USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. II > Part 65
USA > Minnesota > Steele County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. II > Part 65
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Henry Pryor, estimable citizen, Civil War veteran, and re- tired farmer, now living at Northfield, was born in the Province
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of New Brunswick, Canada, April 4, 1837, the oldest of eleven children. He came West with his parents, to Prescott, Wis., as a boy of seventeen years, lived there about a year, and in 1855 went with his parents to Greenvale township, Dakota county, Minn., where he remained until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted in Company F of the famous Eighth Minne- sota Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was sent against the Indians, and after the close of this campaign was sent South and assigned to the Twenty-third Army Corps, under General Schofield. Mr. Pryor saw service at the battle of the Cedars and at Murfreesboro and also participated in many minor en- gagements. receiving his honorable discharge May 17, 1865. at Douglas Hospital, Washington After returning from the war, Mr. Pryor purchased 160 acres of land in Castle Rock town- ship. Dakota county, and added to his original purchase from time to time until he now owns 565 acres. all in Castle Rock and Eureka townships. This farm, operated for so long and so suc- cessfully by Mr. Pryor, is now managed by his four sons, the subject of this sketch having retired in 1904, when he took up his residence in Northfield. Mr. Pryor belongs to J. L. Iley- wood Post, G. A. R .. and he and his wife have been long-time members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Northfield. Mr. Pryor was married September 27, 1871, to Elizabeth King. Mr. and Mrs. Pryor have had seven children, six of whom are living. They are: Gertrude E .. born September 10. 1873, married to Henry Moody, of Prescott. Wis .; Frederick C .. born December 6, 1874; Henry L., born April 23. 1877, and died August 22, 1899; William T., born August 6, 1878, and married to Nina King, of Charlotte, Mich .; Nellie B., born September 7, 1883; Robert K .. born October 31. 1885, and Alexander A., born May 6, 1888. The parents of Henry Pryor were Alexander and Ann (Smith) Pryor, the former born in Nova Scotia, and the latter in New Brunswick. The family came to the Northwest in the spring of 1855 and located in Prescott. Wis., one year later set- tling in Greenvale township, Dakota county, this state. where Alexander Pryor pre-empted 160 acres, which he cultivated until 1861, when he sold this land and purchased a farm in section 36, where he lived until his death, December 6, 1880. The mother died November 28, 1890. In this family there were eleven chil- dren. They were: Henry Pryor, the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, married to Alee Schrader, of Virginia; Mary Pryor, of Castle Rock; John, deceased; William, deceased; Susan, married to Charles Plummer, of Hawley, Minn : Annie, now Mrs. Walter Tanner, of Pomona, Cal .; Eliza, married to John Cos- tain, of Moorhead, Minn .; Julia, married to Edward Merwin, of Chico, Cal .; Alexander, of Wheaton, Minn., and Guilford, of
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San Jose, Cal. The parents of Mrs. Henry Pryor (nee Elizabeth King) were Charles and Mary (Clague) King, the former born in Scotland in 1813, and the latter in the Isle of Man in 1818. They were married in 1840 and came to New York in 1853, remaining one year. In 1854 they came to Greenvale, Dakota county, and pre-empted 160 acres of land. In 1869 they removed to Hastings and there made their home. The father died in 1882 and the mother November 26, 1895. Their four children were: Mrs. W. H. Lucas, of Hastings, Mrs. Henry Pryor, of Northfield; Mrs. V. Shepard, of Northfield, and W. C. King, of St. Paul.
Charles William Pye was born in Yorkshire, England. Sep- tember 10. 1845. a son of Watts Austin and Mary A. (Goodman) Pye, bothi natives of England. The father. Watts Austin Pye. was born in Wisonsett, Norfolkshire, England, January 2, 1818. In 1848 he came to the United States and settled in Illinois, where he resided seven years, coming to Minnesota in 1855. He pre-empted 160 acres of land in section 18, township of Wheel- ing. Rice county, and proceeded to bring the place under culti- vation. He was one of the first officers of the town and was prominent in its early local government. He was always known as a man of sterling integrity and left to his children the inher- itance of an untarnished name. lle died March 10, 1900. Mary A. Goodman, the wife of Watts Austin and mother of Charles WV .. was born October 24, 1817, and died February 12, 1894. The grandfather of Charles W. was John R. Pye, born in 1776 and died in 1853. In the family of Watts A. and Mary (Goodman) Pye were six children who attained maturity, two dying in infancy. Phillis A. married Augustus L. Tenney, of Downers Grove, Ill. Watts A. enlisted August 18, 1862, in Company B, Eighth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and died in service. August 18, 1863, aged nineteen years. Charles W. lives in Northfield. Caleb G. lives in Faribault. Mary A. is the widow of Edward Oliver, and is a resident of Chicago. Major J. Richard Pye lives in San Francisco, Cal. Charles W. Pye re- ceived his education in the public school and the parochial school. afterward taking courses in Shattuck school, in Faribault. He studied law with Col. Jolin C. Morrow and was admitted to the bar September 7, 1867. After his admission to the bar he en- gaged in teaching in the schools of Rice and Goodhue counties for a period of thirteen years, practicing law in connection with his teaching. For the past twenty-seven years Mr. Pye has devoted his time exclusively to the practice of his profession in Northfield. August 26, 1868, Charles WV. Pye married Lucy A. Cooke, at Faribault. To this union have been born four chil- dren : William Watts, born December 25, 1870; Grace Mabel,
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born January 21, 1873; Edith Marion, born November 24, 1875, and Charles Richard, born January 19, 1883.
William W. Pye was educated in the public schools and Carl- ton college, and studied law, being admitted to the bar October 3, 1894. In 1891 he was married to Ruth Violet Goodman. Mr. and Mrs. William W. Pye have three children-Ruth Margaret, born March 23, 1895; William Harlan, born December 22, 1896; Helen Evelyn, born August 3, 1908. William W. has practiced his profession in Northfield ever since his admission to the bar, filling the office of county attorney two terms within that time. Charles R. Pye is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, class of 1906. He was admitted to practice June 15, 1906, and is junior partner in the law firm of William W. and Charles R. Pye. Charles R. Pye married Clara Hoppin, June 8, 1908. North- field is the native home of all the children of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Pye and of Mi. and Mrs. W. W. Pye. Mrs. Charles W. Pye was born March 12, 1844, in Dane county, Wisconsin. Her parents were Orson Cooke and Jane Elizabeth Cooke, both natives of New York state. They were married in 1842, and lived on a farm in the town of Middleton, seven miles west of Madison, until the spring of 1860, when they removed to Min- nesota, settling in Jackson county in 1867. Orson and Jane E. Cooke were the parents of seven children: Lucy A .. married to Charles W. Pye: Helen J .; Edwin E., deceased; Anna E., married to G. T. Foster; La Rue P .: Florence H., married to C. G. Pye, and Eugene W.
Orson Cooke was born in the town of Butternuts, Otsego county, N. Y .. July 29, 1813. and died in Jackson county, Minne- sota, October 30, 1883. The father of Orson Cooke and grand- father of Mrs. Charles WV. Pye was Elias Cooke, who settled in Otsego county, New York, in a very early day. In 1794 he mar- ried Lucy Hawley and they became the parents of fourteen children, ten sons and four daughters, all of whom. except one son, attained maturity. The first ancestor of Elias Cooke in this country was Gregory Cooke, who came from Yorkshire, Eng- land, in 1635 and settled in Massachusetts. Elias Cooke was born August 14, 1769, and lived to be eighty-two years old. Lucy (Hawley) Cooke, his wife, was born January 24, 1778. and lived about sixty-five years.
The ancestors of Jane Elizabeth Thompson, wife of Orson Cooke and mother of Mrs. Charles W. Pye, were of Scotch and Holland Dutch lineage. Her great-grandparents were Archibald Thompson and Jacoba (Schureman) Thompson, the dates of whose births and deaths have not been ascertained. Her grand- father was Capt. John Thompson, birth and death of uncertain date. He was probably born in New Brunswick, N. J. His mar-
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riage to Jane Strykes is recorded in the books of the old Dutch Reformed Church of that place. Captain John removed to Broad- albin, N. J., in 1802, and there bought a farm and erected a saw mill, a grist mill and a paper mill. The house in which he lived is owned by his descendants, and though over 100 years old, is still standing. George Thompson, his son. the father of Jane E. Cooke, and grandfather of Mrs. Charles W. Pye, was one of the ten children of Capt. John and Jane Strykes Thompson. George Thompson married Elizabeth Fonda about 1810. Hc died in October, 1816, when but thirty-one years old, leaving a young wife and three children: Archibald P., four years old ; Anne Q., and Jane, but ten days. Archibald was adopted by a sister of George Thompson, Mrs. Perrine, wife of Dr. Matthew La Rue Perrine, of Auburn, N. Y. The little girls and their mother lived with Captain John until his death about 1820, after which they lived with their mother's father. General Fonda. Jane Elizabeth (Thompson) Cooke died July 11, 1901. aged eighty-four years.
The record of the Thompson family, from Archibald Thomp- son and his wife, Jacoba (Schureman) Thompson, to the chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Pyc. inclusive, may be found in a book entitled "Schuremans of New Jersey," also in the "Genealogical and Biographical Record of New York," by Rich- ard Wyncoop. General William Fonda, the maternal grand- father of Janc E. Cooke, was a Hollander. He owned a large tract of land in Fulton county, New York, much of it forest, where Fonda and Fonda's Bush (now Broadalbin) stand. His family, including the children of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Pyc, is recorded in the "Genealogical and Biographical Record of New York," by Richard Wyncoop.
Sylvester M. Pye was one of the pioneers of Faribault, and for forty-five years was closely identified with the development of the new town. He was born in New York City, August 26. 1822, and after completing his education entered into business with his father, Simeon, in the manufacture of high grade hand- inade locks, at Passaic, N. J. Being of a mechanical nature, he was very successful as a manufacturer and expert patternmaker. but retired from the lock trade upon the establishment of the cheap lock industry. In 1852 Mr. Pyc entered the retail hard- ware business, forming a co-partnership with R. D. Sanford, a lifelong friend. For many years they conducted the business on Broadway, New York. In 1864 Mr. Pye retired from active business and in the same year was married to Eliza Dean, daugh- ter of Mr. Wm. E. Dean, a prominent book publisher of New York. Early in the spring of 1864 they came West for a brief visit. expecting to remain in Faribault but a short time, but the
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exhilarating climate and wonderful possibilities of the West decided them to remain and make it their future home. In 1887 Mr. Pye purchased the property now known as Manley Park. located most delightfully on the shores of Lake Chedeweta, four miles west of Faribault. Here Mr. and Mrs. Pye spent their summers, improving and beautifying the property, until it is now considered one of the most attractive country homes in the state. Mr. Pye was a man of strong character, deeply interested in all the current events of the day, a lover of nature, a great reader and deep thinker. Mr. Pye died January 21, 1910, sur- vived by two nephews: William Mills Pye, of Faribault, and Sylvester Manley Pye, of Hollywood, Cal.
William Mills Pye, retired business man and successful farmer, was born in Helena, Texas, July 7, 1861. His early youth was spent in Hastings, Faribault, Alexandria, in Minnesota, and Bismarck, in North Dakota. After leaving school, in 1881, he took up the retail dry goods business in Bismarck, and in 1887 located in St. Paul and was a department manager for Field, Schlick & Co. for nearly twenty years. A few years ago he took up farming in Wells township, controlling some 400 acres. and carrying on general farming, making a specialty of fine seed grain, his product in 1908 being acknowledged as the best in the state. In the winters, Mr. Pye makes his home in Faribault ; in the summer he lives at Manley Park, on the banks of Lake Che-de-weta. He is a member of the Commercial Club and of the Golf Club. William M. Pye was married March 27, 1887, at Fargo, N. D., to Belle Burton Johnson, of Bismarck, step-daugh- ter of Capt. Andrew Johnson, who for many years was connected with the Benton Line of steamers on the upper Missouri river. Ile died in 1886. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha A. Morrow, is now living in Beardstown, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Pye have one child, Robert Burton, born at St. Paul, June 2, 1889.
William M. and Mary E. (Arlington) Pye, parents of William Mills Pye, were natives of New York City. The father went to Texas in 1860, for the benefit of his health, and remained there until the outbreak of the Civil War, when, leaving his wife and son, William Mills, in Texas, he returned to New York, under- going many difficulties and being several times arrested while making his way through the rebellious states of the South. In 1863 the family moved to Hastings, Minn., remained a short period, and in 1864 came to Faribault, where the father engaged in general mercantile business. Ini 1868 he took up the same business in Alexandria, Minn., and in 1872 went to Bismarck, N. D., where he engaged in banking and lumber. In 1907 he went to California, and died at Los Angeles, November 16, 1907.
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Sylvester M. Pye, brother of William Mills, lives in Holly- wood, Cal., and is engaged in the lumber business. He was born in Faribault, February 10, 1864, and was married at Bismarck, N. D., to Loraine Allen, of that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester M. Pye have been born three children: Erma, Merrill and Clarence.
Henry Pierce, a native of Prescott, Hampshire county, Mass., was born September 23, 1820. He acquired a good education in the public schools of Prescott, graduating from the high school there. His school days over, he took up farming and was en- gaged in this up to his twentieth year, when he learned the shoe- maker's trade, following this and also gardening till his emigra- tion West in 1864. He located in Chicago, and in 1867 at Fari- bault, Minn., and opened a first-class shoemaking establishment, in which he remained until his retirement twenty-five years later, carning a well deserved reputation as an expert workman in his line. Mr. Pierce resides at the corner of Third avenue and Fourth street. As to political convictions, he is an adherent of the Republican party, and has always taken an interest in public affairs, serving as member of the constitutional convention in Massachusetts in 1852 and as representative in the Massachu- setts legislature in 1860, and as alderman in 1876 and 1877, in Faribault. He is a member of the Universalist Church. In 1844 he was married to Adeline Pierce, of Shntesbury, Mass. They had five children, all of whom are deceased. The mother's death occurred March 18, 1868. Mr. Pierce married again, De- cember 12, 1869. to Orrilla Pierce, a sister of his first wife, hav- ing four children by his second wife, three of whom survive. They are: Jessie A .; Mabel G., who lives in Red Wing; and Carrie M. Pierce.
Lynne Peavey, financier, president of the Security Bank of Faribault, was born in McGregor, Iowa, March 23, 1865, being brought to Faribault by his parents in 1874, at the age of nine years. He received his early education in the public schools, and subsequently attended the Shattuck school. In 1884, at the age of nineteen, he became collector and bookkeeper for the First National Bank of Faribault, faithfully performing the duties of this position until 1890, when he became assistant cashier of the Citizens' National Bank. In 1902 he became president of the Security State Bank of Owatonna, and in 1905 he returned to Faribault and became president of the Security Bank of this city, retaining that position at the present time. Mr. Peavey is a high degree Mason. Though interested in all the public issues of the day, he has never cared to participate actively in political affairs and has never sought or held public office. Mr. Peavey was married June 23, 1890, to Elizabeth II. Weld, daughter of
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Mr. Luther R. Weld, of Faribauit. To this union have been born three children: Roger W .. Louis L. and Mary O., all at home. The family faith is that of the Episcopal Church. The parents of Lynne Peavey were Louis and Mary E. (Farrington) Peavey, natives of Maine and Vermont, respectively. They were married in Wisconsin. In 1860 they went to Iowa, and in 1874 came to Faribault. The father, who was a photographer by profession, died in Faribault in 1894 and the mother is still living.
J. Aime Plante is a prosperous merchant of Faribault, Minn .. a native of Canada, born August 30, 1857, and is a son of Nar- cisse and Philomena (Bertrand) Plante, both natives of Canada. The father. an engineer by occupation, came to Faribault in 1863 and settled near the old Faribault Mill, where he was a stationary engineer. In 1867 he engaged in business with his brother. Leon, to whom he sold his interest in 1882. He then went to Minneapolis, but after six months returned to Faribault and there followed his trade till his retirement from active work in 1899. The mother departed this life January 3. 1906. Our subject was educated in the public schools and at a Sisters' school in Faribault, and after leaving school worked in the flouring mill. From 1882 till 1885 he clerked in the clothing house of Kollman & Vogel, after which he worked twelve years as bookkeeper for Mr. Lyman Tuttle. In 1897 Mr. Plante began business on his own account, as sole proprietor of a grocery and crockery store at No. 125 West Third street, and conducted it with marked success ten years, and then, in 1907, associated with himself, in the management of the increasing trade. Mr. Arthur Plante, his present partner. Mr. Plante is somewhat active in fraternal organizations, being a member and musical director in the local society of Knights of Columbus, treasurer of Catho- lic Foresters, and also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Republican in political principles, and in religious faith adheres to the Catholic Church. On August 26. 1889, Mr. Plante married Georgianna, a daughter of Prospros and Leonora (Duffaney ) Soucie, who died August 16, 1905. They had five children. named. respectively. Philomena Alice, Marie Ella, Beatrice L., Peter Paul, and George W., now de- ceased. Mrs. Plante died August 16, 1905, and on August 27. 1906. Mr. Plante married Mae Wall. whose father. Mr. S. P. Wall, is a retired merchant at Faribault, and whose mother died in 1889. By his second marriage Mr. Plante has one child. Robert Aime by name.
George Pease, now deceased, was a lifelong resident of Fari- bault, and was highly regarded by his associates. In business he was the soul of integrity and accuracy, in personal intercourse
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he was affable and courteous. His hobby was nature in her vary- ing aspects, and being an carnest advocate of out-of-door recrea- tion, he was twice elected president of the Faribault Golf Club. George Pease was born in Faribault, May 21, 1863, son of Lauren S. and Susan M. (Gibson) Pease. He received his education in Faribault and in Carleton College at Northfield. After leaving school he entered the employ of the Citizens' National Bank as clerk. His ability as an accountant and his personal qualities as a man won him gradual promotions until he became cashier, in which position he was honorably serving at the time of his death, July 19, 1907. Mr. Pease was interested in the business and financial development of Faribault, and was an active worker in the Commercial Club. November 22, 1898, Mr. Pease was mar- ried to Annie Ricker, born June 17, 1873, at Richmond, Me., daughter of Rev. George S. and Endora J. (Stockbridge) Ricker, natives of Maine, who came West in 1882 and located in Still- water. Subsequently they went to Missouri and Wyoming, and in 1894 came to Faribault, where Mr. Ricker preached in the First Congregational Church. He is now in Wichita, Kan. To Mr. and Mrs. Pease were born three children : George S. was born March 10, 1901; Harold was born November 14, 1904, and Carlos R. was born October 3, 1906.
Alexander F. Pringle, a specialist in disorders of the eye, car, nose and throat, occupies an enviable position among the people of Northfield and Rice county. Thoroughly ethical in his prac- tice, he has endeared himself to his patients and has won the respect and esteem of his professional associates. Dr. Pringle was born in Cornwall, Canada, October 4, 1853, son of Jacob F. and Isabella (Fraser) Pringle. He received his earlier education in the public schools and in 1880 graduated from the McGill Uni- versity in Montreal, Canada. He came the same year to North- field and engaged in general practice, being most successful. In 1892 he went to Europe and took special eye, ear, nose and throat studies for two years, returning in 1894, since which date he has devoted his entire time to his special line. In 1896 he was ap- pointed oculist and aurist for the state institutions at Faribault -the Minnesota School for the Deaf, the Minnesota School for the Blind, and the Minnesota School for the Feeble-Minded. He also does work for the Odd Fellows' Home and Hospital. Dr. Pringle is a member of the State and National Medical Associa- tions, and fraternally he associates with the Odd Fellows. He was married April 30, 1884, to Clara Francis Allen, born in Rice county in 1863, her parents being early settlers of this vicinity.
Frank M. Pierce, proprietor of the Faribault Book and Music Store, was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, November 2, 1867, and in the schools of that neighborhood received his education.
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From 1886 to 1895 he was employed in a wholesale dry goods house, and in the latter year came to Faribault, where he pur- chased an interest in his present business, later becoming sole owner and proprietor. Mr. Pierce belongs to the Masonic order, the Eastern Star, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Equitable Fraternal Union. He is also an active member of the Faribault Commercial Club. In politics he is a Republican.
Thomas H. Quinn, attorney at law, was born in Berlin, Wis., November 6, 1854, and was brought to Faribault by his parents in infancy, receiving his early education in the schools of his neighborhood, supplemented by much private study and wide reading. His inclinations early turned toward the law, a profes- sion his brother. Judge J. B. Quinn, had previously adopted, and his early manhood was spent in the study of the principles of equity and practice in his brother's office. In 1877 he was ad- mitted to the bar. In 1882 he opened an office and has since con- tinned in general practice. He has allied himself with the Amer- ican and the Minnesota Bar Associations, and has taken an active part in the development of Faribault, being at the present time president of the Faribault Commercial Club. He has served as county attorney five years and city attorney six years. Frater- nally, he associates with the Knights of Columbus, and in politics he is a Democrat.
Nels Paulson was born in Sweden, November 2, 1860, a son of Paul and Hanna (Johnson) Akerson, natives of Sweden. They came to America in 1862 or 1863, and located near Moline, III. They were there only a short time when the father enlisted in the Union army, and was probably killed near Little Rock, Ark., for he never returned to his home. The mother is still living in Sweden. Nels Paulson attended school in Sweden; he came to America when he was eighteen years old, and spent one year at Forest City, Iowa. He came to Minnesota and remained for a few months and then went to northern Michigan, where he worked in the iron mines for about five years. He returned to Minnesota, and settled in Forest township, in Rice county, where he purchased eighty acres in section 10. He has carried on a general farming up to the present time and has purchased an additional forty acres. In 1891 he was married to Lottie Quist. whose parents live in Sweden. They have two children : Carl Niel and Hattie Irene, and both live at home with their parents. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and believes in the principles of the Democratic party. He has served on the town and school boards and also as assessor for five years.
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