An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota, Part 78

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 78
USA > Minnesota > Pipestone County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

At Darlington, Wisconsin, on the twenty- ninth of December, 1885, Lionel E. Lear was united in marriage to Sarah A. Harri- son. Mrs. Lear was born in England April 17, 1866, the daughter of Richard and Re- becca (Marshall) Harrison, and came to this country at the age of thirteen years. The following six children have blessed this union: Clara R., born May 25, 1887; Flossie M., born October 28, 1889; Hazel M., born November 16, 1893; Harrison E., born February 29, 1896; Ethel T., born March 29, 1904; and Royal M., born Sep- tember 17. 1906.

MARK BEAUBIEN (1883), a Kanaranzi township farmer who makes a specialty of breeding fine sheep and horses, has been a resident of Rock county for all except the first five years of his life. He is the son of David and Laura (Ross) Beaubien, who have for twenty-eight years been

among the highly respected inhabitants of Luverne. The elder Mr. Beaubien was one of the very first white children born in the city of Chicago, which at that time was but an oversized trading post on the fron. tier. The grandfather of our subject, away back in 1833, traded a quarter section of land in what is now the heart of the great city for a pony, saddle and bridle and con- sidered that the best end of the deal had fallen to his lot.

Mark was born at Dubuque, lowa, on De- cember 18, 1878. He came with his par- ents to Luverne five years later, and in the public schools of that city he received his education. As a boy of sixteen he took employment in Nelson Brothers' department store and remained with that firm eight years. Deciding to cast his lot with the tillers of the soil, in 1905 he rented the northwest quarter of section 6, Kanaranzi township, and set up as a farmer. He made that place his home five years, or until December, 1909, the date of his removal to his present location, the southeast quar- ter of section 18.

Mr. Beaubien was united in marriage in Kanaranzi township in November, 1903, to Gertie L. Johnson, a daughter of S. John- son, of Luverne. To them two children have been born, Charley S., on October 18, 1904, and Ina M., on December 21, 1906. Mr. Beaubien holds membership in the 1. O. O. F. and M. W. A. lodges.

JAMES S. JOLES (1882), the capable assessor of Luverne for twelve years past, is one of the early settlers of that enter- prising city. A native Pennsylvanian, he was born in Crawford county October 13, 1846, and in that county were also born his parents. He is the son of Nelson and Anna (Fish) Joles, both deceased, who moved with their family and became pioneers of Geneseo,' Henry county, Illionois. Nelson Joles was by occupation a contractor and carpenter and for a long period was em- ployed with the Rock Island railway in construction work.

James S. Joles of this sketch was in early boyhood when the family settled in Illinois, and in Henry county he resided un. til moving to Rock county and Luverne in 1882. He was educated in the schools of Gene-

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seo and after growing up engaged in farming. Mr. Joles came to Luverne to assume the proprietorship of the old Luverne botel, which in the early eighties occupied the pres- ent site of the Weick feed barn. This prop- erty was entirely destroyed by fire August 4, 1886. Four years later our subject re- engaged in the hotel and restaurant busi- ness on Main street and conducted the en- terprise for the following eleven years. In addition to his present duties as city as- sessor, Mr. Joles is the superintendent of Maplewood cemetery. By lodge affiliation he is an Odd Fellow.

While a resident of Geneseo, Illinois, on June 17, 1873, Mr. Joles was married to Sophia C. Johnson, a native of Sweden. Mrs. Joles died June 17, 1906, at the age of sixty-one years. Three children, of whom two survive, were born to this union. A daughter, Elsie J., born in 1879, died May 9, 1897. Another daughter is Mand L. (Mrs. B. E. Schuck), of Luverne, and Cloys A., of Luverne, is an only son.

ANDREW J. ROGNESS (1882) owns and farms the southwest quarter of section 17, Martin township. Rock county has been his home since he was a lad ten years of age. He is the son of Jul and Beret (Jul- son) Rogness and was born in Nordre Aur- dal, Valders, Norway, on October 20, 1872. His father, who was a small farmer, died in the old country when Andrew was a child of six. Mrs. Rogness, the mother, soon after sold the family property and with her three children, Marit, Jul and An- drew, came to this country. That was in 1882. The mother and three children jour- neyed direct to Rock county and Martin township. Andrew made his home with an uncle, Helge Rogness, attended the dis- trict schools and grew to manhood, a true son of Nature. In 1892 he was able to buy his present farm and he has conducted it successfully since that time. He is the treasurer of school district No. 33, owns stock in the First National Bank of Hills, and is a member of the Synod Norwegian Lutheran church.

Mr. Rogness was joined in wedlock in Martin township on New Year's day, 1905, to Helen T. Twange, who was born May 16,

1879. She is the daughter of Hoverd and Enge Twange, residents of Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Rogness are the parents of three chil- dren: Jul H., born November 15, 1906; Alfred H., born January 13, 1908; Blanch I., born June 18, 1909.

OLE T. TOLLEFSON (1883), manager and grain buyer for the E. A. Brown eleva- tor at Hardwick, is a native of Rock coun- ty and has spent his entire tife within its borders. His birth occurred on his fath- er's old homestead in Mound township on April 12, 1883. His education received in the district schools was supplemented by a course in the business department of the Breck school at Wilder. Until twenty years of age Ole lived on the home farm, assisting his father in its management and buying stock for him after he grew to a mature age. In 1903 he moved to Hard- wick and for a year was employed as sec- ond grain buyer by the Hardwick Farmers Elevator company. He then accepted his present position with the E. A. Brown com- pany as manager of the firm's interests in Hardwick. He is an industrious young man, well qualified for the position he holds, and has a bright business future.

Ole is the eldest son of Tollef O. Tollef- son, who was born in Norway June 19, 1849, and who came to the United States in 1857, residing for two years thereafter in Clayton county, lowa. He then moved to Allamakee county in the same state, where he farmed until 1871. That year he moved to Rock county and homesteaded on section 14, Mound township, his farm being known as the "Springdale Stock Farm." There he lived for eighteen years, engag. ing in farming and stock and grain buy- ing. In 1905 he took up his residence in Hardwick and has since heen dealing in live stock. He owns 280 acres in Mound town- ship and property in Hardwick. In 1882 Toltef Tollefson married Emma Helling. She was a native of Norway, and died in 1889. Four children were born to this un- ion: Ole T., of this sketch; Carl A., Louis A. and Annie T. He was married a second time in 1896 to Mary Hoime, also of Nor- wegian birth. One daughter, Clara Marie, has been horn to these parents. Toller Tollefson held many offices of trust while

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a resident of Mound township. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge.

Ole T. Tollefson was married in Rock county, August 9, 1910, to Ora M. Beaty, who was born in Rock county July 6, 1888. She is the daughter of J. N. and Ella Beaty, early settlers of Rock county and now resi- dents of Luverne. Our subject is affiliated with the M. W. A., R. N. A. and I. O. O. F. lodges and is noble grand of the local lodge of the last named order.

ALBERT AHRENDT (1890) owns and farms 320 acres of Mound township's pro- ductive soil, the northwest quarter of sec- tion 28 and the southwest quarter of section 21. All the land is thoroughly improved. For the home quarter, which Mr. Ahrendt purchased in 1890, he paid $11 per acre, and twelve years later, when he became the owner of his second quarter section, an adjoining tract, he was obliged to pay $55 per acre, a case illustrating the rapid ad- vance of Rock county real estate. Today it would require nearly double the last mentioned amount to effect a transfer of Mr. Ahrendt's lands.

Albert Ahrendt was born in Clayton coun- ty, Iowa, March 5, 1859, the son of John and Louisa (Weinreben) Ahrends, who were born and married in Germany. The mother died in Benton county, lowa, in 1890. John Ahrendt, the father, survived his wife seven years and breathed his last in Rock county.

Our subject was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to Benton county, Iowa. He lived on the home farm until after his twenty-fourth birthday, then married, and for two years farmed rented land in his home county. He was a Ply- mouth county (lowa) farmer for a period of four years, and in 1890 established his present residence in Rock county. Mr. Ahrendt is an extensive breeder and feeder of the highest grades of stock. He was an officer of school district No. 12 for nine years, serving part of that time as director and later as treasurer. He is at the present time road overseer. He and his family belong to the German Lutheran church of Luverne.

While still a resident of Benton county, on the first of November, 1883, Albert Ahrendt was married to Anna Goeske, who

was born in Germany November 5, 1867, and came to the United States in 1880. Ten children have been born to this union, all of whom live at home except the eldest daughter, Emma (Mrs. William Boldt), of Mound township, born August 9, 1886. The names of the other children follow: Lu- cine, born April 20, 1888; Johann, horn July 7, 1889; Walter, born July 20, 1890: George, born September 9, 1891; Alma, born Novem- ber 1, 1892; Ella, born August 17, 1894; Albert and Anna, twins, born October 31, 1896; and Ludwig, born November 22, 1899.

ANDREW JENSEN (1880) is a Rock county boy, the son of two of the county's pioneers, N. P. and Lena Jensen, who in 1873 came direct from Denmark and settled in the northwest quarter of section 8, Kan- aranzi township. It was there that Andrew of this sketch was born on June 26, 1880.

At the district school near by Andrew received his elementary education. Follow- ing a year spent at the Lutheran normal school at Sioux Falls, he entered the state school of agriculture at St. Anthony Park, from which he was graduated in 1904. For two years after leaving school he worked at the carpenter trade. In 1902, with his father, he bought the east half of section 17, Kanaranzi township, which is his pres- ent home. It was not until 1906 that he set- tled there parmanently. Today he is en- gaged in farming 320 acres of the best land in the township. He makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and in this pursuit he has met with great success.

Mr. Jensen was united in marriage at Kanaranzi on September 2, 1908, to Zula M. Bowen, the daughter of A. E. and Win- nie Bowen, the former of whom is the operator of Brown's elevator at Kanaranzi. One child, Winnifred H., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jensen.

Mr. Jensen has been prominent in poli- ties for a number of years and at the pres- ent time serves as a member of the demo- cratic state central committee. He owns stock in the Kanaranzi Mutual Telephone company and in the Farmers Elevator com- pany of Kanaranzi, of which company he is also a director. He holds membership in the I. O. O. F. and M. W. A. lodges.

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NELS K, LARSON (1889), of Battle Plain township, is a native of Norway, but has re- sided in Rock county since he was four- teen years of age. He was the fifth in a family of six sons and four daughters born to Knut and Haldis (Opsatre) Larson, now of Luverne. Four of these children, Tollef, Borgil, Lars and Ole, are deceased. Besides our subject the names of those surviving are Lars, Borgil, Gunhild, Ole and Tilda.

Nels was born in the province of Halling- dal, Norway, May 29, 1875. At the age of eight he immigrated to America with his parents and located with them in Fayette county, lowa, which was the family home until 1889, the year the Larsons settled in Rock county. The father bought at the time the east half of the southeast quarter of section 33, Battle Plain township, our subject's home to this day. He was edu- cated in the district schools of Battle Plain and was for three months a student at the Breck school of Wilder. In 1905 Mr. Larson commenced farming for himself and four years later became the purchaser of the home farm. This, with another quarter section he owns in section 33, gives him a farming area of 240 acres, and all the land is thoroughly improved.

As a stock breeder Mr. Larson has met with success. He raises especially high grade cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He owns stock in the Farmers Elevator com- pany of Kenneth and is a member of the United Norwegian Lutheran church.

CONRAD H. CHRISTOPHERSON (1903) is county attorney of Rack county and lives at Luverne. He is a native Minne- sotan, having been born at Albert Lea De- cember 29, 1875, in which city he grew to manhood. He was graduated from the Al- bert Lea high school in 1893 and from the Minnesota state university in 1898 with the degree of B. A.

After his graduation from the university Mr. Christopherson located at Long Prairie, Minnesota, where for several years he was superintendent of the public schools. He then took up the study of law and in 1903 was admitted to the bar. He located in Luverne the same year and entered into partnership with E. H. Canfield. One year later the partnership was dissolved and

since that time Mr. Christopherson has been engaged in practice alone. He was elected county attorney on the republican ticket in 1904 and bas since served in that capacity, having been re-elected each two year term. He is secretary of the Luverne public library board.

Carl and Hellene Christopherson, the parents of our subject, were natives of Norway and came to America when chil- dren. They were married at Albert Lea. Carl Christopherson died there in 1892 at the age of forty-five years. Mr. Christoph- erson still lives in that city. There are three children in the family, namely, Al- fred, Conrad H. and Laura.

The subject of this biography was mar- ried in Luverne August 15, 1901, to Effie M. Jacobsen. She was born in Luverne August 19, 1878, daughter of the late Wil- liam and Milla C. Jacobsen. Three chil- dren have been born to this union: Paul M., born August 12, 1902; Robert C., born May 8, 1907; Conrad W., born July 29, 1909.

S. JOHN N. CRAGOE (1892), Beaver Creek township farmer, is a native oť Cornwall, Landsend, England, where he was born September 22, 1866. His father, John N. Cragoe, is a farmer now living in Green Lake county, Wisconsin; his mother, Mary (Pierce) Cragoe, died in Wisconsin in 1875.

When a child less than three years of age, in the summer of 1869, the subject of this review came to the United States with his parents. Until he was sixteen years of age he resided on the farm of his parents near Markesan, Green Lake county, Wis- consin, and he received his education in that town. He then went to Waupun, Wis- consin, where for a little less than eight years he was engaged in fitting and ship- ping windmills, being employed by the Alt- house-Wheeler company, manufacturers. We next find our subject in the city of Chicago, where for a year he was employ- ed by the United States Express company as a driver.

During the month of August, 1892, Mr. Cragoe came to Rock county, and he has since been engaged in farming in Luverne and Beaver Creek townships, locating on

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his present place in 1905. He farms the southwest quarter of section 14 and the southeast quarter of section 15, On the afternoon of July 5, 1910, the house oc- · cupied by the Cragoe family was burned to the ground. Most of the furniture on the lower floor was saved. The family lived in a large tent during the summer while a new house was being built. The new home was completed October 8, 1910. Mr. Cragoe engages extensively in stock raising, raising cattle, sheep, hogs, horses and mules, He has stock in the Farmers Elevator company of Beaver Creek. For the past several years he has served as a director of school district No. 16 and he holds membership in the Odd Fellows lodge of Luverne and the Yeomen lodge of Beaver Creek.

Mr. Cragoe was married at Waupun, Wisconsin, June 30, 1890, to Jane Yarnall, a daughter of James Yarnall, of Osseo, Wis- consin. Mrs. Cragoe was born March 21, 1870, in the city in which she was married. Mr. and Mrs. Cragoe have a large family of children, as follows: John J., born May 28, 1891; Sydney A., born February 19, 1893; Lloyd P., born March 9, 1895; James R., born February 10, 1897; Mary Ann, born March 5, 1899; Charles, born October 23, 1900; Susie, born June 11, 1902, died April 22, 1905; Harlow, born January 18, 1905; Jenette, born October 20, 1906; Al- bert, born October 15, 1908.

OLAF J. NASH (1896) is associated with August C. Finke in the publication of the Ilills Crescent and of late years has held the dominant editorial sway over the pro- gressive Rock county publication. Mr. Nash is a Norwegian by birth, born in Larvik October 6, 1873. His father was a sea-faring man who for a great number of years commanded a merchant vessel, of which he was part owner.

It was in 1879 that Captain Nash dispos- ed of his interests in the land of the mid- night sun and with his family took passage on the White Star Line steamer "Adriatic" for the newer country to the west. The family located at once in Rushford, Min- nesota, where the father secured employ- ment in the factory of the Rushford wagon works, a company in which some relatives

were largely interested. The plant in question was destroyed by fire during the winter of 1880 and rebuilt at Winona, whither the family moved, but after a resi- dence of nine months returned to Rush- ford.

Olaf's education until his fourteenth year was received in the Rushford public schools. Then he began to "hustle for himself." imbued with a desire to master the mysteries of the art preservative, he apprenticed himself as a "devil" in the of- fice of the Rushford Star, receiving as compensation the magnificent salary of $1.00 per week. After six months there, an offer of $2.00 a week and board attract- ed him to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to work on the "Varden" a Norwegian weekly, a posi- tion he held until the paper suspended pub- lication two years later. Then followed a year of varied experiences, during which the young "print" subbed on the LaCrosse dailies, set type for a city directory, was second cabin boy on a Mississippi river . steamboat, did the twin cities for work, and secured a job shingling a big church, the laborer receiving $1.00 per day for his hire. The summer of 1893 found the youth errant in LaCrosse once more, wbere for a time lie held cases on the "Folkevennen." He then went to Sioux Falls to accept a position on the "Syd Dakota Ekko." In 1896 the call came from Hills, and that year he formed a partnership with A. C. Finke in the publication of the Hills Cres- cent, a union which still exists. In 1899 Mr. Nash returned to Sioux Falls to as- sume a position offered as foreman on the "Syd Dakota Ekko," which he continued to hold until the first of February, 1902, when the Crescent demanded his attention and he returned to Hills and to the paper he has built up to its present high standard. For the past four years Mr. Nash has served as village treasurer,

We quote from a published explanation by Mr. Nash, giving the circumstances of how it came about that "an imported Nor- wegian comes to sail under the Irish name of Nash." On arriving at school the first day the youthful candidate for American naturalization, in order to be enrolled, was asked by the teacher for his name. On be- ing told in genuine Norsk that it was "Olaf Næss," she quickly informed him

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that there was no letter æ in the Ameri- can alphabet and said that the name would have to be revised for daily use, so she decided that Nash would he the nearest thing to it and that is how it went on the enrollment book. As the old family name had no aristocratic connections it was given up without further thought, although the owner is often taken to be of Nor- wegian-Irish extraction.

Mr. Nash was married at Leroy, Minne- sota, on June 14, 1905, to Brita Larson, a native of Mitchell county, Iowa, where she was horn December 14, 1879. Mrs. Nash is the daughter of Jacob and Ragnhild Lar- son. One daughter, Carola, was born to this union, July 8, 1908.

Since the above was put in type, the subject of this sketch has forsaken the printing business and engaged in banking. He is at present cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Hills.

J. H. KITTERMAN (1893) is the proprie- tor of the drug store at Steen. He was horn in Appanoose county, lowa, March 31, 1850. His father, John Kitterman, a native of Indiana, and his mother, Survil- lia (Rhodes) Kitterman, who was born in Ohio, are still living in Lyon county, Iowa.

Iowa was Mr. Kitterman's home until he attained the age of forty-four. The first nine years were spent in the county of his hirth, the remaining thirty-three years as a

resident of Worth county. He was brought up on a farm and remained at home until after his twentieth birthday. Then he commenced the battle of life for himself. For one year he was employed as an engineer in a grist mill, and then for the same length of time he learned the ins and outs of the life of a stage driver. He abandoned that pursuit, was married, and for thirteen years following his occu- pation was that of collector for a large ma- chine firm. He next set up in the general mercantile business, for two years operat- ing a store at the town of Bristol and for less than half that period at Lake Mills.

Our subject's career as a resident of Rock county began in June, 1893. During that month he located at Ashcreek, where for a little less than two years he con- ducted a general store and a lumber yard.

On selling out the business, he hought a bankrupt stock, valued at $10,000, in Sioux Falls, and conducted the store for a year. His family did not move from Ashcreek, however. In 1896 he settled in Steen, where he started a general store and liv- ery barn. He conducted the store for a little over five years and the barn for one year, leasing it from that time. He still owns both properties. Before retiring from the mercantile business he engaged in the drug business and since selling the former he has devoted himself exclusively to the operation of his drug store.

Mr. Kitterman has on several occasions been honored hy election to offices of trust. For ten years he held the office of justice of peace, for six years served as clerk of Clinton township, and for the same period was one of the directors of his school district. During his residence in Worth county, lowa, he served for thir- teen years as a justice of peace and for ten years was the constahle of his precinct, having been appointed to the latter of- fice when he was a youth of nineteen. Mr. Kitterman is the owner of the southwest quarter of section 15, Clinton township.

At Northwood, Worth county, Iowa, on November 25, 1871, onr subject was united in marriage to Harriet E. Jones, a native of Catteraugus county, New York. Their one son, F. F Kitterman, resides at Steen and is the manager of the livery barn. He also takes care of antos.

MRS. ZIGRED TVEDT (1883) is the widow of Halsten Tvedt, who was for more than a quarter of a century a well known Springwater township farmer. She was born in Hardanger, Norway, August 11, 1859, the daughter of Tollef and Zigred (Selgestad) Jossendahl.

Our subject was married in Norway to Halsten Tvedt, who was born January 25, 1847. The marriage occurred on the ninth of June, 1882. The following year the young couple left the motherland to es- tablish a home in the United States. They came direct to Rock county and here Mr. Tvedt commenced farming on a small scale and carried on his trade in connec- tion for a number of years. At first he hought thirty acres on section 11, tange

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47, and later became the owner of the whole southwest quarter of that section. He also left to his estate the northwest quarter of section 13, a total of a half section of finely improved land, upon which Mrs. Tvedt and her family now dwell.

Mrs. Tvedt is the mother of the lollow- ing named four children: Holden T., born January 26, 1887; Sarah R., born July 4, 1889; Thomas A., born June 7, 1896; and Johnettie H., born January 12, 1898. The family are members of the Synod Nor- wegian Lutheran church,

JAMES E. VARAII (1888) owns and farms the northwest quarter of section 21, Bat- tle Plain township, and is an extensive breeder of Poland China hogs. He was born in Oswego county, New York, August 25, 1858, the son of James and Alice (Bell) Varah. Both parents were of English birth, came to this country in 1855, and settled in Oswego county, New York.

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An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota, Part 78

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