USA > Minnesota > Lyon County > An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota > Part 96
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The parents of Esten Myran were Svend Myran and Guri Lien, natives of Norway. Born in Opdahl, Trondhjem, Norway, Oc- tober 12, 1871, our subject lived his early life at home with his people. He attended school for a few years, engaging in the livery business when a boy of only four- teen. He followed that pursuit until twen- ty years of age, when he decided to seek his fortune in the United States, and the year 1892 found him a resident of Lyon county. Since locating here Mr. Myran has farmed and has prospered. During every fall season he operates a threshing
outfit, of which he is the owner. For two years Mr. Myran was called upon to fill the office of constable of his precinct.
Our subject is a member of the Norwe- gian Lutheran church and belongs to the Modern Woodmen lodge. He has one brother living in America, John Myran, of Yankton county, South Dakota.
HENRY SAVOIE (1902) is a farmer of Lake Marshall township who has resided in Lyon county for a number of years. He is a native of Cloud county, Kansas, and was born February 14, 1885. He is the son of Mike and Julia (Lagess) Savoie and accompanied them to Lyon county when he was seventeen years of age. His parents rented land in Kansas, and it was during this period that our subject received his early education. Upon their arrival in Lyon county the father rented four hun- dred acres of land in Lake Marshall town- ship. Henry worked with his father until 1905, when he rented the east half of sec- tion 21, Lake Marshall township, where he lived until the spring of 1911. At that time he rented four hundred acres in the same township, where he now lives. Hen- ry's parents were born and raised in Kan- kakee county, Illinois. They are both of French-Canadian descent.
Besides farming, Mr. Savoie engages ex- tensively in stock raising. He raises Short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs. He is a member of the Catholic church and of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
In Marshall, on January 9, 1906, Mr. Savoie was united in marriage to Emma Paquette, a native of Cloud county, Kan- sas. Her parents were John and Agnes (Labance) Paquette, who homesteaded land in Kansas in an early day. To this union have been born the following named two children: Fred, born January 11, 1907, died June 4, 1907; Eugene, born November 6, 1908.
WILLIAM JACOB COIL (1909) is a farmer of Eidsvold township and the own- er of a 240-acre farm in that precinct, his farm being described as the northeast quar- ter of section 30 and the north half of the northwest quarter of section 29.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Coil was born in Broad Ripple, Marion county, Indiana, April 10, 1856. Jacob Conrad Coil and Katherine (Dun- ahoo) Coil, his parents, died in Indiana in 1878. The father was born in that state in 1818 and the mother in Virginia in 1830. William was brought up on a farm and has engaged in farming all his life. He attended school until twenty-one years of age, worked for his father two years after reaching his majority, and then start- ed out in life for himself.
In Indiana Mr. Coil engaged in farming for a short time and then moved to Cham- paign county, Illinois, where he purchased land and resided four years. The next twenty years of his life were spent farm- ing in Story county, Iowa, and then for a few years prior to 1909 he was engaged in the same business in Boone county, Iowa. In the spring of 1909 Mr. Coil located on his Eidsvold township farm, which he had purchased the preceding fall and where he has since resided. He raises full-blooded Percheron horses and Poland China hogs.
During his residence in Iowa Mr. Coil was frequently called upon to serve in an official capacity. He is a member of the Methodist church and of the Mystic Workers of the World, holding member- ship at Boone, Iowa.
William Coil and Mary Katherine Blaze were married in Marion county, Indiana, October 24, 1877. Mrs. Coil was born in Cambridge, Indiana, March 26, 1857. Chil- dren have been born to this union as fol- lows: Otto J., of Lincoln county, Minne- sota, born September 10, 1878; Mary Kath- erine ( Mrs. Oliver M. Barker), of Algona, Iowa, born March 23, 1880; Bertha Ne- vada (Mrs. Frank Thomas), of Boone, Iowa, born January 25, 1882; Ira Theo- dore, of Minneapolis, born February 8, 1885; Leslie, deceased, born February 7, 1887; Isa Lulu, of Minneapolis, born Aug- ust 11, 1889; Inez, deceased, born June 20, 1892; Virgil B., at home, born July 23, 1895; Vera Theresa, at home, born August 10, 1899.
ROBERT S. MOSS (1905) is the ton- sorial artist in the village of Russell. He was born at Toronto, Canada, November
20, 1877, a son of Joseph and Kathryn (Smith) Moss, of Hector, Minnesota.
Robert received his education in the places where the Moss family resided dur- ing his minority, at Superior, Wisconsin, and Port Huron and Croswell, Michigan, attending school until twenty years of age. He then worked three years as an under- taker at Morg, Wisconsin, when he moved with his parents to Hector, Minnesota, near which place he worked at farm labor three years. Then Robert began learning the barber's trade at Hector, where he worked one year. Cottonwood was the next place to claim him as a resident, and there he worked in a shop three years. Later he bought the Palace barber shop at Russell. Mr. Moss has been successful in his chosen vocation and is a first-class workman, his best advertisement being his pleased cus- tomers. He is a member of the Masonic lodge.
The subject of this review was married May 4, 1909, to Mary Carlson, a daughter of Olaf Carlson, of Cottonwood. Mrs. Moss was born near Cottonwood October 12, 1873. They have no children.
JOHN M. PLACE (1902) is a farmer residing on section 20, Coon Creek town- ship, who has lived in Lyon county for the past ten years. He is a native of Penn- sylvania and was born in March, 1860, a son of John and Margrette (Feninger ) Place, natives of Pennsylvania. John re- ceived his schooling and grew to manhood in his native state, locating in McHenry county, Iowa, when nineteen years of age, where he farmed until 1902.
In 1902 our subject came to Lyon coun- ty and rented the farm he new operates in Coon Creek township. In addition to farm- ing, he raises considerable stock, includ- ing Hereford and Black Polled Angus cat- tle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He is a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W. lodge.
Mr. Place was married in Iowa to Cath- erine Kouch, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Christ and Barbara (Curly) Kouch, the former born in Germany and the latter in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Place are the parents of the following children: William, Clem, Eva, Ada, Ethel and Annie.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
HENRY BRUNS (1910) is the proprie- tor of the Lyon County Garage at Minne- ota and conducts an auto livery in connec- tion. He was born in Germany February 9, 1870, and when twelve years old came to this country with his parents and set- tled in Otoe county, Nebraska. There he lived on the farm with his parents until 1892. ^
In the year last mentioned Mr. Bruns moved to Murray county, Minnesota, en- gaged in farming awhile, and then located at Lake Wilson, where he engaged in the blacksmith and machine business. He moved to Minneota in the spring of 1910 and conducted a blacksmith shop one year. Then he built the Lyon County Garage, a 30x60 feet building, equipped it with ma- chinery and tools for repairing, and has since been engaged in that business. Mr. Bruns is an able workman and conducts a model institution.
The parents of our subject were John and Rebecca (Kleinsmidt) Bruns. They came from Germany in 1882 and settled in Nebraska, where Mrs. Bruns died. The father later moved to Murray county, Min- nesota, and died there in 1897. Henry Bruns has one brother, Fred, of Otoe county, Nebraska.
The marriage of Henry Bruns to Ellen Heymnes occurred at Lake Wilson, Min- nesota, April 20, 1898. Mrs. Bruns is a native of Murray county and a daughter of L. J. Heymnes, a homesteader and early settler of Murray county. Mr. and Mrs. Bruns have one child, Chester. Mr. Bruns is a member of the M. W. A. lodge.
JOHN B. FLINN (1911) is one of Clif- ton township's farmers and resides on the northwest quarter of section 10. He was born in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, on October 4, 1881. His father and mother were Fred and Mattie (Severson) Flinn, natives of Wisconsin and Norway, respect- ively. When John was a child the fam- ily moved to Cerro Gordo county, Iowa. There the father bought land and for sev- eral years engaged in agricultural pursuits. Later he moved to Rockwell,' a neighbor- ing village, and the subject of this sketch grew to manhood in Rockwell and finished his education in the public school.
The elder Mr. Flinn opened a livery and feed stable in Rockwell and also conduct- ed a barber shop. John learned the bar- ber's trade and was with his father until 1899, in which year he moved to Minne- sota, locating in Lac qui Parle county, where he rented land and farmed until 1911. That year he came to Lyon county and bought the place where he now re- sides, one of the finest farms in the town- ship. Mr. Flinn has already taken up stock raising in connection with his gen- eral farming, and with his good location and his industry seems assured of success.
The subject of this sketch was married in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, August, 29, 1906. The young lady he chose for his wife was Carrie Guddal, a daughter of John and Rachel (Swenson) Guddal, na- tives of Norway and now residents of Blue Earth county. Mrs. Flinn was born June 18, 1882. To this union has been born one child, Erwood, on September 6, 1911. Mrs. Flinn taught school several years be- fore her marriage, in her home county and in Lac qui Parle county.
NELS O. ERICKSON (1910) is a dealer in live stock and farm implements in Flor- ence. He is a native of Sweden, born Feb- ruary 15, 1879, and in company with his parents came to the United States when five months old. The family settled in Union county, South Dakota, where our subject resided until coming to Lyon coun- ty in 1910.
The father of our subject died in 1892 and thereafter, in company with the rest of the children, Nels conducted the home farm. He began the struggle of life for himself when sixteen years of age. His first undertaking was farming and stock buying, which he continued in the South Dakota home until he became a resident of Lyon county, which was in August, 1910.
On his arrival in Lyon county, Mr. Erick- son purchased the implement house he now owns from H. P. Sanden and immediately installed a complete stock of farm imple- ments, wagons, pumps, automobiles and buggies. He also buys and ships stock and in company with his brother, E. O. Erickson, deals extensively in hay and
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
straw, which they buy and bale for ship- ment.
Mr. Erickson's mother was married a second time, to Ole Bergstrom, of Tyler. There are five boys and one girl in the family: Erick, Nels O., Betsy, Jona, Ole and Joe.
FRANK PETERSON (1912) has only recently become a resident of Custer town- ship, locating on the south half of the northeast quarter of section 3 during the month of February, 1912. That farm Mr. Peterson purchased in 1910, at which time he was farming in Redwood county.
In Mercer county, Illinois, Frank Peter- son first saw the light of day, on April 12, 1876. His father, Peter Peterson, is a res- ident of New Windsor, Illinois, and Frank's mother, Lena Peterson, is not living. Frank received his education in Illinois and grew to young manhood on his father's farm. Later he hired out for several years as a farm laborer, and he spent about eight years farming for himself in his native state,
Our subject left Illinois and located in Redwood county, Minnesota, in the spring of 1905, and there he conducted a farm until taking up his residence in Lyon coun- ty in 1912. Mr. Peterson has done well since he engaged in farming and seems bound to continue. The Custer farm is valuable land and our subject has a fine. home on the place. Besides his general farming, Mr. Peterson is devoting much of his time to stock raising.
EDWIN K. KELLER (1901) is the man- ager of Richtmyer's pool hall. He is a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he was born July 26, 1872. His parents are Edwin S. and Adeline (Kurtz) Keller, both natives of Pennsylvania, who now reside near Holdridge, Nebraska. They are the parents of the following children: Edwin, Clara, Lilly, Mary, Kate, Addie, Charles, Thomas and Ruben.
When six years of age our subject ac- companied his parents to Grundy county, Iowa. In 1884 the family moved to Sher- idan county, Nebraska, where Edwin re- sided on his father's farm until reaching
his majority. The next winter he went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and worked on a fruit farm, being employed there about four years.' He then went to York county, Nebraska, where his parents then lived, and resided with them several years. Later he went to Fullerton, Nebraska, and conducted a pool hall until the next year, 1901, when he located in Marshall. Since that time he has been engaged in carpenter work, working in the pool hall, and con- ducting a threshing rig. He and his broth- er-in-law, E. W. Richtmyer, own the thresh- ing machine.
Mr. Keller was married in Marshall in December, 1904, to Carrie Sitts, a native of Wisconsin.
FRANK BUSSE (1901) owns and oper- ates the northwest quarter of section 34, Sodus township. He is a native of the Badger State and was born at Burlington May 3, 1877. His parents are John and Mary (Mecklenburg) Busse, natives of Ger- many. When Frank was seven years of age his parents moved to Sioux county, Iowa. They resided there seven years and then moved to Jerauld county, South Da- kota, where the father homesteaded land. Our subject remained with his parents until 1901.
In the latter year the subject of this review came to Lyon county and purchased the farm he now operates in Sodus town- ship. He also engages extensively in stock raising. Mr. and Mrs. Busse are members of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Busse was married in Clifton town- ship on June 24, 1908, to Myrtle Knieff, a native of Lyon county. She is a dangh- ter of Edward and Sarah (Castle) Knieff, the former a native of Illinois and the lat- ter of Minnesota. Mrs. Busse was born January 28, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Busse are the parents of one child, Edna, born November 29, 1910.
GEORGE OVERLEE (1908) is proprie- tor of the East Side Saloon at Tracy. He is a native of the Gopher State and was born in Brown county January 19, 1876, a son of John and Carrie Overlee, natives of Norway. They came to the United States
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
about forty years ago and located in Brown county, where the father homesteaded land. The mother is dead and the father resides in Lincoln county, Minnesota. There are four children in the family, as follows: Rena, George, Albert and Carl.
George resided in Brown county until eighteen years of age and there received his schooling. He then moved to Redwood county, where he farmed until twenty-six years of age. In 1903 he purchased a saloon at Revere, which he conducted four years, going from there to Arco, where he . conducted a saloon. He was in business at Arco six months, when he was burned out. On March 21, 1908, Mr. Overlee came to Lyon county and purchased Peter- son Brothers' saloon at Tracy, known as the East Side Saloon.
At Revere, November 28, 1903, Mr. Over- lee was married to Mary Hendrickson, a native of Cottonwood county. They are the parents of three children, Clarence, Myrtle and James.
CLAUD DAYTON NELLIS (1908) is a farmer and land owner residing in Lynd township. He is a native of Iowa and was born in Kossuth county July 23, 1880. He is a son of Charles and Harriett Nellis, early residents of Kossuth county. The father was a native of New York and the mother of Canada.
The subject of this review received his early education near Whittemore, Iowa. He worked for his father on the farm until twenty years of age, and after that farmed for himself in Kossuth county until he came to Lyon county in 1908. In 1907 Mr. Nellis purchased the northeast quar -. ter of section 35, Lynd township, which he still owns and operates. He moved to this farm in February, 1908. He raises Duroc- Jersey hogs, Shorthorn cattle and Plymouth Rock chickens.
Mr. Nellis is a member of the Methodist church and he is a Modern Woodman. He is a'stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Marshall, is road overseer, and has been constable in Lynd township for two years.
On March 22, 1905, Mr. Nellis was united in marriage to Myrtle Bixby, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Bixby, of Kossuth
county, Iowa. Mrs. Nellis is a native of Iowa and was born July 19, 1882. Pre- vious to her marriage she taught school for seven years in one district. Her par- ents are natives of Iowa. The father died January 26, 1909; the mother resides at Spirit Lake, lowa.
Mr. Nellis has three brothers and five sisters living: Edward, Emery, Russell, Myrtle, Maggie, Kate, Etta, Olive. Mrs. Neilis has three brothers and four sisters: Frank, Warren, Charles, Cora, Mabel, Neva, Nellie.
HENRY DeVINCK (1903), a farmer and stock raiser of Lyons township, was born in Belgium March 22, 1862, and spent the first twenty-five years of his life in the land of his nativity. His parents were Henry and Mary (Delobel) DeVinek, both of whom died in the old country. Henry attended school and grew to manhood in Belgium and worked out at farm labor until coming to the United States.
He located, on first coming to this coun- try, at Attica, Indiana, near which place he worked as a farm hand. Upon coming to Lyon county in 1903, he purchased a one-third interest in 240 acres of land in Lyons township, where he still resides. Besides general farming, he raises and sells horses and Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mr. DeVinck is a member of the Catholic church and is director of school district No. 2, an office he has held for eight years.
At Attica, Indiana, October 8, 1892, oc- curred the marriage of Mr. DeVinck to Mary Phillips, a native of France and a daughter of Fred and Annie (Van Cock) Phillips. The Phillips family came to America in 1889 and settled in Chicago and later in Attica, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. DeVinck are the parents of the following three children: Mary, born July 8, 1893; Elizabeth, born June 17, 1896; Flora, born January 11, 1900.
JOHN STASSEN (1891), of Lake Marshall township, was born in Belgium January 20, 1868, a son of Louise and Elizabeth ( Mulleneers) Stassen. John received his early education and grew to manhood in the land of his nativity. He also served three
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
years in the Belgian army and resided with his parents until 1891, when he came to America with them.
The family moved to Marshall that year and our subject was employed on farms until 1896, when he married and rented land. In 1908 he rented the 240 acres of land on section 28, Lake Marshall township, where he now resides. In addition to general farming, Mr. Stassen engages in stock rais- ing
Mr. Stassen was married at Ghent January 26, 1896, to Helen Paradis, a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Stassen are the par- ents of the following named children: AI- bert, Laura, Vadeline and Florence.
ARTHUR E. ARNTSON (1909) is an at- torney-at-law of Minneota and a graduate of the Law Department of the University of Minnesota. He was born at Cannon Falls, Minnesota, October 10, 1885. In 1887 he accompanied his parents to Red Wing, Min- nesota, where he resided until 1909. While residing in that city our subject was gradn- ated from the high school and the University of Minnesota.
The parents of our subject are Emanuel and Nelia (Reid) Arntson, the former a na- tive of lowa and the latter of Minnesota. They reside at Red Wing and are the par- ents of five children: Arthur E., Neal, Helen, Evelyn and Florence.
After graduating from the University, our subject was engaged three years in his father's real estate office, having charge of the law and collection department. In 1909 he came to Lyon county and located at Min- neota, where he engaged in practice with Bjorn B. and A. B. Gislason. The firm name is Gislason, Arntson & Gislason. The firm also deals in real estate under the name of the Globe Land & Loan Company. Our subject holds membership in the Masonic, Elks, Modern Woodmen and Ancient Order of United Workmen lodges.
BENTON J. COLE (1896), who farms the southeast quarter of section 35, Amiret town- ship, was born in Winona county, Minnesota, January 12, 1883. His father, James H. Cole, was born in Hillsboro, Wisconsin, Feb- ruary 10, 1856, and was married to Hannah
Bryson, a native of Canada, born September 5, 1853. The parents now live in Tracy.
When a child Benton was brought by his parents to Minnesota and the family located near Currie, Murray county, where the father purchased land. Benton spent his youth in that county, went to the district school, and later attended high school at Tracy. In 1896 his father bought the southeast quarter and the south half of the northeast quarter of section 35, Amiret township, Lyon county, and the family moved to the new home. Benton helped on the home farm until 1907, when he rented land in Redwood county, and there he lived until 1912. He then rented the farm of his father, the family having moved to Tracy, and Benton has since conducted the farm.
Mr. Cole was married April 1, 1906, to Clara M. Larson. Clara Larson was born in Lyon county January 26, 1883, and is a daughter of Hans T. and Turi (Gullickson ) Larson, natives of Norway. They came to America in 1869 and both died in Lyon connty. To Mr. and Mrs. Cole two children have been born: Bernice V., born June 9. 1907, and Helen T., born January 18, 1909.
The Coles are members of the Presby- terian church and Mr. Cole is a member of the A. O. U. W. lodge.
CHRIS MORK (1911) farms the northeast quarter of section 30, Shelburne township. He was born in Lincoln county, South Da- kota, November 19, 1876. His father, Halvor Mork, resides near Sioux Falls; his mother, Ingre (Ode) Mork, died March 12, 1906.
When Chris was ten years old the family moved to Minnehaha county, South Dakota. In the public schools of East Sioux Falls he secured his education and after his school days he assisted his father with the work on the farm. He moved to Lyon county in February, 1911, rented the 200-acre farm of Gullick Rogness, and has since been engaged in farming on his own account. Mr. Mork is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Florence.
Gertrude Nelson became the wife of Chris Mork at Sioux Falls on March 11, 1908. She is a native of that city and was born May 3, 1888. Mr. and Mrs Mork have one child, Alfred Harold, born June 23, 1909.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
OSCAR J. ANDERSON (1910), farmer and renter of the northwest quarter of section 21 in the township of Monroe, is a native of Sweden and has made his home in the United States since he was seventeen years of age.
Our subject was born December 1, 1889. His parents, Anders Anderson and Siverina (Bengtson) Anderson, are still living in Sweden. Oscar received his education in the Swedish common schools. In June, 1906, the boy came to America and located in Kankakee county, Illinois. For four years that was his home. and most of the time he found employment at farm labor. It was in April, 1910, that Oscar came to Lyon . county, where, after working out one year, he rented the place where he now resides.
On January 30, 1912, in Tracy, Minnesota, occurred the ceremony which joined Oscar Anderson and Mabel Surprenant in the holy bonds of matrimony. Mrs. Anderson is a native of St. George, Kankakee county, Illi- nois, and was born December 24, 1892. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Swedish Luth- eran church.
AXAL L. BLADHOLM (1891) is the senior member of the firm of Bladholm Brothers, proprietors of the Marshall Machine Shops. He was born in Sweden December 10, 1866, the son of Frans O. and Johanna Bladholm.
In his native land Axal learned the ma- chinist's trade and when twenty years of age came to America and located in South Chicago. He worked in a shop there eight months and then took a position as ma- chinist in the shops of the Pullman Car Com- pany. Two years later he accepted a posi- tion in the machine shops of Frazer & Chal- mers and was employed by that firm until he located. in Marshall in May, 1891. He has ever since conducted a machine shop in that city, part of the time in partnership with others and now as a member of the firm of Bladholm Brothers.
In 1903 the brothers added to the shop a steel and concrete bridge building depart- ment and installed heavy machinery for that purpose. They do heavy forging and ma- chinery work and manufacture a boiler feed pump of their own design. They have a well equipped shop for the kind of work they do and both brothers are first-class
workmen. They construct from twelve to seventeen bridges a year, among others they have put in being two over the Redwood river in Marshall, one at Minneota over the Yellow Medicine river, one over Three-Mile creek between Marshall and Ghent, and one in Yellow Medicine county over the river of the same name. Bladholm Brothers keep on hand a stock of structural steel for bridge work. They also handle the Glyco babbit metal. being agents for this territory. An- other important device they have recently begun to manufacture is a boiler safety plug.
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