USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 39
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After the war Mr. Price continued his residence in Eastern Minnesota until 1871. In June of that year he came to Lyon county and filed a homestead claim to the southwest quarter of section 2, of what is now Lucas township. His nearest trading point at the time he located on the claim was Yellow Medicine, on the Minnesota river, which consisted of a store, postoffice and black- smith shop. The lumber for his house was hauled from Willmar. In that pioneer home was taught the first school in the township, conducted for three months by Miss Ella Williams. Mr. Price encountered many hardships in the early days, but he passed successfully through the period of travail and in time came upon prosperous times. He now has one of the finest farm homes in the county and is the owner of 320 acres of excellent land on sections 2 and 3.
Mr. Price took a leading part in affairs in the early days. He was one of those who brought about the organization of Lu- cas township in 1873 and he was appointed township clerk by the Board of County Commissioners at the time of organization. He held the office several years, was assessor four years, and has been a member of the town board. He assisted in the organiza- tion of school district No. 19 and has held the office of treasurer of that district. He is a member and one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church of Cottonwood.
In local business matters Mr. Price has also taken a part. He owns a controlling interest in and is vice president of the Home Telephone Company of Cottonwood. He is a stockholder of the Lyon County National Bank of Marshall and of the First National Bank of Cottonwood.
Mr. Price was married in Lucas town- ship January 4, 1890, to Helen Elmer. She was born in Gothland, Sweden, July 18, 1862, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Elmer, who came to Lyon county in 1SSS. Mrs. Price's mother died in December, 1910: her father lives in Northern Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Price have seven children: Logan, of Graceville, Montana: Marvin, of Alberta, Canada; Fern, Willard, Hazel, Porter and Ray, who live at home.
LEVORIT AVERY (1868), of Lake Mar- shall township, is a native of the Gopher State, having been born in Rice county, Minnesota, November 9, 1858. When ten years of age, he accompanied his parents to Lyon county and his father homesteaded land in Custer township. Our subject re- ceived his early education and grew to man- hood while residing at home, living on the home place until twenty-four years of age.
. At the latter age he started working out on farms and in 1884 he rented his father's farm and conducted it one year. He then returned to Waseca county, Minnesota, where he rented land three years. after which he returned to Lyon county and has resided here since, with the exception of eighteen months spent in Colorado. In 1908 he rented the northwest quarter of section 21, Lake Marshall township, where he now resides.
The parents of our subject are John and
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Lydia (Ketchun) Avery, both natives of Ohio.
Mr. Avery was married at Waseca, Min- nesota. February 14, 1883, to Minnie Norcutt, a native of Minnesota. She was born June 22, 1862, and is a daughter of Norman and Sarah (McKinley) Norcutt, the former a na- tive of Vermont and the latter of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Avery are the parents of the following children: Clyde, born May 17, 1884: Guy, born August 12, 1886: Percy, born December 25, 1888: Daisy M., born March 21. 1891; Denzil, born December 9, 1893; Edith Blanche, born April 30, 1896; John, born August 8. 1898: Minnie P., born January 18, 1901: Robert, born April 11. 1904.
JAMES MITCHELL (1869), ex-county com- missioner of Lyon county and one of the earliest settlers, owns 280 acres of land and operates one of the finest improved farms in Amiret township. He has been a con- tinuous resident of Amiret township forty- three years. Mr. Mitchell served twelve years as county commissioner when there were but three commissioners in what is now Lyon and Lincoln counties and when the county seat was at Lynd. It was also dur- ing his term of service as commissioner that the various townships of Lyon county were created and organized.
Our subject was born in Jefferson coun- ty, Wisconsin, September 16, 1848. His parents were James and Margaret (Barclay) Mitchell. now deceased. His mother died when James was a child and his father was married a second time to Martha Lane, a native of Maine. James Mitchell, Sr., was born in Scotland, came to America in 1838, and settled in Wisconsin in 1842, where he made his home until 1866. That year he moved to Plainview, Minnesota, and farmed in the vicinity three years. In the spring of 1869 he and his son, the subject of this biography, came to Lyon county and each took a quarter section of land on section 30. Amiret township, as homesteads. The father resided on his Amiret farm until his death on September 14, 1901, at the age of eighty-one years.
James Mitchell, Jr., was reared in Wiscon- sin and attended school until fourteen years of age. He then worked at farm labor one
year, after which he moved to Plainview, Minnesota, with his parents, and worked there two years. After the family moved to Lyon county James made his home with his parents until he married in 1884, after which he moved to his present place, the south- east quarter of section 5, Amiret township.
James Mitchell's marriage to Trena Rude occurred in Amiret township May 31, 1884. His wife is a native of Butler county, Iowa, and is a daughter of Michael and Olena Rude. The family were pioneer settlers of Brown county, Minnesota, locating there in 1869 and making it their home until their deaths. Mrs. Mitchell was born April 9, 1858. She and her husband are the par- ents of three children, as follows: Mar- garet (Mrs. Neil Currie) .. of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Jeanette, a school teacher of Austin, Minnesota; and Jay (deceased).
Mr. Mitchell was for a number of years a member of the Amiret Township Board of Supervisors and was chairman of the township's first board. He was one of the organizers of school district No. 64 and has served continuously as clerk of the board since its organization. Our subject is a member of the Masonic lodge.
REES PRICE (1871), one of the earliest settlers of Monroe township, was born in Wales May 31, 1847. His parents were David and Mary (Rees) Price, both na- tives of Wales. The family came to the United States in 1866, when Rees was nineteen years old. The boy made his home for a few months with relatives in Goodhue county, Minnesota, and then jour- neyed to Rock Island, Illinois, where he worked in the coal mines until 1868. That year he was married to Ruth Thomas, a Milwaukee girl and a sister of Benjamin, James and Joseph Thomas, all of whom became early Lyon county settlers.
After his marriage in February, 1868, Mr. Price and his wife farmed in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, renting for a couple of years. In 1870 Mr. Price and others came to Lyon county to look over the country. They homesteaded in 1871 and Mr. Price moved his family to their new home on the northwest quarter of section 18, Monroe township, in 1872. The family lived on the farm for the next forty years.
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It was frontier life for those early comers to Lyon county. Mr. Price hauled logs from the Cottonwood river with which to build his first dwelling. The old cabin, a 14x16 feet log hut, still stands on the place and is the oldest house standing in Monroe township. The other residents of the town- ship at that time were Ed. Healy, David Stafford and George White, a brother-in- law of Mr. Price and now a resident of California. These four broke the first ground in the precinct with oxen. Until the railroad came in 1872 all trading was done at New Ulm.
During the years when the grasshopper scourge was in Southwestern Minnesota, Rees Price and others worked at farm labor in the eastern part of the state and suc- ceeded in keeping themselves and their families from want. The winter of 1880 and 1881 brought more hardships. But the early settlers were of hardy stock and had faith in the country, which led them to endure the discomforts of the early days. The settlement grew and Mr. Price was one of those who helped organize the town- ship of Monroe. He was the first justice of the peace and was on the town and school boards for several years, besides holding various other offices from time to time. The Price family lived in the origi- nal log cabin for twenty-eight years, when they built their present comfortable dwell- ing. The fine groves on the Price farm were set out from slips brought years ago from the Cottonwood river by Mr. Price.
Seven children have been born to Rees and Ruth Price, as follows: Elenor (Mrs. Hugh Jones), Mary ( Mrs. Bert Wilford), Mabel (Mrs. Philip Hughes), Joseph, Wil- liam, Winifred, who is at home with her par- ents, and Diana (Mrs. Ruben Harris), of Kernan, California. Mr. and Mrs. Price have for years been active members of the Con- gregational church.
CHARLES H. WHITNEY (1869). A man who occupied a most important place in the early history of Lyon county is Charles H. Whitney, now a resident of Cookeville, Tennessee. More than any other man was he responsible for the advertising of this frontier region in the seventies and the immigration that settled upon its broad
prairies. He is an optimist, and many a resident of Lyon county of this day owes his presence to the wonderful word-pictures painted by Mr. Whitney. With several others he was the founder of Marshall and in most every important event of the early times he figured. He has a fund of pio- neer reminiscenses and the author of this volume is indebted to him for many of the items contained herein.
Charles H. Whitney was born at Bridg- ton. Cumberland county, Maine, January 16, 183S. His father, George W. Whitney, was a Free Will Baptist minister and during the boyhood days of our subject the family re- sided in several different places where Rev. Whitney served his church as pastor. Charles lived in his native town until four years old, in Gray, Maine, three years, in Bethel, Maine, two or three years, and then in Rochester, New Hampshire.
While residing at Rochester, when eleven years of age, Charles H. Whitney started to earn his own living. His first employment was in a woolen mill, where he worked four- teen months. He then went to Salmon Falls, New Hampshire, and was employed in a cot- ton factory two years, beginning work in the weaving room, but later becoming office boy. He next located in East Abington (now Brockton), Massachusetts, and for several years was employed in a shoe factory which later became the W. L. Douglas factory. He became foreman of the stitching room when sixteen years of age and continued his work in the factory until he was eighteen and one-half years old.
During this time, by strict economy, young Whitney had saved money, which he ex- pended in completing his education. He took a course in the North Parsonsfield, Maine, Academy, a Free Will Baptist school, and was graduated in December, 1856. He decided to locate in the West, and to earn money to pay his transportation he secured a position as clerk in a store.
On March 25, 1857, Charles H. Whitney arrived in Waupun. Wisconsin, where his brother, J. W. Whitney, a building con- tractor, resided. Our subject took work with his brother and learned the business in all its branches, which was of great help to him later in his new home on the prairies of Lyon county. He lived in Waupun six years.
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During his residence there, on October 28, 1860, Mr. Whitney was united in marriage to Mary A. Wirt, a daughter of Elder Noah Wirt, of the Christian church, and Fannie ( Mapes) Wirt. Mrs. Whitney was born at Willoughby, Ohio, July 22, 1843, and died at Cookeville, Tennessee, February 11, 1911. As a result of this union five children were born, as follows: George C., born at Wau- pun July 25, 1861, died November 1, 1862; Zula M., born at Oronoco, Minnesota, De- cember 27, 1866, married John H. Schneider at Marshall June 16, 1886: Mille A., born at Oronoco May 7, 1888, married Fred H. White, of Marshall, Minnesota, at Cookeville, Ten- nessee. December 31, 1888: Fannie W., the first white child born in Marshall, born No- vember 24, 1870, married James T. Snod- grass at MeMinnville, Tennessee, September 16, 1891; Gertrude, a musician and artist of considerable note, born at Marshall April 21, 1875.
In April, 1863, Mr. Whitney became a resi- dent of Minnesota, locating at Oronoco, Olm- sted county. He resided there six years, dur- ing five of which he served as town elerk. During the war he had. entire charge at Oronoco of filling the quoto of troops. After the war he engaged in contracting and build- ing, operated a furniture manufactory, and "bought a farm.
In May, 1869, Mr. Whitney left with a party of ten men, in covered wagons, on a pros- pecting trip to find a suitable location in Western Minnesota for new homes. They traveled three weeks, visited St. Cloud, Ben- son and Hutchinson, but not liking the coun- try about any of those towns they turned southward and passed through St. Peter. There the party met "Uncle Abner Tib- betts, register of the United States Land Office, who advised them to visit that part of Redwood county which is now Lyon county. They did so, making the trip by way of Redwood Falls, and arrived at the little settlement of Lynd on June 9, 1869. The operations of this party upon their ar- rival in Lyon county have been told in detail in the historical part of this volume, so it will not be necessary to repeat here. Suffice it to say that all members of the party were delighted with the country and all located, Mr. Whitney selecting as his claim the southeast quarter of section 4, Lake Marshall township, upon which was
later laid out a part of the village of Mar- shall.
After selecting his land Mr. Whitney broke a little land and on June 15, with the rest of the party, set out on the return home. At St. Peter they made filings on their claims. Mr. Whitney spent the next winter in his old Wisconsin home and interested several others in the new conn- try, who accompanied him on the return in 1870. He arrived in Lyon county again on June 1, 1870, and erected a sod shanty on his claim, the first dwelling put up on sec- tion 4, of the Marshall site. It was located about twenty rods east of the Third Street bridge on the quarter section line. In the fall our subject secured the establishment of the Marshall postoffice and he became the first postmaster.
Mr. Whitney engaged in farming and booming the country. He located four- fifths of all the settlers who arrived prior to 1875. In the summer of 1872, in part- nership with others, he platted the village of Marshall and it was largely through his influence that the Marshall station of the new Winona & St. Peter was located where it is, in preference to a point at the cross- ing of Three-Mile creek. In the fall of 1872. before the railroad had reached the new station, Mr. Whitney erected a hotel build- ing, one of the first buildings in the town, hauling the lumber from the end of the completed track. At the first meal in the hostelry 250 people were fed. The location of the pioneer hotel building was on the site of the present Atlantic Hotel. Mr. Whitney erected the first brick kiln in Mar- shall and was prominent in many of the pioneer business enterprises.
He engaged extensively in land selling from the time of his arrival, and in 1876 he became the field agent and general outside representative for the railroad company, be- ing thus employed ten years. In 1877 he es- tablished the Homeseekers Guide to the West, a monthly emigration paper of 5000 eirculation.
Mr. Whitney originated the scheme of ex- hibiting the products of Lyon county and of the lands embraced within the railroad's land grant at the state fairs. The first exhibit was made in 1876, and first premiums were secured on all exhibits. Following is a list of premiums awarded Lyon county at early
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day Minnesota state fairs for largest and best displays of grains and vegetables: 1879, first for grains and second for vegetables; 1880, first for both exhibits; 1881, first for grains and second for vegetables and a silver medal for five best varieties of spring wheat: 1882, first for each exhibit and silver medal for spring wheat exhibit. On March 8, 1881, the county was awarded first premium by the Minnesota State Butter and Cheese As- sociation for the best fifty pounds of dairy butter, and in 1882 at the Wisconsin state fair Lyon county was awarded a diploma and given special mention for the largest, best and most artistically displayed ex- hibit of grains, vegetables, fruits, grasses, woods and soils made by one exhibitor.
In 1886 Mr. Whitney secured for the rail- road company the right-of-way for the Will- mar & Sioux Falls Railroad Company from Marshall to the north line of the county. On May 1, 1886, Mr. Whitney went to St. Paul to become circulation manager of The Farmer, an agricultural paper. In six months he raised the circulation of the pa- per to 30,000. After one year at that work his health failed, and in September, 1887, Mr. Whitney moved South, becoming a resi- dent of Cookeville, Tennessee, where he has ever since resided.
During his long residence in Lyon county Mr. Whitney held a number of offices of trust. Besides being Marshall's first post- master, he served for a time as judge of probate and was deputy county treasurer two terms, serving under Jacob Rouse and James Williams. He was justice of the peace of Lake Marshall township and held other township offices and was one of the first to hold the office of Marshall village recorder. From the time of the organization of the Marshall school district until it be- came an independent district he was chair- man of the Board of Education.
JACOB ROUSE (1870). Only a few of those who took part in the early history making of Lyon county are still living in the county. However, one of those who took part in the early events and who came before the county was organized is still here, with a continuous residence of forty- two years to his credit. He is Jacob Rouse, a former county treasurer, who now lives in the Camden valley of Lynd township.
Jacob Rouse was born in Louisa county, Iowa, October 18, 1844. His father, Ebene- zer Rouse, was born in Canada, of German descent. His mother, Mary (Harlan) Rouse, was born in Kentucky. The parents located in lowa in 1840 and shortly after the birth of their son they moved to Illinois, near Galena, where they engaged in farming. There the father contracted yellow fever and died in 1850.
After the death of the head of the family Mrs. Rouse and her children, two sons and two daughters, moved to Lafayette coun- ty, Wisconsin, and near Elk Grove she bought five acres of land. Later the family moved to New Diggings of the same county. At the age of fifteen years young Rouse left home and went to Jones county, lowa, where he resided two years, working on a farm in the summer and attending school during the winter. He then spent a short time at- tending school and working out at East Galena, Illinois, and worked in a hotel at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, six months.
Returning to Galena, Illinois, in the spring of 1864, Mr. Rouse enlisted in Company C, One Hundred Fortieth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry. IIe was discharged seven months later and the following February enlisted in Company E. One Hundred Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, served six months, and was mus- tered out in September, 1865. After the war he returned to New Diggings, Wisconsin, and during the next few years engaged in farming and mining.
In 1870 Mr. Rouse came to Lyon county and filed a homestead claim to the north- west quarter of section 22, Lynd township, being one of the first to file in that neigh- borhood, and he proved up on the claim. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Rouse, in partnership with James Cummins and John Cook, erected a sawmill on the Redwood, where was later founded the village of Camden. He was in charge of the sawmill four years, and then it was remodeled into a flouring mill by Smith, Ellis & Rouse. The village of Camden was founded and soon boasted two stores, a blacksmith shop, harness shop, postoffice and mill, becoming one of the principal towns of the county.
One year after the flouring mill was started Mr. Rouse disposed of his interests, but for eighteen years he was employed by the firm that operated the mill. Since that
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time he has devoted most of his time to farming. although he was manager of an elevator at Lynd two years and at Russell one year. He raises stock and makes a specialty of Duroc-Jersey hogs.
Mr. Rouse took an active part in political affairs in the early days and served as deputy county treasurer under A. R. Cummins, the first treasurer. Later he served a term as county treasurer. He was chairman of the Lynd Township Board of Supervisors one year and has an unbeatable record as a school officer, having been clerk of his dis- trict since it was organized in 1871. Mr. Rouse is a member of the Grand Army and the Masonic lodge.
In Lafayette county, Wisconsin, on May 5, 1868, Mr. Rouse was united in marriage to Elizabeth J. Day. She was born in the county in which she was married December 2, 1849, a daughter of Joseph H. and Martha M. (Dickey) Day. Both parents were born in Pennsylvania. The father died in Wis- consin in 1886 and thereafter Mrs. Day made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Rouse, un- til her death in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Rouse have five children: Mary Etta, Joseph C., Ira E., Mand and Myrtle F.
OLE H. HATLESTAD (1874) is a promi- nent farmer of Lucas township and a most enthusiastic believer in the advantages of living in Lyon county. Mr. Hatlestad is well known throughout the county at large and has a host of friends in every com- munity. For the last twelve years he has served continuously as a member of the Board of County Commissioners from district No. 1, and previous to that he had already served in the same capacity for four years. Mr. Hatlestad, besides farming 400 acres of land, owns seven lots and a fine residence in Cottonwood and is interested in other enterprises, being a stockholder of the Farm- ers Elevator Company of Cottonwood, of which he was for several years president.
Our subject was born March 4, 1853, in Song, Norway, and is a son of Hans O. and Martha (Anderson) Hatlestad, both of whom are now deceased. The parents came to America in 1854 and first located in Co- lumbia county, Wisconsin, where they re- sided ten years. Their next home was in Winona county, where they lived until their
deaths. Ole Hatlestad was the oldest of the children and he received his education in the common schools of Winona county, at- tending until he had reached the age of nineteen years. Coming then to Lyon coun- ty, he engaged in the mercantile business with Andrew Ostlund one year and then went into the farm machinery business in Mar- shall, an enterprise which held his attention for the next five years. In 1879 Mr. Hatle- stad commenced to acquire land and now owns a large acreage. He purchased a tree claim on the southwest quarter of section 18. Lucas, from Ole Dahl, which he still owns and operates. Subsequently he bought 200 acres on section 19 and later another forty. Mr. Hatlestad manages his farms and has made his home in Cottonwood since 1901.
Mr. Hatlestad has been affiliated with the Silo Norwegian Lutheran Church since its organization in 1880 and was formerly one of its trustees. He was a director of school district No. 15 three years and has held the office of assessor three terms. For a number of years he was chairman of the Township Board of Supervisors.
The subject of this sketch was married December 19, 1876, to Carrie Anderson, at Porter, Minnesota. His wife was a native of Norway. To this union were born: An- drew, on June 19, 1878; Martha, deceased, on January 29, 1880; Bertha, on January 25, 1882; Cora, on August 22, 1885; Clarence, on April 5, 1887; Harris, on May 10, 1889; Clara, on September 13, 1891; William, on February 16, 1894; and Oliver, on December 16, 1895. Mrs. Hatlestad died March 20. 1897.
Mr. Hatlestad married a second time in July, 1901, wedding Mrs. Dena Foss, a native of Wisconsin. To this union has been born one child, Aldrie, born March 3, 1904.
The subject of this sketch has several brothers and sisters living. Annie (Mrs. Elling Fenney) resides in Minneapolis. Christ is a resident of Otter Tail county. Gertrude ( Mrs. C. Martinson) lives in Madi- son, Minnesota. Christie (Mrs. Andrew Ness) resides in Fillmore county. Martin is a resident of Lyon county.
KNUD A. BROUGHTON (1872). Forty years ago a few Norwegian families came to
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Lyon county and settled in the northern townships, and with the vanguard of these was the family of Knud A. Broughton, who took a claim in Westerheim township and who has ever since had his home there. In the early days many hardships were en- countered and inconveniences endured. Mr. Broughton hauled his flour from New Lon- don, did most of his trading at Redwood Falls, and remembers the time when Mar- shall consisted of one store and a sod shanty.
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