USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 8
USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 8
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he remained until 1907, in which year he accepted a call to the Eagle church. Axel postoffice, in the neighboring county of Otter Tail, where he continued as pastor for about six years.
It was on November 1, 1912, that the Rev. S. W. Swenson accepted the call to his present pastorate of the Swedish Lutheran church at Evans- ville and during his incumbency of that pulpit he has done an excellent work, admirable progress being reported along all lines in the work of the congregation, the church having advanced both numerically and financially during that period. For years Mr. Swenson has been recognized as one of the leading ministers of his communion in the Northwest. In 1908, as ' associate editor, he helped to prepare the "History of the Minnesota Confer- ence of the Swedish Lutheran Church," and in that same year was elected president of the Alexandria district of the Minnesota conference. In the spring of 1912 a new conference of that church was created, known as the Red River Valley conference, embracing the northwestern section of Minne- sota and a part of North Dakota, and at the first meeting of that new con- ference in May of that year Mr. Swenson was elected president of the con- ference and has since occupied that honorable and responsible position, a position of great influence throughout the church in this section.
On June 15, 1904, at Cadillac, Michigan, the Rev. S. W. Swenson was united in marriage to Ida Ovedia Pedersen, daughter of Hans and Martha (Moe) Pedersen, at that time residents of Elbow Lake, but now residents of Cadillac, Michigan, and to this union two children have been born, Justin Willmore, born on March 17, 1909, and Dorice Caroline Charlotte. Octo- ber 6, 1912.
GEORGE S. MAXFIELD.
George S. Maxfield, postmaster of the village of Kensington, in Doug- las county. an honored veteran of the Civil War and for years active in the business life of his home town, is a native of the state of New Hampshire, but has been a resident of Minnesota since he was twelve years of age. He was born on August 3. 1843, and when a boy came with his parents to Minne- sota, the family locating at Shakopee, in Scott county, where he grew to manhood and where, on September 9. 1861, he then being but little more than a month past eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service during the Civil War in Company A, Third Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. with which command he served until the close of the war.
. (6a)
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Upon the completion of his military service, Mr. Maxfield returned to Scott county and was there engaged in farming for two years, at the end of which time, in 1867, he married and moved to Mille Lacs county, where he entered a homestead, later moving to a farm in the near vicinity of Wil- mar, in Kandiyohi county, where he remained for two years, after which he moved to Benson, where he remained until moving to Kensington in. 1891. Upon locating at Kensington Mr. Maxfield engaged in the business of buying grain and was thus engaged for two years, or until his appointment in 1893 to the position of postmaster of the village, which position he ever since has held. Mr. Maxfield is a Mason and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and takes a warm interest in the affairs of those organizations.
As noted above. it was in 1867 that George S. Maxfield was united in marriage to Sarah E. Cole and to this union three children have been born, daughters all. Elizabeth, Anna and Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Maxfield are members of the Episcopal church and have ever taken a warm interest in church affairs, as well as in all neighborhood good works, and are helpful in promoting all good causes in the community in which they live.
ROBERT GRUETZMACHER.
Robert Gruetzmacher, local manager of the plant of the Standard Lumm- ber Company, is a native-born Minnesotean, born in Stearns county on Janu- ary II, 1873, son of William and Wilhelmina ( Larson) Gruetzmacher, natives of Germany, who came to America in the early part of 1861 and located at Green Bay, Wisconsin, where they remained for about four years. In 1865 they removed to Stearns county, Minnesota, and made that their permanent homc. There were eleven children in this family, Anna. Bertha, Herman, Robert, Ida, Emma, Emil, William, Martha, Albert and Gustav. The father and mother were members of the German Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith.
Robert Gruetzmacher received his elementary education in the public schools of Stearns county and later attended the Sauk Center academy and business college, from which he was graduated. As a young man he began working on the farm and worked for ten years for Clark and McClure, large farmers, and by economy and the saving of wages received for his work was enabled to pay the expense of his college education. After com- pleting his business course he was employed for nearly two years as clerk
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in a store at St. Cloud and then went to Breckinridge, where for five years he was employed as a clerk in the store of Miksche & Vertin. He then taught school for one winter in Wilkin county and during the following winter he was engaged in teaching school in Lac qui Parle county and in the spring he again took up his work in the lumber yard, taking the posi- tion of manager of a lumber company at Louisburg, in that county, and remained with that concern for two years. On August 1, 1907, he took the position of manager for the local plant of the Standard Lumber Com- pany at Herman and has ever since been thus engaged. In addition to a general line of lumber and building material, this firm handles coal.
On May 18, 1910, Robert Gruetzmacher was married to Emma Rhode, daughter of John Rhode, and has one child, a son, Robert John. In politics Mr. Gruetzmacher is independent. He has served four years as a member of the village council, and has been president of the council for three years. He is a member of Prescott Lodge No. 162, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of the Order of the Eastern Star and of the Woodmen of America.
HUGH ELLIS LEACH.
Hugh Ellis Leach, a prominent and successful attorney of Alexandria, was born on a farm in Bloomfield township, Fillmore county, Minnesota, on May 30, 1880, the son of Dunbar M. and Sarah Ann ( Roberts) Leach, the former of whom was born in Vermont on February 11, 1837, and the latter of whom was a native of Wisconsin, born in 1845. Dunbar M. Leach received his education in the public schools of his native state and there grew to manhood. In 1865. at the age of twenty-eight years, he decided to locate in the West and in that year he landed in Wisconsin, where he remained for a short time, after which he came to Minnesota, locating in Mower county. He then, after three years, removed to Fillmore county, where he purchased a farm and where he engaged in general farming and stock rais- ing until 1896, in which year he retired from the activities of farm life and moved to Spring Valley, where he died on December 22, 1910. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Harlan E., Helen, who married Herb- ert Hale: Harris E., Hugh Ellis, Helon E. and Grace. The family were prominent in the social life of their home community in Fillmore county, where the father was a well-known and successful man.
Hugh Ellis Leach received his elementary education in the public
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schools of Fillmore county and was graduated from the high school at Spring Valley with the class of 1900. He then attended the State University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. In 1906 he received his degree from the law school of that institution and after having been admitted to the bar located in Owatonna, where he remained but four months, at the end of which time he located in Alexandria, entering the law office of Mr. Gunderson, where for six months-he was engaged as a clerk, and then, on July 1, 1907, a partnership was formed with Mr. Gunderson, which mutually agreeable arrangement still exists.
On June 18, 1907, Hugh Ellis Leach was united in marriage to Clara E. Molstad, who was born at Spring Valley, daughter of M. E. Molstad, and to this union three children have been born, Robert Franklin, Margaret Ann and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are active members of the Congre- gational church, of which Mr. Leach is a deacon and at present chairman of the board of trustees.
Politically, Hugh Ellis Leach is identified with the Republican party, in the affairs of which he has taken an active interest. In 1913 he was elected county attorney and was re-elected in 1915. During the year 1912 he served as eity attorney for Alexandria. He is chairman of the Alexandria school board and has served on that body for four years. Mr. Leach is pro- gressive and takes a warm interest in all movements that tend to advance the moral, social and financial development of the county. He and his wife are prominent in the social and religious activities of the community and are held in high esteem by all.
LOREN L. BREWSTER.
Loren L. Brewster, one of Grant county's best-known and most sub- stantial pioneer farmers, now living practically retired on his fine farm in Elbow Lake township, is a native of the state of Maine, but has lived in the West since he was thirteen years of age and in Minnesota since he was sixteen. He was born on a farm in Franklin county, Maine, September 25, 1844, son of Stephen John and Mary T. ( Blanchard) Brewster, both natives of that same county, who came to Minnesota many years ago and whose last days were spent in this state.
Stephen J. Brewster was born on May 27, 1818, one of the three children born to his parents, members of old New England families, who had set- tled in Franklin county, Maine, about the year 1795, going there from
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Vermont or Massachusetts. He grew up on a farm there and married Mary T. Blanchard, who was born in that same county,. October 4, 1822, a daugh- ter of Noah and Polly ( Knapp) Blanchard, both of English parentage, who in 1861 came to Minnesota and settled in Winona county, where Noah Blanchard bought a farm and where his wife died, after which he returned to Maine and spent his last days with his eldest son in the city of Port- land. After his marriage Stephen T. Brewster bought a farm and remained in his home county in Maine until 1856, in which year he moved with his family to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in the township of Alto, in Fond du Lac county, where he lived for three years, or until the fall of 1860, when he came with his family by "prairie schooner" over into Minnesota and bought a raw prairie farm in Winona county, where he established his home. In 1897 he sold his farm there and came over into this part of the state, locating in the village of Brown Valley, in the neighboring county of Traverse, where he lived retired the rest of his life, his death occurring on April 13, 1913, he then being nearly ninety-four years of age. His wife's last days were spent, as an invalid, in the home of a daughter at Winona, where her death occurred in May, 1905. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. There were eleven of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow : Nancy, who died at the age of seventy years; Maria, who lives at Brown Valley, this state, widow of John Elliott: James, who also lives in Brown Valley, a farmer ; Morris, whose present whereabouts are unknown; Stephen, who died in infancy; Melissa, who died in Maine, in infancy; Mary, who also died in infancy; Myrtle, who is living, unmarried, at Winona; Eugenia, also unmarried, living at Brown Valley, and Lila, who died at the age of nine- teen years.
Loren L. Brewster was about thirteen years of age when his parents moved from Maine to Wisconsin and was about sixteen when they came over into Minnesota, consequently his schooling was obtained in three states. He grew to manhood on the home farm in Winona county and after his marriage in 1865 established his home in that county and remained there, farming, until 1878, in which year he disposed of his interests there and with his family drove through to Grant county, a distance of three hundred miles, and homesteaded a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in section 8 of Elbow Lake township, where he ever since has made his home. When the Brewsters settled on their homestead the neighbors thereabout were very few and far between, there being at that time but one house between there
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and the village of Herman, which at that time consisted of but fifteen houses. Upon taking possession of his homestead Mr. Brewster built a small frame house, planted a grove and began to break the virgin soil. He completed the task of breaking the farm during the second year and it was not long until he was able to make other improvements, bringing the place up to a high standard of development. In 1887 James J. Hill gave him a purebred Shorthorn bull and he began to give proper attention to the raising of high-grade cattle, sticking to Shorthorns ever since, gen- erally having a herd of from sixty to one hundred head, and has done much to raise the standard of the live stock in that community. As he pros- pered in his undertakings, Mr. Brewster added to his land holdings until he now is the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of fine land in one body, the whole being well improved. About 1912 he practically retired from the active labors of the farm and since then the farm management has been carried on by his sons. Mr. Brewster has for years given close attention to local affairs, has served as supervisor of his home township and with the exception of two years has been treasurer of his local school district since the year 1883.
It was on July 4, 1865, in Winona county, this state, that Loren L. Brewster was united in marriage to Mary Ellen Cram, who was born in New Hampshire, July 4, 1850, daughter of Joseph Cram and wife, and to this union thirteen children have been born, namely: Byron, a well- known Grant county farmer; Horace, who died in infancy; LaForest, super- intendent of the Old Peoples Home, of St. Paul Park; Rollin, who died in infancy; Ellion, who is assisting in the management of the old home place; Horace, a farmer, of Sawyer, North Dakota; Herbert, who died in infancy ; Mabel, who married Thomas H. Heath and lives at Lemmon, South Dakota; Herbert, who is assisting in the management of the home farm; Effie, who died in infancy; Effic, second, who married Richard Amundson, a well- known Grant county farmer; Eugenia, who married Isaac Law and lives at Bordulac, North Dakota, and Eva, who married Arthur Jasmer and lives at Nimrod, in Wadena county, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Brewster celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on July 4, 1915, and the occa- sion was made one of much congratulation on the part of their many friends hereabout. Mrs. Brewster died on October 6, 1916, after a married life of fifty-one years, three months and two days. Mr. Brewster is a member of the Church of God at Hereford and has ever taken a warm interest in all movements designed to advance the common welfare of the community of which he has been a part since pioneer days.
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WILLIE NICHOLSON BRONSON.
Willie Nicholson Bronson, one of the well-known and prominent men of Douglas county, and the editor and the publisher of the Evansville Enter- prise, was born in Jones county, Iowa, in the town of Wyoming, the son of the Rev. Samuel Merwin and Anna Amelia ( Nicholson ) Bronson, natives of Danbury, Connecticut, and Salem, Pennsylvania, respectively, the former born on November 6, 1818, and the latter, October 4, 1836, whose last days were spent at Evansville, the death of the former occurring on January 27. 1888, and that of the latter on March 13. 1907.
As a young man, Samuel Merwin Bronson decided to enter the gospel ministry and soon engaged in that labor. During his early married life the Rev. Samuel M. Bronson preached in Iowa, where he had some large charges, including Charles City, Fayette and Floyd. As a minister he was success- ful and accomplished much good in his various charges in Iowa. Wishing to extend his influence for good, in 1879 he came to Minnesota and for some years preached for the Methodist Episcopal and Congregational churches at Alexandria. He then located at Evansville, where he preached for the Union church until the time of his death. He and his wife were prominent in the social and the religious life of the communities in which they lived and were held in the highest regard and esteem by all. Their influence for good was most marked, and they had much to do with the moral develop- ment of this district. They devoted their lives to their family and to the people of the community, and their lives were exemplifications of the highest ideals. They saw the real beauty in life and used their best efforts to have others to live the true Christian life. They were the parents of six children, Willie Nicholson, Nellie (who died in 1911), Stella, Gertrude, Clement H. and Rollin. Clement H. Bronson is the editor of the Osakis Review and Rollin Bronson is a resident of New England, North Dakota.
Willie Nicholson Bronson completed his schooling in the academy at Fayette, Iowa, and afterward engaged in teaching, being thus engaged for a number of years in northern Iowa and in Minnesota, completing his work as a teacher at Osakis, where he was principal of the high school. In 1905 he bought the Evansville Enterprise, a six-column quarto newspaper and one of the clean, live papers of this part of the state. The circulation at the start was small and the office poorly equipped, but today the circulation has increased to a substantial list and the office is nicely equipped with modern machinery. In addition to publishing the Enterprise, Mr. Bronson operates
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an extensive job-printing plant and turns out a considerable quantity of high- class job work, which compares favorably with the work done in the larger city offices. Mr. Bronson is unmarried and his sisters, Stella and Gertrude live with him.
CHARLES CATER.
Charles Cater, a successful real-estate dealer of Herman, was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, on October 29, 1858, the son of Andrew J. and Clara (Grant ) Cater, the former of whom was born at Bangor, New Hamp- shire, and the latter at Lowell. Massachusetts. Soon after their marriage they located at Methuen. In 1866 Andrew Carter came to Minnesota and in the next year located at Princeton, where his family joined him. There he followed his trade, that of a carpenter, and engaged in the lumber business, remaining there until 1877, when he moved to Grant county, where he entered a homestead and a tree claim in Delaware township. The two claims gave him a tract of three hundred and twenty acres, the greater part of which he developed and improved. There he made his home for about fifteen years, at the end of which time he went to the state of Washington, where he became interested in mining. Some years later he returned to Minnesota, but died shortly after he reached Minneapolis. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, J. P., Abbie S .. Charles, Mary F., Lottie ( deceased ). Eveline and Maude.
Charles Cater was reared at Princeton, this state, where he received his early education in the public schools. His school days ended at the age of fourteen years, at which time he began to work for himself. For six or seven years he worked at various places and at different kinds of work and on May 17, 1878, located at Herman and in the following year filed a claim for one hundred and sixty acres in Clifton township, Traverse county. He took up his residence there and lived by himself for five years, after which time he returned to Herman, where he has since resided. For the next ten or twelve years he was in the implement business and after owning an inter- est in an elevator business for two years engaged in the drug business until the sale of real-estate became active in Minnesota, when he engaged in the real-estate business, at which he has continued.
In 1885 Charles Cater was united in marriage to Grace E. Holman of Lake Traverse and to this union six children have been born, Lottie ( deceased ), Dessie, Capitola, Charles E., Grace V. and Blanche. The family are active
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members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Herman. Fraternally, Mr. Cater is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Court of Honor. Mr. Cater has always taken an active interest in local affairs and has done much for the growth and prosperity of Herman and the surrounding territory.
CHARLES F. CANFIELD.
Charles F. Canfield, one of the real pioneers of Douglas county, now living retired at Alexandria, was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, December 25, 1826, a son of Rufus and Polly ( Northrut ) Canfield, both natives of Connecticut, who lived all their lives in that state and who were the parents of eight children, Mary, Charles, John, Gould. Sylvester, Henry, Emily and Frank.
Charles F. Canfield was educated in the schools of Connecticut and in 1855, two years after his marriage in the East, he and his wife moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where for four years he was engaged in the clothing business Then, attracted by the glowing reports sent out Ly settlers in this part of Minnesota, they came to this state and for a short time were located at Dalton, in Ottertail county, proceeding hence down into Douglas county, where Mr. Canfield entered a claim to a tract of land on the shores of Lake Ida and there established his home, among the very first settlers of the region now comprised within the bounds of Douglas county. At that time Alex- andria was but a stopping place for the stage line and there were no build- ings there save a small log tavern on the bank of the lake.
Mr. Canfield had just fairly settled on his claim and had his first crops under cultivation when the Indian uprising of 1862 occurred. Abandoning everything, he sought safety for himself and family by flight to St. Cloud, where he remained about two years, at the end of which time he returned to his homestead in Holmes City township and there remained, farming, until his removal, in 1875, to Alexandria, where he engaged in the clothing busi- ness and was thus engaged until his retirement from active business in 1904. He also was connected with a clothing store at Cando, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Canfield are among the oldest survivors of the original pioneers of Douglas county and both are hale and hearty. They have a pleasant home in Alexandria and are very comfortably situated. Before the Indian
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outbreak many Indians visited the Canfields at their home on the shores of Lake Ida and Mr. Canfield relates how the old Indian chief, "Hole-in-the- Day," had visited their home many nights, rolling up in his blanket and sleep- ing on the floor of their cabin.
In 1853 Charles F. Canfield was united in marriage to Sarah A. Shot- well, of Newark, New Jersey, a daughter of Daniel and Margaret (Force) Shotwell, who also were among the early settlers of Douglas county, coming here in 1858, and taking among the first claims of government land. Daniel Shotwell and wife were the parents of six children, Anna, Sarah, Mary, James, Walter and Marcus. To Mr. and Mrs. Canfield were born six chil- dren, Wilbur F., Horace B., Theodore L., Arthur A., Charles F. and Orville E.
THEODORE BORDSEN.
Theodore Bordsen, treasurer of Douglas county, was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, February 11, 1850, of Norwegian ancestry. His father was Beruld Bordsen, born in Norway, on April 14, 1808, and his mother was Ranghild ( Grinevold) Bordsen, also born in Norway, June 17, 1819.
Beruld Bordsen came to America in 1844, and located on a twenty-acre farm near Port Washington, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming, together with work at his trade as a blacksmith. In 1868 he removed with his family to Douglas county, Minnesota, and located on a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres near Evansville, entering this land under the homestead laws. He built a home and other necessary farm buildings there and made that place his home for the rest of his life. He and his wife were the par- ents of six children, namely : B. W., Anna, who married P. O. Froland; Theodore, the subject of this sketch; Sina (deceased), who was the wife of William Thompson; Christen and Reinert. His church membership was with the Norwegian Lutheran denomination.
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