USA > Minnesota > Watonwan County > History of Cottonwood and Watonwan counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 28
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John B. Scribner is living in Cumberland, Wisconsin, now, at the age of ninety, but has always, until the past four years, made his home in Blue Earth and Watonwan counties since coming from New York state, about
(19a)
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sixty-one years ago. He was married twice; there was born one son, George, by his first wife; by his second wife were born the following : James, Charles, Ella, Jeremiah, William, Burchard, Isaac, Freemont, Eugene, Esther and Emma.
On April 13, 1885, B. J. Scribner was married to Anna Winch, the daughter of James and Elsie (Douglas) Winch, who were pioneers in Mar- tin county, Mrs. Scribner being born there. The following children were born to B. J. and Anna (Winch) Scribner : Cora, the wife of George Davis ; they are parents of five children. William was married twice, one son being born to him by his first wife, Doratha (Themer) Scribner, and one son by his second wife, Edell (Cook) Scribner. Frances is the wife of Clifford Sherman; Ida and Cecil are at home.
B. J. Scribner located on his present one hundred and sixty acre farm in section 30, Antrim township, twenty-five years ago. Much has been done to improve the place and in 1913 a large barn was erected.
JOSEPH DAVIES.
The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. This fact having been recognized early in life by Joseph Davies, farmer and legis- lator of Antrim township, Watonwan county, he has seized the small oppor- tunities that he has encountered on the highway that leads to the ultimate goal of success.
Mr. Davies was born in the above-named township and county, Sep- tember 27, 1867. and is a son of William and Gertrude (Thomas) Davies. James Thomas, the maternal grandfather, was a native of England and there he grew up and married, finally bringing his family to the United States, locating in Wisconsin, settling with an English colony in Columbia county, and there resided until after the death of his wife, then moved to Watonwan county, Minnesota, locating in Antrim township and made his home with the Davies family. William Davies, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Wales, where he married Mary Williams. They came to America, locating in Columbia county, Wisconsin, where they resided a number of years; then came to Watonwan county, Minnesota, and took up a homestead in Antrim township, of one hundred and sixty acres on which they spent the rest of their lives.
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William Davies, Jr., father of the subject whose name heads this review, was a native of Wales, where he spent his boyhood and attended school, being about nineteen years old when he came to America with his parents. He homesteaded eighty acres in Antrim township, to which he later added another eighty, and became one of the progressive farmers of Watonwan county. This place is now owned by his son, Joseph, eldest of his six chil- dren, the others being named as follow: Mary, who died when seventeen years old; James T., who married Kate Radcliff ; Fred, who married Mary McLain; Bertha and Marcus, who died when about thirty years of age.
Joseph Davies grew up on the home farm, where he worked when a boy, and he received a common-school education, later attending the Man- kato Normal, after which he engaged in teaching three years, then filled the office of county superintendent of schools ten years in a very commendable manner, doing much to better the conditions of the schools of Watonwan during that decade. While county superintendent of schools he studied law in the offices of J. L. Lobben and Hammond & Burns and was admitted to the bar in 1908. His principal work since leaving the office of county superintendent has been general farming and stock raising. He owns eighty acres of the homestead and one hundred and sixty acres additional, all well improved and under a high state of cultivation, in fact, he put on all the improvements on his home place.
Mr. Davies was married on June 28, 1905, to Margaret Cumberland, who was born near Franklin, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1877, a daughter of Arthur Cumberland, a native of England, from which country he immi- grated to Pennsylvania, and now lives in Canada. In his earlier career he taught school, but is now a farmer. He formerly lived in Dodge county, Minnesota. He married Caroline Homan. Their daughter, Margaret, was given a good education. She is a graduate of the Mantorville high school and the Winona Normal school. She taught for some time in the schools of Dodge county, and later in the city schools of St. James, Minnesota.
To Mr. and Mrs. Davies five children have been born, namely: Eliza- beth Gertrude, born on September 4, 1905; Burton Joseph, August 15, 1908; Dorothy, November 28, 1910; William Arthur, June 10, 1913, and Helen Pauline, June 13, 1915.
Politically, Mr. Davies is a Republican, and has long been active in party affairs. He has served two terms in the Legislature, serving through the regular sessions of 1909 and 1911 and the extra session of 1912. He · made a very commendable record in the House, his course meeting the hearty approval of his constituents.
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Fraternally, Mr. Davies is a member of the blue lodge of Masons of Madelia, and the chapter at St. James; also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.
ANDREW W. WARNER.
Seeking better opportunities, many Scandinavians have broken ties of home and native land and have entered earnestly upon the task of gaining a new home in Watonwan and adjoining counties. Andrew W. Warner, lumber dealer of Darfur, is one of this class. He was born in Sweden, September 16, 1867, and is a son of Charles and Christina Warner, both natives of Sweden, where they spent their earlier years and were married. The father came to America in 1869, locating in St. Paul, Minnesota, but in a few months went on to St. Peter, where his wife and son, Andrew W., joined him in 1870, in which year the death of the wife and mother occurred, after a short residence in the new world.
In the spring of 1875 Charles Warner moved to St. James and settled on a homestead of eighty acres in Adrian township, Watonwan county. He had previously remarried, his last wife being Matilda Holm, of St. Peter. He finally moved with his family to Comfrey, Minnesota, in 1909, where he is spending the last years of his life in retirement. The subject of this sketch was his only child by his first wife. To his second marriage five children were born, namely: Carl Alfred, Lydia Matilda, Anna Sophia, Mary Caroline and Amanda Josephina. The father is a member of the Lutheran church. He has never taken an active interest in public affairs, always refusing office.
Andrew W. Warner spent his boyhood on the farm. He was three years old when his mother brought him to America. He received a very limited education, less than six months' schooling in all. When young he learned the carpenter's trade in St. James, which he followed for about twenty years, becoming a highly skilled workman, and continued to reside in St. James. In 1914 he took charge of the C. M. Youmans Lumber Com- pany at Darfur, which he has since managed in a very able manner.
Mr. Warner was married in December, 1902, to Ellen Westberg, of Nelson township, Watonwan county. She is a daughter of A. P. Westberg, a pioneer farmer of that township. To Mr. and Mrs. Warner one child has been born, Aurora Elnora.
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Mr. Warner is a member of the Lutheran church. During the Spanish- American War, in 1898, he enlisted in Company B, Fifteenth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, in which he remained nine months. He did not get to the front, spending the time at Ft. Snelling, near Minneapolis; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Augusta, Georgia.
ARTHUR J. FLAIG.
Arthur J. Flaig, clerk of Germantown township, Cottonwood county, and one of the best-known and most progressive young farmers in that part of the county, who, in partnership with his younger brother, Oliver Flaig, is operating the old Flaig home farm in Germantown township, is a native son of Minnesota, born at Sanborn, not far from his present home, and has lived there all his life. He was born on October 28, 1887, son of Michael J. and Cecelia (Trach) Flaig, early settlers in that community, who are now living retired at Mankato.
Michael J. Flaig was born in the state of Wisconsin on March 23, 1861, son of Michael and Helen Flaig, a native of Ireland, the father a native of Germany, who settled in Wisconsin in an early day and there the elder Michael Flaig was engaged as a blacksmith until the early seventies, when he came with his family to Minnesota, settling in Redwood county. He homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in the Sanborn vicinity and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1909. His wife had died some years before that date. They were the parents of ten children, Michael J., Walter, who died in infancy ; Charles, George, Richard, William, Edward, Margaret, Helen and Marie. Michael J. Flaig was about sixteen years old when he came to Minnesota with his parents and he grew to manhood on the homestead farm in the vicinity of Sanborn. A year or two after his marriage he secured one hundred and twenty acres of school land across the line in Germantown township, Cottonwood county, and there established his home, soon becoming recognized as one of the substantial and influential residents of that part of the county. He planted a three-acre grove on his place, improved the place and gradually enlarged his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and fifty acres, on which he made his home until 1912, when he and his wife retired from the farm and moved to Mankato, where they are now living. To them five sons were born, of whom Arthur J. is the eldest, the others being Walter, who died
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in infancy ; Oliver, born on July 20, 1892, who is now, in partnership with his brother, Arthur J., operating the old home farm; Roy, who is with his parents in Mankato, and Harold, who also is with his parents and who is in school at Mankato.
Arthur J. Flaig grew up on the home farm in Germantown township, receiving his schooling in the local schools of that township, and was a valued assistant to his father in the work of developing the home place and after his marriage in 1909 continued to make his home there. When his parents moved to Mankato in 1912 he and his wife continued to occupy the old home and are still living there, Mr. Flaig and his brother, Oliver, farm- ing the place, a fine farm of three hundred and sixty acres belonging to their father. They are up-to-date young farmers and are doing well. Arthur J. Flaig has given considerable attention to local public affairs and is now serving as township clerk. He also for some time served as justice of the peace. He is a stockholder in the State Bank at Sanborn and in the Farm- ers Elevator Company at that place and in other ways is interested in the general business and civic life of the community.
On November 24, 1909, Arthur J. Flaig was united in marriage to Fannie Cottingham, who was born in Winona county, this state, daughter of William and Charlotte Cottingham, the latter of whom is now deceased, the former making his home at Springfield, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Flaig take a proper interest in the general social affairs of the community and are willing supporters of all movements for the advancement of the common interest thereabout. Mr. Flaig is a Mason, a member of Fides Lodge No. 246, at Sanborn, and he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. affiliated with Magnolia Chapter No. 167, at that same place, Mr. Flaig being tyler of the lodge and a sentinel in the chapter.
H. R. PIETZ.
H. R. Pietz, for years an energetic member of the board of commis- sioners of Cottonwood county and a well-known and progressive farmer of Rose Hill township, proprietor of a fine farm in the Westbrook neighbor- hood, where he has lived since 1891, is a native of Wisconsin, born on a farın in Waushara county, that state, October 26, 1860, son of E. W. and Louisa (Frederick) Pietz, both natives of Prussia, who became prosperous pioneers of Wisconsin.
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E. W. Pietz was married in his native land and shortly afterward came to the United States to make a home for himself and wife in the New World. He came West and settled in Wisconsin, homesteading a tract of land in Waushara county, in Bloomfield township, where he made ready for the coming of his wife, who joined him two years later. When the Civil War broke out E. W. Pietz enlisted in one of the Wisconsin regiments and served until mustered out at the close of the war. In 1872 he disposed of his farm in Waushara county and moved into Jackson county, where he homesteaded a quarter of a section of land and there he spent the remainder of his life. His widow survived him some years and her death occurred at Tracy, in Lyon county, this state. Both are buried at Delafield, Minne- sota. They were earnest members of the Lutheran church and their chil- dren were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, of whom H. R. was the sixth in order of birth, the others being Henrietta (deceased), Emilia (deceased). Othelia, Alvina, Paulina, Mollie, William, Ernest (deceased) and Ludwig.
As a youth, H. R. Pietz spent some time in Blue Earth county, this state, obtaining a part of his schooling in the German parochial schools there, and completing the same in the public schools of his home county in Wisconsin. Reared on a farm, he early began farming on his own account and after his marriage in 1881 established his home on a farm in Jackson county, this state, where he remained for ten years, or until his removal to Cottonwood county in 1891. In April of that year he took possession of his present fine farm of one-half section of land in Rose Hill township and he has ever since made his home there, where he and his family are pleasantly situated. Though owning but three hundred and twenty acres, Mr. Pietz has made a practice of renting other lands and for years has farmed about eight hundred acres of land in his home township, long having been regarded as one of the most progressive farmers in that part of the county. In addi- tion to his general farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of pure-bred stock, and his Shorthorn cattle and Shropshire sheep display evidences of his skill in that connection. Mr. Pietz has for years given his attention to local political affairs and has contributed largely of his time and energies to the public service. During his residence in Jackson county he served as township supervisor and during his residence in Cottonwood county has for eighteen consecutive years served as treasurer of his school district, while for fifteen consecutive years he served as assessor of Rose Hill township. In 1910 Mr. Pietz was elected county commissioner from
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his district and upon the completion of his first term of service in that office was re-elected and is still serving in that important and responsible capacity.
On July 25, 1881, in Jackson county, this state, H. R. Pietz was united in marriage to Philipina Erbes, who was born in Ashford, Wisconsin, daugh- ter of George and Philipina (Bate) Erbes, both natives of Germany, who came to the United States about 1855 and located in Wisconsin. During the Civil War George Erbes enlisted for service in a Wisconsin regiment of infantry and died during the period of that service. In the fall of 1871 his widow and children came to Minnesota and homesteaded a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Weiner township, Jackson county, where Mrs. Erbes spent the remainder of her life. She was the mother of six children, of whom Mrs. Pietz was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Mar- garet, one who died in infancy, William, George and Elizabeth, who were reared in the faith of the Lutheran church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Pietz fourteen children have been born: Pauline, Charlotte, Henry, Rudolph, Edward, Elizabeth, Gertrude, Pearl, Melvin, Leroy, Alfred, Edna, Gladys and Grace, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Pietz are members of the Lutheran church and give proper attention to all local good works, the family being among the leaders in the social and cultural affairs of their home neighborhood. Mr. Pietz is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Degree of Honor, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Brotherhood of America, in the affairs of all of which organizations he takes a warm interest.
HENRY D. PETERS.
Henry D. Peters, one of the best-known and most progressive farmers in Dale township, proprietor of the "Springvale Stock Farm" situated on rural route No. 2, out of Windom; treasurer of Dale township, president of the Delft Creamery Association, president of the Farmers Elevator Com- pany at Carson, a member of the board of directors of the Delft Rural Telephone Company and otherwise interested in the general affairs of his home community, is a native of Russia, though he has been a resident of this part of Minnesota since he was three years old and therefore regards himself as much a real Minnesotan as though native born in the Northwest. He was born in the south of Russia, March 24, 1873, son of Dietrich and Maria (Votb) Peters, farming people, who came to the United States with their family in 1876 and proceeded directly to this part of Minnesota,
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN HRANODINS
HENRY D. PETERS AND FAMILY.
SPRINGVALE STOCK FARM.
RESIDENCE AND BARN OF HENRY D. PETERS.
PUBLIC 187 91
AFTCI LY I TEN
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settling in Carson township, Cottonwood county, where they established their home, being among the pioneers of that section.
Upon settling in Cottonwood county, Dietrich Peters bought forty acres of wild land in Carson township, made and burned a kiln of bricks from the clay on that land and erected a substantial brick house, which he covered with a thatch of hay, and in that house he lived many years. That early brick house is still standing and is still in use, but it has long ago been covered with a shingle roof. Dietrich Peters was a good farmer and prospered in his operations. He gradually enlarged his land holdings and for years farmed a place of two hundred acres. In 1913 he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Mountain Lake, where his death occurred on March 18, 1916, he then being seventy years of age. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow: D. D., who owns the farm adjoining that of his brother, Henry D .: George, a farmer living northeast of Delft: Helen, who married George D. Ewert, a farmer living in Kansas; John, who died at the age of six years; Abraham, who lives on the old home farm in Carson township, and Mary, who married P. P. Peters and is living on a farm in Nebraska.
Henry D. Peters was about three years old when his parents came to this country in 1876 and he was reared on the pioneer farm in Carson town- ship, receiving his education in the public schools of that township, and remained at home until after his marriage in the fall of 1895. He then bought eighty acres in section 36, Dale township, a tract of wild prairie land, and there established his home. His first home was a frame house, eighteen by twenty-eight, in which he lived until he erected his present modern two-story dwelling in 1911. Upon beginning his farming opera- tions he built a small barn, but in 1909 erected his present commodious barn, thirty-six by seventy-two feet, and at the same time erected the first silo constructed in that part of the county, a structure sixteen feet in diameter by thirty feet in length. In 1913 he erected another silo, fourteen by thirty. He owns his own filling rig and has a fifteen-horse-power gasoline engine with which to operate the same and to propel other labor-saving machinery about the barn. Mr. Peters owns a fine, large automobile and his farming operations are carried on in accordance with the latest methods in modern agriculture. He has added to his holdings since beginning farming on his own account and is now the owner of a quarter of a section surrounding his home and a farm of eighty acres in Carson township. He early went in somewhat heavily for stock raising and his home place in Dale township
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is called "Springvale Stock Farm." He has a well-equipped dairy and a fine herd of Holsteins. Mr. Peters is an "independent" voter and long has given careful thought to local political affairs. He has been treasurer of Dale township since 1912. He has ever been active in promoting local business enterprises and is the president of the Farmers Elevator Company at Carson; president of the Delft Creamery Association and a member of the board of directors of the Delft Rural Telephone Company, to the affairs of all of which organizations he gives his most intelligent attention.
It was on November 3, 1895, that Henry D. Peters was united in mar- riage to Aganetha Goertzen and to this union ten children have been born, Aganetha, who died at the age of eight days; Mary, who died at the age of eight years; Henry, David. Dietrich, Lena, Isaac (who died at the age of three weeks), Justina, Jacob and Anna.
THORSTEN P. LAINGEN.
One of the prominent families that have come to Watonwan county from Norway and here found good opportunities and a comfortable homes and at the same time benefited the locality through their splendid citizenship is the Laingens, a well known representative of which family is Thorston P. Laingen, who, together with his son, Palmer, has the management of the bank at Odin.
Mr. Laingen was born in Norway, August 20, 1862, and is a son of Paul and Elsie (Andvord) Laingen, both natives of Lom, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, where they grew up and were married. They came to America in 1870, locating on a homestead five miles south of Mountain Lake, Cot- tonwood county, on eighty acres, on which they lived until 1876, when they sold out and bought one hundred and sixty acres, about one mile south of the original place. There the death of the mother occurred in 1893. The father remained with his son Knudt and his family there until 1900, when Knudt died. In 1901 they sold the farm and bought another two miles west of Odin in Watonwan county, where the father died February 18, 1909, at seventy-eight years old. To these parents four children were born, namely : Lars, Knudt. T. P., and Thora. This family always affiliated with the Norwegian Lutheran church.
Thorsten P. Laingen grew up on the home farm. He was eight years old when his parents brought him to America. He received a limited edu-
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cation in the public schools, which was held a week at a time in the different sod houses of the first settlers in this locality. In 1886 he was united in marriage to Julia Leverson. He at once rented eighty acres in Martin county. He had a team which his uncle at Crystal Lake had given him in payment for two years work on his farm. When Thorsten P. left home his father gave him two cows. His wife had also been given a cow by her par- ents. The first summer he met with a severe blow through the death of one of his horses. In fact, he found it hard sledding the first few years. The second year he rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and soon thereafter bought eighty acres of school land for which he paid seven dollars and fifty cents per acre. He remained on the one hundred and sixty acres four years, during which time he also worked his eighty, on which he built a home at the end of four years, and after living in it three weeks was burned out. By the assistance of friends and neighbors he soon rebuilt and lived there twelve years, and although bad luck continued to assail him, a number of good horses dying, among other things, he prospered and added to his holdings until he had accumulated two hundred acres. In 1902 he pur- chased the William Olson farm of two hundred acres, which joins the vil- lage of Odin on the west and south, and the following year sold the old farm and removed to it, remaining there from 1903 to 1911, when he moved into the village of Odin and, together with his son Palmer, took charge of the Odin State Bank. In 1913 he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Martin county for which he paid seventy-one dollars per acre, which he sold a few weeks later for eighty dollars per acre, then purchased the old Martin Agge farm in Odin township, Watonwan county, which place consists of two hundred and forty acres, for which he paid eighty-four dollars per acre, and this place he still owns, also retains the old Olson farm at Odin. He has been very successful in a business way and is one of the substantial men of his town and county.
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