USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Minnesota > Part 79
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feeding platform of cement, 24 by 35 feet, and a corn crib, 35 by 10 by 6 feet. Energetic and enterprising, and possessing a thorough knowledge of farming in all its branches, Mr. Watson is enjoying a successful career, and is numbered among the most prosperous citizens of the township. In the county he is also well known, and is a director in the Houston County Agricultural Society. A Republican in politics, he has served as a mem- ber of the school board of his district. On Oct. 16, 1892, Mr. Watson was married to Matilda Johnson, daughter of Anton and Thor (Blexrud) John- son. of Blooming Prairie, Minn. She was born in Norway and came to this country with her parents when 3 years old. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Watson: Gertrude, May 10, 1903; Arthur Leander, Nov. 30, 1906; and Helen Olive, Sept. 1, 1914. The religious affiliations of the family are with the Portland Prairie M. E. church.
Herman Schoh, who owns and is scientifically operating a fine farm of 105 acres in section 24, Wilmington township, was born in Winnebago township, Houston county, Minnesota, Dec. 8, 1872, son of Henry and Mary (Brinkman) Schoh. The parents were born in Hanover, Germany, the father in 1828 and the mother in 1834. The former came to America at the age of 18 and the latter at that of 13 years. After their marriage they became farmers in Winnebago township, where Henry Schoh died in 1906. His wife is still living. Herman Schoh attended the district school to the age of about 17 years, and resided on his parents' farm until he was 22 or 23. He then learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked from 1894 to 1904, when he gave it up to engage in farming, purchasing his present farm of 105 acres of improved land in sections 23 and 24, Wilmington town- ship, which was known as the "Cord Metcalf farm," and is one of the oldest in the county. It is well fenced and has a good set of buildings, including a comfortable eleven-room frame house of one and a half stories, a frame barn, hog house, granary and carriage house. There is also a steel wind- mill and an excellent well, with a reservoir furnishing pressure, so that water is piped to all the buildings. Mr. Schoh also has a good equipment of teams, tools and machinery. He is engaged in diversified farming, keeping graded Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs, with pure-bred sires for each herd. He is also a stockholder in the Wilmington Creamery Company. Mr. Schoh was married April 27, 1904, to Augusta, daughter of Christopher and Gade Burmester, of Allamakee county, Iowa. He and his wife are members of the Eitzen congregation of the German Evangelical church, and are prominent in social circles. In politics he is a Republican. Mrs. Schoh was born in Germany and when 5 years old came to America in 1882 with her parents, who settled in Iowa, where the father died January 1, 1883; the mother survived till November 9, 1910, when she too passed away. They were the parents of three children: William, Herman and Augusta, wife of Herman Schoh.
Ole C. Steneroden, one of the first settlers in Spring Grove township, but now deceased, was a native of Norway, where he grew to manhood. United in marriage with Beret Sundet, he and his wife came to America in 1852, landing at Quebec, Canada, and proceeding thence to Rock Prairie, near Beloit, Wis., where they remained for about two years, coming to
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ERICK O. STENERODEN AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY
Houston county, Minnesota, in 1854, the year the county was organized. There were then few white settlers here, and the civilization of this region had hardly begun. Mr. and Mrs. Steneroden were very poor, but succeeded in buying a claim in Spring Grove township, one mile east of the present village. Though suffering many early privations, in time they prospered and were among those who helped to build the Norwegian Evangelical Luth- eran church in Spring Grove. Mr. Steneroden died Oct. 7, 1900, and his wife Aug. 3, 1911. They were among the original pioneer settlers of the county and had witnessed its growth and development from an untamed wilderness to a highly civilized and wealthy section of the state. Their children were: Christian (first), Guri, Erick O., Christian (second), Elias, Gurine, Elsie and Ole. The first Christian died young. The second of the name is now a resident of Red Wing, Minn. Elias is a farmer in Saskatche- wan, Canada. Gurine, who was the wife of O. G. Myhre, of Huntly, N. D., died Dec. 18, 1917. Elsie and Ole are also deceased.
Erick O. Steneroden, proprietor of Maple Grove Farm in section 21, Wilmington township, of which township he is one of the leading citizens, was born in Spring Grove township, one mile east of Spring Grove village, Jan. 10, 1855, son of Ole C. and Beret (Sundet) Steneroden. The previous year had witnessed the organization of the county, which was yet a wilder- ness with few white settlers. Here and there, however, a district school had been established, or was established in the succeeding years, and one of these young Erick attended up to the age of 19, though latterly during the winters only, as during the rest of the year his services on the farm were too valuable to be dispensed with. Nor did his education stop here, for he later attended three terms at the State Normal School at Winona and took a course of one year in the Wallace Business College at La Crosse. In the summer of 1876, being then 21 years old, he went to work as clerk in the general store of Nicholas Koob at Caledonia and remained there a year. The next important event in his life was his marriage, April 11, 1878, to Oline, daughter of Ole and Soneve (Tudahl) Sanness, of Wilmington town- ship, and who was born on his present farm, Jan. 5, 1856. He now gave up the career of a merchant for that of a farmer, beginning in section 28, Wil- mington township, where Olaus Sanness now lives. Buying the place, he operated it for five years, at the end of which time he sold it back to Mr. Sanness, who still lives on it. Mr. Steneroden now bought his present farm of 220 acres in section 21, which was, as already mentioned, his wife's birthplace. The land was improved and there was a frame house and barn. His own improvements, however, have been more thorough and compre- hensive. The house, which he remodeled in 1902, is now a modern two- story residence of an upright and two wings, and containing nine rooms. His other buildings include a frame barn, 30 by 82 by 14 feet in size, with a full stone basement of eight feet, and modern equipment; a hog house, 8 by 40, with cement feeding floor in front, 10 by 40; a granary, 18 by 28 by 14; machine shed, 14 by 50; double corn crib, 20 by 20 with a ten-foot drive; blacksmith shop, 14 by 20; feed cooking house, 10 by 10; a hayshed, 20 by 40, and other necessary buildings. The farm is well fenced, 170 acres being under the plow, and the rest in timber and pasture.
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Mr. Steneroden has seven fine work horses, and his tools and machinery are all modern and of the best quality. He is carrying on diversified farm- ing, giving particular attention to stock raising. For more than ten years he has been a breeder of graded Hereford cattle, keeping a herd of from 35 to 40 head; also of Duroc-Jersey hogs, having full-blooded sires for all his stock. His horses are graded Percherons and Shires. He is also a shareholder in the Honey Creamery at Bee, the Spring Grove Stock & Grain Company and the Spring Grove Hospital, and for the past thirty-six years he has been secretary of the Wilmington Farmers' Insurance Com- pany. Mr. and Mrs. Steneroden are the parents of the following children : Bessie Elise, born Dec. 20, 1878, now Mrs. Henry Bye, of McGregor, N. D .; Sophia, born in 1880, who died in infancy; Oscar Gerhard, born Nov. 9, 1881, now deceased! Olaus, born July 1, 1883, residing on the home farm; Syvert Gerhard, born Feb. 14, 1885, now cashier in the State Bank of Ham- burg, N. D .; Edwin Gerhard, born July 3, 1892, now living at home; Vina Ovidia, born July 20, 1896, now a trained nurse at Red Wing, Minn .; and Minnie Gurine, born July 26, 1898, who married Willie Gerhard Myhre, of Wilmington township, Sept. 1, 1918. Mr. Steneroden and his family are members of the Wilmington congregation of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church, of which he has been secretary for a number of years. A Republican in politics, he served his township many years as supervisor, treasurer and clerk, in which last named position he has done most efficient work for thirty-eight years. This family was one of those which gave a son to the service of the United States, Edwin G., a member of Com- pany M, 54th Pioneer Infantry, having been a soldier about a year not only in this country and France, but also in the Army of Occupation in Germany.
Ole E. Robele, a retired farmer widely known and respected, residing in Wilmington township, where he developed a large and flourishing farm now divided among his children, was born at Rock Prairie, near Beloit, Wis., Aug. 11, 1853, son of Endre and Leve Robele. From the Norwegian settlement at that place the family came in 1854, when Ole was but a year old, to Houston county, taking land on the southwest quarter of the south- west quarter of section 14, Wilmington township. There were but two or three families then in the neighborhood and the country was practically all wild and occupied by Indians, who, however, gave the settlers no trouble. The Robeles had but little money, but on their 80-acre tract they built a log cabin, after living for some months in a covered wagon, and then they started to grub and clear the land. There were then but two children in the family, Ole E. and an older brother, Knute, who is now a retired farmer living at Grand Forks, N. D. As the father prospered he bought other land adjoining until he was the owner of about 500 acres. In the meanwhile other children were born, namely: Tollef, who is now a retired farmer liv- ing near the subject of this sketch; Serin, who is the wife of Nicolai Doley, of Wilmington township; Bernt, who is a farmer in section 14, Wilmington township; and Oline, wife of Ole Rask, a banker of Sisseton, S. D. These children as they grew up assisted their parents in developing the home- stead, the boys helping their father in the field work, and the girls their
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OLE N. GJERDINGEN AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY
mother in the care of the home. In time the old people passed away, Endre Robele dying at the age of 75 years on the farm he had created in section 14, and his wife at the age of 89 at the home of her son, Ole E., then and now in section 14. Ole E. had worked as his father's assistant until arriv- ing at the age of 23 years. He then took a wife in the person of Lucretia Newhouse, born Dec. 1, 1854, daughter of Tollef and Kari Newhouse, of Spring Grove township, the marriage being celebrated July 3, 1876. For two years subsequently he operated the home farm, where he and his wife resided. Then in 1878 he bought 160 acres (the home lot) from his father, the latter building and moving into a house near by. For seventeen years he operated that farm and then, in 1895, bought 100 acres additional in sec- tions 14 and 23, Wilmington township, which was known as the Knute Dahle farm, where he and his family now took up their residence, it being provided with a frame house, frame barn and granary. To these improve- ments he added others, in 1900 building a fine, two-story, twelve-room frame house, furnace-heated, and provided with running water, and he continued to improve and enlarge his property until he had 320 acres of fine farm land with numerous buildings, all substantial and well kept, and with a good operating equipment. As a stock raiser he gave his attention to breeding grade Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China swine, a branch of farming which he conducted very successfully, having pure-blooded sires for his herds. In 1913 Mr. Robele retired, selling his equipment to three of his sons and renting them the land, which they bought in 1918, each thereby acquiring a good farm with all necessary buildings. Since then he has made his permanent home with his son Edwin in section 14. His wife died Jan. 1, 1910, and was buried in the cemetery at the old Wilmington church. Mr. Robele was one of the organizers of and is now a stockholder in the Wilmington Creamery Association, and also owns stock in the People's Co-operative Stock & Grain Company, of Caledonia. He was formerly for a number of years an officer of his school district, and politically is a Repub- lican. He is a prominent member of the Wilmington congregation of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church, which for years he served as a trustee. Few men in his township have done more to advance its agricul- tural interests, and few are better known or more highly respected. To Mr. and Mrs. Ole E. Robele were born the following named children : Andrew, now a traveling salesman living in Minneapolis; Theodore, a trav- eling salesman residing in Spring Grove, Minn .; Margido, a farmer in Wil- mington township; Edwin, who is living on the old home farm in section 14; Carl, a farmer in section 2, Wilmington township; Oscar, on the home farm in section 23; Luida, wife of Louie Evenson, a farmer in section 16; Otto, William and Alma, who are deceased, the latter dying at the age of 21 years.
Ole N. Gjerdingen, one of the most prominent citizens of Wilmington township, who does an extensive business as a stock farmer, was born near Hadland, Norway, Sept. 16, 1854. In the summer of 1867, when in his thirteenth year, he accompanied his parents to America, landing in Quebec after a voyage of about three months in a sailing vessel. By steamer and rail the family came on to Houston county, Minnesota, reaching Spring
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Grove June 27, and locating in the village, which at that time was very small. The father, however, found work at his trade, which was that of a carpenter, while Ole N., the subject of this sketch, was employed for two years on neighboring farms. After that he worked for two years with his father. Then going to New Albin, Iowa, he entered the employ of a builder and contractor, with whom he finished learning the carpenter's trade. At the age of 20 he began working at the trade for himself in Spring Grove and the surrounding territory, and did a considerable amount of building across the state line in Iowa. His parents, after a residence of nine years in this country, returned to Norway, where the father died two years later. After his death the mother came back to America and lived with her children until her death in 1906. These children, six in number, were all born in Norway. One of them, Hans, is now in the hotel business at Hal- sted, Minn., while the other three now living, in addition to Ole, are Mrs. O. P. Landsverk, residing half a mile south of her brother Ole's farm; Mrs. Lina Bergrud, of Spring Grove; and Mrs. Peter Benson, of North Dakota. Dec. 20, 1877, Mr. Gjerdingen was married to Bolita, daughter of Peter N. Landsverk, of Wilmington township, and soon after his marriage bought 60 acres of land in section 13, Spring Grove township, half a mile north of his present location, and there he and his wife began their domestic life. For 25 years he worked at his trade, at the end of which time he bought the beautiful farm in section 18 on which he now lives, and which was formerly the property of his father-in-law, who purchased the land from the government. Since taking possession of this place he has in- creased the area of the farm to 260 acres, of which over 200 are under the plow. In 1904 he built a comfortable frame house of two stories, an up- right and wing, and containing seven rooms; and in the same year built a tool shed, 24 by 60 feet in size. In 1917 he erected a modern frame barn, 34 by 86 by 16 feet, on a full eight-foot stone basement, and which is thor- oughly equipped with the James system of stalls and mangers. All the buildings are in good condition and the general equipment of the best. The farm is favored with a rich black soil resting on a good subsoil and is highly fertile. Mr. Gjerdingen gives considerable attention to stock raising, a branch of farming in which he has been highly successful. He has a fine herd of Hereford grade cattle, breeding from 40 to 50 head each year, while his output of Poland-China swine amounts to from 200 to 300 a year. Politically he is a Republican. He and his family are prominent mem- bers of the Spring Grove congregation of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church, which he has served as trustee and in other important offices for years. He and his wife Bolita, who was born Nov. 3, 1852, have been the parents of five children, born as follows: William, Jan. 16, 1878; Clara, Oct. 4, 1880; Peter, Aug. 25, 1883, is also deceased; Inga, Sept. 26, 1887; and Oscar, Nov. 21, 1890. Of these children, Inga died in her tenth year, April 29, 1897. Clara, who became the wife of Carl Bye, died April 15, 1907, leaving two children : Charlotte, born July 28, 1904, and Clara, born March 16, 1907. On Dec. 22, 1918, Mr. Gjerdingen retired from active farm labor and moved to Spring Grove, his son Oscar now renting the farm.
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NICOLAI QUINNELL AND FAMILY
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Herbert L. Lapham, a well known and respected resident of section 13, Wilmington township, who in addition to his own farm of 60 acres is operating the old home farm of his parents near by, was born on Portland Prairie, near his present place of abode, Aug. 13, 1869. His parents, Levi L. and Sarah (Healy) Lapham, were natives of Rhode Island and Massa- chusetts and were among the early Rhode Island settlers in this vicinity. Here he was reared to manhood and trained to agricultural pursuits, in which he has since continued. His own farm, though small, is one of the best of its size in the county, being well equipped as to buildings, tools and machinery, and having a good fertile soil. Mr. Lapham breeds graded cattle and hogs, making a specialty of pure-bred Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and his operations, including, as they do, the management of the old home farm, are quite extensive. He is also a stockholder in the People's Co- operative Stock & Grain Company, of Caledonia. Mr. Lapham was married at Pope's Prairie, Houston county, Oct. 6, 1892, to Flora I. Taylor, daughter of Winston and Sabrina Taylor, who came from New York State and settled on Pope's Prairie in 1855, the father dying in 1911 and the mother in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Lapham have been the parents of six children : Florence J., born Oct. 30, 1893, and died June 16, 1894; Lola L., born Aug. 1, 1895; Grant T., born Feb. 5, 1898; Glayds H., born April 7, 1903; Bernice, born June 12, 1895; and Eloise, born Oct. 4, 1907. The son, Grant T., served in the great war with the Coast Artillery and saw three months of active service in France, participating in the Battle of Chateau Thierry, in the Argonne, and along the Meuse River. One of the daughters, Lola L., graduated from the rural school course in the Winona Normal School in 1918. The family stands high in the community as staunch Americans in ideals and sympathies. Their home, always open to their friends, is a cen- ter of hospitality and culture, and every member of the family is doing his or her share toward material progress along social, religious, patriotic, educational and agricultural lines. During the war the daughters helped with the farm work and established an enviable record for helpfulness and patriotism. The family are members of the Portland Prairie M. E. church, situated near the old home.
Mrs. Karen Quinnell, proprietor of a fine 240 acre farm in Wilmington township, residing in section 3, was born in this township, Feb. 1, 1863, daughter of Halvor and Kjersti Wermager, who were pioneers of Houston county. She was educated in the district school and resided at home until arriving at the age of 17 years, when, on Feb. 6, 1880, she was united in marriage with Nicolai Quinnell, an energetic young farmer. They began home-making on a farm in section 9, Wilmington township, but two or three miles from her old home, but resided there only one year, when Mr. Quinnell bought a farm of 120 acres in Spring Grove township, which is now the Ole Helgeson farm. That farm was their home for eleven years, at the end of which time Mr. Quinnell sold it and purchased the Mat Meighen farm of 160 acres in section 3, Wilmington township, to which he and his wife moved. To its area he added 80 acres, thus increasing it to the size of 240 acres, which it is today. Here Mr. Quinnell died Oct. 23, 1899, after an active and successful career as an agriculturist, and with the well-
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earned reputation of a good neighbor and sterling citizen. Since his death Mrs. Quinnell has managed the farm successfully, her present assistant being her son, Louis Arnold. All the land is now under cultivation, the farm is well stocked with graded cattle and Poland-China swine, while the operating equipment is of the best. Mrs. Quinnell is also a stockholder in the Wilmington Creamery Association and the Spring Grove Stock & Grain Company. Her religious affiliations and those of her family are with the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church. To Mr. and Mrs. Quin- nell the following named children were born: Eddie William, born Dec. 9, 1880, now a prosperous farmer residing near the old home; Clara Mathilda, born June 17, 1882, wife of Albert Renslan, a farmer of Caledonia township; Julius Henry, born Jan. 25, 1884, who is a farmer in this vicinity; Carl Nelius, born March 3, 1886, who is also a farmer ; Johan Helmer, born Jan. 1, 1890, who is employed in a lumber office at Spring Grove; Ingebord Louise Josephine, born June 2, 1892, now the wife of Oliver Myhre, a farmer of section 20, Wilmington township; and Louis Arnold, born Oct. 24, 1894, who is operating the home farm for his mother. Besides rearing this family of seven children to useful manhood and womanhood, Mrs. Quinnell has proved herself a woman of good business ability and has taken a high place among the successful farmers of her township.
George H. Meyer, proprietor of one of the best farms on Portland Prairie, located in section 25, Wilmington township, was born in Hanover, Germany, Oct. 25, 1864, son of Jeorgen and Elizabeth (Heitman) Meyer. He was but a year and a half old when he accompanied his parents to America, they reaching this country in April, 1866, after an ocean voyage of three weeks. Coming directly west, they settled in Lansing, Allamakee county, Iowa, where during the first year the father worked as a farm hand for Henry Deters. In 1867 they took a farm in that county, on which the subject of this sketch was reared to manhood, residing at home until the age of 22 years. In the meanwhile he had learned the carpenter's trade. In 1886 he went to Nebraska on a prospecting tour, remaining there two years. Then, not caring to settle in that state, he returned home, and for about six years followed the carpenter's business, building many houses and barns in the immediate vicinity of his present farm. While thus engaged he rented twenty acres of this farm, together with a house which stood on the land, and in 1894 he bought the farm, containing 120 acres in sec- tions 24 and 25, Wilmington township. A granary and an old frame house stood on the land, and the house he occupied until 1903, in which year he built the modern two-story, ten-room frame residence that he now occupies. He has in addition built a frame barn, 32 by 70 by 18 feet, with a nine- foot stone basement, for horses and cattle; a garage and machine shed com- bined, 20 by 30 by 10; a granary, 18 by 28; a double corn crib, 24 by 30, with a ten-foot driveway ; a hog house, 16 by 32, with a poultry house above, with a cement feeding floor, 16 by 32 (the first one built in the community), and a second machine shed, 12 by 30 feet. The entire farm is under culti- vation and is very productive. The stock consists of Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China swine, Mr. Meyer keeping pure-bred sires. Hog-tight wire fencing-some 600 rods-extends over the entire farm where needed, and
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HANS Q. MINER AND FAMILY MR. AND MRS. DANIEL, MINER MR. AND MRS. JORGEN GRONNA
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is supported by cement posts, which Mr. Meyer manufactures both for his own use and for sale. He also occasionally does carpenter work when not busy on his farm. His equipment is of the best and includes an under- ground cream and water-cooler through which water runs to all his build- ings. In addition to the interests already mentioned, he is a stockholder in the Wilmington Creamery and the People's Co-operative Stock & Grain Company, of Caledonia. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Meyer was married, Feb. 11, 1890, to Minnie Brinker, who was born March 29, 1867, daughter of Barney and Mary (Slengel) Meyer, of Allamakee county, Iowa. He and his wife have six children: Emma Elizabeth, born Dec. 18, 1891, who is residing at home; Paul Otto C., born Nov. 24, 1893, who is an auto salesman and garage proprietor at Caledonia; Elsie Louisa Dora, born June 22, 1897; Louis August, Feb. 25, 1901; Henry Frederick, March 8, 1903; and Albert August William, June 2, 1908. Mr. Meyer and his fam- ily are members of the Eitzen congregation of the German Evangelical Lutheran church, and are people of high social standing with a wide circle of friends.
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