USA > Minnesota > Nobles County > An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota > Part 61
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Our subject's mother was born near Waynes- burg, l'a., in 1831. She died at the home of her son Nov. 13. 1907. John is the oldest of a family of six living children of these parents. The other children are Mary, Sarah, Charles, Major and Agnes.
John O'Connor was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 5. 1856. At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Fillmore county, Minn., and there In resided on the farm nutil 1873. That year he moved to Worthington, which was his place of residence two years. During this time he was employed by Daniel Shell as a stage driver on the mail route from Worth- ington to Yankton, S. D., a distance of 104 miles. Ile was then transferred to Luverne and ran a mail route out of that place until the Omaha branch was built to Sioux Falls.
During the winter of 1876 Mr. O'Connor bought a homestead right to the southeast quarter of section 18, Loota township, from William Cahill, paying therefor a fur coat and fifteen dollars in cash. He did not take possession of his claim until 1888. In the meantime he was engaged in several different occupations. For some time he worked at the carpenter trade in the new towns of Inverne and Adrian. Then he took employ- ment with Chief Engineer Pard Brown and his assistant, T. P. Healy, who had the con- traet to survey the line of the Northwestern railroad from Tracy to Pierre, S. D. HIe left with the crew from Luverne on April 7. and did not see a white man, with the
exception of the members of the crew, until he reached Pierre in November.
In 1884, when the Burlington road was builded through the southwestern corner of Nobles colunty and the village of Ellsworth was founded, Mr. O'Connor moved to that place, and for a time bought grain there for Rice & Larrabee. Ile erected the first build- ing in the town, which was a grain flat- house, put up for the firm with whom he took employment. Later he became the grain buyer for H. E. Torrance. In 1886 he went into the grain and implement business in Ellsworth for himself and was in business two years. Through the connivance of cer- tain parties Mr. O'Connor failed in business and lost almost his entire fortune. lle then, in 1888, moved onto his homestead elaim. and has ever since been engaged in farming. Ile has met with success and has prospered lo a flattering degree.
Mr. O'Connor was married at Currie, Minn., Feb. 20, 1888, to Jennie Oliver, who was born in Stillwater, Minn .. in 1866. She is the daughter of C. A. and Margaret Oliver, na- tives of Boston. To Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor have been born three children: Robert, Harry and Margaret.
Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor are members of the Catholic church of Kenneth and he belongs to the M. W. A. and K. P. lodges of Edger- ton. During his long residence in Leota township Mr. O'Connor has held many offices of trust in the gift of his neighbors. For several years he was a member of the town- ship board and has held the offices of assessor and justice of the peace. He also served as a member of the board of directors of school district No. 105.
C. E. ILARDING is a Graham Lakes town- ship farmer who has been a resident of the county for a good many years. Ile was born in Rockland, Maine. Nov. IS. 1865, son of E. Harding, a Maine fisherman and a veteran of the civil war.
Young Harding lived in his native state until eight years of age. Ile then came west and made his home in Faribault county, Minn. Later he came to Kinbrae, Nobles county, and for nine years was engaged as a grain buyer in that village. Ile then pur- chased a farm on East Graham Jake, and has since been engaged in farming. Ile is a
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member of the Methodist church and of the Woodmen and Odd Fellows lodges. He has served four years as school treasurer of the district in which he lives.
Mr. Harding was married at Delavan, Fari- bault county, in 1881 to Miss Mary Hali, to whom have been born the following chil- dren : Grace, Arthur, Lulu, Roy and Ethel.
HUBERT PASS, of Wilmont village, is one of the pioneers of the county. lle was born in Prussia Dec. 11, 1860. the son of John HI. and Elizabeth (Cochnen) Pass. Both parents live with their son in Wilmont, the former at the age of 84, the latter aged 90 years.
The family, consisting of father, mother, and five children, came to America in 1862 and located at Shakopee, Scott county, Minn. There Hubert was raised and educated. ' The father came to Nobles county in the fall of 1876 and took a homestead claim on sec- tion 28, Willmont township. In February, of the following year, the father and our sub- ject came again to the county and have re- sided here continuously ever since. Hubert lived on the home farm until 1893, when he opened a saloon in St. Kilian. This he eon- ducted personally until 1900, and he still owns the property. When the village of Wil- mont started in 1900 he moved to the new town, and in partnership with Theo. Slott- man erected a building and engaged in the saloon business. He conducted the business until the spring of 1908, since which time he has lived a retired life. He owns residence property in the village and the saloon build- ing.
Mr. Pass was first married at Red Wing, Minn., June 7, 1887, to Lillie Ilellmeller, who died September 22, 1894. To them were born two children-Joseph, born Nov. 17, 1888, and Frank, born June 10, 1893. The sec- ond marriage of Mr. Pass occurred at St. Kilian June 7, 1897, when he married Bar- bara Schmit, who was born in Chicago May 9, 1878. They are the parents of the fol- lowing named children: Lena, born March 1, 1898; Lillie, born Feb. 4, 1900; Henry, born June 8, 1903; Lizzie, born July 4, 1905.
Mr. and Mrs. Pass are members of the Catholic church. He was township clerk of Willmont five years.
CHARLES HAMSTREET, editor and pub- lisher of the Worthington Advance-llerald, enjoys the distinction of being the oldest (in point of service) newspaper man in Nobles county, having been engaged in the business in the county almost continuously since 1894.
Mr. Hamstreet is of Duich descent, the family having come originally from Holland, although his ancestors have lived in America many generations. He is the son of John H. llamstreet and Francis (Clapper) llam- street, now residents of Clear Lake, Iowa. Mr. Hamstreet, Sr., was born in New York state Nov. 13, 1842; Mrs. Hamstreet was born in Sharon, Wis., Nov. 17, 1848. To these parents was born the subject of this biography at Darlington, Wis., March 15, 1869. When he was seven years of age his parents moved to Sharon, Wis., and that was the family home for the next ten years. In the country schools near that Wisconsin town Charles was educated, attending until he was 17 years of age. Then the family moved to Clear Lake, Iowa, and our subject completed his education with a two years' course of study in the high school. After his school days young Hamstreet worked on the farm for several years in the vicinity of Clear Lake.
During his residence in that Iowa town he became enamoured of the printer's trade and at odd times picked up knowledge of the "case" in the office of the Clear Lake Mir- ror, then published by Cooley & Asplin. This was enough to make him hunger for more knowledge of the "art preservative," and in the fall of 1891 he became an apprentice in the office of the Paulina Times, of Paulina, Jowa, and worked thirteen months under O. D. Hamstreet, an uncle, who was then the publisher. Resigning his position there in December, 1892, he went to Ilartley, Iowa, and took charge of the mechanical depart- ment of the llartley Herald, which position he held until September, 1894. That was the date of his arrival in Nobles county. Ile went to Kinbrae and in partnership with T. E. Cole established the Kinbrae Herald, the firm name being Cole & Ilamstreet. Al- though Mr. Cole owned a half interest in the business, it was under the sole control of Mr. Hamstreet, and in April. 1898. the latter acquired complete ownership. He ran the
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lerald until Nov. 1, 1599, when he sold, but was obliged to take the paper back the next February. He continued the publication until March, 1900, with the exception of short periods, when he had it leased. Dur- ing this time he was absent from Kinbrae from November, 1899, to September, 1901, when he worked in the wholesale paper house of the Chicago Newspaper Union at Sioux City.
Not content with one newspaper, Mr. Ham- street, on September 15, 1901, purchased the Dundee Advocate and was the publisher of that journal until April, 1905. After dis- continuing the publication of the Kinbrae paper Mr. Hamsticet, in June, 1903, went to Rushmore, purchased the subscription list and good will of the Rushmore Enterprise, brought down the plant of the Kinbrae Ilerald, and published the Rushmore paper until his removal to Worthington in June, 1905. The piant at Rushmore was added to in 1905, when the Dundee Advocate was dis- continued. Shortly after buying the paper the sheet was enlarged, a new jobber was installed, a gasoline engine purchased and other improvements made. Then in the summer of 1907 he added a three revolucion Iloe press, and now the plant is one of the tinest newspaper offices in Nobles county. June 1, 1908, Mr. llamstreet moved to Worth- ingion and purchased the llerald of that city, publishing the same until July 7, of the same year. At that time he purchased the Worthington Advance and consolidated the two papers under the name of the Ad- vance-llerald.
Mr. Iamstreet has been married twice. His first marriage occurred at Kinbrae June 24, 1896, to Miss Gertie A. Jones, daughter of Burgess Jones, of that village. Mrs. Hamstreet died June 24, 1900. To this union was born one child, Everette. Mr. Hamstreet's second marriage was solemnized at Avoca Oct. 28, 1902, when he was married to Miss Andrina Nelson, of Avoca. To them has been born one child, Gladys.
During his residence in Kinbrae Mr. Ham- street served two years as village recorder and justice of the peace, and held the same offices for a like period in Dundee. He was appointed postmaster at Rushmore Sept. 3, 1903, which office he held until his removal to Worthington. He was president of the board of education of the Rushmore schools
for two years. In a fraternal way he is as- sociated with the Masonie lodge, the M. W. A. and the Yeomen, all of Worthington.
FRANK E. WILLIAMS is a farmer of Elk township who has lived in Nobles county twenty-two years, having come here when a boy twelve years of age. He was born in Grundy county, lowa, Jan. 20, 1874, the third child of the late J. B. Williams and Julia A. (Taft) Williams, who resides in Lorain township.
The subject of this sketch lived in Grundy county, Iowa, until nine years of age, when he moved with his parents to Blackhawk county, of the same state. Three years the family lived there, and then, in ISSG, they came to Nobles county. Until 1894 Frank lived on the farm in Lorain; then he began farming for himself, an occupation he has since followed. Ile now owns the southeast quarter of section 36, Elk, but in addition to farming this he rents 240 aeres.
Mr. Williams was married Sept. 7, 1899, to Mary A. Hilary, of Elk township. To them has been born one child, Emmet. Both Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Dunkard church of Elk township. Mr. Wil- liams has held the office of road overseer for the past two years.
WILLIAM OXFORD, Seward township farmer, has been a resident of the county for the past eighteen years. lle owns and farms the southwest quarter of section 33, which he purchased two years before becoming a resi- dent of the state. lle was born in Coving- ton, Fountain county, Ind., Sept. 23, 1854, where he resided until in the carly sixties, when his father enlisted in the army and his mother moved, with the children, to Terre Haute, Ind. Here the subject of this sketch grew to carly manhood and attended school. At the age of seventeen years he moved to Iroquois county, III., and worked on a farmi two years, then back to Indiana two years, and returning to Iroquois county, he married and engaged in farming on rented land.
In March, 1890, Mr. Oxford moved to Nobles county and rented a farm in Graham lakes township, upon which he resided that summer, and that fall moved onto the Ilil- den farm in Seward township, which he
F
HOME. OF AUGUST ANDERSON, INDIAN LAKE
AN OLD ORCHARD
The Result of the Labor of L. B. Paul on His Indian Lake Farm.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
rented and farmed four years. In 1895 Mr. Oxford moved onto his farm in Seward town- ship, where he has since lived, and has pros- pered.
William is the son of Elias Oxford, a native of Perrysville, Vermilion county, Ind. Elias Oxford lived in Perrysville until after his marriage, when he moved to Covington, in the same state, where he resided nutil he enlisted in the union army. At the be- ginning of the war he enlisted in the Seven- ty -second Indiana voluteer infantry at Cov- ington. A few months after joining the army he was taken prisoner and was incarcerated in the old Libby prison in Richmond, Vir- ginia. Nine months later he was exehanged and sent to Washington, where he died six days after gaining his freedom from the ef- fects of prison life. William Oxford's mother is Frances (Gilbert) Oxford, who resides in Terre Ilaute, Ind. William is the next to the ohlest of a family of three children who bear the name of Oxford. Ilis mother mar- ried the second time and he has one half- sister living.
William Oxford was married in Iroquois county, Ill., on the farm of the bride's par- ents, Dee. 23, 1873, to Abigal MeSorley, a native of Iroquois county, her parents being James and Fannie McSorley. The former is dead; the latter is residing at Martinton, 111. To this union five children have been born-three boys and two girls. Those liv- ing are: Charlie E., Roseoe C. and Frances F.
Mr. Oxford has been honored by office on several occasions sinee becoming a resident of the county. He is justice of the peace of his preeinet, having held the office for the past three years; is the present treasurer of school distriet No. 37, and is road overseer of dis- trict No. 5.
WILLIAM CITANEY is a member of the Worthington firm of Chaney & Mackay, furniture dealers and undertakers, and has been a resident of Nobles county for the last thirty-six years. He was born at Ogdens- burg, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1865, the youngest son of Allen Chaney and Candace (Rumsey) Chaney.
When the subject of this sketch was about two years of age his father moved to De- troit, Mich., and that was the family home for five years. In July, 1872, the family
came to Nobles county with the National colony and settled in Worthington township, just west of West Okabena lake. There William spent his boyhood days, securing his education and working on his father's farm. For several years he attended the country schools of Worthington township; then in 1880 he went to the Mankato high school for a one year term, and the fol- lowing year completed his schooling in the high school at Waseca. Ile then returned to his home in Worthington township and worked on the farm until his father's death in 1892. He then moved to Worthington and went into the hay business in company with John Newton, which business he was engaged in for three years. August 1, 1898, he be- came the manager of the Hubbard & Palmer elevator at Worthington, and was the local representative of that firm for a number of years. He made a change in business on May 1, 1902, when, in partnership with James Mackay, he bought the furniture and under- taking business of H. M. Palm & Son, and the firm of Chaney & Mackay has since continued an existence.
William Chaney was married at Rochester, Minn., Aug. 18, 1903, to Miss Avalin I .. French, daughter of Corvin French, one of the earliest settlers of the Rochester country, he having laken up a residence there in 1858.
Mr. Chaney is a member of the Westmin- ster l'resbyterian church of Worthington and one of the prominent church workers. lle has held the office of trustee and is now an elder of the church. In the Sunday school of that church he holds a unique record. lle started in the primary class, has been a member of every class in the school, and at one time or another has held every office of the school.
AUGUST ANDERSON. Among the pioneer settlers of Nobles county is August Anderson, of Indian Lake township, who has resided permanently on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 28, since the spring of 1872. He has a finely improved farm and one of the hand somest farm residences in the county, which was erected in 1905. For many years he served as treasurer of Indian Lake township and he is now elerk of the school distriet in which he lives, having held the office during the last eighteen years.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Anderson is the son of A. E. Lar- son ( 1813-1853) and Marie Charlotte (Peter- son) Anderson (1821-1898). He was born in Orebro, Sweden, August 17, 1841, in which place he lived twenty-eight years. He work- ed on his father's farm until twenty-five years of age, securing seven years' schooling during this time. In the fall of 1866 he he- gan work in his brother-in-law's tannery, about 27 miles from Orebro, at which work he was employed until the spring of 1869. He then decided to come to the new world, and arrived in New York April 28, 1869. He went at once to Chicago, intending to serk work in a tannery and complete his appren- ticeship in that trade. lle spent two weeks in Chicago, looking for that kind of work, but was unsuccessful. He went to Lansing, Iowa, arriving there May 16. There he hired out on a farm and worked that summer.
lle was married in Allamakee county Dec. 23, 1869, to Clara Josephina Peterson, daugh- ter of Jolin Peterson, of that county. Im- mediately after his marriage he rented & farm, and for the next two years was em- ployed in agriculanral pursuits. Ambitions to secure a home of his own, and not pos- sessing the means to purchase one, he decided to seek one in the new country of Nobles county, where a few people from Allamakee county had already been. In September, 1871, le drove up to Indian Lake township, looked the country over, liked the looks of it, and decided to locate there. He filed a homestead claim to the northwest quarter of section 28, and then returned to his home in fowa. Hle came up again in March, 1872, built a small eabin, and in June brought up his family. There he has made his home ever since, a period of thirty-six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of six children: Frank Aldrich, Indian Lake township; Emma Augusta (Mrs. Peter Nor- berg), Sioux Falls, S. D .; David, Seattle, Wash .; Della (Mrs. N. Nelson), Minneapolis; Willie Roy, Indian Lake township; Ansel Alven, Indian Lake township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are members of the Swedish Baptist church of Indian Lake, of which his children, sons-in-law and daughters-in law are also members.
WILLIAM H. MORRISON, who is engaged in farming in Little Rock township, is a na-
tive of the county, having been born on the farm where he now lives April 24, 1874.
The father of our subject, Charles H1. Mor- rison, was one of the pioneer settlers of the county and now lives a retired life at Little Rock, lowa. He was born in New York state in 1836, and in an early day moved to St. Lawrence county, Wis., where he engaged in farming until 1872. On Sept. 21, of that year, he arrived in Nobles county and took as a homestead the southeast quarter of sec- tion 26, Little Rock township. For several years he and his family lived in a shanty and during three years of the grasshopper scourge lost everything. Mr. Morrison lived on the farm until June, 1898, when he leased the farmi to his son and moved to town. Our subject's mother is Elizabeth Ann (Emerson) Morrison. She was married to Mr. Morrison Feb. 15, 1855,
During the entire period of his life of thirty-four years William Il. Morrison has lived on the Little Rock township farm. Ife secured a country school education, and prior to 1895, worked for his father. Since that date he has been farming for himself. lle holds the office of clerk of school district No. 12, which he has had for the last three years.
Mr. Morrison was married in Osceola coun- 11, Jowa, Feb. 23, 1898, to Harriet Stevens. She was born in Delaware county, N. Y., and was the daughter of Wesley and Harriet Stevens, both of whom died when Mrs. Mor- rison was an infant. Iler father was a vet- eran of the civil war. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morrison-Wesley Ilarris.
JOSEPH BURR LUDLOW, mayor of Rush- more, and interested in many of the prin- cipal business enterprises of that village, is a native of Nobles county. Ile was born in Worthington Ang. 28, 1876, the son of Horace J. and Mary E. (Barlow) Ludlow, who still reside in the county seat town.
Burr resided in Worthington with his parents until 1893, when he removed to Rushmore, and that village has been his home since. During his boyhood days he attended the Worthington publie school and worked on his father's fruit farm, within the corporate limits of Worthington. He went through every department of the
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Worthington public school and was graduated from the high school in 1897. He then took a term in Carleton college at Northfield, at- tending that institution in 1898-99. In 1899- 1900 he took a course in the Minnesota School of Business, being graduated in the spring of 1900.
When he came to Rushmore iu 1893 he took a position in S. B. Bedford's store, and while not attending school worked there for many years. In 1902 he began work in the Bank of Rushmore. of which S. B. Bedford was the owner. In the spring of the fol- lowing year the institution was reorganized as the State Bank of Rushmore; then Mr. Ludlow took an interest in the bank and be- came assistant cashier, which position he still holds. He is also interested in many other business enterprises in the village of Rushmore. Ile is a member of the Rushmore Land Co., dealers in real estate; is man- ager and secretary of the Bedford Land & Loan Co., which owns the handsome state bank building; is vice president of the Farmers' Mutual Telephone Co. of Nobles County; is a member of the firm of Ludlow & Christenson, stock bnyers; and has stock in the Christenson Elevator Co. Besides these for a number of years he found time to edit and manage the Rushmore Enterprise. In village affairs he takes an active inter- est and has held a village office ever since the town was incorporated in 1900. That year he was elected constable and served a two years' term; in 1902 he was chosen assessor and served one year; during the next four years he was village treasurer; then in the spring of 1907 he was chosen president of the council, which office he still holds. Besides these village offices he has also held other offices of trust. In April, 1905, he was ap- pointed one of the inspectors of materials in the construction of the new house of repre- sentatives at the national capital, and sev- eral weeks were spent in Washington with these duties. In 1904 he was appointed by Secretary of the Treasury Shaw a United States customs notary, which he still holds.
Mr. Ludlow was married at Rushmore on May 20, 1903, to Miss Bessie Bedford, daugh- ter of 'Senator and Mrs. S. B. Bedford. To them have been horn two children, Horace Bedford and Jean Elizabeth.
MIKE HOLLAREN, of Ellsworth, has been engaged in business in that village for the last eighteen years. lle is a native of Bath, Maine, in which city he was born Oct. 27, 1861.
The father of our subject is John Hollaren, who is now a resident of Missouri and who is 73 years of age. His mother died in 1866. John Hollaren is a native of Ireland. lle came to the United States in 1858 and located at Bath, Maine. Twelve years later he took up his residence in Woburn and in 1880 came to Nobles county as a member of the Catholic colony. Until 1898 he resided in Grand Prairie township, and then moved to Missouri.
Mike Hollaren was nine years of age when the family home was made at Woburn, Mass. There he resided, attending school and learn- ing the currier's trade, until the family came to Nobles county. It was on the first day of April, ISSO, that he landed in Adrian, and Nobles county has been his home ever since that date. For several years he farmed in Grand Prairie township. He moved to Ellsworth in 1886 and for a few years worked at different occupations, having the management of an elevator there for some time. In 1890 he went into the restanr- ant business. conducted that two or three years, and then purchased from Dan Sween- ey the business which he has since con- ducted. He now deals in confectionery, musi- cal instruments and sundries, and has built up an excellent trade.
Mr. Hollaren was married at Ellsworth Nov. 16, IS86, to Miss Mary Ellen Condon, who was born in Woburn, Mass., April 13, 1862, the daughter of Jolm Condon and Margaret Condon, who came to Grand Prairie town- ship in 1880 and who died in 1904 and 1901, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Hol- laren have been born eight children. of whom are living: Margaret, born Sept. 3, ISS7; Frank, born Oct. 17, 1889; Mary, born Nov. 25, I888; Mae, born Dec. 23, 1891; William, born Feb. 9, 1894; Ronold, born March 20, 1896; Helen, born Sept. 11, ISOS; Vincent, born Sept. 3, 1904.
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