USA > Minnesota > Stearns County > History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 90
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Samuel Mackrell, of East St. Cloud, was born in Ireland, in Angust, 1845. He came to America in 1867 and found employment in the lime works. For many years he worked for the American Express Co. In 1880 he en- gaged in the grocery business. He retired in 1898. Mr. Mackrell married Mary Lynch, and they have four children: John H., Sarah, William A. and Eleanor M. John H. is married and they have one child. Sarah is married and they have an adopted child. William A. is married. Eleanor M. is mar- ried and they have one child.
John M. McGenty, East St. Cloud groceryman, was born in Wright county, October 19, 1863, son of John and Mary (McHugh) McGenty. He was reared on the home farm and at the age of twenty engaged in the grocery business in Waverly, Wright county. After five years he went to Superior, Wis., and became interested in real estate dealing, after engaging in the commission business. For thirteen years he was in the grocery business in Paynesville,, this county. Since 1911 he has conducted his present store in East St. Cloud. Mr. McGenty is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Columbus. He married Johanna Tamany, who was born in Wright county, Minn., of Irish parentage. Mr. and Mrs. McGenty have five children: Law- rence M., Alice, Paul M., Lillian and Walter. John McGenty came to Amer- ica in the early fifties with his mother and three sisters. After leaving the family in La Crosse, Wis., he came to Wright county, and took a homestead where he carried on farming operations. Mr. McGenty was a soldier in the Civil war. He had five children: Thomas, who was drowned at the age of eighteen; Dennis J., who is in the railroad mail service out of Superior, Wis .; John M., an East St. Cloud groceryman; Marion, who married Mr. Gratton and lives in St. Paul ; and Charles, deceased.
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Louis A. Moosbrugger, chief of the St. Cloud Fire Department, was born in Richmond, Minn., August 20, 1873, son of Joseph A. and Amelia (Mocken- haup) Moosbrugger. After receiving a common school education he started on his career. He was grocery clerk for Fandel & Nugent a while, was in the employ of the McCormick Harvester Co., and for a period was solicitor for the enlargement of photographs. December 10, 1889, he became con- nected with the fire department, and in April, 1901, was appointed to his present position. Chief Moosbrugger married Annie Nuerenberg, and they have a son, Raymond, born March 7, 1908.
Joseph A. Moosbrugger was a school teacher in the old country, and also followed that profession for a long time in America. He was a resident of the village of Richmond, in this county, for many years, and for a while clerked in a general store there. For fourteen years he was county treasurer, but resigned on account of ill health. For some years he was engaged in the abstract business with John Zapp, Jr.
Samuel E. Meagher, engaged in the real estate business in St. Cloud, was born in Milwaukee, Wis., September 27, 1855, son of Edmund and Honorah (Fitzgerald) Meagher. He was reared in several towns in Wisconsin and Min- nesota, attended such schools as his neighborhoods afforded, was tutored by his father, studied at the school taught by the Christian Brothers, at Prairie Du Chien; took courses in St. John's University, at Collegeville, Minn., and graduated from the St. Cloud State Normal School in 1880. He taught for a while; was a bank and store clerk for Andrew J. Smith at Sauk Centre, Minn .; went to Foley, Minn., May 1, 1887, and was all around man for the Foley Brothers there four years; and was then elected register of deeds of Benton county, serving four years; after which he was deputy under his suc- cessor for a year. He became claim adjuster for the Walter A. Wood Har- vester Co., and then went with the Deering Harvester Co., for six years, first as adjuster, then as "block man" and finally as general agent at St. Cloud, After a year spent in rest and travel for the purpose of recuperating his health, he became identified with the Dowagiac Manufacturing Co., making contracts and settling claims. Then he engaged in the land business in the northern part of Minnesota for Franklin Benner, of Minneapolis. In 1908 he engaged in his present business as a real estate agent in St. Cloud. He is interested in public affairs and his wide experience is a valuable factor in his work as city councilman. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Elks. Mr. Meagher was married at Sauk Centre, this county, in 1881, to Margaret Branley, and they have an adopted son, Robert, a bright boy of fourteen years.
Edmund Meagher, a pioneer teacher, was born and educated in Ireland, and taught there for a short time. As a youth of eighteen he came to America in 1848, lived for a while in Chicago, and then located in Milwaukee, teaching as opportunity afforded, and also operating a stationary engine. Later he moved to a farm in Lynden Station, Juneau county, Wis., where most of his children were reared. During the Civil war, the family lived in Milwaukee again. Then they moved to Prairie du Chien, where Mr. Meagher operated an engine for a railroad company. Moving still again the family came to Sibley
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county, Minn., rented a farm there for a short time, and then in 1867 took a homestead in North Fork, Stearns county. Mr. Meagher taught in both Stearns and Sibley counties, and was widely known as an expert mathemati- cian. In 1877 he defeated Lieutenant Governor Alphonso Barto for the legis- lature, and was made a member of the committee which investigated the books of the various county officials of Stearns county. Mr. Meagher died April 10, 1893. His wife died June 25, 1879.
Bernard F. Lammersen, of St. Cloud, was born in Steinheim, Westphalia, Germany, August 2, 1863, son of William and Fernande (Baierenke) Lammer- sen. He has devoted his life to various phases of the packing business. In 1880 le came to America with his brother Frank. After working in Minne- apolis a few months he came to St. Cloud that same year. He worked for Valentine Wetzel for a while, and then formed a partnership with Joseph A. Hunstiger. They bought out Mr. Wetzel. Twice they erected new buildings and twice changed their locations. This partnership was dissolved, and then Mr. Lammersen bought and shipped stock for a few years. Later he and Benjamin Kost opened a market, but finally sold out to Martin Molitor. In 1905, Mr. Lammersen and Mr. Kost opened a packing plant, of which Mr. Lammersen is now the sole owner. There is a cold storage plant in connec- tion with the business. Mr. Lammersen is an active and progressive man, and takes an interest in everything that pertains to the advancement of St. Cloud. He is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. Mr. Lammersen married Anna Danneker, a native of St. Cloud, and they have two children in the family, Mary G. and Arthur Heinen.
Peter H. Ley, one of the pioneers of Stearns county, now living in re- tirement in St. Cloud, was born near Cologne, on the Rhine, in Prussia, Ger- many, September 15, 1832, son of Henry and Mary Ann Ley, who brought him to America in the spring of 1842. At New York they joined a colony of eighteen people, and came west to Green Bay, Wis., an historic point which had been occupied by the French since the day of the early exploration. The colony soon grew to number thirty-seven families. In 1856 six of these fam- ilies, including the Leys, started out for Minnesota, and after looking about for a few weeks, located in St. Martin township, this county. The colony soon grew to seventy-five families, the country was rapidly developed, and a log church and log schoolhouse were erected. Peter H. Ley made many trips to St. Paul after supplies. In later years he brought the first thresh- ing machine to St. Martin township. In 1858 he went to Michigan, but after some two years returned to his father's farm in St. Martin township. During the Indian outbreak he visited various Minnesota points with a company of men bent on protecting the settlers and driving off the Indians. During this campaign he visited many points now known to history as the scenes of im- portant events in the Uprising. After this, Mr. Ley went to Bayfield, Wis., on Lake Superior, and after spending the winter there, went to Marquette, Mich., where he assisted in erecting houses for miners. He was called home, however, by the disability of his father, who finally died from the effects of a a fall. In 1871 the subject of this mention moved to Melrose, where he kept the Railroad House. Later he moved to St. Joseph and started a lumber yard
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and livery business, and bought and sold grain. In 1881 he moved onto a near- by farm and lived there two years, and then moved to St. Cloud where he now resides. Peter H. Ley married Cecelia Odore, and they have six children. Mary married Hubert Gans the St. Cloud printer, and they have eight children. George L., who is in the clothing business in St. Cloud, married Mrs. Mary Carney. Fanconia married John C. Utterholm, and they have two children. John H., who is interested in the publishing of city directories, married Ethel M. Orlig. Rosy L. married John C. Gun and they have one son.
Edwin P. Long, one of St. Cloud's progressive business men, now prac- tically retired, was born in Exeter, Scott county, Ill., December 22, 1860, son of Dr. Andrew and Ada (Armitage) Long. Andrew Long was born in Balti- more, Maryland, and graduated from the Jefferson College at Philadelphia, and the McDowell Medical College, of St. Louis, Mo. He practiced at Naples, Ill., about five years and then went to Exeter, Ill., where he followed his pro- fession until his death at the age of fifty-two years. His wife now makes her home in St. Cloud. Edwin P. received his early schooling in Exeter, Ill. He worked about two years in a flour mill at River Falls, Wis., and was likewise employed a similar period in the mills at Minneapolis, Minn. Then he en- gaged in the jewelry business in the same city. Subsequently he engaged in the same line in Chicago, for ten years. In 1893 he came to St. Cloud, and engaged in the same business with A. R. Robertson as an employee. Eight months later he started for himself, and thus continued for some twenty years. He has also devoted considerable time to the building and selling of houses. Fifteen dwellings in the city were thus erected and sold by him. In 1907 he built the Long block, one of the best office buildings in the city. Mr. Long is a member of North Star Lodge, No. 23, A. F. & A. M., St. Cloud Chapter, No. 46, R. A. M., and Nazarine Commandery, No. 24, K. T. He has passed through all the offices in St. Cloud Lodge, No. 92, I. O. O. F., and has also been its rep- resentative in the grand lodge. Mr. Long was married, August 14, 1897, to Susan Metzroth, daughter of John W. Metzroth, the pioneer. They have had two children. George Harrison Long was born December 6, 1898. Kenneth Harvey Long was born July 6, 1904, and died at the age of six months.
Henry Landwehr was born in Germany, of an excellent family, his father being possessed of considerable means. He received a good education, and as a young man entered the German army. At the completion of his service he returned home, and found that his brother had squandered the family for- tunes. Thus reduced in circumstances, he and his father were compelled to work at such labor as presented itself. At the age of twenty-four years, Henry Landwehr came to America. For a time he farmed near St. Louis. In 1859 he came to Stearns county, and located in St. Augusta township, where he purchased 160 acres from one of the early settlers. On this tract he farmed until his death in December, 1881. His widow lives with their son, Henry, in Portland, Oregon.
William H. Landwehr, engaged in the transfer and storage business in St. Cloud, was born in the township of St. Augusta, this county, August 6, 1869, son of Henry and Gertrude (Kiffmeyer) Landwehr. He was reared on the home farm, and worked first for his father and then for his brothers. When
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he was twenty-two he married, and rented a farm in St. Augusta township. Later he operated a farm in Benton county for his brother, Barney. His health failed him, and after resting a year, he was employed as a lumber camp clerk for two seasons. But his family was increasing and he saw the impor- tance of engaging in a permanent vocation. Upon investigating he found in St. Cloud a draying line which was of little importance. He purchased the business and has built up a large and profitable trade, has several days in constant use, and maintains a roomy storage warehouse. Mr. Landwehr is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and of the Red Men. Mr. Land- wehr married Josephine Weyrauch, and they have seven children: Edward, Herbert, Lena, Alfred, Clarence, Otto and Emma.
Henry J. Limperich. For nearly half a century, the men who partici- pated in the Civil war have taken a leading part in public affairs. They fought to preserve the Union, and in the years that have passed since then they have worked for its progress and betterment. From president to post- master, from Supreme Court judge to country justice of the peace, they have served with fidelity and distinction. But now a new race is springing up, and taking the positions which the older veterans are laying down. Among these are the heroic men who defended the flag in the far off Philippines. With broadened experience and widened views, they returned from the subduing of the savages, and took up the part of working out their destinies in what- ever town they called home. Many of them found high honors awaiting them. In Stearns county, when the Spanish-American war is mentioned people always think of the gallant second lieutenant, who is now clerk of the dis- trict court. Henry J. Limperich was born in Joliet, Will county, Ill., March 30, 1863, son of Peter J. and Elizabeth (Herschbach) Limperich, who brought him to St. Cloud in 1866. He spent his youth in St. Cloud and in Spring Hill, attending the public and parochial schools, and taking courses in the St. Cloud State Normal School. He has been a salesman in various lines of business. In 1898, as second lieutenant of Company M, Thirteenth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, he went to the Philippines, and there saw active service at Manila and in the interior for eighteen months. The regiment was mustered out in San Francisco, October 3, 1899, and reached St. Cloud, ten days later. For a while after his return, Mr. Limperich was engaged in selling a history of the Philippine campaign. Since then he has been in public office. From April 1, 1901, to April 1, 1907, he was city clerk. From April 1, 1900, to April 1, 1907, he was city justice. In 1906 he was elected clerk of the district court of Stearns county, a position he still occupies with much credit. In the early days, Mr. Limperich was a member of the historic old Volunteer Fire De- partment, and became one of the charter members of the paid department. May 19, 1894, when the Fire Relief Association was organized, he was made secretary in recognition of his active work in promoting the venture. This position he occupied for some fifteen years. He has been president and vice- president of the State Fire Relief Association. Mr. Limperich is an enter- prising, public-spirited citizen, and is a friend of all worthy undertakings. He married Nona C. Bullivant, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, daughter of William J. and Eliza (Blowfield) Bullivant.
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John Lang, Sr., came to America in 1833, and carried on his trade as a shoemaker in Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1857 he came to St. Cloud, but a year later he took up his residence in the village of Richmond, where he conducted a custom business for many years. His later days were spent in St. Martin. He died in 1883. His good wife is still living at the advanced age of eighty- four years, being one of the real pioneers of this county. They had five chil- dren. John died in infancy in Ohio. Elizabeth also died in infancy. Mary, now deceased, married Anton Moser and left four children. Susan is Mrs. Susan Kirchknapf, of Idaho, and is the mother of seven children. John is register of deeds of Stearns county.
John Lang, register of deeds of Stearns county, was born in the village of Richmond, Munson township, this county, son of John and Gertrude (Sharer) Lang. He was reared in his native village and in St. Martin. Duly equipped with a graded school education, he entered the State Normal School at St. Cloud, and was graduated in 1905. He taught at Rockville three years, at Watkins one year and at Avon one year. During this time his popularity was increasing, and in 1910 he was elected to his present office, being re-elected two years later. Mr. Lang is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and of the Knights of Columbus. John Lang married Lizzie Wimbach, and they have three children : Mildred T., born June 16, 1905; Edmund J., born No- vember 27, 1907, and Jerome V., born November 2, 1909.
James Keough, one of the earliest of the pioneers, was born in Wexford county, Ireland, in 1811. At the age of ten years he was left an orphan, and was "bound out" as an apprentice to a sea captain. After various experi- ences in different parts of the world, his young manhood found him working as a sailor on the St. Lawrence river and the Great Lakes. Later he settled in New York state. In 1846 he located in Wisconsin where he engaged in mining three years. In 1849 he came to Minnesota, and settled in Sauk Rap- ids. In 1853 he moved to the west side of the river and built a house on the Sauk river in what is now the township of St. Cloud. This was probably the first farm house erected in the county. It was located near the farm of the late Michael Lahr. Mr. Keough remained on this farm until 1870, when he traded it for land on the Rockville road in the township of St. Joseph, where he lived until his death in 1896 at the age of eighty-five years. His wife, Catherine Brady, was born about 1833 at Spanish Point, County Clair, Ire- land, on the sea shore about one mile from the village of Milltown. She came to America with friends in 1849, and lived for a time in Milton, Conn. Then she came west with the wife of Dr. Gilman, and with Mrs. Gilman's sister. They took up their residence with Mrs. Gilman's son in Sauk Rapids. In 1855 Catherine Brady married James Keough, and went to live on his farm. The children are: Jennie, Kate (deceased), Paulina, Margaret and George. Jennie married R. L. Scott, and has five children. Mr. Scott died in 1900, and the family lives in Seattle. Kate married Henry Clark and had two children. Paulina married Mr. Erickson, and they live in St. Paul. Mrs. Erickson's brother, Augustus, lives on Maine Prairie, this county. He mar- ried Miss Carroll, and they have five children. Margaret married Marion N. Hendricks. They have four children, and live in Sauk Rapids. George lives
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in Detroit, Minn. He married Miss Engles, daughter of Matthew Engles, and they have seven children. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Keough rented the farm for a few years, and finally sold it. About 1898 she moved to St. Cloud, where she still resides. Although she is in her eighty-second year she is still active and well-preserved. She looks after her own household, and is a capable woman in every respect.
Julius Kuck, now deceased, was born near Berlin, Prussia, Germany, in 1842. He came to America in 1862, and lived for a time in New York and St. Paul before coming to St. Cloud. Then he took a claim near Ft. Aber- crombie, in Cass county. After he returned to St. Cloud he worked for a while as a baker, and then started in that line for himself with Andrew Fritz. Later he bought out Mr. Fritz and continued in business alone until he sold out to Henry Puff. In 1886, Mr. Kuck went to Germany in search of health. There was little hope for him, however, and he passed away, August 4, 1896. His widow still lives in St. Cloud. It is worthy of note in the family history that Mr. and Mrs. Kuck on their wedding trip were passengers on the first passenger train out of Stearns county to St. Paul. Julius Kuck was married August 26, 1872, to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Xavier and Mary M. (Lindel) Braun, the pioneers, who settled in St. Cloud township in 1854. Mrs. Kuck was educated in the district schools and in St. Mary's Parochial School at St. Cloud. Mr. and Mrs. Kuck had nine children : Rudolph, Frank, Dorothea, Edward, Leo, Ida, Albert, Hulda and Isabelle. Rudolph married Berl Martin and they live in St. Paul, Minn. Frank married Kate Flinn, of Preston, Minn., and they have three children, Harold, Donald and Mary Catherine. Edward married Anna Maus, and they live at Spokane, Wash. Leo is a traveling salesman and lives in Minneapolis. Ida married Otto Dirks, and they have one daughter, Lois. They live in Spokane, Wash. Hulda lives in Minne- apolis.
John Kaufmann was born in Manayunk, now in the corporate limits of Philadelphia, Penn., August 13, 1846, son of Carl and Magdalena (Stimmler) Kaufmann, the former of whom was born in Bavaria, learned the trade of a weaver, and came to America in 1844. In 1855 the family came to St. Paul, and took up their residence on a farm near Chaska, in this state, where both parents ended their days. John attended schools near Chaska, and learned the mason's trade. At the age of twenty-four he came to St. Cloud, where he followed his trade for a while. Then for twenty-five years he oper- ated a farm in Clear Lake township, Sherburne county. After returning to St. Cloud he operated the Pacific Hotel for some six years. In 1903 he en- gaged in his present business. Mr. Kauffmann is financial secretary of the local lodge of the Sons of Herman, and also belongs to the G. A. R., having served eleven months as a member of Company G, Minnesota Volunteer In- fantry, in North and South Carolina and Virginia. Mr. Kaufmann married for his first wife, Mary Imholte, by whom he has ten children, of whom nine are living. After her death he married Magdalena Winson, a native of Canada.
James Reeve Jerrard was born at Appleton, Wis., September 21, 1867, son of John F. and Margaret (Beecroft) Jerrard, who came to Minnesota in
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the fall of 1884 and located at Bridgeman, where the father engaged in the sawmill business and the manufacture of hubs and spokes. The father died January 15, 1905, and the mother, July 2, 1902. In the family there were five sons and three daughters, all except one of whom are still living. James Reeve Jerrard led the usual life of the other boys of his generation and cir- cumstances. He located permanently in St. Cloud in the spring of 1893, and was business manager of the Journal-Press Company for fifteen years. He organized the Security Blank Book and Printing Co. in April, 1907, and has been its president ever since. His company enjoys a large patronage through- out Minnesota and the Dakotas, confining its output largely to manufac- tured stationery of all kinds for banks and counties. Mr. Jerrard is a mem- ber of most of the leading lodges of the city, including the Masons, Elks, Royal Arcanum and the like. He is a successful business man, and enthusiastic and energetic "booster" and a useful citizen in every respect. Mr. Jerrard was married June 22, 1892, to Alice M. Walther, and to this union have been born two children, Walther L. and Alice Lorraine.
Louis Hohmann, one of the pioneers of St. Cloud township, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1815. He was reared in his native land and became a soap-maker. In 1845 he came to America, and found employment in a picture frame establishment in Buffalo, N. Y. He was married in that city. In the middle fifties he came to Stearns county, and obtained 180 acres in the northwest part of section 28, St. Cloud township. He built a log cabin, broke a small tract of land, and started living a pioneer life. During the Indian uprising he was one of the few people who remained in the township. He did not escape numerous thrilling adventures however. Often there were sus- picious indications of the presence of Indians about the place, and more than once did he fire his shotgun in the direction of rustling noises heard in the night time. One day, two Indians approached the hut when Mrs. Hohmann was alone. They appropriated two hams that were hanging at the rear of the hut, and putting them under their blankets started to skulk away. But the plucky woman claimed her property from them, and after a severe tussel re- claimed her hams, took them in the cabin, locked the door, and withstood a siege until her husband returned and the Indians took flight. But the years moved on. Circumstances improved, and the country became thickly settled. In 1876 the Hohmanns erected a frame house to replace the log cabin. Mr. Hohmann continued to cultivate his farm until his death in 1892. His wife died the year previous. Mr. and Mrs. Hohmann had four sons: Joseph, Alphonse, Peter and Jacob. Joseph was born in 1850, and is now dead. He married Lottie Weinhause, and had eight children. Alphonse was born in 1855 and died in 1880. Peter was born in 1857, and lives in Rice, Minn. He married Lena Berger, and they have six children: Kate, Andrew, George, Al- phonse, Clara and Adalaide. Jacob L. is appropriately mentioned elsewhere.
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