USA > Minnesota > Jackson County > An illustrated history of Jackson County, Minnesota > Part 56
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In 1862 Mr. Moses enlisted at Faribault, Minnesota, as a member of company H, of the First Minnesota cavalry, and served until his muster ont at Fort Snelling in December, 1863. Ile saw service on the frontier at Fort Ridgely and was in General Sibley's Indian ex- pedition to Bismarck.
After his discharge from the army Mr. Moses began teaching school and was so en- gaged fifteen years. During the summer months for a large part of this time he was engaged with a government surveying party, his crew being engaged in making the survey of Chippewa, Lyon, Nobles and Rock counties in 1868. In 1871 Mr. Moses married and took a homestead claim in Cottonwood county, where he resided until 1877. After having passed through the terrible grasshopper scourge of the seventies, he sold his claim and in 1877 came to Jackson county. He pre- empted the northwest quarter of section 12, Middletown township, and has made his home on that place ever since. Upon his arrival to Jackson county he engaged in farming and teaching school, having taught four terms in district No. 3.
Mr. Moses was married at Owatonna, Min- nesota, November 7, 1871, to Lavinia Martin, a native of New York state and a sister of Mrs. G. A. Albertus, of Jackson. They are the parents of seven children, named as follows: Bert, Gertrude, Millie, Ernest, Cora, Roy and Gaylord. Mr. Moses served as township clerk for fifteen years and was clerk of his school
district for twenty years. Ile is a member of the G. A. R. post.
CARL F. ROSSOW (1877) is one of the pros- perous farmers of Heron Lake township, hav- ing a fine home on his 240 acre farm on sec- tion 15. He was born in Germany May 24, 1868, the son of Carl and Fredericka (Berlin) Rossow. Ilis father is now a resident of Heron Lake township; his mother died in 1886.
Carl came to the United States and to Jack- son county with his parents in 1877 and until he was twenty-two years of age resided on the farm with his parents on section 8, Heron Lake township. He attended the district school and grew to manhood working on his father's farm. At the age of twenty-two he married and bought his present farm. There were no buildings on the place at that time nor was the land broken, all the improvements on the farm having been made by him. Mr. Rossow has served as a member of the Heron Lake township board of supervisors for the past sixteen years. He is a member of the German Lutheran church.
In Heron Lake township, December 10, 1889, Mr. Rossow was united in marriage to Rosa Miller, who was born in Cook county, Illinois. She is the daughter of Fred and Frances Miller, residents of lleron Lake township. To Mr. and Mrs. Rossow have been born the fol- Jowing children: Arthur, born January 7, 1894; Richard, born January 14, 1896; Harry, born February 14, 1898; Panl, born March 16, 1900; Arnold, born June 27, 1904; Rosalia, born March 25, 1902; Lilly, born May 17, 1906; Alma, born Jannary 12, 1909.
FRANK J. STENZEL (1877) is one of the successful farmers of Weimer township. He owns the southwest quarter of section 5 and the north half of the southeast quarter of section 20. LaCrosse township. He has a well improved farm and as fine a home as there is in the township. The farm has a fine grove and a splendid orchard. Mr. Stenzel engages extensively in stock raising and has a herd of four hundred sheep.
Mr. Stenzel is a native of Austria and was born April 22, 1871. He accompanied his par- ents to America in 1877 and grew to man- hood on his father's farm on section 8, Weimer.
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He lived with his parents, working on the fairs. He was township assessor seventeen farm, until he was twenty six years of age. Years and was a member of the town-bip board two grats. He is now town clerk, an office he has held for eight years. For well eral years he served as clerk of school dis triet No. 60. fle is a member of the Ycomen Judge. Then he married and bought the farm which he has since conducted. Mr. Stenzel is a mom ber of the Weimer board of supervisors and has served in that capacity four years. He has been clerk of school district No. 32 for the past eighteen years and has been township assessor three years. Mr. Stenzel Das other business interests besides his farming. He has been a director of the Farmers Coopera- tive Elevator company of Heron Lake since it - organization and he has been a director of the Farmer- State Bank of Heron Lake siner that institution was organized. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge.
The parent- of our subject are Frank and Marie Stenzel, both of whom are residents of Weimer township. Frank, of this sketch, is the oldest of a family of nine children, the others being Clem. Mary, Annie, Rudolph, Emma, Julius, John and Eliza.
The marriage of Mr. Stenzel occurred at Heron Lake . November 1. 1897. when he wed- ded Mollie Mixner, who was born in Austria May 1. 1873. To them have been born the following named children: Raymond, born September 23, 1898: Herman, born December 6. 1899; Stephana, born November 27. 190] : Willie, born August 19. 1903; Elmer, born April 16. 1905: Eddie, born February 14, 1907: Frank. horn January 27. 1909.
GEORGE WITHERS (870). Middletown township farmer, has lived in Jackson county since he was a boy twelve years of age. He is a son of the late Walter and Jane E. (Allen) Withers and was born in Fillmore county. Minnesota, August 18, 1857.
George lived with his parents in Fillmore county until is70 and then came with them to Jackson county. Until he was past twen- Is three years of age he lived with his parents on the farm -the southeast quarter of section 2. Middletown township securing an educa- tion and assisting with the farm work. In 1ss1 he married and engaged in farming on his own account, one year on a rented farm in Middletown, one year in Wisconsin township. and then he bought forty acres of his present farm and has since made his home on his pres- ent location; his farm consists of 10 acres.
During his Jong residence in Middletown Mr. Withers has taken an active part in local af.
Mr. Withers was married in Jackson county February 22. 1881, to Carrie A. Yarns. She was born in Olmsted county, Minnesota. Jan- uary 5, 1860, a daughter of H. B. Yarns, de- ceased. an early settler of Jackson county. Mr-, Wither- died in April, 1895. AA- a result of this union were born the following named children: Ernest O., born April 25, 1882; Harry W. born November 14, 1583; Jewsp .A. born June 22, ISS7: Robert B., born December 16. 1858: Lillie. horn March 16, 1893. died February 25, 1895: Clara E., born AApril 13. 1898.
The second marriage of Mr. Withers ocenr- red July 26, 1900, When he wedded Mrs. Sophia Thompson. a native of Denmark, who came to the United States in Issl and located at South Bend, Indiana. By a former marriage she is the mother of two children: Thompson, deceased. and Emma Thompson.
PETER P. ELVERUM (18;2). lineman for the Jackson Telephone company, is a native of the county, having been born in Christiania township on July 19, 1572. the son of Peder O. and Beret (Hagen) Elverum, he being the eldest of a family of three children. A sister, Mrs. Clarence Sether, resides in Christiania township, and a brother, Bernt Elverum, lives in West Heron Lake township. His eldest brother. Ole, died in 189%. Two sisters. Beret and Sarah, died when five and three years old, respectively. Our subject's parents were born in Stordal. Norway, were married there and came to the I'nited States in 1870. They liv. ed one year in Minneapolis and then came to Jackson county and homesteaded land in Chris- tiania. The father died in Ist9 at the age of 15 years. The mother lives with her dangh- ter. Mrs. Clarence Sether, and is 76 years old.
Peter P. Elverum spent the greater part of his hin on the home farm. There he assisted in the farm work and in a nearby school st- cured his primary education. After quitting the country school he became a student at the Breck school of Wilder, which he attended three terms. After attending that school he
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engaged in teaching. which he followed six years. In 1894, after his brother's death, he took the management of the home farm and conducted it several years. In 1902 he opened a blacksmith shop at Bergen and operated that two years. Then. in 1904. he moved to Jackson and took a position as lineman for the Jackson Telephone company. One year later he assisted in the construction of the telephone line between Jackson and Spirit Lake and the one from Blue Earth to Albert Lea. Returning to Jackson after the season's work, he again took a position with the tele- phone company and has since been employed as its lineman.
Mr. Elverum owns eighty acres of land in Christiania township. For several terms he served as assessor of that precinct. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
JOHN W. MILLER (1868), farmer and breeder of Belgium horses, resides on the farm on seetion 30, Wisconsin township, upon which he was born and where he has spent the forty- one years of his life. The date of his birth was November 19, 1868. and his parents are Michael and Annie (Gerlach) Miller, now resi- dents of Jackson. He is one of a family of five living children. of whom the others are Mary and Herman. of North Dakota, and Laura and William, of Washington.
John received his edneation in the school of district No. 14. Ile lived with his parents on the farm until he became of age and, with the exception of two or three years, has lived with his parents since that time. He bought the property in 1903 and has since made many improvements on the place. He owns 160 acres on sections 30 and 31. Wisconsin, and 40 acres on section 25, Des Moines. Ile has held the office of road overseer and has been a director of school district No. 14 for a dozen years. He holds membership in the A. O. U. W. lodge.
Mr. Miller was married at Jackson August 20, 1893. to Katie Bunderle, a native of Ne- braska. They are the parents of ten children, as follows: Bert, Roy, Johnnie, Daisy. Anna, Lanra, Eva. William. Louisa and Katie.
THEODORE E. SCHUMACHER (1872) has been engaged in the meat market business in ITeron Lake for the past twenty-two years He is a native of Brown county, Minnesota,
and was born November 30, 1861. IFi- father, Ilenry Schumacher, who now resides at Heron Lake and i- 77 years of age, is a pioneer of Minnesota. He was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1853. He lived one year south of Chicago and then located in New Ulm, Minnesota. There he was married and engaged in farming until 1872. That year he moved to Jackson county, took a homestead and tree claim in Alba township, and resided on the farm until 1905, when he moved to lleron Lake. Caroline (Haner) Schumacher, our subject's mother, is also a native of Ger- many. She is now seventy-three years old.
Theodore is the eldest of a family of seven children. He accompanied his parents to Jack . son eounty in June, 1872, and resided on the Alba township farm until the fall of 1887. He then moved to Heron Lake and opened a meat market, building his present place of business, and has ever since conducted the shop. In 1906 he admitted Chri- Johnson as a partner in the business. Mr. Schumacher is a member of the Methodist church and of the Woodmen, Royal Neighbors. Knights of Pyth- ias and Modern Brotherhood lodges.
Mr. Schumacher was married in JJackson county November 3. 1889, to Mary C. King. a native of LeSueur county, Minnesota. Her father, William King, was an early Minnesota pioneer who died when Mrs. Schumacher was six months old. Her mother, Catherine (Chat- terden) King, now lives in Jackson county. To Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher have been born six children: Gertrude. Leon, George. Gretchen, Ned and Paul.
GEORGE IL. SAWYER (1875), of Jackson, has been a resident of the county thirty-five years. lle was born in Piscataquis county, Maine. July 14. 1853. son of Phineas and Ada- line (Drake) Sawyer. Both these parents were also natives of Maine and spent their early lives in that state. Phineas Sawyer enlisted at Bangor. Maine, in company Il, of the 22nd infantry, and served one year with the union forces during the war of the rebellion. In the east Mir. Sawyer engaged in farming and Jumbering. He came west with his family in 1871 and homesteaded in Cottonwood county. Minnesota. The family came to Jackson county in 1875 and for three years lived in Jackson. Then Phineas Sawyer purchased a farm in Middletown township, where he en-
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gaged in farming until ven or twelve years ago. Retiring from active pursuits at that time, he located in Jackson and has since lived a retired life. lle still owns his old farm south of town. Mrs. Sawyer, the mother of our subject, died September 29, 1907, at the age of 79 years. There are six children in the family, as follows: George H., Lucy (Mrs. J. D. Banghman), Charles Albert, Ethel (Mrs. .A. H. Baughman) and Fred. Charles and Al. bert reside in Nebraska; the others are in Jackson county.
George Sawyer lived with his parents until twenty-two years of age. He received his edu- cation in Maine and after coming west for several years worked for his father on the farm. At the age of twenty-two he engaged in farming for himself in Middletown town- ship, buying a farm a short distance south of Jackson. le farmed there until 1892, when he took up his residence in Jackson. In 1894 he engaged in the fuel business, in which he was engaged for ten or eleven years. Since disposing of his business he has been engaged in various occupations, in addition to looking after his Middletown township farm. In the village he owns 65 acres of land, residence property and a business lot.
While a resident of Middletown Mr. Sawyer served as a member of the township board and as a school director for a number of years. In Jackson he served one year as a member of the village council and is now the street commissioner. He is a member of the M. W. A. and the M. B. A. lodges.
Mr. Sawyer was married in Middletown township in October, 1879, to Fannie Rus. sell. a native of Dubuque, Towa, and a daugh- ter of Thomas Russell, one of the settlers of the late seventies. To Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have been born five children, named as fol- loss: Ethel C., born September 1, 1880; Frank A., born July 21, 1884; Susie M., born September 23, 1890: Pearl, horn July 14, 1891; Howard, born March IS, 1897.
HENRY JA. STALL (1879) owns and farms the northeast quarter of section 2. Des Moines township. He was born on that farm May 29, IST9, the son of Oliver and Helen (Skogen) Stall, of whom the former is now living in Jackson and the latter died in 1901. Oliver Stall was born in Norway, came to The United States when young and located in Illinois.
He served three years as a soldier in the union army, and immediately after his discharge came to Jackson county, in the spring of 1865, when there were less than 250 residents in the whole of JJackson county. lle homesteaded the farm now owned by his son in Des Moines township.
Henry was educated in the district schools of Des Moines township and until he reached his majority worked for his father on the farm. Then he rented the farm and conducted it under the lease until 1907. That year he bought the farm.
Mr. Stall was married in Enterprise town. ship in September, 1903, to Bertha Wiger, who was born in Jackson county February 2.4, 1880. She is the daughter of the late Ole Wiger, who was one of the early settlers of Enterprise township and who died in 1905. Three children have been born lo Mr. and Mrs. Stall, namely: Hayes, Bert and Gordon. Mr. Stall is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America lodge.
JACOB C. JACKSON (1879) is a Wiscon- sin township farmer and a Jackson county resident of thirty years standing. lle owns 100 acres of land on sections 28 and 29, his home being on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 28, and he is one of the big farmers of the township. Mr. Jackson was born in Denmark May 22, 1851, the son of S. C. and Kasten (Nelson) Jackson, hoth of whom died in their native land. There were seven children in the family, namely, Trena. Peter, Maria, Jacob, Paulsine, Carolina and Carl.
I'mtil he was fifteen years of age Jacob at- tended the schools of his native country, re- siding with his parents, and thereafter work- ing six years as a farm laborer. He came to America in 1872 and settled at Racine. Wis- consin. where he lived six years. After one year spent m Olmsted county, Minnesota, he came to Jackson county, arriving in 1879. He worked on Jackson county farms until 1882; Then he married and moved to Sherburn, where he resided two years. Returning to Jackson county he worked at farm work until ISSO, when he bought a quarter section of his present farm from Mrs. Preston and engaged in farming for himself. He has made all the improvements on the farm and has since add- ed to his possessions by the purchase of the other acres described. He was chairman of
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the school board of distriet No. 9 for four years, and for several years was township treasurer. He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood lodge.
Mr. Jackson was married November 30, 1882, to Maria Mather, who was born in Illinois. Four children have been born to this union: Edward T., born March 15, 1884, died Novem- ber 28, 1890; Earl C., born May 28, 1887; Le- Roy, born January 13, 1892; Jay T., born July 2, 1898.
WILLIAM E. FREEMIRE (1874) owns and farms the northeast quarter of section 32, Weimer township, a short distance south of Ileron Lake. He is an early day settler of Jackson county and a native Minnesotan, hav- ing been born in Fillmore county January 6, 1858-before Minnesota had been admitted as a state. His father, George H. Freemire, is a native of New York state and still lives on the old home farm, aged 87 years. The moth- er of our subjeet was Susan Maria (Pease) Freemire. She was a native of Vermont and died in Jackson county August 13, 1909, aged 82 years.
William spent the first seven years of his life in Fillmore county and then accompanied the family to Winneshiek county, Iowa. There he lived until 1874. when he came with the family to Jackson county. From the time of his arrival until 1892 Mr. Freemire resided with his parents on their farm, the southwest quarter of section 32, Weimer township. Then he moved onto his present place, where he has ever sinee resided. He served nine years as clerk of Weimer township. Ile is a member of the M. W. A. and A. O. U. W. lodges.
At Windom in February, 1885, Mr. Freemire was united in marriage to Clara Howe, a na- tive of Vermont. To them have been born five children, as follows: Erwin. Henry. Jen- nie, Frank and Susan.
S. O. HARSTAD (IS71), Christiania town- ship farmer, has lived in Jackson county ever since he was five years of age. He is the son of Ole Severson llarstad and Mary (Engan) Harstad and was born in Norway August 8, 1866.
When our subject was eleven months of age the family came to America and from 1867 to May, 1871, he lived with his parents
in Minneapolis; then he accompanied them to Jackson county. He received a primary edu- cation in the district school and completed his education in the Breck school at Wilder. Ile received a second grade certificate and engaged in teaching, being so employed during the years 1896 to 1900, inclusive, and during 1907 and 1908. Mr. Harstad now has the manage- ment of the home farm and engages in stock raising quite extensively.
Mr. Harstad has taken an active interest in local business and political affairs. He has been secretary of the Christiania Creamery company for ten years, and has stoek in the Farmers State Bank of Windom and in the Christiania Mereantile company. Ile was the first postmaster of the Bergen office and of- ficiated eight years. He has been clerk of Christiania township for the past eight years, was supervisor two years and constable one year.
ANTON TEIGEN (1879), farmer of Des Moines township, has resided upon the farm he now owns since he was two years of age. IIe is the son of Ole L. and Breta (Brakke) Teigen. The former died in Jackson Mareh 25, 1906, aged seventy-two years; the latter lives in Jackson and is seventy-five years of age.
Anton was born to these parents in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, February 12, 1877, and was a baby two years old when he ac- companied his parents to Jackson county in a prairie schooner. The balance of his life he has spent on the farm which his father bought the year before coming to the county. He was educated in the district schools and in the Jackson publie schools, which he attended two terms. Until he was eighteen years of age he worked for his father; then he rented the farm and engaged in business for himself. Several years ago his father moved to Jack- son, and the year before that event Anton bought the farm. Since then he has added to the dimensions of his farm by the purchase of ninety acres in the vicinity.
Mr. Teigen was married in Heron Lake township January 16, 1907. to Lena Johnson, a native of the village of Ileron Lake and a daughter of Peter and Matilda Johnson, of Heron Lake township. Two children, twins, have been born to this union, namely: Val- demar and Harold, born November 17, 1907.
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Mr. and Mrs. Teigen are members of the Nor- wegian Lutheran church.
WILLIAM T. MUIR (1869), of Jackson, has spent the forty years of his life in Jackson county, having been born in Middletown town- ship June 19, 1869, the son of R. C. and Mary (MeLain) Muir.
The first twenty-two years of his life Wil- linm Muir spent on his father's Middletown township farm, receiving his education in the district schools. In 1891 he moved to Jackson and engaged in the dray and transfer busi- ness, which he conducted eight years. lle then engaged in the land and implement busi- ness, and also ran a lumber yard, with which he was identified until 1908, when he sold to Jens Jensen. Mr. Muir now holds the office of boiler inspector. Hle owns an interest in the Jackson tow mill. De has 100 acres of farm- ing land in Middletown township and 240 acres in Lamoure county, North Dakota. He is a member of the Woodmen lodge.
Mr. Muir was married in the fall of 1891 to Ella J. Davis, and to this union was born one child, Edwill L., born October 7, 1896. Mrs. Muir died March 25, 1897. The second marriage of Mr. Muir occurred June 19, 1899, when he wedded Anna M. Davis. To them have been born three children: Kenneth V., born August 26, 1902; Georgia E., born Feb- ruary 22, 1905; Robert 3)., born April 19, 1909.
ANDERS R. KILEN (1867). One of the wealthiest and best known farmers of Jack- son county is Anders R. Kilen, who has made his home in Belmont township for forty-three years and who has passed through many of the trying times of pioneer days. Coming to the county as a young man not yet of age with practically nothing in the way of earthly possessions, by frugality and strict attention to Im-iness, he has accumulated a fortune. His farm consists of one thousand acres of choice land in one body in Belmont township. of which he farms about one section. In ad- dition to his Jackson county possessions he own- a section of Canadian land and has busi- ness property in Lakefield. As a grower of choice gram Mr. Kilen is perhaps better known than any farmer of southern Minnesota, he- cause of his secess in exhibiting cereals at The world's fair- and carrying away the high-
est awards. He won medals at the world's fair at Chicago, and at the Omaha fair he re- ceived the first premium on wheat, oats and barley, thereby receiving the gold medal, vi which he is justly proud. Mr. Kilen also ca- hibited at the Paris exposition of 1900. The grain exhibit of the United States at that exposition was made up of contribu. tions and samples sent in by farmers from all over the United States. MIr. Kilen was invited by the government to con. tribute to the exhibit and he sent in fifteen samples of different products. The exhibit of which these samples formed a part re- ceived the Grand Prix at this exposition. but the government took all the credit and there was no credit given to Mr. Kilen or the other farmers who contributed samples.
Mr. Kilen was born in Norway November 18, 1846, the son of Erick and Johanna Kilen. In the family were thirteen children, of whom eight are living. named as follows: Andrew, Anders R., James, John, Erick. Bertha, Robert and Jennie. The parents of these children came to America in Is58, lived a few years in Dane county, Wisconsin, a few years in Fill- more county. Minnesota, and came to Jack- son county in 1867. The father of our sub- jeet took as a homestead claim the cast half of the northeast quarter of section 20, proved up on that and later bonght land on the southwest quarter of section It, Belmont, where he lived until his death at an advanced age. His wife also died in Belmont township.
Anders R. Kilen came to America with his parent- in 1858, he being then eleven years of age. For several years he lived with the fam- ily in Dane county. Wisconsin, and later at- companied them to Fillmore county, Minnest- ta. When he was twenty years old, in 1867, he rame with his father and mother to .lark- son county, and during the first year lived on his father's homestead. The next year. be- coming of age, he took as a homestead claim the west half of the northeast quarter of see- tion 20, adjoining his father's claim, and on that claim he lived as a bachelor eight years. On that claim he started in life for himself and began the accumulation of his fortune. He succeeded through perseverance and hard work. His first work was breaking prairie for the pioneer settlers with his four yoke of oxen, for which he was paid five dollars per acre. Among his early day contracts way that for hauling the lumher for the first church
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