USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 83
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Mr. Bjornson again entered the newspaper field in the spring of 1900, bought the Mas- cot at that time, and has since published
it. He was appointed postmaster by Presi- dent Roosevelt in April, 1903, and has since served in that capacity. He has been a member of the Board of Education for the last nine years, president of that body for the last four years, and several years ago served as justice of the peace. Mr. Bjorn- son is a member of the Lutheran church and of the A. F. & A. M., R. A. M., M. W. A., Maccabee and Yeomen lodges.
Our subject was married in Minneota March 28, 1903, to Ingebjorg Augusta Hurdal, a native of Iceland and a former resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are the par- ents of three boys: Edward Hjalmar, Krist- jan Valdimar and Gunnar Bjorn.
PHILIP P. AHERN (1883) is one of the old residents of Taunton and has been prominent in business and social circles in that village. He has served as presi- dent of the Village Council ever since Taunton was incorporated in the spring of 1900. Mr. Ahern is local manager of the C. M. Youmans Lumber Company and is interested in other lines of business.
Mr. Ahern was born in Springfield, Illi- nois, September 22, 1867. When he was seventeen years of age, in 1883, he moved with his parents to Lyon county, and until he was twenty-three years old he lived with them on the farm on the west half of section 8, Eidsvold township, just north of Taunton station. Then he located in the little village and for seventeen years bought grain for O. L. Marfield, of Winona. After July, 1898, he also had the manage- ment of the C. M. Youmans Lumber Com- pany's yard and elevator, an assistant look- ing after the grain department until he gave up that part of the business in 1905. Since that time Mr. Ahern has given his time to the management of the lumber yard.
In other lines of business Mr. Ahern has been interested. In the spring of 1895 he was one of the organizers of the Mutual Elevator Company, served as its secretary three years, and then severed his connec- tion with the company. He is vice presi- dent of the State Bank of Taunton and owns a quarter section of land on section 5, Eidsvold. Mr. Ahern is a member of the
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Knights of Columbus and Modern Wood- men lodges.
Philip Ahern is a son of the late Garrett Ahern and Catherine (Brown) Ahern, na- tives of Ireland. The father came to Amer- ica about 1855, the mother a short time later, and they were married at Spring- field, Illinois. They settled in Eidsvold township, Lyon county, in 1883, and in that precinct Mr. Ahern died in 1899, at the age of sixty-seven years. Mrs. Ahern lives on the old home farm with her son, J. J. Ahern. Our subject is the eldest of ten children in this family, the others being as follows: Josie, William, Ellen (Mrs. Thomas Welch), of Minneota; James J., Michael F., Catherine (Mrs. Morris Breen), of Minneapolis; Thomas, assistant cashier of the Farmers Bank of Hampden, North Dakota; Garrett F., of Montana; and Annie.
Philip P. Ahern was married at Minneota in June, 1894, to Catherine Salmon, who died July 3, 1905. As a result of this union a son, Philip, was born. The second mar- riage of Mr. Ahern occurred at Chatfield, Minnesota, to Agnes Moore, a native of that place. To them two children have been born, named Garrett and John.
GUS KNUTSON (1903) is the proprietor of a saloon, an auctioneer, and a dealer in horses and resides in Minneota. He is a native of Norway and was born May 24, 1878. His parents are Knute and Soneva Knutson, who reside in Norway. They are the parents of the following children: T. Knutson and Knute Knutson, of Iowa; Ole and Gus, of Minneota; Ingebritson Knut- son, of Norway.
Gus came to America on his sixteenth birthday and lived in Morris, Illinois, one . year. He then moved to Wright county, Iowa, where he farmed until 1903, the year of his arrival to Lyon county. He located at Minneota, purchased an interest in the saloon of B. H. Cleminson, and a year later became sole proprietor. He has conducted the place since that time. Mr. Knutson is also an auctioneer, having taken up that line of work in 1909, and he has been very successful in that work. Another line is trading and selling horses.
On June 22, 1907, occurred the mar-
riage of Mr. Knutson to Edna Williamson, who was born near Glencoe, Minnesota. She was a school teacher. They were mar- ried at Glencoe. Mr. and Mrs. Knutson are the parents of two children, Vivian and Dudley.
STURLAUGUR GILBERTSON (1878), manager of the Laird-Norton Yards at Minneota, is a homesteader and one of the pioneers of northwestern Lyon county. He is a native of Iceland and was born Decem- ber 29, 1850, the son of Gulbrand and Sig- ridar Gilbertson, both deceased. He is one of a family of five children, the others be- ing Olena, of British Columbia; Haflide, of North Dakota; and Helga and Thorsden, of Iceland.
Mr. Gilbertson came to the United States in 1878 and direct to Lyon county. He took as a homestead claim the northeast quarter of section 8, Nordland township, and resided on the farm seven years. He was one of the early settlers of that pre- cinct, and the shack that he built, 14x16 feet, eight feet high, was considered a very comfortable dwelling in those days. He lived in that dwelling during the memor- able winter of 1880-81 with his family and experienced exceedingly hard times. The wheat he had raised had not been threshed and as he had no fuel he was obliged to borrow straw from a neighbor to burn. There was no flour to be had and the fam- ily prepared their meal by grinding wheat in a coffee-mill. His live stock consisted of a pair of oxen and a cow, which were kept in a dug-out on the bank of a ravine. This was completely covered many times during the long winter and Mr. Gilbertson had trouble in keeping them alive until spring.
After seven years on the farm Mr. Gil- bertson moved to Minneota and that vil- lage has since been his home. He took a position with the Laird-Norton Company when he located in the village in 1886 and has been with the company ever since-as manager since 1897. Mr. Gilbertson is a stockholder and director of the First Na- tional Bank. He served as president of the Village Council five years and was vil- lage recorder eight years. He is a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
PHILIP P. AHERN
Business Man of Taunton and President of the Village Council.
GUS KNUDSON A Business Man of Minneota.
ST. GILBERTSON
A Homesteader of Lyon County and a Minneota Business Man.
G. B. BJORNSON Postmaster of Minneota and Editor Minneota Mascot.
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Mr. Gilbertson was married in Iceland November 25, 1877, to Aslaug Johnson. They have four children: Gilbert, of Mil- waukee; John, of Minneapolis; Holm, of North Dakota; and Frieda.
PETER A. PETERSON (1901) is the owner of a section of fine land in Coon Creek township and resides thereon. He was born December 24, 1844, in Sweden, the son of Peter Neilson. He attended school in his native land, and after finish- ing school worked at farm labor until 1867, when he immigrated to the United States. He first located at De Kalb, Illinois, where he worked on a farm two years, then went to Chicago, where he was a teamster three years. Returning to De Kalb, he remained there until 1880, when he moved to Sac county, Iowa, where he bought land and farmed until 1897. In the last mentioned year he moved to Clay county, Iowa, bought land, and resided there until 1901, when he sold his land and moved to Lyon county.
Mr. Peterson has improvements on each quarter of his land, upon which his sons reside. He raises considerable stock, among other breeds, Duroc-Jersey hogs and Hereford cattle. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr. Peterson holds stock in the Farmers Elevator Com- pany of Russell. He has one sister, Mrs. Andrew Larson, who resides in Chicago.
Mr. Peterson is a man of family. Jan- uary 20, 1869, he was married to Annie Petersen, a daughter of Peter and Chris- tina Petersen, natives of Sweden. Mrs. Peterson was born August 12, 1840. Our subject and his wife are the parents of the following named children: Ebenezer, born August 10, 1870; Annie (Mrs. A. P. Carver), born August 29, 1872; Julia (Mrs. H. N. Carver), born in 1875; Joseph E., born July 8, 1877; Monvil, born August 30, 1879; Martin, born September 2, 1881; Mary (Mrs. O. C. Willard), born Novem- ber 18, 1883. Joseph Peterson was mar- ried October 25, 1911, to Carrie A. Nelson, a daughter of Nels and Katherine Christine Nelson, of Coon Creek township.
HOMER D. SHARRATT (1896) is the assistant cashier of the Lyon County Na-
tional Bank of Marshall. He was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, November 29, 1880, the son of George and Celestia (Hodgson) Sharratt, the former a native of Staffordshire, England, and the latter of Syracuse, New York, of English ances- try. In 1892 the father came to Lyon county, purchased land, and has since led a retired life in the city of Marshall. They are the parents of only one child, the sub- ject of this sketch.
When twelve years of age, Homer moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he received a common school education. In 1896 he came to Lyon county and located at Mar- shall, where he attended the Marshall High School and was graduated therefrom, later taking a course in the University of Min- nesota. In 1902 Mr. Sharratt entered the Lyon County Bank as bookkeeper and was promoted January 1, 1911, to assistant cashier. Our subject is a member of the Masonic lodge.
On February 15, 1898, at Stillwater, Minnesota, occurred the marriage of Mr. Sharratt to Selma C. Magnuson, a native of Stillwater.
WILL BANKS (1909) is a farmer and land owner of Lynd township who has re- sided in Lyon county only a few years. Will is a native of Illinois and was born near Belvidere November 19, 1866, a son of C. E. and Sarah (Nicholson) Banks. The father was a native of Maine, born in 1835, and when only nine years of age accompanied his parents to Illinois. On May 18, 1911, he was struck by the North- western train in Marshall and killed. The mother is a native of Nottingham, England, and was born in 1846. She resides at present with our subject in Lynd township.
The gentleman whose name heads this review received his early education in the district schools of Bremer county, lowa. Later he attended high school at Waverly, lowa, and Elliott's Business College at Burlington, Iowa, from which he was grad- uated in 1887. He then went to Pasadena, California, and obtained a position with the Pasadena Nursery Company as book- keeper. He continued in that capacity a year, after which he was employed by an- other nursery company for several months.
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Mr. Banks later became an officer in the Salvation Army, which he held for five years, during which time he toured the state of California. He also spent one win- ter as bookkeeper for the Pacific Coast division of the Army.
In 1894 Mr. Banks located in Kossuth county, Iowa, and moved on a farm which he owned there. He later bought more land adjoining that farm, making him 320 acres of land. He operated the farm four- teen years, raising blooded Duroc-Jersey hogs and a great number of cattle and sheep. While in Iowa he shipped a num- ber of his blooded stock all over the coun- try. He was awarded first prize for his stock at the Minnesota State Fair in 1909. His son, Fisk, when fifteen years of age, secured first prize and sweepstakes at the corn show which the Iowa Corn Breeders Association holds each year. He also se- cured two first premiums at the Minnesota State Fair in 1911.
In November, 1909, Mr. Banks sold his interests in Iowa, in April of the same year having purchased the land he now owns and operates in Lynd township. He is the owner of 400 acres known as the "Coteau Farm," formerly owned by O. C. Gregg. He raises considerable stock, including Duroc-Jersey hogs, dairy cattle and west- ern sheep.
Our subject is a member of the Metho- dist church. In Kossuth county, Iowa, he held the following positions: Township trustee, president of the School Board, president of the Creamery Association, di- rector of the County Fair Association. Mr. Banks has been a successful farmer and stockraiser.
On February 24, 1890, Mr. Banks was united in marriage to Catherine Oates, a daughter of William and Ann Oates. Mrs. Banks was born in Durham county, Eng- land, in 1867. They are the parents of the following children: Grace, Fisk, Charles, John, Will, George, Gladys, Gale and Lee.
FRED E. BUTLER (1896) is the pro- prietor of the Tracy Feed Barn, which he has conducted since 1911. He was born in Burlington, Vermont, March 4, 1863, a son of Isaac and Eliza Butler, natives of
Vermont. They have only two children living: Fred E., of this sketch, and Au- gusta, of Rutland, Vermont.
Fred lived in Vermont until reaching twenty years of age, when he went to Ne- braska City, Nebraska, and entered the Grand Central Hotel as cook at twelve dollars per month. One year later he was made chef of the same hotel at a salary of $100 per month. He remained in Ne- braska about five years and then went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was em- ployed two years as chef for Ezra Young, a son of Brigham Young and the proprie- tor of the Templeton Hotel. He then came to Minnesota, locating at St. Cloud, where he worked as cook one year.
In 1896 Mr. Butler came to Lyon county and located at Tracy, where he worked as chief cook in the Depot Hotel about a year. He then returned to St. Cloud, where he remained one year, after which he returned to Tracy and worked about three years in the Depot Hotel. Mr. But- ler went to Watertown and worked in the Grand Hotel three years, and to Marshall, where he conducted a livery barn two years. In 1911 he returned to Tracy and purchased the Tracy Feed Barn, which he has since conducted.
Mr. Butler was married in Fairmont, Minnesota, on October 12, 1895, to Lottie Sturdevant, a native of Wisconsin.
ERICK M. SWANSON (1902), a resi- dent of Coon Creek township, was born in Dalsland, Sweden, July 22, 1854. The parents of Mr. Swanson were Swan and Christine (Erickson) Swanson, who immi- grated to America in 1882 and located at Rockford, Illinois. Both parents are de- ceased. Erick attended school in Sweden until fifteen years of age and then clerked in a store for one and a half years.
In 1872 Mr. Swanson came to the United States and located in Vermont, where he resided several months. From that time until 1885 he resided in Sibley county, Minnesota, and Scott county, Iowa, work- ing at farm labor, and at Rockford, Illinois, four years, working in a sash and door fac- tory. In 1885 he moved to Nobles county, Minnesota, where he conducted a rented farm until 1902, the year of his coming to
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Lyon county. On his arrival he located on section 9, Coon Creek township, where he still resides. He raises some stock, among other breeds, Poland China hogs, Durham cattle and Plymouth Rock chick- ens. He was a school director for several years in Nobles county and has been road overseer for several years in Coon Creek township. He holds stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Russell and in the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company.
On February 10, 1882, Elizabeth Levine became the wife of Mr. Swanson. Mrs. Swanson is a native of Sweden and a daughter of John and Sarah Levine, of Nobles county. She was born October 6, 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Swanson are the par- ents of the following children: Albin O., born April 21, 1883; Rudolph, born Janu- ary 11, 1885; Amy, born September 1, 1886; Edward, born July 24, 1888; Mabel, born June 14, 1890; Charles, born June 9, 1892; Elmer, born October 17, 1896; Flor- ence, born December 26, 1898; Gustaf, born February 10, 1903. All the children except Mabel reside in Lyon county.
Mr. Swanson has two brothers, Charles and August Swanson, of Rockford, Illinois. Mrs. Swanson has three sisters and two brothers: Nina, of Rockford, Illinois; Carrie, Emily and Martin Levine, of No- bles county, Minnesota; Axel, of Seattle, Washington. Her parents reside in No- bles county.
MRS. JULIANNA BUYSSE (1883), of Westerheim township, is one of the early members of the Catholic colony that lo- cated in Lyon county. She is the widow of Peter Buysse, who was one of the well- known and respected residents of the pre- cinct.
Mrs. Buysse's maiden name was Ju- lianna Vertrest, and she was born in Hol- land April 22, 1857. In her native land she made her home until her marriage to Mr. Buysse on March 1, 1883. The young couple came to America that year and di- rect to Lyon county, and Mrs. Buysse has ever since been a resident of the county.
Peter Buysse was born in Belgium March 18, 1858, a son of Bruno and Sophia Buysse, both deceased. He came to America in 1881, lived in Illinois two
years, and then after his marriage in the old country in the spring of 1883, came to America and took up his residence in Lyon county. For some time he engaged in farming in Eidsvold township and then located in Westerheim, where the family has ever since lived and where Mr. Buysse died on April 5, 1903.
Since the death of the head of the fam- ily the farm has been under the manage- ment of his sons. The family farm 720 acres of land and own 1280 acres in Wes- terheim township, being among the pre- cinct's heaviest land owners. Mrs. Buysse and family are members of the Catholic church of Ghent. She has stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Ghent.
Mrs. Buysse is the mother of the follow- ing named children, all of whom reside at home: Mary, born April 16, 1885; Frank, born June 9, 1886; August, born August 12, 1887; Charles, born January 20, 1891; Julius, born December 3, 1892; Joseph, born September 6, 1896. The first born died in infancy and two other children, Leo and Joseph, are deceased.
MRS. ANNETTE HARDEN (1896) is the proprietor of a general store in the village of Russell. She was born in La- salle county, Illinois, September 23, 1849, a daughter of Clement and Susan (Wors- ley) Eastman, both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Harden received her schooling in Illi- nois, where she resided with her parents until twenty-four years of age.
January 1, 1873, the subject of this re- view was married to Eugene Furbush, a native of Lasalle county. To this union was born one child, Mrs. Stella Carlaw, of Russell, the widow of the late Archie Car- law. Mrs. Carlaw is the junior member of the firm of Carlaw & Harden, general mer- chants of Russell. In 1877 Mr. and Mrs. Furbush moved to Redfield, South Dakota, where they resided twelve years, when Mrs. Furbush and her daughter, Stella, returned to Illinois, where they remained, with the exception of a year spent in South Dakota, until 1896. That year our subject was married at Lake Benton to H. W. B. Harden, of Russell. Mrs. Har- den has resided in Russell since that date. For the past fourteen years she has been
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identified with the mercantile business of that village.
For ten years Mrs. Harden conducted the store now known as the Farmers Co- operative Store, selling to the co-operative company in June, 1907. In June, 1910, in company with her son-in-law, Archie Carlaw, she purchased the Jay Peterson stock of general merchandise. October 13, 1911, Mr. Carlaw died, and since that time his wife has had charge of the in- terest formerly held by him. They handle a complete stock of dry goods, groceries, notions and millinery. They have a neat, up-to-date stock and have been very suc- cessful.
PETER C. NELSON (1890). One of the most prosperous farmers and stock raisers of Coon Creek township is Peter Nelson, who resides on the southeast quar- ter of section 5. Mr. Nelson was born in Ringsta, Denmark, on January 31, 1861. He is the son of Nels Peter Christianson, who resides with a son, Sam Nelson, in Coon Creek township.
Peter Nelson attended school in the land of his birth until thirteen years of age. Then he came to America with his father and located near Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he worked at farm labor twelve years. He then rented land in that vicinity and farmed for himself two years. In 1890 he came to Lyon county and farmed rented land near Tyler three years. At the end of that time he bought land in Coon Creek township, which he farmed four years and sold, later buying the farm he now owns and operates, the southeast quarter of sec- tion 5, Coon Creek township. He raises stock, among other breeds, Duroc-Jersey hogs, Polled Angus cattle and Brown Leg- horn chickens. He a stockholder of the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company. Mr. Nelson has been a successful farmer and stock raiser. He has two brothers, Sam, of Coon Creek township, and Andrew, of Lincoln county.
Mr. Nelson is a man of family. He was married June 11, 1895, to Louise Benson, a daughter of Bangt Benson, of Sweden. She was born February 18, 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are the parents of one child, Bennie, born May 5, 1896.
DR. FRED H. POWERS (1910), prac- tising physician of Marshall, was born in Bloomington, Illinois, February 8, 1869. When a child he accompanied his parents to Shelbyville, of the same state, where he was graduated from the high school and where he grew to manhood. After his high school days he went to Chicago and secured the degree of Ph. G. from the Chicago Department of Pharmacy of the University of Illinois.
Mr. Powers practised pharmacy in Chi- cago seven years and then took up the study of medicine. He was graduated from Rush Medical College, of Chicago, in 1900. After his graduation Dr. Powers served as an interne in the Chicago Lying- in Hospital and Dispensary. He became a member of the staff of the Julian Burn- ham Hospital at Champaign, Illinois, and was appointed to the chair of obstetrics and gynecology and later bacteriology in the Burnham Hospital Training School for Nurses. During his residence in Illinois, Dr. Powers was secretary of the Twin City Physicians Club, was censor and vice presi- dent of the Champaign County Medical Society, was a member of the Illionis State Medical Society, the Aesculapian Medical Society of the Wabash Valley and the American Medical Association.
In 1907 Dr. Powers returned to Chicago to become an associate of Professor E. Fletcher Ingals, of Rush Medical College. In 1910 he located in Marshall, succeeding Dr. F. C. Wheat.
Dr. Powers is a son of the late John W. Powers. The latter was born in Flem- ingsburg, Kentucky, later moved to Louis- ville, and later still to Illinois, where he engaged in the banking business. He was a soldier of the Union army during the War of the Rebellion. The mother of our subject, Mary E. Larrimore, was a native of Springfield, Illinois, her parents having been natives of Maryland.
At Vienna, Maryland, on June 19, 1901, Dr. Powers was married to Celeste Webb, of Baltimore. One child, Margaret, has been born to this union.
CHRIST E. SIGURDSON (1891), farmer of Nordland township, was born in Lyon county January 15, 1891. He attended
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
school until sixteen years of age and thereafter worked for his father on the farm. In the spring of 1912 he took the management of the place and is now farm- ing it on shares with his father. He also conducts the 120-acre farm of Christine Hanson on the same section, 16. He is a member of the Icelandic Lutheran church of Minneota.
The parents of Christ Sigurdson are Einar and Lena (Bergson) Sigurdson, who live on the farm conducted by their son. They came from Iceland to Lyon county in 1882 and have ever since lived in Nord- land township. Ten children were born to them, named as follows: Otto and Bjorn, who are deceased; Paul, a farmer of Nordland township; Lena (Mrs. Andrew Nelson), of Lake Hendricks, Minnesota; John, Ole, Christ E., Otto, Marvin and Bjorn, who reside on the home farm.
HENRY THAVIS (1904). Numerous private residences in Tracy are equipped with heating plants installed by Henry Thavis, plumber and installer of heating systems, whose place of business is on Third Street. During the three years that Mr. Thavis has been in the plumbing and heating business he has established a repu- tation for reliability and good workman- ship. The heating plants in the Central school, and in the Gund Brewing Com- pany's depot were put in by Mr. Thavis.
The subject of this sketch was born in Sibley county, Minnesota, March 5, 1879. He went to school in St. Peter and at an early age commenced to learn the plumb- ing trade. In the early part of 1904 Hen- ry moved to Marshall, where he worked for a local plumber several months; then he moved to Tracy, where he had been given employment with the Northwestern Railroad Company, as plumber in the Tracy roundhouse. That position he held six and one-half years, and in June, 1909, he started in the plumbing business for himself. While a resident of Tracy Henry has become a member of the M. W. A. lodge.
The marriage of Henry Thavis and Miss Martha Ferrell took place at Marysberg. Minnesota, in November, 1900. Miss Fer- rell's home was in Le Sueur county. The
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