History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 86

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

USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Minnesota > Part 86

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Lorenz Hafner, a former resident of Houston county, was born in Wit- tenberg, Germany, Aug. 10, 1829. In 1855 he came to this country locat- ing at Peoria, Ill., where he worked in the coal mines during the winter. In the spring he bought 40 acres of land near Milwaukee, Wis., but later came to Houston county, Minn., buying a farm in Mound Prairie township, where he remained for a year or two. He then sold it and bought a farm in Pfeiffer Valley. In 1862 he sold that place and went to Mexico, but after a short stay there he returned and purchased a farm on South Ridge, which he oper- ated until his retirement, when he removed to La Crosse, which place was his home subsequently until his death. He married Mary Meier, a native of the Duchy of Luxembourg, and they had a family of eight children.

Peter Newhouse, president of the Newhouse Lumber Company, of Spring Grove, Minn., was born in Wilmington township, Houston county, Minn., in 1853, his parents being natives of Norway who settled here at an early day. After growing to manhood he became connected with the lum- ber industry, in which he has been engaged for many years, formerly be- ing traveling salesman for southern and western lumber concerns. In the

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spring of 1916 the Newhouse Lumber Company of Spring Grove was organ- ized, with Peter Newhouse as president, the other two incorporators being John Gorder, of Holman, Wis., and Ole Horsted, of Dakota, Minn. The company, having erected buildings and stocked their yard, began active operations in the fall, with Tilford N. Newhouse, son of the president, as superintendent and manager. In addition to lumber they carry a large stock of all kinds of building material. The concern, though young, is flourishing and has excellent future prospects. Peter Newhouse married Carrie Onsgard, a native of Spring Grove, this county, and they have been the parents of six children, namely: Tilford N., now deceased; Burwell; Lysander, who is deceased; Geneva, now Mrs. John Dahlgren, of Missoula, Mont .; Lillian, deceased, and Persis, who is residing at home with her parents.

Tilford N. Newhouse, now deceased, former superintendent and man- ager of the Newhouse Lumber Company of Spring Grove, was born at New- house, Fillmore county, Minn., May 29, 1888, son of Peter and Carrie (Ons- gard) Newhouse. He acquired his primary education in the schools of Mabel and Spring Grove, and in 1904 entered college at Valparaiso, Ind., where he pursued his studies for a year. In 1906 he was graduated from the Wisconsin Business College of La Crosse. In the meanwhile, when not actually engaged in study, he had become associated with his father in the lumber industry at Spring Grove and Lanesboro, Minn., thus acquiring his first knowledge of the business. In 1906, after graduating from the busi- ness college, he became bookkeeper in the Onsgard State Bank at Spring Grove, and in 1908 took a bank position at Roseau, Minn. In the following year he went to Sultan, Wash., where he worked in a lumber mill, but in the winter of 1909-10 he returned to Spring Grove, retaining, however, his connection with the same line of business, traveling as a salesman and work- ing for a while in the lumber yard of Knute Olsen of Mabel. In the spring of 1916, on the formation of the Newhouse Lumber Company, he became its superintendent and manager, his father being president. As a capable business man he made his mark, and was also popular in the social circles of the village. On June 9, 1912, Mr. Newhouse was united in marriage with Leona, daughter of Harvey and Minnie Franklin, of Kalispell, Mont., and they began domestic life at Mabel, Minn. Their only child is Peter, who was born in Camas, Mont., Jan. 15, 1914. Mr. Newhouse died March 30, 1919, and his death was sincerely mourned.

William H. Eberhard, one of the leading citizens of Mound Prairie township, a well-to-do farmer now serving as county commissioner, was born in this township, Sept. 30, 1873, son of Henry Philip and Maria Louisa (Corlett) Eberhard. He was educated in the school of his district and at Winona Business College, and resided with and assisted his parents until 21 years old, after which he engaged in various occupations, operating threshing machines and doing sawmill work until his marriage. On be- ginning domestic life he settled on his present farm-the old homestead of his parents-containing 40 acres, and also owns 30 acres more, all of which he is operating as a general stock and grain farmer. In the spring of 1918 he also planted an orchard of twelve acres, mostly with wealthy apples, of

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MR. AND MRS. HENRY PHILIP EBERHARD

WILLIAM EBERHARD AND FAMILY

MR. AND MRS. KNUDT HENRY HEGLAND

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which he intends to make a specialty. His place is well improved with good buildings and a complete equipment of modern tools and machinery, and he is today numbered among the most prosperous citizens of his township. He is a stockholder in the Security State Bank of Houston and in the Hous- ton elevator, and a director and treasurer of the Mound Prairie Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. A Republican in politics, he has devoted some portion of his time to the public interests and is now serving as county com- missioner from the First District, having previously served 20 years as town clerk. He is also a member of the school board. Mr. Eberhard was married Sept. 26, 1904, to Sarah Hegland, who was born in Mound Prairie township, Dec. 17, 1876, daughter of Knudt Henry and Carrie (Sanden) Hegland. He and his wife have three children, Philip Henry, Clara Louise and Evelyn Carrie. Mrs. Eberhard's parents were born in Norway and came to Houston county, Minn., a few years later than the Eberhard fam- ily, settling in Crystal Valley, Mound Prairie township, where the father, Knudt H. Hegland, died in May, 1915. The mother now resides in Hous- ton. During his active career Mr. Hegland was one of the prominent men of this township, serving for some time as a member of the town board, and also on his district school board. He and his wife had eight children, of whom Sarah (Mrs. Eberhard) was the third in order of birth.

Andrew K. Dahle, proprietor of a good 80-acre farm in section 2, Wil- mington township, was born in this township, Dec. 16, 1857, son of Knute and Margit Dahle. The parents, who were natives of Norway, were among the first settlers in this section. They came here poor, but secured land and began farming, and after many years' hard labor were finally successful, their farm in section 23, this township, being developed into a fine piece of agricultural property. It was on that farm that the subject of this sketch was reared and grew to manhood. His youthful days were mostly spent in work, as he had little chance to attend school. On Dec. 22, 1878, he married Bergit, daughter of Ole and Senal Sannes, of Spring Grove township, and he and his wife began housekeeping on the home farm near Wilmington village, where they remained for twenty-five years. In the spring of 1903 Mr. Dahle bought 80 acres of improved land in section 2, Wilmington town- ship, and he and his family took up their residence on it. The improvements included a substantial set of farm buildings, and he now has 60 acres of the land under the plow. He is engaged in general farming, and has good herds of Red Poll Angus cattle and Poland-China hogs; also a good operat- ing equipment, which includes an automobile. The farm is productive and profitable, and Mr. Dahle has also financial interests as a stockholder in the Wilmington Creamery Association. For two years he has served as town treasurer, in politics being a Republican. He and his wife have been the parents of eight children : Marie, born Feb. 14, 1883, who died unmarried in January, 1916; Oscar, who is a carpenter residing in Spring Grove vil- lage; Clara, now the wife of Mat Steigen, a farmer of Sheldon township; Alfred, who entered the army to serve his country in the war with Ger- many; Selma, now Mrs. William Unger, of Minneapolis; Bertha, residing in Minneapolis; William, who is a farm hand in the employ of E. O. Steneroden; and Neuman, who is a farm. hand residing at home. Mr.

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Dahle and his family are members of the Wilmington congregation of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church.

Harvey Chapel, in early times a farmer of Money Creek township, and later a stock buyer and shipper, and for over forty years a resident of Money Creek, was born in Tioga county, New York, March 1, 1838. When 9 years old he accompanied his parents to Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he was reared to manhood. In 1854, at the age of 16, with a companion, he walked from his home in Dodge county to Money Creek township, Hous- ton county, Minnesota, and two years later, in 1856, he came here and bought government land, remaining six weeks. In the following year he came again, returning home after the harvest. The fall of the next year, 1858, saw him united in marriage with Julia Wydhoff, who was born near Berlin, Germany, in 1840. In 1859 he brought his wife to his farm in Money Creek township, and they took up their residence in a log house which he erected and in which they made their home for three years. Mr. Chapel then moved with his family to Wisconsin, and was enrolled in the Second Wisconsin Cavalry, but before entering the service he was attacked by typhoid fever, which left his lungs in so weak a condition as to unfit him for army life, and he was accordingly discharged. After being away from Houston county for three years he returned and resumed residence on his farm, where he remained until about 1870. From that time until 1903 his home was in Money Creek village. In the year last mentioned he moved to Houston village, where he subsequently resided until his death on March 2, 1912, at the age of 74 years and 1 day. At the time of his demise he was the owner of 300 acres of land, in addition to town property. For a number of years during his active career he gave a portion of his time to public affairs, serving twelve years as constable, one term as a member of the board of county commissioners, and holding school office almost con- tinuously. In early life he was a member of the Grange. Prior to the Civil War he became a charter member of the Masonic Lodge at Houston, and he was one of those who organized the lodge of that order at Money Creek. His wife survived him two years, dying Feb. 20, 1914.

Royal Henry Hawkins, in former years proprietor of the farm known as Hickory Hill Ranch, in section 20, Money Creek township, but now de- ceased, was born in the state of New York. He was a boy of 7 or 8 years when he accompanied his parents to Wycena, Columbia county, Wis., where he grew to maturity. From there, while the Civil War was in progress, he enlisted as a private in the 10th Wisconsin Regiment, in which he served over three years, being mustered out just before the close of the war. Being captured in battle, he spent several months in Libby prison. On his return home he married and for the next six years continued to reside in Columbia county, Wisconsin. He then located on a farm near Viola, in Olmsted county, Minnesota, where he resided for seventeen years, moving to Hous- ton county in 1889. Here he settled on the farm above mentioned, in section 20, Money Creek township, which was his subsequent home until his death on Thanksgiving Day, 1912. It was he who gave to the place its name of Hickory Hill Ranch. During his active career he served in various local offices, both in Wisconsin and in Houston county, Minnesota. By his wife,

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JOHN A. CARLSON, JR., AND FAMILY MR. AND MRS. ROYAL H. HAWKINS

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Jane Purves, who, like himself, was born in New York State, he was the father of ten children : An unnamed infant (deceased), Charles A., Medea E., Mary A., Rebecca J., Royal Henry, Emma L., Eva, Clarence E. and William.

John A. Carlson, Jr., who is engaged in operating the old Carlson farm in section 17, Money Creek township, was born in Sweden, June 30, 1881, son of John and Severina Christina Carlson. He was a young child when his parents settled in Money Creek township, this county, and his education was acquired in District School No. 9. His first industrial experience was gained on the home farm, on which he worked until reach- ing the age of 17 years. After that he worked for others at intervals until he was 21, after which he worked out continuously until his marriage. He then bought his father's farm, of which he has since been sole proprietor. It is a well improved piece of property, and under his competent manage- ment is yielding good financial returns. Mr. Carlson is a good example of the self-made man, having carved out his own fortune through enterprise and unremitting industry, and without extraneous assistance. He is a stockholder in the Houston Elevator, the Money Creek Creamery and the Farmers' Telephone Company, of which last mentioned institution he was one of the original directors and president for three years. He is a mem- ber of the Norwegian Lutheran church, and in politics is a Republican.

Mr. Carlson was married on Thanksgiving Day, 1911, to Eva Hawkins, who was born at Viola, in Olmsted county, Minn., Oct. 17, 1879, daughter of Royal H. and Jane (Purves) Hawkins, who settled in Money Creek town- ship, Houston county, in 1889. Mrs. Carlson received her early education in the district schools and in the Houston High School. For twelve years she was a most efficient teacher, and the pupils of those years still hold her in loving and grateful regard. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have three children : Ralph Arthur, born Feb. 10, 1913; Idella Christian, born Aug. 22, 1915; and an infant.

Paul G. Bunge, who owns and operates a fine farm of 240 acres in Wil- mington township, was born in . Winnebago township, Houston county, Minnesota, April 3, 1887, son of Henry and Minnie (Speckhahn) Bunge, the parents being natives of Germany. His early education was acquired in the district school, after which, from the age of 16 to that of 17, he at- tended Elmhurst Seminary, at Elmhurst, Ill. When 20 years old he went to Des Moines, Iowa, and became a student at Highland Park College, tak- ing an engineering, traction and blacksmith course. At the end of that time he went to Alberta, Canada, where he bought 320 acres of land, but subsequently sold it and returned home. With his brother, Ed H., he oper- ated the father's farm in Winnebago township for a year. On Feb. 2, 1910, he married Lillie, daughter of Henry and Louisa Luehr, of Wilmington township, and in the same year rented his father-in-law's farm, known as Oak Park farm, which he bought in 1913 and on which he is now resid- ing. It was an improved place of 240 acres, with an eleven-room frame house, a frame barn, 32 by 70 by 16 feet, and other buildings. Since buying the property he has enlarged the house and modernized the interior, and built an addition to the barn, 38 by 70 by 16 feet, the structure being now

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T-shaped and resting on a full nine-foot basement. His other buildings include a granary, a double corn crib with a nine-foot drive, a combined machine shed, workshop and garage, a laundry, ice house, hog house with cement feeding floor, and a creosoted stave silo. His equipment is of the best and includes a five-passenger Overland auto. Two hundred acres of his land are under cultivation, the soil being very fertile, and the farm is well fenced with hog-tight wire fencing. Mr. Bunge carries on general farming, breeding Hereford cattle and Duroc swine, having full-blooded sires for his herds. He is doing an excellent business and is numbered among the most enterprising and successful young farmers of his township. For some years he was a shareholder in the Bee Mercantile Company. He is now a member of the Equity Shipping Association, and politically be- longs to the Non-partisan League. His religious affiliations are with the Eitzen congregation of the German Evangelical church, of which he and his family are members. Mr. and Mrs. Bunge are the parents of three children : Esther, born Sept. 13, 1912; Selma, July 30, 1915; and Paula, March 31, 1918.

Otto M. Luttchens, one of the leading stock farmers of Houston county, residing in section 23, Jefferson township, was born on his present farm Nov. 10, 1880, son of Henry and Magdaline Luttchens. As a boy up to the age of 15 years he attended the Jefferson village school. He has always remained on the home farm, and from his early years was accustomed to herd cattle, growing up, as it were, in the saddle. Since 1898 he has prac- tically operated the farm and has continued in the cattle business started by his father. He is a breeder of pure Aberdeen-Angus cattle, also high- grade cattle of other breeds, and also buys and feeds them for the market, shipping at least three carloads annually, besides one carload of hogs. In this business he has been eminently successful and has found it profitable. On his farm is an artesian well, 480 feet deep, with a four-inch pipe, and every building is provided with running water and is lighted by electricity. He now has under construction a new modern eight-room residence, 32 by 40 feet, with full basement under the entire house. It is fitted with all the comforts and conveniences of modern life, with toilets, running water, a vapor heating system, and many other appliances. As his farm is but three miles north of New Albin, Iowa, Mr. Luttchens has naturally become interested in several of the business enterprises of the latter place, and is a stockholder and director in the Farmers' Stock and Grain Company, and a stockholder in the New Albin Savings Bank, the Farmers' Co-operative Mercantile Company and the Co-operative Creamery Association. For the last fifteen years Mr. Luttchens has served as clerk of his school district. In politics he has been a Republican since he cast his first vote. His relig- ious affiliations are with the New Albin congregation of the German Evangelical church, of which he has been president for a number of years. Above all, he is a loyal American, true to the country of which he is a native, though of foreign ancestry, and a believer in its institutions and high destiny as one of the great world forces in the elevation of mankind. Mr. Luttchens was married, Dec. 18, 1901, to Matilda, born March 8, 1880, daughter of William and Elizabeth Pohlmann, of Jefferson township. To

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OTTO M. LUTTCHENS AND FAMILY

MR. AND MRS. HENRY LUTTCHENS-MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM POHLMANN

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him and his wife, who has been his faithful companion and helpmate for seventeen years, the following children have been born: Ervin, Nov. 2, 1902; Esther, Dec. 5, 1904; Armin, May 13, 1907; Clarence, Dec. 7, 1910; Otto, Jr., Aug. 13, 1912; and Lester, July 15, 1915. All are living except Esther, who died in her ninth year, Oct. 4, 1913, and Clarence, who died Sept. 17, 1916.

Henry Luttchens, one of the early settlers in Jefferson township, who in early days endured many privations, but who is now living retired and in good health on the farm in section 23 which he established about 40 years ago, and of which his son Otto is the present proprietor, was born in Han- over, Germany, June 3, 1829, and is therefore now in his ninety-first year. He was the child of poor parents, and for the first 40 years of his life re- sided in his native land engaged in laborious occupations and receiving but small remuneration. Then, having no hope of ever acquiring a competence in Germany, he resolved to make a new start in life, and accordingly, in 1869, he came to the United States, proceedig west to Lansing, Iowa, which place he reached with twelve dollars in cash, the sum total of his pecuniary resources. From Lansing he came on to Dorchester, Allamakee county, Iowa, where he remained for three years working as a farm hand. In the fall of 1872 Mr. Luttchens crossed the state line into Houston county, Min- nesota, and settled in Jefferson township, where for the two following win- ters he cut cordwood for Peter Hahn, on section 23, at 50 cents a cord. During the next three winters he worked in the pineries of northern Wis- consin. In 1877 Mr. Luttchens married Magdaline Schaffer of Dorchester, Iowa, and in the same year struck out for himself as an independent farmer, buying 160 acres of wild land adjoining Peter Hahn's place on the north. The tract cost him $1,200, which, as he had not the cash, he had to pay in installments, besides a high rate of interest. This burden proved a handi- cap to him for some years; but it was not the only one. The only building on his land was an old log house which was scarcely habitable, at least in cold weather, and during the first winter, therefore, he and his wife lived in Mr. Hahn's woodshed. Their housekeeping conveniences were as scanty as it would be possible to conceive. In place of chairs they had two small boxes to sit on, while a larger one served them for a table. Their bedstead was made of poles cut from the woods, while a more or less ample supply of prairie hay took the place of a mattress. Under these inauspicious circum- stances Mr. and Mrs. Luttchens began domestic life on their heavily mort- gaged farm, and it was several years before conditions were much improved. Their land was very rough and covered with timber, only 59 acres being tillable after clearing. Mr. Luttchens, as he could hardly depend on crops for his living, began the raising of stock, but a Mississippi River flood swept away most of his hay, and in the winter he had to cut honeyweeds on the low land to keep his cattle from starving and to save the little hay he had left for March and April feeding. But instead of these hardships and mis- fortunes discouraging him, Mr. Luttchens only worked the harder and he and his wife endured their lot with unconquerable patience until fortune be- gan to smile upon them. His cattle increased in number until he was raising from 50 to 75 head annually, besides those which he bought and shipped

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to the Chicago market. He also raised 25 to 30 horses annually, receiving better prices for his stock with advancing years. For a few years during the early period he kept some sheep, and his wife washed and carded the wool, spun it into yarn, and sold it to help provide for home needs. After clearing as much of his land as was tillable, Mr. Luttchens purchased more, thus increasing the size of his farm, and he furthermore improved it by erecting a comfortable frame house, together with a commodious frame barn and other outbuildings. His wife, though never very strong, was a hard worker, and proved a loving and helpful companion to him until her death in 1898 after 19 years of married life. They had had three children, Henry, Lena and Otto, of whom the two first mentioned are now deceased. About 20 years ago, or about the time of his wife's death, Mr. Luttchens turned the farm over to his son Otto, with whom he now lives, and who is operating it on a profitable basis. He is one of Jefferson township's most respected citizens, as in his day he was one of its most active workers, hav- ing well earned the repose and leisure he now enjoys. Politically he has al- ways been a Republican, and for many years has been a prominent member of the New Albin (Ia.) congregation of the German Evangelical Church, to which his son also belongs, and in the good work of which Mrs. Luttchens during her lifetime took a helpful and leading part.

Henry Vollenweider, who is engaged in the cultivation of apples and small fruits of the berry kind in section 3, La Crescent township, was born in Wintertur, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 17, 1878, son of John Hein- rich and Liesabeth (Hatt) Vollenweider. The father, born in the same can- ton, Jan. 3, 1839, was a machinist in a large manufactory having 4,000 employees. He was married in his native land to Liesabeth Hatt, who was born March 6, 1848. Henry was the third born of their four children. The eldest son, Carl, having emigrated to the United States, the rest of the family followed him in June, 1893, locating temporarily in La Crosse, Wis., but soon afterwards moving to Shelby township, La Crosse county. After a brief location there, they moved across the river to La Crescent township, Houston county, where from February to November, 1895, they lived on a rented farm. They then took the farm of 55 acres which the son Henry is now operating as a fruit and berry farm, though with the intention of here- after devoting his chief attention to apples. This farm for a number of years the family operated together, the business being transacted then as now under the name of Henry Vollenweider. In 1912 John Heinrich, the father, died, but his wife is still living, residing a part of the time with her son Henry, and at other times with her sister in Cincinnati. Henry Vol- lenweider is a member of the Woodmen's lodge at La Crescent, and in poli- tics is independent. He is a member of the Salzer Memorial church at La Crosse. Mr. Vollenweider was married Aug. 31, 1904, to Henrietta Schwarz, daughter of Henry and Bertha (Kutzborski) Schwarz. He and his wife have six children: Wesley, born June 17, 1905; Esther, born Dec. 17, 1906; Milton and Marguerite (twins), born June 10, 1908; Henry, born Sept. 16, 1909, and Wilbert, born Aug. 7, 1911. Henry Schwarz, father of Mrs. Vollenweider, was born in Austria, Feb. 13, 1859, of German-Bohemian parents, and was brought to America when five years old. By trade he was

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History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 86

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

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