USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 79
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DR. WARD AKESTER (1909) is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Mar- shall, and he has attained a prominent place in the city's professional and social affairs. The doctor was born at Washington, Indiana, May 17, 1880. He was graduated from the Farina, Illinois, High School and took a two years' academic course at Austin College, Effingham, Illinois. Then he entered the Medical College of Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1902.
Soon after his graduation Dr. Akester be- gan the practice of his profession at Clay City, Illinois, and later was for some time the surgeon in charge of the State Hospital at Chester, Illinois. He located in Marshall in 1909 to make his permanent home. He has built up a splendid practice and enjoys the esteem and confidence of the public. His office is in nicely appointed rooms over the Marshall State Bank. Dr. Akester is a member of many of the leading medical and surgical societies of the country. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Eastern Star, Odd Fellows and Woodmen lodges.
The parents of our subject were also born in Indiana. Washington Akester still lives
in Washington, Indiana; Martha (Ward) Akester died in March, 1900. Dr. Akester has one brother and one sister, Dr. J. Akes- ter, of Farina, Illinois, and Cora Akester, of the Indiana State University.
Dr. Akester was married at Clay City, Illi- nois, June 30, 1906, to Bess Pauline Kemp- shall. She is a native of New Britain, Con- necticut, and a daughter of William F. and Nell (Drausfield) Kempshall. Mrs. Akester is a member of the Christian church and of the Eastern Star and Rebekah lodges.
ANDREW P. LINDEN (1893) is a farmer and land owner of Coon Creek township. He is a native of Sweden and was born near Granna March 25, 1868, the son of Swan Anderson Linden. The father died in February, 1910; the mother is still living and resides at Belgrade, Minnesota.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the land of his nativity, where he attended school until fifteen years of age. In 1884 he came to Minnesota and located at Belgrade, Stearns county, where he worked at farm labor eight years. He also worked in Minneapolis for a short time. In 1892 he purchased a quarter section of land in Coon Creek township, which he still owns and operates. He raises Poland China hogs, Hereford cattle and Barred Plymouth chick- ens. Mr. Linden is a member of the Swe- dish Free Mission church. He is a stock- holder in the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company.
On July 10, 1897, Mr. Linden was united in marriage to Amanda Johnson, a danghter of John and Mary (Peterson) Johnson, who reside at the home of our subject. Mrs. Linden is a native of Sweden and was born November 8, 1873.
Mr. Linden is a successful farmer and stockraiser. He has four brothers and one sister: Angust and Frank, of Stearns coun- ty; Edward and John, of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. August Anderson, of Stearns county.
Mrs. Linden has two brothers and two sisters: Nels and Solomon Johnson, of Shel- burne township, and Mrs. Hattie Enell, of California, and Mrs. Mary Elison.
OLUF G. OLSON (1901) is the manager and buyer for the grocery, shoe and fur-
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nishing goods departments of the L. Abra- hamson store at Cottonwood. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 14, 1866. He is a son of Nels B. Olson, who home- steaded land in Monona county, Iowa, in 1861. The latter served in a Wisconsin company during the Civil War. After the war he returned home and later moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he resided ten years and died in 1906. The mother died in 1903.
Oluf accompanied his parents to the West when he was but one year old and resided with them on the farm until eighteen years of age. Then he went to Beloit, Iowa, and attended Augustana College, after which he went to Sioux City, Iowa, and took a conrse in the Sioux City Business College. For the next seven years Mr. Olson was con- nected with the United States Clothing Company and then spent eight years as sales- man for the Browning-King Clothing Com- pany.
In the spring of 1901 our subject came to Lyon county and located at Cottonwood. In company with William B. Olson and A. O. Anderson, he opened a mercantile business under the firm name of the Anderson-Olson Company. They conducted the business three years and then reorganized and estab- lished the Cottonwood Mercantile Company, A. O. Anderson selling his interest and the new firm being composed of A. B. Anderson, O. G. and W. B. Olson. Mr. Olson was a member of that firm two years, when he sold his interest to Anderson Brothers. He then went to Normania, Yellow Medicine county, where, in company with M. S. Runs- old, he opened a mercantile store and con- ducted it until 1908. They sold the business and our subject returned to Cottonwood and has since been associated with L. Abraham- son as buyer and manager.
Mr. Olson was president of the Cotton- wood Commercial Club two and one-half years. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and the Norden Mandskor, a vocal organization, of which he was sec- retary.
At Sloan, Iowa, June 4, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olson to Matilda S. Strand, a native of La Crosse county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Olson are the parents of the following children: Ella M., Harry N., Ruth and Herbert. Their oldest child, Mabel, died at the age of four years.
TELES PARADIS, JR. (1884) is a farmer of Lake Marshall township. He was born in St. John, Canada, May 30, 1881, a son of Teles and Selina (Demery) Paradis, natives of Canada.
When three years of age our subject ac- companied his parents to America and lo- cated in Lyon county, the father purchasing 160 acres of land in Fairview township. There the family lived sixteen years, when the father sold and purchased 240 acres on section 27, Lake Marshall township. Teles, Jr., resided with his parents until 1907, when he rented the southwest quarter of section 34, Lake Marshall township, and has lived there since. He is a member of the Cath- olic church.
The subject of this review was married in Marshall on May 7, 1907, to Alma Boud- reau, a native of Chicago. She is a daugh- ter of Henry and Hermine (Morin) Boudreau, who now live in Fairview township, Lyon county. Mr. and Mrs. Paradis are the par- ents of the following children: Louis, born April 1, 1908; Jennevive, born March 12, 1909; Bernice, born May 7, 1910; Luella Agnes, born December 25, 1911.
GEORGE G. LOWE (1884), junior member of the Marshall clothing firm of Olson & Lowe, is a native of Lyon county, having been born in Stanley township February 28, 1884. He is the son of George and Maggie (Glashen) Lowe, who now reside in Cottonwood. His mother is a native of Wisconsin and his father of Scotland. The latter came to the United States at the age of seventeen years and settled in Lake City, Minne- sota, where he was married. The family came to Lyon county in 1874 and took as a homestead the northwest quarter of sec- tion 6, Stanley township. They resided on the farm until 1902, when the father moved to Cottonwood to engage in the grain business. There are four children in the family, namely: Alex, cashier in à bank at Wood Lake, Minnesota; Mrs. Theodore M. Thomas, of Marshall; Mrs. Hugo H. Gieseke, of Marshall; and the sub- ject of this review.
George Lowe spent his boyhood days on the farm. He was educated in the dis- triet schools and in the Marshall High
.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
School. At the age of nineteen years he took employment with Olson Brothers and he has been connected with that store ever since. He was employed as a clerk until the death of John Olson in 1904, when he became the manager of the store. In January, 1909, he became a member of the firm.
The firm of Olson Brothers was estab- lished in October, 1900, by John G., Mar- tin G. and Ed. C. Olson, and that was the title until Mr. Lowe became a member of e firm. The store is the oldest exclu- sive clothing store in the city. The com- pany deals in clothing, men's furnishings, trunks, shoes, etc.
Mr. Lowe was married at Le Roy, Min- nesota, January 20, 1912, to Lura B. Wells, a native of the city in which she was married and a daughter of George Wells. Mr. Lowe is a member of the Ma- sonic and Woodmen orders.
WILLIAM H. EDWARDS (1894) owns and operates 240 acres of land on section 29, Sodus township. He was born in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, December 6, 1867. His parents are William and Margaret (Davis) Edwards, both natives of Wales. They came to the United States in an early day and settled in Blue Earth county, where our subject was born and grew to manhood. He assisted his father on the farm until 1894.
In the year last named our subject came to Lyon county and purchased eighty acres on section 29, Sodus township. Later he purchased the northeast quarter of the same section. He operates the entire 240 acres. Mr. Edwards is a member of the Township Board of Supervisors.
On June 27, 1897, Mr. Edwards was married to Jane Scott, a native of Lyon county. She is a daughter of John and Mary Ann (Lewis) Scott, of Sodus town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have three children: Edwin, Mary and Irene.
DR. DON CASSELMAN (1886) is member of the firm of James & Cassel- man, dentists, of Tracy. He is the son of John J. Casselman, of Tracy, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and who for the
past twenty-six years has been in the em- ploy of the Northwestern Railroad Com- pany.
Don Casselman was born in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, September 8, 1884. Soon after his birth the family moved to Hu- ron, South Dakota, and two years later to Tracy. After a residence there of seven years, the family again moved to Huron, but in 1900 returned to Tracy for per- manent residence. Don attended the Tracy High School, for one year was a student in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, and then took a course in the Minnesota University, from the Dental De- partment of which he was graduated in 1905. After his graduation Dr. Cassel- man formed a partnership with his uncle, Dr. W. D. James, and has since been en- gaged in practice.
The marriage of Dr. Casselman to Vera Edwards occurred at Tracy October 16, 1907. She is the daughter of W. R. Ed- wards, who for so many years published the Tracy Republican-Trumpet. Dr. and Mrs. Casselman have one child, Genevieve.
GEORGE H. JOHNSON (1893) owns and farms the southeast quarter of sec- tion 19, Rock Lake township. He raises considerable stock and during the fall sea- sons he operates a threshing rig in his part of the county. He is a shareholder and one of the directors of the Farmers Elevator Company of Balaton.
George Johnson's parents came from Iroquois county, Illinois. His father, Henry H. Johnson, moved to this county in 1891 and settled in Shelburne town- ship, on the south half of section 25. The mother and the rest of the family came in 1893.
Our subject was born in Iroquois coun- ty, Illinois, January 14, 1875. He re- ceived his early education in his native state and worked on his father's farm. He was eighteen years old when the mother and her children came to Lyon county in 1893 to join the father, who had preceded them two years. George helped his father on the farm and worked out for others until 1901, when he purchased the farm which he now owns and started farming for himself.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Johnson was married February 26, 1908, to Myrtle Blanchard, a native of Clear Lake, Iowa. The wedding occurred at Marshall. Mrs. Johnson was born March 31, 1888, and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Blanchard, now residents of Balaton. IIer father is a native of Wisconsin and her mother was brought up in Iowa. Our subject's father, Henry Johnson, died in 1901, and his mother, Annie (Gerdes) Johnson, died in 1895.
WESLEY W. SIMMONS (1892), real estate and insurance agent of Marshall, has passed his entire life in Southern Minne- sota and first came to Lyon county twenty years ago. He was born in Hector, Ren- ville county, August 11, 1874, the son of pioneer residents of Southern Minnesota.
The father, William H. Simmons, was born in England and came to the United States when nine years of age. He settled in Renville county forty years ago and home- steaded land. He was living there during the terrible grasshopper scourge of the early seventies and was named by a committee of citizens of his neighborhood to go to St. Paul to solicit aid from the governor. He walked practically the entire distance-some sixty-five or seventy miles-and through his efforts aid was granted to the sufferers of his county. He was married to Mrs. Fannie French, also a native of England. They lo- cated in Lyon county in 1892 and bought land in Lynd township. Mr. and Mrs. Sim- mons now reside in Marshall. There are four children in the family, as follows: Ed- ward and Lizzie (Mrs. William F. Markus), of Duluth, who are children of Mrs. Sim- mons by her former marriage; Laura (Mrs. C. K. Gillett), of Weyerhauser, Wisconsin; and Wesley W. There were two other chil- dren in the Simmons family. Arthur died in 1892 at the age of twenty-eight years; Frank died January 22, 1910, aged thirty- eight years.
At the age of seven years Wesley W. Simmons accompanied the family from Ren- ville county to Minneapolis, but three years later a return to his native county was made. In 1892 he came with his parents to Lyon county. The first home was on sec- tion 35, Lynd township, where Wesley en- gaged in farming with his father until 1898.
Then he and his brother bought land on sections 26 and 35 and for a time farmed in partnership. Our subject left his brother in charge of the farm, went to St. Paul, and until 1905 he clerked in a hotel. That year he located in Tracy and bought grain for the Sleepy Eye Milling Company. One year later he located in Marshall and for three years was agent for the Marshall Milling Company.
In recent years Mr. Simmons has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He is district manager for the Central Life Insurance Company of Des Moines, his territory embracing the counties of Lyon, Redwood, Yellow Medicine, Lac qui Parle and Lincoln. He is the owner of 240 acres on section 35, Lynd township, the northeast quarter of section 2, Lyons town- ship, and farm land in Colorado. In Mar- shall he owns the brick block occupied by the Birkenmeyer dry goods store and the Adair millinery store and two residence properties.
Mr. Simmons was married at Ackley, Iowa, September 18, 1907, to Anna M. Krumling, a native of the city in which she was mar- ried. Mr. Simmons is a member of the Masonic and Eastern Star lodges.
PEDER FROLAND (1891) is one of the substantial farmers of Vallers township, be- ing the proprietor of 200 acres of some of the finest farming land of the township. The place is well improved and Mr. Froland is engaging quite extensively in stock raising.
Our subject was born in Hjorenfjord, Nor- way, February 23, 1865, and is a son of Ole and Maghild (Salret) Froland, both of whom are dead. Peter was educated in his native land and lived at home with his parents, assisting with the farm work, until twenty years of age. He then came to America and located in Yellow Medicine county, Minne- sota. There he worked out at farm labor three years and then purchased eighty acres and started farming for himself, renting additional land and later buying another eighty acres. The young man prospered and in 1890 sold out and made a trip back to the Fatherland.
While on this trip Peder was married to Jacobine Willi, on March 31, 1891. She was born in . Norway April 17, 1870, and is a daughter of Ole and Johanna Willi, both liv-
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ing in the Fatherland. Peder and his young wife returned. to America in the spring of 1891, and he bought the northwest quarter of section 9, Vallers township, which has been his home since and to which he has added an additional forty acres. Mr. Fro- land is chairman of the school board of dis- trict No. 56 and is one of the progressive men of the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Froland are the parents of eight children: Margaret A., Johannah P., Odella J., Laura W., Pearl J., Bennie, Ruth C. and Frances I. S.
CELFSTE AMPE (1901), a resident of Ghent since coming to Lyon county in 1901, is proprietor of a blacksmith and wagon repair shop. He is conducting a well paying business, owns the shop he is in, and owns also two nice residence properties in the village. Mr. Ampe is a member of the Town Board of Ghent and served on the Village Council two terms.
Aluis and Lena (Cysello) Ampe, parents of Celeste, were natives of Belgium, and our subject was born there November 17, 1875. The parents never came to this country, and the father is still living in Belgium, the mother being deceased. Celeste received his school education in the land of his birth, and from the time he was fourteen until his twenty-fourth birthday he worked at home for his father. Coming to America in 1899, Celeste located at Brainerd, Minnesota, where he was employed in the Great North- ern railroad shops.
In 1901 our subject came to Lyon county and located at Ghent, where he worked in a blacksmith shop eight months. He then moved to Marshall and worked in Paul Gits' blacksmith shop one year. Returning to Ghent, he purchased the Victor Mileone blacksmith shop, which he has since con- ducted.
Celeste Ampe was married February 6, 1906, to Nellie Moors, a native of Belgium. They are the parents of four children, Peter, Mathew, John and Alonis, Mr. Ampe is a member of the Catholic church and con- ductor of the C. O. F. lodge.
JAMES J. AHERN (1882), of Eidsvold township, has been a resident of Lyon coun-
ty thirty years, since he was eight years of age. lle farms 400 acres of the 560 acres of his father's estate, the home place being on the southwest quarter of section 8, ad- joining the village of Taunton.
Mr. Ahern is a son of the late Garrett Ahern and Kate (Brown) Ahern. The par- ents came from Ireland and were early set- tlers of Illinois. They came to Lyon county in 1882 and took up their residence in Eids- vold township. The father died in 1897 and the mother now makes her home with the subject of this review.
To these parents, in Sangamon county, Illinois, on October 9, 1874, James J. Ahern was born. In 1882 he came with the family to Lyon county, and his home has ever since been in Eidsvold township. He assisted in the management of the home farm until 1903 and since that time he has had full charge.
Mr. Ahern is a member of the Catholic church of Minneota, of the Knights of Colum- bus lodge of Marshall, and of the Modern Woodmen lodge of Taunton. Of the last named he is one of the managers. Mr. Ahern is not married. His brothers and sisters are Garrett, Philip P. and Michael, of Taunton; Thomas, of Hampden, North Dakota; William, of Eidsvold township; Josie and Nance, who live at home; Nellie (Mrs. Thomas Walsh), of Fargo, North Da- kota; and Katherine (Mrs. M. J. Breen), of Minneapolis.
W. W. COOK (1900), of Marshall, is the proprietor of one of the largest department stores in Lyon county and is a man who has spent his entire life in the mercantile business. He was born in Ohio, but in 1857 located in Austin, Minnesota, where he grew to young manhood. He attended the com- mon schools and completed his education in Oberlin (Ohio) College, after which he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits.
Mr. Cook clerked a few years in a dry goods store in St. Paul and then returned to Austin, where he engaged in the business for himself. The next ten years were spent in business in Chicago, and then for four- teen years he had charge of the dry goods department of a department store in St. Paul. At Duluth Mr. Cook was the manager of the Patton & Watson department store. Thereafter for several years he was in busi-
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ness at St. Cloud and Melrose. In 1900 Mr. Cook located in Marshall and opened a stock of goods in the Chittenden building, where he has ever since been engaged in business. He carries a large stock of dry goods, notions and shoes and his store is known as "The Big Store."
Our subject is the son of W. W. and Martha B. (Little) Cook. They were born in New York State but moved to Oberlin, Ohio, in an early day. They later settled in Austin, Minnesota, where the father died at the age of forty-five years. The mother died in Marshall in 1907.
Mr. Cook has always taken an active part in the affairs of his city, doing more than his share in the promotion of every worthy cause. He is imbued with patriotism for his home city and is an enthusiastic supporter of every institution that will add to the re- nown of Marshall. He is a member of the Congregational church and of the Knights of Pythias and Royal Arcanum lodges.
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By his first marriage Mr. Cook has one son, William W. Cook, Jr., who is now en- gaged in the mercantile business in Marshall in partnership with his father. Mr. Cook, Jr., is a young man of great business ability and has become an important factor in the business life of the city.
GUSTAV A. DENNIN (1882), Rock Lake township farmer and for thirty years a resident of Lyon county, was born in Ger- many August 27, 1872. His father, Charles Dennin, died in Germany, and his mother, Hannah Dennin, died in Dempster, South Da- kota, where she had resided since coming to America in 1890.
Gustav came to America with an uncle, Gust Wendland, when a lad of ten years and resided with his uncle the next seven years, meanwhile going to school at Balaton and Tracy. At the age of seventeen he secured work with James Collins, manager of the Hunter & Able stock ranch in Murray coun- ty, and he held that position fourteen years. For about one year after that he was em- ployed in the George Tate elevator at Bala- ton, returning to work for a few months on the Hunter & Able ranch in Murray county, and later working a few months in the employ of a butcher in New Ulm.
The subject of this sketch engaged in
farming for himself in the spring of 1903, having bought the southeast quarter of sec- tion 4, Rock Lake, in 1907. He now owns 210 acres on section 4, and his fine herd of Polled Angus cattle is among the best in the county. All Mr. Dennin's land is in a fine state of cultivation and he has pros- pered. He is a shareholder in the Farm- ers Elevator Company and the Farmers Co- operative Company of Balaton.
Gustav Dennin and Martha Baer were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony at Balaton on June 28, 1906. Mrs. Dennin is a native of Lyon county and was born Angust 28, 1887, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Baer, of Lyons township. Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Dennin are the parents of three children, Erma, Arthur and Anna. The family are members of the German Lutheran church of Balaton.
CHRISTIAN M. DUUS (1904) is proprie- tor of the City Meat Market of Tracy. He is a native of Denmark and was born June 21, 1868. At eighteen years of age he came to America and located at Tyler, Lincoln coun- ty, Minnesota, where he conducted a meat market two years. He then went to Min- neapolis, where he worked at his trade about thirteen years. Returning to Tyler he con- , ducted a meat market until 1904.
In the latter year Mr. Duus came to Lyon county and located at Tracy, where he pur- chased the G. A. Hanson meat market, which he has since conducted. He handles all kinds of meats and canned goods and has one of the most up-to-date meat markets in Tracy, with all the latest improved ma- chinery. Our subject is a member of the M. W. A. and A. O. U. W. lodges.
On December 5, 1895, at Minneapolis, oc- curred the marriage of Mr. Duus to Thoro Jacobson, a native of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Duus are the parents of the following chil- dren: Cecelia Lydia and Raymond.
The subject of this review is a son of Peter Hanson and Catherine Duus, both of whom are deceased. They were the parents of the following children: Hans, of Lincoln county; Peter, a retired farmer; Kristan, a retired farmer of Tyler; Lars H., of Tyler: Henry, of Pine county, Minnesota: Elsie, Annie and Mary, of Minneapolis.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
CHARLES A. ILLIAN (1900) rents a large farm in Monroe township, having charge of the east half of section 16 and 200 acres on section 9, land belonging to J. A. Hunter.
Mr. Illian was born in Prussia August 14, 1844, being the son of Frederick William Illian and Louisa Illian. The mother died when Charles was a baby and the father died in 1858. When Charles was seven years old he came with his father to the United States and they settled in Scott county, Iowa, where the father died, and where our subject lived until May, 1864. In that month he enlisted in Company I, Forty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served until the following September, being detailed on skirmish duty and in guarding railways in Mississippi and Tennessee.
After the war our subject returned to Scott county and engaged in farming about six years; then he moved to Benton county, Iowa, where he farmed three years. While living in Benton county Mr. Illian was mar- ried, September 22, 1872, to Amelia Knaack, who was born in Prussia November 4, 1854. After their marriage the young couple went to Plymouth county, Iowa, where they lived on a farm until 1898, moving then to Red- wood county, Minnesota, and farming two years in the vicinity of Walnut Grove. In 1900 Mr. Illian took charge of Mr. Hunter's farm in Monroe township, where he has re- mained.
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