History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 39

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264

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of the Sioux tribe. All the country west of Red Wing was then practically a wilderness, and my little party were the first who started in to cultivate the soil and make a permanent settlement. After supplying ourselves at Red Wing with a tent, cook stove, provisions, carpenters' and other necessary tools, and a pair of oxen, we hired a horse team, packed our goods in a wagon, hitched the cattle behind and started for the new settlement. Toward evening we arrived at a grove on Belle creek, where we pitched our tent and cooked our evening meal. And only pioneers under- stand how well it was relished after a long day's tramp. The horse team returned alone with its driver in the morning and we were left in the wilderness. After a day's exploration we re- moved the camp to another point on the creek, near where Roos had taken his claim. It was now late in September, and our first care was to secure hay for the oxen during the coming winter. A few days' work produced a great stack. Having heard about prairie fires, we concluded to guard our stack against them, so we set fire to the short stubble around the stack. intending, of course, to put out the inner circle of fire. But a minute and a half was sufficient to convince ns that we had made wrong calculation. for by that time the stack itself was burning with such fury that all the water in Belle creek could not quench it. And this was not the worst. Before we had time to recover from our astonishment the outer fire circle had extended over the best part of the valley and burned all the remaining grass that was left in the county, but fortunately we found plenty near our first camping ground. Having secured a second stack of very inferior hay. we proceeded to build a rude log house, and had just finished it when Mr. Wil- lard. my brother-in-law, appeared in our midst. I accompanied him to Red Wing. where we obtained work chopping steamboat wood during the winter. Early the next spring we commenced improving our claims and before summer was ended our colony numbered ten families. These emigrants with their goods had to be transported from Red Wing to the new settlement. twelve miles. in the following manner: When in the spring of 1854 Willard and myself received a pair of three-year-old steers and a cow from my father. we could get no other wagon than a truck with wheels made of 4-inch thick oak eylinders, sawed off a log. A good wagon was made in this way. The wheels were only abont twenty inches in diameter. hence I had great trouble in getting over the stumps between John Day's ravine and Hay creek. The road was about where the Milwaukee railroad track is now. I often had to lift one end of the axle to straddle the stumps. one axle at a time. of course, and as the steers were wild. and my assistants always newly arrived emigrants who did not understand how to conciliate the steers by forcible English. I

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often had great trouble. The wagon was stronger than the steers, however; that helped me. On that truck I carted out the goods and supplies for all the emigrants that arrived at Vasa in 1854.

The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Red Wing, belongs to the Minnesota Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of America. Its history in resume is as fol- lows :

So far as it can be ascertained, the first Swede who made Goodhue county his home was a man by the name of Nils Magnus Nilsson, who was brought to Red Wing from St. Paul by the pioneers Dr. W. W. Sweney and William Freeborn. He worked for Dr. Sweney a number of years and became known as the doctor's Nils, and also as Nils Sweney. Nilsson served in the Civil War from October, 1861 until March, 1863. He died April 30, 1893.

In the spring and summer of 1855, the Swedish immigration to Red Wing received its first real impetus. In the fall, when the Rev. E. Norelins came to Red Wing and preached the first Swedish sermon at this place, he had an audience numbering over 100 souls.

The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized on September 3, 1855, in the Presbyterian Chapel, the use of which was kindly granted to Dr. Norelius. On the following day the organization was completed, hence the 4th is given as the date of organization in the church minutes. The charter members were the following: Hakan Olson, wife and five children; Marten Person, wife and six children; Anders Carlson, wife and son; Peter Sandberg and wife; Magnus Jonson. wife and three chil- dren ; Bengt Anderson, wife and three children; Carl Anderson and wife : John Nilson Bylo ; Peter Johanson ; Nils Kallberg, wife and one child: Anders Johan Johnson ; Nils Trulson, wife and two children ; Anders Peterson : Swen Swenson; Lars Westerson, wife and one child: Anders Westerson; Mrs. Anna Brita Person . and two children ; Peter Anderson, wife and four children ; Anders Wilhelm Jonson and one child ; Elna Person ; Inga Swenson ; Anna Nilson ; Carl Bockman and son ; Edward Soderlund, wife and two children ; Peter Sjogren, wife and two children; Swen Kjellberg and wife. In all fifty-four communicants. Peter Sjogren, Hakan Olson and Anders Carlson were elected trustees.

In October the Red Wing and Vasa congregations jointly extended a call to Rev. Norelius and on May 16, 1856, he arrived here with his wife. The introductory sermon was preached on Trinity Sunday in an unfinished store building on the corner of Fourth and PIum streets. At the close of the service a subserip- tion was made for a church, which amounted to $104. The

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congregation bought a lot on the corner of Fifth and Franklin streets from C. J. F. Smith for $153. It was decided that the church should be 26 feet wide, 30 feet long, with 12-foot walls. There were to be three windows on either side with fifteen panes of glass in each, 12x14 inches in size. The door was to be 4 feet 6 inches wide and 8 feet high. The church was erected in the summer of 1856, but it was never fully completed, never being painted, and because of its shape it was nicknamed the Swedish barn. The little struggling congregation was happy, however, over the fact that it could worship in its own church, even though it in no sense could be compared with the larger and more massive churches in which the emigrants had been accustomed to worship in their fatherland. This church was later on converted into a parsonage and is still standing on the original sight. It was sold when the present parsonage was built in 1889.

The second church. At the annual meeting held January 7, 1863, a committee was elected to find a more suitable church lot, and to get plans and specifications for a new church. Following is a list of the committee: T. K. Simmons, Hakan Olson, Anders Swenson, C. G. Wernstrom, S. A. Fristedt and Carl Anderson. As a result of the work of this committee, the lot upon which the present church stands, Fifth and West avenues, was bought for $200. A subscription committee composed of C. G. Wernstrom, Anders Larson, Gustaf Carlson and J. Nordquist, was elected to solicit funds for the new church. The work was begun in the summer of 1866 and completed the following year. The building was built of red brick, 36x60 feet in dimension, at a cost of $4,296 with the furnishings. In 1883 a pipe organ was installed at an expense of $2,500.

The present church. At the annual meeting January 1, 1893, the congregation decided to begin preparations for a new church building. A building committee was elected as follows: A. Danielson, G. L. Webber, P. J. Peterson, G. A. Johnson, Aaron Anderson, J. P. Carlson, F. J. Linne, N. O. Wallin, P. E. Lindell, P. J. Patterson and Rev. G. Rast. The following persons were . elected to solicit funds: A. J. Fren, Aaron Bengtson, A. G. Skoglund. J. F. Erickson, P. A. Lamberg, A. L. Anderson, N. O. Wallin, N. Akenson, Gustaf Isaacson, P. A. Johnson and Rev. G. Rast.

It was found that the expenses of the new church, according to the plans which the committee proposed, exceeded greatly the amount which had been solicited, and therefore the matter of building was dropped for a time. But the subscription commit- tee continued its work, and on the 9th of April, 1895, the commit- tee reported a fund of $7.000. By ballot the congregation decided

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to begin work immediately. In the latter part of May the old church was torn down, and on the 20th' of June the first stone was laid. August 1, the cornerstone was laid by Dr. E. Norelius, who was then president of the Minnesota Conference. On Thanks- giving day the first churchly rite took place in the new structure, when C. A. K. Johnson and Miss Hilma S. Erickson were united in marriage. On December 20 the first service was held. The old pulpit, pews and other church furnishings were used until 1899, when the present church furnishings were installed. On August 13, 1899, the new church, fully completed, was dedicated by Dr. Norelius, assisted by Dr. Rast, the pastor of the church, and seven visiting clergymen.

The new church is built of gray limestone in Gothic archi- teeture. Its dimensions are 60x80 feet, with a side chapel 30x50 feet. The tower is 130 feet high. The total cost of the building was $23,000, but conservative estimates value the building now at $40,000. It is fully paid for. The altar painting, a copy of Plockhorst's noted work, representing Christ walking on the sea, and painted by Prof. O. Grafstrom, Rock Island, Ill., was donated to the church by the Junior Mission Society, paying $315 for it. A bell. weighing 2,800 pounds and costing $800, was donated by Mr. and Mrs. G. P. Malm. The pulpit is a gift of Mrs. N. Akenson, the pews are circular and made of quartered red oak. Memorial art glass windows were put in by Mrs. T. K. Simmons, Mrs. Clara Youngdahl, J. G. Gustafson's children, Anders Lindgren's children, Hakan Olson's children, the young people's society, and the choir.

During the year 1909 the entire floor was covered with eork carpet. donated by the Dorcas Society at an expense of over $500. The chancel was carpeted by the Ladies' Aid Society with green velvet carpets. the side chapel was furnished with lecture room chairs, also a gift from the Ladies' Aid Society. The Willing Workers paid for new pews and choir chairs in the gallery.

Parsonage. In 1871 the first church was remodeled and equipped as a parsonage at a cost of $700. In 1888 a lot was bought on the southwest corner of Fifth and Fulton streets for $1.000, and in 1889 the present spacious building, having eleven rooms, was erected at a cost of $4,000.

Pastors. Dr. Norelius. who organized the congregation, served as its first pastor until November, 1858, and again from 1862 until 1868. From 1859 to 1861 the Rev. J. P. C. Boreen served as pastor. He moved to Stockholm, Wis., where he died in March, 1865. He was buried at Vasa.

November 1, 1869, a call was extended to the Rev. P. Sjöblom

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in Porter, Ind. The call was accepted and Rev. Sjöblom arrived in Red Wing in April, 1869, remaining in charge until in July, 1886. When Rev. Sjöblom took charge of the congregation the membership was 200. Between the years 1869 and 1875, 474 com- munieant members were received into the church, aside from those who were confirmed. From 1876 to 1886 the membership was increased by 279 communicants. Dr. Sjöblom died in Minne- apolis January 24, 1909.

In January, 1887. the Rev. G. Rast assumed charge of the fold. preaching his first sermon Sunday, January 30. Dr. Rast served the congregation over twenty years or until May, 1907, when he moved to Sand Lake. Wis. During Dr. Rast's pastorate the communicant membership was raised from 500 to 700, over 500 communicants being admitted during these years. Dr. Rast also had the pleasure of moving into a new parsonage and into the new magnificent church.

Rev. E. G. Chinlund, the present pastor, assumed charge of the congregation in October. 1907. preaching his first sermon Sunday, October 27. He was born in Chicago, Ill., January 18. 1872. attended the public schools of Chicago, and continued his studies at Augustana College. Rock Island, Ill .. graduating in 1896: 1896-97 he served two congregations. in Montello and North Easton. Mass .. as supply. Thereupon he entered the Theological Seminary in Rock Island. graduating in 1900, and was ordained to the ministry at the Synod in Burlington, lowa. He accepted a call from Lincoln, Neb .. where he remained until removing to Red Wing. While in Lincoln he took up graduate work at the State University for two years. In 1901 Rev. Chinlund was mar- ried to Alna Swenson of Chicago.

Officers and church societies .- The present church board is composed of the following members: Deacons, William Sjögren, C. A. Isaakson. Carl Linder. Karl Hawkanson. Andrew Mossberg and P. A. Lamberg. Trustees, S. S. Lundquist, H. E. Akenson. C. G. Swenson. Oscar Kawkanson. Arthur Johnson. Clarence Skog- lund. C. A. K. Johnson, Andrew Lindgren and O. D. Anderson.

Celia Gustafson has served the congregation as organist since 1889. and Andrew J. Frenn has been sexton since 1897.

The following societies are doing active work for the upbuild- ing of the congregation : Ladies' Aid Society, organized 1888: of- fieers: President. the pastor: secretary. Mrs. C. A. K. Johnson ; treasurer. Mrs. F. F. Hoorn. Dorcas Society. organized 1887. ro- organized 1904; officers: President. the pastor: vice president, Mrs. B. A. Johnson: secretary and treasurer. Mrs. E. G. Chin- lund. Young People's Society. organized 1880. reorganized 1887 : officers: President. Clarence Skoglund: vice president, Herman

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOD. LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS M

HON PETER NELSON

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Chinlund; secretary, David Gustafson; treasurer, Harry Ander- son. Willing Workers, president. Mamie Gottriek : vice president, Hulda Skoglund; secretary, Gena Lundquist; treasurer, Minnie Swanson. Concordia Society, organized 1909; president, the pas- tor; vice president. N. J. Skoog; secretary, Arthur Johnson; treas- urer, P. A. Lamberg. Sunday school is held every Sunday and is attended on the average by 150 children. The school is divided into a senior and junior department, the senior department hav- ing fifteen departments and the junior department ten classes. Superintendent. the pastor; vice superintendent, Andrew Moss- berg ; secretary, Harry Anderson ; treasurer. Clarence Skoglund; librarians, Leonard Nelson. Reuben Skoglund, Eva Lindgren and Mabel Anderson. There are two church choirs, the senior choir, composed of about twenty members, and the junior choir, com- posed of about thirty young ladies. The congregation publishes a monthly eight-page paper, edited by the pastor.

The following statistics may be given for the church year ending January 1. 1909: Number of communicants, 658; total membership. 1,001; expenses for salaries, $1,858.88; other pur- poses, $1,387.16; to missions, education and benevolent purposes, $1,210.32; total, $4.456.36. Since its organization the congrega- tion has contributed toward church buildings, $38,000; toward missions. education and charity. $20,300, and toward current ex- penses, $102,000; total, $160,300.

Hon. Peter Nelson, of Red Wing. ex-senator, is a man greatly honored throughout the county for his work in upbuilding this section of the country. To his efforts is largely due the fact that the Training School is located here, when there were many other cities bidding for the honor. He was born in Skatlof, Sweden. April 14. 1844. son of Nels Nelson, a Swedish farmer and bridge contractor. The subject of this sketch left his native land on May 1. 1866. bound for America, but on account of the great rush was compelled to wait at Liverpool nearly a month. When he at last secured passage, cholera broke out on board, and out of 250 cases seventy-five proved fatal. For this reason the ship was held at Ellis Island in quarantine for a month after reaching New York, and it was consequently nearly the last of July before Peter Nelson was permitted to set foot on the land of which he was later to become an honored eitizen. Since that landing his record has been one of successful achievement. He arrived in Rockford. Ill., August 1, 1866. In this town he was employed at various work, and by attending night school, supplemented the education he had received in the public schools of his native coun- try. During the latter part of his stay in Rockford he worked at the carpenter's trade, and December 4 of that year entered the

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employ of a sash and door factory in Water Valley, Miss. In 1868 he formed the firm of Newbero & Nelson, contractors and builders. A year later he bought his partner's interest and car- ried on the business himself for about a year, after which he purchased a half-interest in a hardware store at Oxford, Miss., the firm name being Peter Nelson & Co. . In 1873 he sold out and came to Red Wing, where he started a store in company with Jonas Peterson, on Bush street, handling all kinds of hardware . and also harvesting machines and farm implements. In 1888, Mr. Nelson bought out Mr. Peterson's interest and in 1895 added a plumbing department. He continued this business until 1905, when he sold to D. B. Johns and retired from active business. Mr. Nelson became interested in politics in early life, and has always been a stanch Democrat. He was a member of the state committee from 1883 to 1889 and served in the senate from 1887 to 1889. In 1890 he was defeated for that .office by but thirty-five votes, and in 1892 was defeated for secretary of state by 8,250 votes. He has also occupied other prominent publie offices. He was interested in the Minnesota Scandinavian Relief Association in its earliest days, and in 1886 was elected vice president. Sinee 1892 he has been its president. He also belongs to the Elks and the Commercial Club, and is financially interested in many of Red Wing's leading industries. Mr. Nelson was married in Oe- tober, 1870, to Oliva Olson, daughter of Mr. Olson, a hotelkeeper in Awika, Sweden. . To this union has been born one son, Peter A. Senator Nelson has a pleasant residence at 1004 Fourth street.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

AUTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS B

F. W. KALFAHS

CHAPTER XXII.

THE GERMANS. -

Origin of Race-Colonial Germans-Prominent Teutons-Ger- mans in Goodhue County-Early Settlers in Various Town- ships-German Soldiers-German Officeholders-St. John's Hospital and Training School-German Industries-German Churches-Written by Prof. F. W. Kalfahs.

The earliest information we have of the Germans, the peo- ples and tribes who dwelt among the dense forests that stretched from the Rhine to the Vistula and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea, comes to us from the Romans, the principal authority being' Tacitus. The term German is of Celtic origin, though its mean- ing is not precisely known. It was in all probability borrowed by the Romans from the Gauls.

The Germans are a group of Indo-Germans or Indo-Aryans. They are the aborigines of central Europe, near the Baltic Sea, according to recent researches of Schrader, Hirt, and Hoops. Tacitus speaks of the Germans in contrast to the over-refined Romans, who were morally corrupt. as being tall and slender of stature, healthy, robust and of handsome appearance. Their virtues were purity of morals, hospitality, loyalty, honesty, open- heartedness. Women were held in high esteem, and they eon- sidered matrimony as saered.

The cause of German emigration was religious and political suppression ; as war, revolution and persecution on account of their religion: Other eauses were social evils; as famine, pesti- lenee, poor soil, and excess of population.

The first Germans came to the United States in 1683 from Frankfort-on-the-Main, and under the leadership of Pastorius settled in Philadelphia.

The German emigrants did not merely look for material and physical advantages as to where they could find the best land and where to get the most money for their labor; they also eon- sidered the religious and ethical phase. They looked for re- ligious toleration, to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. They chose not the South under the curse

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of slavery, where free labor was despicable, but the North. Ger- man emigration has been invaluable to the United States. Most of the emigrants were but peasants, but they were not afraid of work. They were not gentlemen by birth like the Virginian colony in search of advantage or gold. They were well suited for the hardships and privations of the early settlers. With inde- fatigable diligence and endurance they turned the impenetrable wilderness into blooming meadows and pleasant settlements.

German emigrants of 1848 were not common laborers. they emigrated on account of political reasons. President Fillmore in 1859 said about them: "Before 1848, we had numerous Ger- man emigrants, but they were of different material-good, honest laborers, who came here with pick and shovel to get their own homes. Those of 1848 are different people, full of music, ethics, polities, philosophy, and criticism." ete. The Germans of colonial times made settlements principally in New York and Pennsyl- vania, also in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Maine, and Massachusetts.

The first German settlement in the United States took place in 1683, when thirteen families from Krefeld, Germany, landed in Philadelphia. Pa., and founded Germantown, near Philadelphia. Pastorius bought 10,000 acres of land for them from William Pom.

The real beginning of German history in the United States dates from 1683. To commemorate the event the German Day has been established since 1883.

In 1709. 10.000 emigrated from the Palatinate (Pfalz) on the Rhine; most of them stayed in New York. They colonized Pala- tine Town or the Camp German Town or East Camp, German Flats, Tharbush, Aneram and Rheinbeck, Newburg and New Windsor.

In South Carolina, settlements were made at the junction of the Saluda and Broad river, at the Congaree and Wateree. They colonized Purysburg in Beauford county. In North Carolina they settled in Granville county, Lincoln county and .Mecklenburg county. They colonized Bethabara, Salem and Bethany. Stephensburg and Sheperdstown in Virginia; Frederickstown, Hagerstown and Middletown in Maryland. In New Jersey they settled in the counties of Morris. Hunderton, Sommerset, Sussex, Passaic, Bergen and Essex. At the beginning of the Revolution- ary war four-fifths of the inhabitants of New York were Ger- man and Dutch, while two-thirds of Pennsylvania and one-third of New Jersey and Maryland and Virginia was German.

Germans of prominence in colonial times were John Conrad Weiser, Conrad Weiser, Peter Summer, John Peter Zenger, Dr. H.

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

M. Muehlenberg. the founder of the Lutheran church in the United States. The first governor of New York was a German, Peter Minnewit or Minuit. He purchased Manhatten Island from the Indians for goods valued at $24.00. Another German gover- nor was Jacob Leisler. The first German newspaper was printed in 1739 by C. Sauer. The first German Bible was printed in 1742.

In the Revolutionary war, Baron Von Steuben was the most prominent general among the Germans. He gave military skill and discipline to the citizen soldiers. He was major-general and inspector-general of the army. Next of prominence was Baron De Calb, the hero in the battle of Camden, South Carolina. Other German generals of prominence were Nickolas Herkimer, general of the Mohawk Germans: Joseph, John and Daniel Hiester, Har- man, Schreven, Peter Mnehlenberg, and others.

The most prominent of the German generals in the Civil War was Franz Sigel, who won the battle of Pea Ridge. Julius Stagel won honors at Shilo. Carl Shurtz reaped laurels at Gettysburg. General Ad. Engelmann fell at the battle of Shilo. General Aug. Willich won the battle of Bowling Green. General Carl E. Salomo distinguished himself in Missouri. Max Weber was mortally wounded at Antietam. Other generals of prominence were Lud- wig Blenker, Frederick Hecker, Al. Schimmelplennig, John Fred- erick Ballier, Henry Bohlen. August Moor, Hugo Wangelin, Ad. von Steiwehr. Frederick Salomo, Joseph Osterhaus, August Kautz, Jacob Ammen, Gottfried Weizel, Julius Raeth. Among the Ger- man officers of Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War were: Captain Frank Franz. Captain Frederick Mueller, Lieutenant and Quartermaster Jacob Schweizer, Lieutenant Samnel Gruenwald, Major Ernst Decker, Sergeant Carl Holz- schuhe, Eugene Ohlinger and A. Fullensreiber, Quartermaster Jacob S. Mueller. Saddler II. J. Haefner, Bugler John Stelzriede, Corporals John Bochnke and Theodore Schulz.

The Atlantic Squadron had the following German officers: On the Amphitrite, Albert Merz, lieutenant : Albert H. Hippner, physician. On the Annapolis. John S. Hunger, commanding offi- cer ; George W. Menz, lieutenant; H. J. Siegemeyer, ensign. On the Bancroft. Carl J. Vogelsang. On the Gloucester, H. P. Hule. lieutenant. On the Massachusetts, Edelbert Althous, ensign ; Eckhart, assistant engineer; J. L. Rosenblatt, assistant physician. On the Minneapolis, Luther S. von Wedekind, assistant physician. On the Puritan, Robert J. Ilabighurst, first machinist. On the Texas, Harold H. Haas, physician ; L. C. Ileilner and Francis J. Hessler, lieutenants. On the Oregon A. Aberle, lieutenant. On the Newark, Carl R. Roelker, first machinist. In the Pacific Squadron, Albert G. Winterhalter, flag officer.

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History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 39

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1264

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264