USA > Minnesota > Todd County > History of Morrison and Todd counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 11
USA > Minnesota > Morrison County > History of Morrison and Todd counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 11
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Mr. Nelson has established himself as a citizen of the town and is the owner of a nice residence property containing about two and one-half acres within the town limits. He holds his religious membership with the Luth- eran church and gives his political support to the Republican party, heing a representative for his party on the town council at the present time. Because of his genial and unassuming disposition and his genuine worth, Mr. Nelson enjoys a well-deserved popularity throughout this section.
CLINTON E. CHAPMAN.
This brief record of Clinton E. Chapman can only touch upon the sterling qualities which he possesses and the esteem in which he is held by his fellow townsmen. The positions of trust and confidence which he has filled have placed him upon a high pedestal of integrity ; the years of unccas- ing activity, in personal affairs and public office, have classed him as a man of advanced, natural ability to accomplish results, and during his business career a snug fortune has been accumulated.
Clinton E. Chapman was born on August 22, 1872, in Dodge county, Minnesota, and is the son of Oren and Frances ( Price) Chapman, to whom four children were born: Albert, deceased; William L., living in Traverse City, Michigan : Clinton E. Chapman, a banker at Randall. Morrison county. Minnesota, and Frank B., who is in Livingston, Montana. The father of these children was born in New York state in 1844, and with his parents immigrated to Wisconsin and became interested in agriculture. During the first year of the Civil War, in 1861. Oren Chapman responded to his country's call and enlisted at Randolph, Wisconsin, in Company A. of the Second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He served through all the months of this great struggle and was discharged in 1865. At the ter- mination of the war he returned to Wisconsin, and about the year 1867 settled in Dodge county, Minnesota, where he engaged in farming until 1884, thence removing to Madison Lake, Minnesota, at which place he lived for ten years. During 1894 he came to Randall, Minnesota, where his death occurred in 1904.
Born at Moline, Illinois, in 1844, Frances ( Price) Chapman, the daugh-
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ter of William Price, is now living in Randall, Minnesota. Oren Chapman, in his religious faith, was a Presbyterian and his wife, Frances (Price) Chapman, is a member of the Episcopalian church.
The early life of Clinton E. Chapman was devoted to agricultural pur- suits and he obtained his education at the district schools until, at the age of twenty-one, he came to Randall, Minnesota, and purchased two hundred acres of land in Parker township, and on this property, with the help of his father, cleared a small tract of land, which he cultivated for nearly five years, later moving to the town of Randall.
At this period of his life Clinton E. Chapman entered the mercantile field by clerking in a general merchandise store until 1906, when he was appointed postmaster of Randall, Minnesota, from which public office he resigned in 1907, accepting the position of cashier in the Randall State Bank, continuing in this executive capacity until the present time, which position he has filled with honor to himself and with perfect satisfaction to the bank. Since coming to Randall, Clinton E. Chapman has shown himself to be a conservative man with surpassing judgment and ability, and now, at the age of forty-three, he is a prominent stockholder in the bank with which he is connected, the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, in Todd and Morrison counties, Minnesota, and also the possessor of other properties at Randall, where he has erected a modern bungalow, thirty-two by thirty-two feet.
Although so actively engaged with his business connections, throughout these years, Clinton E. Chapman consented to act in an important official capacity for his section and was elected county treasurer, in which office he served for a four years' terni.
In 1893 Clinton E. Chapman was united in marriage to Lottie M. Maxon, who was born on September 24, 1874, at Orleans county, New York, and who was the daughter of George and Margaret (Garrison) Maxon, both parents being natives of the Empire state.
George Maxon came to Minnesota in 1877 and located in Cottonwood county, where he settled on a tree claim, afterward removing to Anoka, Minnesota, the town in which he and his wife are now living. Standing ready to serve his country in the time of peril, George Maxon enlisted in 1861 for service in the Civil War, at Tonawanda, New York, and was wounded in the shoulder at the memorable battle of Cold Harbor. He was discharged in 1865.
Two children have made happy the home of Clinton E. and Lottie M.
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(Maxon) Chapman, Bernice (Mrs. Craighead), located at Lincoln, Minne- sota, and Oren G., who is living at home.
Mr. Chapman is a Republican. He attends the Presbyterian house of worship for his religious inspiration. H is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Little Falls, Minnesota, and of the Modern Woodmen of America, of Randall, Minnesota.
NELS O. WAAGE.
The success of the average Norwegian who immigrated to America is not a question of chance, for the Norwegian has not succeeded by chance but from the sheer force of a determination, which crowds obstacles aside, no matter the labor necessary or the sacrifice to be made. These people have been inured from birth to the free, open, robust life on the mountains and plains of their native country. They have immigrated to this country for the purpose of providing homes for themselves and families and they have succeeded.
Nels Olson Waage, one of these immigrants, was born on October 20, 1843, in Norway, and is the son of Ole Nelson and Liva (Osman) Waage. To this union seven children were born, five of whom are living. Ole Nelson Waage and Liva ( Osman) Waage were about the same age and were born and reared in Norway, where their entire lives were spent and where their deaths occurred. Ole Nelson Waage was engaged in the occupation of farming during his life and passed away a short time after the death of his wife, at the advanced age of eighty years.
Leaving his native country in 1871. Nels Olson Waage emigrated to America and located at Braidwood, Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for one and one-half years and then worked as a carpenter, which trade he had learned in Norway. In 1880 he went to Kansas and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jewell county. This property he improved and cultivated until the year of 1889, when he came to Morrison county, Minnesota, where he bought a tract of land consisting of three hundred and twenty acres in section 19 in Belle Prairie township. On this property he erected a small dwelling, twenty-eight by twenty-four feet, also a stable thirty-two by thirty-two feet. During 1892 he disposed of the farm in Kansas and increased his holdings to four hundred acres, all in Belle Prairie township. On this land Nels Olson Waage has become prom-
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inent as a breeder of Red Polled cattle and in his exhibits of farm products many prizes have been awarded him. At the present time, on this farm, sixty acres of corn is under cultivation.
On March 10, 1878, Nels Olson Waage was united in marriage to Anna Sirana Oneson, who was born on May 25, 1860, in Grundy county, Illinois, the daughter of Peter and Carrie Oneson, both natives of Norway. Peter Oneson was born on November 26, 1832, in Norway and is now living in Palo Alto county, Iowa, and has retired from active farming. Anna Sirana Oneson was born on February 2, 1829, in Norway. She still enjoys good health.
Eight children graced the home of Nels Waage and Anna Sirana (Oneson) Waage, namely: Carl A., born in 1879, and died in 1880; Stephen B., October 28, 1881, and now living at home; Ole B., October 4, 1884, being at home; Caroline (Mrs. Forman), August 7, 1890, resides in Morrison county, Minnesota : Peter T., February 17, 1897, living at home; Lena C., deceased: Bertha M., November 8, 1901, living at home, and Peter, deceased.
Nels Olson Waage is a Republican. In matters pertaining to the church he is a consistent member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Industry and determination have been the dominant factors in the steady accumula- tion of his wealth, and he is a worthy representative of that intelligent and thrifty nation which he left to become a loyal American citizen.
OLAF MALM.
A sketch which has to deal with a person who has overcome the bar- riers incident to the immigrant to a new and strange country, particularly if that person has started in the struggle empty handed, presents a story well worth being incorporated in a work of this character. Such a story is pre- sented by the biography of the subject of this sketch.
Olaf Malm, a progressive farmer of Belle Prairie township, Morrison county, Minnesota, and the proprietor of one hundred and twenty acres of well-improved land in this township, was born on August 22, 1862, in Sweden, the son of Perry and Chastie (Bensen) Malm, both natives of Sweden. Perry Malm was a laborer in Sweden and remained in his native land during his entire life. He died at the age of thirty-six, when his son, Olaf, was quite young. The mother, Chastie ( Bensen) Malm, also remained
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in Sweden during her entire life. Four children, of whom Olaf Malm was the eldest, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Malm.
Olaf Malm lived in Sweden with his parents until he had attained the age of sixteen years, at which age he left his native land and emigrated to Denmark, where he remained until 1890. In 1890 he came to the United States and settled in Cook county, Illinois. While there he worked as a farm hand and continued to do so until 1902, when he moved to Morrison county, Minnesota. Upon his arrival at his new home, Mr. Malm purchased two hundred and eighty acres of well-improved land in Belle Prairie town- ship, and, being a man who firmly believed in improvements, soon had erected sheds and barns on his new possession. Later he sold a portion of his land until, at the present time, he owns and operates but one hundred and twenty acres. He is deeply interested in stock raising and keeps high- grade stock of all kinds. Besides being a farmer, Mr. Malm is a stock- holder in the telephone company of Belle Prairie township and one of the original organizers of the company.
Mr. Malın attends the Lutheran church and is deeply interested in the affairs of that church. Politically, he is an independent voter, being more concerned with the character and adaptability of the candidate than the adherence to a party.
GEORGE CALHOUN.
During the years which have marked the development and expansion of the great and wondrously rich western section of this country, the very pick, as it were, of the young men and women from the older and more populous sections of North America, have gone forth to that frontier and carved out the fabulous riches of iron, coal and lumber. In these pioneers, with a wealth of strength and ability, have lain the hopes and destinies of the great state of Minnesota.
The parents of George Calhoun, the subject of this brief review, were part and parcel of the West, and one of the many homesteaders on the fertile prairies of South Dakota, where the early settlers were the determin- ing factor in the present wealth of this country. On their judgment and the strength of their labors depended the settlement and building of one of the richest, natural expanses of country in the world.
George Calhoun was a fit subject to inherit from birth the task and opportunity to bring forth, from that undeveloped section, riches for him-
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self and service to his community. He came from sturdy Irish parentage and was born on July 2, 1888, at Desmet, South Dakota, and is the son of George and Marguerite (Duggan) Calhoun, to whom nine children were born, six of whom are living. The father of George Calhoun, George Cal- houn, Sr., was born on July 10, 1853, at Owen Sound, Canada, where he acquired the trade of harness and shoemaker, and in 1883 immigrated to this country and, with the hardy pluck of his race, homesteaded a tract of land in Kinsburg county, South Dakota. Improving this property for a period of eleven years, he sold out and moved to Clare, Iowa, where he worked at his trade of harness making for four years, removing to Randall, Minnesota, where, for a time, he was occupied with various pursuits. Finally, in 1905, he opened a butcher shop, which he conducted until his death, February 29, 1908.
The father and mother of George Calhoun, Sr., Henry and Mary (O'Connor ) Calhoun, were natives of New York state and Dublin, Ireland, . respectively. Henry Calhoun eventually moved to Canada, where the birth of George Calhoun, Sr., occurred. Marguerite (Duggan) Calhoun was born on July 1, 1859, in Canada, and was the daughter of Cornelius and Mary (Coleman) Duggan. She was reared and lived on the home farm until her marriage. The death of Marguerite (Duggan) Calhoun occurred 011 August 23, 1911, and she was buried beside her husband in the cemetery at Randall, Minnesota.
Inured to the healthy boyhood life of the farm, George Calhoun, Jr., obtained his education from the schools of that section, together with a course of study in the parochial school at Clair, Iowa. He remained with his parents until about the time of his marriage and began to learn the general trade and business qualifications necessary in the slaughtering and meat market profession, in which capacity he served for three years, and in 1912 came to Randall, Minnesota, where he began operations for himself. More than ordinary success has attended his endeavors in the butchering and market business, and his well-equipped store denotes the liberal patronage which he enjoys. Identifying himself at once with the active interests of his town. George Calhoun purchased stock in the creamery at Randall and also has money invested in realty.
George Calhoun was married in 1912 to Clara Portz, who is descended from German parentage. She was born on April 19, 1892, in South Dakota and is the daughter of Michael and Marguerite (Keiter) Portz. Michael Portz is a trusted employe of the South Dakota Central railroad, being engaged in the important capacity of locomotive engineer.
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To the happy union of George Calhoun and Clara Portz, two children have been born, George and Marguerite. In politics, George Calhoun is an independent voter. Men with the character of George Calhoun can be depended upon to act wisely in all serious emergencies as they arise.
In religious affairs George Calhoun is a member of the Catholic church. He has never been an aspirant for public office, but as a business man he ranks high in the esteem and confidence of the public. He is courteous and affable with his associates, public-spirited in principle, and his wholesome private and social life has placed him in the front ranks as one of Minne- sota's influential citizens.
ALBERT O. NELSON.
Conspicuous among the representative business men and public-spirited citizens of Randall, Morrison county, is the well-known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article. Being ambitious from the first, Mr. Nelson faced the future resolutely, gradually surmounted the difficulties in his way and in due time rose to a prominent position in the commercial circles of his community, at the same time, because of his great desire to help his fellow citizens, winning their confidence and esteem.
Albert O. Nelson was born on May 21, 1863. at La Crosse, Wisconsin, the son of Edward and Bertha ( Olson) Nelson, both natives of Norway, the former born in 1832, and the latter on August 5, 1838.
Like many another pioneer of Morrison county, Edward Nelson left his native land early in life and risked the dangers incidental to a long and perilons voyage to the United States. Upon his arrival in America, he pushed toward the west and in due time arrived in Chicago, being at the time just eighteen years of age. Here he worked on a farm at first, but. having learned the blacksmith trade in Norway, soon followed that vocation. In the course of the next few years he worked in various saw-mills and on different railroads and soon established for himself the enviable reputation of being one of the best blacksmiths available in that section of the country. In 1885 Edward Nelson removed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he dis- played his ability as an organizer by helping to organize a union known as the "blacksmith's union," which is at the present time well known in La Crosse. In 1870 he went to Steele county. Minnesota, where he bought land and farmed for a short time with his son, Albert O. Nelson, the subject of this biographical review. Father and son continued to farm together
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until 1910, when the farin was sold and Edward Nelson retired and moved to New Richmond, where he died in 1914.
Bertha (Olson) Nelson, the mother of Albert O., left Norway with her parents when only ten years old and settled with her parents in Wiscon- sin, where she met Mr. Nelson and was married. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson endured the privations of pioneer life and endured the hardships that are incident to a new and undeveloped country. They raised a family of ten children, six boys and four girls, of whom five boys and three girls are living. The mother of these children survives her husband and is residing at the present time in New Richland.
Reared on the farm of his parents, Albert O. Nelson attended the dis- trict schools of Steele county and received a good elementary education. At the age of twenty-two his'ambition led him to the decision to learn a trade. He started to work as a farm hand and for several years was employed in various kinds of work. In 1899, however. his ambition was realized by his' "success in learning the tinner's trade at New Richland. For some years he worked in a hardware store, until 1898, when he and his brother, George, engaged in farming at Lac qui Parle county, Minnesota, after purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land. Mr. Nelson farmned for two years, at the expiration of which time he sold his share of the farm and returned to New Richland, where he again was employed in a hardware store and lun- ber yard.
In 1901 Mr. Nelson immigrated to Morrison county, and purchasing eighty acres of land in Parker township again took up the vocation of hus- bandry, after having cleared a portion of the land. In 1908 his ambition to again become engaged in commercial pursuits led him to retire from agricul- ture. He moved to Randall and rented a small building, where, upon his own responsibility, he started a small hardware store and continued as its sole proprietor until 1910, when his brother, George, came into the business as a partner. By cutting timber from his farm, Albert O. Nelson, with the aid of his brother, built a shop and residence in Randall and soon had the gratification of owning four thousand dollars' worth of hardware and furni- ture. Besides his interest in the hardware store, Mr. Nelson owns various residences and building lots in Randall.
In 1896 Albert O. Nelson was married to Lena Tyrholm, who was born in 1866, at Faribault, Minnesota, the daughter of Nels and Hanna (Brom- burg) Tyrholm, the former of whom was a cabinetmaker, whose native home was in Norway. To Mr. and Mrs. Albert O. Nelson have been born two children, Norman and Carl. Norman graduated from the Randall
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schools and is now a member of the Randall band. Both Carl and Nor- man live at home with their parents.
Though an independent voter, Mr. Nelson has taken an active part in the political activities of Randall, having served on the town council and is now foreman of the fire department. He and his wife are actively identified with the Lutheran church. Albert O. Nelson is known in his community as a man of upright business principles, and but few men in his vicinity stand higher in the estimation of the public. He is widely known as a man of strictly honest business methods and upright principles in every walk of life.
NELS NELSON BERGHEIM.
The greatness of a community consists not so much in the machinery of its government or even in its institutions, but rather in the sterling qual- ities of individual citizens and their capacity for high and unselfish efforts and patrotic devotion to the public welfare. In these particulars it may be said that Nels Nelson Bergheim, who is a lawyer by profession, has con- ferred honor and dignity upon the county, where he has lived for the past twenty years. He has been identified prominently with almost every phase of the county's progress and today is known throughout the county as one of its most highly esteemed and valuable citizens.
Nels Nelson Bergheim is a native of Norway, born in Nordfjord, the province of Bergen, Norway, October 15, 1869. Mr. Bergheim came to America at the age of sixteen, and for the next ten years resided in South Dakota, where he attended the common school, the normal school and the univresity at Vermilion. In 1895 he entered the University of Minnesota and two years later was graduated from the academic and normal colleges of the university, after which he taught school for one year, when he took up the study of law.
Mr. Bergheim was admitted to the Minnesota bar in June, 1901, and shortly thereafter located at Little Falls, Minnesota, where for the past four- teen years he has been engaged in the practice of law. During this period he has built up a large and lucrative practice which is not confined alone to Morrison county, but which extends to adjoining counties. Mr. Berg- heim is a learned counsellor and practices in the county, state and federal courts. He has been a most painstaking student, especially in the modern tendencies of statutory law and of the disposition of the courts to adjust
NELS N. BERGHEIM
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the law as demanded by changed and changing social and industrial condi- tions.
Mr. Bergheim is a Democrat and has always taken an interest in political matters. He was a candidate for the Legislature in 1906 and for secretary of state in 1914. For eight years Mr. Bergheim was a member of the Democratic state central committee and for twelve years he was secretary-treasurer of the Democratic committee of Morrison county.
Mr. Bergheim has always taken an active interest in public matters in his home town, and for many years his office has been the headquarters for the boosters of Little Falls. He has actively supported every enterprise having for its purpose the improvement of his city and county financially, morally and socially. In this connection he has held the offices of president of the Commercial Club, president of the board of public works for eight years and is at present president of the Civic League, secretary of the Busi- ness Men's Association, of the Chautauqua Association and of the Morrison County Co-operative Agricultural Society. Mr. Bergheim has also given his assistance and support to churches and fraternal societies, and for ten years has been superintendent of one of the Sunday schools of his home city. He is, therefore, a well-rounded, broad-minded, alert and active citizen, whose spirit of tolerance, friendliness and good-will have won for him a host of friends throughout this section of Minnesota.
JOHN WETZEL.
John Wetzel, vice-president of the German-American National Bank, of Little Falls, Morrison county, Minnesota, and one of that city's most prom- inent citizens, was born in Elgin. Illinois, October 24, 1856, a son of Val- entine and Angeline (Rheinart ) Wetzel, both of whom were natives of Germany. Angeline Rheinart was born in Treir and when a young girl was brought to the United States by her parents, who settled at Elgin, Illinois, and it was there she met and married Valentine Wetzel. Valentine Wetzel was born near Worms on May 5. 1826, and when quite a young man he emigrated to the United States. After a tedious voyage in the old-time sail- boats, he landed in New York and from there went on to Chicago. He settled in the latter city and there learned the cooper's trade, which he fol- lowed most of the active years of his life. After remaining in Chicago for
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seven years, he moved to Elgin, Illinois, where he remanied about eight years, and then returned to Chicago. He lived in that city during the years of the Civil War, and after the close of the war, with the great influx of population into the western and northern states, he went to St. Cloud. Minnesota. There he opened up a cooper business for himself and so con- tinued for a number of years. In the latter part of his life, Valentine Wetzel was engaged in the retail meat business, giving five years to that occupation, and then he retired to spend the remainder of his days quietly. He died in 1913-when eighty-five years of age. Valentine Wetzel was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and he gave his political sup- port to the Democratic party.
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