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 68
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
The grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Werdin now number twenty- six, and the great-grandchildren, three.
Mrs. Henrietta Werdin, the widowed mother, will be seventy years of age on her next birthday. She resides with her daughter in Minneapolis, and is in the enjoyment of good health.
MR. FERDINAND W. WERDIN,
who was born Sept. 16, 1855, in Prussia, was married in October, 1878, to Miss Anna Roesler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Roesler, of Woodville. Mr. Werdin is a prominent business man in Glenwood, Pope county, Minn. He is the father of three sons and three daughters. His eldest daughter Blanche is now Mrs. Commings.
MR. HENRY J. WERDIN,
who was born Jan. 29, 1858, in St. Mary, Minn., was married to Miss Bertha Seewald, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. Seewald, of Iosco, Dec. 10, 1880. Mr. Werdin owns a fine farm in Alton near Alma City. His family is composed of five sons-Edward Theodore, Benjamin Henry, John B., Henry J., Jr., and Ernest C .- and three daughters-Dorothy, (now Mrs. Gottschalk), Laura, and Tillle.
MR. HENRY GEHRING.
Mr. and Mrs. Gottfried Gehring came to this county in 1863-first liv-
751
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
ing in the town of St. Mary and afterwards in Wilton on section 13 where they now reside. Gottfried was for many years chairman of the board of supervisors of Wilton. He was always a very successful farmer. Mr. Henry Gehring, one of his sons, is also a prominent farmer. He was born in Marquette county, Wis., Dec. 25, 1857, and came to Minnesota with his parents in 1863. He married Miss Augusta Michaelis, daughter of John Michaelis, of New Richland. Augusta was born in Germany, Sept. 8, 1866. She came to America with her parents in 1869. They first lived in Marquette county, Wis., and then came to New Richland in this county in June, 1875. Henry and Augusta were married Dec. 5, 1885, and have eight children, four sons and four daughters. They have a comfortable home and a well improved farm.
MR. JAMES M. HANLEY.
Mr. Hanley is one of the rising young men of the West, and is now practicing law at Mandan, N. D. He was born at Winona, Minn., January 6, 1877; graduated at Kasson, Minn., high school June, 1893; resided in Waseca from June 1893 to January 1903; attended Carleton college in 1894-95; commenced the study of law with Hon. Peter McGovern, in Wa- seca, in June 1895, and was city recorder of Waseca during Mayor Moon- an's administration in 1897-8. He was ready to take the bar examination in the spring of 1898, but enlisted in Company K, of the Twelfth Minnesota regiment, and went South. He took the state board examination shortly after his regiment was mustered out, at the age of twenty-one, and was admitted to the bar in 1899. He was deputy state oil inspector from January, 1899, to June 1900. At the state democratic convention of 1900, he was elected as alternate delegate to the St. Louis national convention. He was a member of the democratic, First Congressional district central committee and its secretary in 1902. He was secretary of the Waseca county agricultural society from 1900 to 1902, and a member of the Waseca board of health in 1902. He removed to Mandan, N. D., in 1903, and formed the law partnership of Voss & Hanley. He married Miss Irma Lewis, of Waseca, March 3, 1903. She was born in Waseca, July 10, 18Yo, being the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. S. Lewis, early settlers of Waseca. Her father, in his lifetime, was one of the leading attorneys of Southern Minnesota, and always a prominent and influential citizen of Waseca. Mr. and Mrs. Hanley have one child, a son, born April 22, 1905.
THE HONORABLE PETER McGOVERN,
the oldest law practitioner in the county, was born in Watertown, Wis- consin, Oct. 9, 1845, of Irish parentage. He attended the public schools, took an academic course and graduated from the law department of the Wisconsin State University in 1871. He came to Waseca in 1872, and opened a law office. In 1873 he was elected county attorney and in 1874 state senator, serving two years in the latter position. He was county
752
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
attorney from 1884 to 1888; from 1892 to 1894; and also from 1896 to 1898. In the fall of 1898 he was again elected to the state senate and served four years. In the fall of 1902 he was democratic candidate for congressman from the First district and made a strong campaign. At various times he has been city attorney, and holds that position at the present time. He is also one of the board of education of Waseca. In 1883 he married Miss Minnie Gilmore, a native of Canada; they are the parents of five children.
MR. WILLIAM GRUNWALD.
One of the substantial farmers of St. Mary is Mr. Grunwald, who was born in Prussia, April 9, 1866, and came to America in May 1872. He worked in and near Waseca as farm hand and laborer several years. He was married to Miss Dora Prechel, of St. Mary, March 22, 1889. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gottlieb Prechel, now deceased, settled in St. Mary in 1855, and she was born March 22, 1868. Mr. Grunwald lived in Waseca until Dec. 9, 1891, when he moved to the farm where the family now reside .- In 1897, he added another eighty acre lot to the farm making in all about two hundred forty acres of very fine land. They are the parents of six children: Edwin A., born August 27, 1890; Elsie R., born Nov. 4, 1892; Lilian F., Feb. 20, 1895; John G., May 5, 1898; Henry W., Nov. 21, 1900; and Adeline E., Nov. 3, 1903.
THE HONORABLE KELSEY CURTIS.
This gentleman who was one of the early settlers at Alma City. was born in the state of Connecticut Nov. 8, 1825. He married Eliza R. Sutliffe April 11, 1848. She was also a native of the Nutmeg state and was born in the year 1824. Four hoys and four girls were born to them, but only two sons and two daughters are now living. Though Mr. Curtis followed blacksmithing in younger life, he was engaged in the sale of merchandise while in Alma City. Some years ago, in consequence of failing health, he retired from active business and has since resided in Janesville. He represented Waseca county in the house of representa- tives in the sessions of 1872 and 1876. He served as justice of the peace for many years and has always been popular with the people.
MR. ANDERS LIANE.
This successful, New Richland farmer was born May 16, 1845, in Uper Sansver, Norway. He remained in his native land until April 27, 1870, when ne sailed for America, landing in New York the 14th day of the following May. He arrived in Dane county, Wis., May 21, and at once entered the employ of a farmer. Jan. 23, 1874, he united in marriage with Miss Dorothea Brotten, who was born in Norway, May 4. 1849, and who came to Dane county, Wis., in May 1873. Both were natives of the same town. They came by team to New Richland, arriving June 7, 1875. That year he bought eighty acres of land and opened a farm. He now
753
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
owns three hundred twenty-six acres in section 39, well improved. He is the father of ten living children and two boys who died in infancy. He nas held the office of town supervisor and is now town and school- district treasurer. The names of his children are as follows: Caroline, now Mrs. Paska, of Ransom county, N. D .; Oluf, married and on the farm; Christine, now Mrs. Christianson, of New Richland; Nels, Sam, Karl, Albert, Daniel, Potter, and Dora, all at home. His success in life should be an inspiration to young men everywhere.
MR. DANIEL DINNEEN,
son of John Dinneen, was born in the town of Byron, Oct. 29, 1866. He is now one of the mail carriers from New Richland. His father, John Dinneen, is a native of Ireland, born in June 1828. He came to America in 1850, landing in New York. He remained in the East until about 1858 when he came to Waseca county. He married Mary Burke in February, 1856, and they have been the parents of five sons and three daughters. The elder Mr. Dinneen at first took one hundred sixty acres of land and after- wards bought three hundred twenty acres more, making a large farm. Some years ago he retired from active business, and now resides in Waseca.
MR. OTTO L. LUECK,
now of Augusta, Wisconsin, formerly of this county, was born in Min- neapolis, Oct. 19, 1876, but was reared in Waseca county. He enlisted in Company D, 16th U. S. infantry, at Seattle, Wash., March 25, 1898, served in the Philippines with rank of corporal, and was honorably dis- charged at San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 8, 1900. He married Miss Amy Blodgett April 30, 1902. They have two children: Madyline, born June 20, 1906, and Livingston, born Jan. 25, 1905. Otto is a grandson of Mr. Rudolph Babler, one of the early settlers of Woodville. Fils mother is now Mrs. George Irvine, of Woodville.
MR. ORLANDO M. SIMONS,
of Janesville, one of the fathers of Waseca county, was born June 12, 1821, at South New Berlin, Chenango county, N. Y. He married Miss Phoebe Stenson Oct. 30, 1845. She was born April 21, 1824, at Gilberts- ville, Oswego county, N. Y. About two weeks after their marriage, they moved to Berlin, Erie county, Ohio. They came to Minnesota, to the town of Janesville in 1859. They endured many hardships on the jour- ney and arrived November 5. They soon after settled on their claim near Elysian. They were here during the hard times of 1859-60, and at the time of the Indian massacre. He was a wagon and carriage maker by trade, but followed farming after he began his residence in Minnesota. Mr. Simons passed to his final rest June 27, 1905, aged eighty-four years and fifteen days, of heart failure. He had been ill about two weeks. His widow, two sons and five daughters survive him. The sons and daugh-
754
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
ters are T. A. Simons, Mrs. John Williams, Mrs. J. Bignall, Mrs. C. N. Smith, Mrs. Clarence Thwing, of Chetek, Wis., P. R. Simons, and Mrs. P. Galagan, the last of LeSueur Center.
Mr. Simons was always a temperate, honorable, upright man, an affec- tionate husband, a kind parent, a good citizen, and an accommodating neighbor. It is said of him that he died without an enemy.
MR. JULIUS GEHRING.
This gentleman is to "the Manor born," being a native of Waseca county and the second Christmas boy in the family, having been horn Dec. 25, 1866-his brother Henry being just nine years of age at the time. Amelia Bethke, daughter of August Bethke, of Woodville, deceased, was horn in Germany, Feb. 8, 1870. She married Julius Gehring May 24, 1894, and has borne him three sons and two daughters. They have a pleasant little farm in Wilton, their house being on the old John C. Hunter residence block of the old village of Wilton. The site belonged to the William Rodale estate at the time of Mr. Roddle's death.
MR. PHILIP GEHRING,
son of Gottfried Gehring, of Wilton, was born in the town of St. Mary, Jan. 12, 1864. He lived on the farm with his parents until 1886, when he came to Waseca and worked as a cabinet maker for some time, after- wards learning the painter's trade. He opened a paint shop and com- menced business for himself in 1892. He afterwards formed a copartner- ship with Mr. Klohe in the paint and paper-hanging business. Mr. Geh- ring served as alderman of the first ward of Waseca four years. Nov. 5, 1892, he married Miss Annie Tetzloff, of Janesville. She was born in Germany, March 9, 1873, and came to America in 1880. Her parents first lived in Janesville village and four years later on a farm in Janesville township. Mr. and Mrs. Gehring have eight children, three boys and five girls.
MR. B. J. LILLY.
This gentleman represents the Old Reliable Continental Fire Insur- ance company, and is a life-time resident of the county. He was born at Lacon, Ill., on Feb. 9, 1856. He is a son of Terrence Lilly, deceased, and came to this county with his parents in 1857. He was reared a farmer, and resided on his farm in Alton until 1895 when he came to Waseca and engaged in the insurance business. He married Miss Nellie G. Sheehan, daughter of Mr. Dennis Sheehan, an early settler, Nov. 9, 1887. She was born in Detroit, Mich., on January 28, 1863, although her parents' home was in St. Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Lilly are the parents of three daughters: Anastasia M., born October 11, 1888; Evelin L., horn April 24, 1892; Mar- cella, born Jan. 31, 1901.
WASECA FENCE TOOL COMPANY.
-
...
755
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
MR. EMIL SAHLER,
of Woodville, farmer and inventor, was born in Baraboo, Wis., June 28, 1859. He came to Clinton Falls, Minnesota, with his parents in 1869, and lived there until 1884. Emil Sahler and Miss Minnie Krassin were married June 15, 1882. Minnie is a daughter of the late Christian Kras- sin, of St. Mary, and was born Dec. 6, 1860. They own a farm of two hundred acres, and have growing thereon, fourteen hundred fruit trees, mostly apple and improved plum. They have a grove of five acres about the house, consisting of Norway poplars, evergreens, and soft maples. Including the orchard, they have ahout sixteen acres devoted to trees. They are also engaged in dairying and general farming. Mr. Sahler is the inventor of the "Boss Fence Tools." He is also a prominent member of the Minnesota horticultural society, and has invented a number of fruit picking implements. Mr. and Mrs. Sahler are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters; Christian, born Dec. 3, 1888; Emma, born Nov. 15, 1890; Lizzie, born July 9, 1898. They have one of the largest and finest fruit orchards in the state, and as they are hard work- ers, thev realize a comfortable income.
"WASECA FENCE TOOL COMPANY."
This company was organized about the first of March, 1905, by Emil Sahler, the inventor, and Mr. Harry P. Shafer, with headquarters in Waseca, Minn. Mr. Sahler calls his invention the "Boss Fence Tool." This invention of five tools in one is for stretching wire on wire fences, mending wire fences, pulling and driving staples, etc. It has been patented and on recent improvements patent has been applied for. He has also invented a cow-tail holder whereby the milker, in fly time, can prevent the cow from switching her tail in his face or throwing dirt into the milk. Agents for the sale of these simple, yet valuable implements, are operat- ing in many of the western states, and within the first six months of the company business, they disposed of some twenty-five thousand fence tool implements. The company give liberal terms to agents. In the office picture, Mr. Sahler, the inventor, sits next to the door on the left hand side with a hammer and wire-stretcher in his hands, and Mr. Shafer, business manager, sits opposite him near the office desk.
MR. OWEN LILLY,
of Alton, one of its wealthy farmers, was born in Enniskillen, Ireland, in 1844; he came to America with his parents in 1849, and to unis county in 1857. In April 1883, he married Miss Johanna Fitzgibbon whose parents were among the very early settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Lilly are the parents of one son and two daughters.
PATRICK FARRELL,
of Woodville, is another of the early pioneers. Born in 1831, he came to America from West Meath county, Ireland, in 1847, when sixteen
756
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
years of age. He spent one year in New York, eight years in Indiana, and on the last day of August, 1857, came to Woodville. John Forrest and Wm. M. Green then owned and operated a steam saw mill at the foot of the hill on the road from Waseca to the south shore of Clear Lake. This looked like business and Mr. Farrell concluded to make his home here. He was married to Miss Julia Egan, June 9, 1857, a few days be- fore starting for Minnesota. Ten children were horn to them, only four of whom are living. Mrs. Farrell died some years ago. His son Lewis was born in Woodville, in 1858, and now lives in South Dakota. Two daughters reside in Minneapolis, and one daughter, Mrs. John Keeley, resides with her husband on the old homestead.
MR. EDWIN R. STEVENS
was born in Washara county, Wis., Oct. 29, 1859. He came to Vivian, this county, with his parents, who settled there in October, 1863, the next year after the Indian massacre. The family moved to Wilton in 1866, his father carrying on blacksmithing there for some years. Edwin went to Lake Benton in 1880, where he made his home until 1895. Nov. 30, 1892, he married Miss Lura A. Gray, daughter of the late Wm. H. Gray, an early settler of Woodville and an old soldier, now deceased. Lura was born in Woodville Nov. 11, 1866. In 1895 Mr. and Mrs. Stevens re- turned to Woodville and lived on a farm, east of Waseca, which they carried on until the spring of 1900, when they moved into Waseca. Since Aug. 11, 1902, Mr. Stevens has been mail carrier on route No. 2. Of Mr. Stevens' brothers and sisters, Franklin J. resides in Moorhead, Minn .; Olive A., Mrs. B. F. Roddle, and Fannie R., Mrs. W. H. Roddle, reside in Brookings, S. D .; Walter, in Waseca: Florence, Mrs. Mudgett, at Chatta- nooga, T'enn .; Charles F. enlisted March 24, 1864, and died at Helena, Ark., Sept. 1, 1864, of disease contracted in the service.
MR. CHARLES P. SPILLANE.
This active young attorney was born in Faribault county, Minn., March 15, 1873, and was brought to Woodville by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pat- rick Spillane, in 1875. He was reared on his father's farm, but upon reach- ing his majority, entered the law office of Hon. John Moonan of Waseca, as a student. He went to North Dakota in the spring of 1901. Nov. 27, of the same year, he married Miss Agnes I. Moonan, a native of this county, daughter of Mr. Patrick Moonan, who was an early settler. They returned to Waseca in 1903, and went to live in New Richland in the fall of the same year. Mr. Spillane was admitted to the bar in North Dakota in 1902, and is in active practice at New Richland. He is chairman of the democratic county central committee, and holds the office of deputy oil inspector for this county. He was a very strong supporter of W. J. Bryan during the campaigns of 1896 and 1900.
.
FARM BUILDINGS OF MR. AND MRS. E. SAHLER.
757
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
E. R. CONNER AND FAMILY.
This gentleman and his family were among the early settlers in Blooming Grove. Mr. Conner was born in Indiana, Feb. 17, 1814. His wife, Sarah (Lilly) Conner, was born in West Virginia, Dec. 16, 1824, and died in South Dakota, Jan. 3, 1900. 'f'hey were married in Indiana March 13, 1845. Twelve children, six sons and six daughters, were born to them. Three of the daughters died before reaching maturity. The family came to Waseca county with ox teams and covered wagons, arriving June 11, 1856, hoping thereby to escape the malaria, which was prevalent in Hoo- sierdom. They were six long, weary weeks in making the toilsome journey. Two of the sons enlisted in the Union army. John G. enlisted at the age of eighteen years in Company H, Third Minnesota regiment, and died at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. James L. enlisted Dec. 20, 1861, at the age of sixteen years, and served until July 19, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Conner were noted for their hospitality. All the early farm settlers in the south part of this county will remember their many acts of kindness. On one occasion Capt. E. A. Rice (afterwards major) and ahout twelve of his men were caught in a heavy snow storm when going from Wilton to Ft. Snelling, and arrived at the Conner place at night. There was also a clergyman and a student from Faribault along. They all asked to re- main over night. There was but one room in the log house and not a large one at that, but they all gathered in and most of them slept on the floor. Mrs. Conner gave them supper and was up nearly all night mak- ing ready for breakfast. The family experienced all the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life. In 1883 Mr. Conner sold out and removed to South Dakota with his family, so that the boys might secure farms in that then new country. At this writing, 1905, he is still living in that state.
Mrs. J. W. Cleland, whose maiden name was Amanda C. Conner, is a daughter of E. R., and was born in Indiana, Sept. 11, 1852. She taught school for several years before she married Mr. J. W. Cleland, Oct. 3, 1877. [A sketch of Mr. Cleland's life is given elsewhere in this work.] Mrs. Cleland has four sons: Edgar J., born May 16, 1884; Spencer B., born Dec. 20, 1886; Jay Conner, born Dec. 21, 1889; and Ralph E., horn July 20, 1893. Her home is pleasantly situated on the west shore of Clear Lake.
MR. JOHN CARMODY, SEN.
This man of rugged honesty is a native of Ireland, born in County Kerry, in the year 1821. He came to America with his parents in 1835 and lived on a farm in New York until 1843. That year he came with his parents to Wisconsin, and made his home on a farm in Milwaukee county. He married Miss Mary Purcel in September, 1851, and they continued their residence in Wisconsin until 1867, when they came to Waseca county and bought the Noah Lincoln farm on section 26, in Wilton, where Mr. Carmody still resides. Mrs. Carmody died Feb. 11, 1885,
758
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
mourned by all who knew her. Eight children were born to them, two of whom died in infancy. John, Jr., is a lawyer and resides at Hillsboro, N. D. Mary is the wife of lur. John Curran, of Woodville, and was mar- ried to him Nov. 9, 1876. Margaret married John Murphy, of Byron, May 16, 1882. Thomas, Eliza, and Julia are living at the old home, which is one of the oldest and best farms in the county. It was first taken by Chris. Scott in February 1855, and contains prairie and timber land and running water.
MR. JAMES B. HAYDEN,
a war veteran, born in Ireland Nov. 30, 1840, son of Peter and Anna Hay- den, came to Canada with his parents when he was two years of age, and thence to Wisconsin, where, in 1862, Jan. 2, he was mustered into Company H, Seventeenth Wisconsin infantry, in which he served until May 5, 1865. He was in a number of battles, and at Atlanta received a wound in his left wrist, which has largely deprived him of the use of his arm. He went to live in Alton in 1865, and was elected clerk of court in the fall of 1871, holding the office for twelve years. He was express agent in Waseca for a few years and then received an appointment in one of the departments at Washington where he remained until the year 1904, when he retired from business, his health not being very good. His wife was Miss Goff, of Alton, and they have several children grown to maturity. Mr. Ed Hayden, of Alton, prominent as an ardent and con- sistent Populist, and.a successful farmer, is James' brother. He settled in Alton in 1865.
MR. JENS T. DAHLE,
born March 5, 1839, in Norway, came to America in 1858, and to Minne- sota soon after, working at whatever he could find to do. Jan. 22, 1862, he enlisted in the second company of Minnesota sharpshooters. He was afterwards transferred to the "Old First Minnesota," participating in all the bloody battles of the Chickahominy, and also the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor and Deep Bottom. He was captured at Ream's Station August 24, 1864, and taken to the rebel prison pens of Lihby and Belle Isle, Va., and Salisbury, N. C. He was finally paroled, reaching the Union lines March 13, 1865. He was then in very poor health, and was sent to the parole camp at Annapolis, Md., and from there to St. Louis in a box car. At St. Louis he obtained. a furlough and went to Chicago, where he became very ill and entered the hospital where he remained for some time. Getting better to some extent, he came on to St. Paul where he received his discharge. He then engaged in the grocery business at Faribault for two years, and then bought the Philo Woodruff farm in Blooming Grove where he has since resided. He married Miss Anna Olena Seim whose parents came from Norway. They have a very pleasant home.
759
CHILD'S HISTORY OF WASECA COUNTY.
FATHER SCHUETTE
and his sons were among the early settlers of Blooming Grove. The mother died in 1868 and the father in 1883. Edward Schuette was or- dained a German Methodist clergyman at the age of twenty. Julius E. Schuette married Henrietta Saufferer, daughter of Hon. John L. Sauf- ferer, in 1878. A. H., John H., brothers of Julius, and William E., a nephew, all live in the same neighborhood, in Blooming Grove, and all have well improved farms.
MR. J. C. JOHNSON,
is a son of Carl Johnson who moved to section 19, Blooming Grove, May 17, 1857. Carl Johnson, the father, was born in Sweden, Sept. 22, 1825, and came to America in 1853, landing at New York Oct. 22. He came West to Milwaukee, Wis., and from there went to Rockford, Ill., where he worked some two years. He next went into the Wisconsin pineries where he remained two years and then came to Minnesota. He married Miss Julia Johnson, of Vivian, July 16, 1862. She was born in Norway in February 1825, and came to America in 1853. She came to Vivian with her married sister in 1858. From there she walked all the way to Faribault where she worked until a short time before her marriage. Of such courageous stock come the sons and daughters of Waseca county. John C. and Christina are the only children and they are kindly caring for their father in his declining years. They have a very pleasant, com- fortable home, and are highly esteemed by their neighbors. On May 18, 1896, John C. Johnson married Miss Emma Lee, daughter of Aleck Lee, of Blooming Grove. They have four sons-the oldest eight and the youngest three years of age.
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.