History of Olmsted County, Minnesota, Part 36

Author: Joseph A. Leonard
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 736

USA > Minnesota > Olmsted County > History of Olmsted County, Minnesota > Part 36

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Brewing Academy, of Chicago, from which institution he grad- uated with credit in June, 1896. Upon his return they began the manufacture of Schuster's Malt Extract, a medicinal preparation which has reached the enormous sale of ten million bottles per year. This product is shipped to all points, particularly to the Pacific coast, Hawaiian Islands, the South, and western Canada. These goods are handled by over seventy-five jobbers, who receive them in carload lots. In 1905 the firm was incorporated, the stock being taken by Henry, Fred W. and their sister, Mrs. J. R. Hen- derson. The Schuster brothers are wide-awake business men and are rated high in the financial world. Both are members of the lodge of Elks.

FRANCIS JOHN TESCA is the son of Francis G. and Josephine Tesca. Francis G. came to this country from Bohemia in the autumn of 1855 and landed at Castle Garden, and Josephine came to this country in 1871. Francis G. and his parents wintered in Wisconsin and the following summer came to Olmsted county and filed a pre-emption right, to which later more was added. Thus Francis G. was among the first settlers of the county. He is the only settler of Orion township to live so long on the same place without moving. The father of Francis G. was also Francis, whose wife was Mary. Francis John, the subject of this sketch, is now residing on a farm of seventy acres on section 21, Orion township, and the farm includes twenty acres of timber. He was born on the home farm in this township June 26, 1872, and spent his early years in attending school and in assisting his father on the farm. He attended the high school at Chatfield. He also attended Macalester college in 1894, 1895 and 1896. He then returned to the old farm and lived with his father two years, when the latter gave him his present farm. This he holds and is im- proving and cultivating at the present time. He is carrying on diversified farming and stock raising. On November 27, 1906, he married Miss Laura Ann Sandborn, daughter of Gilman J. and Mary L. Sandborn. Her father died May 19, 1895, at Canby, Minnesota, at the age of thirty-eight years. His widow is now living with her son-in-law in Orion township. Francis J. Tesca is Prohibition in politics, has served his township as overseer of highways and is an elder and superintendent of the Sunday-school of the Presbyterian church. He has one daughter, Lottie Emma, who is two years old. It may be said in connection with the Sandborns that Volney Sandborn, father of Gilman J., married Love A. Doud, the latter being a daughter of Sarah Chatfield, after whose family the town of Chatfield was named. Volney was the son of Gilman T., who served in the Union army, as stated in the Blue Book.

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RICHARD JOSEPH GRIFFIN was born September 3, 1854, in High Forest township, Olmsted county, Minnesota. James Griffin, his father, was one of the very first settlers of Olmsted county, and was a man deserving of extended notice. He was a native of Ireland, born in County Queens in 1818, a son of Jeremiah Griffin ; he married Mary Thomas, born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1818, a daughter of Benjamin Thomas, of English birth. The family immigrated to Canada in early times, where Jeremiah Griffin died. About the year 1852 James Griffin came to the United States and lived one year in Illinois, then in the early fall of 1853 came to live in Olmsted county, Minnesota, and pre- einpted 160 acres of land from the government on section 15, High Forest township. At this time there were probably more Indians than white people in the county; wild animals were more numerous than domestic ones; the few settlements were in isolated localities, and the march of civilization had but faintly made an impress upon the broad acres. Here Mr. Griffin built his cabin in the wilds; here he grubbed, cleared, improved, endured the chilly blasts of winter, the privations and discomforts of pioneer life; here he reared his family and here he passed the balance of his days. When a lad eight years old he took the Father Matthews pledge of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors, a pledge he religiously kept throughout the after years of life. His abste- mious, temperate, outdoor life was the means of his retaining a splendid condition of health until death overtook him. He died as he had lived, an honored and respected man, on February 4, 1905, preceded by his wife October 5, 1892. They were the par- ents of seven sons and three daughters, five of the former and one of the latter now living. The early life of Richard J. Griffin was passed after the usual manner of the boys of his day. He helped on the home farm and attended the district and private schools, and when a young man started out at farming for him- self, subsequently working at the blacksmith's trade. He then came to Rochester and was engaged in newspaper work on the Record and Union for a time. In 1890 he became local agent for the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, continuing thus until 1898, since which time he has been the general agent of that company. He is the senior member of the firm of Griffin & McGovern, who, in addition to insurance, are extensively engaged in handling real estate. Mr. Griffin is a Democrat in politics, and he expresses the fervent hope that he may die as he has always lived, an American Roman Catholic.

KITTLE. C. BERGAN is a native of Rock Dell township and was born here September 13, 1865. His father was Christian C. Bergan, who was born in Norway in 1829, and in that country

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his boyhood was spent in assisting his parents and in getting an education. He came to this country when a young man and after residing in Iowa and Rock counties, Wisconsin, for several years working on a farm, he went to Australia and remained in that region three years, working in the gold fields of that country. He then went back to Norway and while there married Miss Aase Bergan in 1857, and together they came to this country and located in Rock Dell township, this county, on a tract of 160 acres in section II, which became his permanent home. Here all his chil- dren were born and here he still resides. Some time ago he retired from the active and strenuous duties of life and at that time owned 240 acres. He is one of the old pioneers and has the high regard of all who know him. He became prominent in town- ship affairs and held several official positions of trust with fidelity and care. He was one of the substantial farmers and citizens of this part of the county. His wife passed away August 29, 1907, and rests in the family cemetery of St. Olaf's. Kittle C. Bergan spent his early days on his father's farm and in attending the neighboring schools. He finished with a course in Darling's Busi- ness college, Rochester, and returned to the farm, where he has since resided and labored. He has become prominent and influ- ential and has a large property. He is a Republican and served as township assessor for five years. He is secretary of the Zumbro Creamery Company, in which he holds stock. He is also a stock- holder in the farmers' lumber yard at Hayfield and in the farm- ers' elevator at Stewartville. He is considered one of the sub- stantial farmers and citizens of the western portion of the county. On June 5, 1894, he married Johanna M. Vegger, whose parents are pioneer settlers of Salem township. To this union the fol- lowing children were born: Calmer, born May 21, 1895; Myra A., born August 10, 1897; Ella L., born August 23, 1899; and Evelyn D., born November 26, 1906.

JOHN E. McGOVERN. of the firm of Griffin & McGovern, gen- eral agents of the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company and extensively engaged in real estate operations, was born in Rochester, Minnesota, December 12, 1863, a son of Patrick H. and Catherine McGovern, natives of Albany, New York, and County Mayo, Ireland, respectively. James McGovern, his grand- father, immigrated to America in the early forties, first settling at Albany, New York, then removing to Canada, then to Wis- consin, and finally to Rochester, Minnesota, in 1861, where he died in 1906. He and wife were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. M. Kain, of Haverhill township, Mrs. T. Twohey, of Simpson, and Edward W., of North Dakota, are the only sur- vivors. Patrick H. McGovern was born in 1843 and died in 1904.

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He came to Olmsted county with his parents when eighteen years old and, like his father before him, was a farmer. John E. McGovern is the oldest son in a family of six boys and six girls, all living, and, after attending the district schools finished his education at St. Francis Academy, Rochester, Minnesota. He taught district school three terms, then engaged in farming. Farm life becoming distasteful after the death of his wife, he came to Rochester and embarked in the insurance business, at which he has ever since been actively and successfully engaged. In 1898 he formed his present partnership with Richard J. Griffin, under the firm name of Griffin & McGovern. For his first wife Mr. McGovern married Catherine Lawler, daughter of the old pioneer, John J. Lawler, a biography of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and by her he became the father of two children. His second wife was Miss Josie Norton, daughter of Patrick Norton, one of the best known and most upright citizens and business men in the early history of Rochester, and to this marriage eight chil- dren have been born. Mr. McGovern is a Democrat in politics, has served as clerk of Haverhill township seven years, has been and is now a member of the city school board, and for years has been secretary and chairman of the Democratic county central com- mittee. He is a member and for years has been president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians of Olmsted county and is vice-presi- dent of the insurance fund of the state association of that order, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Columbus. In religion he has not changed from the faith of his ancestors, being a Roman Catholic.

CHARLES CLIFTON CASE. who now resides on a farm of 400 acres which he is working in conjunction with his brother, Frank Berdan Case, is the son of Cassius Levi and Elizabeth (Berdan) Case. The father formerly resided in Vermont, where he was born, but came to Ohio at an early date and subsequently to Illi- nois, where he resided for a short time. Eventually he went to Iowa, but in 1854 settled near Chatfield, in Orion township, and became one of the pioneers in this portion of the county. The country here then was very wild and the Indians were encamped in different portions of the county and were none too friendly, as shown by their bloody uprising in 1862. The land was rough and covered with scrubby timber and occasionally heavy woods, and a great deal of hard work was necessary to fit it for the plow. The father upon his arrival here first filed a pre-emption right to a 160-acre tract and began to clear and cultivate the soil. Event- ually he put it under an excellent state of cultivation and added to it until they have the present fine farm. Cassius L. was thrifty and industrious and was noted in his neighborhood for his genial

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and cheerful disposition. Everybody that knew him enjoyed his genuine friendships and his pleasing personality. In politics he was a stanch Republican. He served as township treasurer, director of the board of education, and the board of supervisors, and always took an active part in county politics. His record is clean and without taint of wrongdoing, graft, or corruption. In his home he was a loving husband and a kind father. He passed away on March 6, 1899, at the age of sixty-nine years. His funeral was largely attended by those who had known and admired him in his useful and busy life. His widow, a most excellent woman, passed away August 19, 1907. They were married September 28, 1856, two years after he settled in this county.

Charles Clifton Case was born on the home farm on May 29, 1866, and in boyhood attended the district schools, and finally finished his education at the Chatfield high school in 1882. He then returned to the farm and here he has been practically ever since. Since the sons took charge of the old place they have made many important and permanent improvements. In the winters the brothers usually feed as many as 3,000 head of sheep. Gen- erally they have on hand about thirty head of cattle and ten or a dozen head of horses, many of them of the best breeds. They are up-to-date in all their farming operations and are very comfortably situated, with fine residences and homes. They own a section of land in Bailey county, Texas, and several store buildings in Chat- field. Charles C. is a Republican and has served as treasurer of his township and also as director of the school board. He is a Knight Templar in Masonry. On June 2, 1897, at Rochester, lie married Miss Nellie Ivesta Ellis, daughter of Newell and Amelia Ellis, who followed the occupation of farming. They have one daughter, Neta Alene, at home with her parents.

Frank Berdan Case was born on July 3, 1873, and grew up on his father's farm. He received a fair education and upon attain- ing his manhood began business for himself. On November 23. 1899, he married Miss Jennie Keeler, daughter of Samuel E. and Nellie Keeler. The mother died in 1908. Frank B. and wife have two children: Florence. now attending school, and Leslie, also going to school. The Case family is one of the most promi- nent in this portion of the county and at all times live up to their high reputation.

JOHN J. CASSEDAY, who has long been a resident of Rochester, is descended from a family conspicuous for the part taken by them in the wars of this country. He was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, a son of James and Elizabeth (Milton) Casse- day, natives of Ohio and Kentucky respectively, a grandson of John Casseday, and a great-grandson of Peter Casseday. The

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latter was a native of Ireland, but came to America when this country was a dependency of Great Britain and served the Colo- nies seven years in the Revolutionary war. He married Mary (Polly) McClung, by whom he was the father of six children. The descendents of Peter Casseday have achieved prominence in the various walks of life, some of them becoming renowned as clergymen, journalists and geologists. Branches of the family moved to the southern states and sympathized with the Confed- erate cause in the Civil war, and some, by marriage, became related to Gen. Sam Houston. John Casseday, son of Peter, served throughout the second war with England. He was a Methodist clergyman and moved near Danville, Illinois, in the early thirties. James Casseday, son of John, came to Dodge county, Minnesota, at an early period in the history of this state. He was one of the first to respond to President Lincoln's call for the preservation of the Union, and served in that struggle in the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Four of his sons also participated in the Civil war, two, William M. and John J., in the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and two, George W. and Samuel A., in the Second Minnesota Cavalry. All were honorably discharged at the close of the war. John J. Casseday, on October 26, 1861, enlisted and was mustered in at Louisville, Kentucky. He first participated in the engagement at Mills Spring, then marched with his regi- ment through Kentucky and Tennessee in time to take part in the battle of Shiloh. Following this he was at the siege of Corinth, thence to Winchester, Tennessee, and was with General Buell in the pursuit of General Bragg's army through Nashville to Louis- ville, taking part in the battle of Perryville. Returning South with his command, he was at Triune, the summer campaign of 1863, Hoover's Gap and Chickamauga. In the last mentioned battle Mr. Casseday received a severe wound in the head, which received no attention for days by reason of his having been captured by the enemy. After being paroled he returned to his home in Dodge county, Minnesota. In the spring of 1866 he came to Rochester and embarked in the marble and granite business. In this line of business he has ever since been engaged. For a time Andrew Doig was his partner, but he is at present associated with James E. Regan, under the firm name of John J. Casseday & Co. March II, 1868, he was united in marriage with Miss Emma J. Stafford, who died February 2, 1902, and they became the parents of the following seven children: Arthur L., George A., Charles J., Edgar D., Herbert J., John B. and Edith E. Mr. Casseday was married the second time, June 12, 1909, to Mrs. Elizabeth Lucky. Mr. Casseday is a Republican in politics and has served two terms as a member of the school board. He is among the oldest living members of the Congregational church at Rochester. Socially he

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belongs to Custer Post, No. 23, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Masonic fraternity.

KNUD S. BRATAGER, who came to Olmsted county in the fall of 1856, and has participated in its growth and development for over fifty years, was born August 26, 1832, in paa gaarden, Quale, in Vose, Norway, a son of Stark Larson and Kari Davids (Hylle) Larson. His father was born in paa gaarden, Lemme (a farm name), and two years after his marriage purchased the Bratager farm, and in accordance with the custom sometimes prac- ticed in Norway, the family name was changed to Bratager. The father was a farmer by occupation and was thus engaged all his life. Until sixteen years old Knud S. Bratager resided with his parents on the Bratager farm, then he immigrated to America and for about three years resided in the vicinity of Palmyra, Jef- ferson county, Wisconsin. The date of his advent in this country was July, 1850. He then sent money to his father in Norway to pay for their passage to this country -- they came in 1854, father, mother, three brothers and two sisters. The father lived near Palmyra, Wisconsin, for about two years, and then removed to Deerfield, Dane county, Wisconsin, where he passed away in 1855, aged sixty-two years, and was buried close by the Liberty Prairie church, about a mile and a half from Deerfield. After spending a year and a half at Whitewater, Walworth county, Wis- consin, Knud S. Bratager joined his father in Dane county and was present when the latter died. Shortly thereafter he decided to come to Minnesota, took the train to Prairie du Chien, thence by boat to Wabasha, and from there by stage to Rochester, Olm- sted county, Minnesota. This was in the fall of 1856. He secured a quarter section of land from the government in Rock Dell township, which was rough and uncleared, but he set to work with a will, making such improvements as he could, and in after years became one of the county's most successful and progressive farm- ers. Three years after locating in Rock Dell township, when about twenty-eight years old he was united in marriage with Miss Ingeborg Elevsdotter Houlom, a native of Norway, and whose parents were pioneers of Vernon township, Dodge county, Minnesota, the ceremony being solemnized on October 27, 1859. In the spring of 1860 Mr. Bratager and wife moved to Vernon township, Dodge county, Minnesota, where they pre-empted a quarter section of land, remaining there seven years. They then sold their homestead and returned to Rock Dell township, where they bought 240 acres in sections 1 and 2, and at various times added thereto as their means permitted. Mr. Bratager was the first assessor of Rock Dell township, for eighteen years was clerk of the school board No. 15, and for eight years was president of the

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Zumbro Creamery Company. On June 24, 1905, Mrs. Bratager was summoned to the great beyond and now lies at rest in the cemetery of the United Lutheran church at Rock Dell. To their marriage the following named children were born: Stark K., one of the representative business men of Rochester; Ellis, in partner- ship with the above named son; Carrie M., the wife of R. W. Brown, vegetable and fruit grower of Larkins, Florida ; Lewis C .; Martin E., and Edwin T. L., deceased. Mr. Bratager's life has been an unusually clean and honest one and is well worthy of the emulation of the present younger generation. He started out a poor boy, came to a country without friends or influence, and by his own unaided efforts has acquired a competency and risen to a position of honor and respect among his fellowmen. Lewis C. and Martin E. Bratager purchased the home farm ten years ago. Lewis C. died April 8, 1908. Knud S. makes his home on the old farm with his youngest son, Martin E. Bratager, who was mar- ried to Anna Emelia Nereson November 11, 1890.

JOHN W. PECK, manager for the Laird-Norton & Company establishment, extensive lumber merchants, of Rochester and else- where, is one of three living children in a family of four born to the marriage of Wright Peck and Emma Averill. Ransford Peck, his grandfather, was a native of New York state, but emigrated west about the year 1850 and located in Wisconsin, where he en- gaged in farming. He was the father of twelve children, and many of his descendants are vet living in the Badger state. Wright Peck was a farmer, like his father before him, his property being located near Cascade, Wisconsin. He died at the early age of twenty-five years. His widow, a woman of unusual force of character and education, supported herself and children by teach- ing school, qualifying herself for this occupation as a consequence of the death of her husband, by special courses at normal schools. She died in 1874 with the consciousness of having done all in her power for the good of her family and for the welfare and happi- ness of all with whom she came in contact.

John W. Peck was born on the home farm near Cascade, Wis- consin, on February 18, 1861, and received his education in the public schools. In 1876 he went to Nebraska, where for three years he worked at farming. With a healthy boy's natural in- clination to see something of the world, he then drifted westward, finally bringing up at Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he joined the United States land survey. For a number of years he followed surveying, the most of the time in Wyoming and the Dakotas, and during this service he developed a strong liking for the study of geology and prehistoric conditions and remains. In April, 1893, he came to Olmsted county and became yard manager at Stewart-

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ville for Laird-Norton & Company, lumber merchants. He con- tinued with this firm at that place until 1902, since which date he has occupied his present position at Rochester. During his sur- veying career, and subsequently, Mr. Peck accumulated a large number of geological and prehistoric specimens, several of which are very rare and valuable and have attracted much attention. There is no man better posted on the geology and the prehistoric remains and conditions of Olmsted county than Mr. Peck. While residing at Stewartville he served on the city council. He is a commandery and thirty-second degree member of the Masonic fraternity ; also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1893 he married Miss Anna Johnson, of Warrick county, Indiana, the daughter of Wesley Johnson, and four children-Jessie, Lynn, Ruth and John-have been born to them.

BENJAMIN F. THOMPSON has been a resident of the town of Dover since September, 1905. Benjamin and Mary Magdaline Thompson, his parents, were among the early pioneers of Olmsted county, the date of their location in Quincy township being June, 1858. These parents were natives of Virginia and Maryland, re- spectively, and resided in Ohio, Illinois and Iowa prior to their final removal to Minnesota. Quincy township, upon their arrival, contained few settlers and much of the land was in its original state, wild and unbroken. A tract of eighty acres was obtained from the government, and on this a small house was built and the pioneers began the work of clearing, grubbing, breaking and improving. Here they lived many years, honest, law-abiding citi- zens, rearing their children to the right way of living and attain- ing the respect and esteem of all who knew them. The father died July 7, 1898, at the age of ninety-two years, and the mother on March 17, 1895, when eighty-nine years old. Benjamin F. Thompson was born in Ohio on October 17, 1844, and during boyhood attended the district schools in Iowa and Olmsted county, Minnesota, and assisted his father with the work on the farm. In 1863, when nineteen years old, he enlisted for the preservation of the Union, and was honorably discharged from the service upon the expiration of the war. After the war he bought eighty acres of land in Quincy township, to which he later added 140 acres, and was engaged in farming and stock raising until his removal to Dover. He now owns forty acres of timber land in Oregon and valuable property in Dover. The farm owned by him in Quincy township has been sold and the proceeds are invested in reliable real estate securities. Mr. Thompson is a Republican, has served as township constable, and for twenty-eight years has been a director of the board of education. He belongs to the Methodist

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History of Olmsted County, Minnesota, Part 36

Author: Joseph A. Leonard Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Number of Pages: 736

Author: Joseph A. Leonard
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 736