USA > Minnesota > Watonwan County > History of Cottonwood and Watonwan counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 26
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church and in the general good works of the community in which they have lived since pioneer days, ever active and influential in the promotion of movements designed to advance the cause of the common weal thereabout.
DIETRICH STOESS.
Dietrich Stoess, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Midway town- ship, Cottonwood county, proprietor of an excellent farm of six hundred and forty acres in the vicinity of Mountain Lake, is a native of Russia, born at Schoenthal, March 14, 1866, son of John and Mary (Hepner) Stoess, both natives of that same district in the Czar's domain, who came to the United States in 1877 and proceeded to Minnesota, settling in Waton- wan county. There John Stoess bought a quarter of a section of land in the western part of the county and established his home. He was an excellent farmer and prospered in his operations, eventually becoming the owner of a full section of land, where he made his home until his retirement from the farm in 1903 and removed to the village of Mountain Lake, where his death occurred in the following year, 1904, he then being sixty-five years of age. His widow survived for a little more than ten years, her death occurring on August 8, 1914. They were earnest members of the Mennon- ite church and their children were reared in that faith. There were eight of these children, of whom Dietrich was the second in order of birth, the others being Mary (deceased), Jacob, John, Cornelius, Peter, David (de- ceased) and Erdman.
Dietrich Stoess was about eleven years of age when he came to Minne- sota with his parents in 1877 and he has lived in the neighborhood in which the family settled in Watonwan county ever since. Upon coming here he entered the public schools and supplemented the course there by later at- tendance in a private Mennonite school. He early took his place as an assist- ant to his father and brothers in the development of the home farm and became an excellent practical farmer. He was married in 1890, and in 1896 bought the northeast quarter of section 25, in Midway township, Cot- tonwood county, where he established his home and where he has lived ever since. As he prospered in his farming operations Mr. Stoess added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of almost a full section of land, part of it being over the line in Watonwan county. He has improved his place in admirable fashion, has a substantial and comfortable residence, ex-
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cellent barns and other fine buildings and has long been regarded as one of the leading farmers of the Mountain Lake neighborhood. Mr. Stoess also is the owner of a threshing rig, which is in wide demand during the thresh- ing season. Mr. Stoess is a Republican and takes an active interest in local political affairs, but has never been a seeker after public office.
On January 17, 1890. Dietrich Stoess was united in marriage to Helena Harder, of Watonwan county, and to this union have been born eleven children, all of whom are living save two, John and Wilhelm, the others being John, Abraham, Jacob, Mary, Dietrich, Peter, Erdman, Cornelius and Aaron, the first named of whom is occupying the farm his father owns in Watonwan county. Mr. and Mrs. Stoess are active members of the Men- nonite church, in the affairs of which they have ever taken a deep interest, and Mr. Stoess is treasurer of the school maintained by that church at Mountain Lake, Minnesota.
AUGUST E. LINDQUIST.
August E. Lindquist, one of the prominent citizens of Watonwan county, was born on September 26, 1879, being the son of Gustave and Augusta Lindquist. Gustave and Augusta Lindquist are natives of Sweden and came to the United States when young. They settled in Watonwan county some fifty years ago. When young people they met and later mar- ried. In early life Mr. Lindquist homesteaded eighty acres of land. Since that time he has added to the original tract considerable land and owns much property in St. James. He lives on the old homestead in Long Lake township, near the lake. To Gustave and Augusta Lindquist were born five children : Christine, the wife of Elof Erickson; Edward, Albert, Tillie, the wife of O. K. Haugen, and August E.
August E. Lindquist received his education in the public schools of his township and in the schools of St. James. After completing his education he worked on the farm and followed threshing for a time. He was later employed as a salesman and collector for a machine company for nine years. He has been a resident of St. James for about fifteen years. He is recognized as a man of much ability and has many friends. In 1908 he was elected sheriff of his county for two years, and was twice re-elected for a similar term, and in 1914 he was elected for a term of four years. His official life has been above criticism and his tenure of office is an index of his standing in the county, where he has spent his life.
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In 1907 Mr. Lindquist was married to Edith Olson, of Watonwan county. To this union two children have been born; Ruth, born in 1911, and Donald, born in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist are members of the Lutheran church.
NATHANIEL P. MINION.
Nathaniel P. Minion, member of the board of county commissioners of Cottonwood county, one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of that county, and who also is extensively engaged in the business of buy- ing and selling live stock, proprietor of a fine farm in Delton township and also actively interested in the banking and elevator business at Bingham Lake, is a native of the Dominion of Canada, but has lived in Minnesota since he was twelve years old. He was born on a farm in Canada, June 6, 1859, son of Arthur and Rhoda (Griffin) Minion, who became pioneers of Cottonwood county and spent their last days here.
Arthur Minion was born in Ireland in 1811. When twenty years of age, in 1831, he crossed the water and settled in Canada, where he married. He had been trained to the trade of weaver in Ireland, but upon locating in Canada became a farmer and the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, making his home on that farm until 1865, in which year he sold his place and came to the United States, settling in Clinton county, Iowa, where he farmed until 1871, in June of which year he came to Minnesota and homesteaded a quarter of a section in section 4 of Carson township, Cottonwood county, where he established his home. He hauled lumber from Madelia and erected a shanty on his place and there made his home during those "lean" years that marked the grasshopper visitations of that period. In 1879 he built a better house, having by that time got his farm pretty well under cultivation and was regarded as one of the substantial and influential farmers of that community. He was a public-spirited man, ever taking an active part in local political affairs, and did well his part in the development of that part of Cottonwood county. Arthur Minion was acci- dentally killed while working about a horse-power threshing-machine on September 6, 1885. His widow survived him many years, her death occur- ing in the fall of 1912, she then being ninety-four years of age. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eleventh in order of birth, the others being Mary Ann (deceased), William
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(deceased), Robert, Sarah Jane (deceased), Arthur, Eliza Jane (deceased), Charlotte, Amanda, James, Martha and Sarah.
Nathaniel P. Minion was about six years old when his parents moved from Canada to Iowa and was about twelve when they came to this state. He grew to manhood on the homestead farm in Carson township, helping in the development of the same, and remained at home until his marriage in the spring of 1881, after which he rented a place in section 10, of Carson township, where he lived for a couple of years, at the end of which time he bought from his brother, Arthur Minion, the homestead right to a quarter section in section 34, Delton township. On that tract he built a small house and barn and entered upon possession in 1886, remaining there until he moved to his present place in 1898. In the meantime he had bought the northwest quarter of section 28 in Delton township and in 1898 traded his homestead place for the adjoining southwest quarter and there has made his home ever since. When he entered upon possession the place was almost wholly unimproved and he has brought it to a fine state of cultivation, improved it in up-to-date fashion, planted trees and made the place one of the most attractive in that part of the county. Mr. Minion has done well in his farming and stock-raising operations and has added to his land hold- ings by the purchase of two hundred and forty acres in section 29, of Delton township, and one hundred and sixty acres in section 35, of Ann township. He is widely known as a stock buyer and ships a carload of cattle to St. Paul every week, besides maintaining various other business interests. He is the vice-president of the First State Bank of Bingham Lake, a stockholder and director in the Carson Farmers Elevator Company and a stockholder in the Farmers Telephone Company. Mr. Minion is a Republican and for years has given close attention to local political affairs, now serving his third term as a member of the board of county commissioners, of which board he has been chairman two terms. For sixteen or seventeen years he served as assessor of his home township; was township clerk for some years and also served for some time as a justice of the peace, while he has been clerk of the board of his local school district for many years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of the World and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.
It was on March 20, 1881, that Nathaniel P. Minion was united in marriage to Augusta Bastian, who was born in Germany and who had come to this country with her parents when she was a young girl, and to this union seven children have been born, namely: Robert W., a well-known (18a)
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young farmer of Delton township, who married Laurel Davis and has two children, Walter and Wesley; Frank S., also farming in Delton township, who married Winifred Fox and has one child, a son, Russell; Bertha, who married James Fairburn, of Saskatchewan, and has five children, Leslie, Nathaniel P., Ethel, Earl and Dorothy ; Lewis, also farming in Delton town- ship, who married Bertha DeWolfe and has one child, a son, Donald; Effie, who married Harry Gravell, a farmer of Ann township, and Reuben and John, who are at home. The Minions are members of the Methodist church and take an active interest in the promotion of all movements having to do with the advancement of the common interest hereabout.
WILLIAM WALLACE MCLAUGHLIN.
The New Englanders have been noted as a hardy race. Wherever they have settled they have been noted for their thrift, fortitude and good citizen- ship. Among this class, who have cast their lot with the people of Waton- wan county, are the Mclaughlins, of Fieldon township.
William Wallace Mclaughlin was born at Hartford, Vermont, January 27, 1848. He is a son of Lewis H. and Sarah H. (Hatch) Mclaughlin, The father was born in Canada in 1799, grew up on a farm and married there, finally moving to Cook county, Illinois, where they lived until 1864, when they came to Rice county, Minnesota, where they lived two years, locating in Watonwan county in 1866, homesteading eighty acres, and there spent the rest of their lives, the father dying in 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. The mother, who was born in 1807, died in 1884. They came here in pioneer days and developed a farm from the wild prairie, living in a sod house for sometime. They were menaced by prairie fires and many other things which would have discouraged people of less sterling mettle. They were active members of the Methodist church. To these parents seven children were born, named as follow: James and Jane, who are both deceased; Phineas and Adelia, who are both living; Abigail is deceased; Emma is living, and William Wallace, the subject of this sketch.
William W. Mclaughlin grew up on the home farm and he received his education in the district schools. He has followed general farming and stock raising all his life and owns eighty acres of good land, which was orig- inally prairie. He has planted the following varieties of trees on his land : Cottonwood, ash, soft maple, willow. He has a cosy home, which he has
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remodeled a number of times. Politically, he is a Republican, and has been treasurer of the township of Fieldon for twenty-nine years. During the past twenty years the township elections have been held at his place.
Mr. McLaughlin was married in 1875 to Christine Siharffenberg, who was born in Easterdahlen, Norway, January 26, 1851. She came to Minne- sota when young. Mrs. McLaughlin owns forty acres joining the home- stead on the south. To this union the following children have been born : A. U., born on December 15, 1875, was reared on the homestead and edu- cated in the local public schools. He married Emma Colebank, a daughter of E. Colebank. Their union has been without issue, but they have an adopted son, Loren C. A. U. Mclaughlin holds title to one hundred and twenty acres and farms his father's place also, making two hundred and forty acres in all. He has been engaged for the past eleven years in raising and shipping to all parts of Minnesota a fine grade of Yorkshire hogs, which, owing to their superior quality. find a very ready market, and he has become widely known in this business. He is a Prohibitionist. He served his township as assessor several terms. He belongs to the Presbyterian church, is presi- dent of the County Sunday School Association and of the local creamery.
May Mclaughlin, second child of the subject of this sketch, was born May 6, 1878, married John P. Erickson, and they have two children, Elna and Eunice. Nellie Mclaughlin, the third child of the subject of this sketch. was born October 29, 1880, married Frank M. Colebank, also a son of E. Colebank, and they have two children, Donald and Lloyd.
In 1870 Mr. McLaughlin lost his crops through the grasshopper plague ; in 1871 blight visited and destroyed his crops, which again in 1879 were ruined by a hailstorm.
MOSES KIMBALL ARMSTRONG.
(Written by a Friend.)
It affords great pleasure to present an account of the life record of the above named distinguished gentleman. He was a man not alone of Minne- sota, but of the nation, and largely through his efforts the great Northwest, with its vast resources and advantages, has been opened up to civilization. With a devotion and self-sacrifice that is seldom equaled, he gave of his time and energies to the work that has made this region a habitable place, and we can hold him in grateful remembrance for what he did and tell to our children the story of his heroism.
Moses K. Armstrong was born in Milan, Erie county, Ohio, December
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19, 1832, and came from an old New England family of Scotch-American origin. The grandfather, Augustus Armstrong, was born in Connecticut and spent his entire life in that state, engaged on a whaling vessel. He lost his life by being dragged overboard into the sea while harpooning a whale. The father of Moses K. also bore the name of Augustus and he, too, was a native of Connecticut; was reared in Stonington, was a farmer by occupa- tion and in his early life served as captain of militia in northern Ohio. Thomas H. Armstrong, one of the sons, has been lieutenant-governor of Minnesota, and another son, Augustus, was United States marshal of the state.
M. K. Armstrong was educated in Huron Institute and the Western Reserve College of Ohio and held high rank as a mathematician. When only eighteen years of age he moved westward and engaged in the land surveys of northern Iowa. From that time on he was identified with the wonderful development of the Northwest. He became a man of wide in- fluence, but instead of using his power for self-aggrandizement or personal advancement, he practically gave his life for others with an unselfishness deserving of all commendation. After two years spent in Iowa he came to Minnesota, then a territory wild and unimproved, and surveyed much of the land in the southern and western parts of the state. In 1856 he was elected surveyor of Mower county and while traveling with chain and compass through pioneer localities, he gathered material and wrote a history of the community. He was one of the delegates to the first Democratic state con- vention held in Minnesota, which nominated General Sibley as Minnesota's first state governor. The first surveyor-general appointed him as one of his deputies and assigned him to the survey of government lands in southwest- ern Minnesota and in 1858 he surveyed into sections the land of which Watonwan county is now composed. His friend, D. Bearup, a New York investor in Watonwan county securities, in writing him concerning this county, said: "But what is a still greater source of gratification is that as a pioneer in Watonwan county you have watched it and sustained it in its tottering infancy and have done much to put it safely and firmly upon its feet. This is an achievement that few men could accomplish and still fewer would so far divest themselves of selfishness as to accomplish it if they could. Watonwan county is making its material for history. In that his- tory you cannot be a mere incident, but it will have to be very largely based on you, to be history at all; and it is a great pleasure to us to believe that the patriotism, generosity and faith which you have devoted to the struggling settlers will be gratefully remembered long after you have left the scene."
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When Dakota was made a territory separate from Minnesota, Mr. Armstrong made his way into that unorganized region and surveyed some of the first claims and townsites for the new settlers on the land which the Yankton Indians had just ceded to the United States in southern Dakota. He was a member of the first Territorial Legislature of Dakota, on its organization in 1861 ; was re-elected for a second term and became speaker of the House when Dakota embraced, besides the domain included in North and South Dakota, the territories of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. For many years following he was prominent in public life, but whether in office or out he was always laboring for the development and advancement of the Northwest. The Northern Pacific railroad, which became the national highway of this region, was established by a company which numbered him among the incorporators, by act of Congress in 1862. During the Civil War, Mr. Armstrong was a supporter of the Democracy and edited the Dakota Union in the interests of that party. In 1864 he was appointed clerk of the supreme court of Dakota and the following year was elected treasurer of the territory. He was sent as a senator to the Legislature, where he served as presiding officer in 1867, and in 1870 was elected by the Democrats as a delegate to Congress. He gave his first term salary for the purchase of a printing press with which was founded the Dakota Herald, the first prominent Democratic paper in the territory and is today the oldest party newspaper in the state. In 1872 he was again elected to Congress and in 1874 he was re-nomiated for a third term, but declined to be a candi- date. No man did more effective service for the Northwest in the halls of Congress, and through his labors and devotion he forwarded the interests of this section in a way that brought material prosperity and rapid progress to a region that is now becoming a power in the country.
One of the most important acts in the life of Mr. Armstrong was the negotiations with the Indians in securing the lands that belonged to the Sioux tribe. He was fitted for this work by his study of the habits, customs and beliefs of the red men and knew how to deal advantageously with them. He lived through the attacks which were made on the settlers by the treach- erous savage, and his able pen has given to the world a graphic account of these trying times. He acted as recording secretary for the Indian peace commission in 1867, and visited every tribe of Sioux Indians on the Mis- souri river as far north as the Yellowstone country. He was the first man to frame and introduce a bill in Congress in 1871, whereby the secretary of the interior should have authority to treat with the Sioux Indians and pur- chase from them their rights to the Black Hills country. He knew of the
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vast resources, the mineral wealth, the climatic conditions, the fine agricul- tural districts of the region over which the Indians had control, and through his instrumentality this valuable region was finally secured. But the work which gives Mr. Armstrong the strongest claim to the esteem and gratitude of the Dakotans is his "History of Dakota," in 1866. One may suppose that Dakota could not have had much history up to that date, but a perusal of Armstrong's book will show that the history of Dakota reaches back to the earliest years of the century, when Napoleon sold to the government of the United States the Territory of Louisiana, in which the Dakotas were included.
Mr. Armstrong, while in Congress, also received from the government a charter for the first National bank established in the territory once em- braced in Dakota's boundaries and was afterward made its president, the bank being located at Yankton. In 1876 he was appointed by the governor of Dakota to prepare and deliver at Philadelphia the centennial address on the resources of the territory, which afterward appeared in pamphlet form, having been published by the Lippincott Publishing Company. In 1877 he began to concentrate his business affairs, which before had been scattered over a wide range and the following year being appointed railroad land agent he moved to St. James, where he established what is known as the Old Bank, which had a capital of two hundred thousand dollars, and of which he was sole proprietor and manager. During the last few years of his life he retired from activities publicly and devoted his time to his per- sonal affairs only. Since he had arrived in Watonwan county, however, he served as county treasurer two years-1881-2-and was city treasurer more than a dozen years. He was one of the largest property owners in Waton- wan county, and donated the grounds on which stand many of the public buildings. He was a life member of the State Historical Society, and one of Minnesota's lakes bears his name. He was married in 1872 to an esti- mable lady, Martha Bordeno, a native of Detroit, Michigan, born in 1833, the daughter of Antoine and Victoria Bordeno, who were of French descent.
Mr. Armstrong was identified with almost every line of trade and enter- prise. He was instrumental in establishing the early railway systems of the Northwest; the aid of Congress in securing the wealth and privileges to a race that could utilize them, was advocated by him. In procuring legislation he played a prominent part, and the Northwest is truly his debtor. A life well spent, a talent well used, deserves the reward that ever comes to the just and honorable. We cannot better close this review than with the words spoken of him by one who knew his career long and well-John F. Meagher,
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president of the Citizens' National Bank at Mankato. He says: "I glory in the man, who, after long years of a business career, surrounded by contin- uous vicissitudes and those of the kind that try men's souls, when such a man can stand erect and look all men in the face and say honestly before God, 'I have done you no wrong.' What more could man do to deserve a crown? Such I believe your life to be. 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' " '"
It is to be regretted that the last years of Mr. Armstrong's career were cast beneath a cloud on account of his big bank failure, in which many lost heavily. He lost his wife and nearly all of his great wealth; he was taken to Albert Lea, Minnesota, and died a few years ago.
LAMONT HOWARD TACKELS.
LaMont Howard Tackels, one of the prominent farmers of Antrim township, is a native of Watonwan county, having been born here on Decem- ber 17, 1879. He is the son of Martin Van Buren and Frances H. (Zim- merman) Tackels. Martin Van Buren Tackels was born in Michigan on August 13, 1840, while Frances Tackels was a native of Waterloo, New York, having been born there on December 29, 1846. William Zimmerman, the father of Mrs. Tackels, was born in Pennsylvania. He later moved to Waterloo, New York, and then to Edgerton, Wisconsin, where he died in July, 1879. His life had been devoted to the cultivation of the soil.
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