by
hard work and perseverance he improved a good farm, which he continued to
operate until about 1907, when he moved to Pelican Lake, in Becker county,
this state. Two of the children by his first marriage arc living at this writ-
ing, namcl}- : Nils A. and (iust. After locating in Clay county, .Andrew
Ciunderson marrietl Ida Hammer, a native of \\'armla!id, Sweden, from
which country she came to Minnesota when young. Tiirce children, all
living, have been liorn to the second marriage. namcK': P.milia, the wife
of L. R. Willis, and Fred and Oscar.
Nils A. Kjelstad si)ent his childhood in Sweden, where he attended school
for awhile, but received most of bis education in Clay county, being ten
years oKl when his father brought him to .\merica. He assisted with the
general work on the homestead and as a young man began farming for him-
self, buying one hundred and seventy acres in 1894, in Highland Grove
township. He at once began actively farming the same and soon had the
CLAY AMj NOkMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 35I
land under a fine state of cultixation and improvement, erecting an excellent
group of buildings, setting out a grove, etc. He transformed the bare
prairie into one of the most desirable farms in the township, and has contin-
ued to reside on the place to the present time, successfully engaged in gen-
eral farming and stock raising. Mr. Kjelstad helped organize the Farmers"
l^levator Company at Hawley, the Farmers' Co-operative Creamery at Haw-
lev, and the Rollag Telephone Company, and has been a stockholder in all
three since their organization.
In 1892 Nils A. Kjelstad was married to Anna M. Dahl, a native of
Norway, where her parents lived and died. She came to Minnesota in early
life. To this union has iieen 1)orn one child, Inga.
FIDELIS MAROUART.
One of the thrifty farmers of Georgetown township, Clay county, is
Fidelis Marquart, who was born in Wittenburg, German}', September 23,
1869. He is a son of Albin and Ludvicka (Stoehr) Marquart, both natives
of Germany, where they grew up, married and established their home. The
father was a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and died a few
months after his discharge from the army, his death being due to exposure
during the war. In the spring of 1873, the mother of the subject of this
sketch, accompanied by Iier father, Mr. Stoehr, brought her children to
Canada, locating in the province of Ontario, but came on to Moorhead, Clay
county, Minnesota, in 1874, and the following year moved to Georgetown
township. In May, 1874, the mother remarried, her second husband being
Jacob Wambach, of Ontario. Upon coming to Georgetown township he
bought a farm in section 32. where he engaged in general farming until
in March, 191 5, when he retired from active life and moved to Moorhead
where he and his family now reside.
To Albin Marquart and wife two children were born, I'idelis and Lena.
The mother bore her second husband nine children, Joseph, Frank, Matthew.
Carl Nicholas, Alphonse, Edmond. Catherine, Josephine and Afarie. They
have one adopted son. named John.
Fidelis Marquart was about four years of age when his mother brougiit
him to Ontario, Canada. He grew to manhood in Clay county, Minnesota,
and the first school he attended was in the old Hudson Bay building in
Georgetown township, and later he was a student in tlic first school house
35-; CLAY AND NdK.MAN COUNTIES. MINNKSOTA.
Imilt in tliis townsliip. He worked on tlie home farm wlien a youny man.
assisting to develop tlie virgin soil of the prairies into productixe liekls.
On February 23, 1897, he married Mary Fahnlender. a daughter of Leonartl
and Augusta (Guide) Fahnlender, who were early pioneers of Cass county,
North Dakota, where they established their future home on a farm, and
the following children were born to them; Joseph I'., John A.. Philip L.,
I'rank X., Catherine, Elizabeth and Alary, wife oi the subject of this sketch.
In March. 1897, shortly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Marquarl
moved to their present farm of forty-seven and forty-two one-hundredths
acres, in section 23, Georgetown township, on which their dwelling and farm
buildings stand. They also own one lumdred and twent\' acres in section
29, just across the road. Their home is near the townsite. Mr. Mar-
quart has been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser and is paying
more attention each year to stock raising and the dairy business. He has
served thirteen years as township clerk and about seven years on the local
school board. He has seven children. Leonard. Joseph, Eugene. Walter,
.\Ibina, Magdalen and Frances.
NELS THOMPSON.
Nels Thomson, of Spring Prairie township, one of the scientilic farmers
of Clay county, was bom in Sweden, September 2j, 1857. He is a son
of Thomas and Asrena (Swanson) Parson, natives of Sweden, where they
grew- up, were married and established their home; in fact, spent all of
their lives there. The mother died in early womanhood, but the father
survived to an advanced age, dying about the year 1915. To these parents
seven children were born, all of whom are living at this writing, namely :
Pehr. Elizabeth. Nels. Lena, Tilda, Nellie and .Axel.
Nels Thompson spent his boyhood in Sweden, where he attended the
public schools and where he made his home until 1882. when he crossed
the Atlantic to the great western republic, locating first in North Dakota,
w here he worked at different places, in railroad service. During this period,
while not actively at work, he made his headquarters in Moorhead, Minne-
sota. He followed railroading for about ten years for the Northern Pacific
and the Great Northern and was section foreman at different places, mostlx'
between Moorhead and various points in different directions. He saved his
wages and in 1894 began fanning, but still continued to maintain his home
3
75
3
73
1^
•TTf'l--'
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 353
in Moorhead : but in 1896 moved lo his farm, the place he now occupies
in Spring Prairie township. Although he owns but eighty acres he usualh'
farms four hundred and eighty acres. He has erected substantial buildings
and made other improvements on his land, including the planting of a large
grove. The land was only a bare prairie when he came. He has worked
hard and managed well and has been very successful as a general farmer
and stock raiser. He purchased the land from a railroad company. Besides
his large farming operations he is interested financially in the local tele-
phone companv and in the Tilyndon creamery, also in the Northwestern
Hospital at Fargo.
In the fall of 1889 Mr. Thompson was married to Christina Lindahl.
a daughter of |ohn Lindahl. a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this
volume. Mr.s. Thompson passed awa}- in 1909, lea\ing four children, Emma.
Oscar. Lilie and Thomas, who have received their schooling in the common
schools of Spring Prairie township.
Mr. Thompson is a Republican in politics and takes an active interest
in local public affairs. He has been elected a member of the local school
board four different times and is still serving, making twelve years in all
when his present term is completed. He has served five terms on the town
board and is now serving as a member of the board and is treasurer of the
same. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
GUST B.ACKMAN.
.V pioperK- managed farmers" organization can be used to secure the
farmers the benefits that "big business" secures from doing things on a large
scale. Many have the idea that nothing can be done in this line unless
there is a powerful organization, but this is a mistake — the successful co-
oiierative enterprises have come from small beginnings. .\n advocate of
such organizations is Gust Backman. a farmer of Highland Grove tovvn-
shij). Clay county.
Mr. Backman was born in S\n eden. December 21. 1858. He is a son
* of .Vndrew and Cajsa ( Svenson ) Berg, both natives of Sweden, where
thev grew up, married and made their home until 1881, when they immi-
grated to .\merica, locating in Clay county, Minnesota, the father intyiiig
forty acres of school land near the present farm of his son, Gust. He
(23a)
354 CLAY AND NORMAN CDUNTIES, MIN'NKSOTA.
placed the land under cultivation, erected huiklings and there engaged in
farming the rest of his active life. His wife died there in 1914, after
which event he made his home with the subject of this sketch until his
death in 191 6. These parents were members of the Swedish Lutheran
church. Six children were born to them, as follow ; John, who is the
eldest; Anna, the wife of Erick Anderson: (hist, the subject of this sketch:
Mary, deceased: Mrs. Frank Johnson: Johannah, the wife of Ward Connel,
and Mrs. Louis Dahlgren, the youngest.
Gust Backman grew to manhood in Sweden, where he attended the
public schools. In 1878, when twenty years old, he set sail for the shores of
America, coming directly to Becker county. Minnesota, and he worked out
as a farm hand at various places for a period of twelve years. He saved
his wages and in 1891 bought eighty acres from a railroad company in
Highland Grove township and he has contiimed tu make his home on the
same to the present time, lie made all imjjrovements on it. erecting a good
group of buildings and setting out a grove. He has since added another
eighty and now has an excellent and well-kept farm of one hundred and
sixty acres. He has carried on general farming and stock raising with
gratifying results. He helped organize the Farmers Co-operative Creamery
at Lake Park and has been a stockholder in the same ever since. He is
also a stockholder in the Lake Park Telephone Company. He has done
much to encourage the raising of a better grade of live stock in his county,
and he makes a specialty of raising full-blooded N'orkshire hogs. Owing
to their superior (|ualities they find a very readv market at fancy prices
whenever he offers them for sale.
Mr. Backman was married in 1886 to Emma Olson, who was born
in Sweden. She is a daughter of Carl and Lottie (Erickson) Olson, both
natives of Sweden, where they spent their earlier years and married. The\-
came to the United States when their daughter Lmnia was about eighteen
months old, about the year 1868. The family located first in Duluth, where
they spent four years, coming on to Clay county, Minnesota, in 187J.
locating among the pioneers. Mr. Olson liought railroad land in Eglon
township, which he improved, establishing the family's future home there
and where he carried on general farming until his death a numlier of years ,
ago. His widow still lives on the home farm. To these parents three
children were born, all still living, namely: F.mina, wife of Mr. Back-
man, the subject of this sketch: Amelia, who is the wife of John Lindberg.
and .Alfred, who is operating the old home place in Eglon township.
The union of Gust Backman and wife has resulted in the birth of five
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 355
cliildren, namely : Amelia, Edith, Esther, Anna and Carl, all of whom
are living at this writing. Mr. Backman helped build the present Agustana
Lutheran cluircli in his vicinity. Politically, he is a Republican.
OLE A. NYBAKKEN.
Restlessness causes a large number of people to leave their parental
halls and seek fortunes in distant lands. This is not necessarily the wander-
lust spirit, which is often indulged in to the detriment of the individual,
but merely the primitive force urging one to try to better one's condition in
life. And this is the impulse that led Ole A. Nybakken, and many others
of his countrymen to cast their lots with the people of Minnesota.
Mr. Nybakken, who is engaged in farming in Goose Prairie township,
Clay county, was born in >forway in 1863. He is a son of Andreas and
Ingeborg Anderson, both natives of Norway, where they grew up, married
and established their home and where they spent their lives, the father
dying in 1912 and the mother in 1905. To these parents five children were
born, Andreas, Jr., Ole, Evan, Christian, who died when twenty-six years
old, and Andrus.
Ole A. Nybakken grew to manhood in Norway, where he attended
the common schools. In 1881, when eighteen years old, he immigrated to
America, coming on West to Northfield, Minnesota, aufl he worked out as
a farm hand in that vicinity until 1886, when he returned to Norway,
s])en(ling one winter there; then returned to America and located in North
Dakota, where he worked for a land company until 1894, when he came
to Clay county, Minnesota, Iniying his present farm of one hundred and
sixty acres — the old homestead, in section 30 of Goose Prairie township.
Later he bought eighty acres in section 29. He has kept all his land under
,L fine state of cultivation and improvement, replacing the original buildings
on the homestead with modern substantial ones. He has been successful
as a general farmer and stock raiser. He grows large crops of wheat, oats
and flax, also large quantities of potatoes, having had twelve acres in tubers
in 191 7. He also keeps a large herd of graded cattle. He is a stockholder in
the creamery at Hitterdal.
Mr. Nybakken was married in Minnesota in 1892 to Lizzie VVelo. and
to their union six children have been born, namely : Ida. who died when
two years old; Arthur, Oscar, Ernest, Clarence and Otto. They are all
336 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNKSOTA.
at iKinie at this writins^'. Mr. Nybakken served as a member of the school
Ijoard a few year.s. He is a member of tlie I'nited l.utlieran clmrch and
was formerly a trustee of the same.
ANDREW OLSON.
'i"o the honest, pu.shing, hard-working and enterprising farmers i^ due
the prosperity, wealth and advancement of any community, and to their
/cal. energy and integrity will its future prosperity be indebted, as it has
lieen in the pa.st. Among the names that are prominent in agricultural circles
in the northern part of (lay county is that of .\ndrew Olson, of l-'eltun
tr)wnship.
Mr. Olson was born in Ostra W'emmenhog, Malmohus Ian, Sweden,
October it, i860. He is a son of Olla and .\nna ([-arson) Larson, both
natives of Sweden, where they grew to maturity, married and established
their home and where the father is .still residing, now advanced in age.
He devoted his active life to farming in the crop seasons and working in
a brewery during the winter months. The mother is deceased, liight chil-
dren, two of whom died in infancy, were Ijorn to Olla and Anna Larson:
six are living at this writing, namely. Inga, who lives in Sweden; .Andrew
()., the subject of this sketch: I^rs, who lives in Sweden: Carl, who lives
in Millelacs county, Minnesota, and Kerstic and Per, both of w'tioni make
their home in Martin county, this state.
Andrew Olson grew to manhood in Sweden and there attended the
common .schools. He set sail for the shores of the Western reiniblic in 1889.
proceeding to Chicago, where lie worked in a shop about three months:
then worked on a farm near that city for six years, working out and renting
during the last three years of that period. He then came to Minnesota,
where he farmed on rented land in Martin count\- for six years. In the
fall of i()02 he came to Spring IVairie townshii). Clay county, where he
spent one wiiUer. and in the s])ring of 1903 he mo\ed to his ])resent farm
in h'elton town.shi]). having bought one hundred and .sixty acres tliere in
the fall of 1901. The land was only slightly improved and there was onl\-
a small house on it. He put out a grove, erected suitable buildings and has
made a comfortable living as a general farmer.
On June 29. 1888, Andrew Olson was married to Matilda So))hia I'alm-
quist. a native of Grolanda, Skaraborgs Ian. Sweden. She is a daughter
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. 35/
of Carl and Kariii (Sveson) Palmqiiist, both natives of Sweden, uliere
they grew up, married and established their home on a farm. The father's
death occurred there some time ago and the mother is still living there.
Their family consisted of the following children: Matilda S., wife of the
subject of this sketch; Josephina, who li\es in Nebraska: Amanda, who lives
in Sweden : Annie, who lives in Helena, Montana ; Carl Johan, who' makes
his home in Sweden, and two other children who died in early life.
To Mr. and Mrs. Olson seven children, all living at this writing, ha\e
been born : Sellstiiie, .Annie, .Mice, Carl, Ellen, John and Clara. Mrs. Olson
spent her girlhood in Sweden and there attended the common schools. She
came to America in 1890. Mr. Olson has served as road boss. When a
young man in Sweden he was under-military training for some time.
P. N. RAMSTAD.
One of the promising young business men of the southern part of Clay
county is P. N. Ramstad, manager of the Baker Lumber Company at Baker.
He was born at Ada, Norman county, Minnesota, March 8, 1889, a son of
Peter and Christina (Skriver ) Ramstad, both natives of Norway, the mother
born in the city of Christiana. Peter Ramstatl came to America as a young
man with his parents, the family locating in Vernon county, Wisconsin,
where he remained until in the seventies when he came to Minnesota, locating-
at Ada, and there he and his brother engaged in the general-merchandise bus-
iness for many years, and while living there he was elected register of deeds,
serving in that office several years. He subsequently moved' to McDonalds-
ville township, Norman county, where he followed farming until his death in
1896. He was a memljer of the Norwegian Lutheran church. His famih
consisted of seven children, Isben L., Carrie V., !'. N., ( )nin, Llla, Sigurd
and Petra.
P. N. Ramstad recei\'e(l his early education in the ])ul)lic schools of Ada
and later studied in the agricultural dejiartment of the University of Minne-
sota at St. Anthonv Park, St. Paul, .\fter leaving school he workeil with
the Nonuan count)- surveyor for about three summers. During the winter
months of that period he attended a business college in h'argo. In July, 1908,
Mr. Ramstad started in the retail lumber business and was associated with
the St. .Anthony & Dakota I'^levator Company for three years. He then
worked for J. J. Ceib at Morris, Minnesota, for eighteen months then spent
358 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA.
a year aiul a half at Tintali. in the employ of the Crescent I.uniher Com-
pany. He was then employed by the Xortz Lumber Company at Brecken-
ridge. this state, for six mtjnlhs ; then worked for the Knnk Sash and Door
t'()ni|)an\- at Aliiineapolis for eight months. In April, 191 5, he came to
I laker as manager of the Baker Lumber Company and has continued here in
tliis capacity ever since. He knows thoroughly the various phases of the
lumijer business, and has given eminent satisfaction to the firms with which
he has ]>een connected, being honest, faithful, industrious, reliable and cour-
teous to the trade.
Mr. Ramstad was married in 1914 to .Anna Marie Moebius, a native of
Minnesota, and a daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Ritter) Moebius, natives
of (iemiany. To Mr. and Mrs. Ramstad one child has been born, a son, Carl
( ). Ramstad. iMaternally, the subject of this sketch is a member of the
^ eiinien and of the Woodmen.
LARS L GRINA.
Lars L Grina. manager, secretary and treasurer of the Stenerson
Brothers Lumber Company, with head office at belton. Clay county, was
born at Pelican Rapids. Otter Tail county. Minnesota, June 2, 1876, a son
of iver O. and Olea L. (Ohe) Gerina.
Iver O. Grina has been a resident of Otter Tail county for more than
forty years. Lie was born in Hadeland, Norway, April i, 185 1, and is a
son of Ole H. and Martha O. (Moger) Grina, natives of the same country.
The parents of Iver O. Grina came to America in 1854, only a few years
after their marriage, .\fter crossing the Atlantic, a voyage that covered
fifteen weeks, the couple took up their residence in Clayton county, Iowa :
later the father bought a farm there on which he spent twenty years, then
mo\ed to Otter Tail count)', Minnesota, where he joined his son, Iver O.
Grina. Ole H. Grina bought two hundred and fifty acres of land, where
he lived till he died in 1908, he then being eighty-eight years of age. His
first wife died in 1874, and he subsequently married Betsey O. Hougtvet,
who is also now deceased. By his first wife the following children were
l)orn : Hans, who engaged in farming in Otter Tail county, and is now-
deceased; Ole, a retired farmer of Pelican Rapids, that county; Iver O..
father of the subject of this sketch ; Peter, a retired farmer of North Dakota ;
Martin, who is farming in North Dakota; Ellen, who died in Iowa; Edward.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 359
who lives in North Dakota ; Alary, the first, and A'lary, the second, both of
whom died in early life in Iowa, and another child, who died in infancy,
unnamed.
Iver O. Grina was reared on the home farm in Clayton county, Iowa,
and there attended the public schools. When twenty-one years of age he
came to Minnesota, settling in Trondhjem township. Otter Tail cottnty, pur-
chasing the homestead owned by his brother, Hans. The land, which was
only slightly improved, was cleared by Mr. Grina, and in years to come he
had one of the choice farms of his locality. He subsequently bought one
hundred and twenty acres of railroad land adjoining the home place. In
the fall of 1 9 14 he sold his farm there and bought the homestead originally
owned by his father in Norwegian Grove township, Otter Tail county, but
he never moved to the place, renting it to his son, Joseph. Mr. Grina
retired from active life in March, 1914, and moved to Pelican Rapids,
Minnesota, where he has erected a modern residence. In 1913 he helped
organize the Erhard State Bank, in which he is a director. Politically, he
is a Republican, and served as clerk of his school district and as road super-
visor while living on the farm. He and his wife are members of the
Lutheran church.
On July 17, iSjj. I\er O. Grina married Olena L. Ohe, a daughter
of Lars and Ingebor (Waterud) Ohe, who w'ere among the earliest settlers
of Erhard Grove township, Otter Tail county. The death of Mrs. Grina
occurred on February 22, 1914. She was the mother of the following chil-
dren : Ole, who has lumber interests in Halstad. Minnesota; Lars L., the
subject of this sketch ; Melvin, who deals in implements, hardware and lum-
ber in Erhard; Conrad, is manager of the local yard of Stenerson Brothers
Lumber Company at Borup ; Joseph, who died in infancy ; Joseph, the second,
who is operating his father's farm ; Inga and Theodore, who are employed
by their brother. .Mehin. and Emma, wlio is at home with her father in
Pelican Rapids.
Lars L. Grina. the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on tlie
home farm in Otter Tail county, and attended the public schools at Pelican
I'iapids. As a young man he started to work for the Stenerson Brothers
Lumber Company, and has Ijeen with this firm since 1895. or during the
past twenty-three years, starting in at Pelican Rapids, where he remained
until 1900, when he was transferred to Felton, Clay county, and has l)een
manager of the company's business there ever since, secretary and treas-
urer of the company since its incorporation in 1908. He is also the largest
stockholder in the companv and has been the principal factor in making
360 CLAY AXi) NORMAX forXTlKS. M 1 N N ilSDTA.
it one of the best-known and most successful luinl)ci" tirnis in this section
oi the state. Mr. Grina is a close observer and has thoroughly mastered
the various phases of the lumber business, keeping well abreast of the timo
in the same. He established branch yards some time ago at r«orui). Halsiad
and Erhard, Minnesota, but maintains the managing office at l-'elton. The
business at each place is rapidly growing under his judicious direction and
management, a large stock of lumber of all kinds. Icigethcr with the usual
accessories for builders, being carried. The firm also sells fuel, and farm
implements and does a large business in each de])artment. The c(jm])any
is also interested in farming lands, owning six hundred and forty acres of"
valuable land, on which general farming and stock* raising is carried <iu
(.■xtensively and successfully.
Lars 1. Grina was married to I'ansy M. Ciilbert, a native of South
Dakota. She received her education in the State Nonnal .school of Moor-
head, Minnesota, and taught school for a numlier of years before she was
married to Mr. Grina. She is a daughter of Louis and Dorothy (Oker)
Gilbert, of I'elton, Minnesota. To Mr. and Mrs. Grina three children ha\e
been born, namelv : Gordon O., .\del Dorothv and Iver F„
JOHN" 1..\I1EV.
John Lahey, a well-known farmer of h'elton lownshi]), Clav count), is
making a success of his chosen life work. He was born in .Allamakee countw
Iowa, on December ig, 1858, a son o£v Daniel Lahe\-, who followed farming
in that count)' for many years in the early days there .and who is now-
deceased.
John Lahey grew to manhood on the home farm in his native state,
assisting with the general work on the .same when a boy, and there he
attended the district schools. As a young man he turned his attention to
buying and shipping horses and cattle, being an e.\ce])tionally good judge
of live stock, and he continued successfully in this line for about fifteen
years, becoming widely known throughout the Northwest. He shipped large
numbers of horses and cattle into Norman county when this section of
the state of Minnesota was being settled and was quite successful in this
field of endeavor.
-\l30ut the year 1897 Mr. Lahey Ijought the farm on which he now
resides in Felton township. Clay county, and there he has made hi< liome
JOHN LAHEY.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
> ION?
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 361
since about 1905. He operates four huudred acres, a part of which he> in
Felton township. Clay county, and part in Winchester township. Norman
county. The excellent modern group of farm buildings, which he erected
himself, are in I'^elton township. The land was a bare prairie when lie
purchased it. but he has long had it all under a high state of culti\ati(jn.
He set out a large grove which is now a valuable asset. He has been quite
successful as a general farmer and stock raiser and has also given his
active attention to the general business affairs of the community in which
he lives, being a stockholder in the company which operates the co-operative
potato warehouse at Borup. a stockholder in the Felton Rural Telephone
Company and a stockholder in the Equity Packing Plants at Fargo, in
the affairs of all of which concerns he takes a warm interest. Mr. Lahev
was reared a Catholic. Politically, be is independent of party, reserving
his right to vote for the men and the measures he regards as most service-
;d)le to the public at large.
.ANDREW CHRISTIANSON.
Andrew Christiansen, a farmer of Egion township. Clay county, was
born in Norway in 1870. He is a son of Knut C. and Parnelia (Rassmusson)
Christianson, both natives of Norway, where the mother now resides, at the
age of eighty years. The father died in 1896, at the age of sixty-eight years.
He came to America about thirty-eight years ago and in the spring of 1880
bought railroad land in Eglon township. Clay county, Minnesota, the ])lace
on which his .son Andrew, now resides. Here he went to work with a will
and in due course (jf time had a good farm under culti\ation and a very com-
fortable home established. He was in the countv about a year before he
selected a site for his future home, finally buying the place on which he spent
the rest of bis life. He lived in a log house for a number of years. His
family consisted of six children, named as follow: Christian, who is mar-
ried and who lived in Clay county until the autumn f>i 19 16, when he remi>ved
to Detroit, .Minnesota; Seivert, who is married and lives in Eglon township:
Andrew, the subject of this sketch : Jacob, who lives on the home farm part
of the time: Oscar, who 'resides in North Dakota, and Peter, who lives on
the old homestead with the subject of this sketch.
-Vndrew Christianson was two and one-half years of age when his
l)arents brought him to Minnesota. He was reared on the home farm in
Clav countv. received his education in the district schools, has always fol-
362 CLAY AND NOKMAN COU XTIiCS. MINNKSOTA,
luwed farming and has kept the liome farm well improved and well culti-
vated. He built a new residence in 191 1. Mr. Christiansen owns two hun-
dred acres in section 21 and forty acres in section 7 of Eglon township. He
liuilt a large, modern granary in the summer of igij. lie raises a large
amount of grain and considcraljle li\c stock each year, lie planted a line
grove some years ago. He raises a large acreage of potatoes each \ear,
having had out fifteen acres in the summer of 19 17, his land lieing in liif
great northern potato belt. Mr. Christianson is unmarried. He is a mem-
ber of the Hesfland X'orweeian Lutheran church.
JOHN GEORGl'. lM';KKi.\S.
One of the progressive citizens of Hawley. Cromwell township, is John
(ieorge Perkins, who has long made his home in Clay county, the interests
of which he has ever had at heart and sought to promote. He was born
in I'linthan, Xottinghamshire, England, November 9, 1853. a son of Will-
iam and Ann (Long) Perkins, both also natives of NottingJiamshire, the
father born at Flinthan and the mother at Elston. They married in their
native land, and there they continued to reside until 1873, when they came
to Minnesota with the first English colony that settled at Hawley. in Clay
county. Here William Perkins, father of John G., took up a claim of
one hundred and sixty acres, in the spring of 1873, selecting a good trad
in section 30 of Cromwell township. He developed the land into a i)ro-
ductive farm, established a comfortable home and spent the rest of his
life there. He made all improvements on the place, erecting the buildings
.and planting a grove, planting the first trees in that neighborhood. He
also took u]) two tree claims. William Perkin^ harl been a soldier in tlie
old country, serving as a Yeoman cavalryman in a "Notts" (Nottingham-
shire) regiment. He was a Methodist and helped organize the first church
at Hawley. He also helped organize Cromwell township, and was for man\-
years a member of the township board. He was one of the influential
men in his locality, always active in public affairs, and was at one time a
candidate on the Peojjle's party for county commissioner. He was one
of the best-known and useful pioneers in Cromwell township, and highly
respected by all who knew him. His family consisted of five children, named
as follow: John G., the subject of this sketch: Mary Ann and Maria, who
are both living: Sarah, decea.sed. and Charles, who is living on the old home
])lace in Cromwell township.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 363
John G. Perkins grew u[) in England, there attended the puljhc schools
and Besthorp boarding school and was twenty years of age when lie came
t(j the United States with his parents. He helped his father start the family
home in Cromwell township, working hard, as did all sons of pioneer set-
tlers in those days. In 1876 he began life for himself by pre-empting one
hundred and sixty acres in section 18 of Cromwell township; later converted
eighty acres of it to a homestead, and still later homesteaded an adjoining
fifty-five acres. He also tree-claimed a quarter section in section 8 of the
same township and now has one of the choice farms of his locality, having
erected a modern and substantial group of buildings on it, placed it under
a fine state of cultivation and has set out a large grove, which is now very
attractive. He has met with much more than mediocre success, all along
t!ie line, as a general farmer and stock raiser as a result of his perseverance
and close application.
In 1884 Mr. Perkins was married to Sarah Jane Harper, who was
l»irn in Canada. She is a daughter of John Harper, now deceased, who
moved from Canada to Minnesota, locating at New York Mills, in Otter
Tail county, where he establi.shed the future home of the family. Thirteen
children were born to John G. Perkins and wife, namely : John William.
Elsie May, Annie Maude, Hazel, Eleanor, Frederick Lawrence, Earl, Pearl,
James, Blanche, all living, and George and Frederick, wlm died young. The
mother of these children died in 1910.
Politically, Mr. Perkins is a non-partisan. He was township assessor
a number of years ago and also was constable in the old days, when there
was considerajjle lawlessness and when the duties of such an officer were
much more strenuous than now. He has also served on the local school
board in various capacities.
ANDREW L. JELSING.
Each man who strives to fulfill his part in connection with human
life and human activities is deserving of recognition, no matter what may
be the field of his endea\-or, for it is interesting to note the \arying con-
ditions that have compassed those whose careers are brought to the atten-
tion of the readers of history.
An enterprising merchant of the village of Dale. Highland Gros-e town-
ship. Clav countv. is .\ndrew L. Jelsing. who was born in Dodge county,
364 Cl..\V AND XOK.M.W C()T■^TII^S. MINNESOTA.
-Minnesota, March (>, 1870. He is a son of Lars I'ederson Jelsing and Maria
Jelsing, both natives of Norway. The tatiier came to America in i<S6i,
leaving liis wife in the old country until he could estahlisii the future home
111' the family in tlie Xew \\'()rld. After s]>ending two \-ears near .Madison,
Wisconsin, Lars I'ederson jelsing, in i8()3, returned to Norway, intending
not to return to America, l)ut he subsequently came back and located in
Dodge count), .Minnesota. He had not been there long until he was drafted
for ser\ice in the Civil War. but he iiired a substitute. He brought his
wife and three sons l^ack to .\iuerica with him. She was .Vnna Bang prior
to her marriage, and their three children were named as follow: I'eter,
who is li\ing, and .Martin and I'eder, deceased. The wife and mother died
in Dodge county, and later Lars I'ederson Jelsing ^married Maria Christensen
and to that union four children were born, all of vvhom survive at this
writing, namely: .\ndrew L., the subject of this sketch: Randine, Hannah
and Louis.i. riie father of these children continuetl farming in Dodge
county until 1871, when he moved his family t(j Clay coiuits' in a c(j\ered
wagon and bought railroatl land in Lglon township, on which he established
the future home of the family : but two years later bought a homestead
right, just across the line in I'>ecker county, of eighty acres, and li\ed there
until 1893, later adding to his original holdings until he had a total of three
hundred and twenty acres. He carried on general farming extensively and
brought his place up to a high state of improvement. He retired from
active life in i8()i, but continued to reside there until 1893, and thereafter
spent the rest of his life among his children. His second wife died in
1880. In 1883 he made anotiier trip to Norway. He helped organize Lake
I 'ark township, Becker county, and als(j helped to organize Solum Lutheran
church in Kglon township. His death occurred in Moorhead on .March
10. 1908.
Andrew L. Jelsing grew to manhood on the home farm. He attended
the district schools and was a student for three years in the State Normal
at Moorhead, living at home until he was twenty-one years old. He began
life for himself as a teacher, which profession he followed for five years,
in l^ecker and CIa\ counties, with marked success. He then took up grain
bu\ ing at Winnipeg Junction, Cla\ county I which place i^• no longer on
the map), and continued grain buying, for the most i)art, until the summer
of 1908. In the meantime he served as justice of the peace and village
recorder and also was a member of the school board. He helped incorporate
the village, but when t,he railroad was relaid through the county, missing
Winnipeg Junction by one mile, the town soon became extinct, its inhabit-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 365
ants moving to other places. Mr. Jelsing started the \illage of Dale, in
Highland Grove township, where he has since resided. He purchased the
townsite and laid out tlie town, huilt a store and began a general-merchandise
business, which he has conducted with ever-increasing success to the present
time, carrying a large and well-selected stock of goods and enjoying an
excellent trade with the jjeople of the surrounding country. He was actixe
in securing a postoffice for the town and was appointed postmaster when
the office was first established, in March, icjio, and has discharged the
duties of the same ever since. He is a notarv public and is clerk of the
local school board. He was formerly justice of the peace at Dale. As a
public servant he has discharged his duties in an able, faithful and acceptable
manner, always taking a great interest in the affairs of his locality. Politi-
cally, he is a Republican, and, religiously, he belongs to the Lutheran c!un-ch,
being active in the work of. the same.
On February 15, 1898, Mr. Jelsing was married to Lena L. Bjerke.
a native of Lake I 'ark township, Becker county. She is a daughter of
the late Lars C. Bjerke, and was liorn on January 29, 1873. Her father
was one of the early homesteaders of that township. Mr. and Mrs. Jelsing
have no children of their own, but the\ h.'t\ e ;ui adopted dau.ghter, June
Jelsing, whom they have had from infancy.
ED\V.\RI) ,\. TRONNLS.
Edward .\. Tronnes. a substantial and progressive fanner, and stock-
man of Hagen townshij), this county, owner of a fine farm of three hundred
and sixty acres in that township, chairman of the townshiji board and inter-
ested in public utilities, is a native son of Norway. l)ut has been a resident
of the Laiited States since he was twenty-two years old, having immigrated
in 1887. He was born on September 13, 1865, a son of Andrew and Carrie
(Tronnes) Tronnes, both lx>rn in Norway, where they spent all their lives,
Andrew Tronnes having been a farmer and engaged at that calling all his
life. They were the parents of the following children: Andrew. Haaken,
Edward .\.. Helge, Cornelius. Bertha. Carrie, Annie and an infant daughter.
They were earnest members of the Lutheran church and their children
were reared in that faith.
Edward .\. Tronnes was educated in the schools of X orw ay and as-
sisted his father in the work of culti\aling the small farm of which the
366 CLAY AXD XORMAN Ci ir Vlll- s, \l I N N'KSnXA,
senior Tronnes was the owner. In 1887, at the age of twenty-two years.
H)(lward A. Tronnes immigrated to America and proceeded out to Min-
nesota on arrival, locating in Norman county, and bought a homestead rigiu
to one hundred and sixty acres of land in Home l.akc township and lived
there five years, hut did not prove up. .\t the end of the latter peri(Hl
he sold his right in the homestead and then took eighty acres of home-
stead land in section 20. in llagen township. Clay count\ , and ])ro\ed u|i.
He carried out manv \ahiahk' improvements and li\ed on that holding for
about ten vears. at the end of which time he sold out and bought two hun-
dred acres in liagen township, where he has since li\ed. Some time later
he added another (piarter section in .section i(). same township, and has
se\eral substantial buildings on the holdings, including a good barn, which
Mr. Tronnes erected. ?Ie has also set out a fine grove that adds consider-
ably to the appearance and value of the jjlace; He is engaged in general
farming and siuck raising and since the ver\- commencement of his opera-
tions has prospered, being now accounted one of the must substantial and
])rogressive farmers in Hagen township.
Immediately before leaving his native \'orwa\-, in 1887, Edward .\.
Troimes was united in marriage to Oleanna Olson, also a native of Norw ay
and a daughter of Ole and Carrie Olsou. who spent all their lives in that
country. To Mr. and Mrs. Tronnes the following children were born :
.\lfred, l-llla, Clara, Minnie. Inga. Melvin and .Amanda, all of whom arc
lixiiig. The Tronnes family are members of the Lutheran church, the
jewnagers Lutheran church having at its organization had valuable lielj)
from .Mr. Tionnes. although he was at the time living across the line in
.Vorman county.
Mr. Tronnes gives a good citizen's attention to public affairs and he
has now entered on his first year as township chairman and has been a
member of the township board for about thirteen years, serving the peojjle
witli tidelitx and abilitv. He is interested in the l'"armers store and also
in the Farmers creamery at Ulen. in the organization of which he proved
a valuable aid. He also assisted in the organization of the local telephone
company, known as the Ulen and Twin \'alle\- Telephone Company, and in
other wa\s he has given of his time and energies to the advancement f)f
all movements calculated to serve the jjublic interests.
All of Mr. Tronnes' brothers and sisters, with the e.Kcepti(jn uf .\nnie
and Haaken, remained in Norway. Annie is now Mrs. Martin Tronnes,
of Wisconsin, whose hu.sband was born in Norway, in which country they
were married. Haaken was the first of the Tronnes familv to come to .\mer-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES. MINNESOTA. ^6/
ica. He located in Morris county, Minnesota, and in 1S84 came to Xorman
county and filed on a homestead tract in Home Lake township. Ixit ne\er
proved up. He later moved to Thief River Falls. Minnesota, and at the
present time is living in Montana.
HANS L. NORBV
c
Hans L. Norb\-, of Goose Prairie to\\n>hip. Clay county, has made a
success as a farmer very largely because he has been willing to give up many
of the old and anticpiated ideas of tilling the soil and has adopted such new-
ones as were practicable in this latitude.
Mr. Norby was born in Xorway in 1851, He is a son of Lars and
Martha Henson, both natives of Norway, where they grew to maturity, mar-
ried and established their home and where the mother died, in 1858, when
her son Hans L., was about seven years of age. The father finally came to
America and spent the last three years of his life at the home of his son.
the subject of this sketch, where his death occurred in 1907, he then being at
the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He ow^ned farming land in Becker
ounty. Minnesota, which he sold when old age incapacitated him for active
farming. The familv consisted of five children, namely : Hans L., the sub-
ject of this sketch, the eldest; Mary, a widow, who lives in Xorth Dakota;
Jens, who also makes his home in .Xorth Dakota; Carrie, deceased, and Ole.
a resident of South Dakota.
Hans L. Xorbv grew to manhood in Xorway and there attended the
common schools. When twenty-three years of age, in 1874, he immigrated
to the United States and began working out on farms near Mankato and
.\lbert Lea. Minnesota, .\fter his marriage he worked at the carpenter's
trade. He came to Cla\ comity and lived a year in Lake Park, then, in the
fall of 1879, he moved to his present farm in Goose Prairie township, taking
u]) a homestead of one hundreil and sixty acres in section 14. Mr. Xorljy
worked hard and applied himself closely and in due course of time had the
raw land under a fine state of cultivation. He made all improvements, in-
cluding the erection of a splendid group of buildings. During his residence
of thirty-eight years on this place he has accumulated a comfortable com-
petency and is now able to retire from active life, even now (191 7) planning
to sell or rent his place and move to Hawley. where he has long owned a
commodious home and a large lot, which has lieen rented out.
^6X C'l.AV AM) MiKMAN C( )r NTl KS, M 1 X ,\F.S( ITA.
In 1878. ill Mankato, .Minnesota. Hans L. Norby was married to Anna
'JlH)reson. wlio was born in Norway in 1852. and who came to America in
1876 with Mr. .Vorhy's father, two brothers and a sister. To Mr. and Mrs.
N'orI)v nine ciiildren iiavc l)een i)orn. namely: Theodore, who has a farm in
.\orth Dakota: Inga. who is married and hves in Colorado: .\ima. who <hed
in i88c), when four years of age: Albert, who lives at honie : .\lnia the sec-
ond, who works in North Dakota: Oscar. wh<i is at lionie : i.aura, who i^
married and lives in Montana: John, who is married and has a jewelry store
ill Clear I'.rook. Minnesota, and Nellie, who is at home.
Mr. Xorby has been supervisor of (loose I'rairie township at intervals
for twenty years. He belongs to the .Norwegian Lutheran ciiurch, of which
lie has been a trustee for fifteen years, and has ever given proper attention
to neighborhood good works.
k()l!i:kr 1.. SCOTT.
Some larmers who have cropi)ed their soils from year to year, taking
everything off and returning nothing, when their crops fall off in yield
until there are no profits, begin to realize that they will have to adopt ;i
new systeiu or else abandon their farm. Those who are wise look ahead
and lake proper steps to ])revent such a deplorable state of affairs from
ever coming. Robert L. Sc<Jtt is one of the young fanners of Viding town-
ship. Clay county, who believes in conserving the soil elements, in keeping
W\< land from ever wearing out.
.Mr. Scott was born at I'olo, in Ogle county, Illinois, I'ebruary (), 1881,
a son of |. W. and Bessie ( l.awson) Scott, who remained in Illinois, on
the home farm. He grew to manhood on the farm near I'olo, assisting
with the general work on the .same when he became of proper age, and
received his education in the schools of Polo, graduating from the high
school there. He remained on the farm with bis parents until he was
twenty-two vears old. then, in the spring of 1903, lie came to Minnesota
and located on a farm in Viding townshi]). Clay county, and here he has
remained to the ])resent time. He operates eleven hundred and twenty
acres, carrxing on general grain farming and potato raising -on an extensive
scale, specializing in Red River Valley seed potatoes, which he produces
in great quantities everv vear. He understands every phase of successful
CLAY AND NORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 369
potato raising and his tine tubers find a very ready market owing to their
superior quahty.
On December i8. igo2. Robert I-. Scott was married to Emma Eh'zabeth
Brantner. who also was born at Polo, in Ogle county, Illinois, and to this
union three children have been born, Bessie Mabel, Jasper Michael, and
Joseph Winfield. Mrs. Scott is one of the eleven childern, two sons and
nine daughters, born to Joseph M. and Anna (Nye) Brantner, both of whom
were born in Ogle county. Illinois, the former at Polo and the latter at
Mt. Morris. Mr. Brantner is now a prominent farmer at Lime Springs,
Iowa. Of the eleven children born trt him and his wife all are living.
Mr. Scott is an advocate of advanced farming methods and keeps well
read along these lines. He is vice-president of the Clay County Farm
Bureau and has done much to make that influential organization a pronounced
success. He was formerly township supervisor and has also held offices
on the school board. He is a mem1)er of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Politically, he is a Republican.
BERNARD F. TENNEY.
Bernard F. Tenney, cashier and general manager of the First State
Bank of Ada and for years one of the leading business men of Norman
county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of Min-
nesota practicailx all the lime since his childhood. He was burn in San-
<lusky, Ohio, May i. 1868. son of Major Luman H. and Frances D.
(.\ndrews; Tenney, natives of that same state, who later came to Minne-
sota and became prominent and iniluential residents of this part of the
state in pioneer days.
Major Luman H. Tenney. who took a very active part in the develop-
ment of this part of the state during the time of the earh' settlement of this
-section, was reared in Ohio and was little more than a boy when the Civil
War broke out. He enlisted as a private in the Secpnd Ohio Cavalry and
served with that command until the close of the war. being mustered out as
a brevet major. Upon the completion of his military service Major Tenney
ni;irried and made his home in Sandusky, Ohio, until 1869, when he came to
-Minnesota and located at Duluth, where he engaged in the real estate and
insurance business. In 1872. about the time of the organization of Clay
(24a)
3/0 CLAY AND NCIRMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
county as a civic entity, the Major came over to this ]iart of the state and
located at Glyndon, where he acted as the agent for a Philadelphia company
in the sale of lands thereabout and also took an active interest in promoting;
the English colony wiiich settled in that neighborhood. Major Tenney also
operated a general store at Gl}ndon and started the Xortliern Pacific elevator
there and at some other points along the line. Ui)on locating there he took
;i soldier's homestead and later considerably increased his personal land hold-
ings. In addition to his other and varied interests, Major Tenney gave much
attention to the general affairs of the community during the period of the
establishment of a proper social order in that section and served for some
time as superintendent of schools of Clay county, doing much in that capa-
city toward the organization of an effective school system in the pioneer
comnnniitv. His busv and useful career was interrupted in the very prime
of his life, his death occurring in 1880. he then being thirty-eight years of
age. Major Tenney was an active and earnest member of the Congrega-
tional church and was one of the leaders in the organization of a church of
that denomination at Glyndon. He was an ardent advocate of temperance
and his inlluence in that direction was fell far and wide throughout this sec-
liuii in an early dav. Maior -.wA Mrs. Tenney were tlie parents of four
children.
Bernard F. Tenney was but an infant when his parents came to this
state from Ohio and settled at Duluth, and he was but a small child when
thev presently moved over to Glyndon. There he spent his bo3'hood and
then was sent East to complete his schooling, attending Oberlin College in
Ohio and Amherst College in Massachusetts, from which latter institution he
was graduated in i8go, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. U])on comi)!et-
ing his schooling Mr. Tenney returned to Glyndon and for a time gave his
attention to farming interests there, but presently returned to Ohio, where
he remained until 1903, in which year he came back to Minnesota and with
his business associates bought control of the Eirst State Bank of Ada and
was elected vice-president of that concern, being installed as general man-
ager of the affairs of the bank. Mr. Tenney later was elected cashier of the
bank and ever since forming connection w'ith the bank has given his most
earnest attention to the same, long having been recognized as one of the
leading bankers 6f this part of the state.
In 1893 Bernard F. Tenney was united in marriage to Sadie A. Sned-
eker, of Melbourne, Florida, and to that union foyr children have been
born, namely: Mary Erances, Luman H., who is now (1917) a member of
the American Ambulance Field Service, serving "somewhere in the Balkans"
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 37I
in the great ^V(ll■l(l W'ar ; Edward .\., who is serving in the United States
Marine Corps, serving "somewhere in the United States,"' and William H.,
who is attending scliool at home. Air. and Mrs. Tenney are members of
the Congregational church, in the various beneficences of which, they take a
warm interest, as well as in the general social activities of their home cit}^,
ever helpful in promoting all movements having to do with the advancement
of the common welfare hereabout.
OLE D. L.^RSON.
Ole D. Larson, present president of the village of Hendrum and the
oldest merchant in point of continuous service in that village, a well-to-do
dealer in hardware and agricultural implements, may also be regarded as a
pioneer of Norman county, having been actively identified with the afi^airs
of Hendrum and vicinit}- since 1882. He was born in Manitowoc county,
Wisconsin, February 11. i860, son of Lars and Martha ( Johanneson) Knul-
son, both natives of Norway, who were married in their native land and
shortly afterward, in 1852, came to the United States, locating at Port
Washington, Wisconsin, whence, a year later, they moved onto a homestead
farm in Manitowoc county, that same state, where they remained until 1883,
when they came over into Minnesota and located on a farm in the neighbor-
hood of Glenwood, in Pope count}', where they spent the remainder of their
lives. Mrs. Knutson died in 1906 and Mr. Knutson survi\ed until 191 1. he
being ninety-three years of age at the time of his death. They were earnest
members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and their children were reared
in that faith. There were nine of these children, of whom the subject of this
^ketch was the sixth in order of birth, the others being Knute (deceased),
Johannes (deceased), Bertha, Knute, who lives in Canada; Gabriel (de-
ceased), Lizzie, who lives at Xome, Alaska: Martin and Clara (deceased).
Reared on a pioneer farm, Ole D. Larson had little opportunity for
acquiring extensive schooling in his youth. As a young m;ui he learned the
carpenter trade and for twelve years was actively engaged in building opera-
tions. In 1882, he then being twenty-two years of age, he had come over
into Minnesota and up into the Red River Valley to take part in the then
tlourishing activities of this i)art of the state, and at Hendrum became en-
gaged as a carpenter. After his marriage in 1891 he established his home
there and for a while continued his building operations, but in 1892 started
in business there as a hardware dealer and has ever since been thus enga.ged,
37- CLAY AND NOKMAN COL' Nil KS. M I NNICSOTA.
lieing now the oldest mercliant in continuous business in that village. In
addition to his general line of hardware and agiicultural implements, .Mr.
Larson carries an excellent stock of furniture and is also the local agent fur
the sale of the Overland automobile. He holds a claim to a tract of one
hundred and twenty acres in Koochiching county. Mr. Larson for years
lias given his earnest attention to local civic affairs, has served as a member
ul die village council and as treasurer of the village and is now serving as
president of tlie village, in all his public service having e\ er had at heart the
best interests of the community which he has helped to build up. At live or
six terms of court he has served as a member of the jury in Norman countv.
It was on December 23, i8gi, that Ole D. Larson was united in mar-
riage to Emma Bye, of Spring Grove, Minnesota, and to this union five chil-
dren ha\e been born, Alva, lulmond (deceased), Edmond, Arnold and V'iola.
Mr. and Mrs. Larson are members of the United Lutheran church, in the
affairs of which they take a warm interest, and Mr. Larson has served as a
member of the board of trustees, as treasurer and in other capacities as an
ufHce bearer in the local congregation.
JOHN LUDWIG SCHEIE.
The late John Ludwig Scheie, one of the early settlers of Halstad
township, Norman county, where he was the owner of three hundred and
sixty acres of good farming land when his death occurred in 1904, was
born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 2; 1855, a son of Andrew and
Inger Sciieie, both of whom were born in Norway, where they grew up
and married and who came to America about 1839 or 1840. At first the
father, who was a cooper by trade, located in Rochester, New York, but
desiring to acquire some of the new land which was being opened up for
settlement in the West, gradually worked iiis way with his family in this
direction and settled for a while in M.cHenry county, Illinois, moving thence
northward into Wisconsin, settling in Muskego and later in Milwaukee,
where John Ludwig Scheie was born. The date of the family's residence in
the latter place was so early that only a few houses comprised the village
which later has grown into such a metropolis. After a few years of residence
in Wisconsin, the family moved into Minnesota and located in h'illmore
county, from which point they later came up into this part of the state and
settled in Halstad township. Norman county, where tiie parents spent the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 373
remainder of their lives. During his residence in Halstad township, Andrew
Scheie Hved the Hfe of the pioneer that he was, developing his farm and,
in his later years, preaching the gospel, as he was one of the first Lutheran
ministers in this section of the country. He and his \vife were the parents
of seven children, all of whom are dead but Anthony, a sketch of whose
life appears elsewhere in this volume, the others having been Ellen Christina,
.Anna, Hannah, Mehina, Caroline and John, the subject of this memorial
review.
John L. Scheie was only three years of age when his parents settled
in Fillmore county, Minnesota, in 1858, and when they decided to come
northward into Norman county, in 1876, he too, came to this county in the
same year, in company with B. B. Larson and others from Fillmore county,
and ' settled a quarter section in Halstad township, where he lived until
1892. In that year he moved to an adjoining place, where his family still
resides, and there died .on October 3, 1904, lamented by all who knew him
as an upright man, a good neighbor, an excellent citizen and a loving parent
and husband.
On November 4, 1876, John L. Scheie was married to Bessie Thomp-
son, who was born in Norway, a daughter of Knut and Bessie (Fossom)
Fossom, both natives of Norway, who came to America late in life and
located near Peterson, Fillmore county, Minnesota, on a farm where they
si)ent the rest of their lives. They were the parents of seven children,
nanio'y : Gilbert (deceased), Irvine, Tollef, Knut, Ole, Carrie, Ragnild (de-
ceased) and Bessie. To Mr. and Mrs. John Ludwig Scheie were born three
children, the eldest of whom is Emilie Bertina, who married Joseph For-
bra.gcl and has three children ; Lutie, Willis and Lenioine. Mr. Forbragd
now operates the old Scheie farm. The second in order of birth is Clara
Albertina, the wife of Ole Strom. They live in Newburg, North Dakota,
and are the parents of six children, Lester, Irvine, CHfiford, Walter, Morton
and Orland. The youngest of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Scheie
is Lottie Jeannette, who lives with her widowed mother on the old home
place.
Mr. Scheie, although a very busy man, found time to devote to the
interests of education in his community, as he served as school clerk for a
number of years. As a business, he followed well-drilling and for the most
part hired his farming done. Fie was always concerned with the further-
ance of the cause of Christianity, even out in the frontier districts of the
North, as he, in company with his father, who was a pioneer minister, and
a few others organized the Au.gustana Lutheran church.
374 CLAV AND NOKMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JENS FOSS.
Jens Foss, a well-known and enterprising merchant of Shelly, is a
native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident of this country
since he was nineteen years of age. He was born in the city of Drammen, a
seaport town of Norway, July 2, 1874. son of Erick J. and Rerthine (An-
derson ) h'ossen, natives of that same country, the former of whom was a
cari)enter. who spent all his life in his native land. Erick j. i'ossen and wife
were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was
the second in order of birth, the others being Caroline. Andrew. Bernhardt
and Anna.
Reared at Drammen, Jens Foss received his schooling in the schools of
that city and remained there until he was nineteen years of age. when, in
I.S93. he came to the United States and located at Portland, over in Traill
ccuntv. North Dakota, where he secured employment and where he presently
entered Bruflat Academy, perfecting there his somewhat limited knowledge
of English. After a while he engaged in the luercantile business at Port-
land, as a partner in a general store, and after two years, in 1902, catue over
into Minnesota and started a general store at Shelly, in partnership with
Carl llorte. also of Portland. In igi2 Mr. Horte sold his interest in the
store to h'oss Anderson and the latter and Mr. Foss have since been engaged
in partnership and have built up an excellent commercial establishment, hav-
ing a tlourishing trade. Mr. h'oss also owns a quarter of a section of land
in J'dlk countv and gives to his farming operations there considerable atten-
tion. He is an energetic, capable business man and is widely known in
business circles hereabout.
In 1907 Jens Foss was united in marriage to Josephine Flesjer. who
was born on a pioneer farm in the vicinity of Shelly, daughter of B. A.
l-"lesier and wife, pioneers of Norman county, the former of whom is still
living, making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Foss at Shelly. B. A. Flesjer
was born at Stavanger. Norway. May 15. 1850. and when twenty years of
age. in 1870, came to the United States and located in P'illmore coiuity. this
state. There, in 1872. he married Olava Olson Holte and in that same year
he and his wife came up into the Red River valley and settled in .Shelly
township. Norman county, where they established their home and where
Mrs. Flesjer died in 1910. Mr. Flesjer was one of the organizers of the
Augustana (Lutlieran) church in that neighl:H)rhood and he and his wife took
much interest in church work. They were the parents of eight children, of
whom Mrs. Foss was the fourth in order of birth, the others being Emelia.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 375
Bernhardt, Albert, Orlando, Palmer, Melissa and Manley. In 1915 Mr.
Flesjer retired from the farm and moved to Shelly, where he since has
made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Foss.
To Jens and Josephine ( I'lesjer) Foss two children have been born,
Frances and Orpha. Air. and Mrs. I-"6ss are members of the United Luth-
eran church at Shelly and Mr. Foss has been a member of the board of
trustees -of that cons^rej^ation ever since it was organized. He is a member
of the local society of the Sons of Norway and of the local lodge of the
Woodmen of America and in the affairs of these organizations takes an
active interest.
IVER KLOKSETH.
Among the native-born Norwegians who ha\e come to America and
engaged in general farming, is Iver Klokseth, a well-known and progressive
farmer, former clerk of the district school board, and owner of a fine farm
in Moland townshi]). Clay county. He was born on October 30, 1868, in-
the kingdom of Norway, a son of Knut and Malena (Wold) Klokseth, also
torn in that same country, but who came to this country about thirty-nine
years ago.
Knut Klokseth, who followed the occupation of a farmer in his native
land, was born on October 17. 1825. He married in Norway to Malena
Woid and about the year 1878 decided to try his fortune in tlie land of op-
portunities at this side of the Atlantic. On his arrival in this country he
came on out to Minnesota, where so many of his countrymen had already
settled on farms, and located in Clay county. He became the owner of one
hundred and fifty acres of prime land, on which he farmed for the remainder
of his life, his death occurring on July 29, 1892. His farm, which was located
in section 4, Moland township, was sold about fifteen years ago and the
widow is now making her home with her son, Iver. Knut Klokseth was an
industrious and capable farmer, a good citizen in every respect, a kind and
indulgent husband ;ind father, and his death was generally regretted through-
out the community.
Iver Klokseth, at the age of about ten years, accompanied his parents to
America and lived on his father's farm in Moland township. Before com-
ing to this countr\- he had been attending school in Norway and continued
his schooling in the township schools of Clay county. In his boyhood and
376 Cl.AV AND NORMAN fOUNTIKS, MINNKSOTA.
young- iiianliood he was a valua))Ie a;.sistaiil to hi^ father in the labors of
developing and improving the home place. The other mem])ers of the fam-
ily are; Ingeborg (Emma in iMiglish), who is married: Ida, married:
( hristine, married, and Martin, married and living in Morken township.
Iver Klokseth bought his [iresent farm, which now consists of two hun-
dred and thirty-seven acres, about 1893. '^'"'^ land, which is of choice qual-
ity and well improved, is situated in section 7, Moland township, and thirty
acres are set out to the planting and cultivation of potatoes. Mr. Klokseth
is regarded as one of the progressive and energetic farmers of the town-
ship and he and his family are pleasantly housed in a comfortable dwelling.
Mr. Klokseth was married on January 2~, 1892, to Hannah Ilolte, who
was born on October 13th, 1871, in Houston county, Minnesota, and who
died on May 28th, 1913. Three children were l)orn to this unitm, namely:
Corinne. who is married, and Marie and Julia, who live at home with their
father. Mr. Klokseth and his family are earnest members of the Lutheran
church at Concordia, and he has served the congregation as trustee for sev-
eral years. He was clerk of the township school board for six years and in
cither \\a\s he has given of his time and energy to the public in behalf of all
projects ha\ing for their purpose the common good of the community.
LEVI THOKTXEDT.
To a \isitor from the East one of the most impressive features of life
here in the Red River valley is the sense of the amazing newness of things.
\^''hen it is considered that men still in the very jiriiue of life were witnesses
to and particijjants in the very beginning of a social order hereabout this
sense of newness is accounted for. That all the wonderful development of
this region has been accomplished within the life-time of persons still active
in affairs is one of the wonders of the great work of "empire building" that
has been carried on in the Northwest during the [)ast generation, and it is
difficult for the Easterner to reconcile himself to the thought th;it all this
has been accomplished during a single lifetime.
One of the men who has been a resident of Clay county since the days
of the early settlement of the same is Levi Thortvedt. a substantial farmer
and landowner on the banks of Buffalo river in Moland township, who has
been a resident of the place on which he is now living, in sections 28 and
29, since the summer of 1870, when his father pre-etnpted the place and
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENSX
TILDEN' FOUNDATIONS.
y.
LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDtN fOUNDAVlGNi
CLAY AXD XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. }^-J-j
there established his home, thus being one of the earHest settlers of Clay
county. Levi Thortvcflt was born in the kingdom of Norway on January
31, i860, son of Ole G. and Thone (SongedahH Thortvedt, natives of that
same country, who shortly afterward came to the United States with their
family and proceeded on out to Minnesota, locating in Houston county,
where Ole G. Thortvedt Ijought a tract of forty acres of land and estab-
lished his home, remaining there until he came up here into the Red River
country, leader of what came to Ije known as the Buffalo River settlement.
Ole G. Thortvedt was a good farmer and a man of push and energy
and had, besides, the true pioneer instinct. In the spring of 1870 he Ijecame
attracted to the good rejjorts that then were being heard regarding the possi-
bilities awaiting settlers in the Red River country, which at that time was
little known to white men save the Hudson Bay trappers and a few adven-
turous souls that had pushed on out beyond the frontier. He interested twO'
or three other families in his design, disposed of his interests in Houston
county, equipped a fleet of "prairie schooners" in company with the Skrei
family, H. Fendalstveit, O. G. Mid-garden" and George G. Muhle. O. G. Mid-
garden later married Jorand Thortvedt, sister of the subject of this sketch.
This party started out l3_\- ox-team in cjuest of a new home in the unsettled
lands to the north, taking its departure-on May 14, 1870. When they reached
Alexandria, where the lam! office then was located, the\- fell in with Ole
Stronval, who had previously visited the Red River country, and he con-
sented to accompany them on their trip north and to act as guide. By the
4th of Julv they were in the vicinit}' of the Hudson Bay post at Georgetown
and they spent the I-'ourth on the Dakota side — Dakota was then a territory.
Pitching camp there, (Me G. Thortvedt left the teams and most of the party
and with two of the other men struck south on foot, "spying out the land."
Reaching a point five miles south of the present site of Fargo they decided
that the land was too low and that tlie\- also were getting into somewhat too
close proximit}' to what niigiit pro\'e to l_>e hostile Indians, as they heard the\-
were on the "war-path." Returnin.g to their camp, which harl been pitched
on the Dakota side of the \\ii(\. they h.-iving crime up the west trail, they took
up the journey, crossing the river at Hutchinson's ferry, and set out south on
the J^Iinnesota side. Presently they encountered Propfield. who had been
employed here bv the Hudson Bav Company since 1858 and when he found
that tlieir chief difificultv was the belief that the land was too low for profit-
able settlement he advised them to seek lands on the banks of the Buffalo and
volunteered to guide them thence and if this proved not to be just the kind
of land thev wanted, thev had better go back home as it was the best in the
378 i.\..\\ AXO XOKMAN COUXTIKS, M I \ X i;S( ITA.
Xorthwest. In tluc time they pitched their camp 011 the banks of the river
and l)eheld before them a i'lne prospect of <^ood high gronnd covered with a
rank growth of prairie grass, and tliere tiie\- decided to settle. And tliis was
the l>eginning of the Bnfialo River settlement.
At first the bind was not snrveyecb One day our subject ;uid his sister
were atteiuhng tlieir muskrat traps at the river. .\11 of a sudden they heard
voices and saw men witli recb t)hie and yellow coats plunging into the river.
I'be frightened buy and girl left the traps and ran screaming to the house —
"Intlians are coming." The father came irom the woods and on investi-
gation he found it was the surve\'Ofs who had come to survey the land.
Ole G. Thort\edi pre-empted a quarter of a section in what presently,
when the county was surveyed, was found t(j lie in sections 28 and 29, the
site of the original cam]) of the Thortvedt party, and there put up a log shack
and established his home, determined to gi\e the new country a try-out for
ten \ears : with the reservation that if in tiiat lime other settlers were not
attracted to the scene he would return to llouston county. But it was not
long until the e.Kcellence of the location began to attract others and presently
a thri\-ing settlement was established in that part of the county, although
the first crops were destroyed by grasshoppers. bVoni the beginning Mr.
Thortvedt was regarded as a leader in the community and when the town-
ship was organized he was given the privilege of naming the same, which
be did by .giving to it the name of his old home parish, Moland, in Norway.
As he de\eloi)ed bis (|narter section, all of which was i)rairie land save for a
fringe of trees along the river bank, he erected new and more commodious
buildings and it was not long before he and his family had a comfortable
home. He later bought an adjoining "forty" of railroad land at one dollar
and twenty-tive cents an acre, and still later, when settlers began to come in
and land values began to advance, Iwnght an "eighty." paying for the latter
tract seven dollars and fifty cents an acre. When the Buffalo River settle-
ment was started the nearest real trading point was at Alexandria, one hun-
dred and forty miles away, and thence the .settlers were cotnpelled to drive
for their necessities, the nearer trading point at the Hudson Bay Company's
jjost at Georgetown charging such exorbitant prices for goods as to make
trading there pr.icticdly jirohibitive save on emergenc)". .\t that time there
wa-i a vehicle known as the Red River cart, a two-wheel rig, verv' clumsy,
drawn by oxen and driven by half-breed Indians. This was the only means
of transportation at that time. The creak and noise of the wooden cart
wheels could be beard for miles. Sometimes as many as ninety carts would
l)e seen in a train hauling furs for the Hudson Bay Company from Ft. Gary
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 379
to St. Cloud and touk supplio Ijack again for that company. Ole G.
Thortvedt antl lii.^ wife sjient the remainder of their lives in the home they
had established on the l)anks of the Buffalo river, honored and influential
pioneers of Clay count}-. They were members of the Lutheran church and
were among the organizers of the local congregation of that faith in the
community which they went through many hardships to help establish.
They were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the third in order of birth, the others being jorand, Thone and Signe.
About 1905, at a grain growers' con\ention in l'"argo, James Hill, tlie
late great railroad magnate, was present and made a speech and at that time
said in April, 1871, he had stopped at a homesteader's cabin on Buffalo
river. Our subject was present and there was recalled to his mind the inci-
dent of two ])ilgrims stopping at his father's home. One of them was the
justly- famous great railroad financier.
Levi Thortvedt was but a babe in arms when his parents came to Minne-
sota from their native Norway and he was ten years of age when thev left
Houston count}' and came u\> into the Red River country. He therefore
has been a resident of this region since the days before Clay county was
organized as a civic unit and. has been a witness to and a jjarticipant in the
development of the county since pioneer days, a continuous resident of the
place his father i)re-empted here in 1870 and which was the social center of
that community in the days of the beginning of the Buffalo River settlement,
the date of the settlement of the Thortvedt family there having been July
9, 1870. Though his formal schooling necessarily was neglected b}' reason
of the lack of properly organized schools durin.g pioneer days, Mr. Thortvedt
has made up for that lack by wide and comprehensive reading and has long
been regarded as one of the best-in fonned men in his community, as well as
one of the most progressive and substantial farmers.. He is the owner of
a fine farm of three hundred and forty-two acres and the new set of buildings
he has erected on his place are electrically, lighted, the first buildings on the
Buffalo river thus to lie lighted, Mr. Thortvedt securing his current from a
water-power plant of his own invention erectecf some years ago on his farm.
Air. Thort\'edt carries on bis farming in accordance with up-to-date methods
and is doing very well. As one of the first settlers in that community, Mr.
Thortvedt has always taken an earnest interest in the development of the
same and has done his share in promoting public improvements,' ever taking
an interested part in such movements as have lieen designed to advance the
common welfare.
380 CI. AY AND NOK.MAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
In 1882 Levi Thortveilt was iiiiitctl in niarriajje to Ingeborg Mid-
.sjaarden Weum. wlio also was i^orn in tlic kin<((loni of Norway and who came
alone to this country in 1880. To this union ten children have Ijeen born.
Ole, Goodwin. l-21pha. Dora. .Stella. Adela. Orrabel. Eva. Morence and Nor-
man, all of whom are livin"'. The Thortvedts have a very pleasant home and
have ever taken an interested ]iart in the general social activities of the com-
munity in which they live. They are members of the Lutheran church and
take a proper interest in churcii work as well as in other neighborhood good
works.
JOSEPH (i.X.ARE.
Josefjh Gaare. cashier of the lirst State Bank of I'erley. is one of the
wideawake )oung business men of Norman county. He was born in Lee
township, this county. May 4. 1884, on the old liome farm, a son of John
O. and .Anna ( Kroshus ) Gaare. The father was iwrn in Norway, October
13. 1858, and the mother was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa. Ole Gaare,
the grandfather, was a native of Norway, as was also his wife, Sigrid. They
came to America in 1866. locating in .\llamakec county. Iowa, remaining
there until about 1880, when they came to Minnesota, accompanied by their
son, John O. Gaare, father of the subject of this sketch, and settled in Nor-
man county, where the grandfather spent the re.st of his life. He was a
fami. His family consisted of the following children: John O.. Peter
O.. Carrie, the wife of berdinand Baker, and Peder, who died when thirtv
years of age.
John O. Gaare was eight years of age when his parents brought him to
the New World, and he grew to manhood on the farm in Allamakee county.
Iowa, where he attended the public schools, .\bout 1880 he came to Minne-
sota and bomesteaded one hundred and si.\ty acres in Clay county. Later
he Ijought a farm in Lee township. Norman county, and operated lx)tli places
for many years, farming on an extensive scale and meeting with much suc-
cess, now l)eing the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of good farm
land. Por the past thirty years Mr. Gaare has lived in Lee township. Nor-
man count}-. His wife died in 1908. He has been in .some official position
in his school <listrict for the past twenty-five years, and is treasurer at present.
He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, of which he is secretary
at this writing. His family consists of the following children : Clara.
Joseph, Oscar, Selmer, Peter. Josephine. Hilda. Alice. Alberta and Emil.
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 381
Joseph Gaare, the ininietJiate subject of this sketch, grew to manhood
on the home farm and received his early education in the pubhc schools of
Lee township. Later he was a student in the State Normal School at Moor-
head and then took a course in the Metmjjolitan Business College at Min-
neapolis. After leaving school he taught one term in Norman county, then
spent six months in the office of the Ruber Threshing Machine Company of
Alinneapolis. In 1906 he took a position in the First State Bank at I'erley,
and in 1912 was appointed cashier of that popular and well-managed institu-
tion, and has continued to discharge the duties of this responsible position in
an able and satisfactory manner to the present time. Mr. Gaare is alsb pres-
ident of the Perley Trading Company and is secretary of the Perley Live
Stock Shipping Association. He served five years as recorder of the village
of Perley.
In 1911 Joseph Gaare was married to Anna Matilda Lee, a daughter of
Jens O. Lee, which union has iDeen without issue. Politically, "Mr. Gaare is
a Republican. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the local lodge
lit the Modern Woodmen, being clerk of the latter lodge at Perley. He
and his wife belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church.
HENRY MARSDEN.
Henry Marsden, a pi-ominent hardware merchani al Hendrum, is a
native of the Emerald Isle, but has lieen a resident of Minnesota and of Nor-
man county for nearly a quarter of a century. He was born at Cootehill,
County Cavan, in the north of Ireland, October 21, 1871. a son of John and
Catherine (Banner) Marsden, lx)th of whom were born in Manchester, Eng-
land, and the former of whom was a stock breeder and miller at Cootehill.
John Marsden and his wife were parents of six children, of whom the sub-
ject of this sketch was the last born, the others being Fred, Arthur. George.
Annie and Charles.
Upon comjjleting his schooling Henry Marsden became interested in the
work of his father's stock farm and remained at home until he was twenty-
two years of age, when, in 1893, he came to the United States, following his
elder brother, .\rthur Marsden, who had come to this country some years
before, and joined the latter up here in the Red River valley, locating in
Hendrum townshij), Norman county, where for the next few years he was
engaged on a farm. In the spring of 1898 he formed a partnership with
382 CLAV AM) XoKMAN L OU XTI K.>, M 1 N N'KSOTA.
James Materson in tlu- lianlwarc business at Hendruni, a partnership which
continued until the spring of igo6, when Mr. Marsden ])()ught his partner's
interest in the Imsiness and has since been conducting the same alone, one
of the leading merchants in the village. In addition to his general hardware
business, .Mr. .Marsden carries a full line of agricultural implements and
farm machinery and has done very well in his mercantile operations. Ever
since locating at Ilendrum Mr. Marsden has taken a good citizen's interest
in local civic affairs and served for one year as recorder of the village and
for three years as president of the village, giving to his official duties his
most i'ntelligent attention. In December, 1914, his wife. Mrs. Edith A.
Marsden, who had been assistant principal of the Hendruni public schools.
was commissioned postmistress of Hendruni. and the postoffice is now con-
ducted in Mr. Marsden's store, a central point for ihe people of the village
and surrounding country.
It was on June 20. 191 J, that Henry Marsden was united in marriage
to lulith .\. McXee. of Spring Valley. Minnesota, and to this union two
children ha\e been born, I'rederick John and Winston Craig. Mr. and Mrs.
Marsden are members of the Presb\terian church and take a warm interest
in ciuuch work. Mr. ^larsden having served as a member of the board of
trustees of the local congregation. They have a i)leasant home at Hendruni
;md are helpful in jiromoting all movements designed to advance the com-
mon welfare of the communitv in which thc\ live.
OTTO .\LJ(;USTU.S CHRISTI.-XNSON.
One of the w ell-known farmers of Oakport township. Clay county, who
is deserving of the success he has achieved is Otto .Augustus Christianson.
He was born in Clinton county, Iowa, on the site of the present city of
Clinton, July 29. 1851. a son of Abraham and Catherine (Anderson) Chris-
tianson. loth natives of Norway. In 1840 the mother went to France as a
nurse, later returning to Norway, but in a short time started to America.
single. On the same ship was Abraham Christianson. They made the long
voyage to New Orleans, then up the Mississippi river to St. Louis. Mis-
souri, where thev were married by a German Lutheran minister, through an
interpreter : and then came on north to Clinton, Iowa, having made the entire
trip from Norway by water. This w^as in the year 1844. They took up a
homestead of eightv acres in Iowa, which farm is now the site of the Sunny-
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 383,
side Nurseries at Lvous, a suburb of Clinton. The place was cleared and
improved by the father of the subject of this .sketch and there he carried on
farming until about 1855, when he removed to Houston county, Minnesota,
where he pre-empted a large farm, on which he spent the rest of his life.
The place is now known as the Bjornstad farm. After his death his widow
remarried and located at Fulton, Illinois, across the Mississippi river from
Clinton, Iowa, and there her death occurred. The father of the subject of
this .sketch was t\\ice married before his marriage to Catherine Anderson.
By his first marriage a daughter, Anna, was born. The following children
were by his second marriage : Caroline, Katherine, Charles, who was a
miner in Colorado and who served in the Civil War in a regiment from that
state, and Matilda. By his third marriage two children were born, namely :
.\niv Josephine, who died in infancy, and Otto A., the subject of this sketch.
Otto A. Christiansen grew up on the farm and received his early edu-
cation in the early-day schools of Houston county, studying for a time in tire
Housion high school, and later was a student in the Caledonia Academy.
.\s a boy and young man he worked out as a farm hand, also on steamboats
on the Mississippi river and on railroads. In 1874 he came to Moorhead and
])resently took a position in a warehouse of the firm of Barnes & Tenny at
Ghndon, and later worked in the store operated by this firm, remaining with
the firm about nine months. During the following winter Mr. Christiansen
taught school in Moland township; in fact, taught two schools, alternately,
at the same time. He then followed various occupations until the next win-
ter, when he again taught school. He had clerked for a short time in the
store of James Sharpe, who was one of the first merchants in Moorhead. In
the spring of 1876 Mr. Christianson took up a homestead of one hundred
and sixty acres in Oakport township and there he has since made his home,
developing a fine farm from the wild prairie, being one of the early pioneers
of that localitv. Wr. Christianson has added to his original farm until he
now has a farm of five hundred and forty acres, all well improved and under
a high state of cultivation. He has erected a splendid group of buildings on
his land and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
He is a stockholder in the I'-armers" Elevator Company at Moorhead. which
he helped organize.
In 1878 Otto A. Christianson was married to Mina K. Juve, a daugh-
ter of Ole Juve, a pioneer settler of Kragnes township. Clay county, who
located there about 1877. To that union three children were born, Anna
Josephine (deceased), Oscar A. and Milton (deceased). Mr. Christianson
married for his second wife .\ndria Nel.wn, who was born in Denmark, a
3^4 CLAY AND NORMAX COUXTIES, MINNESOTA.
daughter of Ebbe Nelson, wlio H\ e<l and died in Denmark. To this second
union eight children were borr, all living at this writing, and named as fol-
low : Ruth, Alina, Daniel, who is a soldier ii> the Eighteenth Infantrv, reg-
ular army of the United States, and at this writing (1917) is with the
I'ershing expeditionary force in I'" ranee; Lillian, John, who is at this writ-
ing a member of the Third Regiment, Minnesota National (luard, and is
stationed at h't. .\dams; Clara, Milton aixl Catherine.
Mr. Ciiristianson has always been active in the affairs of Oaki)ort lown-
>iiili lie helped organize the township and was a member of the first town-
sliip board: in tact, has been a menil)er of the i)oard most of the time since
ihc township was first organized, being still on the same. He was formerly
township assessor. He helped organize the first Sunday school, also the
lirst church in his community, known as the Concordia Lutheran church,
and later helped build the ])resent edifice for this congregation.
GUSTAV O. LEE.
Gustav C). Lee. a well-known, prosperous and progressive farmer and
stockman, owner of a fine farm in Moiand township, Clay county, was born
in Houston county, this state, on December 2, 1864, but has been a resi-
dent of this county since 1871. He is the son of Ole and Asger Lee, lioth
natives of the kingdom of Norway.
Ole Lee was a farmer in Norway, where he was born in 1835. in
1854 he immigrated to the United States and on arriving in this countrv
came on out to the state of Minnesota and settled in Houston county, where
he engaged in the life of a farmer for some years. In 1871 he and his
family moved into Clay county and homesteaded a tract of land. I Ic
immediately proceeded to put the land into a slate fit for cultivation, and
there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1873. two
years after he had taken possession of liie farm. His wife, Asger Lee, also
was born in Norway, in 1841 : came to .\merica in 1853 '^"^ ^^'is married
in 1863 in Houston county, this state. She is now living with her sou.
Gustav O., on his farm in Moiand township. Ole Lee and wife were the
parents of the following children: Gustav O.. the first born, and Julia. Olaus
and Andrew, who are deceased.
Gustav O. Lee was but a boy of nine years of age when his father
died and as he was the eldest child of the family he had to commence early
to assist his mother in the work of caring for and supporting the family.
OrSTAV O. LKE AXI> FAMILY.
,.^ Lie LIBRARY
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 385
and in consequence liis opportunity for an extended education was limited.
He was married on Jidy 17, 1892, to Vila Swenkeson, who was born in
1875 in Clay county, and who died, after a few years of married life, in
1895. There were no children to the marriage.
Mr. Lee is the owner of one hundred and ninety acres of the choicest
<|uality of land, has between twenty and forty acres each year planted to
jjotatoes, and in his farming- operations is doing splendidly. He carries
on his farming according to modern methods of agriculture and is accounted
one of the substantial farmers of this section of the county. Mr. Lee has
effected many \aluable improx-ements on his holding and has remodeled and
o\-erhauled the old homestead hduse, which is still in use. He raises a nice
herd of Shorthorn cattle and his stock in this strain finds a ready market,
at .good prices.
JOHN T. REDLAND.
John T. Redland, one of the real pioneers of Norman county, who was
largely instrumental in the organization of the first school in Shelly town-
ship, where he now lives the life of a farmer, who was one of the original
organizers of Shelly township and one of its earliest officers, and who was
one of the first men in this community to materially aid the establishment
of a place of worship for the people of the neighborhood, was born in the
amt of Stavanger, Norway, on November 28, 1844. He is a son of Thors-
ton and Martha (Iverson) Johnson, who were both born on the Redland
farm in the amt of Stavanger, in Norway. In 1854 the father and mother
decided to bring their family to America, but that was no easy task in those
days before the day of the steamship in its perfected state. For two long
months they were at the mercy of the Atlantic in a small sail boat, but
finally they landed at Quebec and from there proceeded on up the St. Law-
rence by steamboat to Montreal. They then followed the different windings
of the Great Lakes b}- di\erse means of transportation until they arri\ed at
Chicago. The family remained in that city for only one month, owing to
an outbreak of cholera there, and then they started for La Crosse, Wis-
consin, by rail, horses and river boat, for at that time the railroad extended
only ten miles west of Chicago. After a short stay in La Crosse, the family
went to Coon Prairie. Wisconsin, where the father died and where the
family remained until 1871. There were nine children born to Thorston
(25a)
386 CLAV AND NORMAN COL'NTIES, MINNESOTA.
and Martha Johnson, of whom the subject of this sketch was the tiftli in
order of birth, the others being Ann Catherine (deceased), Annie (deceased),
Martha (deceased), Toletta (deceased), Carrie (deceased) and Iver (de-
ceased). Two died in Vernon county, Wisconsin, in the days of the early
settlement of that county, when tliere was no cemetery, and it was neces-
sary to cut the coffin with a broadax.
In 1 87 1 John T. Redland and his uKitlur st.irted Westward in a covered
wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, driving their cattle before them, crossed
the Father of Waters by ferry at La Crosse and drove on northwestward
through Minnesota, carefull\- scrutinizing the land as they passed over it.
Finally, their wanderings had led them so far as what is now Norman
county and there they settled in Shelly township, where Mr. Redland ha-
since lived. One could not recognize in this populous and well-developed
section the Xorman county of fifty years ago, for at that time Moorhead.
in Clay county, boasted of only one house. No bridges spanned the streams
swollen by the spring thaws, for each spring Mr. Redland, with the other
settlers of the neighborhood, found it necessary to build a contrivance across
the Wild Rice river by which they could cross, and this bit of pioneer civil
engineering had to be repeated each spring, for when the river would start
in upon one of its spring rampages, it would crumble the puny bridge
like matchwood. Alexandria, which was one hundred and sixty miles away,
was the nearest point where the settlers could gel provisions, but it was
not reached by railroad, for Mr. Redland made the round trij) twice with
a team of oxen, the trip requiring two weeks.
W^hen Mr. Redland entered this section, it was a vast expanse of un-
broken and unsurveyed prairie land, hence he took a "squatter's" claim,
where he now li\es. Later, he pre-empted some land and purchased more
from the railroad. He made several trips to St. Paul to buy railroad land
for his neighbors, as their representative, thus exemplifying the spirit of
brotherhood which flourished on the American frontier. After he had i)ui
in his first crop, Mr. Redland was happy in the anticipation of a bountiful
harvest, but the grasshoppers had other designs and absolutely stripped his
fields of vegetation. Ere the next year, the railroad, w-hich had lieen creep-
ing along so slowly, finally reached Breckinridge, and after that the pioneers
did not find it necessary to make such long trips to their market. During
his then short residence in the county. Mr. Redland had built his house,
which undoubtedly was a settler's cabin, as the main tool he had at his
disposal was a broadax. With the same clumsy tools he performed the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 387
sorrowful task of making a cofifiin for his brother, Iver, who died soon after
I he famii)- had reached tlieir new home in the great Northwest.
Soon other settlers came in and the population of what is now Norman
county became sufficient to warrant its civil organization. Anthony Scheie
was the first assessor in this part of the county and Mr. Redland was the
second. At that time the assessor assessed a wide scope of territory in
the niirthwest part of Norman county, for the present townships were
not then organized. In this capacity, Mr. Redland served for eight years
until he became asses.sor of the present township of Shelly, which he helped
to organize.
Mr. Redland's education, which was limited, was received in Wiscon-
sin. Even though the schools of those days were rude as compared with
the splendid system now extant in Norman county, he readily saw the necessity
of giving the children of his neighborhod such educational advantages as
the community could afford. Thus it is that the credit for the organization
of the first school in Shelly township is due to Mr. Redland. In those days
the law prescribed that a community must provide for a school house and'
conduct a three-months term at its own expense before it could receive
public or state aid. Since ATr. Redland was very anxious to bring this about,
he hired a teacher at sixteen dollars a month and board and had the school
conducted in his own home. He, himself, at times boarded the teacher and
personally paid six dollars a month of the salary. In addition to this, he
made trips to Crookston on skis in the bitter cold on school business. All
of this was done by Mr. Redland that the education of the children of the
community might not be neglected. For many years he served on the school
board, but after the educational progress of the community seemed safely
launched, he resigned. Not only did the school interests of the community
demand Mr. Redland's time and resources, but he was also deeply interested
in the establishment of a religious society. He helped to organize the first
church in the community, the Marsh River Lutheran church, on August
2, i<S72, at the house of Engel Lovesness. The society is still extant, but
Mr. Redland has changed his membership to a church nearer his home.
There are few pioneer settlements which have not had an Indian scare,
and the one of which Mr. Redland was a member was no exception. It
was in 1883 that the Indians seemed to be restless and the settlers were
all nn the qui z'kr, for they organized a local comi)any for their own
defense. Ha]jpily this organization was never called into active service.
-Many Indians camped on the river near Mr. Redland's home to fish, but
he alwa\s treated them kindly and did not incur their enmity. On this
388 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
occasion, in 1883, he did nut feel so sure of liis safety. As he was on his
way to board a train near Ada, in order to go to Crookston on business,
he met thirty Indians. As they kept to their course and as Mr. ixedland
had no hostile intentions, no breach of the i)eace was effected.
On June 29, 1881, John T. Redland was united in marriage to Carrit'
Sophia Morrison, who also was a native of Norway, born. March 18, 1862,
a daughter of Mauritz and Sarah (Sorenson) Larson, natives of Norway,
who lived and died there. To this imion six children have been lx)rn, namely :
Mila Sophia (deceased), William Tenny, Stella, Rul)en, Ida and .Milton
(deceased). Mr. Redlantl has always lived on the same farm since he
came to Norman county ; however, he lived on different parts of the farm
until he had proved up on that which he had pre-empted. After lie liad
done this, he came to the tract which he had purchased from the railroad.
In all, he is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of well-
improved and valuable land, ha\ing built the valuable and substantial build-
ings incident to the plant of a successful fanner. In addition to his many
activities in behalf of the progress of this section, Mr. Redland has also
been interested in making available better facilities in the comnnmity for
the marketing of the farmers' grain. In doing this, he helped to organize
the farmers elevator at Shelly. His son Ruben is interested in the creamery
at Shelly and rents the home place.
AXDRKW T. AABVE.
The late .\ndrew T. Aabye, who was a well-to-do landowner in Lee
township, .\orman count), and for years engaged in the mercantile business
at Perley, in which i)lace he also had banking and other interests, had the dis-
tinction of having been the first white child born in Goodhue coimty, this
state. He was born on a pioneer farm in that county on October 24, 1854,
and died at his home in Xorman county in 191 1. His widow, who is now
living on the fine farm of four hundred and ei.ghty acres in section 29 of
Lee township, lias done much in the way of improvement on that place since
lier luisband's death, having erected a new set of substantial, modern build-
ings, and is verv comfortably situated there.
Andrew T. Aabye's father and mother were of Norwegian l)irtli but
were married in this country, where they spent their last days, prominent
pioneers of Goodhue count}-, this state. They came to diis country on the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 389
same ship. The vessel was destroyed by fire as it was approaching land and
although all hands were saved, the passengers were compelled to take to the
l>oats without their Ijelongings and thus the elder Aabye and the girl who
shortly afterward liecame his bride landed in this country practically penni-
less. The}- were enabled, however, to make their way out into the North-
west and settled on a farm in Goodhue county, this state, among the very first
settlers of that county, their eldest child, the subject of this memorial sketch,
having lieen, as noted above, the first white perst^n born in that county.
Despite the fact that he landed in this country destitute of world's goods,
the elder Aabye became a successful farmer, the owner of two hundred acres
of fine land in Goodhue county, and was worth thousands at the time of his
death in tliat county about J901. He was four years older than his wife,
who survived him about ten years, she being eiglity-six years of age at the
time of her death. Of the children born to this pioneer pair, three are still
living, Mrs. Ole I-'inney. of Georgetown township. Clay county: another
daughter in Goodhue county, and another daughter in Olmsted county.
Reared on the home farm in Goodhue county. Andrew T. Aabye grew
u\) tliere familiar with pioneer conditions in Minnesota and remained there
until 1SS2. three or four vears after his marriage, when he came up into the
Red Ri\er \alley and bougiit a quarter of a section of land in section 29 of
T.ee township. Xorman county, and there established his home, the place on
which his widow is .still making her home. He later bought two adjoining
(|uarter sections and ins widow is now the owner of fonr hundred and eighty
acres of fine land, well ini])rove(l and profitably cuUivated. In addition to
his extensive land interests. Mr. Aabye was one of the most influential
factors in the development of the village of Perley. He opened a store at
that place shortly after the establishment of tlie townsite and was engaged
in mercantile business there practically all the time of his residence in
.Xorman county. For ten years he was postmaster at Perley and in many
ways helped to bring about substantial conditions there, one of the organizers
of the First National bank and also active in promoting other local enter-
])rises. His widow now owns the brick store building which she built on
the same site on which he carried on Iiusiness and is continuing to operate
the store, which is now managed by Mr. Erickson ; and the bank shares are
now owned bv his son, Carl .Aabye. who is also managing the home farm.
It was on May 28, 1878, in Goodhue county, this state, that Andrew
T. Aabye was united in marriage to Inger H. \Tixland, who was born in
Wisconsin on December 13, 1859. Her parents were both natives of the
kingdom of Norway, but were married in Wisconsin, where the\- lived
390 CLAY AND NORMAN COUXTIKS, M INNICSOTA.
until moving to Cioodluie county, tiiis state, where the mother is still living,
lieiiig MOW past eiglitv-tvvo years of age. The father bought a small farm
ujion locating in Cioodhue county and added to the same luuil he became the
owner of a fine farm of four hundred and eighty acres, which is still in the
possession of the family. He died at the age of sixty-four. Mrs. .\abye
has six brothers ;ind one sister, the latter of whom, .Mrs. Judge .\ndrew
Hanson, lives in this part of the country, a resident of Fargo, North Dakota.
Mrs. Aabye has three children, Olena. who married Gust Rrickson, of Parley,
and has two children, Arthur and Mildred; Clara, who married Justus Berg,
of Hendrum, and has one child, John Vincent, and Carl, managing the home
faini. who married Stella Ness, and has one child. Susan Katrina. The
.\al)\es have ever taken an interested part in the general good works and
social activities of their home community and have done much to help pro-
mote the substantial upbuilding of that part of the county.
h:D\VARn T. STEXNES.
Ivdward T. .Steime-;. the proprietor of three hundred an<l thirty acres
of line farming land in llalstad township. Norman county, where he car-
ries on general farming, was born on November 7, 1876, on the old home
place where he still lives, the son of Theodore and Annie (Serum) Stennes,
Ixjth of whom were natives of Norway, who came to Minnesota and were
married in Norman county in the fall of 1873. The mother was the
ilaughter of Ole and Annie J. (Norby) Serum, both natives of Norway, the
latter nf whom sjicnt her last days in Minnesota, one of the pioneers of
Norman countv. Ole .Serum was a farmer in his native country, and there
he married .\nnie J. Norby. to which union seven children uere liorn.
nanielv : .\. ()., one of the real pioneers of Norman county and a well-
known resident of llalstad township: Ingeborg. Maret. Karen, Mollie, Annie,
the wife of Theodore Stennes and the mother of the subject of this review-;
and Ole. In 1862 the father. Ole Serum, was drowned while taking part in
a log drive on the river not far from his home, and five years later his widow
with four of her children, including .\nnie, came to the United States and
settled in Fillmore count), Minnesota. There she remained until 1872.
when she, accompanied by her son, A. O. Serum, and her daughter, Annie,
came up into this part of the state and settled in Halstad t<jwnshii), Nor-
man countv.
CX-AY AND NORMAX COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 39I
Theodore O. Stennes left his native land, Norway, and came to America
in 1868. locating in I'illmore county. Minnesota. When the party, which
inckided Annie Serum and her mother and brother, moved toward Nonnan
county, Theodore Stennes. feeling- that greater opportunities awaited him
in this then new countrx-, joined them. As soon as he arrived in Norman
count}- he located on a (|uarter section in Halstad township. Three years
later, he let his brother Hans have seventy acres of the first tract and they
both proved up their holdings as hotnesteads. Theodore Stennes, Ijeing of
the stufif of which real pioneers are made, immediately set to work to im-
])r<)ve his holding, which was of bare prairie, by setting out groves and
raising the necessar\- buildings. Soon his industry was rewarded and he
was enabled to a<ld another quarter section across the road from his first
tract and later a tract of timber land. Theodore O. and Annie Stennes
were the parents of four children, of whom Edward T. is the second in
order of birth, the others being a daughter, who died in infancy: Clara, who
owns a millinery store in Halstad. and Olin, who has a hardware business
at Wolf Point. Montana, and who married Alice Berger. Sometime after
the death of his first wife. Theodore Stennes married Elizabeth Flogstad,
who was born in Norway, the daughter of Ole and Gura Flogstad, and to
this union one child has been born, Theodore, who works for his brother,
Odin. Theodore O. Stennes anfl family were members of the Norwegian
Tutheran church. t<' which denoniinatioi-i they alw'ays consistently and con-
scientiously adhered, the father having helped to organize the Augustana
Lutheran church, of which he was an officer during the greater part of his
residence in Normai-i county.
luKvard T. .Stennes. who has always lived on the old home place in
Halstad township, received his common-school education in the district
schools of his home township. Later, he decided to supplement his early
training by attending Concordia College, at Moorhead, where he had one
term. Much of his vocational training, however, has been derived from
the school of experience here on his father's farm; that this has borne fruit
is evidenced bv the splenrlid crops which Mr. Stennes reaps from his well-
improved farm of three hundred and thirty acres.
On February 4. 191 5, Theodore Stennes, Jr.. married LiUie Peterson,
who was born in Halstad. Minnesota, January 21, 1895, the daughter of Sam
and Christinia ( Liaunet ) I'eterson. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Stennes are
the parents of two children. Lloyd and Philip. Edward T. Stennes is an
adherent of the Norwegian Lutheran denomination, being a member of the
Augu'Jtana Lutheran church of which his father was such an active member.
392 CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Politically, Mr. Stennes is a stanch advocate of independent i)rinciples. He
has never been a seeker after office. Of all movements in the community
which are initiated for its moral and material betterment. Mr. Stennes is a
hearty exponent and loyal supporter.
WILHl-.I.M NICKEL.
Wilhelm Nickel, deceased, formerly a well-known farmer of Hagen
township. Clay cnuity. where he lived for several years, was a native of
Russia, but had been a resident of this countr\- since 1878, first settlinsj in
Cottonwood count}-, this state, and later becoming a prominent and inllu-
ential citizen of Cla\ county, where he spent the remainder of his life since
coming here in iSgcS. liis death, which was generally regretted, occui ring-
in 1901. He was born in Russia on July 29, 1843, a son of Henry :md
Katherine (Martins) Nickel, who were farmers in that country.
Henr\- and Katherine Nickel were natives of Prussia and wlicu chil-
dren, went with their respective parents to Russia, settling in the southern
part of that country, where they spent the remainder of their lives, respected
citizens of their home community. They were the parents of eight children.
Henry, Katherina, Jacob. Maria, John, Elizabeth, Wilhelm and Helena, all of
whom are deceased with the exception of Helena, who is living in Russia.
Wilhelm was the only one of the famil\- to come to this country.
Wilhelm Nickel was married on January 14. 1875, to Maria .Veufeld,
also a native of Russia, in which country the marriage took place. In
1878 they came to this country and located near Mountain Lake, Cotton-
wood county, this state, coming to that part of Minnesota with the second
Russian settlement. Wilhelm Nickel bought a tract of land in that place
and continued to farm the same until iSi)8. in wliich \-ear he moved to
Hagen township, Clay county, where he operated three hundred and twenty
acres of prime land up to the time of his death in 1901, the same being now-
in the jxjssession of his widow-. He carried out some substantial improve-
ments, including a line l)arn, the other buildings now- on the i)lace being
erected by his family. Wilhelm and Maria (Neufeld) Nickel were the
parents of the following children; Cerhart, wdio was Ijorn in Russia and
who died in that country at the age of two years; Maria, born in Russia,
who died in Cottonwood county, this state; Wilhelm. born in Cottonwood
county, who died in Clav countv ; Gerhart, born in Cottonwood countv, who
Ml!. .\.\1> MUS. WlLHKIvM NICKEL.
THE ^'"'
PUBLIC
CLAY AND XORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 39J
died in Clay cijiint}-; .Mrs. A. F. Toavs, living at Wolf Point, Montana, and
Henfy \\'., l>orn Seiittniher 7, 1886, in Cottonwood county, who came with
his parents to Clay county. He has always lived on the home place and
operates three hundred and twenty acres of land, one hundred and si.xty
of which he owns, and ^>n which he carries on general farmino;, being re-
garded as one nf the progressive and substantial farmers of Ha.gen tnwii-
ship.
On January 1, 19 12, Henr}- W. Nickel was unitetl in marriage to
Susie Evert, who was born in Cottonwood county, a daughter of Jacob
Evert and wife, natives of Russia. To Mr. and Mrs. Nickel three children
have been born, W'ilhelm, Orlando and Ruth. The Nickel famil)', both
sides, are meniljers of the Mennonite church. Mr. Nickel formerly was a
member of the school board and he and his wife take a proper Interest in
the .general social acti\ities of the comnuinitv in which they reside, factors
for good in all that appertains to the welfare of the township.
Mrs. Maria (Neufeld) Nickel was the daughter of T\e\-. fierhard
Neufeld and wife, natives of Russia. The former was born in that country
in iHjj. In 1878 he came to Cottonwood county with the Russian settle-
ment and there died on December 15, 1916. He served as pastor for thirty-
eight years at Mountain Lake. His wife, Anna Tiecroew, who also was
born in Russia, died in that country. The\' were the i)arent> of the follow-
ing children: Katherina, .\nna, li\ing in .North Dakota; Maria, who lie-
came the wife of ^Vilhelm Nickel : Gerhart, Peter and Henry. .\11 the fore-
going children, with .the exception of .\nna and Maria, are living in Cot-
tonwood county. Three other children, Susie, Henr\- and John, died
vouner.
HARRY RICHARDS.
Harr)- Richards, one of the most e.xtensive lantlowners and progressi\e
farmers of Norman count}- and chairman of the board of directors of the
First State Bank of Perley, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has
been a resident of this section of the Red River valley since 1879 and is,
therefore, very properly regarded as one of the real old settlers of this
region. He was born at Erie, Pennsylvania, in August, 1858, son of John
S. and Adelade P. (McAllister) Richards, the former of whom also was
born at Erie and the latter, near Watertown, New York.
394 CLAY AND NORMAN COUXTIICS, MINNESOTA.
John S. Richards, who (hed in 1898, at the age of seventy-four years,
was a successful coal operator at Erie,- engaged both in mining and johbing.
Avas a member of the board of directors of the Second National I'ank of
Erie and was for some years holder of the controlling interest in the Xnrth-
western l""uel Company, of St Paul, having bought James J. Hill's interest
in that concern. His widow died in 1912, she then being seventy-four
years of age. They were the parents of three children, the subject of this
sketch having two sisters, Mrs. Mary Metcalf, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and
Mrs. Adelade Michener, a widow.
Reared at Iirie, i'enns\lvania, I larry Richards completed his schooling
in the Erie Academy and when twenty-one years of age, in 1879, cairie
up into the Northwest country and located at Fargo, where he became en
gaged in the coal business, details of which he had learned under the careful
direction of his father, at that time one of the leadin.g coal men in tlie
country, b'or about five years he continued in that business at P'argo and
then, in 1884, he bought a tract of something more than a section of land
in sections 18 and ig of Lee township. Clay county, and proceeded to im-
prove and develop the same. When Mr. Richards took possession of that
six-hundred-and-fifty-acre trad it was whcjlly unimproved, but it was not
long before he had it under cultivation and had there erected a farm plant
that was widel\- regarded as one of the Ijest in the Northwest. He has
continued adding both to his land holdings and to the improvements on the
place until now he is the owner of a great farm of thirteen hundred and
five acres and a farm i)lant that is a model of modern convenience and
effectiveness, the buildings on the place carrying insurance to the amount
of twenty thousanil dollars. In addition to his general farming Mr. Richards
has long gi\en close attention to the raising of live stock and in the summer
of 1917 had ele\en thousand dollars worth of stock on the place. The
farm house, the center of this admirable farm plant, is a large, modern
house, ec|uipped throughout in strictly u])-to-date fashion, and Mr. Richards
and his famih are \ery pleasantly and \ery comfortably situated. .\'ot
only has Mr. Richards been successful in his farming operations, but he
has given close attention to the general business activities of the commimity,
helpful in many ways in promoting the various enterprises that have added
so much to the development of this region. He was the organizer of the
First State Bank of Perley and is chairman of the hoard of directors oi
the same.
In 1880, the year following his location at I'argo, .Mr. {Richards was
united in marriage, at Erie, Pennsvlvania, to Sarah M. Eliot, who was born
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 395
at that place in 1859, aixl tn lliis union two childrtni have Ikx-w Imrn, a
son, John EHot Richards, and a daughter. Ruth KHot Richards, the latter
of whom was graduated from a New Jersey college in the spring of i()i7,
and the former, of Dartmouth College. John E. Richards reni;iins im the
home place, aiding in the general management of the same. Marry Richards
i> a Mason of high degree, having attained the Scottish Rite (thirty-second
(le.gree) in that order, a charter member of the consistory of North Dakota
and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
affiliated with El Zagal Temple at Fargo. He also is a member of the
.Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and in the affairs of that order
likewise takes a warm interest.
SAMSON N. PETERSON.
Samson N. Peterson, an enterprising merchant at Perley, Norman
county, was born at Calamus, Iowa, January 21, 1864. He is a son of
Nils and Kari (Hanson) Peterson, both natives of Norway, where they
grew to maturity and attended school, and they were married in their native
land in 1855. They came to America on their honeymoon and located on
a farm near Calamus, Iowa, buying raw land, which they improved by hard
work and perseverance, enduring the usual hardships and jMivations of
pioneer life. The father still lives on the home place there, which he has
now occupied for a period of sixty-two years, a record that tew men in
his state can equal. He owns one hundred and eighty acres. His wife
died on December 21, 1891. She was a member of the Norwegian Luth-
eran church, to which Nils Peterson also belongs. To these parents three
children were born, Hans, Samson N. and Cornelius.
.Samson N. Peterson grew to manhood on the iiomc farm at ('alamns.
Iowa, working hard during the croj) seasons, and in tlie winter attended the
district schools, later attending the high school at Dewitt, that state, and
was graduated therefrom. He began life for liimself as a teacher, in the
fall of 1881, and continued teaching for ei.ght years with success, giving
satisfaction both to pupils and patrons, and his services were in demand.
During this period he taught four years in Norman county, Minnesota, hav-
ing come here in 1886. In the fall of 1890 he began clerking in a store at
Ada, and the following year took a position as clerk in the store of .\. J.
Kroshus at Perlev, which |)osition he held two years, then clerked two years
3y6 CI.AV AND NOK.MAN COUXTIIIS, M 1 X N'KSOTA.
in the Aabye store there. He then went tu l'"argi). Xortli Dakota, and
clerked one year: then had charge of a store at llorace, that state, seven
years. In all these positions he gave his employers most satisfactory serv-
ice, being faithful, alert and courteous to customers. During his period
of clerking .Mr. I'eterson was a close observer and mastered the various
ins and outs of the mercantile business, at the same time saving his earn-
ings. Ui)on lea\ing Horace in 1904 he located in Perley, Minnesota, and
bought out a general merchandise business, which he has since conducted
with \ery gratifying results, carrying an extensive stock of well-selected
goods and enjoying a large and growing trade with the town and surround-
ing country. He has also been interested in the Lee l^levator Company
there and has discharged the duties of secretary of the company during the
past nine years.
On .March 21. 18SS, .Mr. I'eterson was married to Bertha Margaret
Johnson, who was born at Calamus. Iowa, antl who received a good educa-
tion in the jtublic schools of Dewitt. liwa. She is a daughter of George
and Bertha ( Christianson ) Johnson, natives of Norway, who were farming
])eo])le of Clinton county, Iowa. Three children ha\e been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Peterson, namely: Xils. Beatrice and Laura. Mr. Peterson is
a Republican and is a memlier of the village council of Perley and also
clerk of the local school board. He belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran
church in which he is a deacon, having held this office for many years, and
is actixe in church work.
ANDREW I. HAGEN.
.\lbert J. Ilagen. the well-known owner of one hundred and ei.ghty
acres of Heudrum township land, and director in the I'armers State Bank
of the village of Hendrum, was born in Norway. September 21, 1859, the
son of Johanas O. and 01a\a .\ndreasdatter ( Hagen ) Hagen, both born in
Norwa}', where the\' were reared and were married, coming to America
in 1867. I'\)r the first ten years after the family came to .\merica, they
lived in Houston county, Minnesota, and \\'inneshiek county, Iowa, where
the father worked as a farm hand, a carpenter and a tinner. In 1877
Johanas Hagen, following the example of manv of his countrymen who
had emigrated from the land of their nativity to this country, decided to
push northward into Minnesota, where he could become the owner of some
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 397
of the excellent land whicii was at that time being opened to settlement.
In the year mentioned abo\e, he started to Xorman county hy train, and
his family, with the hotisehold goods and a few farming in:plements, and
two teams, one of oxen and the other of horses, followed oxerland with
a party of settlers made up of three families, one of which was that of
Ole N. Tommerdahl. In 1878 or 1879 the family homesteaded a cpiarter
section of land in Hendrum township where Albert J. Hagen now lives, anfl
there the father and mother lived until their deaths.
The elder Hagen became a prominent pioneer in the township, for he
was ever in the forefront during his residence there in the opening of the
country to settlement. He helped to organize the township and the first
church in the community, called the St. Paul Lutheran church ; the first
postoffice of Hendrum was established -in the house on his homestead, two
miles north of Hendrum \illage, and he was the first postmaster. To Johanas
Hagen and wife were born eleven children, all of whom died young except
the following six: Greta (deceased), Ole, Nickoli A. (deceased), Albert
J., the subject of this review; John, who is lixing in Hendrum, and Martin,
who died at the age of thirteen years.
Albert J. Hagen recei\ed a very limited education in the common
schools of Houston county before he came here with his parents in 1877.
and has always lived in Hendrum township since he has resided in .Vorm.m
county. After remaining several years on the home place, where he in
dustriously applied himself to bringing the family's hokling under cultiva
tion, he started out on his own account, buying eighty acres of railroad
land in Hendrum township, and later he bought a pre-emption right to eightx'
more acres and li\ed on the same for two and one-half vears, proving it
up. After that he returned to the eighty-acre tract of railroad land and
remained there eleven years, froin 1885 to 1896. He then took up his
residence on his father's homestead, which he has improved by erecting
excellent farm buildings and has since made that his home. He now is the
owner of one hundred and eighty acres of well-improved land on which he
carries on general farming.
On July II, 1889, Mr. Hagen married Sophia Christianson, who was
born in Norway, the daughter of Johan and Nikoline Christianson, who
ne\'er came to America. To this union have been born the following chil-
dren, all of whom are living: Olga, Julia, Matilda, .Alfred. Christian, Clara.
Stella, Hilda and Margaret. The Hagen family are all members of the
Lutheran denomination, in the affairs of which church they take a deep
and serious interest. Mr. Hagen is "independent" in his political \iews
398 CI.AV AND NOKMAN COfKTlKS, MINNESOTA.
and takes a good citizen's interest in tlic welfare of liis coinnumiiv. liavin.t;
served the township as to\vnshi[) clerk and as a nienil)er of the townsliip
board for several years. Being- a jjrogressive citizen of his commnnitv.
Air. Hagen has ever been interested in bettering the business agencies of
iiis neighborhood and helped to organize tlie farmers ele\ator. tlie creamerv
and the Farmers State Bank, all of Hendrum, and of the last cntcr])rise
named, he has been a director since its organization.
.\. (.',. .\.\.\i;.\S().\.
A. G. Aanenson. manager and treasurer of the Fanners' Elevator Com-
pany at .Shelly, former member of the cimncil of that village and one of the
best-known grain men in Xorman county, is a native of the kingdom of
Xorway. but has been a resident of this country since shortly after reaching
his majority. He was born on July 26. 1865, a son of Aanen and Johanna
C. (Aslaksen) Gnnderson. also natives of Xorway, farming people, who
spent all their lives in their n;itive country and who were the parents of five
sons, those besides the subject of this sketch being .\nton. Ole, John and
Andrew S. Aamodt.
Reared on the liDUie tarm, .V. (i. .Aanenson received his schooling in
the schools of his native land and remained there until after he was of age,
when, in July. 1887, he came to the United States and l(X-ated at Millsboro.
Xorth Dakota, in the vicinity of which place he worked on a farm until the
fall of that year, when he came o\er the line into Minnesota and for aljout
two years thereafter was engaged in work on farms in the vicinity of Hal-
stad. Mr. Aanenson then entered Hope Academy at Moorhead and was at-
tending school there when Concordia College was established in that city.
He entered Concordia and after a comprehensive course there began teach-
ing school in X'orman county and was thus engaged for two or three years,
at the end of which time he Ijegan farming in Halstad township. Two \ears
later he left the farm and moved into the village of Shelly, where he ever
since has made his home. It was in 1897 that Mr. Aanenson located at
Shelly and until he became connected with the Farmers' Co-operative Ele-
vator Company he was engaged as a clerk in various stores in that village.
Some vears after the organization of the Farmers' Co-operative I^le\atnr
Company he was installed as treasurer of the same and two years later was
made manager of the company, as well as treasurer, and has since continued
CLAY AND XC1R\[AX COINTIES, MINNESOTA. 3gy
to serve in that responsible dual capacity, rendering an excellent service in
behalf of the farmers of that neighborhood. Mr. Aanenson also has gi\en
thoughtful attention to local civic affairs, has rendered service as a member
of the village council and for the past fifteen years has been a member nf
the local school board, performing a valuable service in behalf of the schuols
of Shelly, which have been raised to a high grade of excellence.
On November 3. r8c;4, A. G. Aanenson was united in marriage to
Martha Marie Olson, daughter of Knute Olson, and to this union seven
children ha\-e been born, .\rthur Rennett. Cora Olene. Hannah Christine.
Alma Charlotte, Alvin Morris, Rernice Jeroma and Ardell Arnot. all of
whom are living. The Aanensons have a very pleasant home at Shelly and
take an interested part in the village's general social acti\-ities. Mr. and
Mrs. Aanenson are members of the Lutheran church, in the various benefi-
cences of which they ever have taken an actixe interest, and Mr. .\anenson is
a member of the board of trustees of the local congregation. Fraternally,
he is affiliated with the local society of the Sons of Norway and takes a
warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
OI.AF SOLWOLD.
Olaf Solwold. a substantial and progressi\-e farmer of Keene lownsinp.
Clay county, owner of two bnndred and forty acres of excellent land ;inrl
raiser of a good grade of live stock, is a native of the kingdom of Norway,
but has been a resident of this countr)- since he was eighteen years old,
coming here in 1880. He was born in 1862, a son of Peter and .\nn;i Sol-
wold, natives of Norway, who immigrated to America in 1880, accom-
panied by their son. the subject of this .sketch. Peter Solwold is now
living in Keene township at the advanced age of three score ;uid ten. His
wife, Anna Solwold, died in rgof). They were the parents of the following
children. Andrea (deceased), Carrie, Olaf. Harold ( dece.-iscd in Xorwav),
Annie, Harry and Enger.
Olaf .Solwold was educated in the schools of bis nati\e .Xorway and'
at the age of eighteen years, in 1880, immigrated with his jiarents to this
country and on arriving in Alinnesota located on the homestead of one hun-
dred and si:-.ty acres in section 22. Keene townshi]), the latter being later
sold. He W.1S a valuable assistant to his father in the work of improving
and developir^ the liome place. He bought on his own account a homestead
400 CI.AV AM) XOKMAN COINTIKS, MINNESOTA.
trad of one 'nindred and sixty acres in section J4 and in conrse of time
lionght eighty acres in section 23. Mr. Solwold is now engaged in general
farming and .stock raising and is regarded as one of the progressive farm-
ers of this i)art of tlie townshi]). He raises oats and l)arlev as well as
other crops. He has carried out many suhstantial im[)r(jvements on his
holding and has made an addition to the dwelling house, and his agricul-
tural operations are conducted according to modern farming methods.
Olaf Solwold was united in marriage to Anna Marie Olson, born in
Norway in 1872, and who, at tlie age of eighteen, came to .\nierica in
company with Olaf Solwold. who went hack to .X'orway in the fall of iSSg.
returning in the spring with his hride-to-lx?. To this union the follow ing
children have been horn : Peter, who is married and rents the .Mbertson
place, in the south part of Keene township: Marion, who is married and
lives in the state of Washington; Susie, who is visiting with .Marion: Ida,
who is marrie<l and li\es on a farm east of Keene township: and Olaf.
Bernard. Hannah. Laura, .\gnes and Kdna. living at home. Mr Solwold
is a meml)er of the Synod church and is an earnest attendant on its services.
He and his wife take a i)roper part in the general sociaJ and cultural
affairs of the neighborhood in which they li\e. e\er ready to assist in all
worthy movements intended to promote the best interests nf the c(jmniuniiy.
O. (r hWRSUALE.
O. G. Farsdale. head of the I'ar^dale Land .\gency at Glyndon, a sub-
-slantial landowner and one of the best-known men in this section of the Red
River valley, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, hut has been a resi-
dent of this countr\- and of Minnesota since he was fourteen years of age.
He was born at Faersdalen, two Norwegian miles from the \illage of
Meraker, in the stift of Trondjhem, October 8, 185 1, son of Guttorm Olsen
and Ingeborg ( Kirkeby) Farsdale, the former of whom also was bom at
Faersdalen and the latter at .Meraker. who became pioneer residents of
Minnesota and in this state spent their last days.
Guttorm Olson harsdale was a road builder in his nati\e land, in
1865 he crossed the .\tlantic with his family, the voyage requiring seven
weeks in the making, and landed at Quebec, from which port he came to
this state and settled on a farm in Goodhue countv. where he spent the rest
of his life, one of the substantial and influential pioneers of that county.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENex
I riLD£^ f OU.^.-PATIONS
'J
d
OS
P5
FAMir.v or o. a, faijsdale.
Tni, NEW YORK
P"-nC LIBRARY
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4OI
His wife died in 1868, about three years after the arrival of the family
in this country, and he afterward married Helena Olson, who is still living,
now making her home in Spring Prairie township, Clay county. G. O.
Farsdale died in 1872. By his first marriage he was the father of three
children, those besides the subject of this sketch, the eldest, having been
Mollie, who married N. E. Lundgren, and Ole, who died in Norway. To
the second union one child was born, a son, Ole.
As noted above, O. G. Farsdale was but fourteen years of age when
he came to Minnesota with his parents in 1865. As a boy of ten he had
been employed at herding cattle and had been thus engaged for three years
before coming to America. He had not neglected his schooling, however,
and after coming here pursued his studies in the schools of Goodhue county,
taking advantage of the opportunity thus offered to perfect himself in
the study of English, and for five winters was in attendance on the local
schools, supplementing the same by attendance for one term at the Lutheran
College at Decorah, Iowa. The death of his father in 1872, however, inter-
rupted his college course and he returned home to look after the interests
of the farm. He married in 1876 and for two years thereafter was engaged
in the drug business at Cannon Falls. In 1877 he came up into the Red
River \'alley and homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in section 6
of Riverton township, Clay county, thus establishing himself as one of the
pioneers of that section of the county. In the following spring he moved
his family here and established his home on the homestead tract, which he
proceeded to improve in substantial shape, erecting a good house and farm
buildings tf> match, and there continued to make his home until 1909, in
which vear he retired from the farm and moved to the village of Glyndon,
where he established the Farsdale Land Agency and where he since has
continued to make his home, extensively enga,ged in the real-estate business.
In addition to his real-estate and other interests, Mr. Farsdale is the owner
of fi\e hundred and sixty acres of excellent land in this state and is accounted
one of the most substantial citizens of Clay county. It is probable that no
man in the county has a wider or more accurate knowledge of real-estate
\alues in and about Clay county than has Mr. Farsdale. Not only that.
Init he has a practical knowledge of the needs of the agriculturist, based upon
his \-ears of experience as a ])ioneer farmer, and he is thoroughl}- ;uid accu-
rately posted on soil conditions throughout this valley.
In 1882, when Riverton township came to be organized as a civic
unit of Clay county, Mr. Farsdale was one of the leaders of tliat movement
(26a)
402 CLAY AND NDRMAN COUNTIKS, MINNESOTA.
and for more than twenty years thereafter served as clerk of that town-
ship. For abont the same lengtli of time he served as justice of the peace
in and for that township and since his removal to Glyndon has served as
assessor and as justice of the peace. In i8yo Mr-i-'arsdale helped to orjjan-
ize the Populist party in his home county and in 1892 was that party's
nominee for the stale Legislature. In 1902 he wa- the parly's nominee for
state senator. Of late years Air. Farsdale has reserved to himself the ri^ht
of independence in his political views and votes for the man rather than
for the party, believing and maintaining that that way lies good citizen-
ship, as well as the better conservation of the interests of all the people.
In church and scho')l affairs Mr. h^arsdale has also given of his best and
was one of the most active promoters of all good movements hercaboul in
pioneer days. He helped organize the Riverton church and ihe Sprint;
Prairie church and for many years served as secretary of the former. He
was also one of the incorporators of Concordia College at Moorhead and
has ever taken an active interest in the affairs of that excellenl and intluen-
tial institution.
On February 10, 1876, in Goodlme county, O. G. Farsdale was united
in marriage to Inglew Alattson, who was born on July 27, 1855, and who
is still living, one of the best-known and most highly respected pioneer
mothers of Clav county, her influence for good in the days of the creation
of a proper social order hereabout having endeared her to a wide circle
of ac(iuaintances throughout ihe county. To that union eleven children have
been l)oni. namely: Gusta\-. who died at th.e age of seventeen years: Ida
Matilda, who married h>ank Johnson, of Dululh. this state, and has three
children, h'lorence. Frances and Grace: Oscar P., living at M(M)rhea(l. who
has been twice married, his first wife having been Ollie Ellingson and his
second, Mrs. Mabel Mc.A.bee: Hannah B.. who married Leslie Hennessy,
of Glenwood, and had one chiTd. now deceased: Helen L., who married
Oscar Thompson, of Dululh, and has three children. Virginia, Carson and
P)vron; .Anna Maria, wife of Rudolph Mans, of Glyndon: .\Ifred B., now
living at Great Falls, Montana, who married Mabel Rudlang and has one
child, a daughter. Eleanor: Inger Olivia, who married Elbert Rotto, also
of Great Falls, and has one child, a son. Donald: Edwin H., who died
at the age of one vear and twelve days: Edwin Gustav. now a traveling
salesman, and an infant daughter who died on July 21, 1898. The l-'ars-
dales are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and have ever taken
an interested part in church work, as well as in other local good works
and in the general social activities of the community of which they have
been a part since pioneer days.
CLAY Ai\D NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 4O3
NELS T. ODEGAARD.
The latt Xels T. Odegaard, who for years was one of the best-known
citizens of Norman county, a substantial landowner, farmer and bridge
l)uilder, who died at his home in Lee township in the summer of 1917, was a
native of the kingdom of Norway, but had been a resident of this state
since 1872. He was liorn on August 4, 1849, and remained in his native
land until 1872, in which year he came tu ^Minnesota with G. I. Crosby and
settled in Goodhue county, later coming up into the Red River country,
where he spent the rest of his life. He was the second of the two sons
born to his parents, Tora and Ranhild Odegaard, both of whom spent all
their lives in their native country and both of whom died during the eigh-
ties. The other son, Andrew, also is deceased.
In 1879, the year of his marriage. Nels Odegaard bought the land on
which his widow is now living, a quarter-section tract in section 23 of Lee
'township, and there established his home. He later bought an adjoining
twentv-acre tract and also a tract of forty acres in Georgetown township.
Clay county. By original vocation Mr. Odegaard was a bridge-builder and
upon coming up here did nuich work in that line, many of the bridges in
this part of the state having been built under his skillful direction. Not only
was he a good farmer, but he gave his attention to the general business
affairs of the community, was one of the organizers of the local creamery
company at Perley and a stockholder in the same, and was a stockholder in
the l-armers and Merchants Bank of Perley, long being accounted one of the
substantial residents of that section of the county. For some time he.served
the public as township trustee and in other ways did his part in public
.affairs, as well as in the general affairs of the community. Mr. Odegaard
<lied on lulv 4, 1917. and his passing was much lamented in the community
of which he had been a part since pioneer days, for he had done well his part
in all his relations with his fellow men.
It was on Tune 5, 1879. as noted above, that Nels Odegaard was united
in marria-e on the old Crosbv place, to Anna Crosby, who was born in
Norwav on Februarv 7, 1859. and who came to this state with her brother,
G 1 Crosby in 1872, her mother having died in Norway when she was
three years of age. There were born seven children in the family of Nels
Odegaard. namelv : Th.eodore. who is married and \xho ,s now I'vng m
North Dakota, where he is engaged in the buying of gram : Inga. wife of M.
\ I arson of Perlev : Marv. who is home with her mother: Jens, who ,s
now farming a three-hun<lred-acre farm belonging to h,s mother m the
404 CLAV AND NORMAN COUXTIKS, MINNESOTA.
neisihborliood of \\ ahpton : and X'elius. John and Alma, at home. Mr.
Odegaard was an active meml)er of the Lutheran church, as is his widow,
and did much toward jjromotint^ the various beneficences of the same. He
was lon<,' a meml)er of the hoard of trustees of the local church, helped build
the same and was a liberal contributor to the cause of church work. The
l.iniily have a very pleasant home in Lee township and take an interested
])an in the iictieral social activities and good works of the comniunitv.
S. S. DALEN.
S. S. Dalen, cashier of the Farmers and Merchants' Bank at Perley, and
one of the leading business men of southwestern Xornian county, was born
in Goodhue county, Minnesota, in 1863. He is a son of Syvert .\. and
Synva ( Biekke ) Dalen, both natives of Norway, where they spent their
earlier years, immigrating to America about 1842 and settling in Goodhue
county. Minnesota, among the jjioneers. There thev developed a good f:irm
by hard work and perseverance and established a comfortable home, contin-
uing to reside there until the spring of 1882, when they removed to the
\ icinity of Georgetown in Clay county, buying a farm of about one hundred
and fifty acres along the Red river, and there they spent the rest of their
li\es. They were memiiers of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Their fam-
ily consisted oi nine children, namely; Bretha, who married Ole Finley;
Xels, Andrew, Louis, John. ."^. S.. Anna, Gertie and Ole.
S. S. Dalen spent his boyhood in Goodhue county, where he helped with
the work on the farm and attended the public schools, later attending Will-
mar College, at W'illmar. Minnesota, where he took a business course in
1N87. After leaving school he began life for himself as a merchant, hand-
ling a general line of goods at (jeorgetown. He enjoyed a good business
with the people of that town and the surrounding country for many miles,
and remained there until 1899. when he moved to Perley, where he has since
resided. He became cashier of the Bank of Perley and there continued for
seven years, at the end of which time he sold his interest in the bank and
went to Moorhead and engaged in the clothing business there four years. He
then went to the state of Washington and spent a year, then returned to
Xorman county and farmed in the vicinity of Perley for three years, during
which time he was also interested in a store at Hendrum. In 1914 Mr.
Dalen again turned his attention to the banking business, organizing the
CLAY AND NORMAN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA. 405
Farmers and Merchants' Bank at Perley, of which he has since been cashier.
The rapid .s^rowth of this popular and safe bank lias been due very largely
ti) his able management and conservative methods and his honesty, prompt-
ness and courtesy in dealing with his patrons. A general banking business is
carried on and the bank has modern fixtures and equipment.
Mr. Ualen is also connected with the First State Bank of South Haven,
.Miniiesnta. and has an interest in a general store at Georgetown. He has
been ver\' successful in a business way, being a man of sound judgment and
foresight, energetic and persevering. Politically, Mr. Dalen is a Republican
and while living at Georgetown served as treasurer of Georgetown township
for ten years. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, which he
ser\'ed as trustee for about twelve years ; has always been a liberal supporter
of the church and other worthy causes, and is active in church affairs.
In 1890 S. S. Dalen was married to Bertha Ohnstad, a native of Nor-
way. She received a commr}n school education. She is a daughter of Mons
and Christine (Ohnstad) Ohnstad. natives of Norway. Three children have
been horn to Mr. and Mrs. Dalen. namely : Clara, Sanford, who died when
eight years of age, and Bernice.
NELS J. ENGER.
Nels J. Enger, a substantial farmer and well-known stock raiser of
Halstad township, Norman county, where he owns two hundred acres ')f
fine farming land, a present member of the Norman county board of county
commissioners and a man who has been and is deeply interested in local
business affairs, was born in Norway, August i6, 1859, a son of Jacob J.
and Martha (Christopherson) Enger. The father and mother, who were
both natives of Norway, decided in the early seventies that .America offered
ihem excellent opportunities to establish themselves comfortably, as had
been the experience of many of their countrymen, and immigrated to this
country in 1872. They settled first in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where
there were several of their friends, and awaited the oi^ening of some new
territory northward where they could acquire a holding of the rich, new
prairie .soil. In 1878 the pare 
TVNews
OpenLibrary