USA > Minnesota > Otter Tail County > History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions, Volume II > Part 71
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Mr. and Mrs. Rusch are the parents of seven children, all of whom are living, as follow: Henry. Arnold, Louisa, Anna, Godfrey. Jacob and Sophia, who as well as their parents, are members of the Evangelical church and active in good works. The Rusch family is one of the most substantial in the Dent neighborhood and all are held in high regard by their many friends thereabout.
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OTTER TAIL COUNTY. MINNESOTA.
FREDERICK VOGEL.
The late Frederick Vogel, who for years was one of the best-known residents of Star Lake township, this county, came here in 1878, taking a soldier's claim of government land, he having been a veteran of the Civil War, and there he proceeded to make a home in the forest wilderness, soon becoming one of the most influential men in that part of the county.
Frederick Vogel was a German by birth, born in Germany, on April 12, 1828, son of Philip and Catherine ( German ) Vogel, he a native of Ger- many and his wife of French origin. Philip Vogel had been for more than forty years a school teacher. He and his wife were the parents of twelve or fifteen children, one of their sons, Frank, a soldier in the German army, having seen active service in the African campaign. Frank Vogel was reported slain in Africa, and was mourned as dead by his family. This was a false report, however, and upon his return home he was greeted as one from the grave. One of his sisters was in a tree, picking fruit, and the appearance of what she thought was an apparition so startled her that she fell from the tree and broke her arm.
After receiving an excellent education in the schools of his home town. Frederick Vogel supplemented his schooling by a course in the Paris schools and became a highly cultivated French scholar. In Paris he learned the trade of gilder. which he followed in that city for three years, after which he started out as a journeyman gilder, traveling over Europe for several years. At the age of twenty-eight he came to America and located at Holli- daysburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained for twenty years, working at the rolls in a rolling-mill. He was living there when the Civil War broke out, and in 186 .; he enlisted in Company D. One Hundred and Ninety- second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war.
Not long after his arrival in Hollidaysburg, Frederick Vogel was united in marriage to Susan Smith, who was born in Germany, daughter of Martin and Mary ( Miller) Smith, both natives of Germany, who came to America in 1841, settling in Hollidaysburg, where the rest of their lives were spent. Martin Smith was a master mason and worked at his trade as a stone-cutter in Hollidaysburg. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Bar- bara, Martin, George, Susan, Anna Mary and Magdaline. They were ardent Catholics and their children were reared in the faith of the mother church. Upon the death of Susan ( Smith ) Vogel, Frederick Vogel married. secondly. Anna Mary Smith, who was born in Germany on February 7. 1840. To the first union two children were born, Philip and Martin (twins). To the second union ten children were born. George, Frederick, Kate. Joseph. Anna,
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Frank, John, Adam, William and Susan, all of whom were born in Holli- daysburg, Pennsylvania, save the latter two, who were born on the Vogel homestead in Otter Tail county.
In 1878 Frederick Vogel decided to test his fortune in the great North- west, of which region such glowing reports then were being heard in the East, and he and his wife and their ten children started for Minnesota. They were able to come by rail as far as Perham. They located in Star Lake township, where Mr. Vogel entered a soldier's claim to a quarter of a section of land and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on June 22, 1898. When he entered his homestead the tract was heavily timbered, but he cleared the forest and made a comfortable home, presently having one of the best-tilled farms in that section of the county. Mr. Vogel took a prominent part in the development of that region and was active in all movements having to do with the betterment of conditions thereabout. He was a Democrat and for several terms served the public as township treasurer. Mr. Vogel was an affable, genial man, an accomplished singer, and he and his family early became recognized as among the leaders in the social life of the community.
Frederick Vogel's widow still owns the home place and continued to make her home there until 1904. in which year she moved to Perham and since then has lived about with her children. She is a devout Catholic and all her children likewise are adherents to that faith, the family being held in high regard by their many friends in this county.
HENRY TENTER.
Henry Tenter, well-known farmer and stockman of Edna township, Otter Tail county, Minnesota, was born in Germany on January 18. 1857. the son of Henry and Katherine ( Rademaker) Tenter, both natives of Germany, the former a member of a family of prosperous landowners and the latter a daughter of Arnold and Margaret ( Bishopf) Rademaker. Arnold Rademaker was a cattle dealer and spent his entire life in Germany.
Henry Tenter was educated in Germany, after which he worked as a coal-miner for some time and as an employee of a rolling-mill, of which his father was foreman, for five years. In 1880 he came to America and settled in Edna township. Otter Tail county. Mr. Tenter homesteaded twenty-eight acres of land in Edna township, a place to which he added and now has three hundred acres in his original farm and one hundred and sixty acres in Battle Lake township. Mr. Tenter has greatly improved his farm and now engages in farming and in the raising of cattle, making a specialty of Red-Polled cattle.
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In 1882, Henry Tenter was married to Gertrude Ichoff. a native of Germany, and to this marriage have been born the following children : Jerry, Henry. Arnold. Katherine, Anna, William ( deceased ), Maggie. Will- iam (deceased . Dedrick, Lizzie, Emma and Lawrence. Mr. Tenter and his family are members of the German Evangelical church.
GEORGE W. ROBINSON.
George W. Robinson, retired farmer and prominent citizen of Rich- ville. Otter Tail county, Minnesota, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 27, 1839. the son of David and Mindwell ( Hodgman ) Robinson, the former born on March 12, 1815, in New York state, and the latter born in the year 1823, in Ohio. In the year 1857. David Robinson moved to Michigan. where he lived until his death, at Sturgis, in 1899. Mindwell Robinson died near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1855. David and Mindwell Robinson were the parents of six children. George W., and David Newton, who are living. and Lucinda, Mary Jane. Sarah and Emily, who are deceased.
George W. Robinson was educated in the township schools of Sherman township, St. Joe county, Michigan, after which he established the first saw-mill and grist-mill, of St. Joe county, locating the mill about four miles northwest of Sturgis. In December. 1862, George W. Robinson enlisted for service in the Civil War with Independent Company A, Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served until the end of the war. Later, Mr. Robinson went to Three Rivers, St. Joe county, where he lived until 1872. Afterwards, he moved to Osage, Iowa, lived there until 1879. and then went to Wilkens county, Minnesota, where he homesteaded a farm in Roberts township, and lived there for some time, after which he moved to Richville, and now lives a retired life. As a farmer for twenty-two years Mr. Robinson was thoroughly successful and he is now one of the well-to-do men of the community, being not only the owner of farm land, but also owns property in Kent, Minnesota, as well as the desirable property in which he lives.
On July 7, 1861, George W. Robinson was married at Centerville, St. Joe county, Michigan, to Mary \. Wolfinger, who was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1814. To the marriage of George and Mary Robinson were born seven children as follow: James ( deceased ), Ida. Ebin, Edith, Reuben, Jennie and Clarence. Mary, the wife of George W. Robinson died at Richville, in 1913.
Mr. Robinson has had a most conspicuous and prominent part in the public and official life of the communities in which he has resided. In 1802, Mr. Robinson was elected as probate judge and in 1894 was re-elected.
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serving with dignity and efficiency in this capacity until 1890, when he was appointed as postmaster at Kent, Minnesota, an office which he occupied until 1904. While living in Roberts and in MeColville townships, Wilkens county, Minnesota, Mr. Robinson served as justice of the peace, and in the days of his residence in the state of Iowa, Mr. Robinson was a citizen who held various offices of honor and trust.
CHARLES A. PETERSON.
Charles A. Peterson is one of the influential and progressive citizens of Vergas, Otter Tail county, Minnesota, who has achieved success in his chosen calling. He is a native of the southern part of Sweden, where his birth occurred on July 14, 1869. His parents were Andrew A. and Christine Peterson. also natives of Sweden, who were born in 1837 and 1840, respectively. Andrew A. Peterson was a millwright by profession and fol- lowed that trade until 1905, at which time he retired and is now living on a farm near Nashult. Christine Peterson, his wife, passed away in 1903. They were both members of the German Lutheran church and were the par- ents of three children, whose names follow : August, who died in Sweden in 1911 : Charles \. and Elias. Elias is a farmer and lives with his father.
Charles A. Peterson received his early education in the schools of his native land, immigrating to America when twelve years of age. He came alone to the United States and located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where an uncle, John Holt, was then living. For four years he lived with his relative and attended the public schools of Elizabeth, Minnesota, following which he was employed as a farm hand on the surrounding farms, for more than four years. He then accepted a position as a clerk in a store in Elizabeth. Minnesota, and continued in this occupation until 1904. About this time, it became evident that the town of Vergas was an assured fact and he immediately began erecting a small store, with the intention of entering the mercantile business in the new town. Building operations were begun in March, 1904, and a store, twenty-four by forty feet, was soon completed. Two years later an addition was built and in 1908 another addition, twenty- six by eighty feet, was erected, which now makes the entire buikling fifty by eighty feet, with more than half of it two stories in height. The first stock of goods was valued at two thousand dollars and the present stock at twenty thousand dollars, and is the largest store in the locality. It draws a trade from a radius of ten miles west and six miles east and south. Four clerks are constantly employed to serve the public and part of the time five are employed.
In 1900, Charles .A. Peterson was united in marriage to Martha Norg-
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ren and they are the parents of five children: Ethel, Elmer, Donald, Ken- neth and Helen. Martha ( Norgren) Peterson is a native of Otter Tail county, Minnesota, and is the daughter of Andrew Norgren, an old settler of Elizabeth, who now lives in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Her mother is dead. Charles A. Peterson and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. Politically, he is a Republican and in his fraternal relations he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank. Soon after he entered the mercantile business. a partnership was formed with James Nesbit and the firm was known as Peterson & Nesbit, but on January 1, 1911, the partnership was dissolved and he has continued the business alone. In 1913, Charles A. Peterson availed himself of a much needed vacation and visited his native land.
CHARLES J. AND CHARLES ROLLA WRIGHT.
The late Charles J. Wright, whose early life and career is so fully and interestingly set out by his mother, the late Mrs. C. C. Clement, in a remini- scent narrative contained in the biographical sketch of Charles Rolla Wright, Sr., presented elsewhere in this volume, was born in West Milton, Vermont. November 2, 1852, the son of Charles Rolla and Elsie ( Johnson ) Wright, and died at Battle Creek, Michigan, on December 24, 1913.
Upon arriving at Fergus Falls, while still in his 'teens, Charles J. Wright decided to make that place his home. He did some surveying and, as opportunity offered, picked up a little government land. In the mean- time he was engaged setting type for the Weekly Journal, during which time he also wrote some poetry and occasionally contributed articles of gen- eral interest for the newspaper. Later he became fully established as a sur- veyor and land examiner, and in time was elected to the office of county surveyor, later being elected to the office of clerk of the district court, in both of which positions of public trust and responsibility he proved himself of large service to the general good of the pioneer community. He then became real-estate agent for the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern railways, both of which roads had large landownings. He invested in Minnesota and Dakota lands in the pioneer days, not only on his own account. but also as agent for a number of Eastern firms and in partnership with Thomas S. Buckham and George W. Batchelder, of Faribault. Mr. Wright was greatly interested in agriculture and gradually developed most of his extensive landholdings into productive farms. At the time of his death he was said to have been the largest real-estate owner in Otter Tail county Ile ever exhibited great interest in. public affairs and was regarded as among the most influential and useful men of affairs in this part of the state. He
CHARLES J. WRIGHT.
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OTTER TAIL COUNTY, MINNESOTA.
served several terms as a member of the city council at Fergus Falls, his ser- vice in that connection undoubtedly having been productive of much good to the rapidly growing city, and in 1908 was elected as a member of the state Legislature front this district where his duties were honorably and con- scientiously performed.
In 1904 Charles J. Wright organized his business into a corporation uncler the name of the Charles Wright Company, C. J. Wright, president; C. R. Wright, vice-president, and Mrs. M. F. Wright, secretary and treasurer.
On December 23, 1879, Charles J. Wright was united in marriage to LeMyra Martha Fuller, who was born on October 31, 1856, daughter of Leman and Abigail ( Parker) Fuller, and to this union three children were born, namely : Charles Rolla, Elsie L. and Vernon F.
Charles Rolla Wright, secretary of the Charles Wright Company, of Fergus Falls, was graduated from the Fergus Falls high school, after which he entered the University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1905. One year later he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to the bar. Mr. Wright also took a course in agriculture at the University of Minnesota. On June 10, 1908, he was united in marriage to Florence McLean, of Duluth, Minne- sota.
Rolla Wright, as he is familiarly known throughout this section of Minnesota, is one of the "live wires" of Fergus Falls and of this county. He has inherited the clear business vision of his father and keeps in close touch with all movements having to do with the general welfare of his home city and the county in general, being regarded as one of the most active promoters of the common good hereabout. Mr. Wright is a careful and conscientious business man and public-spirited citizen.
THEODORE SJORDAL.
Theodore Sjordal, of Underwood, Otter Tail county, Minnesota, well known throughout that section as a public-spirited citizen and dealer in live stock, is a native of Norway, born near Trondhjem, December 24, 1860, son of Ole T. and Guriana (Sundby) Sjordal. The father, who was born near Trondhjem, June 17, 1829, was a son of Thor and Ingebor Sjordal. natives of that place, where they were farmers and lived their entire lives.
Ole T. Sjordal was the eldest of a family of seven children, the others being Martin, Johannes, Olaus, who still lives in Norway; Martin and Johannes died in their native land, as did also three others in childhood. Mr. Sjordal's mother, Guriana Sundby, was born on February 19, 1833, a daughter of Joe and Karen Sundby, natives of the same section of Nor-
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way, where they were farmers. Joe Sundby died in early life, leaving three children and his widow. Lars, the eldest child, lived and died in Norway : the second child was Mr. Sjordal's mother. Guriana, and the youngest was Hannah, who still lives in Norway, widow of Sefenies Gudding. After the death of Joe Sundby, his widow remarried, having one child by that union, who is Bernt Oluf, a farmer residing near Underwood.
Mr. Sjordal's parents grew to maturity in the same community and were married in 1858. Ole T. Sjordal was a farmer and landowner and he continued to follow that vocation in his native locality until 1867, when he emigrated to America, leaving his wife and family, consisting at that time of four children, in their old home. Ole T. Sjordal came to Minne- apolis, where he remained until 1871, his family joining him in the fall of 1870, and in March, 1871, he came to Otter Tail county and entered a home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres in Sverdrup township, his family again joining him in June of that year. He started in on the gigantic task of making good farming lands out of the wild land he had obtained and cleared and erected buildings until he had made a comfortable home. He sold out in March of 1895 and purchased a smaller farm nearer Underwood, where he spent the remainder of his days, having retired from active labor for the last few years of his life. He died in March, 1902.
Ole T. Sjordal took an active interest in the affairs of the community where he had chosen to make his home and was the first township assessor of Tordenskjold township, which at that time included the present town of Sverdrup, and later was active in the management of the affairs ot that town. Both he and his wife were faithful members of the Lutheran church and were among the few founders of the local society of that faith. Ole T. Sjordal took great interest in the cause of education and was a school director and supervisor for many years. When young his own educational advantages had been very meager and he educated himself after attaining maturity. After twenty years of age he taught himself to read and write in two languages, and Mr. Sjordal still has in his possession an old diary which his father kept when learning to write. He made family records, a history of his community, and did much other writing as practice work in his effort to perfect himself in that accomplishment. In every sense ot the word Ole T. Sjordal was a self-educated man and his store of general in- formation would do credit to many possessing university degrees.
Theodore Sjordal is one of a family of six children, being the second child in order of birth. Jonette, the eldest, born on June 9, 1859, is the wife of Hans P. Bjorge, of Duluth, this state; Christine, June 3, 1863, is Mrs. C. J. Moen, of Underwood; Ole, June 13, 1866, was a merchant at Ada, this state, where his death occurred: Odin, June 8, 1872, lives at
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Kremlin, Montana, where he is a merchant, and Gustav, the youngest of the family, May 30, 1875, is a banker, living in Clay county, this state.
Theodore Sjordal received his education in the little old log school house of district No. 5 and later attended school at Fergus Falls one year. He was early trained in the work of the farm, but has never followed that vocation. For one year he gave his attention to the photographers' art, and in 1885 entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Hans P. Bjorge, for the transaction of a general merchandise business, including building materials and farm machinery. The firm style was Bjorge & Sjordal, and they had a big store. They also operated an elevator and bought and sold wheat. Their partnership lasted until 1909, and during the latter years of this connection Mr. Sjordal devoted much of his time to buying and shipping milch cows to Michigan, being the first to engage in the stock-shipping business in this section. In 1909 he severed his con- nection with Mr. Bjorge and had since devoted his time mainly to the buy- ing and shipping of live stock. For about five years he operated a retail meat market, doing well in that venture. He was one of the five men who founded the Underwood Grain Association, adding an elevator to the farm- ers' grain house. He is still connected with that enterprise and is in -ad- dition a member of the building committee and acting foreman of the local Co-operative Creamery Company, the second largest in the county, and is also a director in that concern. For the past ten years he has also acted as president of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Independent in politics, Mr. Sjordal has taken an active interest in community affairs, although never having been a seeker after office. Mr. Sjordal is a member of the Unitarian church, taking a commendable interest in the affairs of that society. He holds fraternal affiliation with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
On July 25, 1885, Theodore Sjordal was united in marriage with Inga Maria Lein, a native of Norway, daughter of John and Merit Lein, who came to the United States and settled in Hesper, Iowa. They remained there but a short time and then came on to this state, locating at Argyle, at which place the mother died. The father still lives there. Mrs. Sjordal passed from this life January 18, 1905, leaving her husband and eight children, as follow: Elmer, born on March 13, 1886, residing at East Grand Forks, this state, where he is a telegraph operator; Conrad, December 15. 1888, lives at Kremlin, Montana, where he has a homestead and is in part- nership with his brother, Richard, in a retail meat market; Richard, October 20, 1890; Edwin, July 13, 1802, remains with the father and is a salesman in the store of the Otter Tail Co-operative Company; Mabel Louise, October 18, 1894, is a student at Faribault, this state; while the other three, Hjalmer,
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September 16, 1897: Gudrum Eleanor, October 22, 1901, and Harold Bur- dette. August 15, 1904, remain at home with the father.
Mr. Sjordal is a man of excellent parts, who has filled an important place in bringing about the development of the commercial life of this sec- tion. He possesses genial manners and a kindly disposition and this in con- nection with his business integrity has won for him the respect and genuine liking of a large circle of friends.
HANS O. OLSON.
Hans O. Olson, one of the leading citizens of Underwood, this county, was born in Norway, March 8, 1856, near Tromso, son of Ole C. and Guri (Olsen) Olson. Both parents were born in Norway, and there spent their entire lives. The father was a carpenter and shoemaker by trade, which he followed all the active years of his life, his death occurring when he was seventy years of age. Both he and his good wife were faithful mem- bers of the Lutheran church, and gave careful attention to the rearing of their seven children. Of these, Hans O., the immediate subject of this sketch, is the eldest; Ole still lives in Norway, where he is a laborer; Olia is the wife of Nils Thygesen of Underwood; Karoline still remains in Nor- way, the wife of Johan Hendrickson; Kristopher also remains in his native land, a laborer, and two died in infancy.
Hans O. Olson attended the public schools of his native land, but meager was the opportunity for education given, there being but seven school weeks in the year. At the age of fourteen or fifteen he began life for himself as a fisherman and also worked at farming. In 1881, at the age of twenty-five. he emigrated to America and settled in Otter Tail county. Here he secured work on the Northern Pacific railroad, then in course of construction, re- maining at that work for some two years. He quit that work to accept a position in the store of Severson & Evansou, the first merchants of Under- wood, and in 1889 he left them and returned to Norway, intending to re- main in his native land. However. a few months later found him back in Underwood and he then went to work for Ole Loseth in his general store and later was with Bjorge & Sjordal. He was with Mr. Loseth for five years and severed his connection to return to his native land. Again he intended to remain permanently, but in four months was back in America again, and it was then he entered the employ of Bjorge & Sjordal.
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