History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 25

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1110

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Mr. Coates has taken an active part in the affairs of Sauk Rapids and Benton county. He was sheriff from 1872 to 1874, served as deputy the suc- ceeding four years, was again elected sheriff and served from 1878 to 1880. Then he became judge of probate. He now represents his district in the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, and has made an excellent record.

Joseph A. Coates was married in 1878 to Mary E., daughter of Erasmus and Jane Cross. To this union four children have been born: Henry, Ada, Frederick and Emma. Henry married Mary Roth, and they have one son, Wilbur. They live on the father's farm. Ada married Jacob Jackson and they have three children, Florence E., Mary and Warren. They live in Al- berta, Canada. Frederick is living with his sister in Alberta. Emma is the wife of Walter Mansfield, of Hamilton county, Mont., and they have two chil- dren, Mildred and Benard. Mrs. Mary E. (Cross) Coates died and, in 1897, Mr. Coates married Julia, the daughter of Jeremiah and Sophia Russell.

Julia A. has furnished the information for this historical information. She was born in the township of Le Sauk, in Stearns county. She attended the dis- trict schools, the St. Cloud State Normal School, and Carleton College, at Northfield, Minn., as well as the Conservatory of Music in Boston, Mass. She taught school in Sauk Rapids, Little Falls, Alberta and Santiago and she also was a proficient music teacher. In 1897 she married Joseph H. Coates, a prom- inent Benton county official.

Jeremiah Russell, a member of the first territorial legislature of Minne- sota, was born in Eaton, Madison county, New York, Feb. 2, 1809. After at- tending the district schools he entered the Academy at Fredonia. When quite young he learned to set type in the office of the Fredonia Gazette, the first newspaper established in Chautauqua, N. Y. He followed this trade in Geneva, and other places, and clerked in a general store in Palmyra, Mayne county, in the same state for several years. In 1835 he started out on his trav- els and after wandering about Michigan and Indiana, he reached Chicago, went from there to Milwaukee, and then found his way to the Lake Superior country, where he worked as a mine foreman. In 1837, he associated himself with Franklin Steele and others, and took a claim at St. Croix, Wis. In 1839 he became government blacksmith and farmer, and went among the Indians about Lake Pokegama, and at La Pointe. In 1848 he located in Crow Wing, Minn., as agent for C. N. W. Borup and C. H. Oakes, the fur traders. In the fall of 1849 he was placed in charge of the post of the American Fur Co., about two miles above Sauk Rapids, on the east side of the river. About 1853 he settled in Le Sauk township, in what is now Stearns county. In 1869 he moved across the river to what is now Sauk Rapids in Benton county. There for a while he kept a tavern. He took a deep interest in educational matters and one of the schools at that place now bears his name. His membership in the first law-making body ever assembled in Minnesota has been mentioned. He died in 1888. Mr. Russell was married, September 20, 1843, to Sophia Oakes, the

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daughter of Charles H. and Sophia Oakes. They had seven children: Albert, Stanley, Mary M., Jeremiah, Julia A., Harriet and Fannie. Albert died in September, 1850, the first white person that passed away in Sauk Rapids. Stanley married Martha A. Hooper, and they have three children: Minnesota, commonly called Minnie, Edward, and Sophia who married Mr. Loucks and died in 1912. Mary M. is the wife of W. M. Newman, and they have two children, Lewis and Ethel. Jeremiah married Charlotte Ware. Harriet died at the age of seven years and Fannie at the age of five.

David Gilman, a distinguished pioneer, was born April 29, 1812, son of John Gilman, who took the family to Orange county, Vermont, when David was but six months old. In that county David Gilman grew to manhood. In 1836 he went to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he kept a stable and dealt in horses. He was the first city marshal of Kalamazoo, holding that office for six years. He was also one of the original members of the first fire department. In 1848 he entered the employ of the American Fur Company, and in that capacity located with his family at Mendota, Minn. In 1849 he came to Watab, in what is now Benton county, and from Asa White bought out the rights to some 240 acres in what is now section 27. This same year he was appointed sheriff of Benton county by Governor Alexander Ramsey, and soon thereafter was elected to this office. He was county commissioner for a number of years, and chairman of the board a part of that time. In 1850 he represented his district in the Territorial Legislature, and in 1857 he sat in the Constitutional Convention. In the latter body he was noted for his strong advocacy of a proper recognition of the school interests of Minnesota. His home at Watab was the old Watab trading post, and at this place the postoffice was also kept. He was first appointed postmaster in 1853, and he held that office at different times for many years. David Gilman died in 1885 at the age of seventy-three. His wife died at the age of eight-five. Mr. Gilman was married in September, 1844, to Nancy W. Lamb, of Woodstock, Vermont, and of their five children, four grew to adult years. They were Ellen R., Sarah B., John D. L. and Frances E.

John David Lowry Gilman, a farmer of Watab township, Benton county, was born May 26, 1854, in section 27, of the township where he still resides, son of David and Nancy (Lamb) Gilman, the pioneers. He received his early education in Watab and St. Cloud, and was reared on the home farm where he has since continued to reside. Mr. Gilman is known far and wide. He has held all the important offices in his township and is still on the school board. He is a member of the Masons, the Yeomen, the Old Settlers Association and the Pioneer Association. His comfortable home and commodious out build- ings are located directly on the bank of the Mississippi river, while his farm consists of 200 acres of the best land. Mr. Gilman married Adelaide F. Mc- Neal, who lived on a farm in Benton county. In the Gilman family there are six children : Minnie M., Ervine D., Alton, LeRoy, Cyren C. and John W. Minnie M. married Robert Burton and they have three children. Ervine D. married Pearl Moore.

Rev. Sherman Hall, a pioneer missionary, was born in Weatherfield, Ver- mont, April 30, 1800. He attended Exeter Academy at Exeter, N. H., gradu-

MR. AND MRS. DAVID GILMAN

RICHARD CRONK

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HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY

ated from the academic course at Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, Maine, and completed a three years' course in theology at the Andover Theological Sem- inary, Andover, Mass. He entered the service of the American Board of For- eign Missions, and for twenty-two years labored among the Chippewa Indians, at La Pointe, on Lake Superior, in Wisconsin. Then he came to Minnesota to take charge of the government schools at Crow Wing. He translated the New Testament into the Chippewa tongue, and had the translation published in New York in the winter of 1843-44, revising it in 1856. He wrote a grammar in the same tongue, but the manuscript disappeared. Next he wrote a Chip- pewa hymn book, and later two small booklets, "The Peep of Day" and "Les- sons from the New Testament." When the government removed the schools to Gull Lake, and took them out of the control of the Congregational denom- ination, Rev. Hall came to Sauk Rapids, held the first religious services here, and established the Congregational Church. For forty-eight years he labored in the Northwest, and won the respect of the whites and the Indians alike. He was judge of probate of Benton county and served also as county superin- tendent of schools for a considerable period. He died August 31, 1879, as the result of injuries received in falling from a wagon.

Sherman Hall was married in Cambridgeport, Mass., June 15, 1831, to Betsey P. Parker, of that place. Three of their children, Edwin S., Harriet P. and Sarah E. lived to adult years. Edwin S. farms in Benton county, and has occupied a number of public positions including that of clerk of the district court. Harriet P. married Calvin Hicks, now deceased, a lawyer who served for a time as treasurer of Benton county. Sarah E. married Richard Cronk, the surveyor.

Richard Cronk, widely known as a practical surveyor, died at his home in Sauk Rapids, in 1897. He was born in upper Canada, January 30, 1838, and spent his early life in the vicinity of his birth place. In 1856 he settled on a farm in Minden township, Benton county, Minnesota, and in 1867 located in Sauk Rapids where he built the home in which his family still resides. For thirty-three years he was a surveyor. During fifteen years he was county surveyor. He surveyed six townships in Crow Wing county, Minn., and also worked in Nebraska, and along the Red River of the North. For two years he was treasurer of Benton county. Mr. Cronk married Sarah E. Hall, who was born in La Pointe, Wis., in 1839. They had two sons, Charles G. (deceased) and Edwin S.

James K. Miller, now living in Sauk Rapids, is the last surviving charter member of North Star Lodge, No. 23, A. F. & A. M. He was born in Ireland, October 16, 1828, son of Alexander and Jennie (King) Miller, who died within a week of each other, when James K. was a small boy. He accordingly went to live with an uncle in New Brunswick, Canada, where he was reared. As he grew, however, he found his uncle's home uncongenial, and therefore started out in life for himself. He learned the blacksmith trade at Oak Bay, New Brunswick, Can., and worked in various towns in that vicinity. In 1857 he came to Watab, this state, established his home and a shop, and for a time did work for the government troops stationed at Fort Ripley. In 1861 he came to St. Cloud and opened a shop on the levee. During a period Thomas

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Jones was his partner, the shop then being located on the corner of Fifth avenue and Fourth street. For eighteen months, Mr. Miller served in Com- pany I, Seventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, participated in the Indian campaign, and was discharged for disability, having been taken ill on the plains. For a time after his return he was again associated with Mr. Jones. Later he built a shop on Seventh street, and continued in business there until 1875, when he opened an establishment in Sauk Rapids. April 14, 1886, his shop was destroyed by a cyclone. Then he engaged in sharpening quarry tools for some eleven years. Later he lived on his farm in Sauk Rapids, which he had acquired in 1867. In 1900 he retired from active life. Mr. Miller is a splendidly preserved man for his years and is in the full possession of his fac- ulties. His memory is excellent and his description of the early days is in- teresting and instructive. James K. Miller married Sarah Ann Stevenson, daughter of Hugh and Nancy (Leach) Stevenson, and of their six children there are now living five: Jennie, Annie M. (deceased), Frederick C., Edward A., Harrison K. and Belle W. Jennie is the wife of George Bloxon, of Spokane. Annie M. was married, November 22, 1883, to Charles Westlake, of St. Cloud, and died November 22, 1884, on the first anniversary of their wedding. Fred- erick C. married Anna M. Palmer, has nine children, and lives in Sauk Rapids. Edward A. married Lillian I. Dowsland, lives in Sauk Rapids and has two chil- dren. Harrison K. married Emma Stanton, and they have one child. Belle W. lives at home and teaches.

William Fletcher, a pioneer miller, was born in England, and came to America as a young man. After working in a mill at Genesee Falls, New York, he went to Ohio. From there he moved to Chicago, and thence to Beloit, Wis., still following his trade. It was in 1855 that he came to Minnesota. For two years he rented a mill there, and then, upon being joined by his family, he went to Little Falls, in Morrison county. In 1858 he built a mill there, but after eighteen months the water-power there failed and he moved the machinery to Sauk Rapids, where he opened the Sauk River mill. He died in 1860, but his wife conducted the mill for many years thereafter. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher had five children.

William H. Fletcher, for many years a leading citizen of Sauk Rapids, and noted far and wide for the interest he has taken in aparian pursuits, was born in Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, February 27, 1842. At an early age he was taken to Chicago, and from there to Beloit, Wis. In 1855 he came with his parents to St. Anthony, Minn., went from there with them to Little Falls, and from there, in 1859, to Sank Rapids, where he still resides. As a boy he worked in his father's mill for a while. As a young man he learned the trade of wagon maker and in 1868 he and Weslie Carter opened a factory in St. Cloud for the manufacture of vehicles. His business since 1878 has been real estate and insurance. Mr. Fletcher is a prominent man in Benton county. He has been county auditor and county treasurer, and is now county commis- sioner, having served in the latter capacity for the past fourteen years. He is a member of North Star Lodge, No. 23, A. F. & A. M., at St. Cloud, and also of Sauk Rapids Lodge, No. 84, A. O. U. W., at Sauk Rapids. He is an active vig- orous man to whom the advancing years have brought increasing powers.

MR. AND MRS. W. H. FLETCHER AND MRS. MARTHA EVEREST

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Mr. Fletcher was married, in 1879, to Alda M. Everest, daughter of Marshall D. and Martha (Aull) Everest. Mrs. Everest makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher. In spite of her ninety three years she is a woman of unusual abilities. In the full possession of all her faculties, and blessed with a won- derful memory, she is a most entertaining conversationalist, and a most agree- able companion.

Ludwig Robbers, a resident of Sauk Rapids, Benton county, was one of the pioneers of St. Cloud, in Stearns county. He was born in Westphalia, Germany, April 14, 1832, son of John and Mary Robbers, the former of whom lived to be ninety-three and the latter ninety-seven. The family originated in France, the grandfather having gone to Westphalia during Napoleon's time. In France the name was spelled Roberts and pronounced Robear, but the French pronunciation was beyond the German tongue of the Westphalians, and it was modified to its American form. In 1844 the famliy, consisting of John and Mary Robbers, four daughters, and two sons, John and Ludwig, the latter then twelve years of age, came to America, the trip on the ocean taking forty days. After living in New Orleans, the family moved to Evans- ville, Indiana, where the father secured forty acres of land. Ludwig, how- ever, became dissatisfied with farming, and having in the meantime married he brought his wife and three children to St. Cloud, in 1856, and engaged in the general store business with J. W. Tenvoorde as a partner, on the present site of the First National Bank. Later the two had a place of refreshment, and entertainment on St. Germain street. In 1861 Mr. Robbers erected a business house on Fifth avenue, north, where he likewise engaged in the refreshment business. He also erected a brick residence on the same street. Later he farmed for a while in Benton and Sherburne counties, returned to St. Cloud for a while, went to Little Falls, Minn., and bought a harness shop, and later moved to Royalston, Minn., where he carried on the harness business for four years. Since 1905 he has lived in Sauk Rapids.

Mr. Robbers is one of the best informed men in this part of the state regarding the early days of Stearns and Benton counties, and is often inter- viewed when such information is desired. At the time of the Indian outbreak, he and Chris. Grandelmeyer carried dispatches by the orders of the governor to the people of Paynesville and Forest City. Henry Z. Mitchell was at that time commissary general of the state. Mr. Robbers was one of those who as- sisted in superintending the building of the stockade at St. Cloud, and Henry Z. Mitchell performed a similar duty in the Lower-Town, now the southern part of the city of St. Cloud. For a time, Mr. Robbers was deputy sheriff of Stearns county. When the city of St. Cloud was incorporated, he was elected alderman, and is the only member of the original board now living. He served one term in the lower house of the state legislature and was assessor of the city of St. Cloud at different terms. Mr. Robbers married Mary Lansing, a native of Prussia, and of their nine children, there are living three, Henry, William and Frank. For his second wife, he married Esther McAvay by whom he had six children: Louis, Joseph, George, Meinulf C., George A. and Gertrude. Louis married Annie Lillin and has four children, Esther, Gertrude, Ludwig and Meinulf, the latter of whom lives at Index, state of Washington. Meinulf

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C. Robbers lives at home with his father. He was born in St. Cloud, October 16, 1869, attended the Union School, at St. Cloud, learned the trade of harness making with his father, and is now the justice of the peace in Sauk Rapids. Joseph is a stone cutter. He married Annie Tenvoorde, and they have three children living, Eugene J., Blanche and Clifford. Gertrude married Jeremiah Sullivan, now of Waburn, Minn., and they have two children, Robea and Hubert.

Thomas Van Etten, soldier and county official, was born in Deer Park, near Port Jervis, Orange county, New York, September 20, 1836, son of Thomas Van Etten, also a native of Deer Park, and Sarah Van Auken, a native of Mon- tague, Sussex county, New York. The founder of the family in America was Jacob Jansen, a native of Etten, Holland, who settled in Kingston, N. Y., and styled himself Jacob Jansen Van Etten. Thomas Van Etten was reared in the home of his parents, and completed his preparatory school work in his native village. Upon coming to Minnesota, he located in St. Paul, and began the study of law with his brother, Isaac Van Etten. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in Company A, First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and served three months. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, Ninth Min- nesota Volunteer Infantry, received a commission as second lieutenant, was promoted to first lieutenant, and on January 16, 1865, became captain. During his service in the army, he took part in the battles of Nashville, Tenn., Brice's Cross Roads, Jefferson City, Vicksburg, Memphis and Montgomery, aside from minor skirmishes and engagements, and narrowly escaped imprisonment in Andersonville. He was also an active participant in the campaign against the Indians in the Northwest, was at the siege of Fort Ridgley, and was present when the thirty-eight Indians were executed at Mankato. He was released from army service in May, 1865. For several years thereafter he was in poor health as the result of the strenuous campaigns in which he had engaged. These years were spent in visiting his widowed mother in New York state, in completing his law studies, and in taking a trip to the West. Part of the time he was incapacitated from duties of any kind. A particularly interest- ing feature of these years was his trip with 300 others, overland to the moun- tains of Montana. For some years he farmed on a claim near Bismarck, North Dakota, where, having been admitted to the bar, he also practiced law. In the fall of 1882, Mr. Van Etten came to Sauk Rapids, where he opened a law office. About a year after his arrival he was elected auditor of Benton county. Later he served as county attorney. For fifteen years he was assessor of Sauk Rapids. Mr. Van Etten was made a Mason in St. Paul in 1862. He was an active member of the G. A. R. and was also prominent in the Benton County Bar Association. He died November 20, 1913. His life was a useful one, his circle of riends was large, he had more than average man's share in the devel- opment of Sauk Rapids and Benton county, and his death left a genuine vacancy in the community.

For his first wife, Mr. Van Etten married Georgianna Hughes, whose grandfather was at one time publisher of the Niles Register, in Baltimore. Five of the children born to Mr. Van Etten by this marriage are still living. Blanche married George S. Parker, and they have one child. Burleigh married

THOMAS VAN ETTEN

MR. AND MRS. ALPHONSE BARTO

JUDSON A. STANTON

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C. W. Wood, now deceased, and has three children. Katherine lives in the state of Washington. Melron is living in Duluth. Hughes is in the lumber business in International Falls, Minn. Mrs. Georgianna (Hughes) Van Etten died about 1882. In 1885, Mr. Van Etten married Tillie R. Krueger, a native of Germany. This union has resulted in five children: Paul who is married and lives in International Falls; William, who lives in Lima, Minn .; Otto, who lives in De- troit, Mich .; Elsie B., living at home; George, a teacher, living at home; and Jane, who is still a public school pupil.

Judson A. Stanton, of Sauk Rapids, is a prominent figure in the early history of this state, and his name is intimately associated with the story of the building of the railroads. He was born in Hampden, Mass., November 5, 1834, son of James and Lucia (Stebbins) Stanton, well-known agricultural people of that region. He attended the district schools and the academy of his native place, and prepared himself for college at Carlisle, N. Y. In 1852 he entered Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, from which he was graduated September 5, 1855. In the fall of 1856, the country was engaged in one of its bitterest political conflicts, James Buchanan and John C. Fremont were the candidates for the presidency. Mr. Stanton and his friends worked hard for Fremont, and Mr. Stanton cast his first vote for him. The day after the election the subject of this mention started out for Chicago. In the spring he secured employment with a group of men who were laying out the Racine & Mississippi Railroad, now a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul sys- tem. In addition to surveying for the road bed, the men had to secure the right of way, and also to induce the farmers to mortgage their farms and pur- chase stock in order that the project might be financed. But when they had reached Turtle Creek bottoms, a point east of Beloit, Wis., the young men were stricken with malaria. Minnesota was then regarded as possessing an ideal climate for people afflicted with such ailments, and accordingly Mr. Stanton came to this state and located at St. Anthony, now a part of Minne- apolis, where for a year he was nursed by friends until he completely recovered. For a while he was employed at his profession in Minneapolis. Then he went to Forest City in Meeker county, this state. He was connected with the United States Land office there and assisted in locating pioneer settlers. He also took a claim for himself, became a citizen of that county, served as first clerk of the district court. Court in that county under state organization. He opened stores at Forest City and Greenleaf, and transported goods by ox-team to the Indian Agency at Yellow Medicine. In 1862 he returned to his native town and married. Upon again reaching Meeker county, however, he found that the Indians had risen. Accordingly he sold his goods, and located in Clear- water, in Wright county, where he carried on business for several years. Later he became a member of the firm of Arnold & Stanton, and assisted in operating a mill at the mouth of Sauk river. The partnership was finally dis- solved, and Mr. Stanton erected a mill at Sauk Rapids on the Mississippi river. This mill, with an interval when he leased it, he conducted until April 14, 1886, when it was destroyed by cyclone, causing him a loss of $40,000. Thus at middle age, with the earnings of a life-time swept away, he resumed his youth- ful profession. In this capacity he worked for the Northern Pacific, on the

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Yellowstone Division and the Great Northern as construction engineer; the Sauk Centre & Northern, the Duluth, Huron & Denver, and the Chicago, Port- age & Superior. In the meantime he became interested in farming in Benton county, and finally he settled down. He is county surveyor of Benton county, and spends his time between his professional duties, his farm in Sauk Rapids township, and his stone residence in Sauk Rapids village.

Mr. Stanton was married, June 24, 1862, to Maria Emeline Smith, daugh- ter of Levi Smith. This union has resulted in three children. John Howard was born April 1, 1863, and died March 30, 1882, at nineteen years of age. Edward S. was born August 10, 1865, and is now head miller for the Russell Miller Milling Co. at Dickinson, N. D. He married Eliza Geer and they have seven children. Ella M. was born August 31, 1867. She married F. M. Lorin of Mandan, North Dakota, and they have one daughter. Mrs. Maria Emeline (Smith) Stanton was born October 1, 1836, and died November 7, 1869. On July 4, 1870, Mr. Stanton married her sister, Lucy O., who was born January 2, 1839, and died August 8, 1904. This union resulted in four children. Emma L. was born September 13, 1871. She married Harry B. Miller, of Sauk Rapids, and they have one daughter. Ida M. was born Mary 15, 1874. She is a teacher in Minneapolis. Charles J. was born May 19, 1877, and also lives in Minne- apolis. May Ethel was born July 14, 1880, and died December 16, 1883.

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History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 25

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843- Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper Number of Pages: 1110

Author: Mitchell, William Bell, 1843-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago : H. S. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1110