USA > Minnesota > Brown County > History of Brown County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions (Volume 1) > Part 60
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Mr. Lehrer is a member of the Catholic church and the Knights of Columbus. His life, though comparatively un- eventful, has not been unfruitful of good results and kind deeds in behalf of his fellow-men. He thoroughly under- stands the various phases of the different lines of business to which so many years have been devoted, and the con- fidence and respect of the thousands of people with whom he has had dealings are his in a satisfactory degree.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
FRANK HOLM.
Frank Holm, one of the younger generation of farmers of Brown county, Minnesota, was born on the same farm where he now resides in Sigel township, on October 20, 1881. He is a son of Joseph and Frances Holm, both natives of Germany. Joseph was but eight years of age when he was brought to this country by his parents, the family locating in Sigel township and it was there young Joseph grew to manhood. He received only the limited education which was afforded by the schools of this section at that time and in later life was one of the well-known farmers of his town- ship, being actively engaged in that vocation there until the time of his retirement in 1908. In that year he moved to New Ulm, where he still resides, quietly enjoying the fruits of his many years of labor. Although the Holm family was here at the time of the Indian massacres, their loss fortun- ately was small as compared with that suffered by so many other pioneers.
Frank Holm is one of a family of eleven children, five of whom are now living, those other than Frank being: Henry, Mary, Clara and Joseph. Frank Holm was educated in the schools of Sigel township and was early trained in the work of a farm. He remained with his father until twenty-one years of age and then bought the two-hundred- and-eighty-acre farm where he now lives, and started out in life for himself. He has been very successful in his under- taking and conducts his farm work along modern lines of business, devoting his efforts to a well balanced amount of
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grain and stock raising. There are on an average of fifteen cows milked the year round on the farm, their product being disposed of to a nearby creamery.
In 1901, Frank Holm was united in marriage with Hermina Grau, daughter of George Grau, and to their union six children have been born. These are Herbert, Alma, Viola, Frances, Frieda and Leonard. Frank Holm and family are members of the Holy Trinity Catholic church and his political support is given to the Democratic party. He is regarded by his fellow-citizens as a man worthy of high regard.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
ANTON O. OUREN.
Anton O. Ouren, banker of Hanska, Brown county, has long been a prominent figure in the business world in this section of Minnesota. He was born on February 27, 1850, in the province of Ostretoten, Norway, and is a son of Ole J. and Dorothy (Hjeld) Ouren, also natives of Norway where they grew up, attended school, were married and established their home. The father was a farmer and remained in his native land until 1866 when he removed with his family to the United States, having landed first, however, at Quebec, Canada, but later moved on to Coon Prairie, Wisconsin, but in a short time they traveled to Fillmore county, Minnesota, remaining there until 1869 when they located in Brown county, where the father entered forty acres of land from the government on which the town of Hanska was subse- quently built, and here he engaged in farming until his death.
Anton O. Ouren spent his boyhood in his native land, where he received his education in the Lutheran schools. Upon coming to the United States he at once took up farm work as a laborer, hiring out by the month. He came to Brown county in 1871, two years after his father had located here, and he bought eighty acres in Linden township, just east of the town of Hanska. He prospered by hard work and good management, and he has added to his original purchase from time to time until he now owns three hun- dred and fifteen acres, all under excellent improvements. In 1891 he organized the Hanska-Linden Creamery Com-
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pany, of Hanska, which was the second organization of its kind in the state of Minnesota. In the winter of 1901-02 he organized the State Bank of Lake Wilson, in Murray county, and was a director of that institution for several years. In 1902 he organized the State Bank of Hanska and has been president of the same ever since. Its business is rapidly growing under his able and conservative manage- ment. In 1892 he helped organize and was the promoter and backer of the Farmers' Co-operative Store, of Hanska, which was a pronounced success from the first. Mr. Ouren guaranteed all bills the first four years of its existence, and they from the beginning discounted all bills. The store has grown by leaps and bounds and has paid dividends from the first.
Anton O. Ouren was married in Fillmore county on January 23, 1873, to Bertha Maria Hagen, who was born in the same province in Norway in which Mr. Ouren first saw the light of day. Her father, Andrew Hagen, was a foreman on the farm of Ole J. Ouren, in the old country. She was born on July 8, 1854, and her death occurred on May 28, 1914. She was the mother of three children, the eldest of whom died in infancy. Julia De Nora, who was born in 1876, married Nels J. Ouren, of Hanska, the present manager of the Co-operative Store, although bearing the same name, they were not related. They have four children, James Arnold, Julius Maurice, Evelyn Viola and Ernest. Oscar Almer, youngest of the three children, was born on October 6, 1878. He married Marge Berrum and they live at Hanska, Minnesota. They have three children, Russell, Bernice and Edmund.
On June 15, 1915, Anton O. Ouren was married, second-
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ly, to Irene Bissonette, who was born on January 28, 1869, in Winooski Falls, Vermont, and is the daughter of Antoine and Philomene (Lerige de la Plante) Bissonette. Her mother owned the first business house in Fargo, North Da- kota. Mrs. Irene (Bissonette) Ouren received excellent educational advantages.
Mr. Ouren is a member of the Nova Unitarian church, which he helped found in 1881, and he had been church treasurer and secretary almost continuously ever since its organization until 1914, also a director in the same. He is treasurer for the Liberal Union Association, which conducts a public library in Hanska. He was also the organizer of this institution in 1903. Politically he was formerly an advocate of the Populist party until the year that party affiliated with the Democrats. He had previously attended all the state conventions. He was one of the instigators of the twine manufacturing plant in the state prison, which was the first of its kind in the United States. At that time he was appointed state inspector of dairy and food products by Governor Lind. He did not seek the same, having put in an application for a friend of his for this position. Among his other business enterprises he was the purchaser, with a few others, of the controlling stock in the Bank of Halma, Minnesota, and is now president of that flourishing institution.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
JACOB BAKKE.
An enterprising farmer and stock raiser of Brown county is Jacob Bakke of Lake Hanska township. He was born on November 14, 1848, in Gulbranddalen, Norway, and is a son of Thorsten Olsen and Sigrid Synsteby. The father was a farmer in Norway, owning his land. He came to the United States in his later life and here lived until his death. His family consisted of twelve children, of whom Jacob Bakke was the youngest and is the only survivor. Only three of the children besides himself came to America, namely: Ingebregt, who was a teacher; Ragnhild and Vidri, wife of Thore Lokken.
Jacob Bakke attended school until he was confirmed, in Norway, and when twenty-one years old came to the United States, direct to Minnesota, where he worked on the con- struction of both the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Orient Railroad and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, for awhile, then came to Brown county, where he bought forty acres of school land, for which he paid eight dollars per acre. Later he added to this until he now has an excel- lent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all in section 34, of Lake Hanska township. His first forty was the hardest to pay for; the grasshoppers destroyed his crops for three successive years. His first home was a small farm house, rudely furnished. In a terrific storm in the winter of 1872-3 his house caught fire, and for three days he could not build a fire in his store. His sister and her family had just come from the old country and were in the cabin with him at the time. They were far from help and if the house had been
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destroyed they would all have frozen to death. This was the worst of the many hardships Mr. Bakke has endured. But he persevered and prospered and now has a large modern, nicely furnished home and a well improved and productive farm.
In 1877 Jacob Bakke was married, on his present farm, to Carrie Helling, who was born in Hallingdal, Norway, and is a daughter of Thorkil and Anna Helling, who came to America when Carrie was six years old, the father taking up a homestead in Lake Hanska township, Brown county, Minnesota, being one of the early pioneers here. Eight chil- dren have been born to Jacob and Carrie Bakke, namely: Sophia, Emma, Sidney, Clara, Anna are all deceased; Tobina, Zulia and Alfred are all three living at home. The wife and mother died about 1899.
Mr. Bakke and family are members of the Lake Hanska Norwegian Lutheran church, he having been active in the affairs of the church for many years, being secretary of the same for some time, also chorister for several years, and still takes an active part in the music. Politically he is a Republican. He held the office of assessor for several years and was chairman of the board of township supervisors. He has held other minor offices. He is a stockholder in the State Bank of Hanska, also in the Hanska-Linden Cream- ery Company and the Hanska-Linden Store Company. He assisted in organizing the latter. He has been very success- ful in a business way and is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished. His children are his chief concern and he is giving them every advantage. He is a good citizen in every respect and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
GUTTORM THORDSON.
Realizing that conditions have changed since the days of the first settlers, Guttorm Thordson, farmer of Lake Hanska township, Brown county, is an advocate of twenti- eth century methods of agriculture and is therefore suc- cessful. He was born on May 31, 1846, in Waldres, Nor- way, and is a son of Thor and Carrie (Lavors) Thordson. They came from the farm known as "Omsrud." The father was a farmer by occupation and followed farming all his active life. In 1852 the family came to the United States, first locating in Rock county, Wisconsin, among the early settlers, but they never purchased land there, coming on west five years later, making the trip in old-fashioned prai- rie schooners, drawn by oxen, arriving in Brown county, Minnesota, July 17, 1857, locating on a tract of land on the northwest side of Lake Omsrud in Lake Hanska township, where the father pre-empted a good farm, which he devel- oped and on which he established the home of the family, however this was considerably less than a full claim. On this he spent the rest of his life. The first home here was a small log cabin with a sod roof and the bare ground for a floor. There was no window, and the door was made of oak boards which he split from logs and hewed down with an ax, then hung it with wooden hinges. Later a small window, containing four panes of glass, was inserted in one side of the cabin. This shack served as a home for several years, and in the early sixties a hewed-log house was built, which is still standing. These were the boyhood homes of Guttorm
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Thordson in Brown county. The first school in this district was established some years afterward in Linden township, being held in Thor Olson's house and was taught by Tom Armstrong. Guttorm Thordson was one of the pupils for four months, which was all the schooling he received in America. He remained at home, assisting with the work on the place, until about 1864 when he purchased about one hundred and thirty-five acres of Ed Casey who had pre- empted it and later joined the Union and went away to the war, so he sold his entire place for four hundred and eight dollars. At that time St. Paul was the nearest market and when the Thordson family came to this country there was not a railroad in the state. Later they did their trading at New Ulm, as soon as a town was started there. They received their mail every three weeks after they had spent several years in this country. During the Indian troubles, Ole Thordson, a brother of the subject of this sketch, met with the misfortune to have his house robbed and plun- dered by the savages, but none of his family were killed. The Thordsons were among those who went to Linden town- ship in the summer of 1862 for protection during the Sioux raid, the settlers having gathered there in a log cabin. How- ever, they were not molested, but they would have been prac- tically helpless had they been attacked, for there was not one good gun among them. Rena Omsrud, an aunt of Gut- torm Thordson, was also among those who went to Linden township in the summer of 1862.
Guttorm Thordson was married in Lake Hanska town- ship, on April 9, 1872, to Rena Olson Palmer, who was born in Norway, and was the daughter of Ole Palmer. By this union one child was born, Carrie, whose birth occurred on
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July 31, 1874. Carrie married Siver Hanson, and to them six children were born, Gilbert, Richard, Silver, Hazel, Jes- sie and Carl. Her death occurred on December 25, 1912. Mrs. Rena Thordson passed away on March 7, 1876. On August 10, 1878, in Madelia, Waterman county, Minnesota, Mr. Thordson married Julia Paulson, who was born on October 22, 1860, in Norway, and was a daughter of Paul and Pernile Olson, who immigrated to the United States in 1874. Ten children were born to this union, nine of whom are still living: Lewis died when twenty-two years old; Petra married Peter Bakhen and has four children, Gilbert, Joseph, Leonard and Adeline; Thomas married Bertha Thorson, a native of Stavanger, Norway, has two children, Joseph and John M .; Paul married Emma Bjertsen and they have one child, Gilmore; Carl, Iver, Rena, Gilbert, John and Annie all live at home, however, the last named is now away at school.
Guttorm Thordson had four brothers: Tidemond Thordson, born on May 27, 1842; Levord Thordson, May 26, 1840; Iver Thordson, January 7, 1850; Ole Thordson, al- ready mentioned.
Mr. Thordson has been a successful farmer, and he has added one hundred and twenty acres to his original place, the latter being railroad land, and he also pre-empted forty acres of government land. He and his family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church, he having been a char- ter member of the first church of this denomination estab- lished in Brown county, the first services of which were held under a large tree in the woods owned by him. He was for- merly a Republican, but has supported the Democratic ticket since 1903. He has held some minor public offices in his community.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
OLE C. LILLEODDEN.
One of the enterprising farmers of Lake Hanska town- ship, Brown county, is Ole C. Lilleodden, who was born on September 12, 1852, in Gulbranddalen, Norway, a son of Christian J. and Ingleborg Lilleodden. The father was a carpenter by trade, being known as a timber man, because of the class of work he did. His death occurred when Ole C. was four years old. Ole C. Lilleodden attended school until he was confirmed. He then did railway construction work. He immigrated to the United States in 1880, arriving in New Ulm, Minnesota, April 15, of that year. He soon went to work as a farm hand in Stark township and continued the same for some time, in fact, worked out for eight years. Having saved his earnings he then purchased one hundred and twenty acres of railroad land, for which he paid ten dol- lars per acre. He soon erected a small log cabin on this land and began improving it, living for twelve years in this shack, then having prospered by close application and good man- agement, he erected his present comfortable home, to which he later added another apartment or two. He has also erected a large barn and substantial outbuildings and has done some tiling. He was the first settler to build a modern residence south of the Little Cottonwood river in Brown county. He is a general farmer and keeps good stock.
On February 12, 1880, before setting sail for the new world, Ole C. Lilleodden was united in marriage to Carrie Hanson, a native of the same locality in Norway in which he was born, their families having lived about fourteen miles
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apart, he being born at Lom and she at Vaage. She did not come to America for a year after her husband sailed. To their union six children have been born, five of whom sur- vive, namely: Emma, born on October 27, 1880, married John Hanson and lives in White Earth, North Dakota, and they have five children, Harry, Oscar, Gilbert, Raymond and Clifford; Christena, born on March 16, 1883, being a twin to Gena, who died in infancy ; Hans, born on November 3, 1885; Gusta, born on November 20, 1888, married Matt Botheim and they live in Midway, North Dakota; Oscar, born on February 7, 1892, attended the Minnesota State Agricultural College one term and is now assisting his father on the home farm. Ole C. Lilleodden and family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church.
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CLEMENT HALVORSON.
Clement Halvorson, former county commissioner of Brown county and for the past thirty-five years clerk of Linden township, one of the best-known farmers of that township and a man whose interest in education has done much to advance the standards of the schools in his neigh- borhood, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, having been born in Lower Telemarken, about two Norwegian miles from the city of Skien, December 10, 1853, son of Ole and Johanna Marie (Johnson) Halvorson, also natives of Nor- way and early settlers of Brown county.
Ole Halvorson was the supervisor of a large estate in Norway and in 1855 he and his family came to America, landing at Quebec, whence they proceeded to Wisconsin. They had kinsfolk in Waukesha county, that state, and there they settled, remaining there until 1869, in the spring of which year they came to Minnesota, settling in Brown county. Here Ole Halvorson established his home and here he spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch is next to the youngest.
Clement Halvorson was about one and one-half years old when he came to this country with his parents and was about sixteen when he came to this county with the family. He had received excellent schooling in Wisconsin and upon coming here entered the Normal School at Mankato. He presently was licensed to teach school and in 1874 taught his first term, the same being in district 20. For seven succes-
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sive terms he presided over that school and then taught three years in Freeborn county, two terms a year. In 1878 he bought a quarter of a section of railroad land in Linden township, his present home farm, paying for the same from seven dollars to eight dollars an acre, according to quality, and the next year married and established his home on that farm, where he ever since has lived and where he has reared his family. In addition to the farm thus owned by Mr. Halvorson, his wife is the owner of a fine farm in the same township and the family is thus very well circumstanced.
On May 21, 1879, Clement Halvorson was united in marriage to Anna Johanni, who was born on a farm in sec- tion 14, of Linden township, this county, April 26, 1859, daughter of Johannes and Christina (Darnutzer) Johanni, natives of Switzerland, who came to the United States in 1854, locating in Wisconsin, where they lived until 1858, in which year they came to Minnesota, locating in Brown county, where they homesteaded a tract of land in Linden township and thus became numbered among the very earliest settlers of that township. Johannes Johanni enlisted in the Fifth Minnesota Cavalry for service during the Civil War and did valiant service during the Indian uprising, receiv- ing his honorable discharge at Ft. Snelling.
To Clement and Anna (Johanni) Halvorson ten chil- dren have been born, namely : John O., born on January 17, 1880, now an instructor at Queens University, Kingston, Canada, married Emma Evenson and has one child, a daughter, Edna M .; Christina J., September 24, 1881, who married Theodore Laingen, a Linden township farmer and has four children, Rudolph, Hulmer, Arnold and Richard; Alfred E., September 24, 1884, also of Linden township, who
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married Emma Olsen and has one child, a son, daughter, clare; Ella M., October 8, 1887, who married Samuel J. Harbo, of Linden township and has four children, Chesly, Adel, Sylva and Myrtle; Lillian, September 7, 1889, a grad- uate of the University of Minnesota and of the University of Missouri, and a former teacher in the schools of Brown county, who married Vern E. Lewis, of Antrim, this state, and has one child, a son, James Clement; Edward M., Octo- ber 11, 1891, who is assisting his father in the management of the home farm; Cora A., January 22, 1895, a graduate of the Madelia high school, who also attended the Univer- sity of Minnesota and is now a teacher in the public schools of the neighboring county of Watonwan; Willard H., June 24, 1897, a student in the Medalia high school; Lucile M., July 14, 1899, also a student in the Medalia high school, and Verna F., October 31, 1902. Dr. John O. Halvorson, first born of the above children and one of the most distinguished scholars ever reared in Brown county, was graduated from the Medalia high school, after which he entered Minnesota University, from which he was graduated with high honors, receiving the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science at that institution. He then took a course at the Missouri State University, following the same by a course in the University of Chicago, after which he spent a year in post-graduate work at Yale and now has the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. For some time he was an instructor in the Missouri State University, occupying a chair there under the auspices of the United States government, and for four years served as deputy dairy commissioner for the state of Missouri; now a member of the faculty of Queens (32a)
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University. Mr. and Mrs. Halvorson are members of the Lutheran church and their children are adherents of that faith.
Mr. Halvorson was one of the organizers of the Linden Creamery Company and has been manager of that concern since the plant was installed in 1894. He also has taken an active part in local political affairs and was elected a member of the board of county commissioners in 1892, serv- ing during the period 1893-97. In 1881 he was elected clerk of Linden township and has held that office continuously ever since.
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BROWN COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
JULIUS MELZER.
Julius Melzer, one of the best-known and most pro- gressive farmers in Brown county, proprietor of a fine farm of three hundred and sixty-two acres in Linden township, is a native son of Brown county, having been born in Cotton- wood township, October 26, 1858, second son of John and Wilhelmine (Tohm) Melzer, both natives of Germany and among the very earliest settlers of Brown county, who came to the United States immediately after their marriage and located at Chicago. They were among the members of the party of German colonists who left Chicago in 1855 and came to Minnesota, establishing the New Ulm settlement. Upon arriving here John Melzer homesteaded a tract of land in Cottonwood township and was living there with his family at the time of the Indian uprising in 1862. The fam- ily sought refuge in New Ulm and later went to St. Peter, where they remained until the uprising had been put down, after which they returned to their homestead farm, but shortly afterward sold that place and moved over into Nicol- let county, where their permanent home was established and where John Melzer died in 1913.
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