USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 61
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Charles Mellenthin was a son of William and Amelia Mellenthin, early residents of Waupaca county, Wisconsin. He was one of the early settlers of Lynd township and one of its prosperous farmers. Mr. Mellen- thin died March 22, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Mellenthin were the parents of the following children: William, born December 22, 1879; Frank, born February 11, 1882; George, born May 15, 1883; Clara, born July 12, 1885; Albert, born March 8, 1887; Elsie, born Oc- tober 6, 1893. All except William and Frank make their home with their mother. Since Mr. Mellenthin's death Mrs. Mellenthin has continued her residence on the home farm, which is operated by her sons.
ROBERT E. WILLIS (1886), after many years of business life in Tracy, moved to his farm, the northeast quarter of section 12, Monroe township, in the fall of 1911. He bought the farm in 1892 and had it farmed by a tenant until mov- ing on the place himself. Mr. Willis owns
two residence properties in Tracy and has charge of many acres of farming land in Lyon and Redwood counties, among them being the estate of W. L. Breckenridge, which he has looked after the past six years.
Our subject was born in Washington county, lowa, October 29, 1852. When about six weeks old he was taken with the family to Ripley county, Indiana, and lived there until fifteen years of age, when the family again moved, this time settling in Olmsted county, Minnesota. There Rob- ert resided until the spring of 1879, work- ing on the farm. Then he went to Wal- nut Grove, Redwood county, and made that his home until moving to Tracy in 1886, where he remained until taking up his residence on the farm in 1911.
During his Tracy residence Mr. Willis worked ten years for D. H. Evans in the elevator and hardware store. Three years he served the city as policeman, and later he bought grain for Finch & Parker and for the Eagle Roller Mill company. Mr. Willis conducted a dray line seven years. Our subject was alderman from the first ward two years. He is a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W. lodge of Tracy.
Robert E. Willis was married March 10, 1879, to Anna Dunnett, at Rochester, Minnesota. Mrs. Willis was born near that city December 18, 1856. To this union have been born two children, Ralph A., on January 12, 1887; and Reid R., on January 7, 1892.
Robert S. Willis, father of our subject, was born in Kentucky May 4, 1819, and died at the age of eighty-two years in Minneapolis. He served in Company A, Eighty-third Indiana Regiment, during the war and was discharged on account of poor health after an active service of two years and seven months. His wife, Eliza (Richardson) Willis, was born in New York State and died in 1883, aged sixty- seven years.
GUSTAV THIEL (1896) is one of the large land owners and progressive farm- ers of Stanley township. He owns three quarter sections of good farming land, has a well improved farm and one of the finest homes in the precinct.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The gentleman whose name heads this review was born in Stiglite, Germany, De- cember 13, 1866, the son of Gutlip and Ernestina Thiel. The father was born February 29, 1820, and died in Stanley township in 1905. The mother was born April 20, 1842, and still resides in Stan- ley township.
In 1870 Gustav Thiel came to America with his parents, and until his arrival to Lyon county in 1896 he lived in Green Lake county, Wisconsin. There he attended school until nineteen years of age, and after that he worked on his father's farm. When the family came to Lyon county the father purchased a section of land in Stan- ley township. Gustav fell heir to the northeast quarter of section 17 and later purchased the west half of the same sec- tion, making him a farm of 480 acres in one piece.
For twelve years Mr. Thiel has been clerk of his township and for eight years clerk of school district No. 90. He is a member of the German Lutheran church of Cottonwood.
Mr. Thiel was married at Marshall March 16, 1904, to Marie L. Rigge. She is the daughter of the late Gutlip Rigge. who died July 18, 1911. Her mother, Fredericka Rigge, lives in Yellow Medi- cine county. Mr. and Mrs. Thiel have no children.
ARCH R. ENGLISH (1887) is a lawyer of Tracy and a native of Lyon county. He was born in Tracy December 18, 1887, and with the exception of a few years spent in Waseca he has ever since re- sided in the city in which he was born. After graduating from the Tracy High School he read law in the office of N. J. Robinson and was admitted to the bar March 2, 1910. On that date he formed a partnership with Mr. Robinson and has since engaged in practice as a member of the firm of Robinson & English. He is a member of the Gopher Club, a social organization.
Our subject is a son of Michael and Tillie (Boydell) English, residents of Tracy. The father was born in Vermont and the mother in Chicago. They came to Lyon county in 1887. There are three
children in the family, Bert L., editor of the Tracy Headlight; Florence A. and Arch R.
Mr. English was married at Watertown, South Dakota, January 1, 1912, to Pearl D. Sturdevant, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Sturde- vant.
JOHN WILLIAM CASTLE (1885), of Clifton township, was born in Will county, Illinois, November 16, 1866, and is a sou of William and Maria (Wilkinson) Castle, natives of England.
The parents came to the United States in 1865 and settled in Illinois, where the father farmed. There John William was born, and he was brought up on the farm, receiving an education in the country school and being called upon to help his father with the farm work. In June, 1884, the father came to Lyon county to look over the country and was so im- pressed that he bought the north half of section 4, Clifton township. In the fall of 1885 our subject, then a boy of nine- teen, came up with a carload of horses and machinery, did some plowing on the place and prepared the land for the next year's crop. The following spring his parents and the rest of the family moved from Illinois to the new home.
John William Castle resided with his parents on the farm on section 24 until 1891. That year he bought the south- west quarter of section 14 and started farming for himself. He has today a well-improved place and is raising cattle for market in addition to his general farm- ing. He is active in township affairs and was for ten years on the district school board. He served three years as a member of the township board.
The subject of this sketch was married in Balaton January 1, 1891, to Lorinda Robinson. She is a daughter of George and Samantha Anne (Hillyar) Robinson. Her father is dead; her mother lives in Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. John W. Cas- tle the following children were born: Anna L., born February 2, 1893; Hazel I. (deceased), born May 20, 1894; Paul L .. born June 5, 1895; George W., born March 13, 1897; Dorothy L., born Octo-
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ber 31, 1898; Neenah M., born March 4, 1901; and John H., born January 27, 1906.
Mr. and Mrs. Castle are members of the Methodist church. His fraternal associa- tions are with the Modern Woodmen and Brotherhood of American Yeomen lodges, to the last named of which Mrs. Castle also belongs.
Mrs. Castle is the owner of a store building in Dudley and conducted a store and postoffice there three years. Before her marriage she was a teacher. She taught school three and one-half years in Wisconsin before coming to Lyon coun- ty and she taught three years here. In 1888 she was recommended for county superintendent of schools, but refused to run.
ALBERT J. HELLUM (1885) is a Coon Creek township farmer who has resided in Lyon county over a quarter of a cen- tury. He is a native of Svelveg, Norway, where he was born January 4, 1859, and is the son of John and Ingeborg Louise Hellum, both deceased.
Albert Hellum received his schooling in the land of his birth, attending until sev- enteen years of age. He then assisted his father with the farm work until twenty- two years of age. In 1881 he came to America and located at Tyler. where he resided four years, engaging in various lines of work. In 1885 he purchased the land upon which he now resides, consist- ing of 120 acres on section 7, Coon Creek township. In addition to his farm labors, he raises some stock, including Poland China hogs, Jersey cattle and Rhode Island Red chickens. Mr Hellum is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, has been clerk of school district No. 66 for several years, and was road overseer three years. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Eleva- tor Company of Russell and is a successful farmer and stock raiser.
Mr. Hellum was married to Bergette Christensen on March 12, 1886. She is a daughter of Rasmus and Andrina Chris- tensen, of Coon Creek township, and a na- tive of Helgeon, Norway, having been born August 19, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Hellum are the parents of the following eleven
children: Annie Louise, born December 4, 1886; Eleanor Marie, born April 1. 1888; Johann Richard, born October 16, 1890; Robert Alfred, born September 7, 1892; Bertha Helma, born December S, 1894; Carl Oscar, born August 31, 1896; Alma Regina, born June 22, 1898; Ruth Olga, born February 9, 1901; Alvin Hen- ry, born December 12, 1902; Gerald Ber- nard, born November 5, 1906; Alvina Ju- liana, born October 18, 1908.
URBANE WILHELM (1894) is the vice president and one of the directors of the First National Bank of Balaton. He is a native of Minnesota and was born in Houston county December 27, 1872, a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Neisel) Wil- helm, pioneer residents of Minnesota. The parents came to the state in 1859 and re- sided in Houston county until their deaths, the father having died in 1881 and the mother in 1893.
Our subject received his early education in the common schools of Houston county, which he attended until sixteen years of age. He then engaged in farming until 1893, after which he attended La Crosse Business College one year. The year 1894 was the date of arrival of Mr. Wilhelm to Lyon county, when he settled in Balaton. He engaged in the furniture and imple- ment business with a brother, O. E. Wil- helm, which they continued five years. Our subject then continued the business alone two years, after which he was em- ployed as expert mechanic for the Inter- national Harvester Company five years.
The next move of Mr. Wilhelm was his return to Houston county, where he re- sided on the old home farm two years. He then returned to Balaton, where he was employed as clerk and manager for the Lyon County Co-operative Company two years. On November 1, 1910, Mr. Wil- helm became assistant cashier of the First National Bank, which position he held un- til he was made first vice president on January 1, 1912.
Mr. Wilhelm is a member of the Pres- byterian church of Balaton. He is a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen lodge and is assessor of the village of Balaton. He
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served three years on the Balaton Village Council.
On June 3, 1896, occurred the marriage of our subject to Emma Weeks, a native of Lyon county and a daughter of E. R. Weeks. She was born June 30, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm are the parents of one child, Glen Wallace, born May 13, 1905.
PETER H. OLSON (1879) is a furniture dealer of Tracy. He was born in the land of the midnight sun on June 22, 1860, a son of Ole and Belle Olson. The father died in Norway. The mother came to the United States with her son, Peter, in 1879 and died in Tracy July 10, 1900. Peter is one of a family of six children, as follows: Gilbert Iverson, a half-brother; Alice, Tora, Henry and Belle Olson.
Peter resided in the land of his birth until 1879, when he came to America and to Lyon county. He located at Tracy and learned the carpenter's trade, which occupation he followed twenty years. He was then en- gaged for ten years as clerk and as cabinet- maker for J. W. Campbell, the furniture man, at Tracy. In August, 1911, Mr. Olson pur- chased a stock of furniture and opened a store in the city in which he has lived so long. He also does repairing and upholster- ing. Our subject is a member of the Sons of Norway lodge.
On October 12, 1883, occurred the marriage at Tracy of Mr. Olson to Julia Larson, a native of Iowa. Mrs. Olson died March 23, 1901. They were the parents of the follow- ing children: Oluf G., Clara B., Ludwig A., Clarence B., Lillian M. and Gilbert H. The last named died August 8, 1901, aged four years.
MRS. ANGELINE SANDERS (1885) owns a 160-acre farm on section 19, Val- lers township, and is assisted in its man- agement by her sons, Anton F. and Peter J. She is the widow of Anton J. Sanders and has lived in the county more than a quarter of a century.
Angeline Vanderburg was the maiden name of our subject. She was born in Holland in September, 1857. She was married in that country in 1885 to Anton J. Sanders and the same year the young
couple journeyed across the water to Lyon county. They bought a farm in Grand- view township, lived there awhile, and then sold and invested in Westerheim town- ship. They farmed in that precinct until 1900 and then bought and located on the present place. Mr. Sanders died in 1909.
Mrs. Sanders is the mother of the fol- lowing named children: John A., a black - smith of Geyser, Montana; Theodore F., a farmer of Stark county, North Dakota; Pe- ter, a blacksmith of Sweetgrass, Montana; Arnold T., a farmer of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota; Bernard A., of Lyon county; Anton and Peter J., who conduct the home farm.
EDWARD V. BURT (1878) farms the west half of section 24, Coon Creek town- ship, and is a successful farmer of that precinct. He has resided in Lyon county since he was one year of age and is the son of the first settler of Coon Creek town- ship. The farm is still owned by the pio- neer resident.
Edward is a son of Dallas S. and Mary Burt. Dallas Burt was born in New York State September 11, 1845. He came to Lyon county in 1876 and took a claim in Amiret township. Two years later he homesteaded the northwest quarter of sec- tion 24, Coon Creek township. He now lives at Minetto, New York. The mother of our subject was born in Wisconsin Sep- tember 11, 1856, and died February 5, 1911. There are five sons in the family, as follows: Edward and Mynard, of Rus- sell; Benjamin, of Northcote, Minnesota; Budd H., of Winnipeg, Canada; and Charles, of Russell.
The subject of this biography was born in Minetto, Oswego county, New York, July 23, 1877, and when one year of age came to Lyon county with his parents. For four years he attended the school of district No. 63, and then until nineteen years of age he was a student at the Rus- sell school. Thereafter for a few years Mr. Burt worked out as a farm hand. He was married in 1901 and moved to Russell, where he spent two years working on the railroad. In 1903 he moved to the farm which he now operates.
FIRST LOG CABIN IN COON CREEK
Erected by D. S. Burt in 1870. Indians Assisted the Pioneer in Rolling Up the Last Logs. In the Photograph are Mr. Burt and Mr. and Mrs. L. P. Knapp.
-
THE BURT HOME OF TODAY
Erected in 1900 by the Man Who Erected the First Log Cabin in Coon Creek Township.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Burt raises Durham cattle, Duroc- Jersey hogs and Rhode Island Red and Plymouth Rock chickens. He has stock in the Lyon County Co-operative Store Company and the Farmers Mutual Tele- phone Company. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of Russell and is treasurer of the church society. . He holds membership in the M. W. A. and Royal Neighbors lodges.
The marriage of Mr. Burt to Pearl May Clow occurred in Lyon county June 18, 1901. She was born in Iowa July 21, 1885, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O. W Clow, of Winnebago City. Mr. Clow was born in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, in 1861. Mrs. Clow was born at Liscomb, Iowa, in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Burt have four children: Earl Le Roy, Jessie May, Charles Edward and Marion Clare.
HERMAN JOSEPHSON (1878), Wes- terheim township farmer, has spent the greater part of his life in Lyon county, He was born in Iceland July 1, 1860, and came to America and Lyon county in 1878. He worked as a farm hand until 1892. Then he bought the northeast quarter of section 16, Westerheim town- ship, made all the improvements on the place, and has had his home there since. He has prospered and is now the owner of 200 acres in one body. He farms all his land and 160 acres additional.
Mr. Josephson was married in Lincoln county to Bertha Josephson. She was also a native of Iceland and died April 6, 1905. The following five children were born to the union: August, John, Rosa, Lillian and Adalbjorn. The second marriage of Mr. Josephson was to Christina Thordar- son, also a native of the land within the Arctic circle. They have four children, Sigpora, Herman, Johina and Josephina.
PAUL K. RONNING (1878) is a retired farmer living in the village of Florence. He is a pioneer resident of Lyon county, having come in 1878. He is a native of Norway and was born at Trondhjem January 25, 1845, a son of Knute E. and Marit (Paulsen) Ron- ning.
Our subject received his early education
in the land of his nativity, attending the common schools until fifteen years of age and then attending a Lutheran religious school one year. After completing his schooling, Paul worked at farm labor in the land of the midnight sun until twenty-seven years of age. Then he came to America and located at Ishpeming, Michigan, where he worked in the mines two years. He then journeyed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he worked in the woods and sawmills three years. Moving to Canada, he worked on the Canadian Pacific railroad one year and then returned to Wisconsin, where he spent one summer on the railroad.
In the fall of 1878 Mr. Ronning came to Lyon county and took as a homestead the southwest quarter of section 32, Shelburne township, upon which he resided until mov- ing to Florence. He is the owner of 260 acres of fine land in Shelburne township and a fine home in the village of Florence. Mr. Ronning is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
On January 3, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Ronning to Melina Peterson, a native of Norway and a daughter of Peter A. and Carrie (Corneliuson) Sanden. Mrs. Ronning was born November 30, 1849. Two nephews, Clare M. and Palmar Carl Sanden, make their homes with Mr. and Mrs. Ronning.
HALVOR A. STORLIE (1887) is the owner of over 200 acres of the fertile soil of Shelburne township and is one of the pre- cinct's substantial farmers. He has lived in the county a quarter of a century. His farm is in the southwestern corner of the county, a couple of miles south of Florence.
Mr. Storlie is a native of Opdal, Trondhjem, Norway, and was born January 27, 1866. Until after reaching his majority he lived in his native land, attending school and work- ing at farm labor. He came to the United States in 1887 and direct to Lyon county, arriving in the county October 12. Prior to 1893 Mr. Storlie worked for the farmers of Shelburne township; then he purchased land on section 28, of that township, broke out a part of it, and started in business for himself. Soon after he traded that farm for one of 100 acres on section 32, and there he has ever since lived. He added to his hold- ings in January, 1910, by the purchase of
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
over 100 acres on section 31. Mr. Storlie raises Percheron and Norman horses, Short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs.
For the past seven years Mr. Storlie has been a member of the Board of Supervisors of his township, was a director of school dis- trict No. 57 for six years, and was road over- seer three years. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Florence and is treasurer of the church society.
Our subject's father, Arnt O. Storlie, died in the old country in 1883; his mother still lives in Opdal. The children of the family are Sakarias, Christopher A. and Maret (Mrs. Andrew Sanden), of Lyon county, and Ole and John, of Norway.
H. A. Storlie and Maret Bakke were mar- ried in Shelburne township April 15, 1897, by Rev. H. Aanestead. Mrs. Storlie was born in Norway August 2, 1875, the daughter of Severt O. and Guri (Standsdater) Bakke. The family came to America in 1883, lived in Yellow Medicine county until 1891, and since that date have resided in Lac qui Parle county. Besides Mrs. Storlie there are the following named children in the family, with one exception all living in Lac qui Parle county: Ole, Oliver, of St. John's, Oregon; Robert. John, Ragna (Mrs. James Ravang), Hilda, Olga (Mrs. William Wilson). Lena, Mena and Gena.
Mr. and Mrs. Storlie have two children: Orla Gevarda, born July 30, 1908; Arnold Sherman, born August 19, 1911.
ABNER G. BUMFORD (1879), clerk of the district court of Lyon county, is one of the homesteaders and pioneer settlers of the county. He was born at Racine, Wisconsin, The subject of this sketch is the son of the late David and Ellen (Roberts) Bumford, March 24, 1858, and there he resided until past twenty-one years of age. He secured a - natives of Wales. The mother died in July, district school education and during the win- ter of 1877-78 attended Cobb Business Col- lege at Paynesville, Ohio.
In November, 1879, Mr. Bumford arrived in Lyon county, of which he has ever since been a resident. He bought a homestead relinquishment to eighty acres on section 22, Custer township, improved the place, and proved up on it. Later he bought an adjoin- ing quarter on section 23. In 1902 he was elected clerk of court and has ever since held the office, making his home at the coun- ty seat.
During his residence in the county Mr. Bumford held several local offices. He was clerk of school district No. 47 for twenty-one years and was town clerk fourteen years. He served as clerk of Bethel Congregational Church for many years. He holds member- ship in the Workmen, Woodmen and Yeo- men orders. Mr. Bumford was one of the principal organizers of the Western Mutual Insurance Company of Balaton, one of the most prosperous insurance companies in this part of the state, and was a director for a number of years. He also served as secre- tary of the Garvin Creamery Company, the only farmers' co-operative creamery in Lyon county.
Abner Bumford was married in Lyon coun- ty June 22, 1881, to Laura A. Davis. She is a native of Wales, came to America at the age of six years, settled in Blue Earth coun- ty, Minnesota, in 1872 and in Lyon county in 1874. Her parents took as a homestead claim the southeast quarter of section 34, Sodus township. Mr. Davis died in Septem- ber, 1887, and Mrs. Davis died at the home of her daughter August 31. 1910.
Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bumford, of whom the following named five are living: M. Eleanor, David, of Wind- ham, Montana; Mary, a student at Grinnell College; Laura and Gordon, high school stu- dents. The deceased children were Myrthen, who died in September, 1899, at the age of two years; William O., who died in March, 1900, at the age of seventeen years; Jennie, who died April 1, 1903, at the age of four years: Clay, who died June 2, 1903, at the age of two years; and Cradoc, who died March 31, 1908, at the age of twenty years.
1861. David Bumford came to Lyon county in 1877, took a homestead in Monroe town- ship, and for some time prior to his death in December, 1889, made his home with his son Abner.
PETER H. JERPBAK (1890), of Nordland township, owns and farms the south half of the southwest quarter of section 10. He be- came a resident of Lyon county twenty-two years ago, but his residence in Lincoln coun- ty dates back much farther, having been only
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
seven years of age when the family came to Southwestern Minnesota.
Jens and Hannah Jerpbak, the parents of our subject, came from Norway in 1875 and became the first settlers of Limestone town- ship, Lincoln county. They took a home- stead there and for a few years the family was the only one in the township. Jens Jerp- bak now makes his home with our subject; his wife is dead. There were eleven children in the family, of whom the following named are living: John and Iver, of South Dakota; Jens, of North Dakota; Gilda (Mrs. John Sol- seng), of Larimore, North Dakota; Carrie (Mrs. Silas Edwards), of McKenna, North Dakota; Mary (Mrs. Gulle Olson), of Clear- water, Idaho; Ingeborg (Mrs. Chris Clemen- sen), of Bemidji, Minnesota; Dena (Mrs. Gisla Hanson), of Clearwater, Idaho; and Peter H., of this review.
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch was born in Norway February 16, 1868. He came to America with the family in 1875 and spent his boyhood days on the homestead in Lincoln county, securing a com- mon school education and assisting with the farm work. In 1890 he rented land in Grand- view township, Lyon county, and farmed it two years. He then returned to the parental home and resided there two years, working for his father, conducting a threshing ma- chine, and farming land he had bought on section 30, Nordland township.
In 1894 Mr. Jerpbak was married and moved to his 240-acre farm on sections 30 and 19, Nordland. He conducted that place until the fall of 1910, when he moved to his present farm on section 10, which he bought the year before, having sold his other farm. He has a well-improved place and engages quite extensively in raising stock.
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