USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 53
USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 53
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ENGEBRET O. HOLT.
Engebret O. Holt, one of the well-known and prominent farmers of Roseville township, Grant county, was born at Kongswinger, Norway, on July 18, 1853, the son of Ole and Maren (Engebretson) Peterson, also natives of Norway, where they spent all their lives, his death occurring in 1863 and hers in 1876. The mother died while the son, Engebret. was serv- ing in the army of his country. The father was a shoemaker. He and his wife were the parents of four children, Inga Maria, Olena, Engebret and Karen. Inga Maria became the wife of Andrew Johnson and resides in Norway. Olena is single and is still a resident of the home country. Karen became the wife of John Brusendatter and after his death married Mr. Peter- son and now resides in Chicago. The parents were members of the Lutheran
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church and took much interest in church work, prominent in the social and religious life of their home community, where they were held in the highest regard and esteem by all who knew them.
Engebret O. Holt received the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Norway, but the greater part of his education he gained through his own efforts. After coming to the United States he devoted much time to the learning of the English language and through his own efforts soon be- came proficient in the use of the same. He was reared on the farm and after reaching manhood served three years in the Norwegian army and remained a resident of his native country until he was twenty-nine years of age, when, in 1882, he decided to come to America. On his arrival in the United States he came directly to Minnesota and located at Herman. He worked as a farm hand and on the railroad for a number of years and in 1895 he engaged as a farmer in Roseville township, having rented land in that township. He continued as a renter until 1898, when he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 28 of Roseville township, where he has since con- tinued to live. A part of the land has been broken, but the buildings were poor and since that time Mr. Hole has erected good and substantial buildings and developed the rest of the farm. He engaged in general farming and was successful and in time added to his original tract until he is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land in sections 27 and 28. He has continued his work as a general farmer and stock raiser and is recognized as one of the substantial men of the township. In addition to his large inter- ests on the farm, Mr. Holt is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Com- pany at Donnelly and has had much to do with the success of that company. Politically, Mr. Holt is identified with the Republican party and has had much to do with the civic life of the township. For the past seven years he has been overseer of the highways, and in that position has given the best of satisfaction. He and his wife have long been members of the Lutheran church and have taken much interest in church work.
In 1883 Engebret O. Holt was united in marriage to Jergins Olson, who was born in Kongswinger, Norway, and who was but two years of age when she came to the United States with her parents, Ole Olson and wife. She reecived her education in the public schools of Minnesota and died in the year 1900. To Engebret O. and Jergins (Olson) Holt were born four chil- dren, Olaf, Mary, Olivia and Emil. Olaf Peter is at home and works the place with his father. Mary Randina is the wife of Otto Krogen and lives in Morris, Minnesota. Olivia lives in Montana and Emil is at home. Mr. Holt has been for many years active in the general life of the community
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and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. He has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and has had much to do with the develop- ment of the township and the county. He is a progressive farmer and stock- man and is recognized as one of the substantial and successful men of the neighborhood in which he lives. Coming to the United States in early man- hood without any financial support and among strangers and amid new con- ditions, he has made his own way in the world, and by hard work, economy and close application to business has become one of the successful men of his home community. His home farm and the buildings are evidence of his careful care and attention and he is a firm believer in substantial public improvements, good roads and the maintenance of the highest standard of public schools for in these, he believes, rest the future growth and prosperity of the community.
OLE G. JENSTAD.
One of the many prominent and successful farmers of Elk Lake town- ship, Grant county, is Ole G. Jenstad, who was born in Norway in 1846; the son of Gunder and Anna Jenstad, also natives of Norway, where they were married. It was there that their family was born and reared and there they spent their lives. Gunder Jenstad was a laboring man, industrious and faithful. He and his wife were devout and active members of the Lutheran church and were held in high regard. They were the parents of three chil- dren, Ole G., Haugen and Olava, of whom the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor, the others having died in Norway.
Ole G. Jenstad received his education in the public schools of Norway and there grew to manhood and was there married. He continued to live in the land of his nativity until he was thirty-six years of age, when, in 1882. he decided that he would come to America. Upon his arrival in this coun- try, he came. directly to Minnesota and located at Evansville, where he re- mained for several years, at the end of which time he came to Elk Lake township and worked as a farm hand. During his residence at Evansville he was employed by the railroad. In 1894 Mr. Jenstad purchased his pres- ent farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Elk Lake township and has developed and improved the same, having placed all the present substantial buildings on the place.
Ole G. Jenstad was united in marriage in Norway to Mary Halvors- datter, also a native of Norway, and to that union four children were born,
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Gunder, Anna (deceased), Mary and Hilda. The mother of these children is now deceased. She was an active member of the Swedish Lutheran church, in which denomination Mr. Jenstad is still a devout worker. Mr. Jenstad has always taken an active interest in local affairs and has added much to the growth and the development of his home township. He has always been an advocate of good roads and of the best of schools, and has served as a member of the school board and as road boss. He has always had the con- fidence and the respect of the community and is highly regarded by all who know him.
SIVERT SHERVEY.
Sivert Shervey, a well-known and progressive farmer of Grant county, resident of Lien township and a stockholder in the Barrett Grain Company and in the creamery company at Barrett, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, but has been a resident of this country since 1891 and of Grant county since 1893. He was born on a farm on the island of Shervey, in the stift of Trondjhem, November 16, 1868, son of Jergen and Sigrid ( Pet- erson) Shervey, both natives of that isle, who spent all their lives in their native land. Jergen Shervey was a small farmer and a fisherman. His wife died in 1901 and he survived until 1915. They were the parents of three children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being Fred, who remained on the home place in Norway, and Anna, who in 1891 married Martin Olson, a fisherman and farmer, and also con- tinues to make her home in her native land.
Reared on the home farm in his native isle, Sivert Shervey received his schooling in the local schools and was raised a fisherman and farmer. In 1891, he then being twenty-three years of age, he came to the United States and proceeding West settled at Iceland, Wisconsin, where he remained six months, at the end of which time he went to Drummond, same state, where he remained for two years, or until 1893, in which year he came into Minnesota and located in Grant county, where he ever since has made his home. For some years after his arrival in Grant county, Mr. Shervey worked as a stone mason and as a thresher, being thus engaged until 1904, the year of his marriage, when he bought a farm of eighty acres in Lien township and there made his home for two years, at the end of which time he moved to the home of his father-in-law, Martin L. Wick, in that same township, and has since been operating both the Wick farm
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and his own. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Shervey gives con- siderable attention to the general business affairs of the community and is a stockholder in the Barrett Grain Company and in the creamery com- pany at the same place. He is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has never been included in the office- seeking class.
It was on April 7, 1904, that Sivert Shervey was united in marriage to Lena Wick, who was born on the homestead farm in Lien township, on December 19, 1874, daughter of Martin L. and Kari L. ( Berge) Wick, natives of Norway and early settlers in Grant county, a biographical sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, and to this union seven chil- dren have been born, Martin, Caroline, Selmar, William, Adolph, Agnes and Lillian. The Sherveys are members of the Synod Lutheran church and take a proper interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in the gen- eral good works of the community in which they live, helpful factors in the . promotion of all movements having to do with the advancement of the com- mon welfare thereabout.
HENRY W. MILLER.
Henry W. Miller, a well-known and successful resident of Roseville township, Grant county, was born in Holstein, Germany, on October 4, 1859, son and only child of Henry and Johanna (Miller) Miller, also natives of Germany. Three days after the birth of his son Henry Miller died. After three years of widowhood the mother, in 1862, married Henry Groth and continued to live in the Fatherland until 1864, when they decided to come to the United States and located at Davenport, Iowa, where the mother died in 1910. Mr. Groth died some time previous to her death. To Mr. and Mrs. Groth were born two children, William, who is a foreman in a box factory at Davenport, and Alvina, who married Julius Slichting and later died at her home in Davenport.
Henry William Miller was but five years of age when his mother and stepfather settled at Davenport, Iowa, and he there lived until he was eleven years of age when he went to a farm, where he lived until 1889, when he engaged in farming in Rock county, Minnesota, where he remained for one year. The next year he went to Martin county, where he engaged in farm- ing until 1901, when he moved to Morrison county and there remained for one year. The next vear he came to Grant county and here rented three
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hundred and twenty acres of C. B. Kloos, in Macsville township, where he remained for more than eight years, at the end of which time he moved to Roseville township, where he rented land and where he now resides. In I910 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 13 of Roseville township and is there engaged in general farming and stock rais- ing, in which he has been quite successful.
On January 14, 1889, Henry W. Miller was united in marriage to Bertha Vetter, who also was born in Germany, daughter of Gottfried Vetter, one of the old settlers of Grant county. To this union the following children have been born: Henry, Minnie, Fred, Carlo, Annie and Reinhart, all of whom are now living, and at home. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have long been identified with the social and the religious life of the community and are held in the highest regard by all who know them. Mr. Miller is a Repub- lican and has always taken much interest in the affairs of the township. He is a progressive farmer and stockman and is recognized as one of the sub- stantial men of the township. His life has been an active one and he has accomplished much of value, not only to himself and family, but to the com- munity in general. He believes in the highest grade of public improvements and in the support of good schools.
LEWIS BAKER.
It is a privilege which should be fully appreciated to be able to spend one's life on the old homestead, for about it "associations" cluster which one cannot find elsewhere. Lewis Baker, a young farmer of Douglas county, has had this privilege, which he fully appreciates. He was born on the farm on which he now lives in Orange township, February 20, 1884, a son of John and Rettie (McClerry) Baker, the former of whom was born near Berlin, Germany, and the latter in Indiana. John Baker spent his boyhood in his native land and there attended school. He came to the United States before the Civil War, and after awhile located on a homestead on the wild prairies, on the place where his son Lewis now resides, having thus been one of the earliest pioneers in Douglas county, which was at that time still in the Indian domain, and he had for neighbors the red men. He worked hard and underwent many privations, but succeeded in establishing a comfortable home, homesteading a quarter section in what is now Orange township, which place he has operated together with his sons, Gustav, Levi and Lewis,
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under the firm name of John Baker & Sons. They have land holdings of five hundred and nineteen acres, on which they carry on general farming and stock raising on a large scale and also operate a threshing-machine; but dairying and hog raising are their. main specialties. They keep large herds of roan Durham cattle. Besides the above-named sons, John Baker and wife have a daughter, Charlotte, who is the youngest, Lewis being the eldest. Levi, the second child, married Emma Schwanke, and has one child, Pearl.
Lewis Baker is unmarried. Politically he is independent. The family attend the Methodist church.
FRANK A. PETERSON.
Frank A. Peterson, one of the successful and well-known farmers of Elk Lake township, Grant county, was born in Washington county, this state, January 16, 1867, the son of John O. and Katherine ( Nelson) Peter- son, who were born in Sweden and there were married. They continued to live in the land of their nativity until 1865, when they came to Minnesota and located in Washington county, where they remained for three years. Then, in 1868, they came to Grant county, and here they settled on the farm in Lake township. where Frank A. Peterson now lives. There they home- steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, which was later developed and improved and there John O. Peterson engaged in general farming and stock raising and made his home until the time of his death some years ago. His widow later moved to Barrett, where she died.
John O. and Katherine Peterson were prominent in the social and the church life of the township and were among the organizers of the Zion Lutheran church. Mr. Peterson assisted in the building of the first school house in the township, which was also the first in the county. He had much to do with the civic life of the township and was for many years a member of the board of supervisors. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, Martha, Christine, Mary, Matilda, John, Peter J., Charles G., Frank A., Martin J., and three who died in infancy. Christine, Matilda, John. Charles G. and Martin are now deceased.
Frank A. Peterson received his education in the district school in Elk Lake township which at the time was the only school in the county. He grew to manhood on the home farm and has continued to live on the old homestead with the exception of three years that he spent in Erdahl township. In early
(35a)
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life he decided that he would be a farmer and has always engaged in that work. His father had erected the barn on the place, which Mr. Peterson has since remodeled and has also built a fine new house, one of the best in the community. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been quite successful.
In 1889 Frank A. Peterson was united in marriage to Martha Thune, who was born in Norway, the daughter of Peter and Margaret Thune, and. to this union six children have been horn, Martin J., Alfred F., Franklin P., Alice, Monroe and Chester. Mr. and Mrs. Thune came from Norway to the United States with their family in 1882 and located in Elk Lake township, where Mr. Thune engaged in farming and later died. His widow is now a resident of Barrett. They were the parents of the following children: Mary, the wife of William Olson, Peter, Georgia, Koren, Martha, Julia and Mathias. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are active members of the Lutheran church and are prominent in the social and religious life of the community.
OLAF M. HUBRED.
Olaf M. Hubred, one of the prominent and successful farmers of Elk Lake township, Grant county, was born in that township on October 26, 1874, the son of Anton and Barbara (Olson) Hubred, natives of Norway and Wisconsin, respectively, the former of whom was the son of Ole and Mary ( Harsdatter) Anderson, both natives of Norway, where they received their education in the public schools, grew to manhood and womanhood and were married. Mary Anderson died in the land of her nativity, after which Mr. Anderson came to Minnesota and joined his son, Anton, in Grant county, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring at his son's home. Ole W. Olson, the maternal grandfather, was a native of Norway and came to America in 1871. After arriving in this country, he and his wife came direct to Minnesota and located in Grant county, where they were early pio- neers. They located on a farm and soon became identified with the social and civic life of the township and of the county, Mr. Olson becoming the first treasurer of the county in the days before there was a court house, his house being his office. That historic old house is now the home of Olaf M. Hubred. The family became prominent in the early social and religious life of the community and were held in the highest esteen.
Olaf M. Hubred received his education in the public schools of Grant
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county and at Moorhead College, attending the latter institution of learning for two terms. Upon completing his schooling he returned to the farm, having decided in early manhood that farming was to be his life work. He later entered the postoffice at Hoffman, where he worked as a clerk for two years, after which he was engaged as a clerk in a store at Hoffman and later owned a hardware store at that place. His store was destroyed by fire and he then began his life's work, that of farming. He now owns the farm that was his Grandfather Olson's homestead and is the possessor of two hundred and thirty acres of excellent land. There he has done much in the way of general development and has placed all the present substantial buildings on the place. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising in which he has been quite successful.
On October 2, 1899, Olaf M. Hubred was united in marriage to Bertha J. Rollofson, who was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Matt Rollofson, a native of Norway, who later settled in Grant county, but is now living in North Dakota. . To this union the following children have been born : Alvin, Kenneth, Myrtle, Elliott, Gladys, Bernice, Lester and Clinton, all of whom are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Hubred are members of the Norwegian Luth- eran church at Elk Lake township and are active in church work. Mr. Hubred has always taken much interest in local affairs and since 1906 has been clerk of the township. While living in Hoffman he was a member of the village council. He has also been assessor of Elk Lake township and is now clerk of the school board. He is secretary of the Farmers' Elevator Company at Barrett and assisted in the organization of that company. As secretary he looked after the building of the present fine building and had much to do with putting the company on a sound financial basis. Mr. Hubred is a man of ability and executive force and is recognized as one of the leading men of the township.
Anton Hubred, father of Olaf M. Hubred, was born on November 21, 1842, and grew to manhood in his native Norway. In 1864 he came to Minnesota and in 1867 homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in. section 22 of Elk Lake township, Grant county. During the three previous. years he had lived in Houston county, where he worked as a farm hand .. After coming to his homestead he at once began the task of development. and improvement and there he made his home for ten years. He later moved to his present home in that same township, where he is engaged in general farming and stock raising and where he has been quite successful, he now being the owner of some two hundred and forty acres of good land, all of which is under high cultivation and well improved. He has lived on his
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present home farm for thirty years and has erected excellent buildings and in other ways made valuable and substantial improvements.
In 1871 Anton Hubred was united in marriage to Barbara Marie Olson, who was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Ole W. Olson, a well-known farmer of that state, and to this union five children have been born, Olaf, Richard, William, Eddie and Arthur, all of whom are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Hubred are active members of the Norwegian Lutheran church, ever prominent in the work of the church, and were among the organizers of the early church in their home township. They have long been prominent in the social and religious work of the community and are held in the highest regard by their neighbors and friends.
For a time Anton Hubred was a partner with his son in the hardware business at Hoffman, but later devoted his life and his energies to the devel- opment of his farm. He has always.taken much interest in the civic life of the township and has done much toward the progress and the development of the district in which he has lived for so many years, and where he has always taken so prominent a part in public affairs. He has ever held that good public improvements were important assets for the future life of the state and has always taken keen interest in the development of the school system, advocating the best that was possible. When he came to Elk Lake township there was but one school district and the first school house in the county was built there, Mr. Hubred being one of the men who assisted in the building of the first seat of learning.
CHARLES F. RITZSCHKE.
Charles F. Ritzschke, one of the well-known and successful farmers of Macsville township, Grant county, was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1870, son of Carl and Louisa ( Hensel) Ritzschke, natives of the king- dom of Saxony, Germany.
Henry Ritzschke and wife, the paternal grandparents of Charles F. Ritzschke, were natives of Germany who came to America and located in Wisconsin, where the wife died some years later. After the death of his wife, the grandfather came to Minnesota and located in Grant county, where he died some years ago. The maternal grandparents were also natives of Germany and died there many years ago. Carl Ritzschke learned the mason and plasterer trade in his native Saxony and worked at the same for many
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years. He and his wife continued to live in the Fatherland until 1868, when they came to the United States after a voyage of six weeks on a sailing vessel. Their trip was a sad one, for their only child, born in the native land, died on the way over. Mr. and Mrs. Ritzschke settled at Oshkosh, Wis- cousin, where they remained for some eight years, Mr. Ritzschke being there engaged in his work as a mason and plasterer. In 1877 they left their home in Wisconsin and came to Minnesota, taking a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in section 24 of Macsville township, Grant county, the place at that time being all wild prairie and without improvements. A sod house was erected and Mr. Ritzschke began the task of breaking the tough prairie sod and developing his farm. In time he became a prosperous farmer and stock raiser ; modern and substantial buildings were erected, and a beautiful grove was planted. He purchased more land and in time became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres. He still resides on the old homestead, but has retired from the activities of farin life, having sold the place to his son, Arthur. He always took much interest in local affairs and was for . many years treasurer of the school board. Fraternally, he was a member of the Knights of Pythias and took much interest in the work of the order. His wife died on February 22, 191I.
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