An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota, Part 60

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Marshall, Minn. : Northern History Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 726

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NELS NELSON (1886), of Coon Creek township, is a native of Jemtland, Sweden, where he was born December 31, 1858. He is a son of Nels and Mollin (Nelson) Erick- son, the former being deceased and the lat- ter residing in Sweden. Our subject re- ceived his schooling in the land of his birth, where he resided until twenty-eight years of age and then came to the United States. The first fifteen years of his life were spent in school, and from the age of fifteen until twenty-eight he worked out at farm labor.

In 18$6 Mr. Nelson came to America, lo- cating at Balaton, where he was employed for a year in a gravel pit. He then went to the northern part of Wisconsin, where he worked in a railroad camp four years. Then he returned to his old home in Swe- den and remained a year. Returning again to America, he took up his residence in

Lyon county, buying the land in Coon Creek township upon which he still lives. He has a very fine home. In addition to general farming, he engages in stock raising, such as Shorthorn cattle, Duroc-Jersey hogs and Langshang chickens. Mr. Nelson is a mem- ber of the Masonic and Modern Woodmen lodges and has been treasurer of school district No. 92 five years. He is a stock- holder of the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company.

In 1892 Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Katherine Lindstrom, a daughter of Henry Lindstrom. She was born in 1865 in Jemt- land, Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are the parents of the following children: Nels, born August 23, 1892; Augusta, born Janu- ary 6, 1894; Oscar, born December 1, 1895; Ellen, born December 17, 1898; Mary, born February 23, 1901; Eva, born March 9, 1903; Albert, born November 18, 1905. All the children except Augusta reside at home. Augusta is a member of the Royal Neigh- bors lodge, Nels of the M. W. A. lodge, and Mrs. Nelson is a member of the Degree of Honor.

Mr. Nelson owns 280 acres of fine land in Coon Creek township and is a successful farmer and stock raiser. He has two broth- ers and three sisters, as follows: Erick, of Pine county, Minnesota; Olaf, Mary, Inge- borg and Martha, all residing in Jemtland, Sweden. Mrs. Nelson has one sister, Mrs. Mathias Johnson, of Sweden.

ANTON HEYMANS (1892) is one of the progressive men of Nordland township, a successful farmer and a large holder of Lyon county real estate. He has devoted many years to business life and only re- cently has he engaged in farming.

In Weert, Holland, Anton Heymans was born October 22, 1867. He is the only one of a family of eight children residing in America, the others, Louis, Frank, Johanna (deceased), Delphine, Anna, Josephine and Dena, being in their native land. The par- ents of this family, Martin and Mary (Ver- hagen) Heymans, died in Holland.

Anton received a good education in his native country, attending the common schools and a Catholic college until twenty- one years old, studying the Latin, Greek, French, German and Flemish languages. Aft-

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er his school days he worked two years in a wholesale house and then went to Germany and was there employed eighteen months.

In 1892 our subject came to the New World and direct to Lyon county, his worldly possessions at that time consisting of sixty dollars. For one year be worked on a farm near Ghent and then bought land near Slay- ton, Murray county, and farmed three years. He was in the livery business in Avoca three years and in the real estate business in the same town one year; then he disposed of his interests in Murray county and in 1900 again became a resident of Lyon county. At Taun- ton he was in the real estate business eight years and at Minneota two years.

Mr. Heymans purchased the farm he now operates in Nordland in August, 1911, and began farming. The home farm consists of 240 acres on section 3, a short distance from Minneota, and he also owns 640 acres north of Minneota, making him the possessor of S80 acres of Lyon and Yellow Medicine coun- ty lands. He is also the owner of two quar- ter sections in North Dakota. As in his other business ventures, Mr. Heymans has been successful in his farming operations. He devotes a great deal of time to stock raising, specializing on Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs.

Mr. Heymans has taken a leading part in local affairs since coming to Lyon county. For several years he was treasurer of Taun- ton and he also served as a director of the Taunton school district two years. He is a former postmaster of Taunton and a for- mer United States mail carrier. He is a member of the Catholic church of Minneota, of the M. W. A. lodge of the same village, and of the Knights of Columbus of Marshall.

Antoinette Princen, who was born in Weert, Holland, May 13, 1875, was married to Mr. Heymans at Ghent on July 17, 1895. Her parents are Hubert and Philomena (Vy -. gen) Princen. They were among the earliest of the Catholic colonists to locate in the vicinity of Ghent and lived there until two years ago, when they returned to the old country, where they now have their home. The following named six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Heymans and reside at home: Alex, Hubert, Martin, Eugene, Joseph and Marie.

FRED M. HEALY (1879), proprietor of a book, stationery and sporting goods store in Marshall, has resided in that city for the past thirty-three years and is one of the oldest business men of the city. He has built up a successful business and has the largest store of the kind in Southwestern Minnesota.

Mr. Healy was born in Kendall county, Illi- nois, July 12, 1858. When he was ten years of age he moved to Faribault, Minnesota, and there grew to manhood and was educated. When he was seventeen he spent one year as a member of a bridge building crew at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but during most of the time of his residence in Faribault he was employed as a clerk in stores.

In 1879 Mr. Healy located in Marshall, which has ever since been his home. For three years he clerked in the grocery store of his brother, E. L. Healy, and in 1883 started a store of his own, the beginning of his present business. In October, 1909, Mr. Healy admitted his son, Charles, to partner- ship and the firm is now styled Healy & Son. Our subject served as mayor of Marshall one term and was city recorder two terms.

In the city of Marshall, on February 3, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Healy to Caroline Strathers, who was born in Rice county, Minnesota, near Faribault. They have one child, Charles E.

The father of our subject is Lucius Healy, who was born in Massachusetts and now resides at Red Lake, Minnesota. Our sub- ject's mother, Amelia (Boomer) Healy, died when Fred was only two years of age. There were four children in this family: E. L., of Red Lake, Minnesota; Emma, Charles and Fred M. Emma and Charles are deceased.

HENRY CHRISTENSON (1883) is the owner of a fine, well-improved 200 acre farm on section 33, Lucas township, and has one of the nicest homes in the precinct. He engages in stock raising and is one of the prosperous farmers of the vicinity. .

Henry Christenson was born near Copen- hagen, Denmark, December 5, 1866, and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Christian Jenson. Henry lived in Denmark until sixteen years of age and during that time received his schooling. It was in the spring of 1883 that the boy came alone to America, and for the

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first two years he lived at Marshall and was employed at various kinds of labor. J. W. Pike then hired the boy to work on his farm in Lake Marshall township, and there Henry spent three years. He left Mr. Pike's employ to engage in farming for himself in Stanley township.

The subject of this sketch farmed in Stan- ley township four years. During that time his parents came over from the Fatherland, and they made their home with their son until they moved to Marshall, where they lived until their deaths. After his four years' residence on the Stanley farm, Henry bought the farm in Lucas township where he has since lived. He is a member of the Lucas township board and for the past seven years has been treasurer of school district No. 41.

Henry Christenson was married at Mar- shall July 1, 1892, to Josephine Engebretson. a native of Fillmore county. They have three children: Mabel, born July 20, 1895; Clarence, born January 3, 1898; and Alvin, born July 21, 1905. Mrs. Christenson was born January 23, 1872. The family are members of the Presbyterian church of Cottonwood, of which Mr. Christenson was for a number of years a trustee. Frater- nally he is allied with the Modern Wood- men lodge.

HANS ANDERSEN (1889) is a prosperous farmer residing in Coon Creek township. He is a native of Denmark and was born October 11, 1858, a son of Anders and Kirsten (Adams) Sorensen. Hans received his schooling and grew to manhood in the land of his birth, where he resided with his parents until 1882, when he came to this country.

His first residence in America was in Grundy county, Iowa, where he worked as a farm hand four years and rented land three years. In 1889 he came to Lyon county and purchased the southwest quarter of section 28, Coon Creek township, which he still owns and operates. Since buying this farm, however, he spent four years in Tyler. He has a well improved farm and a fine residence in Tyler. Mr. Andersen also raises considerable stock. He is a shareholder of the Farmers Elevator Com- pany of Russell and of the Tyler Lumber Company of Tyler, Minnesota. He is treas-

urer of Coon Creek township and a member of the Danish Lutheran church of Tyler.

Mr. Andersen was married in Coon Creek township December 4, 1891, to Annie K. Nelson, a native of Denmark and a daughter of Nels and Johannah (Bertelsen) Morten- sen. Mrs. Andersen was born March 15, 1860. They have two children: Eiler C., born December 6, 1898, and Anton S., born July 29, 1903.

T. H. WEBB (1884) is the proprietor of an exclusive grocery store at Tracy and has resided in Lyon county twenty-eight years. He was born at North Bend, Wis- consin, June 12, 1861, and in that state he spent his boyhood days. He was educated in a college at Galesville, Wisconsin, and worked at the telegrapher's trade before coming to Lyon county.

In 1884 Mr. Webb became a resident of Lyon county and the first year taught school at Amiret. The next year he took the posi- tion of operator and station agent at Amiret and had charge of that station seven or eight years. About the same time he formed a partnership with his brother, the late F. W. Webb, and engaged in the mercantile business, the partnership continuing six or seven years.

Mr. Webb became the leading business man of the little village. He engaged in the lumber, coal and grain business and opened another store. He was appointed postmaster by President Cleveland in 1887 and. served until 1896, when he was suc- ceeded by his brother. During his residence in Amiret Mr. Webb served as a justice of the peace of Amiret township.

In 1897 Mr. Webb sold all his interests at Amiret and became a resident of Tracy. There he engaged in the grain and stock business, erecting the grain elevator now owned by Louis Rialson, and conducted those enterprises several years. He branched out in business, opening a general merchandise store at Garvin, although he did not move to that village. He conducted the store alone for several years and then sold a part interest.to Norman S. Peterson. In 1902 Mr. Webb purchased the building at the corner of Fourth and Morgan Streets, put it in re- pair, and opened an exclusive grocery store. which he has since conducted. Mr. Webb

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is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge.

Mr. Webb is the father of two sons and one daughter, Roscoe, Orphia and Harry. Roscoe is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, having received the degree of B. A., and is now a student at Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, taking a course in medicine.

Our subject is one of a family of three children, the other two being the late F. W. Webb and A. J. Webb, of Melrose, Wisconsin. Their parents were William and Mary Ann (Cannon) Webb, natives of England. They came to the United States when young and were married at Buffalo, New York. They located in Wisconsin in 1856 and in that state both died, the father in 1881 and the mother in 1888.

CHARLES F. WEDGER (1887) owns and farms the southwest quarter of section 23, Sodus township. Born in Germany Septem- ber 27, 1872, he accompanied his parents when nine years of age to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where his father worked until 1887.

In the last mentioned year our subject accompanied his parents to Lyon county and his father purchased a quarter section of land in Sodns township. Charles resided with his parents until 1895, when he pur- chased the southwest quarter of section 23, Sodus township, and has resided there since. He has a fine improved farm and raises a great deal of stock in addition to his gen- eral farming. He is a member of the Ger- man Lutheran church and was director of school district No. 73 three years.

Mr. Wedger was married in Sodns town- ship April 3, 1895, to Helen Wedger, a native of Germany. She is a daughter of Peter and Margaret (Schoer) Wedger and was born March 5, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Wedger have no children.

EILEF E. ETRHEIM (1897) is a successful farmer of Rock Lake township. He is also a stock raiser, paying particular attention to the Shorthorn breed of cattle and Poland China swine. He is a shareholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Balaton and has always been a progressive resident of the township. For one year he was road overseer.

The subject of this sketch was born in Odda, Hardanger, Norway, August 8, 1872, his parents being Eiler D. and Synneva (Tyssedol) Etrheim, both of whom are de- ceased. The boy Eilef received a high school education, being a student until eighteen years old. The next two years were spent as the driver of a tourist rig.

In the spring of 1891 Eilef came to Amer- ica and went to work on a farm near Ro- chelle, Illinois, where he stayed for seven months, going then to Chicago and working for the McCormick Harvester Company one year. For the greater part of the next five years he made that city his home, working for the McCormick company, for the West Side Street Car Company, and at various kinds of labor. Later he went to Washburn, Wisconsin, and worked in the woods for a time before locating in Minneapolis. Mr. Etrheim remained in Minneapolis and vicin- ity only a short time and in November, 1897, came to Lyon county and made his home with his brother, C. E. Etrheim, on his farm in Shelburne ten years.

In December, 1906, at Eau Claire, Wis- consin, occurred the ceremony which joined in the holy bonds of matrimony Eilef E. Etrhein and Dena H. Etrheim. In the spring of 1907 they moved to a farm on the north- west quarter of section 31, Rock Lake, which Eilef and C. E. Etrheim had purchased a short time before. Eilef later bought his brother's interest.

Mrs. Etrheim is a native of Norway. She was born July 25, 1883, and is a daughter of Haldor J. and Rognhild H. (Robbe) Etrheim, the former being dead and the latter resid- ing in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Eilef E. Etr- heim are the parents of one child, Eiler E. Etrheim, Jr., born September 23, 1907.

Six years ago Mr. Etrheim made a trip to Norway to visit his old home and was absent several months.

E. H. CARSTENS (1878) is the senior member of the firm of E. H. Carstens & Son, general merchants of Taunton. He was born in Germany April 28, 1841, a son of U. A. and Ida (Remmers) Carstens, who died in Illinois. The mother was killed in a rail- road accident.

In 1852 our subject accompanied his par-

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ents to the United States and located in Will county, Illinois, where the family purchased land. He resided there until his father's death in August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company D, Eighty-second Illinois Regiment, and served during the war. After the war he returned to Illinois and farmed until 1869. In the latter year he came to Minnesota, locating in Renville county, where he set- tled on railroad land.

Mr. Carstens resided in Renville county until 1878, when he came to Lyon county and pre-empted land in Eidsvold township. He built a small frame house, bringing the lum- ber from Cambria, Minnesota, on hand-cars. He resided on the farm four years. While living there he was elected road overseer, the position covering a whole township in those days. Mr. Carstens moved to Schoka- tan, Lincoln county, where he conducted a store three years, and then moved to Tyler, Minnesota. He opened a general store in the latter place and conducted it nine years.

The next move of our subject was to Taun- ton, where he bought a building and opened a general store before the depot was built. At that time there were only two elevators and a store in the town, conducted by Fred Smuhl. Our subject remained in that build- ing until 1902, when he put up the store building he now occupies. He carries the largest stock of general merchandise in the village. In 1908 he admitted his son, Harry E., as a partner in the business, and the firm has since been conducted under the name of E. H. Carstens & Son. Our subject has been a member of the Village Council, and he served thirteen years and four months as postmaster of the village.

Mr. Carstens was married in Renville coun- ty to Minnie Lopine. They are the parents of seven children: Mary, Ida, Willie F., Paul, Henry, Harry E. and Mabel.

AMBROSE A. REGNIER (1883), of Lake Marshall township, was born in Kankakee, Illinois, November 15, 1867, a son of Isaac and Mary (Touschette) Regnier. The par- ents are natives of Canada and moved to Illi- nois in 1847, where they resided until 1883, when they moved to Lyon county.

Ambrose accompanied his parents to Lyon county when sixteen years of age and lived with his parents until twenty-nine years old,

when he married and started farming for himself. He farmed the northwest quarter of section 21 and forty acres on section 15, Grandview township, until 1895, when he moved to Ghent and worked for the Western Grain Company ten years. He also worked for the same firm and the Youmans Lumber Company in Marshall two years.

In 1907 Ambrose purchased forty acres on section 3, Lake Marshall township, where he now resides. He also owns four hundred acres in Sodus township, which he rents out. Mr. Regnier is assessor of Lake Marshall township, and he served as clerk and treas- urer of the Grandview Township Board of Supervisors fifteen years. He also served on the Ghent School Board twelve years. He is a member of the Catholic church.

Our subject was married at Ghent October 20, 1896, to Judith Prairie, a native of Kan- kakee, Illinois. She is a daughter of Clovis and Mary (Lord) Prairie, natives of Canada, and was born July 30, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Regnier are the parents of the following children: Maude, born November 28, 1898; Isabel, born July 19, 1900; Vivian, born May 15, 1907.

GEORGE I. LE BEAU (1883), of Ghent, is a land agent and owner of two well im- proved farms in the vicinity of Ghent. From 1899 until a few months ago he was in the grain business in Ghent, being the local manager and buyer for the Van Dusen Ele- vator Company.

George Le Bean was born in Chicago, Illi- nois, March 6, 1867, and moved to Kankakee county, Illinois, with his parents when quite young. In 1883 the family came to Lyon county and settled in Grandview township, the father buying the southeast quarter of section 1, in which George has had an in- terest since his father's death. Our subject lived at home until the age of twenty-four years, when he was given a farm on the southwest quarter of section 6, Fairview township, by his father. That place he improved and farmed, residing there until 1899, when he moved to Ghent and took charge of the elevator. Mr. Le Beau since locating in Ghent has served on the Village Council and has been a member of the Board of Education.

Our subject was married in Ghent October

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27, 1891, to Lea Paradis, a daughter of An- toine Paradis, one of the Lyon county set- tlers of 1883. Her people came from Illinois, where she was born. There are two chil- dren, Arthur and Victor, in the family of George Le Beau.

George Le Beau has two brothers, William and Robert, living in Marshall, and a sister, Agnes, of Fairview township. The father, Victor Le Beau, died some years ago, and the mother, Catherine (O'Day) Le Beau, is still living.

EGGERT E. FJELSTAD (1878) is a farmer and landowner of Westerheim township who has lived in Lyon county many years. His farm is on section 14.

Mr. Fjelstad is a native of Iceland and was born October 30, 1840. He came to America and Lyon county in 1878, worked at farm labor in Yellow Medicine and Lyon counties one year, and then purchased from the railroad company his farm on section 14. Westerheim. He has resided continuously on that place since, engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. Fjelstad is a member of the Icelandic Lutheran church of Wester- heim township.

The marriage of our subject to Sigridur Einarsdottir occurred in Iceland October 20, 1868. She was born in that country in 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Fjelstad have two chil- dren : Albert, born July 29, 1882; and Elena Groa, born April 13, 1890. Both live with their parents.

The deceased children of the family were named Karitas, Fridfinnur, Einar, Maria, Maria, Groa, Gudbrandur and Elena. Four of the children died in Iceland in infancy; three died in Westerheim township at the ages of four, seven and eleven years. The oldest child, Karitas, was married to H. C. Lee, of Minneota. In 1902 she and her husband moved to Dooly county, Georgia. Soon after the removal to that place Mrs. Lee was taken ill and died there February 1, 1903. She left a husband and five children, who still live in Georgia.

JOSEPH SUPERNATZ (1887). One of the old residents of Lyon county is Joseph Supernatz, who has lived here for the past twenty-five years. He resides in Coon Creek

township. Joseph is a native of Canada and was born December 9, 1858, a son of Casimir and Mary Supernatz, both of whom are de- ceased.

The subject of this sketch received his education in the land of his nativity. After finishing school he worked for his father on the farm until twenty-eight years of age. In 1887 he came to America and located in Lyon county, and he has resided here con- tinvously since. He farms 240 acres on sec- tion 10, Coon Creek township. He also raises stock, such as Duroc-Jersey hogs and grade cattle, and is a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Store Company of Russell. Mr. Supernatz is a member of the Catholic church.

On November 16, 1886, Mr. Supernatz was married to Caroline Cardinal, a daughter of Beloni and Rose Cardinal, of Canada. Mrs. Supernatz was born November 5, 1858. To them have been born the following named ten children: Mary Louise and Deneige (twins), born September 27, 1887; Leah, born July 7, 1889: Albertine, born February 13, 1891: Oscar, born May 5, 1892; Eugene, born September S, 1893; Alexander, born Septem- ber 30, 1894; Corinne, born December 15, 1895: Diana, born September 25, 1897; Hilda, born September 11, 1900. All the children reside at home.

FRANCIS J. PARKER (1878), who carries on his business under the title F. J. Parker Land Company of Marshall, is an early day resident of that city. He was born at Orwell. Oswego county, New York, July 27, 1848, the son of John and Polly Emmerson (Bonner) Parker, who were also natives of New York State.

Our subject grew to manhood on a farm in his native county and after reaching his majority took a position as clerk in the store of George Woodbury at Orwell. One year later he became a member of the firm, with which he was connected four years. He then sold his interest in the store and started a store of his own, which he conducted until 1877. He served as postmaster of Orwell seven or eight years.

. In 1877 Mr. Parker sold his store and lo- cated near Rochester, Minnesota. In July, 1878, he began his residence in Marshall. For thirteen years he clerked in the store of

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Ed. L. Healy and for the next eleven years he conducted a grocery store. He then opened a real estate office, which he has since conducted. He deals in real estate, makes loans and writes insurance. Mr. Parker owns several farms, which he man- ages. He is a member of the Royal Arca- num lodge.

Mr. Parker was married at Orwell, New York, in 1870, to Flora Woodbury, a native of Oswego county, New York. She died January 16, 1906, at the age of fifty-four years. Mir. Parker has five children, as fol- lows: Josephine A., Bernice (Mrs. Charles Wilber), of Minneapolis; Frances (Mrs. A. C. Anderson), of Minneapolis; Florence (Mrs. O. H. Holman), of Minneapolis; and John C.

MRS. ANNA LOUISE MELLENTHIN (1884) is the widow of the late Charles Mel- lenthin, of Lynd township. Mrs. Mellenthin's maiden name was Anna Louise Schellin and she is a daughter of Ferdinand and Riche Schellin. When five years of age Anna ac- companied her parents to America, locating on a farm in Waupaca county, Wisconsin. She made her home there with her parents until 1875, at which time she was married to Mr. Mellenthin.

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An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota, Part 60

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970 Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Marshall, Minn. : Northern History Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 726

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Marshall, Minn. : Northern History Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 726