History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 91

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547

USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota > Part 91

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In September, 1855, Mr. Stevens transferred his right, title, and interest here to Peter Larr and Hiram Howe, and removed to Worth county, Iowa, where he lived some years and then went to Puget Sound, Washington Territory. Mr. E. Mack- intire, who had been a railroad contractor, from from Dedham, Massachusetts, came here in the summer of 1355, and took a claim on section thirty-three, where H. Carrier now lives.

Mr. Mackintire was an enterprising man and se- cured the establishment of a Post-office which was called Dedham. He was the first representative from this district in the State legislature, and his son, S. B. McIntire, was the first cadet to West Point, appointed from this congressional district. Mr. Mackintire afterwards removed to Houston, where he has since lived. In company with a Mr. Cooper, he built a mill and had it running in 1856. It had one run of stones and a long bolt turned, out eight bushels an hour, and was driven by a re- action wheel. Soon after, a run of stones for feed was put in. In 1859, an addition was made to the mill, in which a still was placed to make whisky from the corn obtained as toll in the grist-mill; the still had a capacity of 100 gallons a day. In 1861, Mr. Mackintire sold out to L. Lynch, Mr.

Cooper having previously disposed of his interest. John Adams was one of the earliest comers.

Enoch Gould was the first man in the north part of the town, in the Root River valley. He was a native of New Hampshire, and first came west to Fox Lake, Wisconsin, and thence to Yu- catan in 1855. His family joined him a year or two later. He took 400 acres of land in sections thirty-three and thirty-four. At first he lived where D. R. Chisholm's place now is. He secured a Post-office on section thirty-three, called Hamil- tun, which afterwards gave the name to the town that was finally re-named Money Creek.

Dr. T. A. Pope, in the spring of 1856, reported in person and made a claim in section thirteen, where H. Persons now is. The Doctor originated in Chautauqua county, New York, and had lived a short time on Pope's prairie, south of Caledonia. In 1856, he procured the establishment of a Post- office, and it is now the Yucatan office. The name of the town at one time was Utica. Dr. Pope was the first Postmaster, practiced medicine and open- ed up a farm, and was the first Town Clerk, hold- ing the position several years. He finally removed to Sheldon in 1860 or '61, and taught school about two years, when he returned to his place, but soon removed to Houston, after selling his farm, and there engaged in the practice of his profession until a few years since, when he went to Iowa and still resides there.

Peter Larr came in the summer of 1856, and dropped on the place now occupied by Fallis Knox. He hailed from Missouri, where he was born on the 19th of December, 1842. He first went to Iowa and then to Wisconsin, and from there came here. In 1866, he sold the place on sections fourteen and twenty-three, and moved up the val- ley, and a few years later he bought the place where he now lives, on sections twenty-six and twenty-seven. In 1856 Mr. Larr and H. Howe bought out Stevens, including the mill property, and the town site, and he still lives on the same . section.

On the 18th of April, 1856, John and H. Colby, two brothers from Erie county, New York, arrived and secured a place on section twenty-two, where Benjamin Bidwell now lives. These brothers re- mained here about eight years. H. Colby was the first regular mail carrier between this place and Caledonia, making a single trip each week, at first on foot but finally bestrode a mule. On the break-

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ing out of the war, he enlisted in Company H, of the Eighth Missouri regiment. His interests were sold out after the war and he went to Iowa, thence to Missouri, and afterwards to Kansas, where the grasshoppers were so copious that he "retreated in good order," and finally halted on the Durland farm iu section ten. John Colby, after disposing of his share of the property mentioned above, moved to what is known as Oak Ridge, and bought 120 acres on section nine. In 1865, Ur- dix Colby, his brother, joined him in September, and opened a shoe shop near Howe's saw-mill. He has since lived in Fillmore county and in Houston, but now owns a farm on section twenty- seven, where he now resides.

In the spring of 1853 or '54, Asa Comstock se- cured a claim in section twenty-seven but did not locate on it until the spring of 1856, when he bought other large tracts; after about fifteen years he went to Missouri.

James Kelly, one of the influential and promi- nent ment of Yucatan, came here from Brownsville, in April, 1856, and took 280 acres on section twen- ty-nine. He built a house, and opened up a farm which he left in charge of his father, Hugh Kelly, and went to work at the carpenter's trade in Rush- ford, which he continued until the fall of 1859, when he returned to his farm to remain. His father died at the age of 82 years, on the 5th of January, 1871, and his mother at the age of 85 years, on the 18th of July, 1874.

Robert Earl was the first to locate on Oak Ridge, about the year 1858. In 1865, he sold to Mr. Colby. Soon after him came Wm. Mahaffery, who stopped on section seven. He was from Delaware. A few years ago he removed to Rushford.

Lawrence Lynch did not arrive till about 1860, when he bargained for the Dedham Mill and Dis- tillery, which he subsequently lost in the August flood of 1866. He was an early settler in the county, and it is related that while prospecting about he came across a tree that had just been felled by the beavers, and he concluded, by the way it was hacked around on all sides, that it must have been done by an Irishman who had never cut a tree in the old country, so he sat down and remained some time waiting for him to return.

THE FIRST BIRTH .- This is said to have been James C. Kelly, son of James Kelly who was born on the 28th of October, 1857, although there may have been earlier ones.

MARRIAGE. - In the fall of 1857, William King and Martha M. Colby were united in wedlock at the residence of the officiating Justice, E. Mac- intire, Esq.

EARLY DEATHS .- In the winter of 1862, Mary, the daughter of Peter Larr, being at the point of death, requested that her remains might be depos- ited at a particular spot designated on her father's farm, and her wish being complied with, that be- came a nucleus for a cemetery, and it has since been used by persons in that vicinity. The whole number buried there is fourteen, including two re- movals, Mr. Enos Adams and Mr. Joseph Barton. In the new cemetery, on sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight, the first interment was that of Eu- gene Bidwell, in September, 1873.

MANUFACTURING.

Edwin Stevens built a dam across the South Fork of Root River, on section twenty-three, where the Howe mill now is, in the summer of 1856, and commenced the construction of a saw- mill. Before it was completed he sold the estab- lishment to H. Howe, with the understanding that it should be finished according to certain specifi- cations, but when the property was delivered it proved unsatisfactory, and the wheel was removed and numerous other changes made before it met the views of its new owner. The spot on which this mill stood is near the present grist-mill. It was a vertical sash saw, and its reciprocating mo- tion was kept up, manufacturing lumber until 1871, when the grist-mill was erected.

The first grist-mill was that already mentioned on section thirty-three on Riceford Creek, and was called the Dedham Mill. It was a frame building 20x30 feet, and did a large amount of custom work. Mr. Watkins soon bought out Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Lynch bought out Mr. Mackintire in 1860. and in August, 1866, it was swept away by that flood, and has never been replaced.

THE HOWE MILL-Is on the South Fork in section twenty-three, and was erected by E. B. Howe, having been commenced in the fall of 1870, and completed in the spring of 1871. It has a head of water of seven feet, and two turbine wheels, rated at twenty-five horse-power each, keep the machinery in motion. There are three run of stones, three sets of bolts, a middlings purifier, smutter, cockle machine, corn sheller, oat separator, etc. The mill is capable of grinding 150 bushels of | wheat and 300 of feed per day.

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THE DAILY MILL .- This was put up about the middle of the last decade by James Daily. It is run by a turbine wheel of twenty horse-power, under a pressure of twenty feet, but the water supply is only sufficient for a single run of stones for ten hours a day. The mill, however, contains two run of stones, a smutter, bolt, cornsheller, etc., and can grind five bushels of wheat an hour. The present owner of the mill is William Scheu nert, who contemplates important improvements in the near future.

POST-OFFICES.

The Post-office was established in 1856, and Dr. T. A. Pope was the Postmaster, it was at first called Utica, but afterwards changed to Yucatan. In 1864, Mrs. R. Taylor was Postmistress. G. Thomas was appointed in 1867, and H. Carrier was in the position in 1875 and 1876. C. Wilsey was appointed in June, 1876, and his daughter Cora was appointed deputy on the 3d of June, 1879. She now has charge of the office.

The Dedham office was started not long after- wards with E. Mackintire, Postmaster. Law- rence Lynch succeeded him, and then Mr. Tyler; it remained in the same house from the first. In February, 1865, it was discontinued.

The present Yucatan office is now kept not far from where the old Dedham office was. It re- ceives a mail on alternate days from the east, and on the other days from the west. Still another office was established in what is now the northern part of the town, and it received the name of Ham- ilton, but was soon changed to Lavilla, and when Mr. Gould sold his farm to the Chisholm brothers, their father became the Postmaster, and about two years afterwards the office was discontinued.

SCHOOLS.

The first school in Yucatan was managed by Miss Emeline Howe, in a rough. timber building situated near the residence of B. Bidwell. This was in 1856 or '57. About 1860, the districts were divided, and this building was moved down the road and another constructed, which was

DISTRICT No. 20 .-- The building was located on section twenty-seven, and was 20x24 feet, of stone. A. L. Thompson was the earliest teacher. Since that time the original log house has been moved the second and third time, and is now serving as a building for

DISTRICT No. 21-and is located a half mile be- low the mill on section thirteen.

DISTRICT No. 19-Is in the south part of the town. A school was taught in a log structure near the Dedham mill, in 1857, by Mary Mc- Gowen; Miss Eunice Comstock also taught there at an early day. The school was in the Mackin- tire house for some time, and at the residence of Charles Wilsey until the erection of the school- house sometime during the war.

DISTRICT No. 17 .- The house is a frame build- ing erected in 1861. It is 20x26 feet, and in sec- tion twenty-nine. The present teacher is Augusta Gould. There are twenty-three scholars enrolled.

DISTRICT No. 79 .- Originally this was a part of No. 17, but a division was finally made, and a house put up at a cost of $350. It was built in 1871, by Donald Chisholm. Miss Agnes McIn- - nis had the honor of calling the first school to order.

DISTRICT No. 18 .- In 1867, a tax was levied after a new district had been organized, and a log house was got together, 18x24 feet, and a school started with Mrs. Gale as instructor. The schools in town will compare favorably with other simi- larly situated localities.

TOWN GOVERNMENT.

When the first meeting was held to organize the town, the chairman was Alonzo Adams. The first officers were: Clerk, Mr. Chapman; Treasurer, Mr. Little; Assessor, Hiram Howe; Justice of the Peace, E. Mackintire; Constable, Charles Smith.

The town officers have always been faithful and economical, and nothing startling in the political history of the town has occurred that is worthy of record.

PRESENT OFFICERS .- Supervisors, Herrick Per- sons, John Crain, and Ole Larhjornson; Clerk, Knud Gedstad; Treasurer, Edmund Howe; Jus- tices of the Peace, J. W. Comstock and D. R. Chis- holm; Constable, John Q. Adams; Assessor, Anton Alberg.

RELIGIOUS.

CONGREGATIONAL .- The Oak Ridge Society was organized by Elder Snell, of Rushford, in 1878. At first there were about a dozen members, but several have moved away, and meetings are now held once in two weeks at the schoolhouse and at private residences. Most of the people who at- tend church go to one of the neighboring towns.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

DONALD R. CHISHOLM is a son of Alexander Chisholm, who was born in Nova Scotia on the 23d of September, 1808. He visited Yucatan in 1863, and in September, 1865, brought his family, con- sisting of his wife and ten children. He located in section thirty-three, which was his home until his death, which occurred the 16th of July, 1874. His wife, youngest son Alexander W., and two daughters, Ann and Jennie, reside in Rushford, Fillmore county. Donald was born on the 4th of October, 1839, in Nova Scotia, and came to this place with the family in 1865. He was married to Miss Eliza Low on the 18th of December, 1867, the fruits of which union. were nine children, only three of whom are living; Deborah E., Catharine A., and Donald A. Mr. Chisholm resides on the old farm in section thirty-three, and is at present Justice of the Peace. He has, beside those previ- ously mentioned, a sister Mary, who is married and resides in Rochester, Minnesota; a brother, John, living in California; Duncan, a blacksmith at Spirit Lake; Kate, the wife of P. Reynolds, of Lake Benton; Jane, the wife of James Hargraves, residing in Spencer, Clay county, and Angus, now in Montana.

JOHN ELLIASON dates his birth in Norway, the 10th of April, 1847. He has maintained himself since about twelve years old, and at the age of nineteen came to America. He remained during the first summer in Madison, Wisconsin, and in the fall of 1866, came to Houston county. He afterward went to Nebraska and pre-empted land, but on account of grasshoppers soon abandoned it and returned to Minnesota. In 1876, he was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Hemanson. She has borne him two children, Herman and Mary. In 1877, Mr. Elliason purchased a farm in section thirty-four, Yucatan, and has since lived on this farm.

HIRAM HOWE is a native of Essex county, Ver- mont, born on the 25th of April, 1801. In 1840, he moved to Ohio, locating in East Liberty, Logan county, where he was among the first settlers. He came to Yucatan in September, 1856, and bought of Edwin Stevens a tract of land includ- ing the present site of the Howe mill. Mr. Ste- vens had come here a few years before and com- menced a mill, in which Mr. Howe made numer- ons alterations and improvements after purchas- ing. He was the first Assessor under the State or- 1

ganization. His children are Charles B., now in Missouri; Nancy, wife of Dr. S. James, in Ohio; Emeline, wife of C. H. Chatman, in Ohio; Mary E., wife of P. Larr, of this place; John, who was a soldier in the war; Placentia, wife of A. Coms- tock, in Broome county, New York; and Edwin.

EDWIN B. HOWE dates his birth the 6th of Sep- tember, 1848, in Ohio. He came to Yucatan with his father, Hiram Howe, in 1856. In 1870, he was joined in marriage with Miss Amelia Hoff, the cer- emony dating the 8th of September. Their child- ren are Grace, Hiram, and Lydia. Mr. Howe has filled the office of Town Treasurer for the past four years. Since 1871, he has operated what is known as the Howe mill.

OLE JACOBSON was born in Northern Norway in December, 1812. Since the age of twelve years he has maintained himself. He was married to Miss Betsey Olson in 1849. In 1850, they came to America, locating in Dane county, Wisconsin, and remainedfive years. In the spring of 1855, Mr. Ja- cobson came to this place and took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in section thirty, upon which he erected a small log house, which he occu- pied until building his present residence. Of nine children born to him, four are living; Rachel, wife of Knud Hanson, Susan, John, and Andrew. .

FALLIS E. KNOX was born in Mercer county, Illinois, on the 5th of November, 1855. He came with his father, Hiram Knox, to this town when about eight years old, and the same year moved to Sheldon. In the latter place he was united in marriage with Miss Maria Mitchell, the ceremony taking place in April, 1880. They moved to Yu- catan which has since been their home, residing on a farm in section twenty-three. The union has been blessed with one child, named Vernie L.

JAMES KELLY, one of the pioneers of this sec- tion, is a native of Scotland, born in Twynholm, Kirkcudbright county, on the 31st of March, 1822. When about sixteen years old he com- menced learning the carpenter's trade, and in 1845, moved to Manchester, England, where he was engaged at his trade. He came to America in 1849, locating in Massachusetts, first in Boston then in Dedham. On the 7th of October, 1857, he was joined in matrimony with Miss Charlotte D. G. Carson, of his native town. They came to Minnesota in September, 1855, resided in Browns- ville until the following April, when they came to Yucatan and took a claim of two-hundred and

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eighty acres, to which has since been added one- hundred and sixty.

After living here about five months Mr. Kelly left his farm in charge of his father, and for two years was engaged at his trade in Chatfield, Fill- more county. He then returned to his farm and erected a log house in which they still live, but is at present engaged in the construction of a fine stone building. Since his residence here he has held all but one of the local offices, the present be- ing the only year he has not held one or more. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have been blessed with one child, James C., born on the 28th of October, 1857. Hugh Kelly, father of the subject of this sketch, died on the 5th of January, 1871, aged eighty-two years, and his wife followed the 18th of July, 1874, aged eighty-five years.

CHESTER H. LOVERIDGE, deceased, was born in Erie county, New York, in November, 1826. He learned the miller's trade when young, and was engaged at the same until coming west. Miss Jemima Blanchard became his wife on the 15th of January, 1857. They came to Yucatan in 1868, and purchased the farm upon which the family now reside. Three children were born to him; Emmet H., Elmer E., and Chester E. Mr. Lover- idge died on the 15th of January, 1871, mourned by all who knew him.

JOHN O. LEE is a native of Norway, born in Nordland, on the 7th of September, 1839. He came to America with his parents who located in Dane county, Wisconsin. The following year they came to Sheldon, Houston county, and took government land upon which they lived until 1875; then moved to Red River where his father died the 23d of December, 1881. John resided with his parents until 1868, when he was married to Miss Margaret Christianson, the ceremony dating the 17th of May. He then purchased land in Yucatan and now owns as fine a farm as any in this section, having a good house, barn, granary, etc. He held the office of Supervisor four successive terms. His children are Holver, Gilbert, Christian, Emma, Gina, and Ole.

DAVID MCCONNELL was born in Twynholm, Scotland, on the 12th of October, 1817. At the age of eighteen years he went to Cambridge, Eng- land, where he was employed as clerk in a dry goods store; afterwards purchased the same and continued in business there twelve years. In 1854, he came to America, and for a year resided

in Dedham, Massachusetts, then to Yucatan, and soon after to Birch Coolie, Renville county, where he pre-empted land, upon which he resided with his mother. At the commencement of the Sioux massacre, while his mother was alone in the house, it was entered by two Indians. After plundering the house one of them would have killed her with an axe, had the other not stopped him, on account of previous kindness shown him by the old lady. The following night she with her son walked twelve miles to Fort Ridgely. His nephew, Thomas Brooks, a lad thirteen years old, and brother-in-law, Fred Clauson, fell victims in the bloody massacre, and Mrs. Clauson and her two small children were taken prisoners and kept six weeks. Mr. McConnell was engaged in defense of the frontier three months, after which, in the fall of 1862, he came to Yucatan. In 1874, he was married to Miss Anna Messerall, who bore him two boys, James and David, and died three weeks after the birth of the latter. Little David died when he was four years old.

HERRICK PERSONS was born in Sheldon, Wyom- ing county, New York, on the 16th of April, 1832. When he was thirteen years old his parents moved to Erie county, and in 1853, to Bloomington, Illi- nois. During the fall of that year Herrick came up the river to Lansing, Iowa, thence across the country, stopping two miles below Houston, where he spent the winter engaged in trapping in company with a friend. In the spring he returned to New York, and in April, 1865, was married to Miss Marion Blakely. In September, 1858, they came to Yucatan, where Mr. Persons bought land and remained until 1861, when he returned again to New York, remaining but a few months. On his return to this place he sold his former farm and bought land in section twenty-three, which hestill owns. In the spring of 1865, he moved to Shel- don, and the following year opened a general mer- cantile store in the southern part of this town, but the same year, by a sudden rise of the stream caused by the breaking of a water-spout, he lost the store and all its contents, with the exception of about thirty dollars. He then returned to his farm, and in 1867, moved to Lake City, where for two years he was engaged in the grocery busi- ness. He has since resided on a farm, and in 1875, purchased his present land in sections thir- teen and twenty-four. Mr. Persons has always bern interested in local affairs, and is at present a

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member of the board of Supervisors, has also held the office of Assessor five terms, Justice of the Peace three years, and Town Clerk several terms. Mr. and Mrs. Persons have been blessed with six children; Julia, George, Don, Emma, Ruth, and Henry.

OLE KNUDSON SINUS is a native of Norway, born in May, 1822. His parents both died when he was young. He came to America, and in the summer of 1854, to Sheldon, where he was em- ployed by farmers in the vicinity. In 1857, he was married to Miss Susana Torgerson. He pur- chased a farm in section twenty-eight, Yucatan, the same year, and has since made it his home. His wife died in October, 1872, and he has also lost four children, Gunder, John, John, and Gur- ina. Those living are Rasmus, Charles, and Knud.

OLE TORGERSEN SORO is a native of Norway, his birth dating the 25th of March, 1837. He was married on the 26th of March, 1870, to Miss Bridget Olson. They came to America the same year and directly to Minnesota, locating in Fill- more county. In 1876, Mr. Soro purchased a farm in section twenty-nine, Yucatan, to which he soon moved his family and has since lived. His children are Lena, Theodore, Ole, and Ida.

WILLIAM SCHEUNERT is a native of Germany, born in Saxony on the 17th of September, 1828. When fourteen years old he commenced learning the miller's trade, at which he was engaged in his native country until coming to America in 1851. For eleven years he resided in Hamilton, Wiscon- sin, and was married to Miss Augustina Jager, the ceremony taking place in February, 1857. Mr. Scheunert has been engaged in the milling busi- ness in Carver, Hennepin, Fillmore, and Scott counties, and came to this place in November, 1881. He purchased the Daily mills in which he intends making repairs and adding to the ma- chinery in the early spring. His children are Ada, Leonard, Amanda, Samantha, Alma, Clara, and Arthur.

JOHN B. SHUMAKER is a native of Virginia, born on the 10th of November, 1827. He came to Houston county in 1857, and to Yucatan in the spring of 1861. After coming here he had charge of the Dedham grist-mill until enlisting in the Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Company H. He served three years, since which time he has been a resident of this township, and was employ-

ed in the above mentioned mill until its destruc- tion by flood on the 6th of August, 1866. He now resides on his farm in sections twenty-nine and thirty.

EDWARD THOMPSON is a native of Ireland, born in Antrim county on the 21st of June, 1837. He came to America in 1858, remained a short time in Albany, New York, then to Dubuque, Iowa, and thence to Yucatan, arriving on the 17th of September. He resided with his brother Mathew until the 13th of October, 1861, when he enlisted in the Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Com- pany C. He participated in the battles of Cor- inth, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Mission Ridge, and was with Sherman in his march from Chattanooga to Atlanta. On the 19th of July, 1864, he was wounded by a ball passing through his thigh, and was discharged after a service of three years. He returned to Yucatan and was united in marriage on the 30th of April, 1868, with Miss Anna Com- stock. Their childred are Henry and Edward.

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History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 91

Author: Edward D. Neill Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 547

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547