USA > Minnesota > Waseca County > Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers > Part 66
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MR. THOMAS J. KERR,
one of Scotia's sons, became a resident of St. Mary, Waseca county, in 1856. He was born on a farm near Dumfries, Scotland, March 24, 1826. He came to America and reached Buffalo Dec. 31, 1851, where he worked, except when sick of fever, until May of the next year; he then went to Cattaraugus county where Thomas Dunn, father oť James
M. Dunn, his cousin, lived. There he worked for four years by the month.
In 1855 he came as far west as Sparta, Wisconsin, where he worked during the winter, and the next spring came to this county. He made a claim and worked around for others until fall when he returned to York State. There, on the 5th of May, 1857, he married Miss Agnes Afleck, who was born in Scotland, Nov. 16, 1837. They at once started for Minnesota with a horse team and a prairie schooner, in company with Messrs. Lindsay and Daniels and their families. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr are the parents of two sons and two daugh- ters: Robert A., now a prosperous farmer of Bruce, S. D .; Agnes, now Mrs. A. H. Kinyon, of Bruce, S. D .; Luverne, now Mrs. B. G. Sutlief, of Wilton, Minn .; and Thomas J., Jr., merchant in Waseca. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr moved from their old farm in St. Mary to their present cozy home in Waseca, in 1888. Mr. Kerr is now in his eightieth year and very rug- ged and hearty for a man of his age.
MR. NELS M. NELSON.
This gentleman is one of our best citizens. He is an American by choice. He is a native of Smalan, near Jonkoping, Sweden, born Dec. 8,
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
1848. He started for America the first week in May, 1868, in company with thirty young people, all single men except two young families and three young ladies. Nearly all of the company, except himself, had relatives in different parts of America. The party had all been residents of the same neighborhood, or township, in the old home and made a jolly company. Among the men were two brothers of Mose Johnson, of Otisco -John Johnson and Gus Johnson- and a third man, John Swanson. These four became close friends and kept together. At Chicago they tried to get tickets for Owatonna, then the nearest station to Otisco, but the agent couldn't find Owatonna, and so sold them tickets for Prairie du Chien, telling them they could get tickets from that point. They were getting short of money when they got to the last place, and there the baggage master charged them a dollar apiece-$4-for what he called excess baggage. Upon reaching McGregor, they found themselves short of funds. The fare was $8 each, and they had only $5 each. None of them could speak much English and two of them could not write so it was de- termined that John Johnson and John Swanson should come on to Owa- tonna and that Mr. Nelson and Gus Johnson should remain at McGregor to await results. The two, who came on, finally found Mose Johnson, of Otisco, through whose means money was forwarded to the two left in McGregor, and in due time they came on. Mr. Nelson immediately went to work at whatever he could find to do, and in 1876 was able to pur- chase a farm in Otisco. This farm he sold in 1883 and bought another which he still owns, on section 9, town of New Richland. He was elected town supervisor of Otisco in 1877 and 1878, county commissioner in 1879 and re-elected a second terni. He is now holding second term as court commissioner of this county. He married Miss Lottie Johnson, of Otisco, March 9, 1884. She died Jan. 8, 1885, leaving an infant daughter, now Mrs. C. F. Johnson, of Waseca. His second marriage was in the fall of 1889, to Mrs. Lina Newquist, who had two daughters by her first hus- band. There is no issue by the second marriage. They own a comfortable home in Waseca, which they have occupied since 1889. They have a comfortable income from their farm and other sources, and are most excellent citizens.
. MR. JOHN M. BYRON,
merchant at Janesville, was born in St. Mary, Jan. 25, 1865, his father, John Byron, having settled in that town in 1856. He received his educa- tion in the old log school house, known as the Gallagher school house. At the age of sixteen, he entered the Waseca high school, attending the . school in the winter and working on the farm in the summer. In the winter of 1883, he taught school in the Brisbane district; and thereafter taught two winter terms of school in the Sheehan district, St. Mary, work- ing on the farm summers. In 1890 he was elected clerk of the district court, his term of office beginning Jan. 1, 1892 and expiring Jan. 1. 1896. He was then appointed by Judge Buckham for one year to fill the vacancy
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
existing under the election law. Since 1897 he has been in the clothing business and is senior member of the firm of Byron & Barden, of Janes- ville. In September, 1893, he married Miss Martha Burns, daughter of the late Peter Burns, of Wilton. She was born July 4, 1873, in Wilton, and is a graduate of the Waseca high school. They are the parents of four children -- two sons and two daughters. Mr. Byron is the owner of the old homestead in St. Mary, where he was born. He is a thorough business man, and enjoys the confidence of the people in a marked degree.
MR. WILLIAM EDGAR HEATH.
'T'his enterprising and progressive farmer, who resides in Freedom, was born in the town of Dryden, Tompkins county, N. Y., Dec. 13, 1838. Mrs. Heath, whose maiden name was Maria Elizabeth Cantine, was born in the town of Caroline, in the same county, Nov. 29, 1840. They were mar- ried May 21, 1862, and came to Waseca county and settled in Freedom, in the fall of 1866, where they still live. He brought with him a pair of good horses, but no other stock. Mr. and Mrs. Heath have a very fine home, with all the comforts of farm life. The first school house in their district was built in 1868. They came to Minnesota more on account of Mrs. Heath's health than from choice, she having throat trouble. They started in May, having one son, Jay C., three years of age. They came by car to Waupun, Wis., where they remained with an uncle about three months. In the meantime Mr. Heath and his uncle visited Minnesota, and Mr. Heath bought his Freedom farm, near Peddler's Grove, a new town with "great expectations." The Heaths came to their new home in the fall in a regular prairie schooner, heavily loaded with household goods. Mrs. Heath writes:
"We started from near Waupun, Aug. 31, 1866, Saturday, in a thunder storm, expecting to camp out and sleep in our wagon nights. Every one was very kind to us along the way and many times we accepted the proffered hospitality instead of camping in our wagon. We were eight- een days on the road and it was a really enjoyable trip. But soon after getting onto Minnesota soil we got stuck in mudholes a number of times. The roads tended to make one sick of the country. At one place, near Rochester, Minn., wagon, horses and all were stuck so fast in the mud that we could not get out until aided by four or five ox teams. It was Satur- day afternoon when we arrived at our abode in Freedom. The family then living in it moved out that afternoon and we moved in. When we awoke Sunday morning in that log hut, all open up to the rafters, was it any wonder that we were a little homesick? The hut had two half windows, one-half in each end of the building, and only one door. When the letters that awaited ns at Peddler's Grove, from the dear, old home- land were opened, the gloom was lightened a little. Friends there thought we might as well die of disease among friends as to die of home-sickness among strangers. But we didn't die. In five years we returned East with our three children. Our only daughter, Georgia, was born the first winter
.
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
we were in Minnesota, and Edgar I. was born the fall of our visit to the East, where we remained two years. Since then two other sons have blessed our home. Our oldest son, Jay C., married Harriet A. Willsey, of Janesville, and lives a mile and a half west of us; Georgia married Frank M. Smith, son of Hon. L. D. Smith, late of Alton, and they also live near us; Edgar I. married Wm. M. Oldfield's daughter and they live in New York state; Roy L. is still at home, taking care of the farm; and our youngest is one of the class of thirteen who graduated from the Janes- ville high school in 1905. In our first winter here, Mr. Heath and several of the neighbors went off across the prairie (there were no fences then to obstruct) to buy wheat and get some flour. They were gone a week but finally came home with flour. Sometimes that winter we had to cook whole wheat for the horses and ourselves as well. Often that first winter, I thought perhaps it was wrong that we had brought our boy away from Grandpa's place where apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits were plentiful, with no prospect of ever raising any here. But, strange as it seemed then, it is now a fact that we have apples to waste and for cider too, besides other fruit, and to-day, May 16, 1905, the trees are a mass of bloom, a bower of beauty. O, what a change for the better since 1866!"
MR. A. S. MALONEY,
is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. John Maloney, and has recently opened a law office in Waseca. His father, John Maloney, was born in the county Mayo, Ireland, 1829; he went to England in 1848 where he worked in a manufacturing plant two years; he came to America two years later, to near Scranton, Pa., where he resided until 1857. In 1854, he married Miss Bridget Nilan, at Binghamton, Pa. Mrs. Maloney was born in county Clare, Ireland, in 1835, and was fourteen years of age when she came to America. In 1857 the family came to Iosco where Mr. Maloney bought one hundred sixty acres of land. He also bought eighty acres in Blooming Grove. He carried on his farm until 1867, when he came to Waseca and went into business-kept for a time a bakery and grocery store and was proprietor of the "Old Minnesota House," a popular resort for farmers. His hotel was burned in 1888, after which he built his home on First street where he spent the remainder of his life as a private citizen, passing away Feb. 24, 1904. Mrs. Maloney, who survives him, was a worthy helpmeet, and encouraged him through all the hard- ships they endured in early days. John Maloney was always a vigorous champion of Ireland, and helped its onward progress whenever and wherever possible. Eleven children were born to them, six of whom are still living: Mrs. Henry Smith, of Byron, (deceased); Mrs. Geo. McGrath, of Renville county; Miss Beezie, teacher in the Minneapolis schools; Francis, Vincent and Albinus S., residents of Waseca. Albinus S. Ma- loney graduated from the law department of the State University June 1, 1904, and very soon after opened a law office in Waseca. At the last
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
two sessions of the legislature, he served as a legislative appointee upon the commendation of Senator Collester.
MR. GEORGE W. COMEE
is one of the pioneers of the city of Waseca, having become a resident there in 1867. He was born June 9, 1838, at Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y. In 1864 he went to Ashburnham, Mass., where he sojourned three years. In the spring of 1867, he came West, arriving in Waseca at its christening. He erected a building and opened a furniture store, in com- pany with Major Wm. C. Young in the fall of 1867. Capt. Helms suc- ceeded Major Young as partner. In 1873, S. S. Comee took the place of Mr. Helms, and the firm remained Comee Bros. until 1882 when the Waseca Furniture company was organized. After this company wound up its affairs, the firm name became Sawin & Comee. In 1904, Mr. Sawin sold his interest to Geo. W. and some time after Mr. Pfaff bought an in- terest and the firm name became Comee & Pfaff. Mr. Comee is one of our best citizens. Dec. 26, 1877, he married Mrs. Elizabeth L. Kittredge, widow of Fred Kittredge. She is a native of Ohio and one of the pioneers of this county. She had three daughters by her first husband: Mary Ab- bie, now Mrs. Kennedy, of Evanston, III .; Laura E., now Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Parker's Prairie, Ottertail county, Minn .; and Jessie C., now Mrs. Ed. Rausch, of Winona. Mr. Comee is a worthy member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow organizations of this city and a member of the Congre- gational society. So far in life he has been the soul of honor, true and trusty, a man worthy of all confidence.
SENATOR E. B. COLLESTER.
Hon. Eugene B. Collester is a native of Gardner, Mass., born Dec. 20, 1847. He attended the schools of that city, entered Amherst college and graduated therefrom in 1873. Soon after he took up his residence in New London, Conn., where he became principal of Bulkeley high school. This position he held until 1880 when he resigned and came to Waseca where he joined his half brother, Hon. M. D. L. Collester, and entered upon the practice of law. He married Miss Sarah Jane Holande, of Conn., April 6, 1875. They have one daughter, Alice, now Mrs. Meacham, who resides with her parents in Waseca. Mr. Collester has held numerous official positions: mayor of the city of Waseca in 1887; judge of probate from May, 1889, to Dec. 31, 1894; state senator from Jan. 1, 1895 to Dec. 31, 1899, and again in the fall of 1902 he was elected to the senate for four years. Senator Collester has the confidence of the people to a marked degree. He is a member of Comee Lodge I. O. O. F., and also of Tuscan Lodge No. 77, A. F. and A. M., of Waseca. He is also one of the leading lawyers of the county.
MR. BYRON G. SUTLIEF,
son of the first settler in the county, Mr. Asa G. Sutlief, is a native of 26
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
Wilton, born on the old homestead, Sept. 10, 1858, where he still resides. December 18, 1884, he married Miss Luverne Kerr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Kerr. She was born in St. Mary, this county, Oct. 1, 1863. te owns the oldest farm in the county, about two hundred acres, and is ex- tensively engaged in raising, buying, fattening, and selling hogs and cat- tle. He is wealthy and has an interesting family of children. Mr. Sut- lief is not only a well-to-do farmer, but he is interested in the New Rich- land bank, the Byron creamery, etc.
MR. WILLIAM BYRON.
Among the many who have helped to make Waseca county blossom as the rose, Mr. Wm. Byron, of St. Mary, occupies a conspicuous place. At the request of the author he gave the following sketch of his life:
"I was born and reared in the parish of Kitteely, county of Limerick, Ireland, in May, 1828. My brother John, who was five years older, came to America in 1846. I left Ireland March 12, 1851, and after a stormy voyage of seven weeks landed in New York, April 29. After a week of sight seeing there, I proceeded to Virginia via Philadelphia, Baltimore, city of Washington, Alexandria, Fairfax Court House and Warrenton, to Little Washington, at the foot of the Blue Ridge, where John Byron and Matt O'Brien had a contract of turnpike building from Little Washington to Waterloo, a distance of ten or twelve miles. We finished the turnpike that year, and in May, 1852, started across the Blue Ridge. At the top of the Ridge we took stage, crossed the Shenandoah bridge near where General Shields won a victory over the Confederates, passed through New Market and stopped at Staunton. After a week in Staunton, we again took stage and went to Christiansburg. We remained there two years building turnpike roads. In November, 1885, we started West on foot and went eighty miles to Charleston, now the Capital of West Virginia, then a little village of a few small houses and a small hotel. We then went down the Kanawha and Ohio rivers to Aurora, near Cincinnati, where I made the acquaintance of my wife that was to be. After a short stay there, we took the cars to Chicago. I concluded to see the 'far West' before venturing upon matrimony. John and his wife remained in Chicago, and I took the cars to Rock Island; crossed the river into Davenport, Iowa, and then traveled on foot forty miles to Lyons. The snow covered the grass among the bur-oaks, and I thought it the worst country I ever saw- wished I was back in Old Virginia. John and family soon came ou and we spent the winter in Lyons. In the spring, we hought two yoke of oxen, two cows, and two wagons, and on the 16th day of May, 1856, in company with the families of M. P. Fitzgerald, Michael McGonagle, and L. J. Fitz- gerald, started for Minnesota. We came through Freeborn county and for miles had nothing to guide us on the way except the sun and a slight Indian trail. After getting into Minnesota, we never saw a house or a hu- man being until we arrived at Peddler's Grove, Waseca county. We then went as far west as the Winnebago Agency, then turned and came back
74.
MR. AND MRS. WM. BYRON.
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
to St. Mary and camped on the hill where the St. Mary church now stands, June 18, 1856. That night we had a terrible battle with the mosquitoes. After resting a little we selected our claims, turned over some of the virgin sod, sowed a little buckwheat, made hay and in the fall built our log cabins. No one without the experience can know how we lahored and struggled along, and to young people our stories of the past seem incredible. In the fall of 1858, I gave a mortgage on forty acres of my land tor $40-all I could raise on it, the rate heing 'thirty-six per cent. in- terest from date till due, and sixty per cent from due till paid.' I soon saw that I never could make enough off the farm to pay it, so, in Nov. 1859, I went down the Mississippi river and was lucky enough to strike a job of 'bossing' on a levee at $60 per month. I married Miss Catha- rine O'Mara, April 12, 1860, at her father's home in Old Geneva, Ind., and at once returned to Minnesota. In 1862, during the Indian excite- ment, we used to gather at the house of John Byron for mutual protection. At one time there was a frenzied report that the Winnebago Indians were to 'break out that night.' Some ten families hitched up their ox teams, gathered together their valuables and, with the women and chil- dren, went into camp on the prairie east of where Mike McGonagle, Jr., now lives. We formed our wagons in a circle, camped inside the circle, placed pickets on guard and camped without a fire. Everything was quiet until toward morning when the dogs commenced to hark, and the pickets came running in with the cry-'They're coming! they're coming!' All was in commotion for a while. There were only three or four shot guns in camp, but every man was on one knee looking for Indians that never came. At the coming of daylight, we broke camp and all went back home. We all felt worn out for want of sleep, and I went to hed in my own cabin. I had not been in hed ten minutes before there was a knock on the door. I jumped, seized my gun, and demanded, 'Who is there?' A neighbor, and he too wanted sleep and so we slept a while. The week before I had sent my wife to Rochester on account of the Indian scare, and our second child was horn at that place a few days after the camp- ing incident.
I was elected town clerk in 1858, and held the office three different terms. I was justice of the peace one term, town supervisor three dir- ferent years, and county commissioner two terms, from 1869 to 1874. We built our first school house in 1861, and our first church in 1862. Rev. Father Keller, of Farihault, visited our church three or four times within the first year. The first person buried in the St. Mary burial ground was Mr. Morris. The next to he consigned to that ground was Michael O'Brien, who was killed by lightning in September, 1858. Ah! but that was the most terriffic thunder I ever heard."
MR. JOHN REIBOLD.
John Reibold, Sr., was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, July 31, 1830. He came to America in 1849 and lived in Fonda, N. Y., until 1860, when
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
he came to Minnesota. He was at Northfield on the day that Lincoln was elected, and came on to St. Mary the next day. Oct. 1, 1851, he married Miss Mary Baldwin, and to them four children were born: Peter, (deceased) horn in 1853; Thomas, now of St. Mary, July 7, 1855; John, Jr., July 27, 1857; Johanna, July 24, 1861, who married Thomas Burns. Mrs. Reibold died March 21, 1864. The following July 4, he married Miss Margaret McWaide, sister of Mr. John McWaide, of Tosco. She died Jan. 28, 1903, at the Rochester asylum. For several years he worked, and "worked mighty hard," for $15 a month and boarded himself, and upon so small a pittance he and his family managed to live. His wife kept some poultry, and his employer would occasionally make him a present of a little flour. In later years the proprietor of the mill raised his wages to the magnificent sum of $20 a month and one barrel of flour a year, Mr. Reibold to board himself. What would young men of to-day think of such a wage?
John Reibold, Jr., was born at Fonda, N. Y., July 27, 1857, and came to St. Mary with his father in 1860. He learned the blacksmith trade at Mankato, when a lad. He then came to Waseca, worked as a journeyman for some years and finally rented the Roland shop then standing on the southwest corner of Wood and Third streets, and opened shop for himself. That was twenty-two years ago. In 1884 he formed a co-partnership with Theo. Brown and they carried on business at what is now known as Reibold's foundry and shops for five years, when Mr. Reibold became sole proprietor. About nine years ago he bought a half interest in the Crane foundry, and three years later bought the remaining interest of Mr. Crane. He is now sole proprietor of a flourishing husiness. He married Miss Mary McDermott, May 20, 1882. They have one son, Wm. J., born July i, 1884, who is now a stenographer in the employ of the Minneapolis Iron Store Co., dealers in heavy hardware. Thomas Reibold, brother of John, is a prosperous farmer of St. Mary, and has an interesting and intelligent family.
HONORABLE D. S. CUMMINGS.
Dr. D. S. Cummings is now the oldest resident physician in Waseca. He is son of Dr. D. J. Cummings, deceased, one of the pioneer physicians of Hastings, in this state. Our Doctor Cummings was born in Otsego coun- ty, N. Y., Nov. 17, 1850. When he was six years of age his parents came to the territory of Minnesota and became residents of Hastings. D. S. at- tended the public schools of Hastings, speut one year at the Shattuck school, Faribault, studied two years at the Cooperstown, N. Y., academy, took a course in medicine and surgery at the Ann Arbor, Mich., univer- sity, and graduated at the Northwestern Medical college, of Chicago. He practiced medicine for a time with his father in Hastings, and then came to Waseca, in 1876. He at once became popular with our people and very soon enjoyed an extensive practice. His first public service was that of county superintendent of schools. He held this office for four years,
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CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
from 1882 to 1886. In 1888 he was elected mayor of the city of Waseca, and again in 1889 and 1890. After an intermission of three years, he was again elected mayor in 1893. He succeeded himself each year until and including 1896. It was during these four years and under his administra- tion that the water and light systems of the city were installed. He has been president of the board of education of the city "since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." He is a man of public spirit and ot marked ability and has the happy faculty of often harmonizing conflict- ing interests.
Oct. 6, 1897, he was married to Miss Mattie Ward, an accomplished daughter of Hon. W. G. Ward. They are the parents of two boys.
For years Dr. Cummings has been the local surgeon and physician of both the railroads crossing at Waseca. He has also had charge of the construction of the local telephone lines in and about Waseca since the local telephone company was organized. His capacity for hard work seems to be almost unlimited, as he employs no stenographer or assist- ant.
MR. NATHANIEL GARLAND.
This gentleman was the first sheriff of Waseca county. He was ap- pointed by Governor Gorman in the spring of 1857; in June of the same year, at the time of choosing the county seat, he was elected sheriff and held the office for two years. He then went to Iowa and engaged in the sheep business. He returned to Wilton in 1864 and engaged in the mer- cantile business in company with John Forrest, also one of the early set- tlers of the county. About 1868 he sold out in Wilton and opened a meat market in Waseca in company with J. A. Claghorn. He followed this busi- ness until his death, July 26, 1880. Mr. Garland was born April 5, 1827, at Kingston, New Hampshire; and came to Waseca county in 1856. He mar- ried Miss Ladorna P. Dodge Feh. 3, 1864, at Wilton. Miss Dodge was born in Owego, New York, April 27, 1842, and came to this county with her par- ents in the spring of 1857. Two sons were born to them. Harold N. was born in Wilton, June 26, 1867, and died of consumption in California, Feb. 26, 1893. Ralph D. was horn in Wilton, April 19, 1869. He attended our public schools and learned the tinner's trade with his uncle, Hon. P. C. Bailey. He afterwards became a partner of Mr. Bailey and is now the active member of the popular hardware firm of Bailey & Garland. On the 14th day of June 1899, he was united in marriage with Miss Blanche Stewart, who was born in Waseca, Nov. 3, 1873. They have one daughter, Helen, now five years of age. They live in a very pretty, mod -. est home on Lake avenue. Mr. Garland was alderman from the Second ward for several years, and declined a re-election in 1905.
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