USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 90
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
J. DELBERT GILPIN (1912), editor of the Tracy Headlight, was born near Dunkirk, Ohio, January 10, 1876. J. P. and Lucindia (Tidrick) Gilpin, his par- ents, were also natives of Ohio and died in Nebraska.
The subject of this review attended school in his native state until sixteen years of age and then accompanied his parents to Nebraska. In that state he attended school a short time, clerked in a store, and taught school. He became a student of the University of Nebraska and later entered the Minnesota University, from the Academic Department of which he was graduated.
After his graduation Mr. Gilpin was su- perintendent of the Wayzata public schools two years. In May, 1912, he purchased the Tracy Headlight and has since con- ducted that journal. He is a member of the Methodist church of Tracy.
Mr. Gilpin was married at Tracy Au- gust 1, 1906, to Luella Grace Larson, who was born in Redwood county in February, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Gilpin have one child, Gladys Lucile, born August 7, 1907.
GEORGE OSSEN (1900) is one of the most extensive farmers and stock raisers of Lyons township. He was born in Ber-
564
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
gen, Norway, May 2, 1851. His parents were Ole and Sunive Ossen, both of whom died in the old country. George received his schooling and grew to manhood in the land of his nativity.
When seventeen years of age our sub- ject came to America with his brother, Severt, and located in Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he worked at farm labor three years. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Hancock county and farmed eight years. His next move was to Winne- bago county, where he purchased 240 acres of land and farmed until 1900.
In the latter year Mr. Ossen sold his Iowa farm, came to Lyon county, and purchased 441 acres of land on section 31, Lyons township. He has made his home there continuously since. In addition to his extensive farming interests, Mr. Ossen makes a specialty of feeding and shipping cattle and hogs. He is a shareholder of the Farmers Elevator Company and of the First State Bank of Russell. He is presi- dent of the former company and a director of the bank. Mr. Ossen was chairman of the Township Board of Supervisors eight years. He is one of the largest land own- ers of Lyons township.
In Winneshiek county, June 24, 1874, Mr. Ossen was united in marriage to Bet- sey T. Fosse, a native of Bergen, Norway. She was born October 23, 1851, and is a daughter of Torkield and Christie (Tweet) Fosse. Mr. and Mrs. Ossen are the par- ents of the following named eight chil- dren: Sophia S., born February 3, 1875; Thireld O., born November 16, 1876; Jo- seph A., born May 8, 1881; Lawrence, born July 9, 1883; John M., born Decem- ber 20, 1888; Bessie S., born September 3, 1885; Alice R., born March 13, 1892; Gertrude, born January 29, 1896.
WILLIAM A. MOORE (1884), proprie- tor of a Marshall dray line, was born in Clark county, Wisconsin, November 20, 1882. When he was two years old he was brought by his parents to Lyon coun- ty, the family home being established on section 18, Lake Marshall township, where the father purchased eighty acres of land.
On the Lake Marshall township farm
William Moore spent his boyhood days, working for his father until eighteen years of age. Since then he has been shifting for himself. He worked out for a year and then, his father having died, he returned to the farm and conducted it until 1907. That year he located in Marshall and for four and one-half years was employed on the J. C. Woodruff dray line. In April, 1912, he engaged in busi- ness for himself, establishing the third dray line. Mr. Moore is a member of the Modern Woodmen and Royal Neighbors lodges.
Our subject is one of a family of eight children, the others being Daniel, Mary, Sarah, Rose Ann, Martin, Robert and Theresa. Their parents are the late An- thony Moore and Charlotte E. (Minnick) Moore. The father was born in Ireland and the mother in Philadelphia. They came West when young and were married in Wisconsin. Anthony Moore died on the farm in Lake Marshall township in 1900 at the age of fifty-two years. Mrs. Moore resides in town, and William A. makes his home with her.
CHRISTIAN H. KELLER (1909) is a new arrival to Lyon county and farms the northeast quarter of section 11, Lynd township. He is a native of Illinois and was born at Kankakee February 2, 1867, a son of Conrad and Elizabeth (Meier) Keller. The father of our subject resides at Kankakee, Illinois, where he moved after his retirement from active farm la- bors.
Our subject received his early educa- tion in his native town. After leaving school he entered the employ of his father on the farm, where he worked until twenty-three years of age, when he started farming for himself.
Mr. Keller is a member of the Methodist church. Fraternally he is affiliated with the M. W. A. and the Yeomen of Ameri- ca lodges. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Marshall. For two years he was an assessor in Kan- kakee county, Illinois, and was trustee of school district No. 1 in the same county.
On March 19, 1890, Christian Keller was united in marriage to Mary Hartung,
565
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
a daughter of Isaiah and Louisa (Stanton) Hartung. To this union have been born the following six children: Harry Wil- liam, born July 13, 1891; Hattie Eliza- beth, born December 16, 1893; Frank El- mer, born August 20, 1898; Bertha Louise, born November 12, 1900; Lester C., born April 22, 1903; Weldon Conrad, born Feb- ruary 16, 1911. All reside at home with their parents.
JOSEPH L. NELSON (1904) is the proprietor of a billiard and pool hall in Cottonwood. He is a native Minnesotan and was born at Pipestone October 12, 1879. His parents are John and Annie Randena (Okre) Nelson, natives of Alla- makee county, Iowa. The father died in 1890. They were the parents of five chil- dren, named as follows: Otto, Selma, Clara, Hulda and Joseph L. The mother was married a second time, to Ole Osten- son. The grandparents of our subject are Ole and Aslank Nelson, natives of Nor- way, who came to the United States in a very early day and settled in Allamakee county.
Joseph Nelson resided at Pipestone, where he received his education and also learned the carpenter's trade, until 1903. In 1904 he came to Lyon county with his mother and sisters and located at Cotton- wood. He later went to Hanley, Sas- katchewan, Canada, and worked at the car- penter's trade a year. He then worked at Minot, Aneta and Cooperstown, North Dakota, at the same trade two years, when he returned to Cottonwood. Upon his re- turn he purchased his mother's restau- rant and conducted it until February, 1911, when he sold and opened a pool and billiard hall. He installed an entirely new outfit.
Mr. Nelson was married at Cottonwood June 29, 1910, to Clara Elmer, a native of Cottonwood and a daughter of John Elmer. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have one child, Rudolph, born April 12, 1911.
ANTON RASMUSSEN (1900) is a farm- er and land owner of Coon Creek town- ship. He is a native of Denmark and was born January 20, 1868, a son of Peter
and Singer Christenson. He received his schooling in the land of his birth and grew to manhood there.
When nineteen years of age our subject immigrated to the United States and for nine years resided in Chicago. There he worked on the railroad, drove a coal wagon and operated a dairy. He then went to Lincoln county, Minnesota, where he pur- chased a quarter section of land, which he operated two years. Then he returned to Chicago, where he conducted a dairy one year more. He came to Lyon county in 1900 and upon his arrival purchased the northwest quarter of section 30, Coon Creek township, upon which he still re- sides. Besides farming, Mr. Rasmussen raises a great deal of stock. He is a mem- ber of the Danish Lutheran church and the Danish Brotherhood of America lodge. He has stock in a farmers' co-operative lumber yard and creamery at Tyler.
On September 19, 1889, at Chicago, Illi- nois, the subject of this review was mar- ried to Annie Meyer, a native of Germany and a daughter of Nels and Annie Meyer. To Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen have been born three children, Peter, Lizzie and Degma.
GEORGE A. MULLEN (1911) is
the junior member of the firm styled the Mul- len Land Company of Marshall. He is a native of Iowa and was born at Fort Dodge April 24, 1887, where he resided until twelve years of age. His parents are M. A. Mullen and Mildred ( Babbit) Mul- len, natives of Watertown, Wisconsin. After their marriage in 1883 they moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where they resided until 1892. Then they moved to Gilmore, lowa, lived there until 1899, and then moved to Palo Alto county, Iowa. They lived in the latter place until 1905, when they moved to Pipestone, where they now reside. They are the parents of the fol- lowing children: Anna, Adelaide, Joseph, Marie and Bernice, of Pipestone; George A., of this sketch; James of Weyburn, Sas- katchewan, Canada.
When twelve years of age George ac- companied his parents to Palo Alto county to reside. He attended school there and grew to manhood. He spent four years
566
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
i
as collector for the Raleigh Medicine Com- pany, with headquarters at Madison and Egan, South Dakota. For a year he was disciplinarian at the Pipestone Indian School, after which he was district mana- ger for the Mutual Life Insurance Com . pany of New York at Pipestone. In Sep- tember, 1911, he moved to Marshall and launched the Mullen Land Company, which is comprised of himself and his father, M. A. Mullen. They deal in real estate and are a strictly reliable firm. They have some of the best farms in the county on their list. They also have listed many acres in other parts of the state, having offices at Morris and Pipestone, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota.
HENRY L. TRAEN (1884) is a farmer and land owner of Eidsvold township. He was born in Belgium August 25, 1871, and came to America and to Lyon county with his parents in 1884. His education was begun in the old country and fin- ished in Lyon county.
Henry attended school until eighteen years old and thereafter until 1904 he worked on his father's farm. Louis Traen, the father, still lives in Eidsvold township; the mother, Rose Traen, died in 1910. Our subject was married in 1904 and began farming for himself at that time on the place he now owns. The northeast quarter of section 19 became his property in the spring of 1912. Mr. Traen has a well-improved place and engages in stock raising to some extent.
Mr. Traen was married in Taunton in 1904 to Kate Fear. She was born in Ger- many September 25, 1885, and is a daugh- ter of Antone and Mary (Szazynski) Fear. Her parents reside in Lincoln county. Mr. and Mrs. Traen have three children: Louis, born January 26, 1905; Paul, born May 21, 1907; and Anton, born April 26, 1911. The family are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Traen has been road overseer two years.
DONALD H. RULIFFSON (1895), book- keeper of the Farmers & Merchants Na- tional Bank of Minneota, was born March 18, 1893, in Lincoln county, Minnesota.
His parents, Charles P. and Alice M. (Sloan) Ruliffson, were early settlers of Lincoln county and located in Lyons township, Lyon county, in 1895, where they now own one of the largest farms in the vicinity.
Donald attended country school in Lyons township and the village school in Russell. later attending high school for a time in Ortonville and spending one year in the Marshall High School. He discontinued his high school course in June, 1910, and worked on the home farm that summer, and in Sep- tember he took a position with the local bank as bookkeeper.
Mr. Ruliffson is a member of the Presby- terian church of Russell. He made many friends throughout the county during his school days at Marshall and Russell and is popular among the young people of Min- neota.
ANDREW HOOK (1901) is a farmer of - Monroe township, being the proprietor of 160 acres on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 15. Mr. Hook raises stock in addition to his general farming.
Mayville, Wisconsin, is the birthplace of Andrew Hook, November 10, 1869, being the date of his birth. His father, Eugene Hook, died December 12, 1907, and his mother, Madeline (Stromyer) Hook, lives in Tracy. When our subject was a child the family moved to Grundy Center, Iowa, where they made their home until 1901. Andrew was brought up on the farm and educated in the country schools, and later farmed in Iowa.
It was in 1901 that Andrew Hook came to Lyon county and bought his present farm, where he has since lived. He was married February 21, 1895, to Minnie Miller, at Finch- ford, Iowa. Mrs. Hook is a native of Galena, Illinois. To this union have been born three children, as follows: Veronica, born Decem- ber 12, 1895; Nettie, born June 4, 1898; and Harold, born October 24, 1902.
WALTER P. WOHLHETER (1911), man- ager of the farmers' elevator at Marshall, was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota, De- cember 4, 1886. He is the son of C. L. and Florence (Downie) Wohlheter, natives of Iowa and residents of White. South Dakota.
567
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The mother of our subject is a daughter of E. B. Dowie, one of the early settlers of Marshall. There is one other child in the family, Verne G.
When Walter was six years of age the family moved from Chamberlain to White, Brookings county, South Dakota, and there he grew to young manhood. After securing a high school education, he attended the State College at Brookings two terms and completed his education in the Mankato Commercial College. He then entered the grain business, being manager of the E. A. Brown elevator and that of the farmers' company at White prior to his removal to Marshall on July 17, 1911. Since that date he has had charge of the Marshall elevator.
Mr. Wohlheter was married at White, South Dakota, June 3, 1908, to Jessie Den- hart. She was born in Pipestone county and is a daughter of W. B. Denhart, an early settler of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Wohl- heter have two children, Phyllis and Clem- entine. Our subject is a member of the Masonic and Woodmen lodges.
GEORGE DANDURAND (1887), Sodus township farmer, is a native of Indiana and was born at Milford February 28, 1875. His parents are Marcle and Mary (Bourgret) Dandurand, natives of Canada. They settled in Indiana in an early day.
In 1887 George accompanied his parents to Lyon county, the father renting a half section of land in Lynd township. They resided there three years and then moved to Lake Marshall township, where they farmed four years. In 1895 our subject was married and took up farming for himself. He farmed a part of the time in Lake Mar- shall township and part of the time in Sodus township. He also spent one year in Canada. In 1905 he purchased the northwest quarter of section 8, Sodus township, which he later sold, and he now rents the same. Mr. Dan- durand is a member of the Catholic church and the Modern Woodmen lodge.
On July 25, 1895, at Marshall, occurred the marriage of Jennie Melencon to Mr. Dan- durand. She was born in Milford, Indiana, on July 3, 1873, and is a daughter of Eugene and Salina (Shopin) Melencon, natives of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Dandurand are the parents of the following five children: Bes-
sie M., born September 25, 1896; Frances Lucy, born December 25, 1899; Hurby E., born December 1, 1901; Bernice D., born October 23, 1903; Roland O., born May 24, 1908.
FRED E. CHILD (1909) is editor and pub- lisher of the Russell Anchor and has spent his entire life in the printing and newspaper business. He was born in Nevada, Story county, Iowa, December 22, 1877. Atter securing an education he learned his trade in the local newspaper offices, the Nevada Representative and the Nevada Journal.
Thereafter, before he became a resident of Lyon county, Mr. Child worked on many different papers in Iowa and Minnesota. He was employed for a year on the Algona, Iowa, Upper Des Moines and for a time on the successor of that journal, the Upper Des Moines-Republican. Mr. Child worked two years on the Reveille at Redwood Falls and one year on the Times-Messenger at Madelia and then for two years had charge of the Wabasso Standard. He next had charge of the mechanical department of the Herald at Wabasha for more than a year, and in March, 1909, he became the owner of the Russell Anchor. Mr. Child has greatly improved the paper and made a success of the venture. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge and was chief officer of the local order in 1910.
Mr. Child was married at Redwood Falls September 18, 1904, to Lutie Lenore Robin- son, a native of Redwood county and the daughter of Lafayette Robinson, one of the early day treasurers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Child have three children: Doris Marie, Donald William and Fay George.
Fred Child is the youngest child of a family of seven children, the others being Hattie Stevens, of Des Moines, Iowa; Willie, of Ames, Iowa; George, of St. James, Minne- sota; Harry, of Boone, Iowa; Bert B., of Ne- vada, Iowa; and Mollie Glasco, of Des Moines, Iowa.
The parents of these children were George and Lavina (Hall) Child. The former was born in Bath, New Hampshire, settled in Illinois when fourteen years of age, and at Nevada, Iowa, in an early day and acquired land there. He served as a member of Com- pany K, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, as
1
568
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
first and second lieutenant and quartermas- ter. He was sheriff of Story county eight years and later was in the livery business. He died in 1902 and his wife in 1880.
FRANK HAMILTON (1902) has been farming in Monroe township since 1908 and rents the north half of the northeast quarter of section 8.
The subject of this sketch was born in Johnson county, Iowa, September 3, 1868. His parents, A. J. and Harriett (Cleghorn) Hamilton, were natives of Indiana but set- tled in Iowa in an early day. When Frank was very young the family moved to Poca- hontas county, and there he received his schooling and grew to manhood.
At the age of twenty-one years young Hamilton started out in life for himself, renting land in Iowa and farming thirteen years. In 1902 he moved to Lyon county and located in Balaton, soon afterward rent- ing land near the village and farming the place until 1908. During that year he changed his residence to Monroe township and has since been on his present farm.
Mr. Hamilton was married in Pocahontas county, Iowa, April 1, 1890, to Emma Garton. They have four children, Herbert L., Ethel, Dora E. and Harry. Mrs. Hamilton is a na- tive of Illinois and is a daughter of J. P. and Elizabeth Moulton Garton. She was born May 28, 1871.
Frank Hamilton's fraternal associations are with the Modern Woodmen and A. O. U. W. lodges.
DONALD R. MIHILLS (1909) is part owner and manager of section 16, and 240 acres on section 15, Stanley township, which he owns in partnership with his father. He is a native of Wisconsin and was born in Fond du Lac October 20, 1887, a son of G. U. and Antonette C. (Carpenter) Mihills, the former a native of New York and the latter of Wis- consin. The parents reside at Fond du Lac, where the father is engaged in the lumber business and also owns a section of land. He engages extensively in breeding Per- cheron horses, established the county fair there, and has been quite prominent in the development of his part of the country. They were the parents of two children:
Genevieve, who is a graduate nurse of St. Luke's Hospital, at Chicago; and Donald R., of this sketch.
Donald attended the schools in the city of his birth and later attended Northwestern Military Academy and the University of Wis- consin. He was graduated from the former in 1904 and the latter in 1909. The latter year is the date of the arrival of our subject to Lyon county. He took charge of the above mentioned farm, which had been purchased by his father in 1887, in connection with several hundred acres more, which have been sold.
Our subject is a member of the Elks and Masonic lodges and is treasurer of Stanley township. His great grandfather, Colonel Calvert Pier, was the first settler of Fond du Lac.
FREDERICK W. E. MALZAHN (1896) is the efficient tailor in the city of Marshall. He was born in Germany December 1, 1857, and when eighteen years of age came to the United States and located in Le Sueur, Min- nesota. He is a son of Frederick William and Henrietta (Schwandt) Malzahn, natives of Germany. Both parents are deceased. They were the parents of two children: Fred- erick W. E., of this sketch, and Augusta (Mrs. William Ladwig), of Clifton township.
Our subject served his apprenticeship as a tailor at Le Sueur, where he resided five years, and then went to Faribault, where he resided three months. He later went to St. Paul and worked at his trade till 1891, and then to St. Cloud, where he worked at his trade one season. The next few years were spent at his trade in Minneapolis, Chicago and Columbus.
In 1896 Mr. Malzahn came to Lyon county and located in Marshall, where he worked as tailor two years for Ed. Cartier. He then engaged in business for himself, which he has since continued.
JAMES M. HANSON (1903), Coon Creek township farmer, was born in Denmark September 15, 1876, a son of Hans and Annie (Christensen) Christopherson. James re- ceived his schooling in the land of his na- tivity, where he lived until eighteen years of age, when he immigrated to America.
569
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
He located at Alden, Freeborn county, Min- nesota, and worked at farm labor there until 1903, the year of his arrival to Lyon county.
Mr. Hanson purchased 160 acres on section 17, Lyons township, which he held until the fall of 1911, when he sold and bought land on section 21, Coon Creek township, where he now lives. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church and was treasurer of school district No. 69 one year.
Mr. Hanson is a man of family. He was married in Lyons township March 10, 1905, to Damie Stiefel, a native of Lyons town- ship and a daughter of David and Jane (Jones) Stiefel, of Russell. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson are the parents of two children, Olga and Margrette.
E. W. ANDERSON, D. C. (1911), Doctor of Chiropractic, is a recent addition to Tracy, having moved there from Canby in November, 1911. Dr. Anderson has offices on the second floor of the W. J. Coles Build- ing on Third Street and has been achieving success in his profession during his short residence there.
Burt county, Nebraska, is the birthplace of our subject, who first saw the light of day on June 16, 1886. His boyhood was spent for the most part in Custer and Daw- son counties, Nebraska, and during much of his early life he was in the saddle on the plains of Nebraska, tending cattle and ranch- ing. The new profession of chiropractic ad- justments claimed his interest, and deter- inining to study the science the young man, then in his early twenties, enrolled in the Palmer School of Chiropractics in Daven- port, Iowa, in 1908. Graduating in November, 1910, the doctor first located in Canby, where he remained about a year before he moved to Tracy. Dr. Anderson is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge.
The parents of our subject were A. C. and Lizzie (Stenman) Anderson, both natives of Stockholm, Sweden. They came to this country about fifty years ago. The father is dead; the mother lives in Gothenburg, Daw- son county, Nebraska. Ernest W. of this sketch has the following brothers and sister living: Julius and Oscar, of Big Springs, Nebraska; Jesse, of Gothenburg, Nebraska; and Nena, of Gothenburg, Nebraska.
JOHN E. BERG (1892), farmer of Wes- terheim township, was born in Norway De- cember 19, 1869. His mother died in the old country when he was five years old and his father, Erick Haug, died in Rock county, Minnesota, in 1983, soon after his arrival to the New World.
When John Berg was eleven years of age he came to America and joined his father in Rock county. The father had conie the year before and taken a home- stead in Rose Dell township, of that coun- ty. After his father's death John was obliged to make his own way in the world, although he was but a boy in his early teens. Until eighteen years of age he worked on farms in Rock county, and then he learned the miller's trade, working three and one-half years in the mill at Luverne.
At Slayton Mr. Berg resided a year, working in the mill and at carpenter work. The next nine months were passed work- ing in a mill at Winnebago City, and then he located in Minneota and was employed in the mill two years. He worked at his trade in Lamberton a short time and in Madison two years. In 1896 Mr. Berg gave up that work and turned farmer. At that time he bought the north half of the northeast quarter of section 6, Westerheim township, and engaged in farming. He has resided on that farm since, with the excep- tion of five years spent in Eidsvold town- ship, where he bought a farm which he later sold. Mr. Berg farms 480 acres of land, owning besides his Lyon county farm 400 acres in Burton and Swede Prairie townships, Yellow Medicine county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.