USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 89
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NELDER ERIKSRUD (1902) has lived within a short distance of Tracy since he was two years old. For the last ten years he has been a resident of the city, working at teaming and engaging in buying and sell- ing horses. In 1910 he was made police officer of the city.
The subject of our sketch was born in Fillmore county, Minnesota, January 21, 1876. In 1878 the family moved to Murray county and located just south of Tracy. Nelder grew up on the home farm and worked with his father for some years. He and his brother Lawrence eventually bought the farm and ran it until ten years ago, when Nelder moved to Tracy. He still owns the farm south of town.
Nelder Eriksrud is the son of Martin and Mary Eriksrud, natives of Norway who came to this country and located in Wisconsin early in life. They were married in Wis- consin and later moved to Fillmore county, Minnesota. In 1878 the family moved to Murray county and bought land just over the Lyon-Murray county line. Mrs. Eriksrud died
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about twenty years ago; the father lives in Tracy, aged seventy-five years.
Mr. Eriksrud has made an able and effi- cient officer and his attention to his duty is appreciated.
HERMAN HENRICHS (1891) was born in Bremer county, Iowa, October 5, 1883. He resides in Coon Creek township, where he has operated his brother's farm for the past three years. His parents are Fred and Frederica (Froest) Henrichs, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New York State. They settled in Bremer county in an early day. In 1887 they moved to Hand county, South Dakota, where the father homesteaded land, which he later sold, and the family moved to Lyon county. Mr. Hen- richs purchased land near Burchard, and it was there that our subject received his schooling and grew to manhood. He resided with his parents until 1906, when he rented a farm near Russell on which he resided until moving to his brother's farm. Our subject raises considerable stock.
Mr. Henrichs was married in Marshall, Minnesota, to Nettie Peterson, a native of Iowa. They were married February 21, 1907. Mrs. Henrichs is a daughter of James and Amelia (Hansen) Peterson. To Mr. and Mrs. Henrichs have been born the fol- lowing children: Glen, born March 21, 1908; Evelyn, born February 7, 1910; and Earl, born September 5, 1911.
ANTON HOMMERBERG . (1904) is man- ager of the Lyon County Co-operative Com- pany's store at Balaton. He was born in Scandia township, Murray county, Minnesota, July 24, 1877. His parents are Carl M. and Ingre Hommerberg, natives of Sweden who came to the United States in 1870 and lo- cated in Murray county, where they still reside. They are the parents of four chil- dren: John, a farmer of Murray county; Anton, of this sketch; Edwin and Wilhelm, who reside at home.
Anton made his home with his parents in Murray county until 1902. He received his education in the public schools and in Gus- tavus Adolphus College, from which he was graduated in 1908. In 1903 he went to Cur- rie, Minnesota, and clerked in a store one
year, then to Balaton, where he clerked three years in the general store of F. J. Breening. In May, 1908, the Lyon County Co-operative Company was organized and he was engaged as manager, a position which he has held since.
The Lyon County Co-operative Company was organized in May, 1908, by a number of farmers in the vicinity of Balaton. The company is capitalized for $50,000 and is incorporated. The officers are as follows: President, F. F. Norwood; vice president, F. S. Bartlett; treasurer, J. E. Miller; sec- retary, Morton Hjermstad; manager, Anton Hommerberg. They carry a complete line of hardware, machinery and general mer- chandise. The store occupies the fine new store block of the First National Bank.
ISAAC N. OLEVSON (1891) bought land on section 19, Westerheim township, in the seventies, but it was many years later when he came to Lyon county and commenced to farm his land. He has a well-improved place of 400 acres, farms it all, and raises con- siderable stock for market. Mr. Olevson has just completed one of the largest barns in the township, the-structure being 52x80 feet.
Nels and Betsey (Brien) Olevson, parents of Isaac, came to this country from Norway in 1857, settled in McHenry county, Illinois, where they remained three years, and in 1859 moved to Chicago. That city was then only a village, and Nels Olevson ran a dairy. He and his wife were residents of the city until their deaths in 1873 and 1881, respec- tively.
Isaac was born in Norway July 3, 1846, and came to this country with his parents. The boy's youth was mostly spent in Chicago. and when a lad of only eighteen years he enlisted in Company F, Eighth Illinois Cav- alry, and served in the Army of the Po- tomac during the latter part of the war, being honorably discharged in 1865. He then returned to Chicago and entered the railroad business in the capacity of fireman.
Young Olevson in a few years was pro- moted to engineer on the Chicago & North- western line and ran for many years between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa, and later between Watertown and Brookings, South Dakota. His health failed and in search of other occupation he came to Lyon county and has
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since been farming the land he bought many years ago. Mr. Olevson was in Chicago at the time of the great fire of 1871, and during . in Iowa. For a number of years Andrew Larson operated a bus line in Woonsocket. In 1896 he moved with his family to Lyon county and farmed rented land in Eidsvold township ten years.
the time that the city's drinking water sup- ply was destroyed he hauled water by train from Elmhurst to the stricken city.
Isaac Olevson married Martha Leland in Chicago in 1872. She is a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, and by her marriage to Mr. Olevson became the mother of the fol- lowing children: Fillmore, of Washington State; Mabel (Mrs. Asa Conger), of Lyon county; Beatrice (Mrs. Nickolai Orsen), of Westerheim: Bertrand, on the farm; George and Williard, at home. Mr. Olevson has one sister living, Josephine, a resident of Chicago.
Our subject is a member of the Masonic lodge, having joined in Watertown, and has taken the degrees admitting him to the Com- mandery and the Knight Templars. Mr. Olevson served as justice of the peace two years.
CHARLES M. SNAPP (1885), of Marshall, has lived in Lyon county since he was fif- teen years old. He was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, October 5, 1870, lived in Illinois with his parents from 1881 to 1885, and since then has been a resident of Lyon county, most of the time engaged in farming.
Jacob and Sarah (Mann) Snapp, the par- ents of our subject, were born and married in Nicholas county, Kentucky. The former served in the Kentucky Home Guards during the Civil War. The family moved to Mar- shall in 1885 and Mr. Snapp has since lived in . that city, spending most of his summers with his children in Kentucky. Mrs. Snapp died in Marshall July 14, 1908, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Snapp is now eighty-five years of age.
The children of the Snapp family are as follows: Marian, Aaron and William, of Kentucky; Floyd, Corilla (Mrs. Wesley Holt), Samuel, Charles M., Annie, deceased; Stella and Calla (Mrs. Victor J. LaVoy), of Marshall.
GEORGE O. LARSON (1896) farms the northwest quarter of section 13, Nordland township. He was born in Woonsocket, South Dakota, July 22, 1886, a son of An-
drew and Betsey (Hauge) Larson. The father was born in Denmark and the mother
George began his schooling in Woonsocket and completed his education in the schools of Minneota. In 1904 he began to work out at farm labor and in 1905 and 1906 he worked in the railroad shops at Brainerd and Two Harbors, Minnesota. In the fall of the year last mentioned he and his brother Louis bought eighty acres of timber land in Todd county, Minnesota, and spent the fol- lowing winter there. He returned to Lyon county in the spring of 1907, worked as a farm hand two years, married in 1909, and commenced farming. He now makes his home with his mother-in-law and farms the northwest quarter of section 13. He and his wife are members of the Free Norwe- gian church.
Mr. Larson was married in Minneota July 15, 1909, to Josephine B. Bjerkan. She was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, November 3, 1873, was educated in the Appleton High School and in the Minnesota Business Col- lege at Minneapolis, and for nine years taught Lyon county district schools. Mr. and Mrs. Larson have one child, Alfred O., born March 4, 1911.
Mrs. Larson's father was Ole J. Bjerkan. He was born in Trondhjem, Norway, June 5, 1826, came to the United States in 1865, and to Lyon county in 1878. He bought the northwest quarter of section 13, Nordland township, and engaged in farming it until his death on May 13, 1905. Mrs. Larson's mother is Karen (Larson) Bjerkan. She was born in Nanestad, Norway, June 25, 1844, and came to America and located in Rushford, Minnesota, in 1869. She still makes her home on the old farm in Nordland.
A. G. BETOURNE (1897), proprietor of the Monogram Saloon of Tracy, was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, August 4, 1859. He is one of a family of six children born to Mose and Rosa Lee (Beniouw) Betourne, natives of Canada. The former is deceased; the latter makes her home in Kankakee county, Illinois.
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Until he was twenty-eight years of age A. G. Betourne lived on his father's farm; then he located in Kankakee and engaged. in the saloon business until moving to Lyon county in 1897. The first year of his resi- dence in the county Mr. Betourne tended bar for Gits & Vergote, at Marshall. He took up his residence in Tracy thereafter, tended bar for W. B. Keller four years, and then purchased the business he has since con- ducted. Mr. Betourne owns his home in Tracy. He is a member of the Eagles lodge.
The subject of this review was married in Chicago March 8, 1897, to Amy Rexstrew, who is also a native of Kankakee county. Mr. and Mrs. Betourne have three children, Fern, Euclide and Alice.
DUNCAN L. KENNEDY (1887) is a law- yer of the city of Marshall. He is a native of Wisconsin and was born December 30, 1881, a son of D. Ward and Flora (Keter) Kennedy, natives of Wisconsin.
When six years of age our subject came to Lyon county and made his home with his grandfather, Judge D. A. Kennedy, on a farm in Island Lake township, one year, after which he moved to Marshall and was gradu- ated from the Marshall High School in 1900. He then attended Hamline University two and one-half years, after which he returned to Marshall and was employed in the law office of Thomas E. Davis two years. He then went to Wisconsin and learned the printer's trade, which he followed until Feb- ruary, 1909, when he returned to Marshall and read law in the office of Davis & Michel. He was admitted to the state bar in June, 1911, and entered the firm of Davis & Michel, where he has since been engaged. He is a member of the B. P. O. E. and the M. W. A. lodges.
Mr. Kennedy has been prominent in ath- letics since boyhood and while at Hamline University took an active part in athletic sports and was a member of the Hamline University football teams of 1902-03-04. He was equally prominent in other branches of athletics while at Hamline. He was admit- tedly one of the best all-around athletes that ever attended Hamline University. During his three years of football he was placed on the "All-Minnesota" team by the newspaper
critics in as many different positions, as half-back, guard and end.
His prowess on the cinder path was scarcely less. Among his numerous records are the following: Fifty-yard dash, 5 3-5 sec- onds; one hundred-yard dash, 10 2-5 seconds; running high jump, 5 feet 5 inches; running broad jump, 22 feet 4 inches; running hop, step and jump, 44 feet 4 1-2 inches; 16-pound shot put, 37 feet 7 inches. Mr. Kennedy was also a member of the baseball and basket- ball teams of Hamline and enjoyed the unique distinction of being the first student at the university who made every athletic team during his freshman year. In addition to these various athletic honors, he was elected president of the "Class of 1905" dur- ing his freshman year.
OSCAR A. KROOK (1886), postmaster of Marshall, has resided in Lyon county many years, most of the time as a resident of the county seat city. He was born in Sweden, the son of Nels Olson Krook and Boel (Ljungberg) Krook, both of whom are buried in their native land. There are seven chil- dren in the family, as follows: Edward O. Krook, of Clinton, Minnesota; Augusta (Mrs. John Leveau), Carl O. and Theodore, all of Sweden; Oscar A., of this sketch; Anna A. (Mrs. Nels Nelson) and Marie, both of Swe- den.
During his boyhood days Oscar Krook at- tended school and when a young man left Sweden and came to America. He first land- ed at Red Wing, Minnesota, where he worked in a furniture factory during the summer months to earn the means to continue his studies in the English schools during the winter months. He came to Marshall in 1886 and learned the tinner's trade in the store of J. P. Watson, working continuously five years. Mr. Krook then went to Min- neapolis and took a course in the Minnesota School of Business. Returning to Marshall, he again entered the employ of Mr. Watson, as bookkeeper and clerk, and continued in his employ one year.
Our subject 'then engaged in the hard- ware and furniture business at Balaton as a member of the firm of Krook & Tyler. Five months after the business was estab- lished the store was destroyed by fire and Mr. Krook was left practically penniless.
DR. L. E. IJAMS Physician of Osteopathy of Marshall.
O. A. KROOK Postmaster of Marshall.
D. L. KENNEDY Member of the Marshall Law Firm of Davis, Michel & Kennedy.
FRANK CASE Sporting Editor of the Lyon County Reporter.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Ile again took up his residence in the county seat and for a time was employed as book- keeper for Watson & Chace. Mr. Krook then went to Winona and took employment with R. D. Cone & Co., wholesale and retail hardware dealers. For three years he was manager of the retail department and for four years was a traveling representative of the firm. At the end of that period Mr. Krook again located in Marshall and for some time was in the office of Thomas E. Davis, working at the insurance business and other work. He was appointed postmaster of Marshall by President Roosevelt in 1907 and was reappointed by President Taft in 1911.
Mr. Krook was married in Marshall on August 31, 1900, to Mary A. Davis, daughter of Reese Davis, who was one of the early settlers of Lyon county. Mrs. Krook was born on her father's homestead near Tracy. Three children have been born as a result of this union, namely, Alfred T., born in September, 1902: Marion J., born in January, 1909; and Robert D., born May 12, 1911. Mr. Krook is a member of the Masonic and Yeomen lodges.
FRANK W. CASE (1875), editor and pro- prietor of the Lyon County Reporter, has spent all except the first six months of his life in Marshall. He was born at Waverly, Iowa, September 20, 1874, the son of C. F. ยท and Fannie (Waller) Case, who are also residents of Marshall.
When Frank was six months of age he accompanied his parents to Marshall, the family making the trip from New Ulm by wagon and arriving at their destination in a raging blizzard. He received his primary education in the Marshall High School and then spent one year working in his father's printing office. He then became a student in the University of Minnesota, from which institution he was graduated in 1898.
After his school days Frank assumed the management of the Reporter and later be- came sole owner. He has built the paper up to its present standing-one of the lead- ing publications of Southwestern Minnesota with a great influence.
Mr. Case was married at Marshall June 28, 1901, to Edith Joyce Caley. She is a native of Lyon county and a daughter of Charles
Caley, a pioneer settler. Mr. and Mrs. Case have four children, Maurine, Eugene, Mertia and Beatrice.
Mr. Case holds membership in the Masonic, Woodmen and Brotherhood lodges and is secretary of the last named order. He has been a member of the Marshall Fire Depart- ment a number of years and has been its president.
DR. L. E. IJAMS (1910) is a practising doctor of osteopathy of Marshall. He is the son of Thomas L. and Rosetta (Walker) Ijams, the former a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and the latter of Bloomington, Illi- nois. The father died in 1908; the mother lives at Farmer City, Illinois.
In DeWitt county, Illinois, on September 30, 1877, the subject of this biography was born, and on his parents' farm in that county he grew to manhood. He received his gen- eral education in the district schools, in the high school at Farmer City, and in the schools of Quincy. For a time he clerked in clothing stores and was a traveling sales- man with the Dayton Spice Mill Company. Mr. Ijams then took up the study of oste- opathy as his life's profession. He was graduated from the Still College of Osteop- athy at Des Moines, Iowa, and has since been engaged in practice. He opened an of- fice in Marshall in June, 1910, has built up a lucrative practice, and is popular in church and social circles.
Dr. Ijams was married at Springfield, Illi- nois, on September 7, 1905, to Ethel E. Hall, a native of the city in which she was mar- ried. Dr. and Mrs. Ijams have three chil- dren: Byron, Walker and Elouise. The doc- tor is a member of the A. F. & A. M., East- ern Star and Calumet fraternities and of the Methodist church. He has membership in the American Osteopathic Association, as well as in the state and Southern Minne- sota associations.
Our subject is one of a family of ten chil- dren, five boys and five girls. Their names are Harvey, Hattie, Ida, George, Millard, Lewis E., John, Ella, Edyth. Edna, and all are living.
JAMES T. ROGAN (1880), who farms the southwest quarter of section 11, Eidsvold
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township, has lived on that place since he was less than three years of age and for the past twenty years has had the man- agement of the farm.
Thomas and Catherine (Boland) Rogan, the parents of our subject, were born and married in Ireland. After their marriage they came to America and for a number of years lived in Chicago. The father was a prospector and miner and before the fam- ily became residents of Lyon county he was engaged in mining in the West. A few years after his family moved to Lyon county he came and made his home here until his death in 1900. There are five children in the family, as follows: Mary (Mrs. Ed. Kel- ly), of Alberta, Canada; Ann (Mrs. Pat Kiley), of Minneota; Kate, who lives at home; Bridget (Mrs. John Kiley), of Min- neota; and James T.
James T. Rogan was born in Chicago Au- gust 15, 1877, and in the spring of 1880 he accompanied his mother, brothers and sisters to Lyon county. Mrs. Rogan bought the farm at that time and still makes her home there. James was brought up on that place and has always lived there. He is unmar- ried and makes his home with his mother and sister. He is a member of the Catholic church of Minneota and of the Yeomen lodge.
PAR. O. ANDERSON (1897) since May 1, 1903, has been the buttermaker at the Gar- vin creamery. He is a native of Sweden and was born June 5, 1868, a son of Andrew O. and Ingar Anderson, who located at Clear Lake, Sherburne county, Minnesota, upon coming to the United States. Andrew O. Anderson died August 31, 1901. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are living: Par. O., of this sketch; Andrew O., Noven, Adel and Hjalmar. One son, Oscar, is dead.
The subject of this sketch came with his parents to Clear Lake, Minnesota, in 1888, and in 1893 he located at Richmond, Stearns county, where he operated a creamery two years. He then moved to Tracy, where he conducted a creamery five years, and at the end of that time he took employment with the Thompson Creamery Company of Mar- shall and operated one of their creameries at French Lake, Wright county. Then he
went to the Marshall Creamery Company and was buttermaker eight months. He moved to Garvin May 1, 1903, where he has had charge of the creamery since that date. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Congre- gational church and the Modern Woodmen and Maccabee lodges.
At Tracy, Minnesota, on December 6, 1902, Emma Busk became the wife of Mr. Ander- son. She is a native of Sweden and is a daughter of Andrew Busk. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have two children, namely, Ernest and Sigfrid.
CHARLES E. PLANTZ (1907) farms the northwest quarter of section 11, Island Lake township, and has been a resident of Lyon county five years. He was born in Black- hawk county, Iowa, November 26, 1872. His father and mother, Jacob and Sarah (Sands) Plantz, were natives of New York and Michigan, respectively, and both are dead. They were early settlers of Iowa.
When he was ten years old Charles ac- companied the family to Humboldt county, Iowa, and there he finished his schooling and grew to manhood. He worked ont several years and in 1897 he rented land and began farming for himself. He owned a half in- terest in a 120-acre farm there, his brother Elias owning the other half, but he later dis- posed of that property.
In 1906 Mr. Plantz moved to Rothsay, Wil- kin county, Minnesota, and farmed rented land there four years. He spent one year in Superior, Wisconsin, working in the ship yards and the railroad. His arriyal to Lyon county was in 1907. The first season he worked out and during the next two years he farmed 200 acres of O. C. Gregg's farm. He rented the northwest quarter of section 15, Island Lake township, one year, and in 1911 he moved to his present place.
At Humboldt, Iowa, on January 15, 1902, Mr. Plantz was married to Mrs. Ione J. Don- aldson. She is the daughter of O. J. and Mary (Larson) Conklin, now of Livermore, Iowa, and she was born at Lake Mills, Iowa, December 30, 1879. They have two children, Viola I. and Darial L. By her former mar- riage Mrs. Plantz has one son, Roy Don- aldson. Mr. Plantz is a member of the Ma- sonic lodge.
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EMERY G. FULLER (1890) is one of the proprietors of the Marshall Bottling Works. In March, 1912, he and Edward De Clerk bought the establishment from A. C. Porter and are now actively pushing the sale of bottled soft drinks and of Silver Spring water.
Mr. Fuller is a native of Lyon county and was born January 1, 1890, on his father's farm, the southwest quarter of section 13, Lake Marshall township. He was brought up on the farm and came to Marshall in 1908, entering the employ of A. C. Porter in the bottling works and holding the position of foreman up to the time of buying the plant with Mr. De Clerk. The business is a good one and should keep growing under the effi- cient management and hustling qualities of the owners.
Emery Fuller is a son of Walter A. and Emily Jane (Buck) Fuller, who have been residents of Lyon county for nearly thirty years. His father is a native of Illinois and Mrs. Fuller is a New York State woman. The parents still live on the Lake Marshall township farm where they made their home when first coming to Lyon county. Besides Emery, they were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Carrie, Frank, Linus, Clar- ence, Harry, Bertha, Roy, Eva, Hattie, Ernest and Robert.
FRED LARSON (1896), a successful farm- er and stock'raiser of Shelburne township, was born in Thorning, Sogn, Denmark, April 25, 1869. His parents were Thomas and Katrina (Lair) Larson, both of whom are now dead.
Our subject received his early education in Denmark, where he attended the common schools until fourteen years of age. He then worked for his father on the home farm for eight years. Like many of his countrymen, he believed the United States offered great opportunities to the young man, and in 1891 he came to this country, locating in Washington county, Nebraska, where he remained one year. Moving to Clay county, Iowa, Fred worked as a farm hand three years, then rented a place and farmed for himself one year.
In the spring of 1896 Mr. Larson came to Minnesota and located in Pipestone county, near Ruthton, where he purchased fifty acres
of land. During the rest of that year he worked out, teaming. In February of the following year our subject purchased the farm upon which he now resides. He con- ducts a splendid cattle, horse and hog rais- ing business in addition to his general farm- ing. Mr. Larson is a member of the Danish Lutheran church of Ruthton and is chairman of the board of school district No. 57.
On October 20, 1896, our subject was mar- ried to Johanna Christine Paulson, a resi- dent of Shelburne township and a native of Denmark. She was born September 2S, 1878, and her parents were Jess and Chris- tina (Jacobson) Paulson, who now reside at Ruthton.
Three children have been born to Fred and Johanna Larson: Jess, born June 27, 1899; Dewey Thomas, born July 18, 1905; and Geneva Christina Katrina, born February 12, 1908.
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