History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions, Volume II, Part 5

Author: Mason, John W. (John Wintermute), 1846- 4n
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1156

USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 5

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OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

CHARLES D. WRIGHT.

In the history of Otter Tail county, the name of Charles D. Wright stands for all that means success in life. For practically a half century he has been prominent in the commercial and industrial life of Fergus Falls, and has performed every duty as an enterprising citizen and man. After a life of ceaseless activity, he is now living more or less retired in Fergus Falls, devoting his attention and time to his many personal business interests. The former president of the First National Bank of Fergus Falls, he was one of the organizers of the Fergus Falls Water Company and president of the company for many years. He was also treasurer of the Gas and Mill Company and the Fergus Falls Water Power Company. In 1885 and 1886 he was mayor of Fergus Falls and he also served as city treasurer for several terms. His business and commercial interests are almost as varied as the commercial history of the county in which he has lived for so many years.

Charles D. Wright is a native of Addison county, Vermont. He was born at Orwell in 1850, the son of Ethan M. and Eliza ( Bottum) Wright, both natives of Vermont. Ethan M. Wright was engaged in the mercantile business most of his life and was pre-eminently successful. He was a man of large ideas, socially inclined and careful in all of his dealings with his fellow men. Ethan M. Wright's father was Brigham C. Wright, a sub- stantial farmer of Vermont.

By his marriage to Eliza Bottum, Ethan M. Wright had three sons, one of whom, William B., now deceased, was a well-known banker of the state of Vermont: George M., an attorney, is now living retired in New York City, and Charles D. is the subject of this sketch.

Charles D. Wright spent his early life at home and was educated in the Highland military school, at Worcester, Massachusetts, and at the Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute, of Troy, New York. In 1869 Mr. Wright turned his steps westward, coming to Minnesota, where, at Minneapolis, he became associated with his uncle, George B. Wright, in surveying work for the gov- ernment. In the fall of 1870 he was appointed chief draughtsman in the United States surveyor-general's office at St. Paul. a position which he retained for a period of seven years. While connected with the government survey. Mr. Wright traveled over a considerable portion of the Northwest in company with Andrew Holes, formerly of Moorhead, Minnesota, now deceased, and George G. Beardsley, now deceased, of Grand Forks, North Dakota. They had a magnificent opportunity to examine and locate a great deal of land.

On January 1, 1877. Charles D. Wright located at Fergus Falls, having been elected vice-president of the First National Bank, of that city. At the

CHIARLES D. WRIGHT

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

time the First National Bank was located in Martin's block, with Henry G. Page as president, Mr. Wright continued in the office of vice-president for five years, but in 1882 he was elected to the presidency of the bank, an office which he held continuously until June, 1912. In 1881 a new bank building was erected at the corner of Lincoln and Cascade streets, where the business was continued for three years. On January 1, 1884, the bank moved into a new location on the northeast corner of Lincoln avenue and Mill street. As president of the First National Bank for a period of nearly thirty years, Mr. Wright had an important part in the development of this splendid county.

In 1878 Charles D. Wright was united in marriage to Litcy G. Barney, of Malden, Massachusetts, a daughter of George T. Barney. Mrs. Wright, who died in 1903, bore her husband two children, George B. and Murry S., the former of whom is a graduate of the United States Navy Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and has been an officer in the United States navy since 1902. He married Margaret Parsons, the daughter of Judge William L. Parsons, of Fergus Falls, and they have one son, William P. Murry S. Wright resides in Fergus Falls.

Charles D. Wright is keenly interested in the history of Otter Tail county. Politically. he is identified with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is identified with the Masons, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. In Masonry he has attained to the rank of Knight Templar and is a member of Palestine Commandery at Fergus Falls.

JUDGE WILLIAM L. PARSONS.

William L. Parsons, judge of the seventh judicial district of Minne- sota, was born in Westfield, New York, in 1858. He was educated in West- field Academy and later attended Hamilton College where he was graduated in 1878. After being admitted to the practice of law in 1882, Judge Par- sons came West and settled in Fergus Falls and from then until 1913 he followed his profession in that place. From 1898 to 1913 he was a federal referee in bankruptcy. In April, 1913, he was appointed judge of the seventh judicial district of Minnesota, and in November, 1914, was elected to that office for a six-year term.

Judge Parsons was married in 1884 to Mary Moorhead McLane, of Westfield, New York, and to this union four children have been born : Margaret, Ruth, Katherine and Marion. Margaret is the wife of George B. Wright, a lieutenant in the United States navy, and has one child, William Parsons. Ruth married Dr. C. C. Burlingame, assistant superintendent of the Fergus Falls state hospital.

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OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

EUGENE A. JEWETT.

Thirty-five years ago Fergus Falls, the county seat of Otter Tail county, was little more than a straggling village on the frontier of the great North- west. Today it is a thriving city, with its banks, its department stores, shops, its varied and successful industries and its magnificent array of fine residences The bankers of Fergus Falls have had a most important part in the development of this splendid city and one of the oldest bankers in the city and one who is entitled to a large share of the credit for the develop- ment of this section, is Eugene A. Jewett, the present cashier of the First National Bank, of Fergus Falls, president of the Erhard State Bank and of the Melby State Bank, and the vice-president of the First State Bank of Dalton, as well as president of the First State Bank at Underwood.

Mr. Jewett is a native of St. Charles, Winona county, Minnesota. He is the son of Haynes and Lydia ( Sprague) Jewett, the former of whom was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and the latter, at Hingham Centre, Massachusetts. They came West in an early day and, having located near the village of St. Charles, Minnesota, on a farm, continued farming there the remainder of their lives. It was there that Eugene A. Jewett grew to manhood and received his early education.

Although Mr. Jewett was born on the farm, he found his opportunity · for success in the counting rooms of various banks, in which he worked before establishing a financial institution on his own account. He was first employed as a clerk in the Dover State Bank, of Dover, a private institution, and, after he had worked there for some time, was employed as a clerk in the private bank owned by J. C. Easton at Lanesboro, Minnesota. From Lanesboro. Mr. Jewett moved to Fargo. North Dakota, where he was employed as teller in the First National Bank of that city. This wide and varied experience as a subordinate in varied financial institutions has been the basis of his larger success of recent years. It may be said truthfully that Eugene A. Jewett was thoroughly well prepared for the vocation to which he has devoted his lifetime.

In December, 1881, Mr. Jewett located at Fergus Falls and there, in co-operation with others, organized the Fergus Falls National Bank, which opened for business in January, 1882, as the Merchants State Bank. Six months later it was converted into the Fergus Falls National Bank, and Mr. Jewett remained as cashier until 1883. On July 9, of that year, he transferred his services to the First National Bank, of Fergus Falls, as cashier, and still holds that position. His tenure in one position in one bank for a period of more than thirty years, is the most striking testimony of his work as a banker and his dependability as a financier, that could be cited

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

He is popular with the officers and directors of the bank, with the depositors of the institution and the public generally.

By Eugene A. Jewett's marriage to Ann Basye, who was born in Wis- consin, there has been born one daughter, Helen E. Fraternally, Mr. Jew- ett is a member of Corner Stone Lodge No. 99, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is treasurer of the lodge. He is also a member of Palestine Commandery No. 14, Knights Templar, and is the treasurer of the com- mandery.

DAVID A. TENNANT.

The largest milling interest in Otter Tail county is the Fergus Flour- Mills Company, which owns, besides two plants in this county, a large mill at Fargo, North Dakota. The president of this concern is David A. Ten- nant, a well-known and public-spirited citizen of Fergus Falls, who was born in Rossie, St. Lawrence county, New York, the son of Richard and Ann ( Livingston ) Tennant.

Reared on the farm and educated in the public schools of his native town, David A. Tennant grew to manhood in New York state. He taught school for three winters in New York, or until 1879, when he immigrated to Fairbault, Minnesota. It was at that place that he was introduced to the business which he has since followed so, successfully. After having been engaged in the milling business at Fairbault for ten years, in 1889, Mr. Tennant moved to Northfield, Minnesota, and for five years was engaged in the milling business there on his own account. While living there he also operated a mill at Dundas. Following this he was located for a year at Cannon Falls, Minnesota, as the proprietor of a mill, and in 1899 moved to Fergus Falls, this county, where he purchased the Otter Tail mill, which he operated alone for about nine months, at the end of which time, in com- pany with W. B. Windsor, he consolidated the Otter Tail mill with the Allen mill, the consolidation becoming known as the Fergus Flour-Mills Company. Five years later, Mr. Tennant and Mr. Windsor, the controlling stockholders of the company, purchased a mill in Fargo, North Dakota, and in 1912 they purchased the Globe mill at Perham, this county. The entire business was incorporated in 1901 under the title of the Fergus Flour- Mills Company, the present officers being, David A. Tennant, president and manager ; Vernon Wright, vice-president; W. B. Windsor, secretary, and C. D. Wright, treasurer.

Aside from his own personal business, Mr. Tennant is interested in the progress and development of his adopted home town and has always taken a commendable interest in worthy public enterprises. Naturally, he is well

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

known in this section of Minesota and, as might be expected, his material success in life is founded upon this admirable personal qualities of which he is possessed.

Mr. Tennant was married years ago to Dela Smith, a native of Roches- ter, Minnesota, who died in 1897, leaving two daughters, Gertrude and Florence A.

HON. WILLIAM H. McBRIDE.

The Hon. William H. McBride, former mayor of Fergus Falls, veteran of the Civil War and one of the most respected residents of Otter Tail county, has resided in the city of Fergus Falls since 1901. Mr. McBride's father was Henry B. McBride, a minister of the gospel in the state of Ohio. His mother's name was Christina ( Thursby) McBride.

Born in Summit county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, William H. McBride was educated in the Greensburg Seminary and, at the beginning of the Civil War, enlisted at Massillon. Ohio, in Company I, Seventy-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served three years and nine months and received an honorable discharge in Columbus, Ohio, after which he removed to Iowa, where, in several places in that state, he studied law for some years. Subsequently, he removed to Kansas, where he was admitted to the bar and where he remained in the practice of his profession during a period of twenty-four years, during which time he served variously as a member of the Legislature, insurance commissioner and director of the penitentiary.

In 1901 Mr. McBride moved to Fergus Falls, this county, and engaged in the land and farm-loan business, which he still follows. Mr. McBride served as mayor of Fergus Falls for some time. He is a well-known men- ber of the Masonic fraternity. He was admitted to the order in Chariton, Iowa, in 1866 and demitted to the Council Bluffs lodge. Upon taking up lis residence at Fergus Falls, he became a member of Corner Stone Lodge No. 90 Mr. McBride is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

NICOLAI F. FIELD.

Among the many enterprising citizens of Fergus Falls, this county, who have risen high in the estimation of their fellow citizens and who have received honors of no mean importance within the gift of their fellow townsmen, is Nicolai F. Field, attorney-at-law, referee in bankruptcy and abstractor of titles.

Nicolai F. Field was born on August 13, 1872, in Murray county, Minnesota. His parents were natives of Norway, who came to America

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

about 1870. The father, Fred N. Field, was a register of deeds in Otter Tail county for six years and is now associated with his son in the abstract business. Nicolai F. Field is the eldest of a family of eleven children.

Mr. Field was reared on the farm and his early education was obtained in the country schools. After his graduation from the common schools, he entered the Fergus Falls high school and was graduated with the class of 1894. During the next three years he served as deputy register of deeds of Otter Tail county, under his father. He was then employed in the bank operated by F. G. Barrows for one year, at the end of which time he con- cluded to take up the study of law and in 1897 entered the law department of Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa. After completing a two-years course, he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1899. Admitted to the bar of Minnesota in 1899 with the highest grade received in the examination of any applicant admitted at that time, he opened a law office in the Pickett block in Fergus Falls, in June, 1899. Mr. Field has since moved his offices to the Fergus Falls National Bank building and enjoys an extensive practice.

In September, 1900, Nicolai F. Field was married, in Fergus Falls, to Ida Adams, the daughter of Charles Adams, who, prior to her marriage, was a well-known and successful teacher in Otter Tail county. Mr. and Mrs. Field have three children, Ruth, Cyrus and Margaret.

Fraternally, Mr. Field is a member of Corner Stone Lodge No. 99, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

ARTHUR M. CORLISS.

The Corliss family is a very oldl family in America, and Arthur M. Corliss, the present chief of police at Fergus Falls, this county, is a scion of this distinguished family.

Arthur M. Corliss was born in Wilkin county, Minnesota, on December 17, 1880, son of Charles M. and Emma O. ( Hinkston) Corliss, the former of whom was born in Wisconsin and who emigrated to Minnesota at an early date. Charles M. Corliss was employed in the mill at Balmoral, in this county, where he worked for a time, after which he removed to Battle Lake, where he remained a year and then removed to Wilkin county, where he acquired land and carried on farming until 1904, when he retired from the farm and removed to Fergus Falls, where he still resides.

Chief Arthur M. Corliss, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm in Wilkin county, where he attended the district schools. He also atterded school in Pelican Falls and at Battle Lake. When Mr. Corliss was

OTTER TAIL, COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

twenty years old. he married and afterward moved to Stulman county, North Dakota, where he engaged in farming for seven years. In 1908 he returned to Otter Tail county and located in Fergus Falls four years after his father had removed to that city. From 1908 until 1914 Mr. Corliss was engaged in the land business. In 1914 he was appointed chief of police and is now filling that important office with credit to himself and to the com- munity he serves.

To Arthur M. and Lillie ( Erickson) Corliss five children were born, Clarence M., Ethel M., Gladys I .. Ruth M. (deceased ) and Earl D. Mrs. Lillie (Erickson) Corliss died in 1913, and afterward Mr. Corliss married, secondly, Florence Candaux, to which union one child has been born, James Franklin.

Chief Corliss is one of the most efficient police officers in the history of Fergus Falls. Not only is he efficient in the position which he fills, but he is popular with all classes of people in this city, and is doing a good work. Fraternally, Chief Corliss is a member of Lodge No. 59. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of Hazel Lodge No. 31, Daughters of Rebekah, and of Aerie No. 888, Fraternal Order of Eagles.

GEORGE H. GARD.

Another one of Otter Tail county's prominent citizens who was born and reared on the farm is George H. Gard, who having filled an unexpired term as clerk of the district court, by appointment, was elected to the position in 1912, and has acquitted himself with rare credit in discharging the duties of that important office.

George H. Gard is a native of Elkhart, Logan county, Illinois, and is the son of John W. and Kesiah ( Dunn) Gard. John W. Gard was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and his wife was a native of the same vicinity. Mr. Gard's parents were farmers by occupation and his father died in Illinois in February. 1911, his mother having passed away about ten years pre- viously, in September, 1001. There were four children in the Gard family, namely: Elizabeth, who married Silas E. Becbe, of Jacksonville, Illinois. and died on June 5. 1915: Charles W., who married an Illinois girl, and lives in Middletown, Illinois; George H., the subject of this sketch, and Minnie, the wife of Edward Barry, of Elkhart, Illinois.

After having spent his early life on the farm, where he was born and reared. George Il. Gard was employed in a general store in Elkhart. After attaining maturity, he went to Springfield, Illinois, where for two years he worked in a wholesale crockery store. In 1896 Mr. Gard came to Minnesota, locating at Fergus Falls, where he became a clerk in the stew-

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

ard's department of the state hospital. After having been employed at the state hospital for four years, Mr. Gard took up life-insurance work, which he followed for about one year. He was then appointed city clerk and held that office until 1909, after which he became manager of the telephone com- pany at Fergus Falls and continued thus engaged for two years, or until 19II, when he was appointed to fill out an unexpired term as clerk of the district court. So well did he discharge the duties of this office that in 1912 he was elected by the people of Otter Tail county, by a substantial majority, to fill the office for a term of four years.

Not many men in Otter Tail county are better known than George H. Gard and not many men enjoy warmer and more lasting friendship than he. Fraternally, he is a member of Corner Stone Lodge No. 99. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks.

By his marriage to Augusta Hendrickson, who died in 1910, Mr. Gard had three children, Donald L., John Russell and Dorothy. On December 20, 1914. Mr. Gard married, secondly, Julia Hall, who was born in North Dakota, a daughter of M. O. Hall, now a well-known resident of Minne- apolis.

LEVOR A. LEVORSEN.

Among the well-known citizens of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, is Levor A. Levorsen, deputy clerk of the United States court at Fergus Falls, who is a native of the parish of Rollag, Nummedal, Norway, where he was born on April 5, 1859, the son of Amund and Ingeborg ( Helle) Levorsen. The Levorsen family emigrated to America in 1868 and, after landing in New York city on July 4, of that year, came West, settling at Clinton Junction, Wisconsin, where they remained for two years. In 1870 the family moved to Pelican Rapids, this county, and there the father homesteaded a quarter of a section of prairie land. He built a dugout and broke the land. Later a log house was erected and still later a fine frame house, where the family lived until 1902, when the father sold the farm and moved to Williams- burg, Virginia, where he is still living at the age of eighty years. His wife died in 1910, in her seventy-eighth year. While a resident of Otter Tail county, Amund Levorsen took an active part in public affairs. He held practically all of the local offices in the town, from the chairman of the board of supervisors to assessor, and was also chairman of the board of county commissioners for several years. . As chairman of the board of county commissioners, he was largely instrumental in the erection of the county court house. He is now living in retirement and is a noble specimen of thoroughly ripe American manhood.

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

Levor A. Levorsen received his early education in the public schools at Pelican Rapids. After growing to manhood, he moved to Fergus Falls and accepted a position as clerk in the office of the county auditor. After the first year, Mr. Levorsen was made deputy auditor and held that office for three years. He was then appointed deputy clerk of the district court under the administration of C. J. Wright and held that position for five years. When Mr. Wright retired, he succeeded him as clerk, and held the position for four years. Mr. Levorsen then engaged in the abstract busi- ness and was very successful until the time of his retirement from business. in 1898, when he was elected register of deeds. After having held that position for eight years, he was appointed deputy clerk of the United States court, and this position he now holds.

Levor A. Levorsen married Laura Larson, a native of Wisconsin, who was born near Grantsburg, and to this union have been born four children : Irving, who is now a student in the department of mining engineering at the University of Minnesota; Frances, Kingdon and Richard, who live at home with their parents.

FRED EVERETT HODGSON.

Fred Everett Hodgson, a well-known real-estate dealer of Fergus Falls. this county, and the son of the late Thomas C. and Eliza (Clague) Hodg- son, was born in Castle Rock, Minnesota, on August 16, 1872. His father, as set out in a hiographical sketch presented elsewhere in this volume, was a native of the Isle of Man, off the English coast, who emigrated with his parents to America in 1844.

Fred E. Hodgson located at Herman. Grant county, Minnesota, with his parents, in 1877, and there received his elementary education. Later he attended the public schools of Fergus Falls, to which city his parents had moved. Growing to manhood in Otter Tail county, he attended the State Agricultural College and spent one year at the University of Minnesota. After leaving school, he became a collector and a credit man for Dunham & Eastman, wholesale grocers of St. Paul. After being employed by this company for six years, Mr. Hodgson took charge of the business affairs of an uncle. Edward J. Hodgson, of St. Paul, and then removed to Morris, Minnesota, where he engaged in the real-estate and mortgage-loan business. In 100r Mr. Hodgson located in Fergus Falls and established the same business in that city. His business has become large and profitable and he is recognized today as a conservative and well-rounded business man.

On July 11, 1901, Fred E. Hodgson was married to Anastasia Haley. and teuthis union there have been born three children, Thomas Haley, born

OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.

on June 2, 1902; Corrin Haley, June 7, 1908, and Anastasia Haley, March 29, 1912.

Fraternally, Mr. Hodgson is a member of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. He is a member of the city charter commission and the city council, and has contributed much to the welfare of this city.

THOMAS C. HODGSON.

The late Thomas C. Hodgson, who was a well-known resident of Otter Tail county, and who was a highly-respected citizen of Fergus Falls at the time of his death, on September 7, 1913, will be long remembered by the people of both this city and county, as a man of strong intellect and a leader among his fellow citizens. He believed firmly and thoroughly in the father- hood of God and the brotherhood of man, and his career was a fitting example of the humble efforts of a Christian gentleman to live according to the dictates of his own conscience. It may be said that the keynote of his character was breadth. He was tolerant towards all, charitable of his judg- ment and courteous in every relation of life. He was possessed of a keen and logical mind and took a deep interest in all public matters.

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History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions, Volume II, Part 5

Author: Mason, John W. (John Wintermute), 1846- 4n Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1156

Author: Mason, John W. (John Wintermute), 1846- 4n
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1156