USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
Digitized by Google
108
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
137, of range 39, and township 137. of range 40, and attaching the same to the county of Wadena;" and those opposed to the detaching of said terri- tory from the said county of Otter Tail and attaching the same to the said county of Wadena, shall have distinctly written or printed, or partly writ- ten and partly printed, on their ballots the words, "Against detaching that part and portion of the territory of the county of Otter Tail, as the same is now constituted. which lies east of range 39, and also townships 135, 136 and 137, of range 39, and township 137, of range 40, and attaching the same to Wadena county.
"Section 3-The county officers to whom the returns are made. in each and both of said counties. shall within ten days after said election, canvass the votes returned for and against the detaching of said territory from the said county of Otter Tail and attaching the same to the said county of Wadena, and shall forthwith certify the result of such canvass to the gov- ernor, who, if it appears that a majority of all the voters in said counties, and each of them shall have voted in favor thereof, shall make proclama- tion thereof by causing to be published in two daily papers in the city of St. Paul, in this state. that the detaching of the said territory from the said county of Otter Tail and attaching the same to the said county of Wadena, proposed by this act, has been ratified by a majority of the voters of each and both of said counties.
"Section 4-This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved March 10, 1873."
Pursuant to the provisions of this act. the officers of the two counties issued a call for an election to be held on November 4. 1873. For a second time Otter Tail county voted to retain its existing limits and the vote of sixty-four for to eight hundred and forty-nine against is proof that a majority of the voters cherished no resentment against Fergus Falls because of the county-seat fight the previous year.
SUBSEQUENT PROPOSED ACTS OF DIVISION.
For forty-two years Otter Tail county has retained the limits which it acquired as a result of the act of February 28, 1872. Regarding terri- torial divisions within the county as it now stands, much might be said. Like the persecuted Christians of the Middle Ages. frequent threats have been made by murderously inclined people to have this fair county placed on the rack and drawn and quartered. But the outlook for such a change is very dubious and there appears to be no chance in the immediate future for those who are clamoring for a division in the county.
.
Digitized by Google
--
=
109
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
OTTER TAIL CITY IN 1858.
The above sketch of Otter Tail City is a photographic reproduction of a cut which appeared in Harper's Magasine in 1860 (Vol. 22), and represents the first county seat of Otter Tail county as it appeared in the summer of 1858. During the summer of that year a party of American tourists were making an excursion from St. Paul to and beyond Pembina and Winnipeg. the latter city then being known as Fort Garry. Manton Marble, an accomp- lished and celebrated journalist of New York, accompanied the expedition and wrote up an interesting and instructive description of the trip, which was later published in Harper's Magasinc. On their return trip the exploring party went through Otter Tail City, which had been designated as the county seat of Otter Tail county by the legislative act of March 18. 1858. Mr. Marble made a sketch of Otter Tail City the day the party stopped there and, although he made but brief mention of the place in his article, yet his pen- and-ink drawing is a faithful and life-like reproduction of the village as it actually existed at the time.
The five houses represented in the illustration were all log structures, but the identity of only one is definitely established. The building at the extreme right was the dwelling house and trading post of Donald McDonald. a Minnesota pioneer, who was one of the very few white men who remained in the county during the Civil War. Some settlers who located there after the war, even as late as 1870, say that these same five houses were then stand- ing. C. D. Wright, who, as surveyor for the Northern Pacific, was there in 1869 and 1870, says that the house of Peake was the only one then standing. The village stood at the extreme eastern end of Otter Tail lake, immediately south of where the Red river entered the lake (sections 10 and 15). When the county seat was removed from here to Fergus Falls the village soon became depopulated, and today the site of the once flourishing trading center and seat of justice is a field of waving wheat.
Digitized by Google
IIO
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
POPULATION STATISTICS.
Otter Tail county first appears in the United States census in 1860, at which time it was credited with a population of two hundred forty. The county had been organized just about two years at that time and this sparse population was grouped largely around two places, Otter Tail City and Waseata, the latter place being more commonly known as Dayton Hollow. In a separate chapter, "Otter Tail County in 1860," there appears a detailed account of the 1860 census. History fails to record what became of the great mass of the inhabitants listed in 1860, but it is a certainty that practic- ally all of them disappeared in the fall of 1862. From 1862 to.1866, or probably the year previous, the county was nearly depopulated, as far as white residents were concerned. With the close of the Civil War and the prospect of a railroad running through the county, immigration and settle- ment became very active. In fact, during the five years ( 1865-70) there were nearly two thousand people who located in the county, the census of 1870 returning one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight.
It is provided by statute in Minnesota that a census be taken by the state every decade, midway between the decennial census of the federal govern- ment. This has been done every year since 1875 in Otter Tail county, with the exception of 1915, when the state Legislature refused to make the appro- priation for the census. The census of 1875 showed only thirty organized townships in the county, although there were congressional townships with a separate census return, the total population being 1.968. It is interesting to note in this census the way in which the people were scattered over the county forty years ago. Otter Tail township had lost the county seat three years previously and Otter Tail City and the township together returned a population of only seventy. It was one of the smallest townships in the county in point of population, only two others, Deer Creek (47) and Friberg (64). having fewer people within their limits. Parkers Prairie, with 653 inhabitants, was the most densely populated township in the county, followed closely by St. Olaf with 572, Tordenskjold with 536, Clitherall with 515 and Perham with 502. These are the only townships in the county with a popu- lation of more than 500. The village of Fergus Falls had a population of 565. while Fergus Falls township had a population of 122. Fergus Falls was the only village with a separate return.
The census also showed settlers living in unorganized townships : Bluff- ton, Compton and Oak Valley, 133; Carlisle, 56; Carliss, 25; Newton (then called New York Mills), 64. Maplewood township, so named, but unorgan- ized, was returned with Erhards Grove. The names of the census enumer- ators of 1875 are given in the following table, some of whom are still living in the county. The figures and names of the enumerators were taken from the original records in the county auditor's office. The census follows :
Digitized by Google
III
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
Townships.
Population.
Census Enumerators.
Aastad
118
Nils Thompson
Aurdal
287
Ashley Torgenson
Buse
234
M. P. Burrows
('litherall
515
C. Crogan
Dane Prairie
287
O. Engebretson
Deer Creek
47
J. I. Sanford
Eagle Lake
335
Carl Torgenson
Effington
127
Jacob Huttemen
Elizabeth
378
Louis Candeaux
Erhards Grove
275
Peter Davis
Fergus Falls
122
M. Halvorsen
Friberg
64
Fred Schmidt
Gorman
168
Soren Rasmusen
Hobart
104
1. S. Wimer
Lenf Mountain
159
P. Knorl
Maine
162
G. J. Secoy
Fergus Falls village.
565
G. L. Nichols
Virados
180
Ole Johnson
Norwegian Grove
358
T. P. Scottlar
Oscar
448
Casper Lein
Otter Tail
70 George Matthews
Parkers Prairie
653
Lewis Erikson
Pelican
.306
A. Levorsen
Perhan
502
II. Von Holden
Rush Lake
263
Anthony Bender
Saint Olaf
.572
Justus Miller
Scambler
259
S. T. Rider
Tordenskjold
536
J. C. Clemmons
Trondhjem
.407
Thorsten Nilson
Tumuli
267
Toleff Nelson
Western
.133
_E. Robins
The population of the county by five-year periods and decades since 1870: 1870, 1,968; 1875, 9,174; 1880, 18,675: 1885, 31,520: 1890, 34,232; 1895, 39.453 : 1900, 45,375; 1905, 48,229; 1910, 46,036.
The tabulated census returns for 1890, 1900 and 1910 are given in the following table :
POPULATION OF OTTER TAIL, COUNTY.
1910
1900
1890
Aastad township
503
528
486
Amor township
350
427
361
Aurdal township
Battle Lake village
567
420
--
Blowers township
442
441
216
Bluffton township, including Bluffton village
691
656
333
Bluffton village
148
---
Buse township
4(0)
437
333
Butler township
362
259
179
Candor township
367
375
300
Carlisle township
417
288
Clitherall township
490
645
831
Digitized by
345
112
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
1910
1900
1890
Clitberall village
187
167
Compton township
711
779
694
Corliss township
493
558
284
Dalton village
175
Dane Prairie township
646
600
525
Dead Lake township
418
391
---
Deer Creek township
658
510
474
Deer Creek village
313
275
Dent village
244
Dora township
507
Dunn township
375
319
252
Eagle Lake township
652
721
692
Eastern township
522
548
3.85
Edna township
521
451
411
Effington township
652
711
655
Elizabeth township
59%
718
744
Elizabeth village
169
186
135
Elmo township
504
508
403
Erhards Grove township
679
759
686
Everts township
360
369
366
Fergus Falls city
6.887 6.072 3.772
Ward 1
1.379
Ward 2
1.202
Ward 3
3,386
Ward 4
920
Fergus Falls township
568
635
479
Folden township
552
545
435
Friberg township
554
736
574
Girard townsh
250
263
193
Gorman township, including Luce village.
466
533
562
Luce village
139
Henning township
527
632
466
Henning village
603
545
254
Hobart township
501
531
449
Homestead township
381
426
174
Inman township
471
564
292
Leaf Lake township
694
713
640
Leaf Mountain township
670
716
623
Lida township
412
428
321
Maine township
620
701
510
Maplewood township
649
739
436
New York village
474
353
260
Newton township
972
726
353
Nidaros township
494
717
684
Norwegian Grove township
642
676
744
Oak Valley township
512
515
357
Orwell township
371
334
191
Oscar township
645
713
742
Otter Tail township
200
283
226
Ottertail village
176
---
Otto township
522
557
456
Paddock township
563
495
317
--
---
---
---
--
Digitized by
---
433
Bob-white. American Badger. Canadian Beaver. Raccoon.
Prairie Chicken. Deer. Red Fox, with Prairie Chicken. Gray (T'mber) Wolf, with Cubs. WILD ANIMALS AND BIRDS OF THE NORTHWEST.
Digitized by
Digitized by
.
-
113
OTTER TAIL COUNTY. MINNESOTA.
1910
1900
1890
Parkers Prairie township
595
677
643
Parkers Prairie village
383
Pelican township, including Pelican Rapids village
1,781
669
629
Pelican Rapids village
1.019
1033 624
Perham township
589
676
637
Perham village
1,376 1,182
761
Pine Lake township
334
351
233
Rushville village
255
Rush Lake township
441
419
341
St. Olaf township
556
711
681
Scambler township
428
470
445
Star Lake township
281
339
150
Sverdrup township
974 1,019
680
Tordenskjold township
755
791
624
Trondhjem township
584
699
794
Tumuli township
479
614
615
Vergas village
237
Vining village
355
375
273
Woodside township
428
542
329
46,036 45,375 34,232
PLATTED SITES OF OTTER TAIL COUNTY
Sec. T.
Township.
Amora
17
132
37
Elmo
Altoona (Vergas) (Inc.)
25
137
41
Candor
Balmoral
31
134
39.
Otter Tail
Battle Lake (Inc.)
4
132
40_
Clitherall
Beauty Shore
133
39
Girard
Bluffton (Inc.)
33
135
36
Bluffton
Boardman
7
135
37
Newton
Camp Nidaros
12
134
40.
Amor
Carlisle
2
133
44
Carlisle
Clear View
1
137
43_
Scambler
Clitherall ( Inc.)
6
132
39
Nidaros
Dalton (Inc.)
11
131
42
Tumult
Deer Creek (Inc.)
26
134
37
Deer Creek
Dent ( Inc.)
34
136
40
Edna
Dopelius
25
135
37
Newton
Elizabeth ( Inc.)
31
134
43
Elizabeth
Elmwood
34
137
41 Candor
43
Erhards Grove
Fergus Falls
133
Fergus Falls and Buse
Fox Park
4
132
39
Nidaros
Grand View Heights
7 136
38
Pine Lake
Henning (Inc.)
22
133
36.
Henning
Hobart
2
137
40
Hobart
Idlewood
4
132
39
Nidaros
Inglewood
1
133
40
Everts
Kilarney Beach
4 137
42 Dunn
Lake Mason
15 134
43 Elizabeth
(8)
1
Digitized by
R.
Erhard
28
135
43
212
Western township
114
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
Leafside
25
134
38
Leaf Lake
Luce (Inc.)
30
137
39
Gorman
Midland Beach
2 137
42
Dunn
Mill Park
31
132 43
Aurdal
New York Mills ( Inc.)
S
135
37
Newton
Nirvana
.34
133
39. Girard
Otter Tail City (Inc.)
10
134
39.
Otter Tail
Parkdale
3
131
42
Tumuli
Parker's Prairie (Inc.)
22
131
37.
Parkers Prairie
Pelican Rapids (Inc.)
27
136
43
Pelican
Perham (Inc.)
14
136
39
Perham
Provan Beach
9
137
42
Dunn
Richdale
33
136
38
Pine Lake
Richland
33
136
Pine Lake
Richville (Inc.)
17
135
39
Rush Lake
Stuart Lake Park
.33
133
39
Girard
Sunlight Hills
3
137
42
Dunn
Sunnyside
1
132
39
Nidaros
Underwood (Inc.)
.32
133
41
Sverdrup
Vining ( Inc.)
12
132
39
Nidaros
Wall Lake Point
4
132
42
Dane Prairie
Wimer Lake Resort
3
137
40
Hobart
Yaquina
17
135
40
Dead Lake
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF OTTER TAIL COUNTY FOR YEAR ENDING SEPTEM-
BER 30, 1915.
Debits
Credits
County treasurer
$ 676.004.93
$ 498.059.45
Warrants accounts
498.059.45
504.999.06
Taxes and penalties
401.695.22
412,143.28
Current school fund
25.136.61
27,950.34
County revenue
48.381.88
104,040.76
Poor fund
41.67
Road and bridge fund.
28.578.74
47.795.68
Ditch funds
11.359.71
30.271.62
Redemption fund
5,746.27
6.083.89
School fund (districts)
174.804.96
203.627.20
Town, city and village
117.326.18
124.526.35
Incidental fund
349.74
$10.98
State revenue and school
61.383.32
62.189.21
State lands and interest
22.132.04
26.006.20
State loans
15.011.59
21.299.68
Sinking fund
931.82
13.815.10
Surplus fund
1,973.82
Refunding
227.06
227.06
Poor farm
2.893.80
3.024.29
Inheritance tax
367.68
368.36
Suspense account
15.41
80.71
Mortgage registry tax
4,835.43
5,331.88
Assurance fund
7.48
Tuberculosis sanatorium
13.196.10
13.762.97
Totals
$2,108,437.04 $2.108.437.04
-
ยท
Digitized by Google
115
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
Otter Tail county is not only out of debt, but at the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 1915) had a credit of $177,944.48.
NATURALIZED CITIZENS OF OTTER TAIL COUNTY.
It is hard to determine who was the first naturalized person in Otter Tail county. Andrew Peterson is the first name recorded on the records for the first naturalization papers. This was in the year 1870, but no month or day was given. The second name recorded is that of Jens Severin Jacob- sen, October 3, 1870, but the name of A. B. Larson appears farther down as recorded May 30, of the same year. These men were natives of Sweden and Norway. There are one hundred and seventy-seven names recorded in the first records for first naturalization papers. Of this number twenty- one were natives of England, thirty-three of Germany, twenty-five of Sweden, ninety-two of Norway, five of Denmark and one each from Switzer- land and Canada.
The first name given in the second book of first naturalization papers is that of Edward L. Asnes, whose papers were taken out at the November term of court, 1874, dated November 17, and attested by Hans Jensen and Ole Estensen. During the November term of court of this year there were one hundred first naturalization papers issued. Of this number eighty-two came from Norway and Sweden, eight came from Denmark, four from England and one each from France and Prussia. At the November term of court, 1875, there were two hundred and twenty first naturalization papers issued; one hundred sixty-nine of these were from Norway and Sweden, nineteen from Prussia, sixteen from Denmark, five from England, three from Germany and seven gave no native country. From 1874 to 1881 there were nine hundred and twenty-four first naturalization papers issued; from 1881 to 1886 there were seventeen hundred and eighteen papers issued; from 1886 to 1806, fifteen hundred and ninety-six papers, and from 1896 to 1906 there were but five hundred and fifty-two papers issued. This makes a total of four thousand seven hundred and ten first naturalization papers issued from November 24, 1874, until September 26, 1906. At this latter date the new naturalization laws came into effect, and since that time there have been only two hundred and six first naturalization papers issued.
It is found that the greatest number of first naturalization papers were taken out just before the elections. The reason for this is simple. A candi- date could get the blank first naturalization papers and have the different non-naturalized citizens to sign them and he then would pay for their filing in order to acquire their vote. Many times the second or final naturalization papers were never taken out, as shown by the following statistics. From 1874 until 1906 there were only four thousand two hundred second natural- ization papers taken out. This is five hundred less than the number of first
Digitized by Google
116
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
naturalization papers. It is certain that Erik Braaten, of Norway, was the first man to take out the second or final naturalization papers and become a citizen of the United States in Otter Tail county. The date for these papers was November 18, 1874. Ole Anderson, also of Norway, is accorded the honor of being the second man in Otter Tail county to become a citizen of the United States. His paper is dated November 24, 1874.
In 1906 the naturalization laws became much more strict, and from 1906 until 1914, when the present law became operative, new restrictions were placed on the man desiring to become a citizen of the United States. The acts of June 29, 1906, with subsequent amendments, state that an alien may be admitted to citizenship in the following manner and not otherwise :
Section 4. First, He shall declare on oath before the clerk of any court authorized by this act to naturalize aliens, or his authorized deputy, in the district in which such alien resides, two years at least prior to his admission, and after he has reached the age of eighteen years, that it is bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate. state, or sov- ereignty of which the alien may be at the time a citizen or subject. And such declara- tion shall set forth the name, age, occupation, personal description, place of birth, last foreign residence and allegiance, the date of arrival, the name of the vessel, if any, in which he came to the United States, and the present place of residence in the United States of said alien; Provided, however, that no alien who, in conformity with the law in force at the date of his declaration, has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States shall be required to renew such declaration.
Second. Not less than two years nor more than seven years after he has made such declaration of intention he shall make and file, in duplicate, a petition in writing. signed by the applicant in his own hand-writing and duly verified, in which petition such applicant shall state his full name, his place of residence (by street and number, if possi- ble) his occupation, and, if possible, the date and place of birth; the place from which he emigrated, and the date and place of his arrival in the United States, and, if he entered through a port, the name of the vessel on which he arrived; the time when and the place and name of the court he declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States; if he is married he shall state the name of his wife, and, if possible, the country of her nativity and her place of residence at the time of filing his petition; and if he has children, the name, date and place of birth and place of residence of each child living at the time of the filing of his petition; Provided. That if he has filed his declaration before the passage of this act he shall not be required to sign the petition in his own handwriting.
The petition shall set forth that be is not a disbeliever in or opposed to organized government, or a member of or affiliated with any organization or body of persons teach- ing disbelief in or opposed to organized government, a polygamist or believer in the prac- tice of polygamy, and that it is his intention to become a citizen of the United States und to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly by name to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which he at the time of filing of his petition may be a citizen or subject, and that it is his intention to reside permanently within the United States, and whether or not he has been denied admission as a citizen of the United States, and, if denied, the ground or grounds of such denial. the court or courts in which such decision is rendered and that the cause for such denial has since been cured or removed, and
Digitized by Google
117
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
every fact material to his naturalization and required to be proved upon the final hear- ing of his application.
The petition shall also be verified by the affidavit of at least two creditable wit- nesses, who are citizens of the United States, and who shall state in their affidavits that they have personally known the applicant to be a resident of the United States for a period of at least five years continuously, and of the state, territory, or district in which the application is made for a period of at least one year Immediately preceding the date of the filing of his petition and that they each have personal knowledge that the peti- tioner is a person of good moral character, and that he is in every way qualified, in their opinion, to be admitted as a citizen of the United States.
At the time of filling his petition there shall be filled with the clerk of the court a certificate from the department of labor. if the petitioner arrives in the United States after the passage of this act, stating the date, place, and manner of his arrival in the United States and the declaration of intention of such petitioner, which certificate and declaration shall be attached to and made a part of said petition.
Third. He shall, before he is admitted to citizenship, declare on oath in open court that he will support the Constitution of the United States, and that he absolutely and entirely renounces and abjures all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate. state, or sovereignty, and particularly by name to the prince, potentate, state, or sover- eignty, of which he was before a citizen or subject: that he will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
Fourth. It shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the court admitting any alien to citizenship that immediately preceding the date of his application he has resided continuously within the United States five years at least, and within the state or territory where such court is at the time held one year at least, and that during that time he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitu- tion of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same. In addition to the oath of the applicant, the testimony of at least two witnesses, citi- zens of the United States, as to the facts of residence, moral character, and attachment to the principles of the Constitution shall be required and the name, place of residence, and occupation of each witness shall be set forth in the record.
Fifth. In case the alien applying to be admitted to citizenship has borne any hereditary title, or has been of any of the orders of nobility in the kingdom or state from which he came, he shall, in addition to the above requisites, make an express renuncia- tion of his title or orders of nobility in the court to which bis application is made, and his renunciation shall be recorded in the court.
These are the main points in the present naturalization laws, although there are thirty-one sections dealing with every minor phase of the question of naturalization. There are also model "declaration of intention" and "petition for naturalization" blanks to be used by the applicant.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.