USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 55
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and on that place he has resided ever since. Mr. Brull has since purchased several other farms, making his land holdings at the pres- ent time 680 acres, and he has improved the same by erecting thereon a set of farm build- ings equal, if not superior, to any in the county, including a residence with all of the modern conveniences at a cost of over $6000, which farm and home are within two miles of the city of Marshall, the county seat.
Mr. Brull has prospered in all of his under- takings and investments and is today enjoy- ing the results of an active and well-spent career. He has been active in all the affairs of his township and in addition thereto has been traveling salesman for the Page Woven Wire Fence Company of Adrian, Michigan, and is a director of the Western Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Balaton.
Mrs. Brull was born at Broeksittard, Hol- land, on January 13, 1861, and is a daughter of Henry Rycken and Mary Elizabeth (Pan- hansen) Rycken, both of whom are now deceased.
His only daughter, Mary Lizzie, became the wife of Constant Senden on September 25 1907, who died on the sixth of June, 1908, at which time she returned to and has since made her home with her father and mother. His son William J. Brull, Jr., is unmarried and makes his home with his parents.
Mr. Brull is an active member of the Cath- olic church and in politics is what is known at the present time as a Progressive Repub- lican. ยท
JAMES CHRISTENSON (1886), Stanley township farmer, is a native of Denmark and was born January 6, 1862, a son of Christ and Amelia (Peterson) Jensen.
In his native land James Christenson was reared and educated. In 1886, when twenty- four years of age, he came to America and direct to Lyon county. For a few years he worked out as a farm hand and in 1889 he rented land in Stanley township and started in business for himself. He located on the present place in 1909. He farms 320 acres on section 6, Stanley, and 30, Lucas. He raises Poland China hogs and other stock. For seven years Mr. Christenson served as a director of school district No. 15. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
The marriage of James Christenson to
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Maria Sorenson occurred in Marshall August 28, 1888. She was born in Denmark March 13, 1865, and died March 4, 1912. Her par- ents were Paul and Bodel (Peterson) Soren- son, both of whom are buried in the old country. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Christenson, as follows: Paul, born June 13, 1889; Chris, born October 23, IS90; Fred, born October 19, 1892; Henry, born February 23, 1895; Emma, born Janu- ary 28, 1898; Jacob, born March 30, 1900; James, born April 7, 1903; and Mary, born June 27, 1905.
A. R. CHACE (1878). is a dealer in imple- ments, stock and grain in the city of Mar- shall and an old-time resident of Lyon county. For the last thirty-four years he has lived in the county and most of that time has been spent in the city in which he now has his home. During these years he has been active in the affairs of the city and he is rated among the men of integrity of the community.
Mr. Chace was born in Danby township, Rutland county, Vermont, on May 1, 1838. The first twelve years of his life were spent in his native state and then he moved to Erie county, New York, where he resided until the outbreak of the Civil War.
For three years and one month Mr. Chace served in the Union Army, having enlisted Watson & Chace's first store was at the corner of Main and Fourth Streets, on the site of the building recently vacated by the ten-cent store. Later they bought the yards of the Empire Lumber Company and those of the Hall & Ducey Lumber Company and were engaged in that business two years, selling to the Ross Lumber Company. Upon purchasing the business of the Empire Lum- ber Company they moved into that company's building, where Chace & Neill now have their office. That building was one of the earliest erected in Marshall, having been put up by the Empire Company when W. M. Todd was their agent. as orderly sergeant in Company A, Sixty- fourth New York Infantry. He participated in every battle in which the Army of the Potomac took part, including Gettysburg, the second battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Culpepper Court House, Cold Harbor, the Wilderness, Fair Oaks, Antietam and York- town. He was in the Fourth Brigade (Gen- eral John R. Brooks) of the Second Army Corps (General Hancock) and in the battle of Antietam was under General Nelson A. Miles. After the battle of Gettysburg Mr. Chace was promoted to second lieutenant, was made first lieutenant a few weeks later. and later still was made captain. During the last year of his service he was brigade inspector on the staff of General John R. , Marshall Presbyterian Church and is a ruling Brooks.
After the war Captain Chace located in the oil regions of Pennsylvania.' For several years he was engaged in the oil industry. putting down wells and promoting enter-
prises. After leaving Pennsylvania he spent six months in the same business at South Norwich, Canada. The Fenian raids were taking place in that part of Canada at the time and Mr. Chace had exciting experiences in them. For the next ten years Mr. Chace was a resident of Chicago, one year in the merchandising brokerage business, and the rest of the time in the foreign and domestic fruit trade. In the great fire of 1871 he lost everything he possessed, but later recouped his fortunes.
It was in 1878 that A. R. Chace became a resident of Lyon county. He bought a pre- emption claim to the northwest quarter of section 14, Sodus township, and later bought 120 acres of railroad land adjoining. He lived on the farm one year and then moved to Marshall, where he has ever since re- sided. At the time of locating in the county seat Mr. Chace formed a partnership with J. P. Watson and engaged in the implement and stock business. For twenty-five years the firm of Watson & Chace had an exist- ence. Then William Neill bought the Wat- son interests, and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of Chace & Neill. Besides his other duties our subject devotes his time to the management of his farms. He owns 240 acres of land in Lake Marshall township, and he and Mr. Neill own the same amount in Island Lake township.
Mr. Chace is a member of the Masonic lodge. He is a prominent member of the elder.
The parents of our subject were Ephraim and Emily ( Rhodes) Chace, natives, respect- ively, of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There were nine children in the family, as
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follows: Mary (Mrs. Ira Vail), deceased, of Vermont; Susan ( Mrs. Pliney Bartlett), de- ceased, of Collins, Erie county, New York; Amelia Vail, of Erie county, New York; Eliza Jacobs, deceased; Frances, Clara Wil- lett, of Erie county; Lydia Wilbur, deceased; and A. R. Chace.
The marriage of A. R. Chace to Alice G. Perry occurred in Erie county, New York. She is a native of that county and a daughter of Esquire P. H. Perry. Mr. and Mrs. Chace have one child, Naomi, now Mrs. Edward G. Campbell, of Owatonna, Minnesota.
ANDREW HENRY HATTLESTAD (1878), one of Lucas township's farmers, was born at Marshall June 19, 1878, and is a son of Ole H. and Carrie (Anderson) Hattlestad. The family were early settlers of the county, and Ole Hattlestad is still a prominent figure in county affairs and resides at Cottonwood. His wife died some years ago.
Andrew when two years of age accom- panied his parents when they moved to a farm in Lucas township. He grew up on the farm and attended district school until sixteen years of age, after which he was a student in the Norwegian Lutheran College at Madison, Minnesota, for three years. After quitting that school, Andrew engaged in car- penter work and followed that calling two years at Toronto, South Dakota. Returning to Lyon county, the young man worked three years for his father on the home farm, then married, and again took up his trade for a short time in Cottonwood.
Shortly after our subject's marriage he moved to a farm in Vallers and commenced farming for himself, in which occupation he has since been engaged. Some years ago he moved to Lucas township and is now the pro- prietor of 216 acres. He raises considerable stock.
The subject of this sketch was married November 28, 1900, to Emma J. Ludwig. She was born near the town of Parker, South Dakota, June 1, 1883, and died August 1, 1910. By her marriage to Mr. Hattlestad she became the mother of the following children : Carol Sidney, born April 28, 1902; Kenneth Olai, born June 10, 1903, died June 20, 1903; Basil Jerome, born December 15, 1904; Clif- ford Orran, born June 15, 1907; and Erma Alsine, born June 20, 1909. Mr. Hattlestad
is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Cottonwood.
WILLIAM C. HENRICHS (1887), deceased, was a citizen of Russell and Shelburne town- ship for many years. He was born in Bremer county, Iowa, December 6, 1876, and spent the first eleven years of his life in that state. His parents, Fred and Rachael (Troosh) Henrichs, were natives of Ger- many and Ilion, Illinois, respectively, and are now living in Todd county, Minnesota.
The Henrichs family moved from Iowa to Lyon county, Minnesota, in 1887 and lo- cated in Shelburne township. That was William Henrich's home for many years, and he conducted a farm of his own eleven years before moving to Russell to take the man- agement of the tile plant.
The Russell Cement Tile Manufacturing Company was started by John Bengtson in April, 1910, and in August the plant was bought by stockholders and incorporated for $30,000, for the purpose of manufacturing cement building blocks, drain tile and other cement work. The capacity of the works was increased to 4000 tile per day and the plant was equipped with the latest ma- chinery and became one of Russell's best enterprises. The officers of the new company were William C. Henrichs, president and general manager; John Bengtson, vice presi- dent; J. P. Peterson, secretary; and B. Leknes, treasurer.
Mr. Henrichs was married in Coon Creek township October 14, 1899, to Eva S. Burck- hardt. Two children were born to this union, Rudolph and Ida. Mrs. Henrichs was a native of Freeport, Illinois, and died May 28. 1909. The subject of this sketch was the victim of an automobile accident and came to his death in the summer of 1911. Besides his two children he left nine broth- ers and three sisters, as follows: Fred, William C., Mary Hamm, Emma Burckhardt, Herman, Byron, Albert, Frank, Henry, Etta and Ida. Mr. Henrichs was a well known and well liked citizen and one of the active and reliable business men of Russell. His death was a universal loss. He was very prominent in lodge circles and held men bership in the A. F. & A. M., Modern Wood- men, A. O. U. W. and Royal Neighbors lodges.
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JOHN O'CONNOR (1880) is the proprietor of Elder Grove Farm, comprising 240 acres on sections 11 and 13, Eidsvold township. When he came to Lyon county thirty-two years ago his worldly possessions consisted of $3.15. He worked hard and economized to pay for his farm and improvements and is deserving of the greatest credit for what he has accomplished, for he is now in pros- perous circumstances and has one of the fine farm homes of Eidsvold township.
Mr. O'Connor was born in the county of Cork, Ireland, September 19, 1841. His par- ents, Edmund and Margaret (Mullane) O'Connor, died in the old country, and there are three living children of a family of six. The children are Helen, who still lives in Ireland; Margaret, of Washington, District of Columbia; and John.
In 1868 Mr. O'Connor decided to seek his fortune in the New World and he landed in Castle Garden on April 23 of that year. In the metropolis of the country he was mar- ried and resided there ten years. The next two years were spent working on a railroad in Wabasha county, Minnesota, and then he came to Lyon county.
The trip to Lyon county in 1880 was made by train to Granite Falls and thence to Minneota by "Shank's horses." No houses were in sight for many miles of the foot journey and the first night he slept on the prairie. Upon his arrival he contracted for the purchase of his present farm from the railroad company, agreeing to pay $6.00 per acre for the same. He had no funds and the land was without improvements. He rented a little shack a mile south of his place, in which he lived and to which he brought his family two years later, and went to work on the section to earn money to meet the payments on his land and to support his family.
For twenty years Mr. O'Connor worked on the section, for the last twelve years of the period being foreman of a crew. Thus he struggled to gain a competence, and he finally won the fight. Three years after his arrival he built a little shack on the land and moved his family there. In 1898 he erected an eight-room, 32x36 feet, well ap- pointed house and other buildings. After quitting the railroad he began farming and has since been so engaged. The grove of elder trees planted in the early days sug-
gested the name for the farm, which is now recognized as one of the fine ones of the precinct. Among the improvements made in 1912 was the erection of a 100-ton silo, thirty-six feet high, and the expenditure of $1000 in tiling. It is Mr. O'Connor's inten- tion to feed cattle for the market.
In the city of New York, on January S, 1871, Mr. O'Connor was united in marriage to Julia O'Connor. She was also a native of County Cork and arrived in America Feb- ruary 15, 1868. To Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor were born nine children, of whom the fol- lowing named five are living: Edmund, who now conducts the home farm; John, of Du- luth; Mary, of Minneapolis; Julia, of New York City; and Veronica, a school teacher. The family are members of the Catholic church of Minneota.
For his success in life and the making of his home he desires much credit given to his faithful wife, who departed this life on April 25, 1903.
JOHN W. WILSON (1881) is the proprie- tor of 360 acres of well-improved farm land in Island Lake township and is a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. He was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, September 5, 1853, and is a son of John and Lucinda (Rister) Wilson, natives of Indiana and Illinois, re- spectively. They came to Wisconsin in an early day and pursued the occupation of farmers.
John was brought up in Wisconsin and spent the first twenty-eight years of his life in that state. He obtained a common school education and afterward remained on the farm with his father, helping with the work. In 1881 the family moved to Minnesota and the elder Wilson bought 160 acres on sec- tion 3, Island Lake township. The property was at that time raw prairie land and the efforts of its owners have brought the farm to its present state of improvement. Mr. Wilson every year makes a shipment of Durham cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs to market, and is conducting his farm with profit.
He was married in the township to Mary Helvig. She is a daughter of Joseph and Catherine Helvig, natives of Germany, who now reside at Ivanhoe, Minnesota. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
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John W. Wilson. They are as follows: Cora, Martha, George, Arthur, Roy, Frank and Joseph. The Wilsons are members of the Catholic church.
CAMIEL F. DE SUTTER (1882), of Grand- view township, was born in Belgium Decem- ber 3, 1863, and was brought up and edu- cated in his native land. At the age of nineteen years he came with his parents, Charles F. and Mary (De Pauw) De Sutter, to the United States and located in Wester- heim township, Lyon connty, Minnesota, the father buying land on section 29. Charles F. De Sutter made that his home until 1903, when he moved to Ghent, and there he died in 1906, aged seventy-eight years; Mrs. De Sutter died on the farm in 1897.
Camiel De Sutter remained on his father's place ten years after the family located in Lyon county. Then he married and bought the southwest quarter of section 34 and the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 33, Westerheim township, and made his home there ten years. He then moved to the north half of section 10, Grand- view township, and farmed the whole sec- tion, later buying the south half. There were no buildings on that half, and Mr. De Sutter has since improved the farm. He con- ducts practically all the 520 acres in the two townships. He donated three acres of his land to the Catholics and they built their church there.
Camiel De Sutter married Mary E. Van Hee in Ghent, the wedding taking place July 6, 1892. She is a native of Belgium and was born October 19, 1865, a daughter of Angelus Van Hee, who located in Grand- view township in 1881 and who died about eighteen years ago. To Mr. and Mrs. De Sutter have been born nine children, as fol- lows: Aime, a student at Sacred Heart College, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; and Charles, Andrew, Mary, Joseph, Rachael, Lucy, Alice and Emil, who reside at home. Mr. De Sutter has seven brothers and sis- ters living: Andrew, Nathalie, August, Peter, Louis, Archer and Emil.
The subject of this sketch is a member of the Catholic church and holds member- ship in the Catholic Order of Foresters lodge.
F. W. SICKLER (1878), cashier of the Lyon County National Bank, has been a resident of Marshall since 1878. He is one of the influential citizens of the city and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the people of the entire county.
Mr. Sickler was born in Rockford, Illi- nois, October 21, 1856. When he was one year of age he accompanied his parents to Rome, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and where he received an academic education. Later he moved to Athens, Pennsylvania, where he resided until 1878. That year he located in Marshall and has ever since been identified with the town's prosperity.
For a few years Mr. Sickler served as deputy register of deeds of Lyon county and as deputy county treasurer, doing practically the entire work of both offices. In 1881 he was made assistant cashier of the Lyon County National Bank and has since been connected with that financial institution, of late years as its cashier. He received the appointment of postmaster of Marshall in 1898 and served a four-year term. He is a Mason.
At Marshall, on July 25, 1895, Mr. Sickler was married to Lillian S. Porter, a daughter of Charles Porter, of Lamberton, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Sickler are the parents of the following named children: Vivian G., Flor- ence B., Frances Porter, Wallace W., George Howard and Robert.
ANDREW OFSTAD (1881), who owns the northwest quarter and south half of the southeast quarter of section 19, Shelburne township, adjoining the village of Florence, is a well-to-do farmer and stockraiser of the vicinity.
Our subject was born in Trondhjem, Nor- way, March 21, 1851, his parents being Gun- der S. and Mary Ofstad, both now deceased. Andrew was reared in the land of his na- tivity and received a common school educa- tion, attending until fifteen years old, after which he worked with his father on the farm until he was twenty years of age. In 1871 the boy immigrated to America, lo- cating near Ishpeming, Michigan, and ob- taining employment in the iron mines, where he worked for the next four years. Thence
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he went to Houghton, Michigan, and worked four years in the copper mines.
In the spring of 1881 Andrew, then a man of thirty, determined to seek a less confining occupation, and he has never regretted com- ing to Minnesota and taking up farming in Lyon county. He bought 120 acres of his present farm at that time; in later years he has purchased additional land and now owns 240 acres.
Mr. Ofstad has been quite active in affairs of the township. having been a member of the Township Board of Supervisors three or four years and a director of school district No. 78 two terms. He was also road over- seer in Shelburne two terms. He has been interested in the Florence Creamery Com- pany and was president of the company two years. Mr. Ofstad is a member of the A. O. U. W. lodge of Tyler and he affiliates with the Norwegian Lutheran church.
Andrew Ofstad was married August 14, 1875, at Ishpeming, Michigan, to Gurn Ron- ning, a native of Norway and a daughter of Knute and Mary (Gorseth) Ronning, both now dead. Gurn Ronning was born August 7, 1852. Andrew and Gurn (Ronning) Ofstad are the parents of the following children: Gustad A., Mary (deceased), Oluf (deceased), Mary (deceased), Oliver, Clara, Martin, Al- bert, Guy and Pauline. Gustad A., the oldest son, is the Great Northern Railway station agent at Florence.
STEVE BLANCHETTE (1884) is a real estate dealer of Marshall, doing business under the title Marshall Land Company. He handles Southern and Central Minnesota lands exclusively and has built up an ex- tensive business. He first came to Lyon county at the age of fifteen years and his home has been here the greater part of the time since.
In Kankakee county, Illinois, on August 24, 1869, Mr. Blanchette was born. He at- tended the district school and completed his education with a course in Vieteurs College at Bourbonnais Grove, Illinois. He came to Lyon county with the family in 1884 and during the next ten years worked for his father on the farm on section 31, Vallers township. That place was bought two years before the family came to the county and all
the improvements on the farm were made by the Blanchette family.
After leaving the farm Steve spent a num- ber of years railroading for the Northwest- ern Company on the line between Winona and Tracy. He then moved to Napoleon, North Dakota, and during the next seven years operated a cattle ranch. In 1909 Mr. Blanchette returned to Lyon county and entered the Marshall State Bank and he has been with that institution practically all the time since. In the spring of 1911 he engaged in the real estate business. He holds membership in the M. W. A. and K. C. lodges.
The parents of our subject were Eli and Desanges ( Boule) Blanchette, natives of Can- ada. The father located in Chicago when that place was a village and later located in Kankakee county, Illinois, making the fifty- mile trip from Chicago on foot. He was one of the first settlers of that now populous county and land there sold for $1.25 per acre when he arrived. Eli Blanchette lived in Kankakee county until 1884 and then be- came a resident of Vallers township, Lyon county. He died October 18, 1911, at the age of seventy-one years. Mrs. Blanchette died in 1905. There are eight children in the family, as follows: Albert, Steve, Mitchel and Jerry, all of Lyon county; Mrs. J. J. Caron, of Detroit, Minnesota; Dr. V. J., of Walkerville, Michigan; Ivan and Homer, both of Marshall.
Steve Blanchette was married at Waseca, Minnesota, September 13, 1892, to Catherine Shortell, a native of Mantorville, Minne- sota. They have four sons and one daugh- ter, Harold, Armend, Genevieve, Donald and Raymond.
JAMES HALL, SR. (1897) is president of the First National Bank of Balaton and a retired farmer residing in that village. He is a native of Ireland and was born near Belfast, coming to the United States during the Civil War. He located near Kankakee, Illinois, where he engaged in farming with his parents for some time, after which he took up agricultural pursuits for hinself. He farmed in Illinois until 1883, when he moved to Hand county, South Dakota, where he took a homestead and also purchased 160
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acres of land. He resided in South Dakota until 1897.
That year Mr. Hall came to Lyon county and purchased land in Rock Lake township, the southeast quarter of section 28, which he farmed until the fall of 1911, when he moved to Balaton, where he has since re- sided. In January, 1912, he was made presi- dent of the First National Bank. In addi- tion to looking after that office, he engages quite extensively in stock buying. Our sub- ject is a member of the Methodist church of Balaton and is superintendent of the Meth- odist Sunday School.
Mr. Hall was married December 25, 1874, at Chicago to Margaret A. Meglade, a native of Illinois. She was born and brought up near Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of the following children: James and Walter, of Marshall; Robert, of Rock Lake township; Eliza (Mrs. N. H. Olson), of St. Peter; Anna (Mrs. F. Bartlett), of Bala- ton; Iva (Mrs. Harry Tate), of Balaton; Eva and Margaret, of Balaton. One child. William, is deceased.
JOHN HOLLO (1881), of Marshall, is one of the largest land owners of Lyon county. He is a native of Norway and was born June 13, 1864, a son of Matthias and Ella Hollo. The parents died in Yellow Medicine county, the father in 1909 and the mother in 1881. They settled in that county in 1869, being among the pioneers and being the first to homestead land outside of the river districts.
The father and our subject helped in the construction work of building the Northwest- ern railroad through Yellow Medicine coun- ty, using eight head of oxen to scrapers. They did their first trading at Granite Falls, which was then a trading post with no rail- roads, and had to go to New London for flour, a distance of eighty miles, by ox team. They lived the first ten years in a dug-out. The other children of the Hollo family are Johanna (Mrs. M. Martinson), of Yellow Medicine county; Annie (Mrs. Andrew Vol- stan), of Harlan, Montana; Gunda, of Cot- tonwood; and Ella (Mrs. Hans Larson). The two last named are deceased.
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