USA > Iowa > Dickinson County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 1
USA > Iowa > Emmet County > History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08191974 2
IVO (Emmet Co) History
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HISTORY
OF
EMMET COUNTY
AND
DICKINSON COUNTY
IOWA
A RECORD OF SETTLEMENT, ORGANIZATION, PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE PIONEER PUBLISHING COMPANY 1917
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1955
1915
MR. AND MRS. ROBERT E. RIDLEY
BIOGRAPHICAL
ROBERT E. RIDLEY.
Robert E. Ridley, a well known resident of Estherville, was born in Litchfield, Maine, July 5, 1833, a fact which makes him a venerable cit- izen of Emmet county, for he has passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey. His parents, Robert P. and Sophronia (Watson) Ridley, were also natives of Maine and in the year 1857 they removed to Emmet county, Iowa, establishing their home upon a farm here at a period when the work of improvement and development had scarcely been begun within the borders of the county. Both passed away in this county and the community thus lost two of its worthy pioneer settlers. Their orig- inal home was a log cabin, which they occupied for a number of years. In their family were ten children, four of whom yet survive.
R. E. Ridley was reared and educated in Maine. In 1856 he started west, going first to Michigan, where he spent one winter, and in the spring of 1857 he came to Emmet county, Iowa, which was then a fron- tier district in which few settlements had been made. Much of the land was still in the possession of the government and Mr. Ridley took up a claim in Estherville township on what is now the site of the city of Es- therville. There he built a blockhouse and he has since erected more than one hundred dwellings in the city, which he has sold. He thus contrib- uted much to the development of the city and he also built the first mill there.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Ridley put aside all business and personal considerations to espouse the cause of the Union and became a member of Company C. Second Iowa Infantry, in which he enlisted in 1864. He was with Sherman on his march to the sea and participated in several hotly contested engagements. With the close of the war he was mustered out at Washington, D. C., and returned to his home with a most creditable military record. Through the intervening period he has re- mained continuously in Emmet county.
In 1855 Mr. Ridley was united in marriage to Miss Esther A. Allen, who was born in Maine in 1832 and is a daughter of John and Sarah (Bennett) Allen, who were also natives of the Pine Tree state, in which they spent their entire lives. They had six children but Mrs. Ridley is now the only survivor. By her marriage she became the mother of two daughters and a son: Annie J., who was the first white child born in
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
Emmet county and who is now the wife of Milo Dana, of Wisconsin; Lucy E., deceased ; and George E., a resident of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Ridley are members of the Baptist church and he is serving as one of its deacons. In the work of the church he has taken most active and helpful interest, doing everything in his power to advance the cause of religion. In politics he is a republican and has been honored with the offices of both treasurer and recorder of Emmet county. Ile also served as justice of the peace and married the first couple in the county. It will thus be seen that he is closely associated with many events that have shaped the history of this section of the state. He and his wife are numbered among its honored pioneer people and have been wit- nesses of its growth and development through all the passing years since 1857, or for much more than a half century. Mr. Ridley has long been a moving spirit in promoting the upbuilding of the section in which he resides, and no history of Emmet county would be complete without the record of his life.
BYRON M. COON.
Byron M. Coon is engaged in the practice of law in Estherville, being a well known attorney of Emmet county. He was born in Wash- ington, D. C., March 3, 1880, and is a son of Byron C. and Janet (McPherson) Coon, who were natives of New York and of Maryland respectively. The father is now a distinguished citizen of the nation's capital and at present is filling a position in the office of the second assistant postmaster general. Hle has been connected with the post- oflice department there for forty-five years and no higher testimonial of fidelity and capability could be found than the statement of the fact of his long connection with the department and his steady advancement in the service.
Byron M. Coon, reared in his native city, attended the George Washington Law University, from which he was graduated on the com- pletion of the regular course. He was then admitted to practice before the supreme court of the District of Columbia and in the United States courts in 1903. He spent six months in a law office, gaining practical experience, and on the expiration of that period removed westward to Estherville, Iowa, where he became associated in practice with George E. Patterson, opening an office in the old Coon block. This was before the fire of 1904. He continued his connection with Mr. Patterson for a year and later was associated in law practice with Judge N. J. Lee for a year subsequent to 1910 but between the years 1904 and 1910 was alone in practice. In April, 1916, he was joined by S. G. Bammer in a law partnership that is still maintained. He is devoting his atten- tion to general law practice and is a strong and able attorney, prepar- ing his cases with great thoroughness and care. He is resourceful,
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
being; seldom surprised by the unexpected attack of an adversary, and at all times his deductions are sound, his reasonings logical and his arguments convincing. He first gleaned knowledge of Estherville through a visit with relatives, Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Doolittle, and becoming im- pressed with the city and its opportunities, he returned to enter the field of active practice here in 1903. In 1901 he had been connected with the agricultural branch of the twelfth federal census, editing the agricultural data, and this brought him much knowledge concerning the state, its conditions and its opportunities, leading to his later investi- gation, with the result that Iowa gained a substantial citizen and Mr. Coon found here a profitable field of labor.
In 1906 occurred the marriage of Mr. Coon and Miss Mary E. Lesher, a daughter of W. A. and Alvira Lesher, then of Estherville. The mother is now deceased, while the father at the present time resides in Le Mars, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Coon have become the parents of three children : Paul L., who was born April 12, 1907; Janet, April 4, 1909; and Mary Elizabeth, June 30, 1912.
The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and in the social life of the city they occupy an enviable position. Fraternally Mr. Coon is connected with the Elks, the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. For two years he was venerable consul of the Modern Woodmen camp at Estherville and was lecturing knight for the Elks for a year. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he has several times been called upon to fill posi- tions of honor and trust. For four years he served as justice of the peace and his decisions in that office were strictly fair and impartial. For a similar period he filled the office of secretary of the independent school district of Estherville. In 1905 he was called to the position of city attorney, which office he occupied for four terms, resigning in 1913 to become county attorney, in which position he is now serving for the second term, making an excellent record by his devotion to duty, coupled with his comprehensive knowledge of the law and his ability to correctly apply its principles.
REV. N. C. STRANDSKOV.
For more than seven years Rev. N. C. Strandskov has been pastor of St. John's Danish Lutheran church in Denmark township, Emmet county, and during that time has done much for the material and spirit- ual growth of the church. He was born on the island of Moen, off the coast of Denmark, March 31, 1863, a son of L. C. and Maria (Kas- perdatter) Strandskov. In 1872 the family removed to the United States and the father purchased land in Freeborn county, Minnesota, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his demise, which occurred in 1890. The mother survives and resides with a daughter, Mrs. J. P.
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
Jacobsen, at Dagmar, Montana. There were thirteen children in the family but only six are living, namely: H. C., pastor of the Danish Lutheran church near Brayton, Iowa; M. P. R., who is farming near Dagmar, Montana; N. C .; L. M., a farmer residing near Milltown, Wis- consin; Maren, now Mrs. J. P. Jacobsen, of Dagmar, Montana; and Line, who is the wife of N. C. Olsen and resides near Flaxton, North Dakota.
Rev. N. C. Strandskov obtained his education in the United States as he was but nine years of age when he was brought to this country. He attended the Danish Seminary in West Denmark, Wisconsin, and the high school in Shelby county, lowa, and was graduated from a theolog- ical seminary at West Denmark, Wisconsin. In 1892 he was ordained to the ministry at Viborg, South Dakota, and his first pastoral assign- ment was to Diamond Lake, Minnesota. After remaining there for two years he was for seven years stationed at Lookingglass, Nebraska, was next for two years at Cordova, Nebraska, and was later at Denmark, South Dakota, and Latimer, lowa. Since October 25, 1909, he has been the pastor of St. John's Danish Lutheran church in Denmark township, Emmet county. His sincerity and zeal for the cause to which he has devoted his life have gained him the high respect of all who have come in contact with him irrespective of their creed and he has a secure place in the affection of his parishioners.
Rev. Strandskov was married in 1892 to Miss Maria Sorensen, a daughter of Jens and Matte (Kirstine) Sorensen, natives of Denmark, who in 1881 emigrated to Viborg, South Dakota. However,, they spent their last days in Tyler, Minnesota, and are buried in the Danish ceme- tery there. Eleven children have been born to Rev. and Mrs. Strandkov, namely, Holger, Ingeborg, Thyra, Heiluf, Marie, Astrid, Thorvald, Helva, Frede, Alma and Karl, all at home.
HON. B. F. ROBINSON.
Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position among the citizens of Emmet county than Hon. B. F. Robinson, prominent banker and ex-member of the state legislature, whose devotion to the public good has ever stood as one of the unquestioned facts in his career. He has long been identified with financial interests as cashier of the First National Bank of Armstrong.
A native of Connecticut, Mr. Robinson was born at Hampton, but remained a resident of New England only until he reached the age of fifteen years, when he removed to the middle west, establishing his home at Lee Center, Illinois. There he remained until 1868, when he became a resi- dent of Grundy county, lowa, settling near Conrad. He purchased a quarter section of prairie land in the midst of a district which at that time was but slightly developed. He turned the first furrows upon his
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HON. B. F. ROBINSON
1
C LIL
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
farm and continued its further cultivation and improvement until January 1, 1881, when he put aside the active work of the fields in order to enter upon the duties of county recorder of Grundy county, to which office he had been elected the previous fall. By reelection he continued to occupy that position for six years, after which he returned to the farm and thereon remained until 1892, when he became a resident of Armstrong, and in connection with William Stuart embarked in the banking business. On the 1st of July, 1900, they reorganized their bank under the name of the First National Bank, capitalized at fifty thousand dollars, at which time Mr. Robinson was chosen president, with John Dows as vice president and L. P. Gjermo as cashier. On the 18th of April, 1902, Mr. Dows was elected president, with William Stuart as vice president and Mr. Robinson as cashier, and through the intervening period of fifteen years Mr. Robin- son was continuously acted as cashier, largely directing the policy and shaping the interests of this institution, which is regarded as one of the safest and most reliable banking concerns of northwestern Iowa. In 1892 the company erected the present bank building and through the interven- ing years the business has steadily grown and developed. The First National has ever most carefully safeguarded the interests of its depos- itors and to its patrons has extended all possible credit to a point that would not jeopardize the interests of the bank. In addition to his other business interests Mr. Robinson has dealt quite extensively in land and has improved a number of farms, thus contributing to the substantial development of the county.
In 1869, in Marshalltown, Iowa, was celebrated the marriage of B. F. Robinson and Miss Elizabeth Barnes, a daughter of Stephen Barnes, a native of New York, who on removing to Iowa took up the occupation of farming near Conrad, in Grundy county. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have become the parents of five children, namely: Grace G .; Wilbert L., who is deceased; Fred S .; Edith, the wife of F. W. Ruef; and Clara.
Extensive and important as have been the business interests of Mr. Robinson, he has yet found time to serve the public in various important connections and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his ability and public spirit, have again and again called upon him for aid and support of mat- ters of public moment He has been mayor of Armstrong, in which con- nection he gave to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He was elected to represent his district in the twenty-ninth general assem- bly and so capable was he as a member of the house that he was returned for service in the thirtieth and thirty-first sessions. He was the author of the lake bed bill, was active in support of drainage bills and in fact was connected with much important constructive legislation that has furthered the interests of his constituents and the commonwealth at large. He is well qualified for political leadership and it is well known that he never subverts the public interest in an effort to promote personal welfare.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are active and earnest workers in the Presbyterian church and he served as a member of the building commit- tee at the time of erection of the church in Armstrong. He is equally loyal
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
to the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity and in fact has at all times been an honorable and upright career, characterized by all those forces which in every land and clime awaken confidence and regard.
WILLIAM W. PATON.
William W. Paton, an honored veteran of the Civil war, is now liv- ing retired at Milford, lowa. A native of Scotland he was born in Glasgow, December 23, 1842, and is a son of William W. and Mary (Muire) Paton, who were born, reared and married in Glasgow. By trade the father was a carpenter and cabinetmaker and for some time operated a factory in that connection in Glasgow. In 1847 he came to America and located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked at the carpenter's trade for a short time. He then purchased a farm in Green Lake county, that state, which he improved but which he mainly left to the operation of his sons while he worked at his trade. He died upon that farm in June, 1871, and his wife passed away in 1887.
Being only five years of age on the emigration of the family to the United States, William W. Paton was practically reared in Wis- consin and is indebted to the public schools of that state for the education which he acquired during his boyhood. Feeling that his adopted country needed his services at the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted at the age of nineteen years in Company A, Thirty-fourth Wisconsin Infan- try, and remained at the front for one year. Returning home he engaged in farming there until 1868 when he came to Dickinson county, Iowa, and purchased a tract of land. He did not remain here, however, at that time, but went to Rochester, Minnesota, where he bought another farm and devoted the following two years to its cultivation in partner- ship with his brother. He then engaged in farming alone for three years and at the end of that time returned to Diekinson county, Iowa, and took up his abode upon a farm which had come into his possession in 1868. He made many improvements upon the tract and for eighteen years successfully engaged in its operation. At the end of that time he became a resident of Milford, and turned his attention to the grain business, in which he engaged until 1907 when he sold out and has since lived retired enjoying the fruits of former toil. In Milford he owns a fine modern residence at the corner of Adams street and Broad- way, and surrounded by his family and a host of warm friends he is. spending the end of life.
On the 1st of January, 1869, Mr. Paton married Miss Marian Skirv- ing, a daughter of John and Margaret (Robb) Skirving, natives of Edinburgh, Scotland, in which city Mrs. Paton was born in February, 1850. Her father followed blacksmithing in the old country and remained there until 1852, when he came to America. The voyage across the Atlantic consumed three months and ten days. The family located in
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
New York City and they made their home either in New York or New Jersey until Mr. Skirving passed away in 1857. They then went to Wisconsin where his widow subsequently married Christopher Davison. Later they came to Dickinson county, Iowa, and Mr. Davison was liv- ing in Milford at the time of his death which occurred in 1891. His wife survived him until 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Paton are the parents of five children, namely: Jennie, the wife of Frank Hunt, a farmer of Dickinson county; George A., a banker of Redwood Falls, Minnesota; Walter D., who is engaged in the hardware and furniture business at Dickey, North Dakota; Lulu E., the wife of T. I. Brown of Des Moines, Iowa; and Lena C., the wife of Frank Williams, a merchant of Milford, Iowa.
Since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Paton has been a stanch supporter of the republican party, and for a number of years served as assessor of Okoboji township, Dickinson county. He is an honored member of Waller Post, G. A. R., and also belongs to the Yeomen lodge. In religious faith he is a Congregational- ist. He has witnessed almost all of the entire development and improve- ment of this section of the state and helped to haul the lumber from Sibley, Iowa, to build the second courthouse in Dickinson county. In early life he was most enterprising, an energetic business man, and he well merits the prosperity that has come to him enabling him to lay aside all business cares and spend the last days of his life in ease and retirement.
ANDREW L. ANDERSON.
Andrew L. Anderson, editor of the Ringsted Dispatch and post- master of Ringsted, was born in Denmark on the 3d of January, 1882, his parents being Chris and Christina (Thompson) Anderson, also natives of Denmark. In 1884 the family came to America and settled at Jewell, Hamilton county, Iowa, where the father found work at his trade of shoemaking, which occupation he still follows. Since 1896, however, he has also been in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company. He has now reached the age of sixty years and his wife is also living.
Andrew L. Anderson was only two years of age when he accom- panied his parents on their emigration to America and he is indebted to the public schools of Jewell, Iowa, for the educational advantages he enjoyed during his boyhood and youth. He was graduated from the high school at that place in 1898 and then entered the office of the Record, where he learned the printer's trade, remaining there for three years. The following four years were spent in Webster City, where he worked on all the papers published there, and he has also been in the employ of various other newspapers throughout the state. He spent
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES
three years in Des Moines in job offices and at the end of that time returned to Jewell, where he was employed as foreman of the Record for five years. In December, 1912, Mr. Anderson purchased the Ring- sted Dispatch at Ringsted, Emmet county, and has since conducted that paper with growing success, making it a bright, newsy sheet with a good advertising patronage. He does general job work and has built up a large calendar business, in the interest of which he goes upon the road. Since March, 1915, he has also served as postmaster of Ringsted.
On the 27th of September, 1906, Mr. Anderson was united in mar- riage to Miss Annetta Rierson, and they have on child, Ralph Wilbur, born June 1, 1911. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Danish Brother- hood of Ringsted and is a stanch supporter of the democratic party. In religious faith he is a Lutheran. He is a public-spirited and enter- prising citizen, taking a commendable interest in public affairs, and both personally and through his paper supports all worthy projects calculated to benefit the community in which he lives.
BRINGEL KNUTSEN ROKNE.
Bringel Knutsen Rokne, residing on a farm on section 10, High Lake township, has always devoted his energies to general agricultural pursuits and for forty-one years has lived at his present place of resi- dence. He is still active although he has now passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey and such a career of usefulness might well put to shame many a man of less resolute spirit, who, grown weary of the struggles of business life, would relegate to others the burdens that he should bear.
Mr. Rokne was born in Voss, Norway, April 15, 1833, a son of Knut Erickson and Bertha Helgeson, who were farming people of that coun- try. The son pursued a common school education to the age of fifteen years and afterward worked out as a farm hand by the year until he reached the age of twenty. He then determined to try his fortune in the new world and came to the United States. His sister Anna came to the United States in 1850 with her husband, Lars Larson, located in Woodstock and died the same year.
Bringel K. Kokne made his way to Chicago and spent the succeed- ing seven years in various kinds of work and in various places. In 1854 his brother Gilbert came to the United States and located in Wis- consin, where he afterward passed away as the result of an illness con- tracted during the Civil war. Two sisters, Inga and Dorothy, came in 1856 and both passed away in Wisconsin. The same year Barney Rokne arrived in America and is now a resident of High Lake township. The remaining brother, Erick, never left Norway.
It was in 1860 that Bringel K. Rokne took up his abode in Columbia
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EMMET AND DICKINSON COUNTIES.
county, Wisconsin, and there married Inga Johnson, a daughter of Lars and Martha Anderson, who have since passed away in Wisconsin. For six years after his marriage Mr. Rokne worked on his father-in-law's farm and on the 7th of July, 1866, came to Emmet county and pur- chased a farm from the railway company, investing in one hundred acres, which he cultivated for ten years. He afterward traded that property to George Osher for his present home and there he has lived for more than four decades. His labors have wrought a marked transformation in the appearance of the place, for he has converted it into a very valuable and productive farm equipped with modern improvements. He is still enjoying good health and is yet active at the age of eighty-four years.
In 1916 Mr. Rokne was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the 1st of October after a year's illness and was laid to rest in High Lake cemetery. They were the parents of nine children : Knut, who died unmarried; Louis, who is married and fol- lows farming in Kanabec county, Minnesota; Martha, now the wife of K. A. Traefald, also of Kanabec county; John, who died leaving a widow ; Bertha, who became the wife of S. A. Traefald and died leaving two sons, Albert and Martin, who are living with Mr. Rokne; Anna, the deceased wife of T. Dahle, whose daughter, Luella, is living with her grandfather; Erick and Andrew, at home; and Emma, the wife (of Louis Isaacson, a farmer of High Lake township.
Mr. Rokne has supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, casting his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont. He has always been a stalwart champion of the principles of the party and has done everything in his power to promote its growth and ensure its success. He has held various township offices and for three years he was county supervisor, while for four years he filled the office of county recorder. In 1900 he became census enumerator for Twelve Mile Lake and High Lake townships. He is today one of the oldest pioneer settlers and one of the most venerable citizens of High Lake township, having reached the age of eighty-four years, although in appearance and interests he seems much younger.
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