USA > Minnesota > Rock County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 121
USA > Minnesota > Pipestone County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 121
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WILLIAM F. MATSON (1901) manages the Bennett Grain company at Edgerton. He is a native of Morgan county, Ohio, and was born October 17, 1854, the son of Aaron and Anna Matson, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. Aaron Matson died in 1888, but his wife, the mother of
our subject, still resides at Fairmont, Min- nesota, and has witnessed years to the number of four score. There were seven children in the family, namely: William F., Charles, Lillian, George, Ella, Frank and Pearl.
In early childhood William moved with his parents to Martin county, Minnesota. At the age of eighteen years he left home to face the world. For four years after his twenty-second birthday he conducted a hotel in Fairmont, which was hefore the railorad had built to that town. While there he was employed as assistant grain buyer in an elevator for a period: then he moved to liner county, South Dakota, where he lived twelve years, employed by the Hodges & Hyde Elevator company and later by the S. Y. Hyde Elevator company. He returned to Fairmont to buy grain for the last named firm, and there he remained until 1901, when he located in Edgerton, to assume the duties of his present posi- tion. He is a member of the K. P. lodge.
Mr. Matson was married at Fairmont on December 16, 1876, to Emma L. Snow, who was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Decem- ber 20, 1854. Mrs. Matson died November 18, 1909, at the age of fifty-five years. One son was born to this union: Roy S., who is in the employ of the Bennett Grain com- pany at Jackson, Minnesota. Mr. Matson owns his home in Edgerton.
GEORGE M. STRECKER (1909) moved to Bennet, Colorado, in September, 1910, to file on a homestead claim. Prior to that he was an Osborne township farmer, and he still owns, in partnership with his broth- er, land in that precinct, the northeast quarter of section 23. He was born just over the line from Pipestone county, in Moulton township, Murray county, May 25, 1889. His father, John Strecker, a native of Germany, came to America in 1870 and was an early settler of Murray county, John Strecker died in Edgerton in the fall of 1909. His wife Mary (Gesche) Hoff- man Strecker, survives her husband and re- sides in Edgerton.
George resided on the parental homestead in Murray county until 1908. He received his education in the district schools and for one year was a student in the school at
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Edgerton. In February, 1908, he rented land in Murray county and commenced farm- ing on his own account. There he lived un- til December, 1909, when he moved to his Pipestone county land. Before moving to Colorado he erected several substantial buildings thereon.
At Edgerton, on September 8, 1908, Mr. Strecker was united in marriage to May Millis, who was born near Chandler, Mur- ray county, August 26, 1889. A son, Mel- vin George, was born to these parents Jan- uary 13, 1910. Mrs. Strecker is the daugh- ter of Frank and Fronia Millis. Her mother accompanied the family in their removal to Colorado.
MELVIN M. LAWHEAD (1894), the land- lord of Jasper's up-to-date hotel for the past ten years, was born in Chebanse, Iro- quois county, Illinois, on the seventeenth day of September, 1862. He is the son of Alfred C. and Katherine (Flint) Lawhead, the former a native of Ohio, while New Jersey was the birthplace of the mother. Both parents have been dead for several years.
When Melvin was about nine or ten years of age, the family moved to Onargo, Illi- nois, where he secured his education in the public schools and grew to manhood. The first seventeen years after arriving at his majority were spent in farming in several different states. He started out in his home county, remained one year, and he then heeded a call to Saline county, Ne- braska. He worked out on a farm for a year and the next year rented a place for himself in Adams county, of the same state. Hitchcock, Nebraska, was his next home. He took a homestead claim near there and remained until June 1, 1894. Then he located in Rock county and remained until the following spring. He cast his fortunes in Moody county, South Dakota, for a year and then returned to Rock coun- ty and settled on a farm in Rose Dell town- ship, which he successfully conducted four years. Finally abandoning country life, be moved to Jasper and for one year operat- ed a restaurant. In 1901 he came into the possession of the hotel which he has since built up to its present day prosperity. The
property was purchased from E. P. LeSuer. It is a thirty-five room hostelry, modern in every respect.
Mr. Lawhead was married at Culbertson, Nebraska, on December 14, 1889, to Lena Seeman, a native of Germany, born Sep- tomber 21, 1871. She came to America when a girl of twelve years. One child, Katherine W., was born to Mr. and Mrs. Lawhead, on October 10, 1895. Mr. Law- head is a member of the M. W. A. lodge and the Merchants Casualty company.
BEN D. MARTINSON (1892) is a well known liveryman of Ruthton, a business in which he has been engaged for the past three years. He is the second son in a family of five children-the names of the others being Ludwig, Al, Lena and Henry- who were born to Henry and Pernellia Martinson. The father and mother are na- tives of Norway, have lived in America for nearly fifty years, and are now residents of Parker, South Dakota.
In Mason City, lowa, on November 27. 1870, Ben D. Martinson was born. In early childhood he moved with his parents to Council Bluffs, Iowa, lived with them four years in Kansas, and later in Minneapolis and in North and South Dakota, and finally returned to lowa. The removals were ne- cessitated by his father's occupation, that of railroading. The father later became a farmer in Wright county, Iowa, and was located near the town of Belmont. There Ben lived until after his twenty-second birthday, leaving home at that time to lo- cate in Ruthton. For three years he was engaged in the well drilling business and then farmed in Aetna township until 1901. For seven years thereafter he was absent from Pipestone county, residing on his farm in Lincoln county. In 1908 Mr. Mar- tinson returned to Ruthton and became the owner of the livery business he now suc- cessfuly conducts.
On November 29, 1895, our subject was married to Alma Johnson, who was born in Winona, Minnesota, on May 16, 1877. The ceremony was solemnized in Ruthton. Mr. and Mrs. Martinson are the parents of two children : Mildred, born March 9, 1899, and Merle, born March 1, 1901.
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PIPESTONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
FRANCIS M. KERR (1902), in partner- ship with his brother Wesley, farms the south half of section 10, Grange township. The brothers raise considerable stock and make a specialty of Poland China hogs.
The son of Nathaniel and Ann (Williams) Kerr, the former a native of the Keystone state, and the latter of West Virginia, Fran- cis M. Kerr of this review was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1866. He was two years of age when the family moved from the east to Muscatine county, lowa, where it was lie grew to manhood and was educated. On attaining his major- ity he commenced working out at agricul- tural labor; then, following his marriage, he rented land and commenced his career as an independent farmer. He farmed in lowa until 1902, the date of his settlement in Pipestone county. Four years prior to locating on his present place, our subject farmed other land in Grange. Mr. Kerr owns stock in the farmers' elevator at Pipe- stone and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
While residing in Muscatine county, łowa, on April 25, 1894, Mr. Kerr was mar- ried to Josephine Rogers, a native of that county. She was born March 25, 1865, the daughter of Matthew and Margaret (Kain) Rogers. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr are the parents of four children, Altha J., Irene A., Robert M. and May E.
SAM GRABSCHIED (1906), proprietor of the Bell Clothing store at Pipestone, came to the city five years ago from Vinton, Iowa, to manage the Bell store, then the property of Urbach & Lewis, of that Iowa city. MI. Grabschied became satisfied that for a business and residence town Pipestone was unrivalled, and with the in- tention of making it bis permanent home he purchased the business from his employ- ers in March, 1909, and has since been the sole proprietor. He carries a large and complete line of clothing, gent's furnish- ings and footwear.
A native of Austria, our subject was born June 12, 1870, the sixth son in a fam- ily of eight children born to Isaac and lda (Gotthelf) Grabschied, who lived and died in Austria. . The names of the other chil- dren are Wilhelm, Nathan, Bernhard, Sarah,
Iferman, Gustaf and Morris, Sam was six- teen years of age when he bade farewell to native land and undertook the long jour- ney alone to America. He landed in New York City and for two years made that his home, clerking the while. lle then drifted westward and finally located in Kansas City, Missouri, where for eight years he clerked in a leading clothing house. He was later similarly employed in Carthage, Missouri, and in Dubuque, Iowa, going from the lat- ter city to Vinton, lowa, in 1898. He man- aged the Urbach & Lewis store until es- tablishing his present residence in Pipe- stone. Mr. Grabschied is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge.
At Blue Hill, Nebraska, on October 29, 1902, our subject was married to Caroline Mandelbaum, and to this union have been born the following three children: Marga- ret, born December 14, 1903; Ervin, born in 1905; and Henry, born February 11, 1909. Mrs. Grabschied was born in Chi- cago and is the daughter of Sol. and Adel- ine ( Weinberg) Mandelbaum, both natives of Germany and still living. They also have one son, Jacob Mandelbaum, of Kan- sas City.
ROBERT L. ELLS (1910), landlord of the Pipestone hotel, is a Missourian by birth. His nativity occurred in the town of Boon- ville January 3, 1876, and he is the only son born to C. C. and Betty Maria (Red- mon) Ells. Mrs. Ells, also a native of Boonville, died in 1878. The father, C. C. Ells, who was born in Louisville, Ken- tucky, is a southern farmer and conducts a large plantation at Ellendale. Terrebonne county, Louisiana.
When five years of age our subject mov- ed with his father to Iligbee, Missouri, and in the schools of that place and of Salis- bury he was educated. As a fifteen year old youth Robert commenced what was to be an extended career in railroad work. He was stationed as telegrapher at the Kirks. ville, Missouri, station of the Wabash, then commenced a four years' service as station agent for the Milwaukee road at Jefferson, South Dakota. Fle then became connected with the Northwestern line and was agent at the stations of Schleswig and Wall Lake, lowa. In June, 1910, Mr. Ells moved to
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PIPESTONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
Pipestone to become operator at the Great Northern depot in that city, a position he held until assuming the management of the Pipestone hotel in October of the same year. He has remodeled the hostelry and made it up-to-date in every particular.
The subject of this review was married at Clifton Hill, Missouri, February 16, 1895, to Cora Mason, a native of Salisbury, Mis- souri, she having been born there on Sep- tember 8, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Elis have two children, Robert Damon and Raymond Henry. Mr. Elis is a member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers and with his wife belongs to the order of Knights and Ladies of Security.
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JOHN H. MEIER (1902), in partnership with his brother, Henry L. Meier, farms the southeast quarter of section 12, Aetna township. He was born the first day of November, 1874, in Bremer county, lowa. His parents, Christopher C. and Dora (Kuhrt) Meier, both natives of Germany, are deceased. The father died November 28, 1909, and the mother passed away seven- teen years before, in 1892. Henry L. Meier is also a native of Bremer county. The date of his birth is March 6, 1873.
John resided in the county of his birth until 1884, when with his parents he moved to Jerauld county, South Dakota. He was educated in the public schools of Sumner, Bremer county, Iowa, and later in the dis- trict schools of Jerauld county. On attain- ing his majority he commenced working out at farm labor, then in 1902 commenced his agricultural career in Pipestone county. He farmed on section 14, Aetna, for three years, then moved to his present location. Mr. Meier devotes considerable attention to the raising of high grade stock. He is affiliated with the M. W. A. lodge at Ruth- ton.
HOLLIE R. PERSINGER (1903), who farms the west half of section 21, Osborne township, is a Kansan hy birth. He was born in the town of Long Island on May 16, 1877. His parents were Charles L. and Mary E. (Curl) Persinger, natives of Ohio and of German descent.
The family moved to Mills county, lowa, when our subject was a little child. A
move was later made to Monona county, the same state, and there he finished his school- ing and grew to manhood. He assisted with the cultivation of the home farm un- til attaining his majority; then, after hiring out for several years, Ilollie commenced farming on his own account. His residence in Pipestone county began in 1903. He rented land in Gray township for two years and then moved to the land he now rents In Osborne township. le raises stock, es- pecially cattle and hogs, quite extensively. Mr. Persinger was for two years the treas- urer of school district No. 44, in Gray town- ship. He holds membership in the Metho- dist church and the 1. O. O. F. and K. P. lodges.
At Whiting, lowa, on February 25, 1903. our subject was joined in wedlock to Mary J. Hutchcroft, a native of Sloan, lowa. She was born September 10, 1881, the daughter of William and Amy (Adbert) Hutchcroft, both natives of the Buckeye state. Mr. and Mrs. Persinger are the parents of four daughters: Wilma, born December 8, 1904; Amy, born September 7, 1906; Grace, born August 31, 1908: and Beulah, born May 23, 1910.
JOHN HOOG (1901) is a prominent busi- ness man of Woodstock, where he has re. sided for the past ten years. He deals in farm implements and coal and, in partner- ship with J. F. Delaney, buys and ships live stock. He was born across the sea, in Haarlem, Holland, on February 29, 1864. He is the son of Gerard and Bregtje (Van Rossem) Hoog. Gerard Hoog passed away in April, 1895, at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife, the mother of our subject, still resides in Holland, and is in her sev- enty-seventh year
John received a careful scholastic train- ing in the land of his birth, which he left at the age of seventeen to come to Ameri- ca. He journeyed to Orange City, Sioux county, lowa, near which place he farmed for five years. He left that locality to go to San Jose, California, and remained there two years, being connected the while with a fruit orchard. Returning to lowa, Mr. Hoog established and conducted a tow mill in the town of Boyden until 1894, when he established a similar enterprise at Clara
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PIPESTONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
City, Minnesota. After a year, however, he returned to Boyden and engaged in the general mercantile business for two years. He then became a land owner and farmer of Nobles county, Minnesota, where he re- sided until 1901. Since that date Wood- stock has been his home. Mr. Hoog is a member of the village council and a trustee of the local Presbyterian church. lle is an active worker in the Masonic order. He belongs to the Blue Lodge at Lake Wilson and the Chapter at Pipestone.
At Harrison, South Dakota, on February 20, 1894, our subject was married to Theo- dora Josephina LeCocq, of French descent. She is the daughter of Frank and Mary (Van Goekum) LeCocq). Her grandfather, also named Frank LeCocq, came from France and was one of the founders of the Dutch colony at Pella, lowa, the birthplace of Mrs. Hoog. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoog the following three children, a son and two daughters, have been born: Gerard A., born December 17, 1894; Mary F., born Oe- tober 12, 1899; and Beatrice, born October 22, 1903.
HARRY ZORGDRAGER (1907) is the man- ager of the Holland branch of the Rudloff Lumber company, a position he has held since 1907. A native of Amsterdam, Hol- land, he was born March 22, 1880, the son of John and Nellie (Swartz) Zorgdrager. The former is now a resident of Archer, Iowa; his wife died July 17, 1894.
Harry came to America from the land of the dykes when he was two years of age. He located with his parents on a farm near Sheldon, lowa, where he passed his youth. Ile was educated in the public schools of Sheldon and for a time was a student at the Ames Agricultural college, mastering there the art of horseshoeing. At the age of twenty he went to Pueblo, Colorado, where he was employed at his trade five years. He returned to Towa, and has since devoted his talents to the lumber business. He was in the employ of the Schoenenan Lumber company, first as second man, then as yard manager, at Alvord, George, Park- er, Fairview and other Towa points. He has been stationed at Ilolland since he be- came connected with the Rudloff company.
Harry Zorgdrager was married at Alton,
Towa, on November 16, 1909, to Genevieve Hein, a native lowan, having been born at Cherokee on the twenty-seenod of July, 1883. Our subject holds membership in the lodges of the K. P. at Ruthton, Pipe- stone and Pueblo, Colorado, and of the Hol- land lodge of the Modern Woodmen.
FRANK C. HAND (1909), of Hatfield, is the manager of the local cream station op- erated by the Farmers Co-operative Cream company of Omaha. He is the son of Frank and Mary (Owens) Hand and was born on a farm near Clinton, lowa, July 10, 1872. His father died in 1907; his mother, Mary (Owens) lland. is a resident of Bigelow, Nobles county.
At the age of nine years Frank moved with his parents to Sac county, Iowa, and two years later to Brule county, South Da- kota, where the father homesteaded. He resided on the home farm until 1890, when be assumed control of his own course in life. He was located in Sionx county, lowa, for a number of years, going from there to Little Rock, in the same state; then he went to Nobles county, Minnesota, where he farmed from 1891 to 1909, with the ex- ception of a two years' residence in Wor- thington. He has been employed in his present capacity in Hatfield since 1909.
Frank C. Hand was married at Heron Lake, Jackson county, in April, 1900, to Vio- la S. Wilson, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Wilson, of Worthington, who were early settlers of Nobles county. Mrs. Hand was born in October, 1883. To these par- ents have been born four children, one of whom, Katie, the only daughter, died in 1902 at the age of three months. The three living sons are Walter, born May 12, 1902; Nicholas, born July 19, 1905; and James, born July 20, 1908. Our subject is a mem. ber of the Catholic church and of the Cath- olic Order of Foresters.
JOSEPH LA VALLA (1905) has been a resident of Edgerton since 1905 and is the junior member of the firm of Uilk & La Valla, proprietors of the leading meat mar- ket and butcher business in that town. Of twelve children born to Mitchell and Rosa (Tatro) La Valla, only two sons are now
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PIPESTONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
living: Joseph, of this sketch, and Fred, of Michigan. Both parents were Canadians by birth and were of French descent.
The subject of this biography was born in Wyandotte, Wayne county, Michigan, near Detroit, September 14, 1862. In the first year of his manhood he moved to Minnesota, locating in the village of Ad- rian. For several years he was employed on farms in that vicinity and then learned the butcher trade in an Adrian shop. For seven years he was the proprietor of a shop in Bryant, South Dakota; then, on ac- count of ill health, he disposed of the busi- ness and homesteaded in Ward county, South Dakota. He returned to Bryant and lived there until 1905, when he went to Ed- gerton and engaged in his chosen business for a year and a half. He engaged in buy- ing and shipping stock until 1908, when he opened the shop he now conducts, He ad- mitted Fred Uilk as a partner in the busi- ness in January, 1910.
Mr. La Valla was married in Worthing- ton, Minnesota, on the second of Septem- ber, 1894, to Tressie Lodehoff. She was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, in January, 1862, but in the early seventies accompanied her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hans Lodehoff, to Nobles county. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. La Valla, namely: Margaret, Edward and Max. Our subject is a member of the M. W. A. and K. P. lodges.
JOHN M. BARTON (1907) engages in farming on section 24, Altona township, of which precinct he has been a resident since 1907. The parents of our subject were Uri and Harriet (Wright) Barton, natives of New York, who at an early day settled in Jackson county, lowa. There John was born August 2, 1857, and in the district schools of that county he secured an edu- cation.
At the age of twenty-three Mr. Barton rented land in his home county and com- menced farming on his own account, an oc- cupation he followed there and in Rock county, Minnesota, for four years, until 1895. That year he moved to Lake View, lowa, of which he was a resident for twelve years. During the first five years in Lake View he followed the trade of buttermaker,
and later was the proprietor of a dray line. On coming to Pipestone county in 1907, Mr. Barton rented the southwest quarter of sec- tion 24, and he has lived there since.
In Jackson county, lowa, on October 23, 1879, our subject was married to Mary Gad- dis, a native of that county. She was born January 19, 1860, the daughter of Robert and Deboralı (Demming) Gaddis. Mr. and Mrs. Barton are the parents of the follow- ing named children: Zada, Ethel, Lulu, Earl, Ray, Edna, Willard, Howard and Don- ald.
BARNEY F. NAEVE (1904), the proprie- tor of the Hiawatha saloon at Pipestone, was born in Davenport, lowa, July 22, 1867, the son of Frederick and Maggie Naeve. Both parents were born in Holstein, Ger- many. They were married there and ini- migrated to the United States in 1848. Com- ing by way of a Mississippi steamboat, they located in Davenport, Iowa, and in that city both lie buried. Besides our sub- ject there were three other children in the family: Mary, of Gladbrook, Iowa; Fred, of Davenport; and Lena, deceased of Sioux City.
Barney F. Naeve attended the public schools of his native city until attaining the age of seventeen years. He then miov- ed to Gladbrook, lowa, where he finished his schooling, and he was for many years engaged in farming in that locality. Three years prior to locating in Pipestone in 1904, he was a resident of Marshalltown, Iowa. The first four years in Pipestone were pass- sed as a bartender in the saloon of J. C. Crook. Mr. Naeve then bought the sa- loon business of Mike Hauser and has since conducted it. He is a member of the Pipe- sione fire department.
Our subject was married at Grundy Cen- ter, lowa, on December 2, 1900, to Emma Meyer, a native of Germany, but who came in early childhood with her parents to this country and located with them in Glad- brook, lowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Naeve eight children have been born. The oldest son, Earl, died in infancy. The names of the surviving seven are Harold, Walter, Arnold, Kerwood, Hazel, Bernice and Viola. There is another son, Alfred, by a former mar- riage.
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PIPESTONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
OLE FOSS (1909) is the junior member of the firm of Oihus & Foss, Jasper's deal- ers in automobiles, in connection with which they maintain an up-to-the-minute garage. Mr. Foss is a native of Fillmore county, Minnesota, the date of his birth be- ing August 15, 1885. For three years that was his home, and from there he moved with his family to Pipestone county, where the next three years were spent. Again a move was made, to Rock county, and there the lad attended the public schools until fourteen years of age. Later he com- pleted a course in the business department of Worldorf college at Forest City, Iowa.
Meanwhile the parents had moved to Minnehaha county, South Dakota, where they still reside. Both father and mother, Jacob and Ellen (Dybevog) Foss, are na-
tives of Norway. They are the parents of eight children, namely: John, Ole, Martin, Martha, Henry, Elmer Joseph and Anton. Jacob Foss is the owner of a hall section of land in Minnehaha county and farms five quarter sections. His farm residence is one of the finest in the county.
Ole resided on the Minnehaha county larm until 1908, when he entered a school of instruction in Omaha to prepare himself for the automobile business. In the fall of 1909 he settled in Jasper and with Alfred Oihus established a garage and repair shop, which they now conduct. They handle sev- eral leading makes of cars, making a spe- cialty of the Buick, Oakland, Franklin and Mcintyre autos and the Wagner motor cycles.
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