USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 42
USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
MATH MATHISON.
From Pierce county, Wisconsin, hails Math Mathison, a well-known farmer of Brandon township. Douglas county. He was born in the former county, March 2, 1873, and is a son of Jacob and Johannah ( Mathison) Mathison. Both his grandfathers were named Math. The maternal grand- father was married in Norway and came to America in 1863, coming direct to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he and his family lived two years, after which they moved to Pierce county, that state, where he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. Their children finally all moved away, some of them remaining fourteen years after they first came. The paternal grand- father lived and died on a farm in Norway. Jacob Mathison and wife first met in Norway, but were not married until after they located in Pierce county, Wisconsin. After their marriage they located on eighty acres of railroad land, which was heavily timbered, sixty acres of which he cleared. He built a log house and barn and engaged in general farming. To these parents eight children were born, namely: Sophia, Emma, Math, Samuel. Anton, Petrena, Alma and Ida, all of whom are living. After leaving Pierce county, Wisconsin, they came to Minnesota, buying one hundred and fifty- seven acres in Brandon township, Douglas county. The parents are both still living, but have been retired for some years.
Math Mathison grew up on the farm and attended the public schools
429
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
in Brandon township, but he had to work hard when a boy helping his father develop the homestead. He drove an ox team for a period of seven years, and thus broke the major portion of the farm. On June 24, 1903, he mar- ried Hulda Chack, a daughter of James E. Chack, and to their union one son has been born, Alfred, whose birth occurred on February 13, 1906.
Mr. Mathison has been quite successful as a general farmer and now owns a valuable and well-improved place of two hundred and thirty-one acres. He rebuilt his barn in 1912 and put up a silo the year previous, which was the first silo in the county. He has turned his attention very largely to dairying, keeping from twenty to thirty good Jersey cows, also raises Duroc-Jersey hogs in large numbers. He now rents his land out and is taking life easier than formerly. He is a stockholder in the Brandon creamery. Politically, he is independent. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
JOHN A. NORGREN.
As a farmer, John A. Norgren, of Ida township, Douglas county, is wideawake and progressive in his ideas. He was born in Sweden, October 23, 1866, and is a son of John E. and Louisa (Ryberg) Norgren, both natives of Sweden, where they grew up and married. They came to Minne- sota in 1868 and took up a homestead of one hundred and twenty acres in Ida township, Douglas county. The father built a small log house and at once began clearing his land and putting it under cultivation, farming with oxen for some time. He engaged in general farming there until 1896, when he retired and turned the place over to his son, John A. Norgren, although he still lives on the place. The mother makes her home with another son, Andrew, in the state of Washington. There were nine chil- dren in all, namely: John A., Anna Eugenia, Carl E. (deceased), Hannah L. (deceased), Lena L. (deceased), Andrew G., Esther F. (deceased ), Ida A. and Alma (deceaesd). The family all live in Seattle, Washington, except the subject of this sketch and his father.
John A. Norgren was two years old when his parents brought him to America and he was reared in Minnesota and was educated in the common schools. After attending the old log school house in district 17, he took a business course in the Minnehaha Academy at Minneapolis, spending two winters there, working on the farm in the summer months, until 1896, when
430
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
he took charge of the homestead, which he has since operated with success. It consists of two hundred acres. He has kept the land well cultivated and well improved and has built a modern house and barn, silo and other build- ings. He raises considerahle live stock, especially Shorthorn cattle. He feeds most of the grain produced on the place.
Mr. Norgren was married in 1900 to Jennie Benson, whose death occurred on January 20, 1914, leaving one son, Carl B. On May 5, 1916, Mr. Norgren married Nannie H. Lindstrom. Mr. Norgren is a Repub- lican and has served as township clerk, and has been assessor for two years. He was also a member of the school board and clerk of the same. He is a stockholder in the Garfield Creamery Company and a member of the Farm- ers Potato Warehouse Association, of which he is secretary. He belongs to the Lutheran church.
J. ALFRED BERGLUND.
J. Alfred Berglund, one of the prominent and successful farmers and stock raisers of LaGrand township, Douglas county, was born in Sweden on February 9, 1864, the son of Samuel and Anna Berglund, also natives of Sweden, where they spent all their lives. Samuel Berglund was a hard working man and was a kind father and husband. His life was a busy one and he had little time for the pleasures of the community. As a boy he began to work in an iron factory and in that business he continued during his life. He and Mrs. Berglund were the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom grew to maturity, Johanah, Sophia, J. Alfred, Mina, Carl, Eda, Alex and Marie, of whom all are living save Johanah.
J. Alfred Berglund received his education in the common schools of his native land and there he lived until he was twenty-four years of age. In 1888 he decided to leave the land of his nativity and young manhood and seek a home in America. On his arrival in this country he came directly to Minnesota and for four or five years thereafter worked as a farm hand in Douglas county. He then decided to engage in farming for himself, and with that end in view purchased forty acres of land where Magnus Mag- nuson now lives, in LaGrand township. There was but little of the farm cleared at that time, yet he was soon in a position to plant some of his crops. It required much hard work, yet he was determined to succeed and after a time he sold his farin of forty acres and purchased one of one hun- dred and forty acres, in the same township, where he now lives. This
-
431
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
tract was also undeveloped and unimproved, and again Mr. Berglund set to work to put the farm into shape for cultivation. In this he has been suc- cessful and today one hundred acres are under thorough cultivation and pro- ducing fine yields of grain. Mr. Berglund is a strong believer in intensive farming, as well as in the systematic cultivation of his fields. He has erected excellent buildings on the farm and today has one of the substantial farm homes of the township. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been quite successful, being one of the highly respected and substantial citizens of the county.
In 1908 J. Alfred Berglund was united in marriage to Anna Swed- berg, also a native of Sweden, who came to Minnesota at the age of six months with her parents, Erick and Anna (Westlund) Swedberg, who located in Grant county, where Mr. Swedberg homesteaded and took a tree claim and where he and his wife still reside. To J. Alfred and Anna Berg- lund have been born four children, Lilian, Julia, Axel and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Berglund are prominent members of the community and take an active interest in the social and religious activities of the neighborhood.
CHARLES G. OLSON.
Charles G. Olson, a prominent and successful farmer of Ida township, Douglas county, was born in Sweden on May 30, 1865. the son of Olaf and Clara ( Nelson ) Johnson, also born in Sweden, where they received their education and were married. The father was there engaged in farming, one of the prominent men of the community in which he lived, and there he died in 1877, at the age of forty-two years. The family continued to live in Sweden, after the death of the father, until 1882, when they decided to come to America. After landing in the United States they came direct to Minnesota, arriving at Alexandria on June 2, 1882. Olaf Johnson and wife were the parents of the following children: Charles G., Elizabeth, Louis, Richard, Kasper and Jones. Richard Jones and Kasper are now deceased. Elizabeth became the wife of C. G. Palmer, of Sauk Center, and Louis is in the state of Washington, where he is operating a saw-mill.
Upon her arrival in Douglas county, Mrs. Johnson purchased one hun- dred and sixty acres of wild land in section 17 of Ida township, which was later developed into one of the fine farms of the township. After some years of residence in the county, Mrs. Johnson became the wife of John
.
432
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Wendberg, who owned the eighty acres that adjoined her farm in section 16. After the marriage they lived on the farm of Mr. Wendberg for a number of years, at the end of which time they retired to Alexandria, where they lived for some time and then took up their residence at Sauk Center, where they now reside.
Charles G. Olson received his education in the public schools of Sweden and as a lad worked on the farm. After coming to the United States he engaged as a farm hand for a number of years. In 1893 he purchased eighty acres in section 16 of Ida township, where he engaged in general farming until 1897, when he sold the place and bought eighty acres in sec- tions 29 and 32, a partly-improved farm. Upon assuming possession of the place he made many improvements, including a circular barn, fifty-six feet in diameter, in the center of which was built a silo, twelve by thirty- five feet. one of the best and most substantial barns in the community at that time. There he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising.
In 1904 Charles G. Olson was united in marriage to Augusta Swenson and to this union five children have been born, Fred, Myrtle, Cleve, Clarence and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Olson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church and take much interest in church work. They are active in the social and religious life of the township and are held in high esteem by all who know them. Mr. Olson is affiliated with the Republican party, has always taken an active interest in local affairs and has served as a member of the board of supervisors and as a member of the school board.
JOHN BACKELIN.
Sweden has sent no more enterprising tiller of the soil to Douglas county than John Backelin, of Holmes' City township, who was born in that far-away country on April 17, 1851. He is a son of John and Gertrude (Johnson) Olson, both natives of Sweden, where they grew up, were mar- ried and established their home and died there, having devoted their active lives to farming. They had six children, Olaf Johnson, Joe Backelin, Mary, Peter Backelin, John and Mrs. Carrie Wallner.
John Backelin, who dropped the family name of Olson upon coming to America, was reared and educated in Sweden, from which country he immi- grated to the United States in 1883, when thirty-two years old. He came to Minnesota and located at once on the place where he still lives in Holmes
JOIIN BACKELIN AND FAMILY.
433
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
City township, Douglas county, owning a good farm of one hundred and fifty-eight acres. He has worked hard in developing it, but now has a good farm and numerous substantial and convenient buildings. He assisted in organizing the Farmers' Creamery Association of Holmes City, of which he is now treasurer, and has done much to make the enterprise a success.
In 1880 John Backelin was married to Sarah Johnson, who was born in Sweden, and is a daughter of John and Breta Johnson, who came to America with the subject of this sketch, with whom they made their home during the rest of their lives, the mother dying on July 13, 1916, at the age of eighty-three years and six months. The father died in 1909. To Mr. and Mrs. Backelin five children have been born, Betsie, Gertrude, Joseph, Amelia and Segfried, all of whom are living.
Mr. Backelin has been treasurer of the Holmes City Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company for the past thirty years and has been active in the manage- ment of that very successful concern. Politically, he is a Republican, with Prohibition leanings, and is township treasurer, which office he has held for a number of years. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church at Holmes City.
OLUF T. HOVE.
Oluf T. Hove, a prominent business man and farmer of LaGrand township, Douglas county, was born in Norway, on October 7, 1854, the son of Tosten and Dororthea (Anderson) Olson, also natives of Norway, where they spent the greater part of their lives, and there their children were born and reared. In his native land the father engaged in agricultural pursuits and was considered a thorough and systematic farmer. Yet the opportunities were not large and in 1880 Mr. Olson and wife decided to come to America. Upon landing in the United States, they came directly to Minnesota and located in Minneapolis, where Mr. Olson was engaged as a railway switchman. It was there that the father and mother lived until their deaths, some years ago. They were highly respected people and took much interest in church work.
Oluf T. Hove received his education in the land of his birth and there grew to manhood, remaining a resident of that country until he was twenty years of age. He was aware of the fact that many of his former neighbors and friends had come to the United States, where they were meeting with (28a)
434
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
some degree of success, so he decided to follow them to the new land. In 1874, after landing in this country, Mr. Hove came to Minnesota and for a time was located in Minneapolis. The first winter he was here he spent in the pineries, assisting in the cutting of timber. He then returned to Minneapolis where he was a clerk in a store for ten years, after which he located at Fergus Falls, where he engaged in the mercantile business for one year. After disposing of his store he engaged in farming in the neigh- borhood of Fergus Falls and was thus engaged for one year, at the end of which time he again entered the mercantile business, this time at Apple- ton, Minnesota. After nine years in the store there he again disposed of his interests and removed to Lake Mary township, Douglas county, where he rented a farm for two years. He then moved to La Grand township and purchased his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which farm he has developed and improved until he has one of the model farms of the township. He has erected substantial modern buildings and has one of the best farm houses in that neighborhood. There he is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has met with much success. He is a firm believer in intensive farming and in thorough cultivation, as well as in the keeping of good stock. His farm is well looked after and his buildings are in excellent repair.
In 1881 Oluf T. Hove was united in marriage to Caroline Stone, who was born in Norway, the daughter of Michael and Rongneld (Hansdatter) Stone, both natives of Norway, who came to Minnesota and settled in Bell River township, Douglas county, in 1868. To this union have been born the following children, Marvin Theo, Arthur, Fred M., Oliver Ber- nard, Clifford Robert, Henry M., Carl O., and Ruth A., all of whom are living. The family are held in high regard in the community in which they live and where they take an active interest in the social and religious life of the township. Mr. Hove has always taken a keen interest in the civic affairs and has ever exerted his influence for the betterment of local conditions.
Michael Stone, the father of Mrs. Hove, was born in August, 1824, the son of Rasmus Ecker and wife, and received his education in the schools of Norway. As a lad he learned the tailor trade, but later engaged in farming. In 1868 he came to Minnesota and homesteaded a tract of one hun- dred and sixty acres in Douglas county, where he lived for twenty years, at the end of which time he sold the place and purchased one hundred and sixty acres near Alexandria, where he lived until his retirement from active
435
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
farm work, when he and his wife took up their residence in Alexandria, where they lived until the death of the wife and mother on May 21, 1912, since which time Mr. Stone has made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Hove. Mr. Stone was always a man of activity and accomplished much during life as a farmer. He and his wife were greatly respected by all and they had much to do with the social and religious life of the communities in which they lived.
SOREN J. MILLER.
Soren J. Miller, a prominent and well-known retired farmer of Nelson, was born in Denmark in 1844, the son of Jens Peter and Caroline (Sorens- datter ) Fransen, who spent all their lives in Denmark, where the father was a working man and had taken part in the war with Germany in 1850. He and his wife were the parents of five children, Anna, Hannah, Mary, Soren J. and Franz, all of whom save Soren J., remained in Denmark.
Soren J. Miller took his material grandfather's name in honor of that grandsire. Mr. Miller received his education in his native country and there resided until he was thirty-six years of age. He was engaged in farm work the greater part of his life in that country, but during the last few winters he was engaged in the making of wooden shoes. In 1881 he came to Minnesota and located at Osakis village, where he remained until the next spring, when he moved to the farm on which the village of Nelson is now situated. He rented the land for six years and at the end of that time he and L. P. Peterson purchased the tract of two hundred and forty acres. Mr. Miller took the part lying north of the railroad and it was on this tract that the village of Nelson was later located. At that time there was only a railway station, a postoffice and a part of the house in which Mr. Miller is now living. The land was covered with timber, which was cleared by Mr. Miller, who later laid out the town.
After clearing and developing the land which he had bought and on which he hoped to make his home, Mr. Miller later laid out the town and sold the tract, with the exception of one acre, which he still owns and where he lives. He rebuilt and improved the house and erected the other buildings on the place. For a number of years he operated a feed store and mill, which he sold at the time of his retirement from business.
In 1867 Soren J. Miller was united in marriage to Carrie Simonsen,
4,36
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
also a native of Denmark, and to that union three children were born, Elesia, Mary and Katie. Mrs. Miller died in her native county before Mr. Miller came to this county. In 1881, before leaving for the United States, Mr. Miller married Mrs. Gethta ( Smith) Stolk. By her former marriage, Mrs. Miller was the mother of four children, Jens, Laura Christenia, L. P. and Lena. On coming to America, Mr. Miller brought his wife with her chil- dren and his own. It was her son, L. P., who later purchased the farm with Mr. Miller. Gethta Miller died in 1902.
Mr. Miller always took an interest in the growth and advancement of his home town and the community and served on the village council and was school treasurer for thirteen years. He and his family are active mem- bers of the Danish Lutheran church and take much interest in church work.
ANDREW L. McCORD.
Andrew L. McCord, a well-known and successful farmer of Ida town- ship, Douglas county, was born in the state of New York on August 20, 1854, the son of Andrew J. and Mary ( Tanner) McCord, who were also born in that state, there received their education and were there married. They later removed to Pennsylvania, where they purchased a farm in Craw- ford county, and there farmed their one-hundred-acre tract for twenty-two years, at the end of which time, in 1878, they came to Minnesota and located in Douglas county. Here they purchased one hundred and seventy-one acres in section 34 of Ida township and in section 3 of LaGrand township. The farm at that time had very crude improvements, consisting of a log house and a log barn. These the family used for several years, after which they erected good and substantial buildings. There Andrew J. McCord engaged in general farming and stock raising for many years, his first farming being done with oxen. Mrs. McCord died many years ago and during the last few years of his life Andrew J. McCord lived with his son, Andrew L. McCord. Mr. McCord died in 1912 at the age of ninety-one years. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Phoebe, Charles F., Robert, Joseph, Andrew L. and Mary, of whom Charles F. and Andrew L. are the only ones now living. Charles F. McCord is living at Erie, Pennsylvania, and is a retired railroad man.
Andrew L. McCord received his education in the common schools of Pennsylvania and grew to manhood on the home farm. As a young man he
437
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
became a fireman on the railroad, at which he worked for some years. He with his two brothers, Robert and Joseph, then came to Minnesota and pur- chased two hundred and fifteen acres of land in Douglas county. The grass- hoppers put in their appearance about that time and Andrew L. McCord left the farm to his brothers and returned to Pennsylvania, where he again en- gaged as a fireman. After two years thus engaged with the railroad he returned to Douglas county, accompanied by his father and mother, and bought an improved farm near Garfield. He was married in 1881 to Laura Smith, of Orange township, Douglas county, and they lived on the farm for sixteen years. He then traded with his father. He has made many improvements on his new farm, among the improvements being a fine barn, thirty-six by eighty feet, that he built in 1910. There he is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been quite successful. He keeps many good cattle and hogs and feeds nearly all the grain that he raises.
Andrew L. and Laura McCord are the parents of five children, War- ren, Nina, George, Blanche and Hazel. Nina McCord married Jacob Olsen, a successful farmer of Montana, and has two children, Urban and Harold. Warren McCord married Rose Lempe and has one child, Sylvia. Mr. and Mrs. McCord are prominent in the social activities of the community in which they live and are held in the highest regard by their neighbors and friends.
LEONARD HINTZEN.
Although there are few Hollanders in Douglas and Grant counties, those that are here recognized as among our best citizens, industrious and law-abiding. Such was the late Leonard Hintzen, for many years a suc- cessful farmer of Belle River township, Douglas county. He was born at Acht, Holland, May 6, 1852, a son of Paul and Cornelia Hintzen, who lived and died in Holland, in which country their son Leonard grew to manhood and attended school, and there he married Mary E. Fox, who was born on February 28, 1857. in Prussia, Germany. Leonard Hintzen and wife immi- grated to America about the year 1877, landing at Boston, Massachusetts, but they came on to Minnesota at once to join her bachelor uncle, Charles Beumers, who had homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres in Belle River township, Douglas county. Soon after their arrival here Mr. and Mrs. Hintzen bought one hundred and sixty acres in section 17 of Belle River township, where they established a comfortable home through their industry
438
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
and perseverance. Prospering with advancing years, Mr. Hintzen added to his original purchase until he owned one of the best farms in the county. containing four hundred and twenty acres, where he carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale until his death on August 17, 1915, after which his widow and children operated the farm, her death occurring on July 14, 1916. She was a daughter of John and Mary ( Beum- ers) Fox, who spent their lives in the old country. To Mr. and Mrs. Hint- zen twelve children were born, the first two in Germany, and all of whom are living at this writing, John, Anna, Nicholas, Sophia, Elizabeth, Mary, Josephine, Katherine, Peter, Cornelia, Lambert and William. Politically, Mr. Hintzen was a Republican and the family have always been members of the Catholic church.
ALGORT T. NELSON.
Algort T. Nelson, a successful farmer and stockman of LaGrand town- ship, Douglas county, was born in Sweden in 1866, the son of John August and Helena Nelson, also natives of Sweden, where they received their educa- tion and were married. In 1870 they came direct to Minnesota, locating in Goodhue county, where they resided for two years. In 1872 they came to Douglas county and John A. Nelson homesteaded eighty acres in LaGrand township, where he now resides. The tract on which Mr. Nelson located was undeveloped and unimproved, he having erected the first buildings and cleared the farm. He became successful and his original farm of eighty acres was increased until he became the owner of two hundred and two acres. In time he erected a fine brick house on the farm, as well as other substan- tial and modern buildings. He always took an active interest in the growth and the development of the township and was much interested in the suc- cess of the schools and in the general prosperity of the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were born five children, Christine Borrows, Hulda Erick- son, Algort T., Clara Bylund and Alma Berglund.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.