USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 58
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In 1907 William A. Handschug was united in marriage to Lydia Schwartz, who was born at Thief River Falls, Minnesota, the daughter of August and Augusta (Stender ) Schwartz. Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz were born in Germany and there were married. They later came to Minnesota and homesteaded land at Thief River Falls, where they remained for some years before moving to Goodhue county. To Mr. and Mrs. Handschug have been born five children, Myrtle, Flora, Frances, William and Elizabeth, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Handschug have long been prominent in the social and the religious life of the community, where they are held in the highest regard by all who know them. Mr. Handschug is recognized as one of the successful farmers and stockmen of the community. He is pro- gressive and believes in intensive farming, in the thorough cultivation of the soil and in the keeping of the best of stock. He is an advocate of substantial public improvements and gives his support to all worthy causes that tend to aid in the growth and the betterment of the township and the county. His life has been an active one and he has accomplished much of value, not only
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to himself and family, but for the entire community. He and his wife are most hospitable people and take much pleasure in the entertainment of their neighbors and friends.
OLE J. LERAAS.
Ole J. Leraas, a well-known and successful farmer of Lien township, Grant county, was born in Norway on December 7, 1844, the son of Johanes and Annie Leraas, who were also born in Norway. Johanes Leraas engaged in farming and lived his life in the land of his birth, dying there in 1880, at the age of seventy-six years. The widow came to Minnesota in 1886 and died in Grant county in 1893, at the age of seventy-three years. Before his marriage to Annie Leraas, Johanes Leraas was married to Mary Leraas and to that union one child was born, Knute, who is now deceased. After the death of his first wife Mr. Leraas married Martha Leraas, and to that union one child was born, Mary, who is deceased. After the death of his second wife he married the mother of Ole J. Leraas, the subject of this sketch. By that marriage the following children were born: Ole J., Askil, Martha, Jacob, John and Bretta. Martha and Jacob are deceased. Johanes and Annie Leraas were active members of the Lutheran church and were held in the highest regard by all who knew them.
Ole J. Leraas received his education in the public schools of his native land and there grew to manhood. He continued to reside in the land of his birth until he was twenty-two years of age, when, in 1866, he came to Min- nesota and located in Goodhue county, where he remained until 1871, when he removed to Faribault and remained there for one year. In 1872 he moved to Grant county, and later moved to Minneapolis, where he remained for four years. In 1878 he returned to Grant county and bought forty acres of school land in section 16 of Line township. That farm at that time was for the most part wild land and required much work to bring it under cultivation. Mr. Leraas has increased his holdings to two hundred acres and now has one of the best developed farms in the township. He planted a grove and has erected modern and substantial buildings. His barn is thirty-four by sixty- four feet and is one of the best barns in the community. Mr. Leraas is iden- tified with the Republican party and has always taken a keen interest in the affairs of the township. For many years he was a member of the board of supervisors, during a part of the time chairman of that body, and for sixteen years he was treasurer of the township. He is progressive and has always
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advocated substantial public improvements, that would be worthy of the future growth of the district.
In 1870 Ole J. Leraas was united in marriage in Goodhue county to Martha Stanness, who was born in Norway in 1844 and who came to the United States alone, her parents having died in the native land. To this union the following children have been born: Louis, Julia, Martin, Lena, John, Anton and six who died young. Louis is a resident of Pierce county, North Dakota. Julia is the wife of Emil Eide and resides in North Dakota. Martin is at home on the farm. Lena is the wife of Steffen Thompson, a farmer of North Dakota, and John and Anton are both in the state of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Leraas are active members of the Lutheran church and have long been prominent in the social and the religious life of the com- munity, where they are held in the highest esteem by all who know them. Their lives have been busy ones and they have accomplished much that is worthy of emulation.
MELVIN A. BARKER.
Another young farmer of Grant county, who hails from the great agri- cultural state of Iowa is Melvin A. Barker of Lawrence township. He was born in Delavan county. Iowa, January 2, 1880, and is a son of Charles and Mary ( Dutton) Barker. The father was born in Iowa in 1846 and the mother war born in Ohio, December 9. 1851. She came to Iowa when young with her parents. John J. and Hannah ( Phillips) Dutton. Her father was born in Ohio in 1816 and her mother in that same state in 1819. The family moved to Illinois in 1866 and to Delavan county, Iowa, in 1867. and bought eighty acres of land on which the parents spent the rest of their lives, the father dying in 1869 and the mother in 1872.
Melvin A. Barker was reared on the farm in Iowa where he worked when a boy, and there he attended the public schools. He came to Minne- sota in 1902 and rented land in Grant county until 1910, in which year he bought a farm of his own-one hundred and sixty acres in section 20 of Lawrence township and there he has since resided. He has made a num- ber of important improvements on the place, including the erection of a new barn, and has put up all the fences now on the place. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising. His mother makes her home with him. She is now (1916) sixty-five years old. She is the mother of six .children, all living, namely: Merlie. Della. Melvin A., Herman, William and Glenn.
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The maternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch had eight children, named as follow: Jane ( deceased), Martha (deceased), Mary, Charles, Owen ( deceased ), Homer, Frank and Juniata. The parents of the above named children were early pioneers of Iowa, to which state they came from Illinois in "prairie schooner," having made the trip from Ohio in the same manner.
Melvin A. Barker is unmarried. Politically, he is a Republican.
HENRY A. LEROY.
Henry A. LeRoy, founder of the Alexandria Hardware and Lumber Company at Alexandria, vice-president of the Farmers National Bank of that city, one of the organizers of the National Drainage Company, a large landowner in Douglas county and in other ways actively identified with the business interests of this section of the state, is a native of the neighboring state of Wisconsin, but has been a resident of Alexandria since 1887 and . has consequently been a witness to and a participant in the substantial development that has marked the growth of that city during the past thirty years. He was born at Manston, in Juneau county, Wisconsin, November 6, 1862, son of James and Adelia ( Phillips ) LeRoy, the former a native of the state of New York, born in Oneida county on July 4, 1822, and the latter, of Michigan, born in Oakland county on November 19, 1839.
James LeRoy received but limited school advantages in the days of his youth, but was a natural student and as a young man, by close application and diligent self-study, fitted himself for the practice of the law. He was admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of his profession at Cleve- land, Ohio; later removing to Rockford, Illinois, and thence, after some time, to Sparta, Wisconsin. His last days were spent at Tomah, in the latter state, his death occurring there on January 5, 1877. His widow sur- vived him for more than twenty years, her last days being spent in Alex- andria, where she died on January 5, 1899. James LeRoy was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the faith of which church their children were reared. There were five of these children, of whom the sub- ject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being Edith, Addie, Cora and Florence.
Henry A. LeRoy received his schooling in the schools of Manston ..
HENRY A. LEROY.
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Sparta and Tomah, Wisconsin, and early in his youth began to "shift for himself." a part of the time being engaged as a clerk in a store. At the age of eighteen he began to learn the builders' trade and was thus engaged, 'as a carpenter, in his native state until he was twenty-five years of age, when. in 1887, he came over into this part of Minnesota and bought a drug store at Alexandria. In the fall of 1888 he sold that store and bought an interest in the agricultural-implement business at that time conducted by. Robert McCrory in a building located on the ground where the Alexandria Hardware and Lumber Company's building now stands, one of the best corners in the city, the postoffice being situated on the opposite corner to the north and the city hall on the corner across the street to the west. Two years later a fine new building was erected on that corner, the expanding business of the implement firm demanding an extension of quarters, and in 1897 Mr. LeRoy bought Mr. McCrory's interest in the firm and added a general line of hardware to his stock, at the same time enlarging his quarters by the erection of an addition to his store on the north. In 1905 he added lumber to his stock in trade and his affairs continued to prosper; and in 1910 he incorporated the business under the name of the Alexandria Hard- ware and Lumber Company, of which he is the vice-president. In the year 1901 the Farmers National Bank of Alexandria was organized. Mr. LeRoy has been a member of the board of directors of that bank since its organization and is now the vice-president of the same. He is also con- nected with the Northwest Mortgage Security Company, of Fargo, North Dakota: is interested in the National Drainage Company, of Alexandria. power dredgers, and is one of Douglas county's most extensive landowners, the present owner of more than twelve hundred acres of fine land in that county. Mr. LeRoy also is connected with the First National Bank of Sanborn. North Dakota, and in all the enterprises in which he is engaged is recognized as a leading spirit, even as he is recognized as one of Alex- andria's most influential citizens and progressive business men.
On April 5. 1895. Henry A. LeRoy was united in marriage to Alice M. Kellogg, who was born in Douglas county, daughter of Leander and Esther ( Petterson) Kellogg. pioneers of that county and further reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union seven children have been born, Esther A., James K., Henry D., Addie M. (deceased), Lois M., Donald J. and Elizabeth R. Mr. and Mrs. Leroy are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. LeRoy is a member of the Masonic (38a)
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fraternity. He is independent in his political views and has given close attention to local civic affairs, having served as a member of the local school board and is a present member of the library board.
CARL O. RUSTAD.
Carl O. Rustad, a well-known and successful farmer of Pelican Lake township, Grant county, was born in Fillmore county, this state, on Febru- ary 19, 1861, the son of Ole and Marthe ( Baalrud) Rustad.
Abraham and Karren Rustad, the grandparents of Carl O. Rustad, natives of Norway, came to the United States, July 24, 1849, and located in Clinton county, Iowa, where they were among the early pioneers. Mr. Rustad entered land in the county and became one of the substantial farm- ers and stock raisers of that section. On a visit to his son Ole, in Fillmore county, Minnesota, Mr. Rustad died. Karren, his wife, died in Ashby and is buried in the Pelican Lake cemetery.
Ole Rustad was born in Norway and came to the United States, with his parents .. He grew to manhood on the home farm in Iowa, where as a lad and young man he assisted his father with the farm work. He later engaged in general farming and stock raising in Fillmore county, this state, where he died on March 17, 1891. His wife, Marthe, died on October 12, 1899. As an investment he had purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Grant county, in addition to his large farm in Fillmore county. To Ole and Marthe Rustad were born the following children: Hans, Carl O., Julia, John, Betsy and Peter. Hans is a farmer of Grant county. Julia is now deceased .. John is a representative of Fillmore county, where he has always taken an active interest in the civic life of the county. He is a Re- publican and as his party's candidate has represented the county in the state Legislature. Betsy lives in Fillmore county and Peter lives at Farm- ington, Montana. Ole Rustad and wife were active members of the Nor- wegian Lutheran church and took much interest in church work. During the gold excitement, Ole Rustad, made a trip to Pike's Peak, but was not successful in his. expedition.
Carl O. Rustad received his education in the public schools of Fill- more county and there grew to manhood on the home farm. On Decem- ber 30, 1885, he was united in marriage to Anna Thorud, and to this union
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the following children have been born: Minnie, Otilia, Ole, Carl, Alfred and Grace (deceased). Minnie is the wife of Erick Alvstad.
The next year after their marriage, Carl O. Rustad and wife moved to Grant county and there Mr. Rustad has since engaged in general farm- ing and stock raising, in which he has been quite successful. He is now the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of land in sections 32 and 33 of Peli- can Lake township, and twenty-nine and one-half acres in section 13. Mr. Rustad has developed the farm into one of the best in the township, and has added many valuable improvements. He built his fine barn in 1898 and his modern house in 1910.
Carl O. Rustad and wife are active members of the Norwegian Lu- theran church and are prominent in religious work. Mr. Rustad has taken much interest in local affairs and has served as a member of the township board and as a member of the school board. He is the owner of stock in the farmers elevators at Ashby and at Erdahl.
THEO THOMPSON.
The late Theo Thompson, a pioneer of Urness township, Douglas county, was born in Norway on September 16, 1856, and died at his home in Urness township in January, 1916. He was but sixteen years of age at the time he came to America. The family after their arrival in this country came direct to Minnesota and located in Goodhue county, where Mr. Thomp- son completed his schooling in the public schools. At the age of nineteen, in 1875, he came to Douglas county, where he worked as a farm hand for two years. He then purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land in Urness township, and there established his home. The tract at that time was for the most part a wild waste, but he devoted his energies to the task and developed the place into one of the fine farms of the township. He erected the buildings, made many valuable and substantial improvements and engaged in general farming and stock raising quite successfully. Dur- ing the last fifteen years of his life he devoted much of his time to the nursery business in connection with his farming and the care of his stock and demonstrated his ability as a grower of trees and shrubbery.
In 1881 Theo Thompson was united in marriage to Julia Syverson, who was born in Iowa, daughter of Christian Syverson and wife, well- known residents of the community in which they lived, and to this union
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the following children were born: Mary, Olaus, Carl, Tillie, Anton, Gil- bert, Bennie, Christine, Berthia, Mabel, Selma, Ella, Louis and Gilbert. Mary is the wife of John Larson and Tillie is the wife of Ole Aasen. Gil- bert is now deceased. The family are active members of the Norwegian Lutheran church, in which Mr. Thompson was for many years a trustee.
Theo Thompson was a man of ability, took much interest in the edu- cational facilities of the township and was for years a member of the school board. He was a man of broad mind and excellent judgment and the schools of his community made much progress during his term of office. He believed in public improvements of all kinds and had much to do with the substantial development of the township and the county. Being a man of influence in the community and held in the highest esteem, his death was mourned by the entire resident population of the district. His life had been an active one and he had accomplished much that was good, both to his family and his neighbors. He was a kind father and an affectionate husband and was beloved by all who knew him.
CHARLES B. KLOOS.
Germany has given to the United States many of her native sons and daughters, who have become successful and well-known men and women. Among this number is Charles B. Kloos, a prominent farmer of Roseville township, Grant county. Charles B. Kloos was born on February 20, 1847, the son of Henry and Dorathea (Keller ) Kloos, also natives of Germany, where they received their education in the public schools and were married. There their children were born and there the mother died in 1856. Henry Kloos was a farmer in the Fatherland and there learned systematic methods of conducting a farm. After the death of his wife, Mr. Kloos, in 1869, came to Minnesota and in that same fall bought eighty. acres of land in Carver county, which is still owned by the family. In 1861 he purchased one hundred and forty acres from John Hessen in Carver county and there he engaged in general farming for some years. He later sold the farm and moved to Chaska, where he lived a retired life until the time of his death, which occurred in 1881.
Henry and Dorathea Kloos were the parents of the following child- ren : Katherine, Henry, Ludwig, Elizabeth, Charles B., John, Daniel and Dwight, all of whom are dead with the exception of Katherine, Elizabeth
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and Charles B. Mr. Kloos was a man of much force of character and an exceptionally good farmer. He always took an active interest in local af- fairs and was recognized as a man of ability, held in the highest esteem by all who knew him.
Charles B. Kloos received his early education in the schools of Ger- many and was there confirmed, with his sister Elizabeth, at the age of twelve years. He came to America with his father and later entered the business college at St. Paul. After completing his schooling there he was employed in a steamboat office and was there engaged for seventeen years in that city. In 1879 he came to Grant county and purchased six hundred and forty acres of land in Delaware township. He moved on the farm in 1879 and a few years later, in 1882, sold the place and bought three hun- dred and twenty acres in Macsville township. This latter farm he devel- oped and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising until 1894, when he moved to his farm of six hundred and fifty-seven acres in sec- tions 26 and 35, which he had purchased in 1886. That farm he developed . and improved with the best of buildings, and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising very successfully, steadily increasing his land holdings until now he is the owner of some five thousand acres of land in Grant and Stevens counties and six hundred acres in Mahnomen county.
Politically Charles B. Kloos is independent, but he has always taken an active interest in the local affairs, is a strong advocate of the best of public improvements and a supporter of all worthy enterprises that tend to the betterment and the growth of the township and the county. He is a man of excellent judgment and broad experience and is recognized as one of the most prominent men in the county. He has served as a member of the board of township supervisors for many years and was chairman of the board. He has also served as township clerk and has had much to do with the civic life of the community for many years. He and his family are active members of the German Lutheran church and have long been prominent in the social and the religious life of the community.
In 1875 Charles B. Kloos was united in marriage to Margaret Eich- miller, who was born in Carver county, Minnesota, on January 4, 1856, the daughter of Lawrence and Magdalena (Utz) Eichmiller. Mr. and Mrs. Eichmiller, who were natives of Germany, came to Minnesota in 1854 and were among the first settlers in Carver county. There they died, she in 1886 and he some years latter. To Charles and Margaret Kloos have been born the following children: Annie, Louis, William, Ora and Cora
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( twins ), Bretteman, Mabel, Ethel, Lee, Lawrence and Alice. Mabel and Ethel are now deceased Mr. and Mrs. Kloos are estimable people and are held in the highest regard by the people of their home community.
ALBERT P. KIETZMANN.
Albert P. Kietzman, a native of Grant county, and one of the suc- cessful and well known farmers of Logan township, was born on January 28, 1883, the son of Henry and Wilhelmina (Schimmelpfenig) Kietzmann, who were natives of Germany, and who came to America and for a time resided at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In 1873 Henry Kietzmann came to Minne- sota, and homesteaded eighty acres of land in Logan township, Grant county, and a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres. That farm he de- . veloped and improved, and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising, until the time of his death. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: Bertha, Emil, Viva, Adolph, Laura, Albert, Alice, Ella, Henry, Herman and Minnie. Mr. and Mrs. Kietzmann were active members of the German Lutheran church and were prominent in the social and the religious life of the community. Mr. Kietzmann took much inter- est in the civic life of the township, had much to do with the early develop- ment of that district and was held in the highest regard by all who knew him.
Albert P. Kietzmann received his education in the public schools of Herman and grew to manhood on the home farm, where as a lad and young man he assisted his father with the farm work. Early in life he decided that he would be a farmer and for a number of years he engaged in farm- ing with his father. In 1912 he engaged in the work for himself on the farm where he now lives and where he is the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of excellent land. He has erected all the buildings, which are modern and substantial, and has done much in the way of development, making his farm one of the most desirable in the township. Mr. Kietz- mann is progressive and believes in intensive farming and in the most thorough cultivation of the soil. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been quite successful, his stock being among the best in the community and his farm under a high state of cultivation. He has always taken much interest in local affairs and has had much to do with the development of township affairs. He is progressive, a strong advocate
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of modern methods in the conduct of the affairs of the district and be- lieves in the maintenance of good roads and the best of schools, knowing that in these rests the future stability of the county. His life has been an active one and he is recognized as one of the substantial and well-to-do citizens of the community, where he is held in the highest regard by all who know him. He has been prominent in the social and the civic life of the township and the county and has ever exerted his influence for the pro- motion of such enterprises as would tend to the betterment and the growth of this section of the state. Mr. Kietzmann is still unmarried.
ANDREW L. LERAAS.
Andrew L. Lerass, cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Barrett, was born in Lien township, Grant county, November 3. 1890, of Norwegian ancestry, his parents, Jacob and Bertha ( Eide) Leraas, both being natives of Norway. Jacob Leraas came to Minnesota and located in section 27 of Lien township, Grant county. He first bought eighty acres and later added another eighty to his original purchase. He put up all the buildings and made all the improvements on this land and continued to make this his home until his death, which occurred on January 9, 1903. His widow is still living, making her home with her son in Barrett. The children of this family are John N., born in 1887, and Andrew L. The father was a mem- ber of the Emmanuel Lutheran church, of Lien township.
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