USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 62
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Mr. Jerpbak is a member and one of the trustees of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Nordland township. He holds member- ship in the M. W. A. lodge of Minneota. For about fourteen years he was clerk of school district No. 29 and he served as road overseer for a short time. Mr. Jerpbak has stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Minneota.
The marriage of our subject to Hannah Teigland occurred in Nordland township No- vember 21, 1894. His wife is a native of Lyon county and was born October 3, 1874, a daughter of pioneer settlers, Sever and
Anna Teigland. Mr. and Mrs. Jerpbak have nine children, all living at home. They are Selmer, Jens, Henry, George, Leonard, Alma, Clara, Anna and Luella.
DR. CARL E. WHITING (1887), Marshall dentist, was born near Rochester, Minne- sota, June 1, 1883, a son of William S. and Aura (Freeman) Whiting. The family lo- cated in Balaton in 1887 and the father en- gaged in the mercantile business there until 190S. He has since been a traveling sales- man and he and his wife live in Northfield.
Carl Whiting attended school in Balaton until 1901. He then took a one-year course in Macalester College, St. Paul, after which he was a student in the Dental Department of Northwestern University, Chicago, from which he was graduated in May, 1905. Dr. Whiting began the practice of his profession 'at Arlington, South Dakota, and remained there until 1912. That year he located in Marshall, bought the dental business of Dr. John D. Kennedy, and has since engaged in practice. He has a well equipped office and is well patronized.
Dr. Whiting was married at Marshall June 28, 1907, to Leora Watkins, a native of the county. Mrs. Whiting died in Marshall May 8, 1912. There is one child, Frances F., born July 28, 1908.
JOHN H. LEAS (1903) is the owner of a well-improved 480-acre farm in Stanley town- ship and makes his home in Cottonwood, where he has a fine residence. For the past five years, in addition to looking after his farm, he has made a specialty of tile and drainage engineering and has done consider- able of this work.
Mr. Leas was born at Rossville, Iowa, Feb- ruary 21, 1861, and is a son of Jeremiah and Susannah (Henderson) Leas, both of whom are living a retired life in Rossville. Our subject received his early education in the common schools near his native town and later attended the Waukon Private Seminary at Waukon, Iowa, until twenty-two years old. Hle then returned to the home farm and worked three years. Mr. Leas married Ida May Kelly on February 23, 1886. She was born July 12, 1866, and is a daughter of John and Jane (Lewis) Kelly, former residents
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of Rossville, and both now deceased. After his marriage Mr. Leas engaged in farming near his old home seven years and then went into Sunday School work.
Mr. Leas affiliated with the Presbyterian church when quite young. In May, 1903, the American Sunday School Union engaged him to do Sunday School organizing work in Rock county, Wisconsin, where he labored two years. Accepting a commission under the Mankato Division of the Presbyterian Board of Sabbath School Work, Mr. Leas was engaged for the next ten years in Minne- sota, finally being forced to give up his work on account of ill health. Our subject was responsible for the organization of thirty- two Presbyterian churches and for raising funds for building several churches in South- western Minnesota. He started the organiza- tion and helped to raise funds for the Clif- ton and Green Valley churches in Lyon county.
To Mr. Leas is due much credit for the. success of the Y. M. C. A. movement in Cot- tonwood. That organization has a member- ship of twenty-nine young men, aged eleven to seventeen, in Cottonwood and vicinity. The organization is active under Mr. Leas' leadership and is increasing in numbers. Meetings are held every Tuesday evening at 7: 30 at the Y. M. C. A. rooms in Cottonwood, and since the organization was started in October, 1909, much interest in the work has been evident. Mr. Leas is an elder of the First Presbyterian Church and has for a number of years been superintendent of the Sunday School.
Mr. and Mrs. John Leas have one child, Ida Merle, born October 27, 1899. Two chil- dren died in infancy.
ARNI S. JOSEPHSON (1895) is one of the big grain farmers and stock raisers of Eids- vold township and one of the most progres- sive men of northwestern Lyon county. His progress is an example of what can be accomplished by intelligence and thrift. Less than twenty years ago he came to Lyon county from Iceland, without knowledge of the language or customs of the country and without a dollar to his name. So poor was he, in fact, that he had to borrow money to buy his first sack of flour. His first employ-
ment was hauling hay at twenty-five cents per day.
Today Mr. Josephson is the owner of 400 acres of improved land in Eidsvold town- ship, one of the finest farm homes in Lyon county, and large herds of cattle, hogs and sheep. With the assistance of his sons, Helgi and Frank, he farms all his land. In 1910 he threshed 6000 bushels of small grain, and in 1912 he has planted one hundred acres of corn and 200 acres of grain. Dur- ing the winter of 1911-12 he shipped a car load each of cattle, hogs and sheep.
When Mr. Josephson purchased his pres- ent farm a few years ago the only improve- ment it boasted was an old house, 18x24 feet. Now there is not a farm in the county that is better improved. He has erected an entire new set of outbuildings, including two silos, and has fenced the whole farm. The house, erected at a cost of $4000, is two and one-half stories high and contains thirteen rooms besides the basement rooms. It is modern in every respect, having hot and cold soft water, bath rooms, and is heated by a hot water plant. All the rooms on the lower floor are finished in oak and three of the rooms are hand decorated.
The gentleman who has accomplished this was born in Iceland August 27, 1861, the son of Sigfus and Wilborg (Arniedottir) Joseph- son. The mother died in the old country in 1890; the father, who is now eighty-one years of age, lives with his son. The only other child in the family is Mat Josephson, of Winnipeg, Canada.
Arni lived with his parents in Iceland until his mother's death in 1890. Then the father came to America, and our subject, who had married, remained behind with the rest of the family. He followed in 1895 and arrived in Minneota on August 29. After working at farm labor one year, he moved to Marshall, and for three years he was em- ployed by a contractor there. Mr. Joseph- son then purchased a quarter section of land on section 6, Limestone township, Lin- coln county, and farmed there nine years. Ile prospered, bought an additional eighty acres in Marble township, and later another quarter in Alta Vista township.
In 1908 Mr. Josephson traded his 400 acres of Lincoln county land for an equal number of acres in Eidsvold township, Lyon county, moved to the new home, and has made the
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improvements as above noted. His land is described as follows: The south half of the north half of section 12, Eidsvold, and the northwest quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of section 7, Westerheim. Mrs. Josephson and the children are mem- bers of the Icelandic Lutheran church of Westerheim township.
The first marriage of Mr. Josephson oc- curred in Iceland in 1889, when he wedded Fredrickka Helgadottir. She bore him two sons, Helgi and Frank, and died November 27, 1896, at the age of twenty-five years. Our subject's second marriage was to Bjorg Jonesdottir, who died three years later. Three children were born to the union, Anna, Sigurd and Fredrickka. In February, 1902, Mr. Josephson was married to Olina Sigridur, also a native of the land of snow within the Arctic circle. They have five children, named as follows: Margaret, Maria, Oscar, Olina and Gudrun.
THEODORE STASSEN (1891), saloon keeper and hotel proprietor, has been a resident of Lyon county for the past twen- ty-one years and has been living in Ghent for eleven years. Theodore and his broth- er Mike are joint owners and proprietors of the Exchange Hotel and sample rooms and of the Stassen Brothers Saloon. The- odore is a director of the Ghent Rural Tele- phone Company and is a shareholder of the Lyon County Agricultural Association. He is a member of the Catholic church, and fraternally he is allied with the C. O. F. lodge, of which he is treasurer.
Our subject was born in Belgium May 17, 1870. His parents are Louis and Katrina Elizabeth (Mulleneers) Stassen, both of whom are residents of Fairview township. Theodore received his educa- tion in Belgium and later worked for his father at farm labor, both before and after the family moved to this country in 1891. The family located in Fairview township, where the parents now live.
In 1897 the young man started out for himself and farmed for different people in the county for the following four years. In company with Casper Van Allvorst he then engaged in the saloon business at Ghent, selling out to Julius Vander Vanett after one year's experience. He was not
long idle, however, and within a few weeks had purchased the saloon of Arthur Gits, continued the business at its former loca- tion one year, and then moved the stock and fixtures to the Fred Lerschen building. In this building for the past seven years the saloon has been conducted under the firm name of Stassen Brothers, and Theo- dore has been associated with his brother Mike, both in the saloon and in the man- agement of the Exchange Hotel.
Theodore Stassen was married October 27, 1903, to Delia Bankers, a native of Pierre, Wisconsin. Three children have been born to this union, two of whom are living. Adeline Annie died April 18, 1911, aged four months. The other children, a boy and a girl, are named Joseph and Evelyn Mary Elizabeth.
JOHN ALLECKSON (1886) owns and farms the northeast quarter of section 6, Island Lake township. Although he has been a resident of Lyon county only twen- ty-five years, he is a pioneer of Southwest- ern Minnesota and a homesteader of Lin- coln county.
His parents were Jens and Ragna (Spil- de) Alleckson, who came from Norway in 1846 and made settlement in Dane county, Wisconsin. They later moved to Juneau county of the same state, and there the subject of this review was born, on De- cember 10, 1855.
In his native county John Alleckson se- cured his education and grew to manhood on the farm. In 1879 he moved to Lin- coln county, Minnesota, and took a home- stead. He secured title to the land and engaged in farming there seven years. In 1886 he disposed of his Lincoln county property, moved to his Lyon county farm, and remained there until 1894. That year he moved to Minneota and for thir- teen years was engaged in the livery busi- ness. Mr. Alleckson bought a quarter sec- tion farm in Eidsvold township in 1895 and disposed of it in 1909. In 1910 he moved to his present farm in Island Lake.
In Juneau county, Wisconsin, on Octo- ber 15, 1872, Mr. Alleckson was united in marriage to Torbur Ortun. She was born in Norway on Christmas Day, 1857, and died in 1886. The second marriage of
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Mr. Alleckson occurred in Lyon county July 22, 1889, when he wedded Augustine Wolfe. She was born in Iceland August 17, 1872, the daughter of Arne and Sarah (Johnson) Wolfe. Mr. Alleckson has ten children, named as follows: Bertha C., Lulu, Theodore J., Alleck J., Andrew F., Mabel J., Marvin G., Antha, Peter J., Sam- uel A. and Freda H. The family are mem- bers of the Lutheran church.
HANS PETERSON (1887) owns and farms the south half of the southwest quar- tor of section 19, Lyons township. He is a native of Denmark and was born May 28, 1851. Hans received his schooling and grew to manhood in the land of his birth and served one and one-half years in the standing army. His parents are Peter and Kristina (Jergenson) Rasmusson.
In 1883 our subject came to the United States and located at Maquoketa, Jackson county, Iowa, where he worked four years in a limekiln. In 1887 he came to Lyon county, having purchased eighty acres in Coon Creek township. Later he purchased the eighty acres in Lyons township where he now resides. Mr. Peterson served one term on the Township Board of Super- visors of Coon Creek township and three terms as assessor. He served as assessor of Russell seven or eight years and one term on the Township Board of Super- visors. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church and the Masonic and Workmen lodges.
Mr. Peterson was married in Denmark to Ellen Peterson, a daughter of Peter and Ellen Jensen. Mrs. Peterson was born in Denmark October 14, 1844. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are the parents of the following four children: Jens P., Hans C., William C. and Carrie K.
ARTHUR J. KILE (1883) is the pro- prietor of a harness shop in Minneota and is the oldest merchant in the village in point of continuous service, with the ex- ception of Dr. Seals. He has taken an active part in the affairs of the village which he has seen grow from a hamlet of small pretentions.
Arthur Kile has lived in Minnesota all
his life. He was born in Houston county April 2, 1867, and in 1879 he accompa- nied the family to Lincoln county. The father homesteaded land in Limestone township, but the following year the fam- ily returned to their former home. Ar- thur lived with his folks three years and then became a resident of Lyon county. For a short time he worked for farmers in the vicinity of Minneota and in 1884 he started a harness shop in the village with a capital of $125. He had no previ- ous experience in the business and learned the trade from A. E. Winters after estab- lishing the business.
Mr. Kile met with success in the busi- ness and has ever since continued it, a continuous period of twenty-eight years. He manufactures harness and deals in har- ness goods, blankets, whips, robes, etc. Mr. Kile is one of the stockholders of the Farmers & Merchants Bank and during the past three years has been vice presi- dent of that institution. He has served as a member of the Village Council and is a member of the M. W. A. lodge. He has a one-half interest in a farm in Yel- low Medicine county.
The father of our subject was George Kile, who, after returning to Houston coun- ty in 1880, resided there thirteen years and then moved to Madison, Minnesota, and lived with a daughter until his death on February 28, 1911, at the age of eighty- four years. Barbara Kile, our subject's mother, died August 17, 1895. Arthur is the youngest of a family of six children, the others being as follows: Fred, of Hous- ton county; Mrs. Minnie Kitzniger, of Mad- ison, Minnesota; George, of Houston coun- ty; Sam, who perished in the October storm of 1880, an account of whose death may be found in the historical part of this volume; Mrs. G. C. Mantel, of Spokane, Washington.
Arthur Kile was married in Madison, Minnesota, August 10, 1894, to Betsey Ug- lem, who was born in Norway and who came to the United States when seven years old. They have three children, Bulah, Har- old and Barbara.
E. JOHN ERICKSON (1887), a farmer and landowner of Shelburne township, was
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born in Sweden June 7, 1859. His parents, Erick and Stena (Johnson) Erickson, came to America in 1870, lived at Mankato two years, and then took a homestead in Mur- ray county. The father died there and the mother still lives on the old homestead.
When he was eleven years of age our subject came to America with his mother and sisters, the father having come some time before. When the Winona & St. Peter railroad was constructed through Lyon county in the summer of 1872, al- though he was only a child, John Erick-
son worked with the construction crew. In the fall of that year he moved to his father's homestead in Murray county and for several years lived with his parents. He then worked at various occupations in different parts of Minnesota. In 1878 he went to Northfield and for six years was engaged in farming in Scott county.
In 1885 Mr. Erickson sold a farm he owned in Scott county and purchased the land he now resides on in Shelburne town- ship, 240 acres on sections 36 and 35. Two years later he moved to his farm and has ever since resided thereon. Mr. Erick- son has prospered since coming to Lyon county and has been very successful. He raises Shorthorn cattle, Poland China hogs, Percheron horses and full-blooded chick- ens.
Mr. Erickson was married in Scott coun- ty April 1, 1880, to Junala Olson. She was born in Norway February 22, 1862, and came to America with her parents when four years of age. The family lived in Goodhue county and later in Scott coun- ty, where her parents still reside. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Erickson: Clara, Sophia, Erick, Anton, Elmer, Olda, Manda and Hannah.
FRED NIELSEN (1887). One of the prosperous farmers of Coon Creek town- ship is Fred Nielsen, who resides on the east half of the northeast quarter of sec- tion 36. He was born in Denmark June 28, 1855, and received his education and grew up in that country. His parents are Niels and Annie D. (Jorgenson) Jensen, the for- mer a day laborer in the old country.
When our subject was but six years of age he went to work herding cattle and
has had to make his own way since. When twenty-two years of age he enlisted in the army and served one and one-half years. HIe then worked out two years, after which he came to the United States, locating in Jackson county, Iowa, where he worked at farm labor four years.
In 1887 Mr. Nielsen came to Lyon county and bought the farm in Coon Creek town- ship which he still owns and operates. He has made all the improvements on the place, as the farm was all prairie when he moved there. He raises Poland China hogs and grade cattle and is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Russell. Mr. Nielsen is a member of the Danish Lutheran church of Tyler. He was road overseer in his township two years.
Mr. Nielsen was married at Tyler Octo- ber 2, 1892, to Cecelia Nielsen, a native of Denmark and a daughter of Chris and Cecelia (Dahl) Nielsen. Mrs. Nielsen was born October 9, 1862. They are the par- ents of one child, Charles A., born Novem- ber 30, 1893.
RAY D. BALDWIN (1879). For more than thirty-three years Ray D. Baldwin was a resident of Lyon county; in April, 1912, he moved to Forest Grove, Oregon, to make his future home. During his long residence in Lyon county, most of the time in Marshall, Ray was active in affairs of a local nature.
The subject of this review was born at Pilot Mound, Fillmore county, Minnesota, October 16, 1868, and on his father's homestead near that place spent his child- hood days. He accompanied the family to Lyon county in 1879, lived on the farm in Stanley township until 1881, and there- after resided in Marshall. He was edu- cated in the Marshall High School and then learned the printer's trade. His first work at the trade was in the News-Messenger office in 1887 and with the exception of a very few years he was connected with that journal until his removal to Oregon in 1912. During that period he spent one and one-half years in the shingle business at Port Orchard, Washington, and in 1891- 92 was deputy county auditor under his father.
Mr. Baldwin served for a time as vice
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president of the Marshall Building and Loan Association and he was a member of the Marshall Fire Department from the time of its organization until he left the city. He was chief engineer of the de- partment when the equipment consisted of the old fire engine. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
Alice M. Bellingham became the wife of Ray Baldwin on September 27, 1898. She is a native of Lake Marshall township and the daughter of Charles Bellingham, one of the earliest settlers of the precinct, who took a homestead claim on section 20. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin have two children: Ray D., Jr., aged twelve; and Gertrude, aged seven.
MRS. MARY TROUT (1884) is the own- er of 720 acres of land in Amiret township and makes her home on the northeast quar- ter of section 14.
Our subject's maiden name was Mary Reid, and she was born in New York Feb- ruary 3, 1864, her parents being John and Jane (Hunter) Reid. The father died when Mary was three months old and the family soon after moved to Canada, where our subject resided until twenty years of age. Her mother came to Lyon county in 1883 and made her home with a son in Amiret township until eight years ago, when the son died. Since that time Mrs. Reid has been a resident of Tracy.
Mary Reid came to Lyon county in the fall of 1884 and worked out as a maid several years. In October, 1892, occurred her marriage to Joseph Trout, a native of Pennsylvania and an early resident of Lyon county. Mr. Trout prospered greatly dur- ing his residence in the county and at the time of his death, May 27, 1903, he was the owner of 400 acres of land in Amiret township. His family have since then in- creased their holdings to 720 acres. By her marriage to Mr. Trout our subject became the mother of three children, as follows: Benjamin, born September 16, 1893; Rufus, born December 9, 1896; and Jennie, born November 15, 1899. All the children are at home with their mother.
Mrs. Trout was married a second time to Leir Ketchum, a resident of Wisconsin. He died March 29, 1911. Our subject is
a member of the Maccabee and the Degree of Honor lodges of Tracy.
HERMAN F. RISTOW (1887) is a resi- dent of Russell who was section foreman on sections twelve and thirteen of the Great Northern railway for twenty-two years. He has been a resident of Lyon county for a quarter of a century and was the second man to locate in the village of Russell. Herman was born in Adle Lan- tag, Germany, on December 15, 1854, the son of Jacob and Katherine Caroline (Draves) Ristow, who died when our sub- ject was only four years of age.
Herman attended school in Germany until fourteen years of age, after which he was engaged in the following lines of labor in the land of his nativity prior to coming to the United States: in a lock factory seven months, in railroad construc- tion work five years, in the whiskey dis- tilleries three years, and on the railroad doing section work for the government three years.
In August, 1885, Mr. Ristow came to the United States and located in Traverse coun- ty, Minnesota, where he worked with threshing crews and at farm labor two years. Then he came to Lyon county and engaged in similar work two years. He then worked for a year near Camden, help- ing in the construction of the Great North- ern railroad. In March, 1888, he moved to the new village of Russell and worked as a section hand six months, after which he was given a position as foreman, which he held for twenty-two consecutive years, resigning in June, 1911.
In 1905 Mr. Ristow purchased a tract of land near Russell and now devotes his time to farming it. Besides his farm land he owns a nice home and two lots in Rus- sell. He is a member of the German Luth- eran church. He served three years as a director of the Russell School Board and one year as a member of the Town Board. Mr. Ristow has prospered since coming to Lyon county. He came to America penni- less and experienced trying times of fron- tier life.
Mr. Ristow is a man of family. He was married to Amelia Bohlman, a native of Germany and a daughter of John and
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Louise (Sell) Bohlman. Mr. and Mrs. Ris- tow are the parents of the following named four children: Otto, born May 15, 1882; Max, born November 19, 1884; Paul, born May 6, 1887; Albert (the first white child born in Russell), born July 29, 1889. Otto and Max were born at Eberstein, Germany, and Paul was born in Traverse county, Minnesota.
JOHN FRANKLIN BRANTNER (1898) is grain buyer for the Western Elevator Com- pany at Heckman. He was born in Ogle county, Illinois, August 14, 1854, a son of Michael and Mary (Phillips) Brantner, na- tives of Maryland. Both parents are de- ceased.
John resided with his parents in Illinois until twenty-five years of age, attending school and working for his father on the farm. In 1879 he went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he worked in a lumber yard two years for Ed. Sharp & Company, after which he worked one year at farm labor. The next four years were spent in the piner- ies near Shell Lake, Wisconsin. From there he went to Lake Preston, South Dakota, where he homesteaded a quarter section of land and resided three years, being also en- gaged in buying grain for the G. W. Van Dusen Elevator Company, He then moved to Elkton, South Dakota, where he had charge of the O. L. Marfield elevator fifteen years.
In 1901 Mr. Brantner moved to Marshall and had charge of the O. L. Marfield elevator three years. He then went to Heckman, took charge of the Western Elevator Com- pany's house, and has resided there since. He deals in grain and coal. Heckman is quite a shipping point for hay, grain and stock. In 1901 a postoffice was established at Heckman and Mrs. Brantner was ap- pointed postmistress. She has held the posi- tion continuously since. Mr. Brantner holds membership in the Masonic lodge.
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