USA > Minnesota > Rock County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 91
USA > Minnesota > Pipestone County > An illustrated history of the counties of Rock and Pipestone, Minnesota > Part 91
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For two years, commencing in 1896, Mr. Linnell was interested with his brother in the City livery barn of Luverne. On re- tiring from the farm in 1909 he moved to Luverne and bought from Jack McGee the livery opposite the Central hotel and later bought a half interest in the Manitou livery from James Roberts. These gentlemen, under the firm name of Roberts & Linnell, now control the two leading barns in Lu- verne. They also operate a bus and trans- fer line and engage extensively in the buy- ing and shipping of horses to the eastern markets. While a resident of Clinton town- ship Mr. Linnell was a member of the township board for one year and was road overseer for five years. He is a member of the M1. W. A. lodge.
Our subject was married in Guthrie county, Iowa, on February 11, 1903, to Wilda Fowler, a native of that county, born February 3, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Linnell are the parents of the following named five children: Bernice, Buehl, Gladys M., Wayne and Cora L.
NICK KUNDEL (1891), a Springwater township farmer, is the fourth in a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, who were born to John and Annie ( Mewas) Kundel. In St. Michaelsdonn, Germany, on the twelfth day of January, 1862, occurred the birth of our subject.
When Nick was a lad twelve years of age he bade farewell to his native land and with his parents crossed the great di- vide to make settlement in the new world. The family settled in Davenport, lowa, where he finished his schooling and resided for seventeen years. In 1891 Mr. Kundel established himself in Rock county. He moved to the farm he had bought the pre- ceding fall, the southeast quarter of sec- tion 26, range 47, which has ever since been his home. For' one year he served as a road overseer.
WILLARD A. JONES (1893) is engaged in the plumbing and heating business in Luverne. lle is the son of Daniel and Susan (Hubbel) Jones, both deceased, and was born in Peterbur county, Canada, All- gust 25, 1861.
When a child of five years Mr. Jones ac- companied his parents in their removal to the states, the family locating in Imlay City, Lapeer county, Michigan. There our subject remained until 1876, when the fam- ily moved to Marlette, Sanilac county, Michigan. In his young manhood Mr. Jones was variously employed, much of the time as an engineer in cities of his home state. In March, 1893, he moved to Chicago, worked at his trade until June, and then took up his residence in Luverne.
For a number of years Mr. Jones was employed as an engineer with a threshing crew and working on a dray line. After working some time for the plumbers, John Frink and Greene & Hafsos, in 1901 he set up in business for himself, opening a shop
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of Freeman avenue, where he is doing a thriving business. When a young man he acquired considerable knowledge of pipe work, heating and plumbing in the cities of Detroit, Port Huron and Saginaw, Mich- igan, and London, Canada. He is also a licensed electrician and does jobbing and sewer work.
In Luverne, on December 2, 1895, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Amelia (Yada) Jones, who was born August 6, 1875, in Sauk City, Sauk county, Wiscon- sin. One son, Frankie Donald, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones on May 31, 1897,
OSCAR M. THOMPSON (1883) farms the entire west half of section 19, Martin township. He is a native of Rock county, the son of Gilbert and Martha Thompson, now residents of Hills, and was born Sep- tember 21, 1883. After securing a district school euucation, he commenced doing the work of a man on his father's farm. In 1907 Oscar went to Lyman county, South Dakota, where he filed claim to a home- stead and remained one year. On return- ing home, together with his brother, he rented the west half of section 19 from his father, which they worked in company nn- til the spring of 1910, since which time our subject has alone superintended the culti- vation of. the 320 acres in question.
At Luverne, on July 30, 1908, Oscar M. Thompson was united in marriage to Julia Severson, the daughter of Soren Severson, of Martin township. Mrs. Thompson was born on the thirtieth of May, 1889.
JOHN I. CRANGLE (1893) is the mana- ger of the Farmers Elevator company at Steen. It was in 1907 that this company came into being, a mutual organization of farmers taking over the holdings of a grain company and maintaining an elevator at that point. In July, 1909, Mr. Crangle was in- vited to assume the management of the business, and he has since successfully con- ducted it. The company also buys and ships stock.
In Lasalle county, illinois, on December 6, 1865, our subject first saw the light of day. His father was Patrick Crangle, a native of county Down, Ireland, where he
was born in 1830. When a lad of eleven years, he came to the United States. He engaged in the occupation of farming and settled in Lasalle county, Ilinois, which was his home to the time of his death, De- cember 28, 1903. The mother, Mary (Ri- ley) Crangle, was born in county Mead, Ireland, in 1837 and came to this country nine years later. She still lives in the Illi- nois home.
The youth and early manhood of John Crangle was spent in Lasalle county, Ilti- nois. He attended the district schools of his home county, supplementing his edu- cation with courses in the Streator high school and the Dixon Business college at Dixon, Illinois. He taught for several win- ters after leaving school and then engaged in farming. He farmed for two years in Lasalle county before coming to Minnesota.
Mr. Crangle came to Rock county in 1893 and bought the northwest quarter of sec- tion 20, Clinton township, which was his residence for eleven years. He left the farm in the fall of 1905 and moved to the village of Steen. For one year he was in the employ of the Edmonds Lumber company, and later was a clerk in the general store of A. G. Tangeman. He engaged in other occupations for a time, until entering upon the duties of his present position. Mr. Crangle has served school district number fourteen for four years as its treasurer, and is also at the present time completing his third year as the treasurer of Clinton town- ship. He owns his residence in Steen and is the posessor of 240 acres of Clinton township's fertile soil.
Mr. Crangle was married in September, 1897, at Luverne, to Delia Burns, a native of Steele county, Minnesota. To this un- ion two children have been born, John Leon- ard, born January 2, 1909, and James, born in 1910. Mr. Crangle holds membership in the M. W. A. lodge of Steen.
JOHN MOERKE (1904), who farms the north half of section 24, Kanaranzi town- ship, points to Holland as the country of his birth, which occurred January 4, 1886, He is the son of John and Sebine (Luk- ens) Moerke. The former parent passed away from this life in 1903 at George,
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Iowa, while the mother is still living and makes her home with John in Kanaranzi.
The land of dykes was our subject's home for the first fourteen years of his life, and there he secured a primary educa- tion. He came to America with his par- ents in 1900, the family first loeating in Illinois. A year later they moved to Selby, South Dakota, where a residence of two years was completed. Near George, Iowa, where occurred his father's decease, John Moerke worked as a farm laborer for a year, and in 1904 his activities in Rock county commenced. He rented the land previously described and has been engaged in farming the extensive tract up to the present date. Mr. Moerke holds member- ship in the German Lutheran church.
JOHN F. KROHN (1908), previous to es- tablishing his present residence in Hard- wiek in the fall of 1910, was a Denver township farmer. Of that precinct he owns the northeast, the northwest and the sonth- east quarters of section 5. A native of Pommern, Germany, he was born October 10, 1862. His parents, Fred and Dorothy (Rossow) Krohn, have long been residents of Benton county, lowa, where the former is a prosperous farmer.
John passed the first nineteen years of his life in the land of his birth. He was reared and educated in the town of Loitz, where at the age of fifteen he commenced working at the wagon-maker's trade, which he followed four years. In the fall of 1881 he crossed the Atlantic with his parents and settled with them in Benton county, lowa, destined to be his bome for twenty- seven years. He was employed for a long period in railroad construction work, then bought 240 acres of land and became a farmer. He sold his farm lands in 1906 and for the next two years was identified with the Van Horn Savings Bank, in the capacity of vice president and assistant cashier. In 1908 he invested in his pres- ent Rock county real estate and moved thereon. Mr. Krohn holds membership in the Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen lodges of Hardwick.
Our subject was married at Vinton, Iowa, on June 7, 1882, to Minnie Lorenz, also a native of Pommern, Germany. She was
born September 29, 1858, and came to the United States in 18SI. The following eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Krohn: Emma, born September 4, 1883; William, born May 15, 1885; Ella, born Jan- nary 30, 1887; Harry, born September 27, ISSS; Hugh, born August 19, 1890; Lorenz, born August 4, 1891; Hazel, born May 5, 1895; and Elton, born December 29, 1899.
JAMES E. ROBERTS (1884) is the sen- ior member of the firm of Roberts & Lin- nell, proprietors of the Manitou livery and sale stables and the bus and transfer business. He has been a resident of Rock county since he was a lad of sixteen years and for the past five years has been en- gaged in business at the county seat.
Mr. Roberts was born in Henry county, Illinois, March 29, 1868, and is the young- est in a family of nine children whose par- ents were George and Sarah J. (Beers) Roberts, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. They were pioneer farmers in Illinois and in 1884 moved to Rock coun- ty, where they resided up to the time of their death.
Our subject was twelve years of age when he accompanied his parents to Schny- ler county, Missouri. Four years later the family arrived in Rock county and located on a farm in Clinton township. For eight years James assisted with the work on the home farm; then he became the owner of a farm on section 12, of the same town- ship, and set up in farming for himself. Five years ago he traded his farm for the Palace livery in Luverne and became a resident of that city. The Palace barn was shortly after destroyed by fire, but later the Manitou brick barn was erected on the same site. Two years ago V. C. Lin- nell became a partner of Mr. Roberts in the condnet of the business. Mr. Roberts is an extensive buyer and shipper of horses. While a resident of Clinton town- ship he served as a member of the board of supervisors.
Mr. Roberts was married in Luverne on March 9, 1892, to Bertha M. Smith, a na- tive of lowa and the daughter of M. C. and Maria Smith. They have three chil- dren : Donald, Kenneth and Neil.
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IVER KAMMERUD (1910), a Rose Dell township farmer of recent settlement, was born in the hamlet of Randsfjord Sta, province of Gran Hadeland, Norway, on the second of January, 1881. His father, Peter H. Kammerud, was a workman in a brick and tile factory up to the time of his immigration to the United States. The mother of our subject was Olena (Bjorn- dalen) Kammerud.
In 1895, at the age of fourteen, Iver ac- companied his parents across the Atlantic and with them located at Blanchardville, Wisconsin, and there he was destined to remain thirteen years. For seven years of that period he was employed at farm la- bor, then did stone mason and carpenter contracting. For two months in 1908 Mr. Kammerud was employed at Artesian, South Dakota, returning to Wisconsin for the winter. He left that state to hecome a resident of Rock county. His home is on the northeast quarter of section 35, range 47, Rose Dell township.
The marriage of Iver Kammerud to Min- nie Hanson was solemnized at Sherman, South Dakota. on November 25, 1909. The bride of that date is a daughter of Ole A. and Matilda (Christensen) Hanson, of Sher- man, the former a native of Norway, the latter of Wisconsin. Mrs. Kammerud was born August 1, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Kammerud are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
CARL E. CHRISTOPHERSON (1905) is the junior member of the firm of Nelson & Christopherson, blacksmiths and carriage makers of Hills. He is the son of Johan (deceased) and Christine Christopherson, who were the parents of two children, Inga and Carl. The mother is still a resident of Norway, which country is the birthplace of our subject. His nativity occurred in the city of Trondhjem January 19, 1870.
In the ancient Norwegian city of his birth Carl acquired a good school educa- tion and then learned the carriage maker's and machinist's trades. He followed his chosen line of work in the old country until 1888, the date of his immigration to the United States. He located at Sioux Falls, where he was employed at his trade until 1905, when he became a resident of
Hills. The same year, with August Nel- son, he bought the blacksmith business of Ole Lund, which the two gentlemen have since conducted. Carl is unmarried. For a year and a half he was chief of the Hills fire department. He belongs to the M. W. A. lodge and to the Lutheran church.
August Nelson, of the firm of Nelson & Christopherson, is also a native of Norway, born in Trondhjem September 29, 1865. He followed the occupation of blacksmith in his native land until 1888, the year his career in America began. He resided at Sioux Falls until 1905, when he formed his present partnership with Carl Christopher- son and became a resident of Hills. Mr. Nelson in 1891 was married to Mary Lee, of Sioux Falls. They are the parents of three children, named Malvin, Edna and Grant. He holds membership in the Mod- ern Woodmen order and in the Norwegian Lutheran church.
SAM FOIGHT (1884) is the manager of the Hubbard & Palmer Grain company's interests at Luverne and also a dealer in ice. He was born in Geneseo, Illinois, Oc- tober 2, 1876, and is the only son of Her- man and Caroline (Kreps) Foight, natives of Germany and Illinois, respectively.
When in his eighth year Sam left his home in Illinois and went to Luverne to live with an uncle, Fred Kreps, with whom he remained for two years. For five years thereafter the young boy was employed at farm labor at Scottsville, Cloud county, Kansas. He worked for a year near his native town, Geneseo, and then returned to Luverne, which has since been his home. The first few years following he was em- ployed in the wagon shop of his uncle, Elias Kreps, in a wagon shop and electric light plant at Rock Rapids, and on Rock county farms. He became a driver on an ice wagon for David Beers and continued in that occupation six years, until 1902, when he entered into partnership with Mr. Beers in the conduct of the business. Since the retirement of Mr. Beers in 1907, Mr. Foight has been the sole proprietor of the business. For a number of years past he has also managed the Hubbard & Palmer elevator. He is also one of the managers of the Luverne opera house, having leased
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the play house for a term of years in part. nership with Harry Mathews in Septem- ber, 1910. He holds membership in the A. O. U. W., M. W. A., 1. O. O. F. and D. of H. lodges.
Mr. Foight was married in Luverne in November, 1900, to Alice E. Beers, who was born in Henry county, Illinois, March 10, 1878, and is the daughter of David and Frances (Sands) Beers. David Beers died March 22, 1910. To this union have been born two children: Lawrence, born October 15. 1903, and Lloyd R., born Octo- ber 7, 1906, Mr. Foight owns residence property in Luverne.
FRANCIS A. KUBITZ (1886) is the own- er of one of Martin township's most thor- oughly improved farms. It was in Ger- many on the first day of May, 1857, that he was born, the son of Carl and Anna (Reetz) Kubitz, both of whom are buried in the old country.
Francis came to America in 1883, his first home in the new country being To- ledo, Ohio. He worked as a gardener in that city for two years: then after a year spent in Wisconsin, he came to Rock coun- ty, which was in the year 1886. He work- ed out on different farms during the next three years, then rented a place and set up in farming for himself. In 1892 he bought his present farm, the northwest quarter of section 2, and that has since been his home.
Mr. Kubitz is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge. He was married in Mar- tin township on April 21, 1889, to Annie Lehmann, the daughter of Leopold and Josephine (Vogelsang) Lehmann. Her birth occurred December 11, 1861. They have four children: Arthur, born Febru- ary 23, 1890; Josephine, born August 7, 1892; Helen, born February 13, 1894; Wal- ter, born February 12, 1896.
A. G. TANGEMAN (1902), a progressive merchant of the town of Steen, is a native of Benton county, lowa, where he was born August 28, 1864. His father, A. Tangeman, was a native of the Buckeye state, born December 25, 1×38. As a boy of eight the father of our subject moved with his par-
ents from Ohio to Clayton county, lowa, remaining there until reaching his majori- ty. Going then to Benton county, in the same state, he resided there until 1871, his next move being to for Allamakee county, which was his home for a good many years. He left Iowa four years, 10-
cating at Lewiston, Michigan, but return- ing at the end of that time to his early home in Clayton county. There he died November 26, 1909. During his many years of active labor he was alternately engaged in farming and in the milling business. The mother of our subject, Henrietta (My- er) Tangeman, died in 1876 in Allamakee county, Iowa.
A. G. Tangeman of this bicgraphy lived in the county of his birth for the first sev- en years of his life. At that age he accom- panied his parents in their removel to Al- lamakee county, where he resided for a good many years. He secured an educa- tion in the country schools, and up to the time of his coming of age he assisted his father on the farm and in the mill. At twenty-one his career in the mercantile business began. For five years thereafter he clerked in a store at Volney, in his home county, later accepting a similar position in the town of Postville.
His residence in Rock county dates from the year 1902. Locating in Steen that year, he bought the general store of W. E. Bauer, which continues to be under Mr. Tangeman's management and control. Since coming into posession of the business be has increased the stock of goods to about double the original size and has made many up-to-date improvements. He is a stock- holder in the Farmers Elevator company of Steen. During the summer of 1910, Mr. Tangeman erected a fine home in the vil- lage.
At Waukon, Iowa, on September 17, 1889, occurred the marriage of Mr. Tangeman to Mary Koontz, the daughter of Elias and Martha Koontz, both deceased. Mrs. Tan- geman's native county is Freeborn, Minne- sota, where she was born March 1, 1867. Five children have been born to these parents, as follows: Leo, born April 18, 1891; Clifford, born July 25, 1892; Ruby, born June 10, 1898; Earl, born May 27, 1901; and Dwight, born November 21, 1906. Mr. Tangeman is a member of the Metho-
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dist church and of the A. O. U. W. lodge of Postville, Iowa, and the M. W. A. lodge of Steen.
THOMAS HANSEN (1894) is the senior member of the firm of Hansen & Hulett, Luverne, proprietors of the Independent Garage and Auto Repair shop. Germany is the land of his nativity and August 13, 1867, was the date of his birth. His par- ents were Hans and Dora Hansen, both of whom died in their native land. There are seven children in the family, of whom all except the subject of this biography and Dora Hansen live in the fatherland.
Thomas Hansen learned the blacksmith's trade at Dickens, Iowa, one year and on from 1883 to 1889. In the last named year he joined the German army and served three years. He worked at his trade a short time after leaving the army and in 1893 came to America. He worked at his trade at Dickens, Iowa, one year and on the first day of April, 1894, became a resi- dent of the little village of Kanaranzi, Rock county. There he opened a blacksmith shop, which he conducted until October, 1907. He located in Luverne and for a time worked in the repair department of the Luverne Automobile company's plant. In October, 1909, in partnership with D. A. Hulett, he opened a garage and automobile repair shop and has since assisted in its management. The company is agent for the White steamers. Mr. Hansen owns a farm in Magnolia township and residence property in Luverne.
At Davenport, Iowa, on October 22, 1896, Mr. Hansen was united in marriage to Emma Boll. She is the daughter of D. Boll, deceased, and was born in Scott county, Iowa, February 5, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have five children, named as follows: Lilly, Arnold, Leona, Elmer and Edna.
HENRY SCHELLHOUSE (1900), who is the owner and farmer of 240 acres of Mar- tin township's productive soil, is a German by birth, his nativity occurring January 5, 1857, in the province of Hessen Kausel. His father, John Schellhouse, a large farmer in the old country, died when Henry was a
boy of fourteen, and his mother, Anna Elizabetlı (Strube) Schellhouse, passed away three years before.
Until a young man of twenty-four, Henry Schellhouse's life was spent in the father- land, and for most of that time he was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. Coming to America in 1881, he lived for seven years in Benton county, lowa. For the first two years he worked out, then rented land and farmed for himself. O'Brien county, lowa, was the scene of his labors for the next eleven years. While there he invested in eighty acres of wild land, which he im- proved and farmed for a considerable length of time. His residence in Rock county dates from 1900. That year he bought his present farm, the southwest quarter of section 26, Martin township. His other property has been acquired since. He raises quite a bit of stock and engages to a great extent in dairying. In 1909 he was elected one of the directors of school district No. 40. He is a member of the Evangelical church of Steen.
Mr. Schellhouse was married January 7, 1885, in Benton county, Iowa, to Mary Til- cher, born in Germany, September 3, 1863. She came to this country with her par. ents when a child three years of age. Her family first located in Illinois but later moved to Benton county, Iowa. The follow- ing children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schellhouse: Edward, born October 14, 1886: Charles, born January 10, 1888; John born March 20, 1890; William, born Sep- tember 4, 1892; Clara, born October 29, 1895; Harry, born June 22, 1898; Albert, born November 2, 1903.
ANDREW HAFSAAS (1890), of Rose Dell township, was born on a farın in Nor Fjord, Norway, the thirteenth of February, 1867. He is the son of Andrew and Anne (Hanne- brekke) Hafsaas, both of whom lie huried in the land of the midnight sun.
Our subject received a common school education in the land of his birth, which he left in 1886 to cast his fortune in the new world. He resided for the first four years near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he hired out as an agricultural laborer. He then established his present residence in Rock county. He owned land for a
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period, but since 1901 he has rented and worked the southeast quarter of section 2, range 47, Rose Dell township. Mr. Hafsaas is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
In Sioux Rapids, lowa, on December 30, 1901, Andrew Hafsaas was united in mar- riage to Lena Jacobson. Mrs. Hafsaas is the daughter of Jacob and Martha Jacob- son, natives of Norway.
MICHAEL CONWAY (1893), the manager of the grain business of the Kenneth Farm- ers Elevator company at Kenneth, was born in Livingston county, Illinois, July 17, 1870. He was next to the youngest in a family of ten children, seven of whom are living, and whose parents were Martin and Rose (Ruddy) Conway, both natives of the Emer- ald isle. The former came to the United States in 1847 and his wife followed two years later. They were located in Ohio and Illinois before coming to Rock county in 1893. They bought a section of land in Clinton township, which was known as the Euclare farm, and there the venerable cou- ple lived until called by death, the father in April, 1907, at the age of eighty-six, and the mother in July of the same year, aged seventy-four years.
Michael passed the first twenty-two years of his life in Livingston county, Illinois. lle assisted on the home place and then for two years farmed for himself. He lo- cated in Rock county the same year his parents did, in 1893. He farmed rented land near Steen for eight years, then enter- ed the employ of the Peavey Elevator com- pany, whom he represented at Sibley, Iowa, and later at Emerson, Nebraska. Our sub- ject then for two years was a resident of Montana, being employed there in the smel- ters and as a fireman on the Great North- ern, with headquarters at Havre and Ana- conda. Returning to Rock county, he man- aged his father's farm for four years, then moved to Kenneth, where he bought a half interest in a livery barn. Later he was in charge of the E. A. Brown elevator at that point and later still took charge of the elevator at Luverne. In 1910 he re- turned to Kenneth to accept his present po- sition.
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