An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota, Part 68

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Luverne, Minn. : Northern History Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 924

USA > Minnesota > Rock County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 68
USA > Minnesota > Pipestone County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 68

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CHARLES F. SKOVGAARD (1872), one of the substantial farmers and large land owners of Martin township today, as a boy fully experienced the days of bitter trial and hardship which fell to the lot of the courageous pioneer in the early seventies. The son of Simon C. and Anna Maria (Schram) Skovgaard, he was born in the village of Heils, near the city of Kolding, Denmark, March. 31, 1863.

In the spring of 1872 our subject left his native land and with his parents cross- ed the briny deep to the country of magic enchantment. The family lived during their first summer in the United States at Ce- dar Falls, lowa. Report of the new coun- try in southwestern Minnesota having been received with interest, the resolution to seek a home and fortune there was made. So in the fall of 1872 the little Danish fam- ily left their Jowa abode and via the prai- rie schooner route made the journey to Rock county. The first winter was passed near the present site of Ashcreek, in Clinton township.

Early in the following spring the father tock as a homestead claim the southeast quarter of section 19, Martin township, land which he still owns. With no means or backing whatever, the start in the new country was hard to make. In order to keep the wolf from the door, Simon Skov- gaard, the father, was compelled to seek employment of some kind, which proved to be difficult to find. He walked all the way to Sioux City but found nothing for his willing hands to do. From there he walked the ninety-odd miles to Worthing- ten, where he succeeded in finding tempor- ary employment on a gravel train, When the time came for gathering the crop, or

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the meager portion of a crop left untouch- ed by the grasshoppers, Mr. Skovgaard joined the harvesters who worked along the Rock river.

Meanwhile Charles, a lad of ten, had spent the season in herding cattle for a number of the scattered settlers in the neighborhood. A boy but lately come from a staid old city across the sea, the experi- ence on the raw and open prairie was a novel and thrilling one, especially when the violent thunder and wind storms arose and swept over the trackless expanse, fill- ing the young breast with emotions of ter- ror and fear.

When the family settled in Martin town- ship the nearest neighbor was three miles distant. Out on the prairie a sod shanty, 12x18 feet, was erected, and for eight years the rude structure was the family's only "helter from the elements. During that first fall, in 1873, a threatening fire came from the scuth, sweeping all before it. It was only by the narrowest margin and aft- er anxious hours of labor that the little home was saved from the devastating flames. The year following was one of even greater hardship. The father was stricken with typhoid fever and was con- fined to his bed for many months. That year the first crop was planted. Ten acres were put into wheat, but the grasshoppers descended upon the land and after getting in their ruinous work, the yield averaged about ten buchels to the acre, There was a fair crop in 1875, but the following year was another flat failure. From thirty to forty acres sown to wheat, scarcely 100 bushels were harvested. Better days and prosperity were to follow, and in the inter- vening years the Skovgaards have built up one of Rock county's choicest farms. Si- mon Skovgaard is still enjoying life and makes his home with his son Charles. ITis wife died Octoher 10, 1900.

Charles Skovgaard lived on the old home- stead with his parents until attaining the age of twenty-four. His education was re- ceived in the district schools and at Au- gustana college, Canton, South Dakota, where he was a student for two years in the early eighties. On May 25, 1887, he was married at Inwood, lowa, to Isabella Moen, the daughter of H. T. and Dorethy (Sohus) Moen, now residents of Inwood. Mrs. Skov-

gaard was born October 23, 1868, in Winne- shiek county, lowa.

After marriage Mr. Skovgaard rented the home place and farmed it for four years. He then moved to a farm on section 24, range 47, which he had bought, and farmed that place for the next sixteen years. In 1907 he located on his present farm, the northwest quarter of section 30, which he had bought three years previously, He now farms a total of 240 acres and rents ont the balance of his property. He raises a great deal of stock, especially Shorthorn cattle. He is a stockholder in the Hills Co-operative Creamery company. Among the elective offices he has held are justice of the peace for six years, trustee for a term of six years and clerk of school district No. 37 for sixteen years. He and his fam- ily are members of Trinity church, Hills.

Mr. and Mrs. Skovgaard are the parents of six living children: Simon A., Clara Isabella, Dorinda, Herman Daniel, Almena Maria and Dorethy Paulina. One child Her- man Daniel died in infancy.

OLAF SKYBERG (1881) is one of the prominent merchants and best known citi- zens of the enterprising little town of Hills, He has been a resident of Rock county since 1881. A native of Norway, he was born on December 9, 1860, the son of Ole and Maren Skyberg, who were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living. The father, Ole Skyberg, was born in 1806 and died in 1898, while his wife passed away seven years before that date.

Olaf received a common school educa- tion in the land of his birth and at the age of twenty-one crossed the Atlantic to make settlement in the new world. He came direct to Rock county and for five seasons was employed on different farms in Martin township and for two terms was a student at Beloit college, of Beloit, Iowa. In the fall of 1886 Mr. Skyberg journeyed back to his old home in Norway, and on returning the following spring, located in Luverne. For the next three years he was employed as bookkeeper, first by Nelson Bros., and later by the First National Bank.

In the spring of 1889 our subject moved to Beaver Creek and in company with John Vale engaged in the general mercantile

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business under the name of Skyberg & Vale. This association continued for a period of two years, until August, 1891, since which time Mr. Skyberg has been a resident of Hills and engaged in a similar business. From the first he has been prominently identified with the town's progress, its civic, social and religious affairs. Beginning busi- ness in a modest way, he has prospered un- til today he owns one of the leading mer- cantile establishments in the village, town property and farm lands in South Dakota.

Since July, 1898, Mr. Skyberg has served efficiently as the postmaster of Hills. He was one of the organizers of the Hills school district, No. 66, and has since been the

treasurer of the board of education. He held the office of village recorder from the time of the town's incorporation until the spring of 1909, and has also been either secretary or treasurer of the Hills Co-opera- tive Creamery company since its organiza- tion. While a resident of Beaver Creek he served as recorder and township trustee. Mr. Skyberg is a deacon in the Free Nor- wegian Lutheran church.

Olaf Skyberg was married in Hills on June 25, 1887, to Hilda Broderud, a native of Norway, born in 1865. To this union the following seven children have been born: Olaf A., Morten G., Georgiana, Helga O., Mabel, Clara and Selma.

THADDEUS A. GROUT (1872) has spent all except the first few weeks of his thirty- nine years as a resident of Rock county and most of that time has been passed in the township of Beaver Creek, where he now engages in farming. He is the son of one of the early day settlers of the precinct, the late Eli Grout, a native of New York state and until his death in 1910 a resident of Beaver Creek. The mother of our sub- ject, Emeline (Snow) Grout, also a native of New York state, died in 1907.

To these parents Thaddeus Grout was born in Fall River township, Columbia county, Wisconsin, ou April 5, 1872. When only a few weeks old-in June of the year of his birth-the family came to Rock coun- ty. The father took as a homestead claim a quarter section of land on section 24, Beav- or Creek township, and on that farm our subject grew to manhood. He supplement-

ed a country school education with a two years' course in the Luverne high school. Until he was twenty-five years of age he lived on the old homestead, working for his father and for the last two or three years there renting the home farm. In the fall of 1897 he married and for the next eight years engaged in farming rented land in the neighborhood of his old home. He mov- ed to the village of Beaver Creek in 1905, bought the dray line and conducted it for a year and a half. He located on his pres- ent farm, the southeast quarter of section 35, in 1907. He engages extensively in stock raising and feeding, raising Chester White hogs and good grade cattle.

In partnership with a brother, W. 1. Grout, our subject owns a half section farm in Mercer county, North Dakota, which was purchased in 1902. Mr. Grout has taken quite an active part in local politics. He was a member of the board of township supervis- ors four years, during two years of which time he was the chairman, and served as a director of school district No. 9 for three years. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge of Luverne.

The marriage of Mr. Grout to Julia May Brooks occurred at Beaver Creek on Au- gust 17, 1897. Mrs. Grout is a daughter of E. C. and Julia Brooks, of Beaver Creek, and was born near Sheldon, Iowa, April 26, 1878. Two children, Frank and Everett, both deceased, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grout.

WILLIAM A. MAYNES (1876), of Lu- verne, is an early day settler of Rock coun- ty. He established his home in the county thirty-five years ago, at that time filing a homestead and tree claim to the east half of section 26, Vienna township. This land he improved and made the scene of his ac- tivities until 1893, when he retired from active farming and moved to the city of Luverne. He deals in real estate and is oc- cupied with the management of his exten- sive property interests. in addition to his Rock county land Mr. Maynes is the owner of a half section of Murray county soil, farm lands in Canada, and town property in Luverne, St. Paul and Brookings, South Dakota.

A native of county Roscommon, Ireland,

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ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.

William A. Maynes of this review was born the twelfth day of May, 1847, the son of Robert and Jane (McGuire) Maynes, both deceased. Robert Maynes died on Irish soil. When William was three years of age the family departed from the old coun- try and made settlement in the province of Quebec, Canada. It was there that the moth- er was called by death. Besides our subject there are two other sons living, who were born to Robert and Jane (MeQuire) Maynes. They are Col. James Maynes, of Waterloo. Quebec, and Samuel G. Maynes, of Dominion City, Manitoba.

Waterloo, Quebec, was the home of Mr. Maynes until he attained the age of eight- een years. In the schools of that place he secured his education. Crossing the border he located at Sparta, Wisconsin, and since then has been a loyal subject of Uncle Sam. During his residence in Sparta, which con- tinued until his removal to Rock county, he was married to Josephine Isham, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of A. H. and Sabrina Isham. This event was solemnized in June. 1870.

As a Rock county farmer William Maynes devoted himself quite extensively to the breeding of high grade stock, especially cattle and Shire and French coach horses. By political affiliation he is a stanch demo- crat, and while a resident of Vienna town- ship he was twice elected to serve a full term as a member of the board of county commissioners from the district comprising the townships of Vienna, Luverne, Magnol- ia and Kanaranzi. Mr. Maynes was a mem- ber of the board under whose direction the present Rock county court house was built. Our subject is a prominent Mason and has filled many of the chairs in the several lod- ges of that order, up to and including the thirty-second degree.

JOHN B. IVERSON (1880), postmaster of Hardwick, is a gentleman who has attained prominence in a business and social way since taking up his residence in the county thirty-one years ago. He was born in Nor- way February 5, 1863, and is the son of Edward and Kristina Iverson, both of whom died in the land of the midnight sun. They were the parents of two children, Emma (Mrs. Frederick Torgenson), who lives on

the old home place in Norway, and John B. of this sketch.

John B. Iverson received a common school education in the land of his birth. He was a lad of sixteen years when he came to the United States and located in Luverne. He was a student at St. Olaf college, Northfield, Minnesota, for two years. After spending five years as a Battle Plain township farm- er, Mr. Iverson moved to Hardwick, where he has since resided. He engaged in the general mercantile business for thirteen years, and in 1902 built the elegant brick business block which he sold, together with the stock, to W. O. Larson in 1908. He was a pioneer merchant of the village and began business in the building which is now occu- pied by the postoffice, but which at that time stood on a side street and has since been moved to its present location. In 1896 he was made assistant postmaster, holding that position until the spring of 1897, when he was appointed postmaster by President Mckinley, an office he has held continuous- ly since that date. Mr. Iverson bas pros- pered since coming to Rock county, and, besides his city property, owns a valuable farm near Jasper. Landing in a new and strange country with only $50, he is deserv- ing of the success he has won by honest toil and individual effort.

At Faribault, Minnesota, on March 9, 1885, Mr. Iverson was married to Gertie Oldre, who was born in Norway in August, 1861. She is a sister of K. G. Oldre, of Lu- verne, and N. G. Oldre, of Kenneth. The following seven children have been born to this union : Anna (Mrs. William Kartrude), of Luverne; Edward, bookkeeper in the Hardwick bank; Albert, a butter-maker of Sioux Falls: Henry, Delpha, Jessie and Howard.

Mr. Iverson was the first president of the Hardwick village council, holding the office four years, and has been clerk of the board of education for the past twelve years. He was the census enumerator for district 172, which comprises Mound and Denver town- ships and the village of Hardwick, in 1910. He is a member of the Lutheran church.

HANS ROGNLEY (1877), who is one of Martin township's successful farmers, was born in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, July 24,

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ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES. .

1862. He is the son of Paul Sandbo, deceas- ed, and of Ronnog (Oibrakken) Sandbo, who is living.

The land of the midnight sun was Hans Rognley's home for the first fifteen years of his life. He was reared on a farm, re ceived a common school education, and was confirmed by the clergy of the state church. Leaving the land of his birth in 1877, he journeyed alone to America and di- rect to Rock county, where he joined his father, who had homesteaded in Martin township five years previous and was one of the precinct's first settlers. July 7 of the year mentioned is the dtae of Hans' advent to Rock county.

His education, begun in Norway, was com- pleted in the district schools, after which he assisted his father with the conduct of the farm. In 1890 Mr. Rognley was married, and for two years thereafter he was absent from the county, making his home during that period in the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On his return to Martin town- ship, he rented and farmed the homestead for three years. He then rented and moved to his present location, the northwest quar- ter of section 25, which land at first belong- ed to his father, but later passed into the hands of the son. Since then he has acquir- ed more land on section 26. The property now owned by Mr. Rognley, vahied twenty- five years ago at ten dollars an acre, could not be purchased today for less than ton times that sum. His farm is finely improv- e(l.

Mr. Rognley's marriage to Maret Paul- son tock place in Luverne in November, 1890. Mrs. Rognley is a native of the same province in Norway as her husband and was born August 2, 1868. She came to the United States at the age of nineteen. Seven children have been born to this union, namely : Oswald, Peter, Melvin, Amanda, Helen, Nora and Evelyn.

CARL WIESE (1884). The story of a successful career always teems with inter- ost and inspiration, and especially is this the case when the subject of such a reflec- tion has forged his way to the front from the humblest beginnings, solely by unaided individual effort. The life history of Carl Wiese reveals conditions of such a nature.

He came to Rock county twenty-seven years ago, with no capital but ambition and a willingness to labor against overshadowing obstacles, but on such the smiles of fortune are invariably bestowed. Today he is in more ways than one an influential resident and farmer of Mound township, of whose productive soil he is the owner of 720 acres. The island of Fehmarn, in Schleswig-Hol- stein, Germany, is revered by Carl Wiese as the place of his nativity, which occurred No- vember 15, 1861. He is the son of Matt and Annie (Baut) Wiese, the former of whom was killed in an accident in the old country on March 31, 1881. The mother, who came to America to live with her son, died on June 25, 1887.

Carl received what education he could up . to the time of his tenth year, when he start- ed to hustle for himself. He came to the United States in the first year of his man- hood and resided the first two years in Cedar county, Iowa, where he was employ- ed at farm labor. March 19, 1884, is the date of his arrival in Rock county, and he was the first low German to locate in this part of the country. With a brother he farmed rented land in Springwater township five years, then raised five corps on a farm on section 9, Mound township.

In April, 1889, Mr. Wiese bought the first portion of his extensive holdings, paying $12 per acre for the quarter section, on sec- tion 10. On the place at the time was to be found only an old dilapidated shanty, 14x20 feet in dimension, and a few scattering cot- tonwood trees. Gradual but certain was the transition to the well ordered farm of today, with its elegant residence, commo- dious barns, well kept fences and shelter- ing groves. Mr. Wiese farms all of his land, which is located for the most part on sections 10 and 16, with one eighty on sec- tion 15. He has been unusually successful as a stock raiser and his herds average sev- enty head of cattle, a like number of hogs, 150 sheep and twenty-six horses.

Our subject is a member of the Mound township board of supervisors, and for ten years served efficiently as township asses- sor. He was also clerk of school district No. 50 for five years. Mr. Wiese is the vice president of the National Bank of Luverne. He also owns stock in the Farmers Eleva- tor company of Hardwick and in the In-

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dependent Harvester company of Plano, Il- linois. He holds membership in the A. O. U. W., M. W. A. and D. of H. lodges of Lu- verne, and in the order of Royal Neighbors of Hardwick.

Carl Wiese was married in Rock county on November 15, 1887, to Laura A. Koll, who was born in the same locality as her husband on December 23, 1864, and came to the United States at the age of eighteen years. Three sons and three daughters have been born to this union, as follows:

Peter Matthias, born January 6, 1889; Julius Johannes, born July 12, 1890; Emma Wilhelmina, born August 16, 1895: Agnes Louise, born April 25, 1899; Laura Matilda and Carl Herman, twins, born June 3, 1902. The parents of Mrs. Wiese, Peter and Wil- helmina (Hoteld) Koll, in 1905 celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in the homeland, Germany, which Mr. and Mrs. Wiese and four of their children attended. They were absent on the trip ninety-nine days.

MICHAEL BERGIN (1882), for nearly thirty years a resident of Springwater town- ship, is one of that precinct's most prosper. ous farmers and stock breeders and large land owners. He holds title to 800 acres of finely improved land in the township and as a successful stock raiser has a wide repu- tation. He makes a specialty of fine Dur- ham and Shorthorn cattle, Jersey Red and Poland China hogs and Belgian draft horses, which he imports from Europe.

The parents of our subject were Michael and Julia (Clohesy) Bergin, who came from Ireland to the United States in 1840 and made settlement in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. There Michael Bergin of this sketch, on November 7, 1857, gazed for the first time upon the things of this earth. The father had invested in government land and for his farm had paid $1.25 per acre. At the age of twenty-five Michael set out for Rock county, where he purchased the homestead right to the northeast quarter of section 12, range 47, Springwater township, his home to this day. As he prospered he came into possession of his other holdings. For eight years he served as a director of his school district. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator company of Sherman,

South Dakota, and in the Independent Har- vester company of Plano, Illinois.

In Luverne, on January 10, 1889, Michael Bergin was united in marriage of Lizzie Fitzgerald, the daughter of James and Ho- nora Fitzgerald, both of whom are buried in the old country. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bergin, as follows: John, born November 5, 1890; James, born August 3, 1891; Julia, born June 5, 1895; Irene and Mary, twins, born March 5, 1900.

WILLIE S. ANDERSON (1871), a mer- chant of Kenneth, has been a continuous resident of Rock county since the pioneer days of 1871, when as a boy of four years he came with his parents, who settled on a homestead in section 14, Mound township.

WV. S. Anderson was born in Norway Sep- tember 6, 1866, but came to America when in his sixth month. After a residence of three and one-half years in Fayette county, Iowa, in 1871 the family moved to Rock county. Willie attended the district schools and assisted with the work on his father's farm until after his twentieth birthday. Then for a number of years he hired out to different farmers, after which he engaged in farming for himself, renting land in Mound township for two years, and for the same length of time living in Battle Plain township. During the fall of 1901 he moved to Kenneth and established a pool hall, which he conducted for nearly seven years. On disposing of the property, he was vari- ously employed for two years and then set up in his present business, that of dealer in furniture, notions, crockery, confectionery, etc. He is the assessor of Vienna township and has held the office for a number of years.

Mr. Anderson is the son of Sevat and Raudi Anderson. In the family were seven children, of whom five are living, named as follows: A. S. Anderson, of Hardwick; S. S. Anderson, of Hardwick; Ole S. Anderson, of Mound township, who lives on the old homestead; W. S. Anderson of this sketch, and Mrs. K. S. Hoime, of Battle Plain. The deceased children are Mrs. Fred Capron and Mrs. Ole G. Hoime.

Sevat and Raudi Anderson came to this country in 1867 and before coming to Rock county in 1871 lived in Fayette county,

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Iowa. Mr. Anderson lived on the old farm he homesteaded until 1892, when he sold the place to his son, O. S. Anderson. He is still hale and hearty at the age of eighty- eight and lives in Battle Plain township.

JACOB N. JACOBSON (1874) is president of the village council of Hills, a leading merchant of that place, and one of the early settlers of Rock county, three points of wor- thy distinction. Born in Winneshiek coun- ty, łowa, on August 5, 1867, all but the first seven years of his life have been spent in the county of which he is now an honored citizen.

The parents of Jacob N. Jacobson are Niels and Sigrid (Sexe) Jacobson, who came to this country from Norway as chil- dren. Niels Jacobson was four years of age when he accompanied his parents in the journey across the Atlantic and located with them near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That was in 1848. Two years later the family moved to Winneshiek county, lowa, and in Springfield township of the same, his father, Jacob Abrahamson, was among the first tax payers. Niels Jacobson married Sigrid Sexe in 1865, and in 1874 arrived with his little family in Martin township, Rock county. Up to the year 1907, when the es- teemed couple moved to Hills, they made their home on the old homestead on sec- tion 20. Both are in the best of health, as is also Mrs. Jacobson's mother, who has at- tained the advance age of eighty-nine years. There are five children, all living, in the Jacobson family and are Jacob N. of this sketch: . Iulia (Mrs. O. R. Stetten), of Des Moines, lowa; Margaret (Mrs. Otto Sather), of Martin township; Theodore, of Martin township; and Helga (Mrs. Hans Nordby), of Hills.

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An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota, Part 68

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970 Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Luverne, Minn. : Northern History Publishing Company Number of Pages: 924

Author: Rose, Arthur P., 1875-1970
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Luverne, Minn. : Northern History Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 924