An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota, Part 70

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

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In Goodhue county, Minnesota, on March 23, 1898, Mr. Oftedal was married to Matilda Johnson. She was born in Red Wing, Min- nesota, October 3, 1871. Her parents, Ole and Louise Johnson, were born in Sweden and now live in Goodhue county. Mr. and Mrs. Oftedal have four children: Hazel L., born November 22, 1899; Francis L., born July 14, 1901; Raymond L., born October 8, 1903; and Morris H., born November 17, 1905.

BURL STORY (1878), agent for the John Gund Brewing Company at Marshall, is one of the pioneer settlers and homesteaders of Lyon county, having resided here for the past thirty-four years. He is the son of

Hulet and Emma (Glidden) Story, natives of New York State, and he was born at Janes- ville, Wisconsin, on the fourth day of Decem- ber, 1855.

On a farm near Janesville Mr. Story was brought up, and he resided there until com- ing to Lyon county in 1878 at the age of twenty-one years. He bought railroad land on section 15, Grandview township, adjoining the village of Ghent. He built a little shack on the place and made his home there until 1880, when he moved the building to Ghent, which at that time had only one other build- ing of any importance, a grocery store con- ducted by Jerry Fagan. After moving the building Mr. Story built an addition and during the next six years conducted a hotel, the first in the village. The building is now a part of the Ed. Gits store building.

Mr. Story sold his hotel to a Mr. Paradis and bought a claim on the southwest quarter of section 32, Stanley township. He proved up on the place and resided there about ten years, moving to Marshall at the end of that time and erecting a home in the city. Dur- ing the next few years he conducted a ma- chine shop and served one year as chief of police. His wife died in 1900 and the next year Mr. Story went to Alaska, where he spent some time mining and prospecting. Since his return he has lived in Marshall, one year serving as chief of police and since as distributing agent for the John Gund Brewing Company. Mr. Story is a member of the Elks lodge. In Stanley township he was a member of the Board of Supervisors.

At Janesville, Wisconsin, on September 13, 1877, Mr. Story was married to Henrietta Zimmerman, a native of that place. The date of her death was August, 1899. Two children were born as a result of this union: Laura (Mrs. James Ladenberg), of Lyon county, and Roy, who died in California in 1896 at the age of seventeen years.

GUST M. BAERT (1892) is a farmer of Lynd township and a true lover of Lyon county. Mr. Baert is a native of Belgium and was born December 29, 1867, a son of Con- stand and Mary (Haas) Baert. The father died in 1870 of smallpox; the mother still lives at the old home in East Flanders.

Gust Baert received his early education in the land of his nativity, where he attended

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school until fifteen years of age. He then worked for his parents on the farm until twenty-three years old. On February 7, 1891, he left Antwerp for America and arrived at South Bend, Indiana, February 23. He worked in the Oliver plow factory one year and then came to Lyon county and worked on a farm near Ghent one year. After spend- ing about two months in Montana and Idaho, looking over the country, Mr. Baert returned to Ghent, where he resumed his labors on the farm for one year. At the close of that year's work he left America, going to London and thence to Belgium and other parts of Europe, traveling three months. He then returned to America and located at Moline, Illinois, where he worked for the Mutual Wheel Company for a year and then returned to Lyon county, where he has since resided.

Mr. Baert operates 487 acres of land in Lynd township. He also raises considerable stock, including Duroc-Jersey hogs, Red Polled Angus cattle and Plymouth Rock chickens, and he is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Lynd. He is a member of the Catholic church and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Mr. Baert was road overseer two years in Lynd township.

At Moline, Illinois, December 11, 1895, occurred the marriage of our subject to Hur- burtina Cuipers, a daughter of Henrick Cuip- ers, who died in North Dakota in 1908. Mrs. Cuipers resides at Edgeley, North Dakota. Mrs. Baert was born in Belgium. To Mr. and Mrs. Baert have been born the following eleven children: Harry, Frank, John, Ma- tilda, Victor, Camial, Alfons, Louise, Valerie, Lizzie and Rosa. All reside at home with their parents.

WILLIAM IIALL (1899). One of the most prosperous farmers of Lyon county is Wil- liam Hall, of Shelburne township. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, July 15, 1859, and is the son of Robert and Mary (Hannah) Hall, both deceased. The first twenty-seven years of our subject's life were spent with his parents. Until fifteen years of age he attended school in and near Chicago. The other twelve years were spent assisting his father on the farm. After his father's death he rented the old home farm near Chicago and operated it until 1899.

In the fall of 1888 Mr. Hall purchased a

quarter section of land in Shelburne town- ship. In 1899 he moved with his family to that farm and they have resided there since. In 1906 he purchased forty-five acres adjoin- ing his land from the railroad company, making him the owner of over 200 acres of Lyon county land. Mr. Hall raises consider- able stock, including Poland China hogs, Hereford cattle, Plymouth Rock chickens, Clyde, Belgian and Norman horses. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic orders. He has been treasurer of school dis- trict No. 49 for twelve years and was justice of the peace in Shelburne township two years.

On March 18, 1889, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Mary E. Templeton, a daughter of Richard Templeton, of Kankakee county, Illinois. She was born May 23, 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of the follow- ing named children: Robert, born January 19, 1892; Richard, born July 30, 1894; Annie, born April 24, 1900; Viola, born March 17, 1903. All reside at home.

Mr. Hall has three brothers and two sis- ters, as follows: James, of Balaton; John, of lowa; Robert, of Battle Creek, Michigan; Mary (Mrs. John Nixon), of Balaton; Belle ( Mrs. Frank Snow), of Momence, Illinois.

DR. C. B. FRASER (1903) is a dentist of Cottonwood. He is a native of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, where he was born June 23, 1879. His parents are Angus and Anna (Dunn) Fraser, the former a native of Iver- ness, Scotland, and the latter of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. They reside at Woodstock and have three children, as follows: Dr. C. B., of this sketch; George, an express agent for the Dominion Express Company for Wayburn, Manitoba; and Blanch (Mrs. Roy Brown), of Ingersoll, Canada.

Our subject received his schooling in the Woodstock Academy, from which he was graduated in 1900. He then attended the University of Toronto's Dental Department two years, after which he attended the Chicago Dental College, graduating in 1903.

In the last named year Dr. Fraser came to Lyon county and located at Cottonwood, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. He is a member

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of the Masonic and Modern Woodmen lodges.

At St. Louis, Missouri, June 28, 1904, oc- curred the marriage of Dr. Fraser to Camille Brownell, a native of Westplains, Missouri. They are the parents of four children: Donald G., Edward A., Scott B. and Frank C.

JOHN R. CASTLE (1883) is the owner of 200 acres of the land in Clifton township originally purchased by his father upon com- ing to the county in 1883. He raises consid- crable stock and has made a success of his farming operations. It was in 1899 that John Castle rented land of his father in Clifton township and started farming for himself. He farmed the rented land two years and then bought a quarter section from his father. Later he added an addi- tional forty acres, giving him his present acreage.

Our subject was born in Will county, Illi- nois, July 9, 1875. His parents, Robert and Agnes (Watson) Castle, natives of England and Scotland, respectively, came to the United States in an early day and settled in Illinois. When John was a lad of eight years the family moved to Lyon county and located in Clifton township, and John was brought up on the farm.

The father originally owned the entire south half of section 26, which he later sold, and then he bought 560 acres on section 21, and forty acres on section 28. John attended the country school and helped with the farm work and in time came to be the owner of part of the land originally owned by his father. Our subject was a member of the school board of district No. 81 and clerk of that body three years. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and his fraternal allegiance is with the Yeomen lodge.

The ceremony which joined John Castle and Hattie I. Mead in the holy bonds of matrimony was performed in the township January 1, 1901. His wife was born in Lyon county November 30, 1880, and is a daughter of Henry and Fannie (Moulton) Mead, na- tives of Wisconsin and Minnesota, respec- tively. The father died in 1911 and the mother lives in the township. To Mr. and Mrs. John Castle have been born three chil- dren: Gilbert G., born November 23, 1901;

Maud E., born March 8, 1906; and Fern L., born January 7, 1912.

J. S. LEAS (1900) is a successful farmer of Stanley township, where he has lived for the past twelve years. He owns the south- east quarter of section 10. Mr. Leas has a fine set of buildings, erected in 1902, and a well improved farm in other ways. He en- gages quite extensively in stock raising. making a specialty of full-blooded Chester White hogs.

Iowa is the birthplace of Mr. Leas and June 6, 1869, is the date of his nativity. His parents, Jeremiah and Susana (Henderson) Leas, were both born in Ohio, the former in 1827, the later in 1828. Until he was twenty- one years of age our subject attended school. During the next three years he worked on the farm for his father and then started in the business for himself.

In 1899 Mr. Leas bought his Lyon county farm and the following year he took posses- sion. Most of the improvements on the place were made by him. Mr. Leas is a member of the Presbyterian church of Swan Lake and he has held the office of treasurer of school district No. 34 for five years.

J. S. Leas and Hester Olive Kelly were married at Waukon, Iowa, in 1894. The parents of Mrs. Leas, John and Jane Kelly, are dead. The following named six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leas: Leo, born April 7, 1895; Lauren Reid, born Feb- ruary 1, 1899; Glen Vernon, born January 16, 1903; Velva Ruth, born December 30, 1905; Beryl Wayne, born September 11, 1909; Cecil Eugene, born March 24, 1911.

MONTGOMERY E. DRAKE (1897) is the register of deeds of Lyon county. He was born in Wright township, Hillsdale county, Michigan, July 31, 1869. In his native coun- ty he grew to manhood and secured his edu- cation. At the age of twenty-two years he went to Faulk county, South Dakota, took a homestead claim, and taught school four years.

Mr. Drake came to Lyon county in 1897. He located in Minneota and for several years was in the employ of Bingham Brothers, grain brokers. Upon the death of S. N. Harrington, the register of deeds, in Septem-

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ber, 1903, Mr. Drake was appointed to fill the vacancy, and he has ever since held the office. While a resident of Minneota he served as village recorder and clerk and as treasurer of the Board of Education. He was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Minneota and for a number of years was a director of the same.

Our subject is affiliated with a number of worthy fraternal orders. He is a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Ma- sonic orders and has filled all the chairs of the last named, including high priest. He is a member of the Eastern Star and for three years was its worthy patron. He also holds membership in the M. W. A. lodge and the Methodist church. At Minneota he was secretary of the Masonic lodge.

Mr. Drake was married at Hudson, Michi- gan, March 31, 1892, to Hattie L. Masters, who was born at Pioneer, Ohio, just over the Michigan line. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Drake, of whom the following named three are living: Mildred, Aileen and Vivian.

The parents of our subject are Alonzo H. and Laura A. (Thorne) Drake, natives, re- spectively, of Michigan and New York and of English descent. Besides M. E. Drake, there are three children in the family, namely: Morton B., of Pittsford, Michigan; Ethel, of Hudson, Michigan; and Louise (Mrs. F. W. Burt), of Pittsford, Michigan.

MICHAEL F. AHERN (1883) is cashier of the State Bank of Taunton and one of the prominent citizens of that village. He owns an elegant home in Taunton and 480 acres of Lyon county soil. For the past six years he has been treasurer of the village.

Mr. Ahern is a native of Springfield, Illi- nois, and was born September 15, 1876. When a child, in 1883, he came to Lyon county with his parents and lived on the farm on section S, Eidsvold, until fifteen years old. During the next four years he was a student of the Marshall school and then for three years was manager of the Western Elevator Company at Taunton. He spent three years as assist- ant cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Minneota and then in 1905 organized the State Bank of Taunton, of which he has since been cashier.

Mr. Ahern married Alice G. Langan at Minneota on June 27, 1906. She is a native of Westerheim township and is the daughter of Pat Langan, one of the early settlers of that precinct. Mr. and Mrs. Ahern have three daughters: Genevieve, Catherine and Dorothy. Our subject is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of For- esters and Modern Woodmen lodges.

The parents of Mr. Ahern, Garrett A. and Catherine A. (Brown) Ahern, came from Ireland in the fifties and were married in Illinois. They came to Lyon county in 1883 and he died on the farm in Eidsvold in 1899, at the age of sixty-seven years. Mrs. Ahern lives with a son on the Eidsvold farm. In the family are the following named ten children: Philip P., of Taunton; Josie, Wil- liam, Ellen (Mrs. Thomas Welch), of Minne- ota; James J., Michael F., of this review; Catherine (Mrs. Morris Breen), of Minne- apolis; Thomas, assistant cashier of the Farmers Bank of Hampden, North Dakota; Garrett F., of Montana; and Annie.

LARS F. MONSETH (1897) is the owner of a 240-acre fertile farm on sections 5 and S, Nordland township, and is one of the substantial men of his precinct.

He was born in Orkdalen, Norway, Octo- ber 1, 1872, a son of Frederick F. and Ellen (Larson) Roe, both of whom are still living in their native land. Lars attended school until fifteen years of age and then worked out on the farm until he came to America in 1895.

Upon his arrival to the New World in the spring of that year, he located in Minne- apolis and spent the summer working in a lumber yard. The next winter he was in the woods near Eau Claire, Wisconsin; then he went back to Minneapolis and again took employment in a lumber yard. He took a course in Wreeman's Academy, Minneapolis, during the winter of 1896-97 and the next spring became a resident of Lyon county.

For eight months Mr. Monseth was em- ployed on the farm of C. K. Melby, who then lived in Nordland township, and the next winter was again spent in the Wisconsin woods. In St. Paul he was a motorman in the employ of the St. Paul Street Railway Company for six months. He came back to

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Lyon county in September, 1898, and has ever since resided here.

Mr. Monseth rented land near Minneota three years and then bought his present farm in Nordland. He has a well-improved farm and is a successful agriculturist. He gives a great deal of attention to raising Short- horn cattle and blooded Duroc-Jersey swine and has fine herds. His other business in- terests consist of an interest in the Farmers Elevator Company of Minneota.

For the past ten years Mr. Monseth has been treasurer of school district No. 24 and he served as road overseer of his district one year. He is an enthusiastic church worker, being a member of Hemnes Norwe- gian Lutheran Church of Nordland township. He is president of the board of trustees of that organization and is choir master.

Mr. Monseth was married at Minneapolis October 21, 1898, to Marit Metlie, who was born in Norway November 13, 1873. They have five children: Elvina, born May 18, 1900; Cora, born April 24, 1903; Frithjof, born December 18, 1904; Lillian, born Sep- tember 30, 1906; Mildred, born June 4, 1909.

CHARLES R. LAINGEN (1898) is the junior member of the firm of Grieve & Laingen, general merchants of Cottonwood. He was born in Blue Earth county, near Lake Crystal, May 26, 1872, and resided there until twenty-six years of age. When seventeen years of age he became a clerk in a general store at Lake Crystal and then worked six years for the Northwestern Rail- road Company.

The parents of our subject are Peter K. and Ronaug (Loftsgaard) Laingen, natives of Norway. Peter K. Laingen came to the United States in 1860 and resided in Cali- fornia ten years. In 1870 he moved to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, where he bought land and was married. He resided in that county until his death on December 16, 1911. The mother died in 1873.

In 1898 our subject came to Lyon county and located at Cottonwood, where he entered the firm of Olson, Kelly & Laingen, general merchants. In 1902 he bought out John Michie, of the firm of Michie & Grieve, and the firm has since been Grieve & Laingen. Michie & Grieve were the successors of Dahl Brothers, the original owners of one

of the first stores in Cottonwood. They oc- cupied a little building, 25x40 feet, on the site of the present two-story brick building, which is 26x80 feet and which they erected that spring. Grieve & Laingen handle dry goods, groceries, furnishings, shoes and crockery. They entered their present build- ing in 1904. Mr. Laingen is a member of Equity Lodge No. 221, A. F. & A. M. He was village recorder two terms.

Mr. Laingen was married in Minneapolis May 14, 1908, to Anna Pettersen, a native of Blue Earth county.

ANDREW ANDERSON (1890) is the own- er of the southwest quarter of section 27, Coon Creek township, where he has resided for twenty-two years. He was born in Swe- den December 5, 1851. His parents are Peter and Ellen (Olson) Anderson, with whom he resided in the old country until 1882; at- tending school and learning the cabinet- maker's and housebuilding trades, which he followed several years.

In 1882 Mr. Anderson came to the United States and located in Chicago, where he worked eight years for the Pullman Car Com- pany. In 1890 he immigrated to Lyon coun- ty, having purchased the southwest quarter of section 27, Coon Creek township, in 1884. He has made all the improvements on the place and has a very comfortable home. He raises a great number of cattle and hogs and has stock in the Farmers Elevator Com- pany and Farmers Telephone Company of Russell. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Swedish Baptist church.

Mr. Anderson was married in Sweden March 6, 1874, to Elna Nelson, a daughter of Pehr Nelson and Hanna Nelson. Mrs. Anderson was born September 9, 1850, and died in 1900. To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were born five children: Peter, John, Emily, Olive and Hattie.

G. J. INHOFER (1906) is a merchant and manager of the Western Grain Elevator at Ghent. He is a native of the Gopher State and was born in Nicollet county July 8, 1870. The parents of our subject are George and Agnes (Michels) Inhofer, natives of Germany, the former of Bavaria and the latter of Saxony. They came to the United

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States in 1856. The father resided in New York two years and in 1858 moved to Nicol- let county, where he settled on railroad land and was married. They farmed until 1910, when they retired and moved to New Ulm. They are the parents of the following chil- dren: George, of this sketch; Joseph and Louis, of Nicollet county; John, of Brown county; William, Mary and Annie, of New Ulm. Two sons, Michael and Charles, are deceased.

Our subject grew to manhood on his fa- ther's farm in Nicollet county and later farmed in that county for himself. In No- vember, 1906, he came to Lyon county and settled at Ghent, where he formed a part- nership with W. C. Hess in the general merchandise business. They carry dry goods, groceries, men's furnishings and shoes. Mr. Inhofer has been manager of the Western Grain Elevator since August, 1909. He is village recorder and was a member of the Village Council one term. He is a member of the Catholic church and of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society of Minnesota.

Mr. Inhofer was married in Nicollet county February 22, 1895, to Annie Huelskamp, a native of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Inhofer are the parents of the following children: Raymond, Alice, Agnes, Mildred and Be- atrice.

WILLIAM GROVER SHEQUEN (1887) was born and brought up in Lyon county and since 1908 has been one of the farmers of Custer township.

William N. Shequen and Vesta (Grover) Shequen, the father and mother of our sub- ject, were among the early settlers of Lyon county. The father is a native of Vermont and the mother of Wisconsin. The parents located in Lyón county in 1872, taking as a homestead the northeast quarter of section 32, Sodus township.

William Grover Shequen was born on the Sodus township farm and was there brought up, receiving his education in the country school and assisting with the farm work as he grew older. In 1908 he purchased the land in Custer township on which he has since resided. Mr. Shequen has been raising some stock in addition to his general farm- ing, and makes a specialty of Berkshire hogs.

Our subject was married in Sodus town-

ship to Nellie E. Moore, the ceremony taking place July 29, 1908. One child, Milo Grover Shequen, was born to this union, December 2, 1911. Mrs. Shequen was born in Ida county, Iowa, February 10, 1888, and is a daughter of Frank P. and Katie Machemer Moore, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively.

Mr. Shequen served as director of school district No. 37 one year. Fraternally he is allied with the Modern Woodmen lodge. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church.

FRED S. COOK (1896) the

is pro- prietor of Hotel Atlantic in Marshall, and under his direction the Atlantic has be- come one of the popular hostelries of Southwestern Minnesota. Mr. Cook took charge of the hotel in 1896, and the genial good nature of a veteran railway passen- ger conductor was instilled into the man- agement, gaining for the proprietor a host of friends among the traveling public and in his home city.

Our subject was born in Oberlin, Ohio, October 31, 1852, and in 1857 the family came to Minnesota and the father pre- empted land in Mower county. Fred was nineteen when he left home to find em- ployment in the train service of the Illi- nois Central in Iowa, with headquarters at Fort Dodge. After several years in the employ of that company he moved to Se- dalia, Missouri, and worked as trainman for the Missouri Pacific. Then Mr. Cook gave his services to the Chicago & North- western, moved to Chicago, and continued in the service for an uninterrupted term of many years as a passenger conductor. Resigning from railway service in 1896, Mr. Cook moved to Marshall.

Fred S. Cook was married in Milwau- kee, Wisconsin, June 20, 1901, to Cath- erine A. Farmer, a native of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are popular in the social life of Marshall and in Congregational church activities, and Mr. Cook is identi- fied with the progressive activities of the city. He is president of the library board, was president of the Marshall Commercial Club in 1908, and treasurer of the Marshall Development Club in 1908-1910. He is chair- man of the county committee of the Y. M. C.

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A., is chairman of the trustee board of the Congregational church, and is superin- tendent of the Sunday School. Fraternal- ly, Mr. Cook is a member of Marshall Com- mandery Knight Templars and of the Mys- tic Shrine of Chicago; also of the A. O. U. W. lodge, and he is a life member of the Order of Railway Conductors of Chicago, Division No. 1.

Our subject is a son of William W. Cook and Martha Brown (Little) Cook, natives of New York and Ohio. They resided in Austin, Mower county, until the time of their deaths. Besides Fred S. of this . sketch there are three children: W. W. Cook, of Marshall; Jennie (Mrs. W. W. Noble), of Oakland, California; and Min- nie (Mrs. F. E. Noble), of St. Paul.

JOSEPH M. SENDEN (1883) is one of the prominent farmers and stock raisers of Grandview township. He is a native of Holland and was born October 1, 1866, a son of William Hubert and Hubertina (Vaesen) Senden, both of whom are de- ceased. The parents located in Lyon county in 1883, coming direct to this county from their old homes in Holland.

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An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota, Part 70

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