USA > Minnesota > Todd County > History of Morrison and Todd counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Minnesota > Morrison County > History of Morrison and Todd counties, Minnesota, their people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 36
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Peter Nylen was married in 1890 to Barbara Thornson, born on Marcli 4, 1862, in Norway. She left her native land in 1885 and located at Dwight, North Dakota. To this union have been born four children. The eldest is Martin, born in 1891 and residing in Darling township; Inga was born in 1893 and lives in Minneapolis, where she is employed as a stenographer ; Olga, born in 1895, lives in Ellsworth, this state, and Clara, born in 1897. is still at home with the parents. She is receiving an excellent education, is a graduate of the Little Falls schools and has fitted herself for a teacher in the Morrison county schools, being naturally well suited to such work.
Mr. Nylen is a faithful member of the Lutheran church, to the support of which he gives generously of his means. His fraternal affiliation is held with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics he votes indepen- dently. While giving the best of his effort toward furthering his own inter- ests he is not unmindful of his duties as a citizen and has been most conscien- tious in the discharge of public duties thrust upon him. He has served Darling township as road supervisor and has at different times been a director and treasurer of school district No. 74, of his township. Mr. Nylen is a man of splendid influence in his community. He has always been a very industrious man who has led an honorable career, setting a worthy example to the younger generation of the community and giving his own children a splendid training. He is regarded as a public-spirited man and can always be counted on to support the right side of any movement involving the moral, educational or social welfare of his fellow citizens.
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BERNARD NYGAARD.
The winning of success through individual effort is one of the oppor- tunities in American industrial life and those men who, no matter how humble the beginning, are able to reach prosperity, deserve more than ordin- ary recognition in the community in which they live. Such a man is Bernard Nygaard, agent for the Northern Pacific railroad. A descendant of an old Norwegian family, Mr. Nygaard has inherited those sterling traits of char- acter for which the people of that country are noted. His career has been marked by unusual achievement and has been guided by the highest principles of integrity and honor.
The native home of Bernard Nygaard is Minneapolis, where he was born on June 19, 1887. He is the son of Ole and Engeborg ( Oine) Nygaard, natives of Norway. Bernard Nygaard is the eldest of the following chil- dren : Rudolph, who is employed as relief agent at Cushing: Elmer, who is a farmer ; and Ragna, who is deceased. Ole Nygaard was born on February 27, 1859, in Norway. He left his native land when he was twenty-two years of age and came to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he worked as a stone mason until 1895. An industrious citizen and one who applied him- self diligently to all tasks, Mr. Nygaard, soon began to get a foothold in the community in which he settled. After leaving Minneapolis he went to Cushing township, in Morrison county, where he bought two hundred and forty acres of land in section 35. The land was covered with timber and the task of removing the thick growth of vegetation was not an easy one. During the time he has lived there Mr. Nygaard has broken up seventy-five acres of the land and is now farming on the same tract. His wife was also born in Norway, the date of her birth being February 22, 1859. She and her husband were married in their native land before coming to this country.
Bernard Nygaard was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and attended the public schools of Minneapolis. He received aside from his elementary education many advantages of schooling. He attended the busi- ness college of Little Falls, where he took bookkeeping and banking. He also attended the Grand Forks College for nine months where he took a general course. At the age of nineteen years he started railroading at Lin- coln, Minnesota, where he was employed by the Northern Pacific. Six months later he went to Belt Line Junction where he remained a short time. In 1908 he went to Cushing, Minnesota, and was made general agent of that place. His position has brought him in contact with all classes of people
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and his broad sympathy and deep understanding of public wants have won for him much popularity. Aside from his active business, Mr. Nygaard also takes a keen interest in agricultural affairs. He is a shareholder in the Cushing Creamery Company, and in educational affairs occupied a position on the school board ot Cushing township. His residence in Cushing is attractive and the grounds surrounding the dwelling extend over two lots.
In 1910 Bernard Nygaard was married to Jennie Swanson, a native of Little Falls, Minnesota, and the daughter of Charles and Eva Swanson. Mr. and Mrs. Swanson are natives of Sweden and left their native country in 1875, when they located in Wisconsin. For some time Mr. Swanson was engaged in railroad work there until he came to Little Falls over thirty years ago. He is now farming about five miles east of Little Falls. He and his wife reared a family of seven children.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Nygaard are: Evelyn, who was born on November 16, 1911, and Byron, who was born on March 11, 1915. Both of the children were born at Cushing. Mr. Nygaard is a loyal mem- ber of the Norwegian Lutheran church. In his political relations he is a member of the Republican party and is enthusiastic for its principles. So far he has never affiliated himself with lodges.
JOHN H. HUSMANN.
The German citizens in this country have played an important part in social, industrial and commercial affairs. They have brought with them the ideas of thrift and thoroughness and used them for the building of firm foundations for community life. Their inherent traits of character have by their very force brought the possessor to heights of public esteem and confidence. Among the German pioneer families of Morrison county, Minnesota, perhaps none is better known and respected than the family of John H. Husmann. The name stands for business honesty and successful attainments.
John H. Husmann was born in Hanover, Germany, on June 13, 1857. He is the son of Henry and Ella (Hlesenions) Husmann, both natives of the same country. Of the eleven children born to the union five of the boys are still living. Henry Husmann, the father, was born on February II. 1809, and died in this country in 1877. In Germany he was engaged in the flour-milling business, but sought to change his occupation by coming
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to America. He settled at Warnesburg, Illinois, where he worked until 1874, when he retired. His wife, who was born on January 9, 1911, died in 1899. They were both prominent members of the German Lutheran church.
In the schools of Germany John H. Husmann received his elementary education and came to America when still a young man. When he arrived in this country he found employment as section foreman on a railroad in Warnesburg, Illinois. Five years later he chose the occupation of farming and rented a farm for three years in Platte county, Nebraska. During his three years of farming in Nebraska, he developed the attributes of reliability and force which were of great value to him later in planning the farm where he now makes his home. The carpenter's trade appealed to Mr. Husmann for a while as a means by which he could obtain broader experience, and as a consequence he moved to Clinton, Iowa, where he worked as a carpenter for four years. Upon hearing of an opening in Springfield, Minnesota, he left Iowa, and engaged in the contracting business. In 1902 he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Morrison county, Minnesota, located in section 17. of Clough township. Previous to his permanent settlement on this farm, Mr. Husinann farmed on a tract of rented land in Brown county, Minnesota, for three years.
The farm in Morrison county was in a rugged and rustic state when the present owner first took charge of it. Timber was to be found every- where, so that the first four years of Mr. Husmann's work there were taken up with getting out cordwood and cutting ties. There were no wagon roads at this time and as a result great difficulty was experienced by those who desired to make profit by selling the wood. Aside from this hardship, lumber was not in demand, and the returns received for cut wood were very small. Mr. Husmann, in reviewing the hardships of those days, often recalls the experience of hauling the wood a distance of seven miles to Randall, the nearest market, where he received just barely enough money to buy food for his family. When he first took up his residence in the community where he now plays so prominent a part, the subject of this sketch had just six cows, two head of horses and thirty-six dollars in cash. the land he was able to purchase at that time for only three dollars and one- half an acre has yielded many times that amount until the owner has come to look upon it as a permanent place of contentment. Of the one hundred and sixty acres he has cleared over eighty and has twenty-five acres under cultivation. He built the house of logs and also erected a large barn. He
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has graded stock of Holstein cattle and is one of the shareholders in the creamery at Randall.
In 1884, John H. Husmann married Caroline Keinetz, a native of Germany, who was born on October 17, 1865, and died on January 9, 1895. The following children were born to this union: Herman, Ida and George, who are deceased; Mrs. Martha Jaeger, who makes her home with her father; Mrs. Anna Wadsworth, who lives in Brainerd, Minnesota, and Henry and Carrie, who are deceased. Mr. Husmann was married, secondly, in 1896, to Augusta Steinke, also a native of Germany. She was born on February 14, 1860, and died December 31, 1913. Her youngest child died in infancy and her son, Henry, is also dead; Mary, the eldest child, is now living in Brainerd, and John, Jr., lives on the farm with his father.
Mr. Husmann is an independent voter and is a member of no fraternal organizations. He follows the doctrines of the Baptist church. An interest- ing fact to be noted in the life of Mr. Husmann is his broad view of affairs outside the farm, his varied interests and occupations and his remarkable versatile character. Aside from other duties he has held the office of town- ship supervisor.
WILLIAM N. MOREY.
Eleven miles from Staples and five miles southeast of Motley is situated "Oakdale Farm," of which William N. Morey and son are proprietors. This is one of the most desirable tracts of land to be found in all Morrison county, and it may be said with equal truth that there are no better farmers in the county than Mr. Morey and his son. "Oakdale Farm" comprises five hundred acres of fertile land, of which two hundred and forty acres are cleared and under cultivation. The crop for 1915 included sixty acres of corn, twelve acres of oats and two acres of alfalfa. In 1908 the construc- tion of barns and sheds was begun, and the farm is now equipped with a silo and stock and hay barn, forty by fifty feet. The yard of "Oakdale Farm" comprises four acres and is covered with tall cedar trees.
William N. Morey, the senior member of the firm of William N. Morey & Son, is a native of Kane county, Illinois, where he was born on October 20, 1865. He is the son of John and Ann R. (McConnell) Morey, the former of whom was a native of Oswego, New York, and was born in 1836, and the latter was born in 1839 in Yates county, New York. The Moreys are of German descent. John Morey was a farmer by occupation. He was
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taken to Illinois when two years of age by his parents, who drove an ox team from New York state to Illinois. There he entered land from the government and lived until 1887, when he passed away. Mrs. Ann R. ( McConnell) Morey was a well-to-do and well-informed woman and a skill- ful handworker. She died in 1880, leaving two children, of whom William N. was the eldest. George, the second born, died in 1889.
William N. Morey was educated in the common schools of Illinois. He remained at home with his parents until 1887, when he removed to Hardin county, Iowa, and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land which his father had owned. He made extensive improvements on this farmi and operated it for three years, when he sold out and removed to Iowa Falls, where he farmed until 1809, when he removed to Morrison county, Minne- sota, and purchased two hundred and forty acres of unimproved land in sections 21 and 22, of Motley township. After removing to Morrison county, Mr. Morey cleared away the timber and brush, very shortly remod- eling the house and barn. He is an extensive stock breeder and makes a specialty of Shorthorn cattle. He owns a fine bull that has won many prizes, and also keeps a high grade of horses and purebred Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mr. Morey and his son, Alvah, who is associated with him in business, are among the very largest farmers in Morrison county.
In 1884 William N. Morey was married to Laura Andrews, a native of Kane county, Illinois, who was born on April 17, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Morey were reared within six miles of each other and attended the same school. Mrs. Morcy is the daughter of Edward and Vandalia ( Beebee) Andrews, who were natives of New York state. Mrs. Morey's father is still living but her mother is deceased.
The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. William N. Morey, Alvah Morey, was born on April 12, 1885, in Kane county, Illinois, and was married to Mabel Hopkins, of Iowa Falls, Iowa. Alvah Morey is a graduate of Drake College and later pursued a course of dentistry for two years, but after fol- lowing his profession three years gave it up on account of failing health. He is a scientific farmer and much of the success of the operation of "Oak- dale Farm" is due to his own personal management. Alvah Morey under- stands thoroughly all of the modern tendencies and all the modern methods and nses them on "Oakdale Farm." By his marriage to Mabel Hopkins there has been born one son, Edward, who was born in 1909, in Morrison county, Minnesota.
William N. Morey is a Republican in politics, a member of the Society
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of Friends, Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. He has made a remarkable success in agriculture and his success has had a profound influence upon the methods pursued by his neighbors. The Morey family is popular in Motley township, and is well known throughout Morrison county.
JOHN C. WALLER.
Numbered among those whose influence has been potent in connection with the agricultural development of Morrison county, Minnesota, is John C. Waller, who is a prominent figure in this section of the West. His career has been remarkable on account of the various pursuits in which he has been occupied and his successful handling of situations widely differentiated in character. A progressive spirit and deep civic loyalty have characterized his entire dealings, and he has proved to be a substantial, discriminating and valued member of society. Regarded as an authority on rural affairs, his knowledge has won for him a number of offices of public confidence, where he has proved his ability in various ways.
John C. Waller was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on August 13, 1872. He is the son of Henry Waller, a native of Germany, and Margaret ( McFarland) Waller, a native of the state of New York and a descendant of an old Scotch family. John Waller lost his parents when he was extremely young in years, his father having been killed by a horse when the subject of this sketch was only three years old. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Waller lived just three years. Her death necessitated the making of a new home for her small son, and he was taken by the Trilby family, of lowa, to be reared.
With the advantages offered in education to the children of these days, it is a notable fact that many of the most prominent citizens of today received only the scantiest opportunities for schooling when they were young and yet were able to cope with the large problems of life, intelligently and successfully. The schooling received by John Waller covered a period of only a few months. His start in life began when he was only thirteen years of age, when he began to give service as a waiter on the Northern Pacific railroad. His employment with the railroad company covered a period of three years. At the end of that time he worked as a teamster in the timber lands of Minnesota. For a time Mr. Waller worked at hauling logs with a team of oxen, and later continued to work for the timber interests on the
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Mississippi, "driving" logs from Brainerd to Minneapolis. In 1912 he began to farm on land which he had bought in 1901, in section 10, Clough town- ship, Morrison county, Minnesota. The present farm extends over a tract of eighty acres, fifty acres of which are in cultivation. Mr. Waller has spent much on modern improvements on the farm. The farm residence is a two-story house of eight rooms and the stock barn is built twenty-four by forty fcet. The cattle are of a graded stock of Holstein.
In 1912 John C. Waller was united in marriage to Mary Mudge, who was born on March 15, 1894, in Millbank, North Dakota. She is the daugh- ter of Leonard and Larcena (Garson) Mudge, now residing in Little Falls. Minnesota. Her father was born in Michigan and her mother is a native of Denmark.
In his political relations, Mr. Waller is a Republican, and has always been a popular member of that body. He held the office of constable for a few years and was also road supervisor for some time. He has always exemplified a deep Christian faith in all his undertakings and gives his relig- ious support to the Baptist church.
AUGUST LOEGERING.
Among the most prosperous farmers and popular citizens of Todd county, Minnesota, is August Loegering, who owns a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty-one acres southeast of Long Prairie. He was born in what was then the territory of Minnesota, in Waconia township, Carver county, August 28, 1857, and is the son of Herman and Anna Mary ( Wueb- ben) Loegering, both of whom were natives of Westphalia, Germany.
Mr. Loegering's father came to America and settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was nineteen years old. His mother came to this country when still a girl. They were married in Cincinnati in 1854, and after living there until 1856 immigrated to Carver county, Minnesota. and settled on a farm, living on this farm until the mother's death, in 1870. Herman Loeg- ering had enlisted in a Minnesota regiment and had served one month as a Union soldier in the Civil War. In 1898 Herman Loegering returned to Germany on a visit and died there in the same year. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom died in infancy. Three are now living. Margaret died at the age of nineteen. The three living children are August. the subject of this sketch, Catherine and Frank. Catherine is the widow of
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Frank Gehlen and lives at Glencoe, Minnesota. Frank is a resident of Long Prairie township.
After the death of his first wife, Herman Loegering was married, sec- ondly, to Catherine Henke, who was a native of Germany. They were married in 1873, and to them were born six children, two of whom died in infancy. The four living children are Clemens, of Aitkin county, Minne- sota; Godfrey, of .\itkin county, Minnesota; Conrad, also of Aitkin county ; and William, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Herman Loegering's second wife died in 1898.
August Loegering was educated principally in the public schools of Carver county, Minnesota, and for seven years taught school in Carver county. Afterward he worked in a store as a clerk for one year and then purchased a store, which he operated for four years. After Mr. Loegering had sold this store he moved to Todd county, Minnesota, in 1889, and settled on a farm which he had bought in 1880. After living on the farm for seven years he sold out and purchased one hundred and sixty-one acres south- east of the corporation of Long Prairie, where he now lives. Mr. Loeger- ing has made substantial improvements upon this farm and has erected a splendid house and barn. Of the farm, sixty-five acres have been cirared. There is one of the finest orchards on the Loegering farm to be found any- where in Todd county.
On May 27, 1884, August Loegering was married to Josephine Otto, daughter of William and Julia Ann (Gill) Otto. Mrs. Loegering's parents were both natives of Germany. They settled at Winsted, Minnesota, in 1862, and lived upon this farm until their deaths. Mr. Loegering's father passed away on December 8, 1878, and her mother on November 12, 1914.
To Mr. and Mrs. August Loegering have been born thirteen children, as follow : One who died in infancy ; A. J., a farmer of Long Prairie town- ship; Margaret, who became a Sister and was known as Sister Hortense, died at the age of twenty-six at St. Joseph, Minnesota; Balbina, who lives at Great Falls, Montana ; Appalonia, who is at home; Mary, who died at the age of seventeen ; Anthony, who was drowned at the age of fifteen; Madard and Thikla, twins, who live at home: Augustine, Frederick and Qurine, all of whom are at home; and Julia, who is assistant cashier of the People's National Bank of Long Prairie.
Mr. Loegering is president of the Farmers Live Stock Shipping Asso- ciation and has served in this office for the last two years. Having helped to organize the Todd County Creamery Company, he became its secretary
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and served in this capacity for four years. For two years Mr. Loegering was president of the Farmers Insurance Company. The Farmers Live Stock Shipping Association of Todd county was organized with the assistance of Mr. Loegering.
August Loegering is a member of the Long Prairie Lodge, Knights of Columbus. The Loegering family are all members of the Catholic church at Long Prairie, and Mr. Loegering is a member of St. John's Society. In politics, Mr. Loegering is identified with the Democratic party. He served as supervisor of his township in Todd county for six years. At the present time he is serving as justice of the peace and has served in this capacity altogether for a period of seven years. It is apparent from these facts that August Loegering has fully discharged his obligations as a citizen of this county. He has filled many positions of trust and responsibility and the frequency with which he has been called upon for public service is a testi- mony, not only of his conscientious consideration of duty, but of his effi- ciency in performing public work.
GUST FRANZEN.
Gust Franzen, a prosperous farmer of Rosing township, Morrison county, Minnesota, and a successful business man, is a native of Sweden, where he was born on March 23, 1861. Mr. Franzen is the son of Franz and Mary (Bergland) Franzen, the former of whom was born in 1831, and died in his native land in 1915. He was a farmer by occupation. The latter was born in 1828, and died about 1900. They had four children, of whom Gust was the eldest. Alvin is deceased; Ida Leeberg and August still live in Sweden.
Gust Franzen was reared on a farm and educated in the Swedish public schools. He left his native land in 1883, at the age of twenty-two years, and after arriving in America settled in Motley, where he worked in the lumber yard and saw-inill owned by the Gull River Milling Company. In 1886 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land and was able to clear seven acres of the land the first year, using oxen in the process. Mr. Franzen now owns four hundred acres of land, of which fifty acres are under cultivation. He is a shareholder in the Pillager Creamery Company.
Three years after arriving in America, Gust Franzen was married to Amanda Carlson, a native of Sweden, who was born in 1862 and who left
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her native land in 1886, the year of her marriage. Mrs. Franzen's parents are both deceased. She has borne her husband ten children, of whom Joseph, the youngest, and an infant, the first born, are deceased. The living children are as follow: Mrs. Ida C. Johnson, of Pillager, Cass county, Minnesota: Mrs. Ellen Temple, of Brainerd, Minnesota; Adolph, Arthur, Mabel, David, Ruth and Paul, who live at home with their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Gust Franzen are members of the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr. Franzen is an ardent Republican and is the clerk of Rosing township. He is also clerk of the school corporation.
HERBERT L. WALDRON.
Following is a short sketch of the career of Herbert L. Waldron, one of the leading business men of Staples, Todd county, Minnesota. Mr. Waldron came to Staples in its earliest days, being a watchmaker by trade, and seeing the possibilities in the growing town, he located and set himself up as a jeweler. By prompt and careful attention to business and unvarying integrity in all his dealings, his business has grown until he today is pro- prietor of one of the most complete and up-to-date jewelry and stationery stores in any city of the Northwest comparing to Staples in size.
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