USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 87
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Justus England was born in Sachsen- hausen, Germany, August 30, 1869, a son of John William and Kunna Yunda ( Wald- man) England, the former of whom is de- ceased. The mother is living in Germany. In the Fatherland Justus received his edu- cation, which was finished when he was fourteen years of age. His father was a blacksmith and the boy worked in the shop one year after his school work was fin- ished. In 1884 he came to America, locat- ing at Cedar Falls, Iowa. and working for an uncle a few months, and then going to Grundy county, where he worked at farm labor two years. After working four years in Franklin county as a hired hand, young England rented land and farmed for him- self five years, later buying property in the county and farming it two years.
Mr. England traded his Iowa holdings in 1897 for land in Murray county, Min- nesota, and then for two years farmed rented land in Iowa. In the spring of 1899 he traded the Murray county land for the eighty acres which he now farms in Rock Lake and made his home on the
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place. He has served the last seven years as a member of the Rock Lake town board, for three years as chairman, and was road overseer one year. Mr. England for the past nine years has been a deacon of the German Lutheran church of Balaton.
Our subject married Margaret Meyer March 13, 1896, in Morgan township, Franklin county, Iowa. She was born Sep- tember 26, 1876, and is a daughter of Henry R. and Mutge (Stohr) Meyer, both of whom are living at Latimer, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. England are parents of one child, Henry William, born November 22, 1905.
BYRON G. HENRICHS (1892) is the proprietor of a blacksmith shop at Russell. He was born in Bremer county, Iowa, May 27, 1884. His mother died when Byron was an infant, and he was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Fred and Rachael Hen- richs, who now reside in Todd county, Min- nesota.
When four years of age our subject ac- companied his foster parents to Hand coun- ty, South Dakota. Four years later the family came to Lyon county and purchased land in Shelburne township. There Byron resided until fifteen years of age, when he went to Tyler, entered a blacksmith shop and learned the trade. He then went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Lewistown, Montana, working at his trade at both places. In 1908 he purchased the Swan Swanson blacksmith shop at Russell and has conducted it since.
Mr. Henrichs was married at Marshall on December 22, 1909, to Mary Zvorak, a native of Lyon county. They have one child, Blanch Marie. Mr. Henrichs is a member of the Masonic lodge of Russell.
CHRIST TEHART (1901), who has been a Custer township farmer since March 1, 1911, claims Holland as his native land. He was born in that country January 3, 1863, received his education and was brought up on his father's farm there, and later worked out at farm labor until 1901.
In the spring of 1901 our subject came to America and located in Lyon county, in Amiret township, where he rented land and farmed three years. He then moved
to Custer township and farmed rented land two years. Murray county was his next home, and there he remained five years, returning, in March, 1911, to Lyon county and renting the farm he now operates, the southeast quarter of section 14, Custer township. Mr. Tehart raises cattle and hogs, making a specialty of the Shorthorn and Duroc-Jersey breeds.
Mr. Tehart was married May 15, 1895, to Jennie Heidekamp, who was born in The Netherlands July 6, 1866. Her par. ents died when she was a child. Mrs. Tehart died June 25, 1911. The follow- ing children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tehart: Tena, born February 9, 1896; Grace, born April 30, 1897; Frank, born November 9, 1898; Thomas, born Feb- ruary 27, 1902; Henry, born October 20, 1903; and Annie, born May 2, 1905. All are at home with their father.
Our subject's parents, Frank and Tena (Rosenbaum) Tehart, came to America in 1902, and the father is still a resident of Lyon county. The mother died in 1911.
ARLOW S. KINCH (1910) is the junior member of the firm styled the Lawler- Huntting Clothing Company, of Marshall. The company was founded in the fall of 1910 by F. F. Huntting and T. A. Lawler, two successful young business men of Fair- mont, and Mr. Kinch. The firm handles clothing, furnishings and shoes.
A. S. Kinch was born on a farm in Fill- more county, Minnesota, November 8, 1878, the son of James K. and Elsie J. (Howe) Kinch. The parents make their home in Marshall with their only child. The father is a native of Pennsylvania, the mother of Fillmore county, Minnesota.
At the age of ten years Arlow moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota, where he was educated and where he lived until nineteen years of age. He clerked in a dry goods store at Austin two years, in the dry goods department of a large department store at Winnebago City one and one-half years, and for six years in department stores at Jackson. He then engaged in the mercan- tile business at Fairmont in partnership with K. F. Woodard, and was so engaged three years. In 1910 he located in Mar- shall and engaged in business as stated.
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Mr. Kinch was married in Jackson Aug- ust 10, 1905, to Clara Olson. They have one child, Maxine O., born June 29, 1911. Mr. Kinch is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Fairmont.
PEDER J. ALMJELD (1893), a success- ful farmer of Shelburne township, was born in Norway September 29, 1874, his parents being John P. and Marih P. (Ottem) Alm- jeld. Both parents died in the old coun- try. The children all journeyed to Amer- ica, except Marie, who still lives in Nor- way. Peder has two sisters, Rende and Paulina (Mrs. Hens Ely), and two broth- ers, Peter M. and Ole, living in Center- ville, South Dakota. Two sisters, Marih (Mrs. Andrew Berg) and Ingrid, and one brother, Lars J., are residents of Lyon county.
The subject of our sketch came to this country from Norway in 1893, taking up farm work in Lyon county, Minnesota, im- mediately upon his arrival. He farmed for different people for nine years, then rented and .farmed for himself. In 1911 he bought the northeast quarter of sec- tion 9, Shelburne township. At the pres- ent time Mr. Almjeld farms that quarter and rents and lives upon the northeast quarter of section 20.
The wife of our subject was Clara R. Berg, of Shelburne township. She is a daughter of E. Berg; the family came here from Fillmore county. Peder J. Almjeld and Clara R. Berg were married in Lyon county February 23, 1901. Three children have been born to this union: Clifford, Floyd J. and Earl L. Mr. Almjeld is a member of the M. W. A. lodge.
GEORGE A. SCHAIN (1911) is one of the young attorneys of Lyon county and resides in the city of Tracy. He was born in Browns Valley, Minnesota, September 17, 1887. His parents are Jacob and Irene (Burdick) Schain, the former a native of Norway and the latter of New York. They located in Willmar in 1860. In 1880 they moved to Browns Valley, where the father is engaged in the mercantile business. The mother died in September, 1911. There are three chil- dren in the family, Charles R., Josephine and George A.
George grew to manhood and attended school at Browns Valley, having been gradu- ated from the high school of that city. He then attended the University of Minnesota and was graduated from the law department in 1911. While attending school he clerked and read law in an office. On June 26, 1911, he moved to Tracy and opened an office over the Boston Cash Store.
ALBERT WREATH (1902), who rents the O. R. Owens farm, the northwest quarter of section 26, Custer township, was born in Kansas September 25, 1879, and is a son of William and Clara (Cargill) Wreath, who reside in Monroe township, Lyon county. The parents have been residents of the county since 1904. William Wreath is a veteran of the Civil War.
Albert's family moved to Iowa when he was three years of age, and there he grew to manhood, receiving his education and assisting his father. During his Iowa resi- dence he also worked out at farm labor six years. In February, 1902, when Albert was twenty-three years of age, he came to Lyon county and found employment as a farm hand near Dudley the next two years, later hiring out one year at the same work in Custer township. The past six years Mr. Wreath has been engaged in farming for himself in Custer township and has been doing well.
He was married September 16, 1903, to Alice Moore, a native of Ida Grove, Iowa, the wedding taking place in Lyon county. Mrs. Wreath is a daughter of F. P. and Katie A. (Machemer) Moore. Her mother is de- eased and her father is a resident of Monroe township. Her father located in Lyon coun- ty in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Wreath are the parents of the following children: Edith, born June 5, 1904; Amy, born April 27, 1906; Ruth, born March 29, 1908; and Edna, born April 17, 1910. Mr. Wreath is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen lodge of Garvin.
F. J. LONGTIN (1901) is the genial pro- prietor of a Marshall saloon. He was born in Cloud county, Kansas, on December 17, 1874, where he grew to manhood. He took up his residence in Aurora, Kansas, and for five years was in charge of the hardware department in a large department store.
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While there he was deputy postmaster dur- ing Cleveland's last administration, his father being postmaster.
In 1901 Mr. Longtin located at Marshall and for two years tended bar in the Atlantic Buffet. Then he moved to Tracy, where, in company with his father, F. Longtin, he conducted a saloon two years. He then re- turned to Marshall, and on May 19, 1905, he - bought the saloon of J. D. Lanoue, which is situated on Main Street, two doors from the Atlantic Hotel. There he has since been in business.
Mr. Longtin was married in Jamestown, Kansas, on April 19, 1898, to Nelda Marcott, who was born in Illinois. To them have been born the following named children: Loretta, Adolph, Freddie, Josephine, Flavius and Amedie.
Mr. Longtin is the son of Flavius and Julia Longtin, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Illinois. They located in Tracy in 1903, where they now reside.
N. J. ROBINSON (1872), attorney-at-law of Tracy and ex-county attorney, is a native of the county and a son of two of the very early settlers. He is a successful practitioner and is interested in many business enterprises of his city.
Our subject was born on his father's home- stead on the southeast quarter of section 1, Custer township, March S, 1872, and on that farm he made his home until moving to Tracy in 1900. He was graduated from the Tracy High School in 1897 and from the Law Department of the University of Minne- sota in 1900 with the degree of L. L. B. He at once engaged in the practice of his profession at Tracy and has been so engaged ever since.
In local politics Mr. Robinson has taken an active part. He served two terms as mayor of his city, has been city attorney for the past six years, and for the same length of time has served as a member of the Water and Light Board. He was elected county attorney on the Republican ticket in 1906, was re-elected in 1908, and served four years. In business matters Mr. Robinson has also been active. In 1910 he organized the Tracy Garage Company and has since been president of the company. It is one of the big institutions of Tracy, the building
which houses it being one of the largest in the county. He is also one of the organizers of the Tracy Building and Loan Association, which was founded in 1910, and is its at- torney and a director. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Mac- cabee lodges. For six years prior to 1910 he was chancellor commander of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
Our subject was married in Tracy Feb- ruary 26, 1911, to Leah M. Mongean. She was born in Manteno, Illinois, and came to Lyon county when a child with her parents, Adler and Agnes (Smith) Mongeau.
N. J. Robinson descends from one of the old New England families whose coming to America dates back to the earliest known settlements in the Colonies. On his father's side he is Scottish-German origin; his mother was of New York parentage and of Scottish descent.
His father. George S. Robinson, was born April 7. 1836, at Springwater, Livingston county. New York, being the son of Joseph and Cathreen (Spangler) Robinson. the former a Methodist minister. His mother, Nellie (Gould) Robinson, was born Decem- ber 15, 1846, in North Adams, Massachusetts. The parents came to Lyon county in 1863 and took as a homestead claim the southeast quarter of section 1, Custer township. On it the father built a log cabin, in which was held the first meeting of the Board of Coun- ty Commissioners of Lyon county.
George Robinson was identified with the early history of the county and held many offices of trust in his township. He died August 24, 1906. Mrs. Robinson still lives and makes her home in Tracy. There are seven children in the family. Evan D., the eldest, resides in Montana. The others re- side in Lyon county and are as follows: George M., Ella (Mrs. J. E. Morgan), Fred R., Frank D., Earl H. and N. J.
OLE OPHIEM (1905) is manager of the Tracy Cement Drain Tile, Brick and Block Company, one of the big and prosperous business concerns of Tracy. Mr. Ophiem was one of the gentlemen who organized the company in 1907 and he has since been the manager of the concern. It was re- organized and incorporated in 1911 with a capital stock of $50,000.
OLE OPHIEM Manager of the Tracy Cement Drain Tile, Brick and Block Company.
J. S. BARTLETT Proprietor of the Exchange Hotel, Tracy.
REV. L. E. SJOLINDER AND FAMILY Rev. Sjolinder is Pastor of the Swedish Lu- theran Church of Tracy.
N. J. ROBINSON An Attorney of Tracy and a Native of Lyon County.
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BIOGRAPHICAL IHISTORY.
Over 15,500 blocks were sold during the year 1911. Among the cement block build- ings the company has erected are two for Mr. Ophiem, the Donaldson coal office, the jail at Lucan, Minnesota; the Berge store at Porter, Minnesota; the farmers' co- operative creamery at Porter; an ice house at Hendricks, Minnesota, and the electric light plant at that place; the large garage building at Tracy. Blocks were also fur- nished for the farmers' co-operative cream- ery at Tracy, the Richard Department Store at Tracy, and for a creamery at Ivanhoe.
Ole Ophiem was born in Norway July 14, 1876. In 1887 he came to America with his parents and located in Minnehaha county, South Dakota, where he lived until seventeen years of age. He then moved to Canby with his parents, and when he was twenty-three years old he engaged in the cement business, which he has ever since followed. He located in Tracy in 1905 . and two years later organized the com- pany as stated. Mr. Ophiem is a member of the M. W. A. and A. O. U. W. lodges.
Our subject was married in Tracy Octo- ber 15, 1905, to Lena Thompson and to them have been born four children, as fol- lows: Stella B., Alice J., Bernice V. and John A.
The parents of our subject are John and Bertha (Kall) Ophiem. They came from Norway in 1887 and after having lived a few years in Minnehaha county, South Da- kota, they located in Yellow Medicine coun- ty, Minnesota, where they still reside. They have the following named eight children: Ole, Olaf, Nellie, Lena, Bertha, Josie, Tom and Ella.
JAMES S. BARTLETT (1903) was born in Troy, New York, January 16, 1848. There he was educated and at the age of twenty went to Rock county, Wisconsin, where he farmed for the next twenty years. The Far West brought its appeal to Mr. Bartlett, and he spent one year in Southern California, thence going to Fairbury, Ne- braska, where he lived during the next ten years. While at Fairbury he started in the hotel business, which occupation has claimed his attention since that time. Mr. Bartlett conducted a hotel in Madison, South Dakota, for two years, and during
the next eight years conducted at different times hotels at Salem, South Dakota; Northfield, Minnesota; Sioux City, Iowa; and Minneota, Minnesota. From Minne- ota Mr. Bartlett moved to Tracy and has since conducted the Exchange Hotel, in partnership with his son Clarence E., who is also a real estate dealer.
Mr. Bartlett's parents were Elisha W. and Margaret (Corcoran) Bartlett, t former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Cork, Ireland. Margaret Cor- coran came to this country when a child and her parents settled in Troy, New York. To Elisha and Margaret Corcoran were born four children, namely : Henry, Louisa, Mary and James S. Our subject is the only child living. Margaret (Cor- coran) Bartlett died sixty-two years ago. Elisha Bartlett later married Palmyra Lewis, a native of Petersburg, New York. To this union six children were born. Emma, Julia, Anna and Fanny are living, and a daughter, Lucy, and a son, Lewis, died a number of years ago.
On March 10, 1872, James S. Bartlett was united in marriage to Emma J. Bul- lock, the ceremony taking place in Rock county, Wisconsin. The wife died in Salem, South Dakota, February 14, 1903. Three children were born to the couple, as follows: Henry, who died in Orange, Cal- ifornia, at the age of fifteen years and was buried at Santa Anna, California; Clarence E., a real estate dealer and associated with his father in conducting the Exchange Ho- tel; and Cora (Mrs. Sam Carroll), of Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Mrs. Carroll has one son, Glenn, aged thirteen years.
Clarence Bartlett, son of the subject of this biographical sketch, was married to Ethel Shephard, a native of Lake county, South Dakota, the marriage taking place at Madison, South Dakota. They are the parents of two children, both girls. May is aged ten years and Margaret is seven.
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REV. LAURENT ERIK SJOLINDER (1906) is pastor of the Swedish Lutheran church of Tracy, having been called to the charge six years ago. Rev. Sjolinder also sup- plies the pulpit at Walnut Grove, in Red- wood county, and makes visits to a church at Ivanhoe, in Lincoln county.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Sweden is the native home of Rev. Sjo- linder. He was born in the province of Vester-Norrland on April 22, 1859, a son of Olaf P. and Anna Marie (Brown) Sjo- linder. The family immigrated to Amer- ica in 1882, resided for a short time in Union county, South Dakota, and later in Charles Mix county, of the same state, where the. father died in December, 1883. Laurent attended the common schools and finished a three years' academic course in his native land prior to the coming of the family to America. In this country he continued his studies at the Augustana Col- lege and Theological Seminary in Rock Is- land, Illinois, graduating from the college in 1886 and from the seminary in 1888. He was ordained June 24, 1888, and took his first pastorate in Union and Lincoln counties, South Dakota, preaching in that field until 1896. For three years there- after he served as a missionary for his denomination in Minneapolis and St. Paul. North Dakota was the scene of the young minister's next pulpit work, and he served a continuous pastorate of seven years with the church at Grand Forks, moving from there to Tracy in 1906. The pastor's widowed mother died in Tracy May 20, 1907, and is buried in the Swedish Luth- eran cemetery.
On May 12, 1897, occurred the marriage of Rev. Laurent Erik Sjolinder and Marie B. Yttreness. The bride is a native of Albert Lea, Minnesota, and is the daughter of John B. and Bertha Yttreness, who now reside at Beresford, South Dakota. Rev. and Mrs. Sjolinder are the parents of the following children: Lawrence, born March 21, 1898; Anthony, born March 15, 1901; and Julius, born September 24, 1907.
JOHN THOLEN (1884) is a large land owner of Westerheim township and lives on the southeast quarter of section 28. He owns 1230 acres of good farming land and is one of the well-to-do men of the town- ship.
Our subject was born in Holland Decem- ber 24, 1856, and is a son of John Chris- tian and Mary Elizabeth (Bergòens) Tho- len, now deceased. John received his early education in Holland, where he attended the common schools until nineteen years
of age. He then worked at home for his father until 1880. In the fall of that year the young man came to America and locat- ed in Henry county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming three years. In the" summer of 1884 he came to Lyon county and settled on the place where he has since resided.
The marriage of John Tholen and Ger- trude Dircks occurred February 6, 1883, in Carver county, Minnesota. She was born in Holland. By her marriage to Mr. Tholen she became the mother of three children, as follows: Leo C., Hubert A. and Mary E. Mrs. Tholen died March 19, 1887.
Our subject was married a second time, to Matilda Wambecke. The marriage oc- curred at Ghent February 18, 1889. She is a native of Belgium, born October 7. 1864, and is the daughter of Ferdinand and Rosalie (Fau) Wambecke. They set- tled in Lyon county in 1888 and both are deceased. By this second marriage nine children were born: Joseph H., William V., Leonora M., Elizabeth B., John C., Henry A., Albert J., Lambert J. and Frank W. All the children live at home.
. Mr. Tholen has been director of school district No. 44 for five years. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Com . pany of Ghent. His church affiliation is with the Catholic church.
HERMAN SCHURZ (1886) is the pro- prietor of the City Hotel, a restaurant and a feed barn in Marshall. He is a native of Germany and was born May 29, 1862, a son of Edward and Christine Schurz, both of whom are deceased. They were the par- ents of two children: Marie, of Germany, and Herman, of this sketch. In 1880 our subject came to the United States to seek his fortune and lived three and one-half years in New York. Later he located in Chickasaw county, Iowa, where he farmed three years.
In 1886 Mr. Schurz came to Lyon county and spent two years working on farms in the county, after which he returned to Iowa and was married. He returned to Marshall and on May 11, 1888, opened a hotel and restaurant in the building now occupied by the City Meat Market. He conducted his
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
business in the latter building three years, when he purchased the two-story brick building which he now occupies. Mr. Schurz conducted the business seven years longer and then rented out his hotel busi- ness and purchased a farm in Lake Mar- shall township, which he conducted three years. He sold his farm and again took up the hotel business, bought the lot ad- joining his building, put up a two-story addition, and has since conducted the hotel and restaurant. In 1911 Mr. Schurz pur- chased the Hayes-Lucas lumber sheds and converted the property into a hitch and feed barn.
Mr. Schurz owns considerable property in addition to his business interests in Mar- shall. He owns farms in Amiret township and in Red Lake county, eighty acres one- half mile from Russell, and two and one- half acres in the city of Marshall, besides several lots. He is a member of the Mod- ern Woodmen lodge and served on the City Council four years.
At .Iona, Iowa, April 1, 1888, occurred the marriage of Mr. Schurz to Carrie Schenfeldt, a native of Wisconsin. They are the parents of two children: Charles and Helen.
AUGUST SCHROEDER (1895), of Sodus township, was born in Benton county, Iowa, June 1, 1870, a son of Gustav and Catherine Schroeder, deceased. He was brought up on a farm and secured his schooling in his native county.
Mr. Schroeder came to Lyon county in 1895 and for a number of years worked out on farms and with threshing crews. He moved to Lac qui Parle county in 1904, farmed there two years, and then returned and took up his residence in Marshall. Sev- eral years later he again engaged in farming, one year on section 18, Sodus township, and since then at his present location. He owns the northwest quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of section 21, has a fine farm, and has just completed a new home.
On the fourth day of May, 1904, at Mar- shall, Mr. Schroeder was united in marriage to Inga Ueland, who was born in Norway September 22, 1878. Her father, Rasmus Ueland, lives in Cottonwood; her mother,
Malina Ueland, died in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder have four children: Geo, Roy, Laurence and Albert William.
JESSE E. FINNELL (1905) is the pro- prietor of the City Feed Mill of Marshall. He was born in Shelby county, Iowa, May 16, 1887, the youngest son born to T. J. and Malinda (Wolf) Finnell, natives, respective- ly, of Coshocton and Mount Vernon, Ohio. The family moved to Defiance, Iowa, in an early day and engaged in farming there until moving to Lyon county in 1905. The other children of the family are as follows: Mary (Mrs. J. C. Marshall), Wheeler and Jane, all living in Lyon county.
Jesse resided with his parents in Shelby county, Iowa, until he came to Lyon county with them in 1905. For several years he and his father farmed a place southwest of Ghent. In the fall of 1910 Mr. Finnell" located in Marshall and established the City Feed Mill in the Goodwin Building on Main Street. He put in new machinery, engine, feed mill, shellers, etc., and manufactures all kinds of feed and does custom work. The business has increased greatly since he engaged in the business.
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