USA > Minnesota > Brown County > History of Brown County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions (Volume 1) > Part 58
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
As a boy, Alfred B. Ouren worked on the home farm during the summer months, and attended the district schools
Digitized by Google
448
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
in the winter time until he was sixteen years of age; then went to Minneapolis where he attended the State Univer- sity, graduating from the agricultural department of that institution in 1904. Thus exceptionally well equipped for a career as husbandman, he returned to the farm, working with his father for two years, when he decided that the business world held greater attractions for him, and he accordingly abandoned the farm, came to Hanska, where he secured employment as a clerk in a store, also was assistant postoffice clerk. Later he engaged in the hardware and implement business for a short time. In 1907 he was elected secretary and manager of the Hanska Rural Telephone Company, which office he held until 1909, in which year he went to Courtland, where he became cashier of the Court- land State Bank, which position he held until February 9, 1913, when he came to Hanska again, this time as cashier of the Security State Bank, with which he is still connected.
Politically, Mr. Ouren is a Democrat and is active in party affairs. At this writing he is mayor of the town of Hanska, also treasurer of the local school board, and is doing much for the general welfare of the place. He is a supporter of the Unitarian church, in which he was reared, his parents having belonged to that denomination. He is a member and president of the Hanska band, which is the best band in the county, with the possible exception of the Second Regiment band of New Ulm. He enjoys the reputa- tion of being one of the most conservative bankers in Brown county, and under his able management the Security State Bank is rapidly growing in prestige and business, ranking with the best in Brown county.
Digitized by Google
-
449
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
JOSEPH GRIEBEL.
Joseph Griebel, a well-known farmer and stockman of Cottonwood towship, this county, proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the Searles neighborhood, seven miles from New Ulm, is a native son of Brown county, having been born on the farm on which he still makes his home, April 3, 1880, son of Michael and Kunigunde Griebel, natives of Germany and pioneer settlers of this county.
Michael Griebel was a farmer in his native land. Upon coming to this country he landed at the port of New York, whence he proceeded to Illinois. After spending some time in that state he came to Minnesota and homesteaded a quar- ter of a section of land in Cottonwood township, this county, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1890. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, Emma, Rose, Reginald, Bertha, George, Dora, Hannah, Joseph and Nellie.
Joseph Griebel was reared on the homestead farm in Cottonwood township, receiving his education in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, and one year in New Ulm school. At the age of fifteen he quit school and there- after gave his whole attention to the labor of assisting in the development of the home farm. After the death of his father in 1890 he assumed practical management of the place and in 1905 bought the farm from his mother and has since owned and operated the same. He has about seven (29a)
Digitized by Google
450
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
thousand dollars worth of improvements on the place and he and his family are very comfortably situated.
In 1905 Joseph Griebel was united in marriage to Connie Dietsch, who was born in Illinois, daughter of An- drew and Barbara Dietsch, who later became residents of this county, rearing here a family of five children, four sons and the one daughter; and to this union five children have been born, Hubbart, Alwin, Willie, Edith and Martin. Mr. Griebel is a member of the Catholic church at Searles and the children are being reared in that faith. Mr. Griebel is a member of the St. John Society and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. He is an "independent" voter. Mrs. Griebel, who was also a Catholic, died on February 18, 1914.
Digitized by Google
451
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
GEORGE MIKAELSEN.
George Mikaelsen, a well-known and substantial farmer of Prairieville township, this county, owner of a well- developed farm of four hundred and twenty acres at the edge of the pleasant village of Evan, is a native son of Brown county, having been born on a farm in the township in which he still makes his home, March 2, 1873, son of Jens and Koren (Neilsen) Mikaelsen, natives of Denmark, who came to the United States following their marriage in 1872. They landed at the port of New York and came directly to Brown county, where they settled on a quarter of a section in Brookville township, Redwood county, and there estab- lished their home, remaining there until Mrs. Mikaelsen died. Mr. Mikaelsen retired from the farm and moved to Evan in 1904. To Jens Mikaelsen and wife thirteen chil- dren were born, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest, the others being Louis, Anna, Laura, William and Henry. Seven children are deceased.
George Mikaelsen was reared on the home farm in Brookville township, receiving his education in the district school in the neighborhood of his home. He left school when sixteen years of age and thereafter gave his energies to as- sisting his father in the development of the home place. He also presently bought a threshing-machine outfit and for twenty-two years operated the same in season throughout that part of the county. At the age of twenty-two he bought one hundred and fifty acres of land in section 7, Prairieville township, and twenty-three acres in section 6
Digitized by Google
452
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
and proceeded to improve and develop the same. In 1898 he married and established his home on that farm and there he lived for fourteen years, at the end of which time he sold that part of the place, consisting of the twenty-three acres above mentioned, on which his home stood, and bought one hundred and fifty acres on the outskirts of the village of Evan, where he ever since has lived and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. He has spent about six thousand dollars in improving the place and has one of the best-kept farms in that neighborhood. In 1914 he bought one hundred and twenty acres in Brookville town- ship, Redwood county.
In 1898 George Mikaelsen was united in marriage to Emma Martinson, who was born in Michigan, daughter of Jens and Kathrine Martinson, pioneers of Redwood county, this state, and to this union two children have been born, Clarence and Eyler. Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelsen are members of the Lutheran church at Evan and take a warm interest in good works throughout that vicinity. Mr. Mikaelsen is an "independent" voter and takes an active interest in local political affairs, for eight or ten years having served as overseer of highways in his district.
Digitized by Google
4
453
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
BERNHARD KNEES.
Among the good citizens of Milford township, Brown county, Minnesota, is Bernhard Knees, one of the children of the well-known family of William Knees. For further particulars regarding this esteemed family, the reader is referred to the sketch of another son of the family, Albert Knees, which will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Bernhard Knees was born in the same township in which he lives, on March 8, 1860, and in his native township he received his education. He later became one of his father's assistants on the home place, remaining with him until some twenty-two years of age, when he started out in life for himself. For about five years, he worked as a farm hand among the farmers of this section and when twenty- seven years of age, he bought eighty acres, which is part of his present homestead. Ten years later he bought one hundred and sixty acres, making his present hold- ings two hundred and forty acres, about one hundred and fifty being under the plow. He carries on general farming such as practiced throughout this section and is uniformly successful with his crops.
On October 31, 1889, Bernhard Knees was united in marriage to Kunigunde Backer, daughter of John Backer, and to their union five children have been born, namely: Frieda, Hertha, Erna, Oscar and Ella, all single and at home with their parents. All belong to the Lutheran church. Politically, Mr. Knees is an independent voter, and alto- gether stands high in the respect of the citizens of his community.
Digitized by Google
454
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
JOSEPH J. SPERL.
Joseph J. Sperl, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Brown county, proprietor of a fine farm of three hundred and forty-three acres on the outskirts of the pleasant village of Searles, in Cottonwood township, clerk of that township, also clerk of school district No. 4, and president of the Farmers' Elevator Company of New Ulm, is a native son of Minnesota, having been born in the neighboring county of Nicollet, October 12, 1869, son of Anton and Catherine (Eckstein) Sperl, natives of Austria, who later became prominent residents of Cottonwood township, this county.
Anton Sperl came to the United States when a young man and located in Nicollet county, this state, about 1863. For five years thereafter he worked on various farms and at the well known Bless saw-mill, and after his marriage homesteaded a tract of land in Fort Ridgely township, which he sold three years later and bought a farm of three hundred and forty-three acres in Cottonwood township, this county, where he spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest, the others being Otto, Anton, Anna, George and Stanislaus.
Joseph J. Sperl was but an infant when his parents moved from Nicollet county to Brown county and he grew up on the home farm in Cottonwood township. His school days ended when he was eleven years old and his youth and early manhood were devoted to the assistance of his father
Digitized by Google
455
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
on the farm. When he was twenty-two years old he went to St. James, in the neighboring county of Watonwan, where he became interested in the manufacture of carbonated beverages and presently bought a "pop" factory there which he operated for three years, at the end of which time he sold the factory and returned to the home farm and until the death of his father seven years later managed the place for his father. After the death of the elder Sperl, Joseph J. Sperl took charge of the farm and has since then been operating the same very successfully, long having been re- garded as one of the most progressive and substantial farm- ers in his neighborhood. He has a fine brick house and a large grove on the place and is very comfortably situated. The Sperl farm shows evidences of being well kept, having about eight thousand dollars worth of improvements on it. Mr. Sperl's trading points are New Ulm and Searles. He has for years taken an active part in the promotion of the agricultural interests of this section and is president of the Farmers' Elevator Company of New Ulm, a concern which has done much toward gaining for the farmers a better price for their grain. Mr. Sperl is a Democrat and has held the office of township clerk ever since 1901.
In 1894 Joseph J. Sperl was united in marriage to Lena Gall, who was born in this state, daughter of Michael and Mary (Herman) Gall, who were the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Sperl is the only one residing in this county, and to this union twelve children have been born, Anton, Josephine, John, Elsie, Joseph, Lena, Wenzel, An- drew, Mary, Anna, Genevieve and Leona, all of whom are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Sperl are members of the Catholic
Digitized by Google
456
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
church and their children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Sperl is the president of the St. John's Society at Searles and is a member of the New Ulm branch of the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of Foresters and St. Joseph's Society, in the affairs of which organizations he takes a warm interest.
Digitized by Google
457
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
HUGO E. DITTBENNER.
Hugo E. Dittbenner, former justice of the peace in and for Eden township, this county, and a well-known and progressive young farmer of that township, proprietor of a well-kept farm of one hundred and twenty acres about seven miles east of the town of Morgan, which is his trading point, is a native son of Brown county, having been born on a pioneer farm in the township in which he still makes his home, February 26, 1885, son of William E. and Fredericka (Verpel) Dittbenner, both natives of Germany.
William E. Dittbenner was about seven years old when he came to the United States with his parents in 1860, the family landing at the port of New York. After about a year spent in that city the family came to Minnesota and settled in Brown county. The elder Dittbenner home- steaded a farm in Cottonwood township, where, and in New Ulm, he spent the rest of his life, and where William E. Dittbenner lived until 1874, in which year he pre-empted a quarter of a section of land in Eden township, where he established his home and where he reared his family. He was a good farmer and he and his wife, the latter of whom was a member of one of the pioneer German families of Brown county, prospered in their undertakings, being, at the time of their retirement from the farm in 1907, the own- ers of a fine farm of six hundred acres in Eden township, long having been regarded as among the most substantial residents of that community. Upon retiring from the farm they moved to Morgan, where William E. Dittbenner died
Digitized Google
458
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
in 1908 and his widow moved to New Ulm, where she is still living. They were the parents of nine children, Ferd, Matilda, George, Emil, Willie, Adolph, Hugo, Fredericka and Herbert.
Hugo E. Dittbenner was reared on the paternal farm in Eden township, receiving his education in the district school in the neighborhood of his home. He completed the course in the local school at the age of sixteen and thereafter re- mained on the farm assisting his father in the development of the same. After his marriage in 1908, he rented the home farm for awhile and then bought one hundred and twenty acres of the same and on that portion has made his home ever since, being now very pleasantly situated. He has made about five thousand dollars worth of improvements on the place and he and his family have a very comfortable home. Mr. Dittbenner is a Republican and from the time he at- tained his majority has taken an earnest interest in civic affairs. For some time he served as school director in his district and in 1908 was elected to the office of justice of the peace.
In 1908 Hugo E. Dittbenner was united in marriage to Theresa Fischer, who was born in this county, daughter of Adolph and Bertha (Zugenhagen) Fischer, early settlers of Eden township, and to this union three children have been born, Veena, Hillary and Willard. Mr. and Mrs. Dittben- ner are members of the Methodist church and are active in all local good works.
Digitized by Google
459
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
ERNST G. KOCH.
Ernst G. Koch was born on April 19, 1833, at Radegast Anhalt-Dusan, Germany, and came to New Ulm as early as 1860. He anticipated entering the fur trade and for this reason made his way to Lake Shetck, near Tracy, Minnesota. He and his partner, Mr. Voght, spent a year trapping and hunting on the shores of the lake. At the beginning of the Indian uprising, in 1862, Mr. Voght was killed by the In- dians. When Mr. Koch learned of his partner's death he immediately made for Mankato, where he arrived at the time the Mankatoites were organizing a company to come to the relief of New Ulm. Considerable credit is due Mr. Koch for his untiring efforts in getting the Mankato people started for the hard pressed city on the day they did. While in New Ulm he saw his share of active service, being a member of several relief expeditions that were sent out.
After the hostilities were over, Mr. Koch decided to cast his lot with the other settlers of New Ulm and so became a permanent resident of that city. From the very first he took an active part in public affairs. He never sought pub- lic offices but when elected he gave the people the best service he was capable of. In 1866 he was elected county auditor, in which capacity he served for ten years. In 1876 he engaged in the real estate and insurance business and served as agent for the Winona and St. Peter Land Company, and as court commissioner of Brown county. He was elected as a mem- ber of the board of education in 1881 and served as clerk
Digitized by Google
460
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
continuously for over ten years. In 1891 he was elected a member of the city council and later served the city as mayor for two terms.
In 1889 Mr. Koch was made cashier of the Brown County Bank; three years later vice-president, and six years later, president. He retired from active business in 1900 and has since been living quietly and comfortably on his farm, which is located in the city limits of New Ulm, enjoy- ing the full fruits of his life of earnest and energetic en- deavor. While an officer of the bank, Mr. Koch gave to that substantial old financial institution the benefit of his sound judgment and rare knowledge of local conditions. There were few men in the state who had more accurate knowledge of realty values and conditions in southern Minnesota than he. The impress made upon the city of New Ulm during his administration as mayor is still apparent in the permanent improvements he projected.
In 1864, not long after settling in New Ulm, Ernst G. Koch was united in marriage to Elizabeth Sahli, daughter of Nicholas and Marie Sahli, who had migrated to this county from Switzerland. Mr. Koch's first wife died in 1864. In 1866 he married Caroline Schmidt, who died on April 19, 1898. Ten children were born to this union, eight of whom are still living. They are: Emma, William E., a retired banker, and Ida, living at home; Mrs. Robert Heid- man, of Arlington; Mrs. Bertha Fenske, of New Ulm; Albert F., in the milling business at Echo, Minnesota; Mrs. Henry N. Somsen, of New Ulm, and George R., a dentist in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mr. Koch is a Lutheran and his children were reared in
Digitized by Google
461
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
that faith. He is independent in his political views and not inclined to undivided allegiance to any one of the several political parties, believing that personal fitness of candi- dates for local office should be the voter's guide, rather than a mere party stamp of approval.
Digitized by Google
462
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
FREDERICK FLETCHER BENHAM.
Among the early residents of Stark township, this county, there were few who exerted a wider or more potent influence for good in that community than did the late Frederick Fletcher Benham, for years a well-to-do farmer of that township, one time county commissioner and rural postmaster, who did well his part in the work of developing the better interests of the neighborhood in which he and his wife settled in pioneer days. Mr. Benham died in 1889 and his widow continued to operate the farm until 1901, in which year she moved to Sleepy Eye, where she is now living and where she is very pleasantly and comfortably situated.
Frederick F. Benham was born in the state of Vermont on July 25, 1830, son of Philander and Relief Benham, of English descent, and was the last born of the six children born to his parents, the others having been Silas, Eli, Phoebe, Eliza and Hannah. He was but a child when his parents moved West and settled in Indiana, where they lived for a time, later moving to Michigan, where they spent the remainder of their lives, and his education therefore was received in the schools of Indiana and Michigan. He re- mained on the farm until he was twenty years old and then took up the carpenter trade, at which he worked for seven or eight years in Indiana. When he was twenty-three years old he married an Indiana girl and some years later came up into the Northwest, locating at the town of West Union, in Fayette county, Iowa, where he worked at his trade for
.
-
Digitized by Google
463
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
about two years, at the end of which time he moved over into Minnesota. There Mr. Benham homesteaded a farm in Houston county, Minnesota, on which he lived for nine years. Disposing of the homestead farm in 1864 he bought a farm of three hundred and seventy acres in Stark town- ship, Brown county, and here spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on January 1, 1889. Mr. Benham was a good farmer and early came to be recognized as one of the most substantial and influential residents of that com- munity. He was a Republican and for several years served the public in the important capacity of county commis- sioner. He also for years was postmaster of his local post- office and in other ways made himself useful in the com- munity. He was a prominent member of the Grange and was one of the most active promoters of the interests of that organization hereabout. He and his wife were earnest members of the Christian church and ever took an earnest interest in the advancement of all good causes in their neighborhood. After her husband's death Mrs. Benham continued to make her home on the farm until 1901, since which time she had been living in Sleepy Eye.
It was in 1853 that Frederick F. Benham was united in marriage, in Cass county, Indiana, to Elvina Snethen, daughter of the Rev. Abraham and Lydia Snethen, promin- ent farming people of that county, the former of whom also was a well-known pioneer minister of the Christian church in that part of Indiana. Elvina Snethen was the tenth in order of birth of the twelve children born to her parents, the others having been Eliza, Ruth, Hannah, John, James, Louisa, Vernia, M. C., Greenhut, Ezekiel and Hanna. She received an excellent education, continuing in school until
Digitized by Google
464
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
she was nineteen years old, and remained at home until her marriage to Mr. Benham.
To Frederick F. and Elvina (Snethen) Benham five children were born, as follow: Carrie, who married Myron McKown and has six children, Myrtle, Hattie, May, Fred, Edna and Silas; Laura, who married William Carpenter and has two children, Paul and Fred; May, who married Elmer Ingram, now living in Idaho, and has one child, Evlyn; Alice, who married Walter Jones, a California ranchman, and Emma, who married Joseph Sherman, a Wisconsin farmer, and has two children, Dorothy and Den- wood, twins.
Digitized by Google
465
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
LUTHER C. IVES.
Luther C. Ives, now living retired in his pleasant home at Tracy, in Lyon county, this state, who is one of the few active survivors of that rugged band of pioneers who brought about an orderly government in this part of the state in pioneer days and who helped to bring to its present high state of development the then wilderness, is a native of the great Empire state, having been born in the town of Java, in Wyoming county, New York, December 4, 1840, son of Russell and Lucretia (Kilbourn) Ives, natives of Connecticut, who later became prosperous and influential pioneers of this section of Minnesota, for many years having been prominent residents of Brown county.
Russell Ives was born in the state of Connecticut, son of Seth and Lois (Holcomb) Ives, natives of that same state, she of Dutch descent, and he was of English and Norwegian ancestry. Seth Ives died in New York state in middle age. His widow joined the family of her son, Russell, in this county in the summer of 1861 and some time later was killed in a runaway accident on the highway between Northfield and Hastings, in Dakota county. She and her husband were the parents of nine children, Riley, Albert, Jarvis, Ambrose, Calvin, Russell, Nelson, Loann and Harriet. Russell Ives was reared on a farm and later became a miller in New York state. In the fall of 1860 he and his family emigrated to Minnesota, his eldest son, Luther C., the subject of this sketch, having made a prospecting trip to this country a (30a)
Digitized by Google
466
BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
couple of years before, sending back a flattering report of the promising conditions here, and took both a pre-emption and homestead claim, the former of one hundred and sixty acres and the latter of forty acres, two hundred acres in all, in what is now the township of Stark, in Brown county, and there established his home, the family early becoming one of the most substantial and influential hereabout. Russell Ives had married in New York state Lucretia Kilbourn, who was a valuable and competent helpmeet in all the difficult labors of their pioneering in this county. She was the third in order of birth of the five children born to Freeman and Almira (Tryon) Kilbourn, the others having been Jere- miah, Ruth Ann, Freeman and Almira. Freeman Kilbourn was of English descent and his wife was of Scottish descent. They were well-to-do farming people and their last days were spent in the town of Sheldon, in Wyoming county, New York, where both lived to advanced ages.
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.