USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 47
USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 47
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On December 13, 1893. Nels Bye was united in marriage to Annetta Egeberg and to this union the following children have been born: Morris, Clarence, Ebba, Henry, Thora, Alice, Borghild, Edwin, Sigurd, Carl and Svanhild. Mr. and Mrs. Bye are members of the United Lutheran church and take much interest in the social and religious life of the township. Mr. Bye has always been interested in the civic life of the township and has done
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much toward the general development and prosperity of his community. For the past twenty years he has been a member of the board of supervisors and has acted as chairman of that body. He has for the past fifteen years been a member of the school board and has taken much interest in the growth and development of the schools. He is a trustee of Concordia College at Moorhead. is a firm believer in the support of the schools and has had much to do with the development of the schools in his county.
K. N. O. MELBY.
K. N. O. Melby, deceased, formerly one of the most prominent and suc- cessful farmers and business men of Pelican Lake township, Grant county, was born in Norway on April 3, 1840. There he was educated in the public schools and there he grew to manhood. As a young man he decided to come to America, and upon his arrival in the United States proceeded at once to Wisconsin, where he located in Walworth county. He was there but six months, when he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-second Regiment, Wis- consin Volunteer Infantry, and served during four years of the Civil War, where he saw much active service. He was captured by the Confederates and was confined in Libby Prison, where he remained for months, at the end of which time he was released in exchange for a Southern soldier. He was with Sherman on the march to the sea and remained with that command until the close of the conflict. After having received his discharge, at the close of the war, he returned to Wisconsin, and engaged in farming.
In 1868 K. N. O. Melby was united in marriage to Sarah Peterson, who was born at Sharon, Wisconsin, on June 24, 1847, the daughter of Ole and Helga Peterson, natives of Neumadahl, Norway, where they were edu- cated in the public schools, grew to manhood and womanhood and were mar- ried. They later came to the United States and located on a farm near Sharon, Wisconsin, where Mr. Peterson engaged in general farming and where the daughter, Sarah, was born. Ole and Helga Peterson were active in the early social and religious life of the community in which they lived,, and were held in the highest regard by all who knew them. Mr. Peterson took much interest in local affairs and was prominent in the civic life of the township. He was a man of ability and his advice was often sought on mat- ters of public interest.
After his marriage, K. N. O. Melby came to Minnesota and homesteaded
K. N. O. MELBY.
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DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 15, Pelican Lake township, Grant county. He then returned to Wisconsin for his wife, they making the return trip to Grant county with horses and wagon. On his homestead Mr. Melby erected a log cabin, in which he and his family lived for some years and which still stands on the farm. Mr. Melby devoted many years of active life in clearing and developing his farm, where he engaged in general farm- ing and stock raising, and was successful, he having owned, at one time, some three sections of land. He made the farm his home until he retired from the activities of a farmer's life, when he moved to Ashby, where he died on February 7, 1913.
During his residence on the farm, Mr. Melby took much interest in local affairs and was one of the prominent men of the township, as well as of the county. He was a member for years of the township board of super- visors and served on the school board. He always took much interest in the success of the schools, as well as in the financial development of the com- munity. He assisted in the incorporation of the town of Ashby, where he owned an interest in the general store, known as the Melby and Madland Company. For a number of years, before he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, he was the local postmaster and was also president of the village board for two terms. He was an active member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, as is his widow, and always took much interest in church work, both he and his wife being prominent in the social and religious life of the community and held in high regard by their neighbors and friends. Mr. Melby was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, W. W. Preston Post No. 185, and was also a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
To K. N. O. Melby and wife were born thirteen children, K. O., Han- nah, Severina, A. K., John O., Lewis, Emma, Bessie, Sarah, Lena, Nellie, Minnie and Christian, of whom John O., Lewis, Sarah, Lena, Nellie, Minnie, and Christian are now deceased. Mrs. Melby is now living at Ashby and her two daughters, Emma and Hannah, are with her to give her every care and attention. Hannah is the widow of B. E. Ellingson, who was for many years a prominent grain dealer at Ashby. Mr. and Mrs. Ellingson were the parents of five children, Minnie, Edwin, Sidney, Leonard and Helen.
To such men as K. N. O. Melby, Grant county owes much. To them is due the credit for much of the splendid condition of this section of the state today. To them is due the credit for the clearing of the forests, the breaking of the wild prairie land and the bringing of the district into the
(31a)
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class of well-cultivated fields, well-improved and dotted here and there with fine herds of cattle. By them the villages were organized, schools estab- lished, churches built and the township and county governments set in motion. All this was not accomplished in a day, and not without the most strenuous work, and untold hardships. Their work was well done and the future success of the county was assured.
OTTO NELSON.
Among the many natives of Sweden who are successfully engaged in farming and stock raising, in Lien township, Grant county, is Otto Nelson, who was born on May 17, 1866, the son of Andrew and Catharin Nelson, who were also born in Sweden and there received their education in the public schools and were married. They continued to reside in their native country until 1868, when they decided that they would seek a home for themselves and their family in America. In that year the father and hus- band came to the United States, the wife and mother not coming until the next year. Andrew Nelson, on his arrival in the United States after his voyage of thirteen weeks, came at once to Minnesota and located at Red Wing, Goodhue county, where he and his wife remained until 1872, when they moved to Pierce county, Wisconsin, where Mr. Nelson purchased ninety acres of land and there he engaged in general farming for some twenty-five years, at the end of which time he moved to Minneapolis. . While on a visit to his son, Otto Nelson, in Grant county, he died on March 21, 1905, at the age of eighty-seven years, he having been born in 1818. His wife had died in 1903 at the age of eighty-two years.
Andrew and Catharin Nelson were the parents of eight children, Charley, Mary (deceased), Lena, Betsey (deceased), Andrew (deceased), Fred, John and Otto. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were active members of the Swedish Luth- eran church and took much interest in church work. They were prominent in the social and religious life of the community and were greatly interested in the growth and the development of their home district, in which they took an active part. Politically, Mr. Nelson was a Republican.
Otto Nelson came to the United States with his mother in 1869, his father having come the year before. He received his education in the public schools of Pierce county, Wisconsin, and there grew to manhood on the father's farm, where as a lad he assisted with the work. As a young man
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he learned the mason trade, at which he worked for some years. In 1893 he came to Grant county and worked for J. A. Noel for two years. He then engaged in farming on rented land. In 1910 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 32 of Lien township, which he developed and improved, erecting good and substantial buildings and making other valu- able improvements. He is there engaged in general farming and stock rais- ing and has been quite successful.
Politically, Otto Nelson is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in local affairs, being recognized as one of the influential men of the township. He is progressive in his views and believes in good roads and in the best of schools. He is now the clerk of the school board, to which he gives the same careful attention that he does to his own business, believing that the public is entitled to his best efforts while acting in an official capa- city. He is an active member of the Swedish Lutheran church.
In 1887 Otto Nelson was united in marriage to Augusta Erickson, who was born in Sweden in 1870, the daughter of Andrew and Annie Erickson, both natives of that country, who continued to reside in their native land until 1882, when they came to the United States and located in Pierce county, Wisconsin, where Mr. Erickson engaged in general farming and stock rais- ing, until the time of his death in 1899, his widow surviving him until 1904. They were active members of the Swedish Lutheran church and were held in the highest regard by all who knew them.
To Otto and Augusta Nelson were born the following children : Agnes, Clarence, Mabel, Nora, Abner, Helen, Lawrence, Eva, Earl, Roy, Ruth, Reuben and Ethel. Clarence, Lawrence, Roy and Ruth are now deceased. Augusta Nelson died on January 1, 1914, after a useful and active life, mourned by a large circle of friends, who knew her to be an affectionate wife and mother and a kind neighbor and friend.
HON. ANDERS G. JOHNSON.
The Hon. Anders G. Johnson, a well-known and enterprising merchant of Melby and one of the largest landowners in Douglas county, former mem- ber of the state House of Representatives and of the state Senate, former member of the board of county commissioners of Douglas county and since the days of his youth actively identified with the work of developing the resources of this part of the state, is a native of the kingdom of Sweden, but
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has been a resident of Minnesota since he was eleven or twelve years of age. He was born on September 25, 1857, son and only child of Magnus and Sophia Johnson, who later became pioneers of this part of Minnesota and spent their last days on their pioneer farm in Lund township, Douglas county.
It was in 1869 that Magnus Johnson came to the United States and joined the earnest band of home-seekers then heading toward this section of Minnesota. After a bit of prospecting he decided on his location and home- steaded a tract of one hundred and forty-three acres in Lund township, Douglas county. He erected a claim shanty on the same and then sent for his wife and son, who joined him on the homestead in 1870. Not long after establishing their home there the little claim shanty occupied by the Johnsons was destroyed by fire and for two years thereafter, or until a log house could be erected to replace the same, they lived in a cellar. During the first year of his operations on the farm, Magnus Johnson had no crop and the second year had but twenty-six bushels of wheat. He presently began to prosper, however, built a new frame house and was soon accounted one of the sub- stantial residents of that community, both he and his wife taking an active part in the development of proper social and economic conditions in that pioneer neighborhood. Mr. Johnson has been dead for more than twenty years, and Mrs. Johnson died three years ago.
Anders G. Johnson was the only child of his parents and at the time of his marriage, at the age of twenty-one, his father turned over the man- agement of the farm to him. He was successful from the very start of his operations and as he prospered gradually added to his holdings until he is now the owner of nearly one thousand acres of land and has long been accounted one of the most substantial citizens of Douglas county. About thirty years ago Mr. Johnson gave up the active operation of his farm and started a general store at Melby. He was successful in his commercial venture from the very start and has added to his stock as the demands of the trade warranted until now he has a very well stocked store, carrying a full line of dry goods, groceries, shoes, men's furnishings and the like. He also is an extensive dealer in cattle and is interested, in partnership with Mr. Palmquist, in the local elevator at Melby. Mr. Johnson is a Republican and from the days of his young manhood has taken an active part in local politi- cal affairs, long having been regarded as one of the leaders of his party in this section of the state. He has held numerous local offices, including those of township clerk and county commissioner, and has also served as a member
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of the state House of Representatives, representative from this district, and as a member of the state Senate, his service in both the House and the Senate having given him a wide acquaintance throughout the state.
Mr. Johnson has been twice married. His first wife, who was Sygrun Iverson and to whom he was married when he was twenty-one years of age, died in the spring of 1905, leaving ten children, Amanda, Richard, Elnora, Adolph, Victor, Edwin, Joseph, Bennie, Thorwald and Esther. Mr. John- son later married Anna B. Bjorgan, and to this union four children have been born, Harold, Agnes, Einar and Hildur. The Johnsons have a very pleasant home at Melby and for years have taken an interested part in the various social activities of their home town and in the community at large. They are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, Mr. Johnson being secretary of the local congregation, and take a warm interest in the beneficences of the same, as well as in all local good works, ever helpful in promoting such agencies as are designed to advance the common welfare hereabout.
M. C. AANERUD.
County Commissioner M. C. Aanerud, one of Grant county's best- known and most substantial pioneer farmers, proprietor of a fine farm of more than six hundred acres in Delaware township and for many years one of the most active factors in the development of that part of the country, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident of Minnesota since 1878, the year in which he came to America. He was born on a farm in the vicinity of Kongsvinger, a mountain fortress in the stift of Agger- shuus, amt of Hedemarken, beside the Glommen, about fifty miles east and north of Christiania, October II, 1857, son of Christian and Maren (Aren- son) Aanerud, both of whom also were Hedemarkens, the former a farmer and landowner who served his time in the army, and who spent all their lives in their native land. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth, the others being as follow: Erick, who lives in Norway; Arne, who went to sea and whose present whereabouts are unknown : Anton, who died in Norway: Lauris C., who came to Minnesota and settled in Grant county and is now a retired farmer in Delaware township; Hans, a farmer in North Dakota, and Anna, who came to this country and married Ole Schgerud.
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DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
M. C. Aanerud was reared on the home farm in his native land, receiv- ing his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood, and in his youth learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, following the same for three years, at the end of which time, in 1878, he then being twenty-one years of age, he came to the United States, being the first member of the family to come to this country. He came directly out to Minnesota and his first summer here was spent in Redwood county, working on farms. He then, in the fall of that year, traveled through South Dakota and Minnesota seeking a permanent location and finally selected Grant county, selecting the place on which he ever since has made his home, a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in section 12 of Delaware township. When Mr. Aanerud settled there the country thereabout was all raw prairie, no buildings in sight, no groves save a fringe of trees that grew along the lakesides and the little village of Herman the nearest station and market. He erected a small frame house on his place and began to develop the farm. The next year he married and there established his home, presently bringing his place under cultivation and becom- ing recognized early as one of the most progressive farmers in that part of the county. Mr. Aanerud began breaking his farm with a four-ox team and for some time thereafter his mode of travel was by ox-team, a wide differ- ence between his present mode of getting about over the country in his high- powered automobile. As he prospered in his farming operations, Mr. Aane- rud added to his land holdings until now he is the owner of six hundred and ten acres of fine land, practically all in one body. In 1898 he erected a fine new house on his place and in 1910 built a modern new barn. Mr. Aanerud is a Republican and from the very beginning of his residence in Grant county has taken an earnest interest in local civic affairs. For many years he served as clerk of his school district, was for years a member of the board of town- ship supervisors, was for fourteen years treasurer of Delaware township and in 1910 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners from his district, a position he still occupies and to the administration of the affairs of which office he has devoted his most intelligent attention.
It was in 1879 that M. C. Aanerud was united in marriage to Berthea Arenson, who also was born in Norway, daughter of Arne Spetalen and wife, who spent all their lives in their native land, and to this union seven children have been born, namely: Adolph, who is married and lives on part of the home farm; Claudia, who married Charles Anderson; Matilda, who died at the age of sixteen years; Emma, who also died at the age of
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sixteen, and Harry, Morton and Joseph, at home. The Aaneruds are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a warm interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in all local good works, helpful factors in the promotion of all movements having to do with the advance- ment of the welfare of the community in which they have lived since pioneer days.
ANDREW C. RUSTAND.
Andrew Rustand, one of the prosperous farmers and stock raisers of Elbow Lake township, Grant county, was born in that township on Decem- ber 1, 1880, the son of Christian Rustand and wife, a more complete sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume. He received his edu- cation and grew to manhood in North Ottawa township, where as a lad he assisted his father with the work on the farm. After completing his school- ing Andrew C. Rustand engaged in farming and is now the owner of two hundred acres of excellent land, his farm being the one that his father owned. There Mr. Rustand has erected excellent buildings and has added many other valuable improvements that have added greatly to the value and the beauty of the place. As a general farmer and breeder of high- grade stock, he has been successful. He believes in intensive farming and in the keeping of the best of stock. He is interested in Shorthorn cattle and has a beautiful herd of these animals. Mr. Rustand is identified with the Republican party and has always taken an active interest in local affairs. He is progressive in civic affairs as well as with his private business interests. His ability has been recognized by the people of his township and he is now a member of the school board as well as township treasurer. He is a strong advocate of good schools and believes in the maintenance of the best that it is possible to have in that line.
In 1908 Andrew C. Rustand was united in marriage to Ida Cordal, who was born in Stony Brook township, Grant county, on February 8, 1889, the daughter of Fosten T. Cordal, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. To this union one child, a daughter, Gladys, was born on December 31, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Rustand are active members of the United Lutheran church and are prominent in the social and the religious life of the commun- ity, where they are highly regarded.
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DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
JOHN C. JOHNSON.
One of the most prominent farmers and stockmen of Lund township, Douglas county, is John C. Johnson, who was born in Clinton county, Iowa, November 24, 1855. He is a son of Christopher and Sarah (Olson) John- son, both of whom were natives of Norway.
Christopher Johnson came to the United States at the age of twenty-five years, locating in lowa, where he worked for some time. He was married there and started farming for himself on government land, which he purchased in small amounts at first, but kept adding to his holdings until he had about two hundred acres. He was among the pioneer farmers of that part of Iowa, his first house consisting of a log shanty, and for some time he farmed with an ox-team. His death occurred in 1863, and his widow married Ole O Kjorn, who took charge of the farm, and the family lived in Iowa until 1870, when they came to Minnesota, where they purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Lund township, Douglas county. Part of this was timber and started to improve and cultivate their land in true pioneer style. Finding land and all was wild, unimproved land. There the family built a log house that horses were unfitted to conditions in the new country, they traded their horses for oxen. Their first house on that pioneer farm was a small frame shanty, but they later built a better log house. Ole Kjorn retired from active farm life some years before his death, which occurred in 1909, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife died at the age of seventy-two. Chris- topher Johnson and his wife were the parents of three children, Ole, Nels and John C., and of these children only John C., the immediate subject of this review, is now living. By her second marriage to Ole Kjorn, there were three children born to Mr. Johnson's mother, Betsy, Caroline and Mary.
John C. Johnson received his early educational training in the schools of Clinton county, Iowa, and after coming to Minnesota with his mother and step-father, lived on the home place, assisting with the farm work, until he was nineteen years of age, when he bought eighty acres of wild land in section 36 of Lund township and started to farm for himself. He rented his step-father's farm for a year or two after his marriage, then built a small frame house on his own land and started to improve and cultivate it. He has added to his holdings from time to time until he is now the owner of four hundred acres of fine land, and has one of the best-improved farms in the county. He has a good modern house and one of the best and most
RESIDENCE OF JOHN C. JOHNSON.
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up-to-date barns in the county, having room for more than one hundred tons of hay. His buildings are all arranged and equipped for the most modern and scientific farming. His first barn was a straw shed, after which he built a log barn, which still stands on the place. The new barn was built in 1915. Mr. Johnson is one of the most extensive stock breeders in the county, making a specialty of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle and full-blooded Percheron horses. He is the owner of a full-blooded white Percheron stal- lion, which was imported from France. He also raises many mules for the market.
In 1879 John C. Johnson was married to Anna Hanson, who is a native of Iowa, of Norwegian parentage, and to this union have been born twelve children Henry, deceased; Caroline, the wife of Henry Skinnemoen, a farmer living in Grant county, is the mother of four children, Stanley, Chester, Alice and Raymond; Sender, at home; Joseph, who married Alma Christianson and conducts a restaurant at Wendell; Tilda, the wife of John Peterson, a hardware merchant at Goodhue, Minnesota, is the mother of two children, Howard and Alvin, and Odell, Mabel, John, Luella, Clifford, Birdie and Henry, who are still at home with their parents.
Mr. Johnson is a Republican in politics, and has served his township as supervisor for twenty years, and as school director of district No. 35 for twenty-eight years.
LEANDER KELLOGG.
The late Leander Kellogg, an honored veteran of the Civil War and one of the most substantial pioneer citizens of Douglas county, who died at his home in Alexandria in 1911, was a native of the great Empire state, born in Cattaraugus county, New York, February 1, 1839, son of Peter and Millie (Omstead) Kellogg, both natives of the state of New York, the latter of whom spent his last days in Douglas county, a member of the household of his son, Leander. Peter Kellogg and his wife were the parents of six children, those besides the subject of this sketch having been Elias, Matilda, Elmeda, Justus and Joseph.
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