USA > Minnesota > Watonwan County > History of Cottonwood and Watonwan counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 3
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district, his services in behalf of the best interests of this section of the state were of incalculable value to the whole commonwealth, while his active and intimate participation for many years in the general social and cultural life of his home county was productive of results that will have a lasting bearing for good throughout this entire region.
Winfield Scott Hammond was a native of Massachusetts, of Revolu- tionary ancestry, born in Southborough, Worcester county, that state, November 17, 1863, son and only child of John W. and Ellen ( Handing) Hammond died when her only son, the future governor, was but a child, academic training, was proprietor of a jute mill at that place, his home for more than fifty years, or until his death on January 14, 1906. Mrs. Ellen Hammond died when her only son, the future governor, was but a child and the father married Josephine Hastings, to which union two children were born, Milton H., who has been a resident of St. James since 1906, following the death of his father, and who for some years has occupied the responsible position of cashier of the Security State Bank of that place, and Alice W., who married Charles H. Sturtevant and now lives at Detroit, Michigan. Upon completing the course in the high school of his native town in June, 1880, Winfield S. Hammond entered Dartmouth College and was graduated from that excellent old institution in June, 1884. In that same year he came to Minnesota, having been called to serve as principal of the high school at Mankato. His service in that connection attracted the attention of the school authorities of Madelia and the next year he was engaged as superintendent of the Madelia public schools, a position which he held for five years and during which time he did much toward improving the school system there, contributing very largely to the work of elevating the standards of education hereabout. In the meantime Mr. Hammond had been devoting his leisure to the study of law and in 1891 was admitted to the bar. In that same year he entered into a partnership with D. C. Hopkins for the practice of law and was thus engaged, with offices at Madelia, for four years, at the end of which time, in 1895, actuated by business reasons, he moved his office to St. James, the county seat, where he ever after made his residence.
In 1892 Mr. Hammond was the nominee of the Democrats of the second Minnesota Congressional district for a seat in the House of Representatives, but failed of election, this district having been carried by the Republicans in that year. In 1895, the year in which he moved to St. James, he was elected county attorney and was're-elected in 1896. In 1900 he was again elected to that office and was retained incumbent in the same to the end of 1904.
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It was in 1898 that Governor Hammond's service in the administration of state affairs began. In that year he was appointed by Governor Lind a member of the board of directors for the state normal schools of Minnesota, in which capacity he rendered such admirable service that he was reappointed by Governor Van Sant and thus served as a normal-school director for eight years. Even after leaving the school room as a superintendent of schools, Mr. Hammond ever retained his interest in educational work and for years was a valued member of the school board at St. James. In 1906 he was again nominated by the Democrats of this district for Congress and in the ensuing election was elected by a good majority. His admirable service in the House of Representatives recommended him so strongly to the people of this district that he was re-elected in 1908, 1910 and 1912, declining to make a further race in order to become a candidate for governor in 1914. He was elected and was inaugurated in the following January. In the winter of that year, 1915, Governor Hammond was enjoying a tour in the South. At Clinton, Louisiana, he was stricken with apoplexy and died, December 30, 1915, in the very prime of his vigorous manhood and at the very height of his useful public career. The loss of this good man fell with particular severity upon his friends at his home in St. James and his memory long will be cherished throughout this section of the state. Governor Ham- mond never married. He took a deep interest in the social side of things and for years was one of the managers of the Minnesota Society of the Sons of the Revolution, to the promotion of the growth of which society in this state he contributed largely of his time and his energies.
JUDGE ALFRED D. PERKINS.
It is true that an honest, faithful, capable life, considered even in its temporal relations, is not lived in vain; that its influence is not as transient and evanescent as mere physical vitality, but that the progress of mankind, in all that is virtuous and ennobling, is accelerated by it. One such life in Cottonwood county during the past generation was that of the late Judge Alfred D. Perkins, for many years a distinguished lawyer, jurist, politician and.banker, whose reputation was state-wide and whose influence toward the upbuilding of this section of Minnesota was most salutary.
Judge Perkins was born in Erie county, New York, March 24, 1847. He was educated in the public and high schools of his native community,
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later studying at Griffith Institute. When a young man he took up the study of law, and removed to Wisconsin in 1868, locating at the town of Alma, where he was admitted to the bar and practiced his profession one year. He came to Plainview, Minnesota, in 1869, where he spent two years, and there he was married on April 19, 1871, to Florence A. Burchard, a native of Gainesville, Wyoming county, New York. She is a daughter of Rodman and Esther Austin (Davis) Burchard, natives of New York. The father devoted his earlier years to mercantile pursuits and farming. He removed with his family from New York to Plainview, Minnesota, in 1856, and there his death occured on February 6, 1883. His wife preceded him to the grave many years, dying on June 10, 1866. Politically, he was a Republican. He attended the Congregational church. His family consisted of the follow- ing children : Emily A., Charles D., Florence A., and Mattie Ann (deceased). Mr. Burchard married for his second wife Maggie Crossen, whose death occured in 1901, by which union one child was born, Fay R., died in 1885.
After his marriage, Judge Perkins spent one year in Madelia, Minnesota, removing from there in the spring of 1872 to Windom, where he successfully engaged in the active practice of law for many years, in fact, was a leader of the local bar and a prominent figure in the local courts. He was elected county attorney and was also judge of probate for several years. He was elected state senator in 1878, and served four years. In March, 1885, he was appointed district judge of the thirteenth judicial district, and was elected to this important position in 1886, continuing on the bench until March, 1891, when he resigned. In each of these responsible positions he performed his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, being a man of profound legal learning. careful, faithful, painstaking and courteous, unbiased in his decisions and upholding the law in a dignified and commendable manner. He was a man of ripe legal scholarship and a public-spirited citizen who did much for his community and state in a general way, and enjoyed the good will and esteem of all who knew him. After leaving the bench he was for a period of four years state superintendent of Sunday schools, a work in which he took great delight, and he did a splendid service in this line, greatly increasing the attendance in the Sunday schools in every county. In September, 1891, he moved to Minneapolis, where he made his residence for five years, returning to Windom in 1896, resuming the practice of law.
Judge Perkins was a great organizer and an all-around business man of rare acumen. In 1885 he organized the Bank of Windom, which began
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business in May of that year, he being cashier from the first. He sold his interest in this institution in 1896, and organized the Peoples Bank, which was consolidated with the Bank of Windom, April 27, 1897, becoming the First National Bank of which Judge Perkins was president until his death, September 24, 1898. The prestige and rapid growth of this sound and popular institution was due to the able management and wise counsel of the judge.
Judge Perkins was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his widow also belongs. They became the parents of four children, namely : Eliza Anna, born at Madelia, April 4, 1872, and she died in Los Vegas, New Mexico, August 5, 1902; she was a graduate of the University of Min- nesota, and taught school for some time; she married Jesse E. Pope, January 1, 1897, and to their union two children were born, Gladys Anna, October 5, 1897, and Darwin Jesse, November 13, 1898. Edna Lucy, second of Judge Perkins' children, was born at Windom, September 14, 1874, and died on September 16, 1875. Truman Alfred Perkins, the third child, was born in Windom, May 4, 1876, and here he was reared and edu- cated in the public schools, later attending high school in Minneapolis, after which he went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he worked for the Brooks Elevator Company for about five months; then went to Mountain Lake, this state, where he became assistance cashier of a bank, which posi- tion he held about a year. In 1897 he took a position with the First National Bank of Windom, upon its organization, and he has been connected with the same ever since, first as assistant cashier; since 1912 he has been cashier. He is a director in the First State Bank of Storden, Minnesota. Politically, he is an independent voter. He is now a member of the city council, also a member of the school board in Windom. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; the chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Truman A. Perkins was married on October 5, 1909, to A. May Hutton, who was born in Windom, May 13, 1880. She is a daughter of John Hutton, a pioneer merchant of Windom. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, Jane Hutton, whose birth occurred September 3, 1912. Mr. Perkins belongs to the Presbyterian church.
Roy Burchard Perkins, fourth child of Judge Perkins and wife, was 'born in Windom, July 18, 1883. Here he grew up and attended the public and high schools, later the agricultural department of the University of Minnesota. He owns a ranch at Lone Tree, Wyoming, where he resides.
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He married Bessie Nelson on July 20, 1904, and they have six children, namely: Alfred Darwin, born April 17, 1905; Clarence N., December 10, 1906; Roy Burchard, Jr., October 8, 1908; Ruth, May 31, 1910; Truman, November 25, 1912, and Florence, January 13, 1915.
TUFFIEL TIBBEDEAUX.
In making up the memorial annals of Cottonwood county no record would be complete that did not carry fitting mention of the life and of the services to this community of the late Tuffiel Tibbedeaux, of Great Bend township, and who, in his day, was one of the largest landowners and most extensive cattlemen in this part of the state. Tuffiel Tibbedeaux was a Canadian, of French descent, born on June 15, 1845, son of Oliver and Mary Louise (Sears) Tibbedeaux, both of whom also were born in Canada and who lived there until 1850, in which year they moved over the line and located in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. There the mother died and the father later came to Minnesota and located in Faribault county, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1885. There were five chil- dren in the family, of whom the subject of this memorial sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being Philemon, Isadore, Rosa and Joseph, of whom Rosa is now the only survivor.
Tuffiel Tibbedeaux was five years old when his parents moved to Wis- consin in 1850, and there, in the neighborhood of Fond du Lac, he grew to manhood. On September 5, 1864, he then being nineteen years of age, he enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil War as a recruit in Company A, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, with which command he served until the close of the war and during the period of which service he partici- pated in some stirring engagements.
Upon the conclusion of his military service, Mr. Tibbedeaux came to Minnesota, arriving in Faribault county in June, 1865, and there he home- steaded a quarter of a section of land, which he proceeded to develop. The following September he married and on that homestead tract he established his home. Mr. Tibbedeaux was an excellent farmer and as his operations prospered he added to his holdings until he became the owner of six hun- dred and forty acres, on which place he made his home for about thirty years, at the end of which time he disposed of his extensive interests in
MR. AND MRS. TUFFIEL TIBBEDEAUX.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ATOP LENB!
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Faribault county and moved to Cottonwood county. He bought a quarter of a section of land in Great Bend township, established his home there and again prospered in his farming operations, gradually increasing his land holdings until he became the owner of one thousand two hundred and eighty acres of land and was one of the largest cattle buyers and feeders in this part of the state. Mr. Tibbedeaux had a fine place in Great Bend town- ship and took much pleasure in the extension and development of the same. He gave thoughtful attention to the general activities of the neighborhood in a business way and was regarded as one of the most substantial and influential residents of that part of the county, so that at his death on March 8, 1908, there was general regret throughout that community. Mr. Tibbedeaux was a Republican and gave a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but was not a seeker after office. He was ever a faithful Catholic and on several occasions had served as church trustee.
Tuffiel Tibbedeaux was twice married. It was on September 5, 1865, shortly after returning from war, that he was united in marriage to Rosa D. Guyette, daughter of Joseph and Madaline (LaValley) Guyette, natives of Canada, and to that union eleven children were born, namely: Ellen, who married John Smith and has five children, Fred, Henry, Verne, Law- rence and Marie; Solomon, who married Julia Paseneaux, who died, leaving one child, Irma, after which he married Rosa Puryer; Tuffiel, who married Virginia Ebert and has seven children, Bert, Mitchell, Clemeth, Genevia, Lucile, Victor and Blanche; Louise, who married Clayton Sole and has one child, Merton; Rosa, who married Robert Coulter; Joseph, who married Cecelia Sweeney and has three children, Alfred, Adrian and another ; Lovina, who married William Viles and has three children, Roy, Joseph and Blanche ; Margaret, who married Henry Percival and is now deceased; Madaline, deceased; Nora, who married Anton Below and has one child, Tuffiel, and Michael, who died in infancy. The mother of these children died on May 15, 1881, and on September 23, 1883, Mr. Tibbedeaux married, secondly, Edwidge Better, who was born in Franklin county, New York, daughter of Peter and Mary (Sampson) Better, natives of Canada, and to this union five children were born, as follow: Ezra, who married Florence Sunnesack and has three children, Mavis, Colletta and Edwidge; Eva, who married Isaac Sunnesack and has three children, Delois, Reda and Phyllis; Anna Belle, who is at home with her mother; Florence, who married James Develon, and Blanche, who is teaching in Cottonwood county. Mrs. Tibbe- deaux, who for some years has made her home at Windom, has a very
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pleasant home there and maintains a hearty interest in the general social and cultural affairs of the city, ever interested in such movements as are designed to advance the welfare of the people of her home town and of the community at large.
MILTON H. HAMMOND.
Milton H. Hammond, cashier of the Security State Bank of St. James, a half-brother of the late Gov. Winfield Scott Hammond, of Minnesota, and one of the most prominent figures in the financial life of this section of the state, is a native of Massachusetts, born at Southborough, that state, May 31, 1887, son of John W. and Josephine (Hastings) Hammond, the former of whom was born at Bridgewater, New Hampshire, and the latter at Framingham, Massachusetts.
John W. Hammond received an academic education and became an engineer, settling at Southborough, which was his home for about fifty years and where he was for years the owner of a jute mill. He was twice married; by his first wife, Ellen Handing, having had one child, a son, Winfield Scott Hammond, late governor of Minnesota, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. By his second marriage he had two children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the elder, the latter having a younger sister, Alice W., who married Charles H. Sturtevant and now lives at Detroit, Michigan. The mother of these children died in 1890 and her husband survived until January 14, 1906.
Milton H. Hammond was reared in his native town, receiving his school- ing in the public schools of that place, supplementing that course by a further one in a business college at South Framingham. In 1906, following the death of his father, he came to Minnesota to join his half-brother, Winfield S. Hammond, at St. James, and shortly after his arrival there, was made a clerk in the Security State Bank of St. James. Three years later he was made assistant cashier of the bank and in 1912 was elected cashier of that institu- tion, a position which he now occupies, long having been recognized as one of the ablest young bankers in this part of the state. Mr. Hammond is a Democrat and ever since coming to Minnesota has taken an active interest in local political affairs. In June, 1916, he served as a delegate from this dis- trict to the national Democratic convention at St. Louis.
In 1910 Milton H. Hammond was united in marriage to Hazel McSteen, daughter of J. E. McSteen, of St. James. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond are
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members of the Episcopal church and take an active interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in all local good works, and are accounted as among the leaders in the general social and cultural life of the community. Mr. Hammond is a Knight Templar Mason and a Knight of Pythias, as well as a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Equitable Fraternal Union and the Modern Brotherhood of America, in the affairs of which several organ- izations he takes a warm interest.
MILO T. DEWOLF.
Milo T. DeWolf, former mayor of Windom, former commissioner of Cottonwood county, former postmaster of Windom, a member of the board of directors of the Windom National Bank, a well-known retired farmer and stockman, who for years has taken an active and influential part in the general affairs of Cottonwood county and this section of the state, is a native of the great Empire state, born on a farm in Herkimer county, New York, October 7, 1847, son of William and Melissa ( Place) DeWolf, both natives of that same state.
William DeWolf also born in Herkimer county, member of one of the old families thereabout and was reared on a farm. Later he bought a farm in Paris township, Oswego county, same state, where he established his home and there he and his wife spent their last days. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow : James, a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, came to Minnesota in 1871 and settled in Cottonwood county, where he passed away; Harley, who also came to Min- nesota in 1871, settling in Cottonwood county, and died in Illinois in 1906; Andrew L., of Paris, Oswego county, New York; Mary, wife of George Lynch, who lives near that same town; Nettie, wife of Austin Whiteman, also of Paris, New York, and John, who also came to this section of Min- nesota in 1886 and died at Windom in 1898.
Milo T. DeWolf was reared on the paternal farm in Oswego county, New York, receiving his education in the public schools, a select school at Amboy and the Whitesboro Academy. He taught school for three years and then, in 1871, came to Minnesota with his brothers and an uncle, Moses L. DeWolf, settling in Cottonwood county, all taking claims near to each
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other and becoming influential factors in the early development of that part of the county. When the township in which they settled was organized the the DeWolfs were given the honor of naming the same and they gave it the name "Amboy," in honor of their old home town in New York, and it is thus that Cottonwood county has an Amboy township. Milo T. DeWolf preempted a quarter of section 34, in that township and upon his marriage the next year established his home there. From the first he took a prominent part in early real-estate activities hereabout and bought and sold considerable land. For three years he also acted as manager of the R. Bardon farm. After awhile he moved to Bingham Lake, where he engaged in the live-stock and dray business and was thus engaged until July 1, 1889, when he moved to Windom, where he ever since has made his home and where from the very beginning of his residence there he has been one of that city's most enterprising and progressive citizens. For years he continued his live-stock operations and other business activities, but for some years past has been living practically retired. In 1902 Mr. DeWolf went to Canada and bought three sections of land, all of which he since has sold save three hundred and twenty acres. He owns a fine home on Fourth street in Windom, where he and his wife are very pleasantly and comfortably situated. They spend a part of their time in Canada with their sons and make occasional visits back to their old home in New York state. Mrs. DeWolf is active in local church work and for many years has been regarded as one of the leaders in the social life of this community. She also for years has been one of the leaders in the work of the Order of the Eastern Star at Windom.
Mr. DeWolf is a Republican and ever since settling in this region back in pioneer days has taken an active and earnest part in civic affairs. For two terms he served as county commissioner from the fourth district and was thus serving at the time the first court house in Cottonwood county was erected. During the Mckinley administration he was postmaster of Windom and has also served two terms as mayor of that city, having been the city's chief executive officer at the time the waterworks and the electric-light plant were constructed. In addition to his extensive realty and live-stock opera- tions he also gave much attention to the general enterprises of the community and is still serving as a member of the board of directors of the Windom National Bank. Mr. DeWolf was made a Mason in New York in 1872, a member of West Amboy Lodge No. 650, and his membership long ago was transferred to Prudence Lodge No. 97, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Windom, and of the Royal Arch Chapter No. 48, at Windom. He also is a Knight Templar, a member of Laverne Commandery No. 22, and a
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noble of Osman Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at St. Paul, and, with his wife, is connected with the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, taking a warm interest in all these several branches of Masonry. He also is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and he and his family are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.
On November 8, 1871, in Oswego county, New York, Milo T. DeWolf was united in marriage to Louise E. Gardner, who was born in that county, daughter of William H. Gardner and wife, the latter of whom was a Rath- bone, whose last days were spent at Hartford, Connecticut, both living to advanced ages, and to this union three children have been born, namely : Blanche, wife of John Ruff, cashier of the Windom National Bank ; Archibald, now of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land and assistant manager of the affairs of E. J. Meilicke & Sons, and Earl G., now with the Goose Lake Grain and Lumber Company at Ardath, Saskatchewan. Archibald DeWolf was formerly postmaster of Windom.
DAVID EWERT.
It was in southern Russia, October 6, 1838, that David Ewert, the subject of this sketch, first saw the light of day. His father, William W. Ewert, and his mother, whose maiden name was Anna Buhler, were both natives of southern Russia.
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