History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 58

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343

USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Minnesota > Part 58

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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She died Oct. 14, 1872, at Dover, Minn., her daughter being subsequently reared by the grandparents on the Brownsville farm. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members and earnest workers in the Presbyterian church.

Charles L. Guenther, for many years the sturdy village blacksmith of Hokah, was born in Prussia, Germany, March 21, 1844, and was there reared and educated. At the age of nineteen he started to learn the black- smith's trade in his native land. In 1873 he brought his family to America and located in La Crescent, this county, and there remained for four years. Afterward, in 1877, he came to Hokah, where he opened a shop. After many years of worthy hard work he retired in 1908, still continuing to make his home in the village. He was married in November, 1869, to Augusta Fleischauer, and to this union were born four children: William, C. E., Adolph (deceased) and Margaret. Mrs. Augusta Guenther died in August, 1881, and later Mr. Guenther married Fredericka Helm, and to this union were born two children, Minnie and Frieda. Mrs. Fredericka Guenther died in 1886, and in 1904 Mr. Guenther married Mrs. Augusta Schwadler.

William Guenther, the efficient postmaster of Hokah, is likewise the village wagonmaker, and his excellent work is not only assuring his own success but is also doing considerable toward advertising the village. He was born in Prussia, Germany, Feb. 8, 1870, and was brought to America by his parents, Charles L. and Augusta (Fleischauer) Guenther, in 1873. After four years in La Crescent, this county, he was brought to Hokah, where he was reared and educated. As a boy he learned the blacksmith trade from his father. When about 19 he went to La Crosse and there thoroughly learned the wagonmaking trade. With this preparation he returned to Hokah, where he opened his present shop. He is a conscien- tious, hard-working man, and his wagons have an excellent reputation for quality and workmanship. Mr. Guenther has the unusual record of hav- ing been the village recorder for twenty-two years and school clerk for twenty years, and his services have been of much value to his fellow citi- zens. In September, 1918, he was appointed postmaster of Hokah, a posi- tion in which he is still serving. His financial relations are with the Farm- ers' State Bank, of which he is a director. Mr. Guenther was married Dec. 26, 1894, to Ida Panten, who was born in Germany, the daughter of Her- man and Louisa (Schuneman) Panten, who brought their family to America about 1880, and settled in Hokah, where the father worked in a mill. Mr. Panten died in 1916 and his wife in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Guen- ther have had six children : Charles H., William E., Helen, Paul, Florence and Ruth. Helen is a graduate of Hokah High School and is now her father's assistant in the postoffice; Paul is now with the Hokah Creamery.

Corporal Charles H. Guenther, a veteran of the great war, was born in Hokah, Feb. 21, 1896, son of William and Ida (Panton) Guenther. He was educated in the public schools and then spent one year at the Wis- consin Business University, where he mastered typewriting and steno- graphy. He enlisted in the Army July 14, 1917, and saw service with Co. B, Third Wisconsin National Guard, which became the 128th Infantry, 64th Brigade, 32d Division. He trained at Camp Douglas, Camp McArthur

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and Camp Merritt, and was sent to France Feb. 18, 1918. On August 9 of the same year he was promoted to corporal. He saw active servie in the Alsace Sector, in the Aisne-Marne offensive, Oise-Aisne offensive and twice in the Muese-Argonne offensive, having participated in every action in which his division was engaged, an exceptional record which can be claimed by but few. He was gassed Sept. 1 at Tuvigny, France, and as the result was in a hospital three weeks, but this was at a time when his regiment was in a rest area. He was in active service when the armistice was signed, and marched with the Third Army of Occupation across the Rhine and there occupied a sector at the Coblenz bridgehead. He was discharged with the rank of corporal, May 19, 1919.

William E. Guenther, a hero of the great war, who gave his life in his country's service, is one of those noble boys whose memories will ever be cherished in the hearts of their grateful countrymen and whose supreme sacrifice made the world a better place in which to live. He was born in Hokah, April 21, 1898, son of William and Ida (Panton) Guenther. As a boy he was of unusually cheery and sunshiny disposition and was a general favorite with everyone in the village. He was ambitious to make a success in life and after long and hard study he passed the difficult examination for the position of railway mail clerk in 1917. But then came the great war. At a time when his prospects were of the brightest he went to La Crosse and, filled with love of country and humanity, volunteered his services in the cause of liberty. This was on July 21, 1917. At first he was a private in Co. B of the Third Wisconsin National Guard, which was afterward the 128th Infantry, 64th Brigade, 32d Division. He trained at Camp Douglass and Camp McArthur. From Camp Merritt, N. J., he embarked for France, February 18, 1918, and after arrival in Europe was transferred to Co. M, 16th Infantry, 1st Division. He saw service at Braves Sector, Soissons, Cantigny, St. Mihiel, Champaigne Forest and the Meuse, in the Argonne. At the Battle of Champagne Forest, near Chateau Thierry, he was badly wounded in the shoulder and was confined six weeks in the Rouen hospital. He was killed at the Battle of the Meuse in the Argonne, Oct. 11, 1918, and is buried in a beautiful cemetery among his heroic comrades in the Com- mune Sommerance, Department Ardennes, France. He was a true young man, a good soldier, an heroic warrior, and his short life and noble death left a memory which will be ever inspiring.

Philip G. Frey, a well known and respected citizen of Hokah, manager of the Hokah People's Telephone Exchange, was born in Houston county, April 25, 1880, son of Frederick and Carolina (Redman) Frey. The father, born in Germany in 1819, came as a young man to America, settling in Wisconsin; but after a short residence there he came on to Houston county, Minnesota, and took a homestead in Prairie township which he subsequently developed into a good farm. He died in 1889. His wife, who was born in 1841, is now residing in La Crosse. Philip G., who was the youngest of their eight children, acquired a district school education. At the age of 18 he engaged with his brother in well drilling, being thus occu- pied for three years. For the next ten years he was a resident of La Crosse, where he was engaged for awhile in the transfer business and also worked

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WILLIAM E. GUENTHER

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some time in button factories. Then in 1901 he married and returned to Houston county and resumed well drilling, but soon became connected with the Hokah Creamery, where he was employed for seven years. He then became local manager of the Hokah People's Telephone Exchange, which position he has held for the last ten years. He is a member of the local Yeomen's lodge and is now serving as treasurer of Hokah village, in politics being independent.

Mr. Frey was married, July 11, 1901, to Frances Behrndt, daughter of Albert and Sophia (Roth) Behrndt. He and his wife have three children : Phyllis, Charlotte and Carol Jean.

Albert Behrndt, father of Mrs. Frey, was born near Berlin, Germany, July 18, 1841. He learned the carpenter's trade and at the age of thirty years emigrated to Houston county, Minnesota, settling first in Crooked Creek township, whence, about 1879, he came to Hokah, where he made his permanent home. His wife, Sophia, was born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 16, 1851, and came to Crooked Creek township, this county, with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Roth. Their daughter Frances, now Mrs. Philip C. Frey, was educated in Hokah village.

James Green, who is now living retired in the village of Hokah, of which place he is a well known and respected citizen, is a man who, though trained in another walk of life, has achieved success as a farmer and as such has been a factor in the county of West Meath, Ireland, Nov. 11, 1847, son of Patrick and Mary (Colman) Green. When he was a boy his father died, and the mother subsequently came with her children, of whom she had seven, to the United States, settling in Providence, R. I. A grandson of hers was a student and is now a professor in Brown University, that city. Mrs. Patrick Green died in 1998.

James Green learned the trade of mason in Massachusetts and fol- lowed it subsequently in Providence, R. I., also occasionally working on farms. He was thus occupied until 1864, in which year, following Horace Greeley's advice to "Go west, young man," he made his way to Chicago. There he fell in with some people who were bringing sheep west and he accompanied them by train to La Crosse and from there helped to drive the sheep to Preston, Wis., where he remained for a year. At the end of that time, being tired of the West, he started back home, but on his way stopped at Hokah, Houston county, Minn., where, the prospect pleasing him better, he resolved to remain. This was a step which he has never regretted. After doing mason work for awhile he took a farm of 160 acres in section 3, town 103, range 5 (Mound Prairie township), on which he resided until 1914, farming and occasionally doing mason work. He then retired and took up his residence in Hokah village, in a home which he had maintained for many years previously in order that his children might be able to attend the Hokah school. Here he is now living in comfortable circumstances, enjoying the reward of his previous industry and thrift. Mr. Green was married March 9, 1868, to Annice Fairbanks, daughter of Thomas and Katherine (Orr) Fairbanks, her parents being pioneer settlers in Mound Prairie township, this county, and she being the fourth born of their eleven children. To Mr. and Mrs. Green fourteen children were born: Alice, who

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is a dressmaker; Mabel, now Mrs. Mabel Chatfield; Maud, wife of Wenzel Barinik, of Hokah; Lark, now Mrs. Joseph Smith, of La Crosse, her hus- band being connected with the Sta Rite Company; Dora, wife of John Kruger, a railroad man; Mary, now Mrs. Mary Winkle, of St. Paul; John, who died in 1917; Oscar, who served in the Army and is now employed in the rubber mills in La Crosse; and Leonard, Lawrence, Thomas and Albert, who are deceased.

William H. Veglahn, one of the leading citizens of La Crescent town- ship, proprietor of a farm of 225 acres in section 7, was born in this town- ship, Jan. 28, 1874, son of William E. and Fredericka (Selke) Veglahn. Both parents were born in Germany, the father in 1842 and the mother in 1848. They came to Houston county, Minnesota, in 1866, locating on a farm on South Ridge, La Crescent township, whence they later removed to another farm in section 7. There the father died in the year 1900. The mother resides on the old Farrell farm now owned by her. William H. Veghlahn acquired his education in the district school on South Ridge. After becoming industrially active he worked on his parents' farm and on other farms in the neighborhood until his marriage at the age of 27 years, when he rented the home farm and operated it subsequently for ten years. In 1911 he bought his present place, which is a well improved piece of prop- erty and where he is carrying on general farming with profitable results. He is also a stockholder and director in the Pine Creek Creamery. He was town supervisor in 1905 and 1906 and has served as town treasurer for the last five years. In politics he is a Republican and in religion a Lutheran. Mr. Veglahn was married June 5, 1901, to Theresa Lemke, daughter of Fred and Bertha (Kletzke) Lemke. Her parents, natives of Germany, came to Houston county at some date between 1865 and 1870 and engaged in farming on South Ridge, Mound Prairie township, where the father died in 1897. The mother still resides on the home place with her son Herbert. Mr. and Mrs. Veglahn are the parents of five children, all residing at home : Elmer G., born April 7, 1902; Dorothy A. B., Nov. 4, 1903; Edwin F. W., Feb. 6, 1907; Arnold O., April 25, 1909; and Erma T., April 15, 1912.

Henry Radtke, proprietor of a farm of 2191/2 acres in section 12, La Crescent township, and who has won a well earned reputation as a dairy- man and specialist in fruit culture, was born in Manitowoc, Wis., Sept. 6, 1859, son of August and Fredericka (Oldenburg) Radtke. The father, a native of Schiefelbein, Germany, born April 2, 1832, came to Manitowoc, Wis., in 1858, but after a six months' residence there he and his family removed to Houston county, Minnesota, settling on a farm in La Crescent township, where he spent the rest of his life, dying May 15, 1914. His wife, born in Germany, Sept. 15, 1822, died Nov. 22, 1900. Henry Radtke, who was a babe when he accompanied his parents to La Crescent township, was educated in the district school on South Ridge. After becoming indus- trially active he worked on the home farm as his father's assistant until his marriage in 1887, when he took over the farm and operated it until 1918, when he rented it to his sons, Gus and William. In addition to building up a good dairy business he was one of the first farmers in this locality to engage largely in fruit raising, a line of industry in which he has been very

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WILLIAM VEGLAHN AND FAMILY

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E. B. WEBSTER

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successful. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company and is in comfortable circumstances, having realized a competence through his enterprise and industry. In 1890 he served as town supervisor. In politics he is a Republican, and the religious affiliations of himself and family are with the Evangelical church. Mr. Radtke was married, July 4, 1887, to Pluma M. Frazier, who was born Sept. 13, 1886, in the town of Jefferson, Vernon county, Wis., daughter of Stephen and Ruth E. (Hoopes) Frazier. Mr. and Mrs. Radtke are the parents of ten children, born as follows: Mil- ton L., May 23, 1888; William H., March 20, 1890; Charles H., March 27, 1892; Gustal W., Jan. 7, 1894; Pluma Pearl, May 25, 1897; Ruby R., Jan. 27, 1899; Theodore Roosevelt, May 3, 1902; Goldy L., March 27, 1904; Viola M., Aug. 11, 1906; and Glendora H., Oct. 24, 1909. Milton L. is a traveling salesman now residing at Detroit, Mich. He married Blanche Bishop, of La Crosse. William H. married Otilda Rusch, of Arcadia, Wis., and they reside on the home farm. Charles H. married Christina Unnasch, of Pine Creek Valley, and they reside at Pine Creek Valley. They have one child, Arnold C., who was born July 26, 1918. Gustal W. is associated with his brother, William H., in conducting the home farm. Pluma Pearl is now Mrs. Hugo Lemke, of Pine Creek Valley, and is the mother of a fine pair of twins, Lewis Henry and Lucille Bertha, born July 21, 1917. Two of Mr. Radtke's sons enlisted for services in the recent yar. Charles H., who enlisted Sept. 7, 1917, was located at Camp Dodge, and received his hon- orable discharge April 7, 1919, with the rank of corporal. Gustal W., enlisted Oct. 24, 1918, was located at Camp Cody, New Mexico, and received his honorable discharge Jan. 11, 1919. Steven Frazier, father of Mrs. Henry Radtke, was born in Noble county, Ohio, Dec. 10, 1837. When 20 years of age he went to Illinois, where he taught school until his marriage in 1863. He then moved to Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he bought a farm, which he operated during the summer, teaching school in the winter. Subsequently he moved to Viola, Wis., where he became mail carrier on the rural route when it was first established and continued in that position until about 1908, when he retired on account of failing health. He died Nov. 25, 1918, at Rochester, Minn. His wife, Ruth E. Hoopes, was born in Fulton county, Illinois, Jan. 10, 1845, and died Feb. 15, 1906, at Viola, Wis., where both she and her husband are buried.

Everett B. Webster, now serving as county surveyor of Houston county, Minnesota, after a long and active career as contractor, builder and justice of the peace, was born in Oneida county, New York, April 29, 1851, son of Wiliam E. and Cornelia (White) Webster. In July, 1865, he ac- companied his parents to La Crescent, Minn., where for awhile he attended the village school, being further instructed by his mother, who was a woman of superior education. At the age of 16 he began to learn the car- penter's trade, at which he became expert, and which he followed there- after until reaching the age of 30, first as a journeyman and later as a contractor. In the latter capacity he built some of the finest country resi- dences in the county, as well as the Catholic church at Dakota, Minn. Ap- pointed postmaster of La Crescent, he assumed his duties April 1, 1898, and continued in that office for sixteen years, or until 1914, when he was elected 28

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surveyor of Houston county, a position which he still holds. In politics he is a Republican. His fraternal society affiliations are with the Odd Fellows, to which order he has belonged for the last thirty-five years.

Mr. Webster was married June 3, 1873, to Emma Jane Harris, daughter of John S. and Melissa (Clayton) Harris, who were early settlers in Houston county. He and his wife had four children: Dewitt Clinton; Albert Eugene, who married Hattie Krebs and is a railroad clerk; William E. and Mabel, who is the wife of M. W. Smith, of La Crescent. The mother, Mrs. Emma Jane Webster, died September 8, 1917, and on Nov. 6, 1918, Mr. Webster married Ina G. Donald, of Cumberland, Wis.

Peter Adolphus Worthingham, who is connected with the La Crescent post office as rural mail carrier, was born in Joliet, Ill., Dec. 17, 1859, son of Peter M. and Louisa (King) Worthingham. The father, who was born in Canada, Oct. 20, 1834, became a resident of Joliet, Ill., when a boy and remained there until the spring of 1859. He there married Louisa King, who was born in Illinois Nov. 1, 1835. After several years of married life he went to California, where for nineteen years he was engaged in mining. He then came to Houston county, Minnesota, and engaged in the shoe- making business in La Crescent, remaining here until 1886, when he went to Montana, where he is now residing with a daughter and is still in active industrial life. Peter Adolphus Worthingham, who was the younger of his parents' two children, was not born until after his father's departure for California and never saw his male parent until he had reached the age of nineteen years. The rest of the family, in the meanwhile, having settled in La Crescent, he attended the public school here, and later worked in a shoe shop winters until twenty-one years old, when he engaged in farming. The latter occupation he followed until 1902, when he took his present posi- tion as rural mail carrier out of La Crescent. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party. Mr. Worthingham was married June 25, 1883, to Eveline Luther, the second born of the six children of Frank M. and Harriet (Hill) Luther. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, the father born Oct. 30, 1830, and the mother Oct. 2, 1839. After their mar- riage they settled in Iowa, from which State they came to La Crescent, Houston county, about 1863, and engaged in farming in this township, where Mr. Luther died in April, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Worthingham have been the parents of nine children: James E., deceased; Frank, a resident of North Dakota; Louisa L., who married Herbert Murray and died Dec. 21, 1915; Thornton, who is now in the United States service; Elma and Fern, who are teachers; and Joyce and Peter. Mr. Worthingham belongs to two of the prominent fraternal orders-the Odd Fellows and Woodmen.

W. Milton Selby, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of La Crescent, where he has resided for over thirty years, and who was formerly representative from this district in the State Legislature, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, July 20, 1844, son of James and Mary Ann (Rogers) Selby. His parents were both natives of Ohio, the father born Dec. 21, 1814, and the mother March 27, 1816. He was under eighteen years of age when, in September, 1862, he became a member of Company H, 122d Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, with which he served until the end of the war, except for five

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JAMES S. SELBY-MR. AND MRS. W. M. SELBY

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months that he spent in Libby prison, having been captured at the battle of Winchester, Va., while serving in the Eighth Corps under General Milroy. He was mustered out in June, 1865, and in August of the same year came west to Wisconsin, where he went to work at the carpenter's trade. On Feb. 29, 1868, he was married at McFarland, Wis., by the Rev. George Hubbs, to Jane Orr, who was born in Belfast, County Londonderry, Ireland, Dec. 26, 1844, the eldest of the six children of John and Hannah (Paul) Orr, farmers of that vicinity. Her parents were born in Ireland, the father in 1818, of Scotch ancestry. Mr. Orr emigrated to the United States in 1847, and served in the Civil War in Company H, 36th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, until the close of the war. His wife died when her daughter Jane was in her ninth year. In 1868, the year of his marriage, Mr. Selby came to Hokah, Houston county, Minn., and resided here subsequently until 1871. He then moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked in the railroad shops until 1875. During the next two years he was foreman of the repair shops of the C. B. & Q. Railroad at Buda, Ill. Then going to Aplington, Ia., he engaged in farming there, and was thus occupied until 1886, when he came to La Crescent, Houston county. Here his strong personality and helpful interest in public affairs led to his election as representative in the State Legislature, in which he served in 1899 and 1901. Since 1908 he has been connected with the firm of Fessler & Dahl, undertakers of La Crosse, as Minnesota deputy, and for the last twenty-one years he has been a notary public at La Crescent. He has been a member of the Masonic order since 1869, and since 1894 of the Masonic Veterans' Association of Minnesota, being also a charter member of Evening Star Chapter, No. 71, 0. E. S. As a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, he belongs to Wilson Colwell Post, and has attended three national encampments. Mrs. Selby is a charter member of Evening Star Chapter No. 71, O. E. S., and is the only living past matron that was a charter member. She has rep- resented her district as deputy grand matron. On March 1, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Selby celebrated their golden wedding, the occasion proving a most enjoyable one. They have been the parents of three sons: James S., Alpha M. and Lloyd V., the two latter of whom are now deceased. James S., who is a widower now residing with his parents, is making a specialty of bee keeping and the cultivation of small fruits. He was made a Free Mason in 1869, and is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. M .; also of the Masonic Veterans' Association of Minnesota, a member of the Masonic chapter at Caledonia, having become a Royal Arch Mason in 1871, and a charter member of Evening Star Chapter No. 71, O. E. S., at La Crescent. He is now serving in his fourth term as a notary public.

Joseph Schlabach, one of the leading farmers of La Crescent township, his residence lying in section 6, was born in this township, July 4, 1864, son of Peter and Mary (Meyer) Schlabach. The father, who was born in Germany in 1825, came to La Crescent, Minn., when thirty-three years old, finding employment in Mercer's Hotel in the village. Later he bought a farm in Pine Creek Valley, which he operated until his retirement in 1883, when he moved to La Crosse. His death occurred in 1908. His wife Mary, born in New York in 1844, is also deceased. Their son Joseph, who

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was the fourth born in a family of eight children, was educated in the district school on Pine Creek. He worked on the home farm until twenty years of age, and then going to St. Paul, found employment in railroad con- struction work between Devil's Lake and the coast, and was thus occupied for two years. Then returning home he married and bought his father's farm of 208 acres, which he has since operated, also having another farm of 130 acres. Both farms are well improved and Mr. Schlabach is doing a profitable business raising stock and grain. He is a member of the Farmers' Equity and a stockholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company. A part of his time has been devoted to the public service, as he is a member of the town board of supervisors, of which he was chairman for several years, and is road overseer. In politics he is independent and in religion a Methodist. Mr. Schlabach was first married Feb. 18, 1888, to Anna Leidel, daughter of Henry and Hannah Leidel, whose father, a native of Germany, came to this country at an early date and settled in Winona county, Minn. Mrs. Anna Schlabach died in January, 1897, leaving two children: Inez, who is overseer in the girl's department at the Berea Orphans' Home, near Cleveland, Ohio; and Gertrude, now Mrs. Ervin Wetchen, of Houston county. April 15, 1902, Mr. Schlabach married Katherine Kerrigan, who was born Feb. 19, 1879, daughter of Andrew and Delia (Layne) Kerrigan. Her father was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1839, and came to Minne- sota when ten years old. Growing up here, he settled on a farm in Winona county and was engaged in agricultural work for many years, dying June 15, 1901. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom Katherine, now Mrs. Joseph Schlabach, was the seventh in order of birth.

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History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 58

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1343

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343