USA > Minnesota > Polk County > Compendium of history and biography of Polk County, Minnesota > Part 27
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Mr. Anderson has, however, taken a very active and helpful part in the public affairs of Polk county in times past and has never lost any degree of his cordial and judicious interest in the county's growth and improvement. Ile was the first township clerk
of Grand Forks, Huntsville and Rhinehart townships, his jurisdiction extending over the present city of East Grand Forks, and he held the office of clerk of Grand Forks township continuously until 1913 and that of school director of District No. 2 in that town- ship for thirty-six years. He was also a charter mem- ber of the First Presbyterian church of Grand Forks, and is now an elder of the Mendahall Presbyterian church in East Grand Forks.
Mr. Anderson was first married April 8, 1874, to Miss Mary Patterson. They had four children, Charles II., Margaret J., Aaron L. and John H. The mother of these children died in Grand Forks town- ship August 4, 1898, and on December 19, 1906, the father contracted a second marriage which united him with Miss Jennie Rintoul, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, but long resident in this country. Like her husband, Mrs. Anderson is held in high esteem for her genuine worth and her warm and serviceable in- terest in everything that contributes to the welfare of Polk county and the Northwest in general.
AUGUST AKERLUND.
Since March 18, 1879, Angust Akerlund has lived in Crookston and been actively and profitably engaged in contracting and building and general carpenter and cabinetmaking work. He has done his part in help- ing to develop and improve the city and surrounding country, and many of the substantial buildings now standing in this part of the state are monuments to his industry and ability as a builder. He was born in Sweden August 8, 1845, and learned the trade of a cabinetmaker in that country, where he remained
until 1869, when he emigrated to this country, reach- ing New York November 23.
With his arrival in this country began a new era in the life of Mr. Akerlund. The West attracted him and he located at Whitehall, Illinois, and there worked at bridge building for about three years. He then changed his base of operations to Dubnque, Iowa, where he passed one year building bridges for the railroads. From Dubuque he moved to Bellevue, Iowa, and in that locality he turned his attention to
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factory work and house building and followed these lines until he came to Crookston, arriving March 18, 1879.
Mr. Akerlund was married at Bellevue, Iowa, May 4, 1874, to Miss Anna Louisa Turneblad, whose life began in Sweden July 24, 1855. They have three chil- dren, Augusta, Charles and Almer. Charles is a mail carrier in Crookston, and Almer is working with and
under the instructions of his father. The father owns 160 acres of land in Pennington county, Minnesota, and the building in which he carries on his business was erected by himself. He has always taken a cor- dial interest in the welfare of the city and county of his home, and the people respect him highly for his upright life, public spirit and sterling manhood.
MEDRIC COLLIN.
Through many trials and difficulties and a variety of occupations Medric Collin, who is now one of the successful and prosperous merchants of Crookston, has made his way by persistent industry, frugality, pluck and good management to his present condition of prominence in business and substantial comfort in a worldly way. He is the proprietor of the well known and popular Crookston Supply honse, with which he has been connected about twenty-three years and which he has owned and condueted for about three years.
Mr. Collin is a native of the Province of Quebec, Canada, where he was born August 9, 1860, and where he lived until he reached the age of twenty-eight, and was engaged in farming during the greater part of the time. When he left his native land he took up his residence in Minneapolis, and there he lived and was variously employed until the autumn of 1892. In No- vember of that year he came to Crookston and entered
into partnership with his brother, F. X. Collin, and together they carried on an active mercantile business for about twelve years under the firm name of Collin Bros.
At the end of the period named the partnership was dissolved and the brother retired from the busi- ness. Since then it has been wholly owned and car- ried on by Mr. Collin of this sketch.
Mr. Collin's store is widely and favorably known through this part of Minnesota as the Crookston Sup- ply house, and is especially well esteemed for the ex- tensive stock of general merchandise which it carries, the superior quality of its goods, the upright and pro- gressive manner in which its operations are conducted and the enterprise which keeps it always up to date in the style, quality and general excellence of its iner- chandise. Mr. Collin stands well in the community and deserves the esteem bestowed upon him.
CHRISTIAN T. BROWN.
The dairy business has grown to great proportions in the Northwest and become very active. It sup- plies some of the wants and meets several of the requirements of a vast number of persons, inereasing with the growth of the country and keeping pace with the ever expanding demands for its service. One of its enterprising and progressive representatives in this part of the country is Christian T. Brown, of
Crookston, who has been engaged in it in that city since the fall of 1886.
Mr. Brown was born in Norway, July 31, 1845, and was reared and educated in his native land, where he remained until 1882, following farming as his prin- cipal occupation. In August of the year last men- tioned he emigrated to the United States, landing at New York. He eame at once to Crookston, and during
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the next three years he was employed in various ways to his advantage. In 1886 he started a mercantile career in the dairy trade, and in this he has ever since been actively and profitably engaged.
Some years before leaving his native land Mr. Brown was married there to Miss Mary S. Johanason, the marriage being solemnized in 1874 in Christiania, the capital city of the country. Mrs. Brown was also a Norwegian by nativity and was born in 1851. They have had eleven children, four of whom have died.
Three passed away in infancy, and a daughter named Josephine died February 17, 1904, when she was twenty-six years old. The children who are living arc: Anna, who is the wife of Jacob Knudson, of Minneapolis; Julia, whose home is in Montana; Thea and Carl J., who are living at home; Sophia, who is the wife of James Calverwell, of the state of Wash- ington ; Mary, who is a teacher in Polk county, and Minnie, who is also living at home.
JOHN A. JOHNSON.
The city of Crookston, which is the home of Jolin A. Johnson, one of the leading carpenters of Pelk county, and the country surrounding that eity contain many evidences of the most substantial character of the productive usefulness of his life and his skill as a mechanic. For he has erected a large number of houses in the city and its vicinity, and they all stand forth visibly and tangibly to his credit. He was born at Smolands, Sweden, December 18, 1855, and re- mained in that country until 1882, growing to man- hood on his father's farm and then learning his trade as a carpenter and working for some years in a sash #
In the summer of 1882 Mr. Johnson emigrated to the United States, landing at New York and coming at onee to Polk county. He took up his residence at Fisher's Landing, but moved to Crookston at once, and in this eity he has since resided. He has made
working at his trade and contraeting in the ereetion of buildings his principal oeeupation throughout his residenee in this county, and he has reached a high rank in his business. He is also esteemed as a pro- gressive and publie-spirited eitizen deeply interested in the welfare of his home community.
Mr. Johnson was married in his native plaee Sep- tember 27, 1875, to Miss Augusta Johnson, who was of the same nativity as himself and born April 19, 1856. They have had twelve children, one of whom died in infauey. Those living are Mary, Pauline, Ida, Amelia, Albert, Gustav, Louisa, Esther, Eliza- beth, Ella and Elmer. The parents are active mem- bers of the Swedish Lutheran ehirch, and the chil- dren have been reared in the same faith. All the members of the family stand well in popular esteem and are deservedly respeeted.
and door factory.
KNUTE E. MESSELT.
Having followed the voeation of a farmer in his native land of Norway, where his life began Deeem- ber 16, 1836, and in two counties of this state in sue- cession, through a long eareer of useful and pro- duetive labor, Knute E. Messelt of Winger, this county, has rendered good service to two of the pro- gressive countries of the world and has lived in cach according to the requirements of upright and manly citizenship.
Mr. Messelt remained in his native land until 1869 and was married there November 25, 1860, to Miss Gertrude Halvordater Evenstad, also a native of Nor- way and born May 3, 1841.
In 1869 Mr. Messelt brought his wife and the two children they then had to the United States and lo- cated in Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he lived for about fifteen years. In November, 1883, he eame to Polk county and took up a homestead in Winger
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township. On this tract of land he lived and labored, cultivating and improving his farm and ereeting good buildings on it, until the fall of 1914, when he re- tired from active work and moved to Winger. Ile and his wife have had three children, Herman K., Ingmar K. and Carl G. Ingmar died at Mentor, Polk county, November 26, 1902. The other two are living.
Carl G. Messelt was married at Winger Deeem- ber 18, 1912, to Miss Ellen Stai, a native of Winger
and the danghter of Engebret Stai of Winger town- ship. They have one child, their son Conrad E. Carl has filled school and other offices in the township, and has won the esteem of the people by his sturdy and sterling citizenship and devotion to the welfare of his locality. He and his wife are zealous and consistent members of the Synod Lutheran church. A separate sketch of Mrs. Carl Messelt will be found in this volume.
ORIN DANIELS.
Orin Daniels, of Crookston, ex-sheritt of Polk county and a retired farmer, was born August 17, 1874, in Dane county, Wisconsin, and came to Minnesota with his parents when eight years of age. He is the son of Annn and Tone (Bergland) Daniels, the latter a native of Dane county, Wisconsin. Anun Daniels was born in Illinois and engaged in farming in Wisconsin, where he enlisted in the service of his country during the Civil war and was an officer in his company. In 1882 he came to Polk county and located on govern- ment land near Crookston, which he developed into a prosperous farm property and sold in 1891. Ile is now living, at the close of a useful and active career, in Spokane, Washington. Orin Daniels is the only one of the family of eight sons and a daughter, who resides in Minnesota. He was reared on his father's homestead and received his education in the public schools of the county and for a number of years de-
voted his attention to farming activities, his first association with official service being in 1901, when he was appointed deputy sheriff under Mr. Sullivan. He continued to hold this position for eight years, through the terms of office of Mr. Sullivan and his sneeessor, Mr. Gonyea, becoming well known through the county during these years of able service and in 1908 was elected sheriff and capably discharged the responsibilities of this office for two terms, being re- cleeted in 1910. Beside his official duties and public services, Mr. Daniels has always been actively in- terested in agricultural enterprises and gives some time to the successful management of his farm of two hundred and four acres. He has always been a loyal supporter of the Republican party and is a member of the Elk lodge. Ilis marriage to Sadie Reindahl, of Dane county, Wisconsin, occurred in 1903 and they have one son, Truman.
THORE H. BANG.
The late Thore II. Bang, whose death occurred in Crookston August 14, 1905, was an early settler in the city and helped materially to build and develop it from its small beginning to something near its present magnitude and importance as a trading, manufactur- ing and commercial center. He was born in Valberg, Norway, in 1843, and was reared and edneated in that country, where he followed farming for some years after reaching his maturity.
In 1882 Mr. Bang came to the United States and located in Polk county, Minnesota, on a homestead which he entered east of Crookston, and which he partially improved and then sold. After selling his farm he took up his residence in Crookston and be- eame a member of the city police force, on which he served five years. He was afterward variously em- ployed in Crookston until his death.
Mr. Bang was married in his native land to Miss
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NATHAN P. STONE
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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY OF POLK COUNTY
Anna Larson. Four of the children born of their union are living : Gilbert II., Charles L., Carrie (now Mrs. Simpson, a widow) and Laura, who is unmar- ried. The mother died in 1913. The father was a Republican in political allegianee and took an active part in the affairs of his party. He was well known throughout Polk county, and was held in esteem by all classes of its people.
Gilbert and Charles Bang, the two sons of the household, are now operating the Crookston Bottling Works, which they purchased in 1908. They sell their produets all over Northern Minnesota and in parts of the adjoining states, and have a large and active trade. They are good business men and are enterpris-
ing and progressive in looing after the needs of the territory tributary to their establishment.
Gilbert H. Bang was married in 1899 to Miss Thora Griebrok. They have six children, George, Charles, Edmund, Irene, Edna and Florence. Gil- bert's brother Charles was married January 6, 1906, to Miss Pearl Fox. Their children number two, Ken- neth and Lillian. The brothers were both born in Norway, but they were brought to this county at early ages and here they grew to manhood and were educated, the greater part of their lives to the present time having been passed in Crookston. They are men of sterling worth and zealous in the performance of all the duties of citizenship.
NATHAN P. STONE.
A New Englander by nativity but having passed more than four-fifths of his life to the present time (1916) in the northwest, Nathan P. Stone, a retired business man of Crookston and a valued eitizen of Polk county, has been able to acquire an accurate knowledge of the tendeneies and aspirations of two widely different seetions of the country and become well acquainted with the institutions and methods of thought of each, and he has profited by this sweep of vision and made it of advantage to the locality of his present home in business, in citizenship and in social life.
Mr. Stone was born in Bristol county, Massachu- setts, January 21, 1838, the son of Mason and Abigail (Patten) Stone, both of the same nativity as himself. The father operated a eotton mill and kept a general store at Norton, in his native county. Ile also took a leading part in local publie affairs, and was the colonel in command of the state militia which eseorted Presi- dent Jackson when he made his tour through the New England states. The mother died in 1842, and the father afterward married Miss Mary Holman. He died in Pieree county, Wisconsin, in 1888. He was the father of three sons and two daughters who grew to maturity, and one of the sons is still living in Mas- sachusetts.
Nathan P. Stone remained in his native county until 1853, when the family moved to Pieree county, Wis- consin. There the father engaged in farming until he was elected probate judge. He afterward was aetive in the grain trade until his death. The son began his education at the distriet sehool in Norton in his native county and completed it at the academy in River Falls, Wisconsin. After leaving school he followed farming four years, then changed his resi- denee to Prescott, Wisconsin, and engaged in mer- eantile business.
In 1879 Mr. Stone became a resident of Crookston and a merchant in the farm implement trade, which he carried on alone until 1900, when his sons, William M. and Walter P., were taken into partnership by him. Recently the father has retired from active control of the business and it is now conducted by the sons under the firm name of N. P. Stone & Co.
Mr. Stone was married at River Falls, Wisconsin, in 1873, to Miss Ada L. Powell, a native of the state of New York and a daughter of Lyman and Lueinda (Taylor) Powell, who were pioneers of that state, locating in it in 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Stone are the parents of five children : William M. and Walter P., who are in buisness with their father; Ida P., who is a school teacher in Helena, Montana; Gertrude L.,
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who is the wife of Thayer C. Bailey, of Bemidji, Min- nesota, and Lucia, who is living at home.
In the public affairs of Crookston Mr. Stone has taken an active part from the time of his arrival in the city. He served as alderman five terms and as a member of the school board and its official treasur- er two terms. He is also a member of the charter commission of the city. In political faith and alle-
gianee he is a Republican, in fraternal relations a Freemason and in religious connection a Congrega- tionalist, being a trustee of the congregation of that seet. He also belongs to the Old Settlers' association of Polk county and is its official historian. When he became a resident of Crookston it was a straggling hamlet, and he has witnessed and taken part in all the phases of its growth to a city of 8,000 people.
A. M. SIVERTSON.
A. M. Sivertson, of Crookston, a pioneer business man and prominent eitizen, was born in Norway, in 1855, the son of Sivert and Hanna (Halsteson) Sivert- son. Ilis parents spent their lives in their native land and A. M. Sivertson remained there until his twenty- fifth year, employed in farm work and for five years was in the military service, in the regular army dur- ing the first two years and later with the reserves. In 1880 lie came to the United States and located at Crookston, where he learned the carpenter trade and engaged in this work for some time and then advanced to the larger activities of the contracting business and also condueted a snecessful trade as a lumber dealer. During the fifteen years of his extensive operations as building contractor, Mr. Sivertson erected many of the best buildings in Crookston and has been actively associated with the growth and progress of the city through the ereditable achieve- ments of his industrial career as well as by his publie
spirited support of every enterprise. Ile is now retired from the contracting business and devotes his attention to his real estate interests, in which he has made many investments, owning the opera house block and a number of residence properties and farms. He has given able service to his fellow citizens as a member of the city council and has been a member of the library board for seven years. Mr. Sivertson is widely known throughout the State and county as a successful business man and highly respected eiti- zen of Polk county. He is a member of the Repub- liean party and of the Sons of Norway. He was married in 1855 to Dora Soekem, who was a native of Norway. She died in 1911, leaving five children, Hanna, the wife of Mr. R. Tetley; Sophia, who is a teacher in the Crookston high school ; Herman, Albert and Margaret. In 1914 Mr. Sivertson was married to Mrs. Hillman, who was a widow. He is a member of the United Lutheran church.
JULIUS SPOKELY.
Although born and reared on a farm and beginning his life work as a tiller of the soil, Julius Spokely has such natural adaptability to and capacity for merchandising, that in eleven years of active and enterprising devotion to this line of business he has made himself one of the leading merchants in the city of Crookston, a field in which there is strong competition and rivals of ability are numerous.
Mr. Spokely is a native and wholly a product of
Polk county whose life began in Hubbard township in 1877. His parents, Gulliek and Gonvor (Simon) Spokely, were born and reared in Norway, and eame to the United States in the sixties. They were married in Houston county, Minnesota. They located in Houston county, Minnesota, and entered a tract of government land in Chippewa county, but in 1871 took up their residence in Polk county when it was nearly all still a wilderness, being among the very
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earliest settlers in that part of it where they live. The father took up homestead, pre-emption and tree elaim, and on the land which he thus acquired he is still residing at the age of seventy-three, the mother being sixty-eight. They made the trip to their new home through the wilds in a "prairie sehooner," patiently enduring the privations, hardships and dangers of the journey buoyed up with the hope of obtaining a good reward for their enterprise and daring.
These hardy and resolute pioneers have four sous and two daughters living: Albert, a farmer; Julius and Adolph, twins; Alexander, a farmer, and Annie and Sophia, who are living at home with their par- ents. Julius grew to manhood on his father's farm and obtained his education at the school in the neigh- borhood. After farming a short time he began his mercantile career as a clerk in a store at Nielsville. In 1899 he moved to Crookston, and during the next
five years he clerked in stores in this eity. At the end of this period he opened a store of his own, and this he has since eondueted with a steadily inereas- ing trade and strengthening hold on the confidence and regard of the people of the city and county. He was also associated with his brothers in keeping a store in Fargo, North Dakota.
Mr. Spokely is a eitizen of publie spirit and pro- gressiveness, and takes an aetive and helpful part in the public affairs of his community. He was a mem- ber of the local school board, and was its treasurer at the time when the new school house was erected. Fraternally he is a Freemason and a member of the Order of Elks, the Sons of Norway and the Scandi- navian Workmen. In 1907 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Minnie Tisdel, who was born in Aus- tin, Minnesota. They have one child, their son Roland.
MARK RAUENBUEHLER.
Having become a resident of Crookston in 1879, Mark Ranenbuehler is one of the pioneer residents of Polk county; and having been the first harness maker in Crookston, he is also one of the pioneer manufacturers and merchants of that city. More- over, having borne his share of the privations and hardships of the early days, and helped to build the town to its present state of advancement and import- ance, and having, at the same time, made his own advancement in business and material gains keep pace with the progress of the community, he is en- titled and prepared to enjoy his share of the pleasures and prosperity of the present period and look with pride upon the structure his hands have helped to build and improve.
Mr. Rauenbuehler was born in Baden, Germany, July 5, 1852, a son of Alois and Mary A. (Stahlberger) Rauenbeuhler, who were natives of the same provinee as himself, and passed their lives in it, profitably engaged in farming. They were the parents of three
sons and five daughters, of whom all of the sons and one of the daughters are now living in the United States. The father took an active part in the public affairs of his native land and served as a soldier in the Revolution of 1848 in that country.
His son Mark remained at home until he reached the age of seventeen, then, in 1869, eame to this coun- try and located at Fort Madison, Iowa, where he learned his trade as a harness maker. He next passed four years in Wisconsin, and then moved to Anoka, Minnesota. In 1879 he located at Crookston and opened a small harness shop on Second street, in front of which he planted the first hitching post in Crookston. During the first three days of his venture his cash receipts amounted to ten cents, but as the town grew his trade inereased until it reached a eon- siderable magnitude, and for many years it has kept him busy all the working hours of the day.
Mr. Rauenbuehler was married in 1881 to Miss Emily J. Martin, a daughter of Swiss and German
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parents, and was born on the Atlantic ocean while they were on their way to America. Five children were born of the union, three of whom are living, Louisa, Panlina and George. Their mother died in 1889 and in November, 1890, the father contracted a
second marriage in which he was united with Mrs. Johanna Netzer, a widow. They have two children, Madonna and Eugene. The parents are members of the Catholic church.
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