USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 59
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GEORGE B. GIFFORD (1879), a farm- er of Custer township, was born in Jeffer- son county, New York, November 3, 1862, and is a son of Willard W. and Jane L
( Spink) Gifford, both natives of New York State. His mother died when George was ten years of age.
George was brought up in his native state and there received his schooling. At the age of seventeen he accompanied his father and stepmother to Lyon county, where the father filed on a homestead in Custer township, the land which our sub- ject now owns. Here the young man grew to manhood and assisted his father with the farm work until the elder Gifford's death in 1892, since which time George has had charge of the place. In addition to the old homestead on the northeast quarter of section 18, Mr. Gifford owns 120 acres on section 17 of the same town- ship. He raises considerable stock and has been farming successfully. Mr. Gifford owns shares in the creamery company of Balaton and is a director of the company. He is serving as treasurer of school dis- trict No. 52.
March 30, 1887, Mr. Gifford was mar- ried to Ruth Hughes, the ceremony being performed in Custer township. Mrs. Gif- ford was born in Blue Earth county, Min- nesota, May 25, 1868, and is a daughter of Richard and Ann (Thomas) Hughes, natives of Wales and Maryland, respective- ly. Mrs. Hughes died in 1894 and her hus- band is still living at the age of seventy- two years. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George Gifford: Lo- renta R., born December 16, 1888; Elv- ridge, born April 23, 1890; Mark, born December 4, 1891; Willard, born March 5, 1894; Anna, born August 1, 1897; Lydia, born June 15, 1902; and Celia, born Feb- ruary 19, 1905. Of the above children, Lorenta and Elvridge are married; the others are at home. Mr. Gifford is a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W. lodge.
A. ROSSLAND (1899) is the manager of the Cottonwood Hardware Company. He was born in the land of the midnight sun October 12, 1873. His parents died in the old country. They were Anders and Martha (Cleveland) Rossland and were the parents of four children: Andrew, of this sketch; Signey Tvedteras, and Maria Rong- ved, of Norway; and Anna Rossland, of Cottonwood.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Our subject obtained his education in the land of his birth, where he resided until nineteen years of age. Then he came to the United States and settled at Maynard, Minnesota, where he worked as second man in a grain elevator in the summer months; in the winter months he attended the Nor- wegian College at Madison. Mr. Rossland continued this two years, when he secured employment with the Northwestern Ele- vator Company. He worked for the latter company at Sherman, South Dakota, four years and at Corson, South Dakota, one year.
In 1899 Mr. Rossland came to Lyon coun- ty and located at Cottonwood, where he was employed by the above named grain com- pany six years. He resigned in 1905 and was one of the organizers of the Cotton- wood Hardware Company, which was es- tablished and incorporated in January, 1905. He has been treasurer and manager of the company since its organization.
The Cottonwood Hardware Company is the outgrowth of a company of the same name that was established several years ago by Thomas Mckinley. He sold to Arneson & Anderson, who conducted it until 1905, when it was reorganized and incorporated. It is capitalized for $20,000. The following are officers of the company: President, A. E. Anderson; vice president, O. A. Anderson; secretary, O. C. Hovdes- ven; treasurer and manager, A. Rossland. The company handles hardware and imple- ments. It owns the brick block in which the business is located, which was erected in 1904. The store and stock are a credit to the village of Cottonwood and is the largest and best stock carried by any little store in the county.
Mr. Rossland was a member of the Vil- lage Council one term and was assessor two years.
At Elk Point, South Dakota, July 11, 1901, occurred the marriage of Mr. Ross- land to Mamie Holden, a native of Sioux City, Iowa. They are the parents of four children: Hazel Agnes Margaret, Arden Oliver, Dagny Marie and Clayton Holden.
CHRISTIAN E. ETRHEIM (1895) is a member of the Board of County Commis- sioners, representing the third district, and
a prominent farmer of Shelburne township. He owns the east half of section 36 and has one of the best improved farms of the county. He has lived in many parts of the country and engaged in many occupa- tions, but he has found that Lyon county suits him better than any place he has found and he has prospered exceedingly.
By birth Mr. Etrheim is a Norwegian, having been born near Odda, Hardanger, on May 26, 1864. Both his parents are deceased, his father, Eilef D. Etrheim, having died in 1901, and his mother, Syneva (Tyssedal) Etrheim, having passed away in 1872. The boyhood days of our subject were passed in the land of his nativity. He received a good education in the common schools and high school, hav- ing been graduated from the Lofthus High School in 1881.
After his graduation Mr. Etrheim worked on his father's farm one year and then came to America, arriving April 11, 1882. For six years he worked at farm labor and other occupations in Lee county, Illinois, and then took up his residence at Ells- worth, Iowa. During the next few years he was employed in various capacities. For five months he worked as a farm hand, for two months canvassed in Hamilton county for the Fort Dodge Nursery Com- pany, and during one season sold farm implements for W. W. Woods, of Ells- worth.
We next find our subject in Chicago, where he worked one winter for the Mc- Cormick Harvester Company. For one year he traveled over Iowa as a salesman for the Warder, Bushnell & Glesner Com- pany, makers of the Champion binders and mowers. In the fall of 1890 Mr. Etrheim returned to Ellsworth and in partnership with Ole Cragwick purchased the W. W. Woods machinery business. After one year he sold his interest to Nels Sexe and then took a six months' course in a busi- ness college at Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Etrheim again took a position with the Warder, Bushnell & Glesner Company and for four years traveled in Iowa and Minne- sota. During that period he spent one winter in the repair department in Chi- cago and one winter in the collection de- partment in the office.
Mr. Etrheim turned farmer in the spring
THE ETRHEIM FARM, SHELBURNE TOWNSHIP
CHRISTIAN E. ETRHEIM Proprietor Etrheim Farm and a County Commissioner.
MRS. CHRISTIAN E. ETRHEIM
THEME'A' YURE PUBLIC LIBRARY
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of 1895. Ten years before that date he and his brother Henry had purchased the northeast quarter of section 36, Shelburne township, and to that place our subject moved after his marriage. He has ever since resided on the farm and has added to his holdings.
For four years Mr. Etrheim was a direc- tor of the Balaton Farmers Co-operative Company and he is still oue of the stock- holders. He has been a county commis- sioner for the past four years and has held a number of local offices, including clerk of school district No. 68 for six years and justice of the peace.
Mr. Etrheim was married in Chicago March 7, 1895, to Celia T. Prestegaard. She was born in Odda, Hardanger, Norway, February 25, 1862, a daughter of Torgels K. and Britta (Hildal) Prestegaard. The former lives in Norway; the latter died in 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. Etrheim was born one child, Eilif, born February 20, 1896, and died March 1, 1896.
WILLIAM F. MULLANEY (1873), chief engineer of the Marshall Milling Company's plant, has lived in Lyon county since he was , a baby one and one-half years old. He was born in Nicollet county, Minnesota, Septem- ber 29, 1871.
The parents, Peter and Mary (Powers) Mullaney, were born in Ireland and came to America when children. They were married in Peoria, Illinois, and settled in Nicollet county in the early sixties. They took a homestead claim in Lynd township, Lyon county in 1873 and resided on the farm until 1907. They have since lived retired lives in Marshall. In the family are six children : Annie (Mrs. John McColer), of Tracy; Rich- ard, who died in 1891; William F., of this biography; Alphonsus, of Minneapolis; Katie (Mrs. John Brennan), of Balaton; Leo, of San Francisco; and Charles, who lives at Fort Warden, Washington, and is a first sergeant of Company No. 125 of the United States Coast Artillery.
William Mullaney accompanied the family to Lyon county in June, 1873, and grew up on his father's homestead, the northwest quarter of section 14, Lynd township. As a boy he worked on the farm and operated threshing machines, getting his first experi-
ence in mechanics. In 1892 he moved to Marshall and took a position as fireman with the Sleepy Eye Milling Company, now the Marshall Milling Company, and has been connected with that firm's mill ever since.
He was soon made assistant engineer, the first six months of that service being given without pay, and in 1896 he was promoted to chief engineer. In 1904, when the company built the present mill-one of the largest in the southwestern part of Minnesota and one of the finest in the state-Mr. Mullaney su- perintended the installing of the mammoth 1000 horse-power engine of the cross-com- pound type, and he has since superintended the putting in of the other modern appli- ances. Mr. Mullaney is recognized as one of the best engineers and mechanical ex- perts in this part of Minnesota.
During the past three years Mr. Mullaney has served as a member of the City Council, representing the second ward, and he is one of the valued members of the city's law- making body. He holds membership in the Modern Woodmen and Workmen lodges and is one of the managers of each order.
The marriage' of Mr. Mullaney to Susie Lee was solemnized at Marshall April 27, 1897. Mrs. Mullaney, is a native of Illinois and a daughter of the late Richard Lee, a pioneer of Lyon county. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mullaney, named as follows: Irene, Margaret, Gladys, Carle- ton and Verna.
OLE O. DOVRE (1879) is a farmer and land owner of Eidsvold township. He owns the southeast quarter and the south half of the southwest quarter of section 33. a few miles southwest of Minneota. In the summer of 1911 he erected a house on the farm that cost $5000. It is modern in every respect and is one of Lyon coun- ty's fine farm homes.
Ole O. Dovre is a Norwegian by birth and first saw the light of day May 15, 1859. His father, O. N. Dovre, died in the old country in 1876, and his mother, Ragnhild (Thorson) Dovre, passed away there in 1910. After securing an education, Ole Dovre came to America, in the spring of 1877. He located at Northfield, Minne- sota, and worked at the printer's trade there two years.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In the summer of 1879 Mr. Dovre first came to Lyon county. He spent eighteen months visiting and working and then went to Brown county, Kansas, where he resided one and one-half years. Returning to Northfield, he had his residence there until 1892, engaged in horse training and later in the mercantile business. Mr. Dovre then spent a year traveling through the South and West, and in the spring of 1894 he took up his permanent residence in Lyon county. He lived in Minneota and vicinity two years and in 1895 bought his present farm.
Our subject has stock in and for a num- ber of years was a director of the Farm- ers Elevator Company of Minneota. He has been a director of school district No. 55 four years and he is a member of the Nor- wegian Lutheran church of Minneota.
The marriage of Mr. Dovre to Inga Rye occurred at Watertown, South Dakota, August 7, 1896. His wife was born in Norway November 28, 1865, and is a daughter of Esten and Marit (Ranum) Rye, early settlers of and still residents of Nordland township. Mr. and Mrs. Dovre have the following children, all of whom reside at home: Knute, Nels Edwin, Ragnhild Marie, Irene Sophia, Hilda, Ruth Amelia, Odin Esten, Harold.
CORNELIUS HUISENFELDT (1893) is a farmer and land owner of Lynd township. He is a native of Wisconsin and was born November 1, 1853, at Depere. He is a son of Stephen and Wilhelmina Huisenfeldt, na- tives of Holland, who came to America in an early day and located in Wisconsin. It was there that our subject received his education and grew to manhood. He worked for his father until 1877 and then worked at the carpenter's trade and at the house moving business for several years. In 1880 he started in the business for himself, having in his employ from three to seven men. He worked at this trade in Wisconsin and in Lyon county for over thirty years.
In 1892 Mr. Huisenfeldt purchased the southwest quarter of section 4, Lynd town- ship, and the following year moved with his family to the place. He has purchased more land since then and is now the owner of four hundred acres of fine land.
The subject of this review is a member of the Catholic church. He was a member of the Township Board of Supervisors in Brown county, Wisconsin, for several years. He is now treasurer of school district No. 17 and was road master for two years in Lynd township. He is a stockholder in the Farm- ers Elevator Company at Ghent and a stock- holder in the Lyon County Agricultural As- sociation. He engages extensively in stock laising, specializing on Shorthorn cattle, Poland China hogs, Percheron horses and Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.
On May 15, 1877, Mr. Huisenfeldt was united in marriage to Ardena Van DeVoort, a daughter of Arnold and Mary (Barten) Van DeVoort. Mrs. Huisenfeldt is a native of Wisconsin and was born March 13, 1858. They are the parents of the following named children: Arnold, born June 12, 1878; John, born September 3, 1880; Stephen, born No- vember 27, 1882; Minnie, born October 8, 1888; Martin, born October 19, 1892; Joseph, born May 23, 1895; Annie, born October 18, 1897; George, born December 13, 1900. An- other child died when two and one-half years old.
MICHAEL B. FORD (1880), Sodus town- ship farmer, is a native of Waseca county, Minnesota, where he was born March 25, 1871. His parents are Bernard and Cather- ine (Haney) Ford, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Canada. They set- tled in Waseca county in an early day.
When nine years of age our subject ac- companied his parents to Lyon county and his father purchased land in Sodus town- ship, the southwest quarter of section 25. There Michael received his schooling and grew to manhood, and he has resided on the home farm continuously since 1880. In 1900 he purchased the home farm from his mother and has since conducted it. Our subject is clerk of school district No. 83. He is a mem- ber of the Catholic church and the Catholic Order of Foresters lodge. He is unmarried.
BERNARD F. CLAEYS (1884) is one of the most prosperous farmers of Grandview township. He is the owner of 880 acres of fine land and for the past twelve years has also been operating a half section belonging
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
to his brother-in-law, Mr. De Sutter, who returned to Belgium to live in 1900.
The subject of this sketch was born in Belgium September 18, 1859, and is a son of Louis and Xaveria (Vankersschaver) Claeys. When the boy was two years of age his fa- ther died. The lad grew up on the home farm and was well educated in the schools of his native land, having the opportunity of attending college two years. In 1884 Bernard and his mother came to America, and young Claeys bought land in Grandview township, Lyon county. There he has since lived and farmed. He has acquired consid- erable farm land and has prospered. His mother lived with him and his brother four- teen years on the Lyon county farm and then returned to her native land, where she died in 1904.
Mr. Claeys is a stockholder and director of the Farmers-Elevator Company of Ghent and was one of its organizers. He has served the past three years as treasurer of Grandview township and was a member of the Grand- view Township Board of Supervisors nine years, seven years of the time being chair- man. In the winter of 1903-04 Mr. Claeys enjoyed a four months' trip to the Father- land, and with that exception he has been a continuous resident of his Grandview place since coming to the county.
On September 9, 1890, Bernard Claeys was united in marriage to Ida Maertens, a native of Belgium. She was born March 30, 1868, and is a daughter of Henry and Anna (De- Ruwe) Maertens, now dead. Her parents lo- cated in Grandview township in 1883, and there the mother died. The father returned to Belgium soon after and made his home there until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Claeys are the parents of the following chil- dren: Louis, Anna (deceased), Andrew, Mary, Emmerence, Irma, Idalie, Margaret, Bernard (deceased), Bernadette, Eugenia, Ida and Alice. Anna and Andrew were twins. The children reside at home with their parents.
Mr. Claeys is a member of the Catholic church of Ghent and was formerly one of the trustees. He is also a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and has held various offices in the local organization.
H. R. SEARLES (1879), proprietor of a livery and sale stable and a dealer in agri-
cultural implements of Tracy, is one of the early residents of the county, having lived here a third of a century. He is a native of Steuben county, New York, and was born November 29, 1863.
In his native county our subject lived until 1879; then he accompanied his parents to Lyon county. The father bought a half section of railroad land in Rock Lake town- ship, and on that farm H. R. Searles lived until he was twenty-three years of age. Then he started out in life for himself. He worked in the woods in the north part of the state one winter and then returned and settled at Balaton. In that village he engaged in teaming and operated a dray line five years; then he bought a livery barn and conducted it five years.
Locating in Tracy at the end of that time, Mr. Searles rented a barn from Mr. Slover and when it was destroyed by fire a year and a half later he bought the lots upon which it had stood and erected a barn of his own. Later he sold out and erected a larger livery stable on the corner opposite Webb's store, which he conducted until it was destroyed by fire in March, 1910. Since that calamity Mr. Searles has engaged in the livery business in his own property on Third Street.
Besides the business enterprise mentioned Mr. Searles deals extensively in farming im- plements, carrying a large line of machinery, engines, wagons, automobiles, etc. He is one of the stockholders of the Tracy Automobile Company and owns two Lyon county farms. He served as alderman from the second ward for a number of years and is a member of the Masonic lodge.
Mr. Searles was married at Balaton June 6, 1895, to Lucy A. Hamm. She is a daughter of William Hamm, a Lyon county home- steader. Mr. and Mrs. Searles have one child, Gertrude.
The parents of our subject are J. W. and Kate (Bauter) Searles, who now re- side at Balaton, aged eighty-one and eighty years, respectively. They came from New York State, where they were born, to Lyon county in 1879, and before retiring from active life, farmed in Rock Lake township. To them were born eight children, of whom seven are living. Their children are Rev. William Searles, of New York; J. D. Searles, of Minneapolis; Frank M. Searles, of New Brighton, Minnesota; Fred W. Searles, of Minneapolis; Mrs. Carrie Wheeler, of Okla-
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homa City, Oklahoma; Mrs. J. H. Carlaw, of Balaton. Another son, Marshall W., died in 1905.
FRED S. BARTLETT (1879) is a con- tractor of Balaton. He has been a resident of Lyon county for thirty-three years, having come here with his parents in the spring of 1879. He was born in Pennsylvania January 28, 1877, a son of E. D. Bartlett, now a resi- dent of Balaton. The other members of that family are Rose, Minnie, Ella, Sadie and Lue.
Our subject attended school in Balaton, and, after completing his course, entered the employ of his father and learned the trade. When twenty-one years of age he started out for himself. He has put up the principal buildings in the village of Balaton, including the First National Bank, the Eng Block, the German church, Swedish church, and the Lake Avenue Hotel. He also erected the new building on the county poor farm and other buildings throughout the county. Mr. Bartlett is a member of the M. W. A. lodge and the Village Council.
Mr. Bartlett was married in Balaton De- cember 26, 1900, to Anna Hall, a native of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett are the par- ents of two children, Rachael and Mand.
JULIUS TEERLINCK (1892) came to the United States from Belgium, and when he set- tled in Fairview township in 1892 he was a poor man. He spent the first six years of his residence in the county working on farms near Ghent; then he rented the northeast quarter of section 18, Fairview township, and has been a resident on the place ever since. In 1902 he bought the place and has re- cently acquired additional land, making him the owner of 260 acres. Hard work and perseverance have brought Mr. Teerlinck success and he is considered one of the substantial farmers of the township and the proprietor of one of its best farms. He has had great success in the raising of corn, and fattens hogs and cattle for market.
Our subject is the son of Jacob and Bar- bara (Parton) Teerlinck and is one of four children. His father died many years ago and his mother died nine years ago at the age of seventy-three years. Julius is the only child living in America, the other children, Charlie, Sylvia and Natilie, being
residents of Belgium. Our subject was born in Belgium January 20, 1857. He was edu- cated in the Fatherland and then worked as a farm hand until coming to America in 1892.
On May 3, 1881, Mr. Teerlinck was mar- ried to Barbara De Baker. Her mother, Mary Vermech, and two sisters, Leona and Valentine, live in Ghent, and a brother, Ca- mile De Baker, is a farmer of Fairview town- ship. Two other sisters, Natilie and Matilda, live in Belgium. To Mr. and Mrs. Teerlinck has been born one son, Frank. He is a young man and gives his father valuable assistance on the farm. The subject of this sketch is a member of the Catholic church.
PALMER O. FRENCH (1892), owner of several lots, two residence properties, a store building and hall in Minneota, is a retired farmer and business man who is enjoying years of quiet after an active and successful business life. He is a stockholder and for two years was secretary of the Farmers & Merchants Supply Company of Minneota. He has held the office of justice of the peace more than twenty years and was on the Village Council four years, three years of that period as president. Mr. French is a member of the Baptist church, of which he has been treasurer ten years. A charter member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges of Minneota, he is treasurer of the former and district deputy of the latter. D. F. Markham Post, G. A. R., of Marshall num- bers Mr. French among its members.
Our subject first saw the light of day in Bennington, New York, October 6, 1837. His parents, Burton and Mary (Fargo) French, are both dead. Palmer was well educated, attending graded and high school and the Genesee and Wyoming Seminary at Alexan- der, New York, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty-three years. He then went two years to Hillsdale College in Michi- gan, after which he taught school at Litch- field, Michigan, one year.
In 1864 Mr. French enlisted in the Second New York Mounted Rifles and served until the war closed, taking part in the siege of Petersburg, capture of the Weldon railroad, etc.
Returning North at the close of the war, Mr. French spent some time at his old home and in Litchfield, Michigan, and in 1867 he engaged in the retail grocery business in
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Chicago, being so employed the next two years. In 1870 at Austin, Minnesota, Mr. French went into the wholesale and retail implement business and for four years had the state agency for the Hollingsworth hay- rake and the Southwestern Minnesota agency for the Marsh harvester, the first machine of its kind on the market. Mr. French was on the Village Council and was mayor of Austin one year. He was also secretary of the Board of Trade. From the spring of 1877 until that fall our subject conducted the first stage line between Pierre and Deadwood, in the Black Hills district of South Dakota.
Returning to Minnesota Mr. French took a tree claim and homestead in Yellow Medi- cine county and in the spring of 1878 broke up part of the land. The township of Burton was named for his father, and Palmer French was chairman of the Board of Supervisors. In 1879 Mr. French moved his family from Austin and they made their home on the Yellow Medicine farm until 1892, when they moved to Minneota. From that time until he retired in 1897, Mr. French was engaged in the machinery and pump business.
At Litchfield, Michigan, January 11, 1866, Palmer O. French married Nancy A. Wood, a native of that state. To this union was born one child, who died in infancy. Mrs. French died in 1868. Mr. French was mar- ried a second time, January 4, 1870, to Rhoda W. Gillett, of Bennington, New York.
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