USA > Minnesota > Rock County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 84
USA > Minnesota > Pipestone County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 84
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
The family register records the birth of
568
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
nine children (five sons and four daughters) to Mr. and Mrs. Tweton. Of this number, four have died. The following is the com- plete list: Alma H., horn February 21, 1879; Clarinda M., born July 10, 1SS1; Emma J., born September 14, 1883, died May 27, 1891; Otto, born October 10, 1885, died the day following; Helmer V., born November 6, 1SS6; Gerhard W., born May 25, 1889, died February 23, 1891; Gerhard, born Novem- ber 22, 1893, died November 28, 1893; Em- ma J., born September 17, 1891; Edwin O., born November 24, 1895.
.
CHRIS FITZER (1903) has for the past eight years been a successful farmer and stock raiser of Luverne township. He is a native of Cedar county, lowa, where he was born July 25, 1869, and is the son of Chris and Magdalena (Horn) Fitzer, who are both buried in Cedar county, the former dying March 10, 1908, and the latter in 1875.
Chris Fitzer, the father of our subject, was born July 21, 1839, in Mecklenberg- Schwerein, Germany. He landed in the new world on the second of December, 1858, and first located at Davenport, Iowa, where he worked as a teamster. After a three years' residence in that city and another three years spent as a farmer in Scott county, he moved with his family to Cedar county, which was bis home up to the time of his death.
Chris Fitzer of this sketch was brought up on a farm in Cedar county and lived until reaching the age of twenty-seven within a mile of the farm of his birth. The primary education received in the district schools was supplemented by a year's study at the normal academy in Wilton Junction, Musca- tine county. For seven years prior to 1903 he was engaged in farming a piece of land belonging to his father in Cedar county. On March 2, of the year mentioned, Mr. Fitzer arrived in Rock county and located on the farm which he had bought the year previous, the southwest quarter of section 29, where he resides at the present time. The place was only partly improved when it came into his possession, and he has expended more than $2000 in its develop- ment. Much of this was spent in putting in an effective system of tile drainage.
The marriage of Mr. Fitzer to Adelia L. Arp took place on Christmas day, 1895, at Durant, lowa. Mrs. Fitzer is the daughter of Peter and Lena (Arp) Arp and was born in Scott county, lowa, April 19, 1874. Her father died in 1905 but her mother is still living. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fitzer, namely: Alvin, born November 5, 1896; Bennie, born March 13, 1900; and Edna, born January 13, 1907.
GEORGE W. COTTRELL (1892) is the well known expert horse shoer and machin- ist of the city of Luverne. He is the eld- est son of Michael and Margaret (Cormack) Cotterell, who both came to the United States from Ireland when young in years. They were married at Tipton, Iową, and that continued to be the home of the esteemed couple until called by death, the father on October 31, 1889, aged sixty-five years, and the mother on April 2, 1907, at the age of seventy-two years. Besides George there were five other children in the Cottrell family: William C., Frank M., Charles A., Julia and Elizabeth V.
George was born at Tipton, Iowa, Febru- ary 22, 1865, and that was his home for the first twenty-five years of his life. He was educated in the Tipton Union school, the first free publie school in Iowa. His father was a machinist, and from his earliest days it was George's delight to watch and assist his father in the work around the shop, and upon leaving school he finish- ed his apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade under the able instruction of his fa- ther. At the time of the elder Mr. Cot- rell's death in 1889, he conducted the shop by himself for two years. For the two years following, our subject was employed in shoeing track and race horses. He went to Luverne in 1892 and for thirteen years thereafter was an expert horse shoer in the shop of G. H. Henton. He bought out the business of his employer in 1905 and has since conducted it. He has without doubt one of the most complete and best equipped machine shops to be found any- where in southwestern Minnesota. He makes a specialty of high class work on engines and boilers.
George W. Cottrell is known all over Minnesota through his active participation
569
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
in the affairs of the State Firemen's asso- ciation, of which for a number of years he was a member of the executive board. In 1908 he represented the state at the Inter- national Fire Chiefs convention at Colum- bus, Ohio. While a member of the execu- tive board of the state association he was instrumental in bringing pressure to bear on the state legislature, as a result of which a law was enacted providing for the return to the insurance companies or the reverting to the several firemen's re- lief associations throughout the state of the two per cent tax levied on foreign fire insurance companies doing business within the state. Mr. Cottrell was for many years the chief of the Luverne department. He is a member of following lodges: Masonic, I. O. O. F., M. W. A., Royal Neighbors, M. B. A. and the K. P., and is the chancellor commander of the local lodge of the last named order. He owns a residence on Ce- dar street.
At Spirit Lake, Iowa, on the fourth of July, 1892, Mr. Cottrell was joined in wed- lock to Irene C. Busier, also a native of Tipton, Iowa, where she was born Febru- ary 8, 1868. She is the daughter of M. L. and Roxiana Busier. To Mr. and Mrs. Cott- rell have been born three children: Edna M., born January 19, 1894; Ellaverne, born February 29, 1896, and Geneva G., horn Oc- tober 9, 1900.
ELI B. JOHNSON (1902) is a prominent Martin township agriculturist who was born December 30, 1879, in Clinton county, Iowa. His parents, Berge and Marie (Jensen) Johnson, were natives of Norway who came . to this country in early life. Both father and mother are buried in Clinton county, Iowa, the former having died in 1884 at the age of forty and his wife three years later.
On his father's farm in Clinton county Eli grew to manhood. The education obtained in the district schools was supplemented by a course in the Northern Illinois normal school and business college, at Dixon, Il- linois. Our subject was a student at that institution two years, beginning in 1900. In the spring of 1902 Mr. Johnson arrived in Rock county, and in partnership with his
brother, J. B. Johnson, he bought 240 acres on sections 35 and 36, Martin township, which they jointly farmed two years. The two following years he farmed alone, rent- ing a farm on section 35.
Mr. Johnson was married October 12, 1906, at Hills, to Mina Helene Skattum, the daughter of Asle and Martha Skattum, both deceased. The young couple immediately moved on to the farm owned by Mrs. John- son, the north half of section 33, which has continued to be their home to the present date. Mrs. Johnson was born on that place, which was homesteaded by her father, on February 20, 1884. One of the finest farm residences in Martin township was erected on the place within the last few years, and it is one of the up-to-date farms of the pre- cinct.
Among other interests, Mr. Johnson is a member of the board of directors of the Hills Mercantile company, extensive deal- ers in grain, feed, etc. He is now serving a term as supervisor of Martin township. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members of the Synod Norwegian Lutheran church of Hills. They have two children: Martha Marie, horn October 3, 1907, and Alice Margaret, born January 25, 1910.
GEORGE DUNBAR (1896) is a represen- tative citizen of the village of Beaver Creek and one of its leading men of busi ness. Born in Wisconsin July 12, 1872, he is the son of Michael and Margretta Dun- bar, natives of Ireland who came to the United States at an early day and settled in the Badger state.
George grew to manhood on his father's farm and was educated in the nearby dis- trict school. He left Wisconsin for Minne- sota in 1896 and located in Beaver Creek. He established himself in the general mer- cantile business, which has proven a suc- cessful venture from the start and in the conduct of which our subject has prospered. Three years ago Mr. Dunbar erected his present substantial brick store edifice, one of the best buildings in the village. He carries a full and complete line of dry goods, groceries, shoes, furnishings, hats, crockery, etc.
Mr. Dunbar is unmarried,
570
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
OLE C. DAHL (1881), of Rose Dell town- ship, was born in Ringerike, Norway, on January 4, 1873. In his native land he pas- sed the first eight years of his life, im- migrating at that age with his parents, Eng- bret ,I. and Anna H. (Horum) Dahl, to America.
The family journeyed direct to Rock coun- ty, which has for thirty years been the home of our subject. Engbret J. Dahl rented land in Denver township, and five or six years later he bought a portion of section 5, Mound township, in which pre- cinct Ole finished his schooling and grew to manhood. He has been an independent farmer since 1898, and in the intervening period has farmed several different pieces of land in Rose Dell township. He has been located on his present place, the southeast quarter of section 19, since 1906. Mr. Dahl is unmarried. le is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and of the Odd Fellows lodge.
JENS O. HELGESON, JR. (1878), in part- nership with his brother Richard, farms the whole of section 8, Mound township- land owned by their uncle, Jens O. Helge. son, Sr. On that farm the subject of this review was born July 12, 1878.
The father of Jens and Richard Ifelge- son was Christopher Helgeson. He was born at Ringerike, near Christiania, Norway, April 20, 1842, and came to the United Mates in 1871. The first two years of his life in the new world were spent in Alla- maker county, lowa. Then he came as a pioneer and homesteader to Rock county and chose for his allotment the southeast quarter of section &, Mound township. He started with limited capital and his first home in the new country was a sod shanty. He prospered and was a farmer until the time of his death, which occurred January 15, 1908
1. IS. STAGER (1903) is a wholesale dealer in poultry, butter, eggs and cream and resides at Luverne. He was born at Hastings, Nebraska, October 26, 1879, the son of Joseph and Ada ( Marsh) Stager. The fermer was born in Greenville, Ohio, and moved to Nebraska when a young man,
passing the rest of his life at Hastings and Doniphan, Nebraska, dying in the latter place in 1898 at the age of forty-six years. The mother of cur subject was born in Blackearth Wisconsin, and is now living at Doniphan, Nebraska, at the age of fifty years.
A. E. Stager secured an education at Doniphan and until he was eighteen years of age lived with his parents. Then he entered the employ of Armour & Com- pany and was employed by that firm in various capacities until 1903, traveling in western Nebraska, northwestern Kansas and eastern Colorado, buying produce. He located in Luverne in 1903 and for one year was the local manager for a branch house of Armour & Company. Then, in partnership with several Luverne busi- ness men, he organized the Luverne Mer- cantile company, of which he was secretary and treasurer. One year later he sold out his interests in that company, and in 1905 he engaged in the wholesale produce busi- ness. At first the business was located in an old building, but in March, 1906, he completed his present business building on Main street. He owns the business proper- ty and a fine residence, completed in Febru- ary, 1910.
Mr. Stager was married in Luverne Jan- nary 2, 1905, to Minnie J. Heinz, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Heinz, of Luverne. Mr. and Mrs. Stager have two children, Helen A. and Evelyn.
T. D. ROWLAND (1893), who farms the southeast quarter of section 2, Kanaranzi township, is the son of E. B. and Elvi (Carl) Rowland, residents of Kanaranzi village. His nativity occurred on the six- teenth day of May, 1868, at Elroy, Wiscon- sin.
Mr. Rowland remained with his parents in the Wisconsin home until attaining the age of sixteen. Then he began to make his own way in the world. Going to South Dakota, he worked as a farm laborer for seven years; then for a period of two years he resided at Creston, lowa. He came to Rock county in 1893. In the spring of that year he settled on his present location in Kanaranzi township, where he has since been engaged in farming. For four years
571
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
he served his precinct as road overseer. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
At Blunt, South Dakota, in January, 1889, occurred the marriage of Mr. Rowland to Lizzie McClure. Mrs. Rowland's father died in June, 1902; her mother still lives in Luverne. Seven children have been born to these parents, one of whom, Betha, is dead. The children living are Bessie, Alma, Robert, Arthur, Hazel and Erie.
HOWARD H. PETERS (1909) has been the editor and publisher of the Beaver Creek Banner since April, 1909. He is the oldest child in a family of six children and is the son of W. E. and Louise (Boynton) Peters, both natives of Maine, the former having been born at Dennisville and the latter at Edington. They came as pioneers in the early seventies to Meeker connty, Minnesota, and homesteaded land. They are now residents of Forest City, Meeker county.
Howard was born November 15, 1880, at Forest City and was reared on his father's farm in that locality. His education was received in the Litchfield high school, the St. Cloud normal school and the Litchfield Business college. For a year after gradu- ation from the last named institution he was employed as bookkeeper in a bank at Zumbrota, Minnesota. Attracted by the fascination of the printer's trade, he en- tered the office of the Litchfield Independ- ent to acquaint himself with its mysteries. For two years previous to resurrecting and taking charge of the Banner, he was con- nected with the Adrian Democrat as a com- positor. Mr. Peters is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. lodges.
The Beaver Creek Banner was establish- ed in 1903 by Howe & Misener as a six column folio. Rowland Doane became the second publisher and he gave way to A. E. Caldwell. The paper was making desper- ate efforts against numerons odds for ex- istence when Mr. Peters entered the field and produced some wonderful changes. The Banner now is a newsy sheet and one that is able to hold its own, with a good sub- scription list, and is receiving hearty sup- port. The paper has been changed to a five column quarto. New and up-to-date material has been added to the plant.
Howard Peters was married at the home of the bride's parents in Adrian, Minne- sota, June 29, 1910, to Miss Nettie L. Rowe. She was born in Nobles connty and is the daughter of Henry Rowe, an early settler of that county.
HENRY BORCHERS (1880), one of Mar- tin township's substantial farmers, has spent his entire life in Rock county and on the farm which he now operates.
Hc is the son of Christ and Catherine (Johnson) Borchers, natives of Germany. They came to America at an early date and were among the first settlers in the country adjoining Parkersburg, Towa, Leav- ing that locality in 1871, Mr. Borchers cast his fortunes with other pioneers in Rock county. He homesteaded one of the best pieces of land in Martin township, the northeast quarter of section 11. On that farm Henry Borchers' earthly career began on April 4, 1880. He received an education in the district school and early took up active work on the farm. In 1905 he rent- ed the old homestead and has conducted it to the present time. Our subject is a member of the German Evangelical church and of the Modern Woodmen lodge.
The event of Mr. Borchers' marriage to Nina Ott took place in Luverne on Novem- ber 12, 1902. Mrs. Borchers is the dangh- ter of George and Mary Ott, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of Il- linois. They have four children: Vernon C., born December 29, 1903; Harvey G., born March 15, 1905; Clarence H., born June 29, 1906; Vera C., born October 12, 1909.
In the Borchers family werc eight chil. dren, five boys and three girls, as follows: Bertha, John, Minnie, Charles, Christina, Lena, Henry and Annie. The second son, Charles, was born June 8, 1873, on his fa- ther's Martin township farm. For a great many years he was engaged in the man- agement of the home place with his brother. Of late he has devoted much of his time to the painting business. He is unmarried.
W. E. NEWTON (1898), a Rock county resident since 1898, is a native of Jasper county, Iowa, where he was born January 11, 1874. He is the son of M. and Sarah C.
572
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
( Hensley) Newton. The former is now a resident of Nelson, Nebraska; the latter died June 4, 1906.
Our subjeet lived in the county of his birth for the first six years of his life, then accompanied his parents to Nebraska, in different localities of which the next eigh- teen years were passed. Mr. Newton re- sided for different periods of time in Fair. mont, Fillmore county, in Garfield county, in Nelson, Nuckolls eounty, and in Valley county, all in Nebraska. On leaving that state he was for a time located in Fremont county, lowa, and then, in 1898, commenced his career in Roek county. He was em. ployed at farm labor for a number of years in the vicinity of Luverne, but since the spring of 1910 has been located on his pres- ent place. Mr. Newton rents and farms one- half of seetion 16, Mound township. He is a member of the A. O. IT. W. lodge of Li- verne.
On November 5, 1899, in Luverne, W. E. Newton was joined in matrimony to Dor- othy E. Abbott, who was born March 9, 1877. To this union the following four chil- dren have been born: Florence Irene, born August 14, 1900; Harold Emery, born Jan- mary 28, 1904; Gladys Marian, born Sep- tember 30, 1906; and Elwin Eugene, born June 9, 1910.
CHARLES J. MARTIN (1898) is the cash- ier of one of Luverne's prosperous financial institutions, the Rock County Bank. He is one of a family of four children, the son of Andreas and Henrietta (Fraas) Martin, both natives of Germany, who came to the United States in 1852 and located at De- fiance, Ohio. For many years Andreas Martin was successfully engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in the Ohio city, at which place his death occurred in 1906, being at that time in his cighty- fourth year. llis wife and the mother of our subject still resides at Defiance at the age of seventy mine.
Charles J. Martin of this review was born at Defiance, Ohio, on the ninth of December, 1870. His early education was received in a German Lutheran parochial school of his native city. At the age of thirteen he en- tered the office of the "Woechentlicher Her- old," to learn the printer's trade, at which
he became an adept. He remained there for four years; then determining to seek a broader education he became a student at Upper lowa university at Fayette, Iowa, from which he was graduated in 1893 with the degree of Pli. B., later receiving the degree of Ph. M. The next year he pur- sued a post graduate course at the uni- versity of Chicago and then became superin- tendent of the Frederiksburg (lowa) schools. lle was elected to the chair of English in Wartburg college, Clinton, Iowa, and was a professor in that institution until 1898, when his residence in Luverne began. He was elected to the easbiership of the Rock County Bank in April, 1899, and since then has had the active control and management of the bank's affairs.
At Lawler, Iowa, on August 22, 1894, Mr. Martin was joined in marriage to Henriet- ta Parker, a native of the place mentioned, where she was born April 5, 1872. She is the daughter of William H. and Etta (Mason) Parker. Four daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, named: Cora, Attilee, Fannie May, Henrietta Elizabeth and Esther Lenore. Mr. Martin is a mem- ber of the Carnegie library board of Lu- verne and belongs to the Masonie and Knights of Pythias fraternities, in both of which he has passed through the chairs.
The Rock County Bank was the first banking institution established in Luverne. It was incorporated May 2, 1882, with a capital of $25,000 by the following gen- tlemen: William Jacobsen, O. P. Miller, J. K. P. Thompson, Hon. William Larabee, B. H. Hinkly, R. B. Hinkly, Frank Larabee, W. R. Kinnard, Ezra Rice, Daniel Stone and W. H. Wilson. The first board of direc- tors consisted of William Larabee, Daniel Stone, William Jaeebsen, R. B. Hinkly, J. K. P. Thompson, W. H. Wilson and O. P. Miller, and from these was chosen the initial staff of officers, as follows: President, William Jacobsen; vice president, O. P. Miller; eashier, R. B. Hinkly.
In April, 1899, R. B. Hinkly was elected president and C. J. Martin, eashier. No change was made until August 14, 1909, when the Hinklys and the Larabees sold the bank to Mr. Martin and a group of representative business men and farmers of Rock eounty. The officers ehosen soon after the reorganization and who are serv-
573
ROCK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
ing at the present time were: President, Dr. C. L. Sherman; vice president, E. Kie- bach; cashier, C. J. Martin; assistant cash- ier, J. F. Kohn. C. L. Sherman, E. Kiebach, C. J. Martin, John P. Houg, L. E. Coss, J. P. Coffey and S. A. D. Kennedy constitute the board of directors. The institution does a general banking and abstract business.
The first home of the Rock County Bank was in a little frame building on lower Main street, now occupied as a residence by Mr. Dement. In 1883 the present com- modious banking edifice, located on the cor- ner of Main and Cedar streets, was erected.
NELS ROGNESS (1883) has spent his entire life as a resident of Rock county. He is the son of Andrew J. and Sarrah (Sun- dem) Rogness, natives of Norway whose residence in America began at an early date. They were among the early settlers of Decorah, lowa, and came with the van- guard of pioneers to Rock county. The father, who died March 2, 1894, took as his homestead the southeast quarter of section 9, Martin township. Nels of this review is the sixth in a family of seven children, five boys and two girls, as follows: Raudine, who died October 12, 1891; Julius, whose death occurred October 30, 1908; Knute, of Minneapolis; Gulick, of Hills; Henry, Nels and Minnie.
Nels was born on the old homestead Au- gust 27, 1883. The education received in the district schools was supplemented by a course in the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis and a year spent at the Northwestern Conservatory of Music in the same city. From his early childhood he has been a talented musician and has won more than local distinction in that art. Some of his work in musical composition has been very favorably received. At the present time he devotes a large share of his time to teaching music. He is the director of a local orchestra and the agent for Behr Bros.' pianos.
As an agriculturist he has also been suc- cessful. With his brother Henry he is en- gaged in farming the parental farm. He is the owner of 120 acres of Pipestone county land. Mr. Rogness is a member of the Syn- od Norwegian Lutheran church.
EMIL C. HECHT (1898) is an enterpris- ing young business man of Hardwick who carries a stock of general merchandise that is noted for its completeness and high standard of quality. He is one of a family of eight living children, the son of Joachim and Annie Heckt. The former lives a re- tired life at Keystone, lowa; the mother has been dead for some years.
Emil Heckt was born in Germany April 16, 1876, and came to the United States with his parents when a child four years of age. The family located in Tama county, lowa, and there on his father's farm our subject grew to manhood. He received a practical education at the Dixon (Illinois) Business college. In 1898 he arrived in Hardwick and for one year was employed as a clerk in the store of J. B. Iverson. The follow- ing year, on borrowed capital and in part- nership with his brother, R. A. Heckt, Emil commenced his successful business career. He is in every sense of the word a "self-made man," and the prosperity which has fallen to his lot is every bit the result of persistent, individual effort. From the first his business grew, and it was necessary to build an addition to the orig- inal store. Mr. Heckt purchased his broth- er's interest in the business three years after it was established, and since then he has conducted it alone. The building which houses the stock, which is a large, roomy structure, 50x60 feet, with double front, is the property of Mr. Heckt.
Mr. Heckt is at present treasurer of Hardwick village, and for one year he was president of the village council. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
At LeMars, lowa, on February 9, 1898, Mr. Heckt was married to Anna Willer, who was born in Benton county, lowa, Oc- tober 8, 1876. They are the parents of one child, Della, born December 8, 1900. Mrs. Heckt is the daughter of Jurgen and Ger- trude Willer, who came to the United States from Germany about 1875. They lo- cated in Lucas county, lowa, and in 1898 moved to Plymouth county, where Mr. Willer is the owner of a large amount of land and now lives a retired life at the age of seventy-eight years. Mrs. Willer died April 16, 1896, at the age of forty- nine. In the Willer family were eight chil-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.