USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 84
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union has been blessed with three children: Lawrence Glenn, Paul Ferrell and Leon- ard Jerome.
The parents of the subject of this sketch are Mathias and Margaret (Hames) Thavis, natives of Sibley and Nicollet counties, respectively. They now reside at Spokane, Washington, and with them are three of their children, Anna, John and Margaret. Mary (Mrs. Andrew Boh- rer), another sister of Henry Thavis, lives in St. Peter.
VERNON B. TUBBS (1896) is the pro- prietor of one half section of Clifton town- ship's best farm land. He is giving much attention to stock raising in addition to his general farm work and raises Short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs.
Vernon B. Tubbs was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, October 20, 1871, and is a son of Benjamin P. and Julia (Moore) Tubbs, natives of New York and Ohio, re- spectively. The parents moved to Wiscon- sin in 1845 and located on a farm. Ver- non received his schooling in Wisconsin, and when seventeen years of age he ac- companied his parents to Kossuth county, Iowa, and there lived until 1896.
It was in that year that our subject came to Lyon county and bought the south- east quarter of section 1, Clifton township, where he now resides. Later he pur- chased the northeast quarter of section 1, and now farms the entire half section. Mr. Tubbs is one of the progressive farm- ers of the vicinity and though a compara- tively young man, he is today one of the township's most prosperous farmers.
The marriage of Vernon B. Tubbs and Eva H. Ranney occurred in lowa October 18, 1893. She was born September . 4, 1876, and is a daughter of Frank L. and Hannah (Peck) Ranney, natives of Wis- consin and now residents of Algona, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Tubbs have been born three children, as follows: Joseph W .. born September 9, 1894; Walter C., born May 16, 1899; and Beatrice, born May 14, 1906. The Tubbs family are members of the Presbyterian church.
CAMIL DEBUF (1906) is a recent ad- dition to the farming fraternity of Fair-
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view township, moving from Ghent to the northeast quarter of section 29 in the spring of 1911.
Mr. Debuf was born in Belgium Febru- ary 15, 1871, and received his education in that country, living at home and work- ing for his father until 1904, when the boy came to America. North Dakota was his destination, and Camil spent the first two years in the new land on a ranch in Billings county. It was during his resi- dence in Dakota that our subject was mar- ried at Dickinson, to Marie Lemmertyn. Mrs. Debuf was born in Belgium and she came with her parents to this country in 1905.
After his marriage Mr. Debuf came to Lyon county, worked in Ghent six months, and then rented the land in Fairview where he took up his residence one year ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Camil Debuf are the par- ents of five children, Joe, Constant, Carel, Alfons and Mary. The Debufs are mem- bers of the Catholic church.
PETER VANGHELUWE (1893), a well- to-do farmer of Grandview township, was born in Belgium January 27, 1865, and was brought up and educated in that country. He finished school and helped his father on the home place until coming to the United States in 1893.
In that year he came to this country and located in Lyon county, working as a farm laborer around Marshall. In 1895 he married and rented a farm in Lake Marshall township, which he conducted three years. Later he bought the southeast quarter of section 24, Grandview town- ship, at the time an unimproved piece of land. Mr. Vangheluwe has put up modern buildings on the place and has made it a model farm in all respects. In addition to his home place he also farms eighty acres on section 25, which he purchased in 1909.
Peter Vangheluwe is one of a family of ten children born to Bruno and Louise Vangheluwe. The father died in 1901 at the age of eighty-five years, and the mother is still living in the old country. Peter is the only one of the children in this country. He has made wonderful progress since coming to America, begin-
ning as a common laborer without any means. He now is the owner of 240 acres of valuable land, improved with substan- tial buildings. Mr. Vangheluwe is one of the township supervisors and is clerk of school district No. 21.
Our subject was married in Marshall. He took as his wife Sylvia DeVos, the wedding ceremony taking place December 27, 1895. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
GEORGE LONG (1897) is the proprie- tor of a bakery and restaurant in the city of Marshall. He was born at Lafayette, Indiana, July 25, 1861, the son of Bar- ney and Mary Long. Both his parents were natives of Germany and both are deceased. Besides George there are two other children in the family: Fred, of Lafayette, Indiana, and Mary Bilby, of Terre Haute, Indiana.
When twelve years of age George ac- companied his parents to Terre Haute. From there he went to Chicago, where he conducted a lodging house, and later to Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked in the Scotch oat meal factory. In 1889 Mr. Long went to Alaska and during the next two years he was engaged in mining and freighting. Thereafter for a time he worked for the Northern Pacific Rail- road Company in Tacoma, Washington, and during the World's Fair resided in Chicago.
Mr. Long came West in 1895, resided two years in Redwood county, and then came to Lyon county. For a few years he worked at farm labor and in 1900 opened a restaurant in Marshall. After conducting that three years he moved to a new location and opened a bakery and ice cream establishment in connection. He has an up-to-date bakery and conducts a first-class restaurant.
In the city of Marshall, on December 13, 1895, Mr. Long was married to Fannie Schoak. They have no children of their own but have an adopted daughter, Addie. Mr. Long is a member of the Masonic, Woodmen, Maccabees and Eagle lodges.
JOHN H. JOHNSON (1897) is a farmer of Shelburne township. Не and his
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brother-in-law, Dan Hasbargen, own 360 acres of land in that precinct and they farm the entire traet. They are successful farmers and are rated among the sub- stantial men of southwestern Lyon county.
Near the city of Peoria, Illinois, on March 23, 1867, John H. Johnson first saw the light of day. When he was yet a baby the family moved to Danforth, Iro- quois county, and there John grew to man- hood. Until he became of age he worked on his father's farm, and then for a year or two he worked for other farmers in the vicinity. Mr. Johnson then engaged in farming for himself, which he followed in Illinois until coming to Lyon county in 1897.
Mr. Johnson came to the county with Dan Hasbargen and the two have ever since been partners in their farming oper- ations. They planted the grove on the farm and made all the improvements on the place. Mr. Johnson has not married and makes his home with his partner. He has served as road overseer of his dis- trict.
The parents of our subject were Henry and Annie (Gertis) Johnson. They were born in Germany and for many years were residents of Illinois. They moved to Lyon county in 1893, purchased the south half of section 25, Shelburne township, and resided there until their deaths. The mother died in the fall of 1895, the father about 1901. There are seven living chil- dren in the family, named as follows: John H., Paul H., Christ, George, Rachael (Mrs. Dan Hasbargen), Onno and Mary (Mrs. Albert Loats). Another son, Henry Johnson, died in August, 1910, at the age of twenty-eight years.
PETER M. BERG (1905) is a general merchant of the village of Minneota. He is a native of Sweden and was born Janu- ary 6, 1862. His parents were Swen Pe- ter and Inga Mary (Johnson) Peter, both of whom are deceased. They were the parents of two children: Peter M., of this sketch, and Andrew, who is farming in Swede Prairie township, Yellow Medicine county.
The subject of this sketch came to the United States in 1881 and located in Yel-
low Medicine county, where he worked on farms for a few years, near Hanley Falls. He purchased a farm in Burton township in 1887 and operated it until 1905, when he moved to Minneota and purchased the general merchandise stock of Sterk Broth- ers, which he has since conducted. He still owns his farm.
Mr. Berg is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church and the I. O. O. F., M W. A. and Yeomen lodges. He is also justice of the peace of the village of Min- neota. While in Yellow Medicine county he held various offices, including justice of the peace, member of the school board, and a member of the Township Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Berg was married at Hanley Falls October 24, 1884, to Helen Knuteson, a native of Goodhue county, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Berg are the parents of the fol- lowing ten children: Hilda (Mrs. P. J. Brantnum), of Canby, Minnesota; Andre W. and Clara E., who clerk for their father; Henry A., a student; Carl F., grain buyer for Bigham Brothers at Minneota; Emma E., Peter S., George A., James A. and Arby, who reside at home.
To our subject is largely due the splen- did rural mail service from the village of Minneota, he circulating the petition for the establishment of route No. 1. K. K. Mohn was the first carrier on that route, which was established in 1902.
IVER OPDAHL (1881) is a native of Lyon county and with the exception of four years has lived in Westerheim town- ship all his life.
Mr. Opdahl is a son of Helge and In- geborg Opdahl, natives of Norway. They came to the United States about 1870 and lived in Goodhue county, Minnesota, until 1879, in which year they moved to Lyon county and purchased the east half of section 32, Westerheim township. Ex- cepting one year spent in North Dakota, Helge Opdahl made his home there until his death on September 12, 1908, at the age of fifty-eight years. Mrs. Opdahl is now living in Barnes county, North Dakota. She and her husband were the parents of seven children, Albert, Ida, Annie, Iver,
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Henry, Andrew and Betsy. The three last named are dead.
Three years previous to his father's death Iver Opdahl took charge of the old home place. In 1907 he went to North Dakota and farmed four years, but with that exception he has always resided on his present place.
Our subject was married in the town- ship on December 5, 1907, and took for his wife Hilda Christianson, a native of Norway who came to the United States when thirteen years of age. By her mar- riage to Mr. Opdahl she became the mother of three children, Isabelle Juliett, Henry Clifford and Ingulf Harold. The Opdahls are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
JOEL MENARD (1902), of Marshall, was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, July 2, 1868, the son of Prudent and Hen- rietta (Fortin) Menard. His parents were born in Canada but moved to Kankakee county when children and were married there. Mr. Menard died there about 1900; the mother still lives there. The other children of the family are George, Philip, Alfred, Almyra and Alex.
Until he reached his majority Joel Me- nard lived on his father's farm, and then he engaged in farming on his own account in Kankakee county until moving to Mar- shall in 1902. He has since devoted his time to looking after his farming inter- ests and breeding Percheron horses. He has one of the finest residences in the city.
Mr. Menard was married in his native county on New Years Day, 1891, to Emma Caron, who is also a native of Kankakee county and who was born August 25, 1873. They have six children, namely: Pru- dent, Clara, Rachel, Andrew, Hugo and Virgil. A son, Marshal, died July 4, 1909, at the age of seven years.
JOHN K. SPENCER (1900), a resident of Amiret, was born January 16, 1859, in Jefferson county, Indiana. He is a son of Benjamin and Roda (Warfield) Spen- cer, natives of Kentucky, and when six years of age his parents moved to Van
Buren county, Iowa. His father bought land in the vicinity of Melton, and John grew up on the farm.
The boy received his schooling in the district in which the farm was located, and until the age of twenty-five years he lived at home with his parents, assisting with the work on the home farm. In 1884 young Spencer decided to strike out for himself and went to Beadle county, South Dakota, where he took a quarter section of land as a homestead and eighty acres as a pre-emption claim, and farmed until 1900.
That year Mr. Spencer moved to Lyon county and rented the 640 acres on sec- tion 20, Amiret township. He staid on that place one year and then moved to Custer township, where he rented 160 acres on section 10 the next four years. He then moved to Redwood county and spent one year there before returning to Lyon county and locating on section 20, Amiret township. Later he located on sec- tion 4 and farmed five and one-half years before moving to Amiret village, where he has since been the proprietor of a . boarding house.
The subject of this sketch was married in Melton, Iowa, February 17, 1879, to Arvilla Davis. She was born in Van Bu- ren county, Iowa, November 12, 1859, and is a daughter of Wamouth and Rebecca (Hargrove) Davis, natives of Indiana and Delaware, respectively. Her parents were early settlers of Van Buren county and lived there until their deaths. Three chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spen- cer: Nellie May, born August 6, 1883; Clerance Sidney, born November 14, 1884; and Ruth Pearl, born November 28, 1898. Mr. Spencer is fraternally allied with the Yeomen lodge.
CASSIUS M. GIBBS (1893), of Mar- shall, has spent the greater part of his life in Lyon county and is a native son of Minnesota. He was born in Le Sueur county December 13, 1881, and when one year old was taken with the family to Minneapolis. He moved to Marshall with his parents in 1893 and has since lived in that city.
He attended the Marshall schools until
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sixteen years of age. Then he entered the News-Messenger office, learned the printer's trade, and was connected with the office nine years. He engaged in the restaurant business two years and has since been engaged in various occupations. He is not married and makes his home with his parents. For the past ten or twelve years Mr. Gibbs has been a mem- ber of the Marshall Fire Department and he is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
James G. Gibbs, the father of our sub- ject, is also a resident of Marshall. He was born in Post Creek, Chemung county, New York, August 3, 1835, and is a vet- eran of the Civil War. He served four years and five months, under two enlist- ments, in the First New York Light Ar- tillery, and participated in thirty-seven en- gagements. He was with General Mc- Clellan during the entire campaign in Virginia and participated in many engage- ments on the Peninsula. Some of the more important battles of that campaign in which Mr. Gibbs participated were York- town, Lees Mills, Dam No. 2, Fair Oaks, Grapevine Bridge, Seven Pines, Ganes Farm, Cold Harbor, Front of Richmond, Mechanicville, Seven Days Fight and the Second Battle of Bull Run. Mr. Gibbs' second enlistment was with General Meade, under whose command he participated in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Marys Heights, Chancellorville, Winches- ter, Cedar Creek, Mount Jackson, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Bermuda Hun- dred and Petersburg.
After the war James Gibbs lived on his father's New York farm a few years and about 1870 came West and located in Le Sueur county, Minnesota. There he worked at the carpenter's trade and at farming until 1882, worked at his trade in Minneapolis until 1893, and in Marshall until 1904. Since then he has lived a re- tired life. Elenora (Smith) Gibbs, the mother of our subject, is also a native of Post Creek, New York.
Four children of James Gibbs' family are living: Eva (Mrs. A. T. Drew), of Mar- shall; Rose (Mrs. D. N. Hunt), of Minne- apolis; Pina (Mrs. H. S. Corning), of Min- neapolis; and Cassius, of this biography.
OSMUND N. MITCHELL (1900), of Shelburne township, owns and farms 360 acres of the precinct's fertile soil. He is not a pioneer resident of Lyon county but he has prospered and is rated as one of the substantial farmers. His home place is the northwest quarter of section 33, on the southern boundary of the county.
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch was born near Stavanger, Norway, April 26, 1866. His father, Nels Mikkel- son, died in 1887; his mother, Ingeborg (Osmundson) Mikkelson, two years later. Until he was sixteen years of age young Mitchell attended the schools of his native land. Then he spent four years working as a farm laborer, three years for an uncle and one year on the home place.
In 1887 Mr. Mitchell came to America. The first two years in the New World were spent working on the railroad in Living- ston county, Illinois; then he worked at farm labor in Lasalle county two years. He was married in 1891 and moved to Kossuth county, Iowa, where he bought land and engaged in farming until 1900.
In the spring of that year Mr. Mitchell came to Lyon county and purchased 200 acres of land on the west half of section 33, Shelburne township, upon which he has ever since resided. In the fall of 1910 he purchased the southeast quarter of sec- tion 32, making him a farm of 360 acres. Mr. Mitchell raises considerable stock, in- cluding Hereford cattle, Duroc-Jersey hogs and Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.
Mr. Mitchell is interested in several other enterprises. He has stock in the State Bank of Florence, the Farmers Ele- vator Company of Ruthton, and the In- dependent Harvester Company of Plano, Illinois. He has been treasurer of school district No. 57 for the past ten years.
The marriage of Mr. Mitchell to Lena Olson occurred in Streator, Illinois, De- cember 26, 1890. Mrs. Mitchell was born in Norway April 30, 1875, the daughter of Andrew and Martha ( Severson) Olson. The head of the family came to America in 1886 and the rest of the family in 1890. They lived in Lasalle county, Illi- nois, and Kossuth county, Iowa, and in 1903 moved to Cottonwood county, Minne- sota, where they now reside. Mrs. Mitch- ell has two brothers, Severt Olson, of Cot-
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tonwood county, and John Olson, of Lac qui Parle county. Mr. Mitchell has one brother, James, of Kossuth county, Iowa.
Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, as follows: Ida, of Elma, Washington, born November 11, 1891; Mary, born September 23, 1893; Moses, born November 18, 1895; Hannah, born August 14, 1897; Jennie, deceased, born March 18, 1899; Esther, born December 24, 1901; Frances, born April 21, 1903; Oscar, born February 24, 1906; Genevieve, deceased, born April 11, 1909; Levain, born April 6, 1911. All except the old- est child reside at home.
PHILIP HOFNER (1905), proprietor of a Tracy meat market, has been a resident of that city since April, 1905. The shop, which is largely in the management of his two sons, Charlie and Paul, is situated on the corner of Third and Morgan Streets, and the proprietor handles all kinds of fresh and salt meats.
Philip Hofner was born in Germany January 23, 1851, and came to America when a boy of sixteen. He settled in Du- buque, Iowa, and lived in that state until moving to Tracy. Learning the butcher business soon after his arrival in this country, young Hofner started in business for himself and conducted a meat market during all the years he was a resident of Iowa.
He was married in Dubuque to Lizzie Liebarnt, a native of the city in which she was married. Eight children were born to them, as follows: Lena, William, Barney, Louise, Lizzie, Loui, Charlie and Paul.
Charlie Hofner, who with his brother Paul manages his father's market, was born at Oelwein, Iowa, December 31, 1883. Paul was also born at Oelwein, on July 28, 1889. While young boys the family moved to Riceville, Iowa, where the chil- dren received their early education and where they were taken into their father's market and taught the butcher business. When the elder Mr. Hofner bought the shop of Lynch & Shellhorn in Tracy the boys came from Iowa to help conduct the business. At that time the shop occupied the building which now houses the Fitch
music store, and it was later moved to its present location.
PHIL CARON (1883) assists his brother Leon conduct the farm on the southeast quarter of section 4, Grandview township. He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, October 15, 1875, and was brought up on his father's farm.
The parents of our subject were Theo- dore and Julia (Constantine) Caron, natives of Canada, having been born in Three Riv- ers and Louisville, respectively. They were early settlers of Kankakee county, Mr. Caron moving there when twenty-two years of age. He soon after married and he and his family lived in Illinois until coming to Lyon county in 1883. Mr. Caron is still living on his old farm on the southeast quarter of sec- tion 4 with his sons Leon and Phil and his daughter Marie. His wife died in 1899, aged sixty-six years.
Phil has always lived at home with the family and has had a continuous residence on the Grandview township farm with the exception of three years when the family lived in St. Paul. He was married in Ghent on January 15, 1900, to Vitiline Paradis, a native of Canada and a daughter of Teles Paradis, a farmer living south of Marshall. Mrs. Caron died May 15, 1900, at the age of twenty-one years.
Phil Caron has the following sisters and brothers living: Lizzie (Mrs. Louis Reg- nier), Bertha (widow of I. R. Patriaude), Cecile (Mrs. George Regnier), Marie, who lives at home; and Leon, who conducts the home farm with his brother.
CARL LINDSTROM (1898), proprietor of the Marshall Steam Laundry, was born in Sweden December 19, 1867. He secured his education and spent his boyhood days in the old country working on a farm. He came to America in 1886 and for five years worked in the Pullman car shops in Chicago. He then learned the laundry business and was the manager of a laundry in Chicago for sev- eral years.
Mr. Lindstrom located in Marshall in 1898, bought the laundry of Gieseke, Sullivan & Addison, installed new machinery through- out, and has since conducted the business.
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He has installed porcelain tubs and conducts a bath house in connection. Mr. Lindstrom is a member of the Masonic and Modern Woodmen lodges.
The parents of our subject are Johannes Carlson and Mary Katherina Carlson, who reside in Sweden. Five children of the fam- ily, Alfred, Gustaf, Carl, Frank and Otto, re- side in the United States, while August, Adolph and Emma live in Sweden.
WILLIAM C. PALMER (1897), of Coon Creek township, was born in Marshall coun- ty, Illinois, July 14, 1867, a son of E. B. and Gurtrud (Vincent) Palmer, both natives of New York. When two years of age Wil- liam accompanied his parents to Keokuk county, Iowa, where he received his educa- tion and grew to manhood. In 1888 he rent- ed land in Iowa and started farming for him- self.
In 1897 Mr. Palmer came to Lyon county and purchased land in Coon Creek town- ship. He owns a fine farm of 280 acres and raises considerable stock, including Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs. Mr. Palmer is a stockholder in the following enterprises: Farmers Elevator Company of Russell, Tyler Telephone Company and the American Here- ford Cattle Association of Kansas City, Mis- souri. He is chairman of the Township Board and clerk of school district No. 76. He holds membership in the Masonic lodge, being a charter member of Mckinley Lodge of Tyler.
At What Cheer, Iowa, December 27, 1888, Mr. Palmer was married to Minnie Law- rence, a native of lowa and a daughter of Dr. A. D. and Elizabeth (Thomas) Law- rence, natives of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are the parents of the following named children: Mildred, Ethel, Helen, Carrie and Rubey.
TENNES A. LENDE (1900) is a butcher and dealer in live stock in Cottonwood. He was born on his father's farm near Hanley Falls, Minnesota, August 23, 1874, a son of ' Andrew O. and Martha M. (Hanson) Lende, natives of Norway. They settled in Minne- sota in an early day. They resided in Yel- low Medicine county until 1895, when the father moved to Cottonwood and engaged in
the live stock business. In 1900 the family moved to Cottonwood. Mr. Lende died Oc- tober 9, 1905, aged fifty-nine years. The mother resides in Cottonwood.
Tennes spent his boyhood days in Yellow Medicine county. There he received his edu- cation, completing it with a course, in 1893- 94, in the Willmar Seminary. He lived on the farm until 1900, when he accompanied his parents to Lyon county and located at Cottonwood. There he engaged in the butch- er and live stock business with his father, taking full charge after his father's death. He has conducted the business since that time with the exception of twenty-one months, when Keehn Brothers were in charge. He again bought the business in 1910.
Mr. Lende is a stockholder of the First National Bank and of the North Star Imple- ment Company. He served three terms on the Cottonwood Village Council. He holds membership in the following lodges: Ma- sonic, Modern Woodmen, Eastern Star and Maccabees.
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