History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 39

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

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Jacob Mon, a retired farmer of Oak township, now living in New Munich village, was born in Switzerland, March 27, 1854, son of Antoin and Dorethea (De Florin) Mon, who in 1867 came to Minnesota and settled on 160 acres in Oak Grove. He and his family began in a small cabin, and started farming with the aid of a yoke of oxen. Success came, and Antoin Mon was enabled to erect modern buildings and add to his farm holdings. Two years before his death he retired and moved to New Munich, where he died at the age of seventy-eight. His wife had died at the age of seventy-three. In the family there were seven children: Barbara, Jacob, Joseph, Louis, Antoin, Mary and Margaret. Margaret was born in Minnesota. The rest were brought here by their parents. Jacob Mon was a sturdy youngster of thirteen when his parents reached America. Even at that early day he did his share of the work, and finally came into the possession of the home place. He devoted his life to farming operations for many years and met with excellent success. He retired and moved to his present home in New Munich. Mr. Mon married Regina Caub, daughter of Mathias Caub, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, and an early settler of Stearns county. Mr. and Mrs. Mon have had ten children. Six are living : Conogonda, Margaret, Hubert, John, Lawrence and Barney. Benedict, Antoin, Dorethea and Henry are dead.

Joseph G. Rose, successful merchant of New Munich, of the firm of Benol- ken & Rose, is the son of John and Antoinette Rose. He attended the district schools and as a young man engaged in farming on 280 acres of land in Oak township. Later he conducted a hotel at New Munich for eleven years and then he formed his present partnership with Joseph P. Benolken. They do a large business and have taken a prominent part in the mercantile development of the village. Mr. Rose has been a member of the village council for six years and president of the council two years. Mr. Rose married for his first wife, Anna Roering, who died in March, 1900, leaving two children, Kate, who died at the age of fourteen and Elenora. The present Mrs. Rose was Emma Zim- merman, of Freeport, this county. They have had five children: Clarence, Anna, John, Rolia and Edmund.

John Rose was born in Germany, and after coming to the United States located at Cincinnati, Ohio. Later he came to Stearns county, and settled

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on a claim in section 8, Oak township. With him was his wife, Antoinette (Vormvrock), and his two children, John and Kate. The vicinity was wild, no roads had been built, they lived in a log cabin, farmed with an ox team, and went to St. Cloud for provisions. During the Indian uprising they sought refuge in St. Cloud. In after life he owned 340 acres of land, and a suit- able number of buildings. He was a town and school officer and took his part in church affairs. He died at about seventy-two years of age. His wife died at the age of fifty-nine. The children in the family were John, Kate, Henry, Mary, Joseph G., Herman, Benjamin.

Edward Meagher homesteaded the southwest quarter of section 6, in the township of North Fork and located there in 1868, coming with his wife (Ho- norah) and six children from Sibley county, Minn. He taught the first school in the township, in district 66, in the year 1868. The school district then comprised the east half of the township. This school was taught in the log cabin of Aslag Guldbrandson (Maelen). Mr. Meagher took an active part in the public affairs of the township in the early days. In 1869 he was elected to the office of assessor and reelected annually up to 1880. He also held the office of justice of the peace for about the same length of time or until he moved and settled on a farm across the line into Pope county. In the cam- paign of 1876 he was elected to the legislature, his opponent being A. Barto of Sauk Centre, formerly lieutenant governor, prominent not only in the district but also in the state. Mr. Barto was the Republican candidate and Mr. Meagher the Democratic candidate; the legislative district was strongly Re- publican. The family has been prominent; three daughters, Katie, Hannah and Margaret were teachers; Mary, now Sister Scholastica, O. S. B., has been a member of this Order for the past 25 years; Nellie resides in St. Paul; the oldest son, Samuel, was a teacher in the western part of the county for sev- eral years; another son, James, is a prominent farmer across the line in Pope county, and lives in the old home. Mr. Meagher was born in Ireland in 1828, came to America when a young man. He died at the old home where his son James now resides, on April 10, 1893.

Edward W. Nugent, real estate man of Brooten, was born in Dixon, Lee county, Illinois, June 10, 1859, son of John and Margaret (Keefe) Nugent, natives of Ireland. John Nugent came to America in 1849, and his wife a few years later. They were married in Illinois. For some years he operated a lumber yard and elevator at Dixon. May 13, 1873, he arrived in Minnesota, with his wife and six children, Edward W., M. F., Ellen, William, Margaret and John. Mary was born in Minnesota. The family located on 160 acres in section 18, North Fork township. They erected a frame house and started farming with three horses and two cows. The nearest mill was at Chippewa Falls, now Terrace, in Pope county. By hard work and frugal life, John Nugent secured 320 acres of land. He was chairman of the town at one time, served many years as school treasurer, and did his party good service as chair- man of the Democratic town committee. He died April 14, 1905. His wife died September 4, 1913. They were devout Catholics and assisted in erecting the church in Raymond township. Edward W. Nugent was educated in the schools of his neighborhood and in St. John's University, Collegeville, this.

E. W. NUGENT

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county. For some years he traveled for the McCormick and Deering Har- vester companies, as salesman, auditor and adjuster. About 1900 he took up his abode in Brooten, and in partnership with M. F. Rein formed the M. F. Rein Land Co. He is president of the Lancaster Land Co., Inc., of Lancaster, Minn. In 1905 he was a candidate for a seat in the lower house of the Min- nesota State Legislature.

Nels Olson, who after a life of many and varied experiences is now spend- ing his years in retirement in Brooten, was born in Norway, November 17, 1834. He came to America with his parents in 1854 and located in Rock county, Wis. In 1857 he moved to a claim in Spring Grove, Houston county, this state, which he had secured during a previous visit. He lived the life of the true pioneer, erected a log cabin, broke the land, and lived under the most primitive conditions. He was a recruiting officer during the Civil War. At the outbreak of the Indian troubles he showed his valor by urging his neighbors to stay on their homesteads and not to flee until there were indications that the Indians were to visit that part of the country. Some of the settlers were induced to return, and Mr. Olson was justified, for the Indians did no damage in that part of the state. In 1865 he came to Stearns county and settled in North Fork township, on 160 acres in section 27, near the Big Grove. To this he added from time to time. Here once more he started as a pioneer, living first in the wagon, and then erecting a building, part frame and partly of logs. Three years later he moved to Wheeling, in Rice county, where he farmed on 200 acres for twelve years. Then he moved to Getty, in Stearns county, and farmed on 240 acres in the southeastern part until 1887, when he moved to Brooten village where he now lives. He owns forty acres inside the village limits and eighty acres on the edge. Mr. Olson has been very active in locating settlers in the mining districts. At one time he selected a claim in the Mesaba district now worth millions, but was forced to relin- quish it as he had already used up his preemption and homestead rights. He still owns mining lands. Mr. Olson was married in 1868 to Segre Olson, born in Norway. She died in 1900 at the age of seventy-six. There are seven children living, Engeborg, Christina, Louis, Elana, Elizabeth, Sarah and Sam- uel. Two, Ole and Lee, are dead.

Ellen Baalson, the first pioneer of North Fork township, was born in Hallingdahl, Norway, November 1, 1834, was there married, March 3, 1861, and on June 21, 1861, arrived in Spring Grove, Houston county, this state. July 4, 1865, he reached North Fork township with Hans Peterson. They were the first to settle in the township. Mr. Baalson secured 160 acres, and started to establish a household in the wilderness. When he first arrived he and his family camped under their wagons. On the same site he erected a log house, and with a team of oxen he started breaking the land. There was great diffi- culty in getting to market, and money was scarce, his entire cash resources at the time of his arrival consisting of but fifteen cents. Being far-sighted in business, and a hard worker, he managed in time to acquire 800 acres. As the years passed he erected buildings in keeping with his increasing pros- perity. For many terms he was town treasurer and school officer. He was a devout member of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of North

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Fork township, and assisted in building its first log structure. Ellen Baalson was married March 3, 1861, to Karl Ostensen, born July 23, 1837. Their chil- dren are: Bjorn, born October 9, 1861, died January 18, 1874; Austen, born May 12, 1864; Jorgine, born June 26, 1865; Edward, born July 20, 1867; An- drine, born March 26, 1869 (dead) ; Olava, born January 21, 1871, died July 28, 1912; Henry, born September 23, 1872; Bernhard, born February 24, 1875, died December 20, 1903, and Herman, born May 29, 1878.

Henry Baalson, a successful farmer of North Fork township, was born on the home place in this township, September 23, 1872, and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. He was married July 6, 1898, to Ida Regina Bente, and they have six children: Clara Elenora, born April 11, 1900, died at the age of two years, two months and two days; Clara Jenet, born March 10, 1903, died at the age of four months; Elmo Orrin, born August 6, 1904; Oliver Bern- hard, born December 1, 1906, Clarance Johan, born October 13, 1909; Her- man Ingvold, born October 4, 1912.

Gustav Levorson was born February 22, 1869, in the town of North Fork, Minnesota. When the Willmar Seminary was opened he was one of the six- teen students who enrolled in that institution. After getting a thorough edu- cation he became a teacher and taught school for several years, eleven terms in all. Later he secured a homestead in Itasca county and lived there four- teen months. Mr. Levorson is an active worker in the town of North Fork and has held many prominent positions. He has been the chairman of the town and also held the position of justice of peace for several years. Being a farmer he is much interested in their needs and was one of the organizers of the Brooten Farmers' Co-operative Creamery Association and became its first secretary and manager. He still holds the position of treasurer of that association. Since 1903 he has been the secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of North Fork. In 1895 he was married to Andrina Baalson, who died in 1908. He has five children, Leonard, Clara, Elmo, Gilma and Arnold.

Kittel Halverson, member of the Fifty-second United States Congress, dis- tinguished citizen of North Fork township, was born in Norway, December 15, 1846, son of Halvor and Anne Halverson, the estate name of the family being Kjeldal. In 1848, the family, then consisting of the father and mother and eight children, Ole, Liv, Margaret, Soren, Hans, Halvor, Nels and Kittel, came to America, and located near Whitewater, Wis. From there they moved to Lodi, on the Wisconsin river in Columbia county, Wis. Still later they moved to Winchester, Winnebago county, Wis. The father died April 14, 1861, at the age of sixty and the mother died in 1856 at the age of fifty-five. In addition to the children they brought to this country, there were two, Anne and Thora, born in this country. Four of the sons, Soren, Hans, Halvor and Kittel, served in the Civil War. Kittel Halverson followed the fortunes of his family until September 1, 1863, when, lacking a few months of seventeen years of age, he enlisted as a private in Battery C, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. He followed the campaigns of that regiment until the close of the war, doing good service in the Battle of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Moun- tain, and the second battle of Chattanooga. He was mustered in at Milwau-

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kee, Wis., and mustered out at Madison; received his honorable discharge, and returned to the home farm in Winnebago, Wis., in October, 1865. The same year he started out with some other boys for the Northwest. In the party were the brothers, Halvor, Hans and Kittel Halverson, a cousin, Hans Swenson, and two other boys named Hans Kittleson and Syvert C. Larson. They made the trip, by foot, by boat, by rail, and by team, until they reached Renville county, Minn. The next day an election took place in Birch Cooley in that county, all being urged to vote. From this point they drove around the country looking for land. In November, 1865, he stopped one night in the tavern kept by William H. Blasdell, a pioneer of Paynesville. November 27, 1865, he filed on 160 acres of land in sections 26 and 27, North Fork township. He worked on the railroad for a few weeks and then re- turned to the claim of Hans Kittleson, where they built a log cabin in which the six boys spent the winter. As time passed, Mr. Halverson improved this land, erected the necessary buildings, purchased a complete supply of tools and machinery, and became one of the farmers of the community. In 1899 he went to Sargent county, North Dakota, where he farmed ten years. In 1909 he returned to North Fork and took up his residence on 200 acres of land in sections 32 and 33, the property constituting the homestead of his father-in-law, John U. Anderson. Mr. Halverson has been active in public affairs. As a veteran of the Civil War, he was for many years interested in the Republican party. In the early eighties he was nominated by his party as a candidate for the office of county commissioner, but declined to accept the nomination. Later he embraced the cause of the Farmers' Alliance. In 1886 he was elected to the lower house of the Minnesota legislature, being nominated by a mass convention, and endorsed by the Republican party. He served in the session of 1887, being a member of the railroad and educa- tional committees. In 1900, at a mass convention of the Farmers' Alliance held at Fergus Falls, Minn., he was nominated as a candidate for Congress from the Fifth Minnesota District. He was also endorsed by the Prohibition party. His opponents were : Comstock, Republican, and Whitten, Democrat. He was elected and served one term, from March 4, 1891, to March 4, 1893. With the exception of Haldor F. Boen, who served from the Ninth Minnesota District, from March 4, 1893, to March 4, 1895, Mr. Halverson is the only man that the Farmers' Alliance movement ever sent to Congress from Minnesota. Four years later, Mr. Halverson was again nominated for the same office, but was defeated. In local politics, Mr. Halverson has been a prominent man, and has served many years, at different times, as chairman and clerk of North Fork township. He is now a member of the board of supervisors; was a mem- ber of the school board for many years. Kittel Halverson was married Novem- ber, 1870, to Geoline Anderson, daughter of Jolin U. and Aulen Julia (Lar- son) Anderson. They have had thirteen children. Eight are living. They are: Henry, Josephine, Anna, Alfred, Clara, David, Lenora and Appeline. Those dead are : Nels, Nora, Abel, Noel and Anna.

K. Halverson was active in the organization of the Peoples' party, which he followed until its death in 1900, and has since affiliated himself with the Socialist party.

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HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY

Frederick Peterson, a retired farmer living in North Fork township, was born in Norway, December 13, 1848, son of Peter and Inger Peterson. The mother died in Norway in 1851; leaving five children: Frederick, Lauritz, Margaret, Christina and Paulina. The father married for his second wife, Catherine Peterson, and to this union were born two children, Ingine and Olena. In 1861 the family came to America and located on a farm of forty acres in Bloomfield, Fillmore county, this state. They erected a log cabin and started farming with an ox team. During the Indian troubles they were often frightened, but no Indians came within many miles of the place. The father lived on that farm until his death at the age of seventy-one. Fred- erick was reared in Fillmore county, and was there married. As a young man he purchased 100 acres in Bloomfield township, in that county and farmed there four years. Then he moved across the line into Mower county, and farmed there three years. In 1881 he moved to North Fork township, Stearns county, and secured forty acres of school land. No buildings had at that time been erected on the tract. Later he increased his holdings to 160 acres, erected modern buildings, and successfully carried on general farming for many years. He was clerk and assessor of North Fork township for many terms, and also served for a considerable period as school officer. Mr. Peter- son was married in 1872 to Petronille Bjerke, born May 6, 1851, in Norway, daughter of Nels and Kjerstine Bjerke, who came to America in 1861 and settled in Spring Grove township, Houston county. In their family there were ten children. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have three children: Ida, Ingine and Nora. Ida died in infancy. Nora married Henry Johnson, who operates the Peterson farm in addition to eighty acres of his own.

Andres Moen, a retired farmer living on his old homestead in North Fork township, was born in Norway, February 8, 1844, son of Nels and Ingerborg Moen. In the family there were four children: Halvor, Ole, Andrew and Ingerborg. By another marriage Nels Moen had three children: Thoren, Kittel, and Barbara. Nels Moen died in Norway, and in 1867 the mother and her four children came to America, and located in Spring Grove, Houston county, this state. As a young man Andres Moen had learned the carpenter trade. In 1869 he came to Stearns county, and secured a homestead of 120 acres in section 25, North Fork township. He built a log house, and with an ox team began clearing and improving the place. His hard work brought him prosperity, as time passed he erected modern buildings, and now owns 575 acres of land, on which for many years he successfully carried on farm- ing operations. As a carpenter he erected the first building of the Nor- wegian Lutheran Church, in North Fork township. For several years he was treasurer of his school district. Mr. Moen was married in 1871 to Thorga Vig, who died in 1910 at the age of sixty-one years. In their family there were eight children: Nels, Custa, Albert, Emma (deceased), Betsey, Anna and Carl.

Nels Moen, one of the most prominent and enterprising farmers of North Fork township, was born in the township where he still resides, April 24, 1872, son of Andres and Thorga (Vig) Moen, the pioneers. He operates 280 acres of rich land, and has modern barns and outbuildings, and an unusually

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sightly home, his farm being equipped with the latest and best farm imple- ments and tools, and everything else that helps to make farm life comfort- able and profitable. He has a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle, bred from full- blooded sires, and some excellent Poland-China hogs and Percheron horses. At one time he was a successful breeder of Shropshire sheep, and in this line was widely known. For about fourteen years he operated a threshing outfit in the neighborhood. Mr. Moen married Mary Heieie, daughter of Ole Heieie. They have five children: Tillie, Elmo, Evelyn, Odila and Theodore.

Joshua H. Bruce, now deceased, for many years a leading man in the western part of Stearns county, was born at Ladoga, Indiana, March 22, 1833, and there spent the first thirty years of his life. In October, 1863, Mr. Bruce removed to Sauk Centre, in this county, and purchased a quarter sec- tion of land on the Melrose road. Ten years later he exchanged with S. M. Beidleman, for the farm in Getty Grove, on which he lived for many years. Embracing 400 acres, the farm was one of the best in Central Minnesota, and the acres were as well known for fertility as the home was for hospitality. Modest and unassuming, a thorough farmer in theory and practice, he had little time for anything that would divide his attention. Aside from holding school district and township offices, he shrank from anything that savored of publicity. Nevertheless, in 1886, wholly unsought, he received the nomina- tion for a seat in the lower house of the state legislature from a people's con- vention, and was elected without opposition. He served the state and his constituency faithfully, and conscientiously, but declined renomination. He preferred home to the turmoil of legislative life. His death in 1894 came after a brief illness. He had known of his approaching end, and had gone to his long rest with courage and fortitude. At the time of his death it was said of him: "The death of an upright man and an enterprising citizen is a public calamity. When, in addition thereto, the deceased is possessed of a warm heart, sympathetic nature, liberality of action, purity of life, nobility of character and disinterestedness of motive, it strikes deeper, it becomes a personal bereavement to all who knew him. Such a man was Joshua H. Bruce. To him flowed out the esteem and admiration of all who knew him, and his memory will be revered long after his mortal frame shall have crum- bled to dust." Mr. Bruce was married in 1855, to Sarah E. La Follette, and to this union were born four sons and four daughters. Joshua H., Jr., is de- ceased; Mary P., married David Love; Sarah M., married Edward L. Mantor; Ella E., married John H. Love; Mabel L., married Charles L. Gray; Charles R. is a farmer of Ashley; Wallace is deceased ; James M., lives in Elrosa, Minn.

Charles R. Bruce, one of the leading citizens of Ashley township, and prominently identified with business interests of this part of the state, was born November 13, 1865, son of Joshua H. Bruce. He has taken an active interest in public affairs, and has served his township in various capacities on the town and school boards. He is president of the Co-operative Creamery Co., of Westport, Minn., treasurer of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Society, of North Fork, this county; and a director in the Merchants' National Bank, of Sauk Centre. Mr. Bruce was married June 5, 1897, to Mary Koterba, and their home is one of the most hospitable in the community.

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Gilford D. Cass, a successful farmer of Ashley township, was born in Ohio, October 9, 1859, son of Judge Samuel and Martha A. (Story) Cass. In 1881 he came to Sauk Centre, and purchased 160 acres of land in Ashley township. To this he later added eighty acres. He has served in various offices of different sorts, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of West- port, Minn. Mr. Cass married Ella Wilcox, of Mankato, Minn. Samuel Cass was born in Ohio, the son of Julius Cass. Samuel Cass died September 13, 1912, at the age of ninety-three years. His wife is still living in Ohio at the age of eighty years. They had seven children: Eugene, Webster, Paul, Clif- ford, Freemont, Vienna and Clifford D. Julius Cass engaged in farming and stock buying in New York state. His children were: Joseph, Campbell, Wellington and Samuel.

O. O. Roen, a prominent citizen of Ashley township, was born in Norway, October 6, 1846, and came to America at the age of twenty-one years. For many years he lived in Wisconsin, from which state he came to Ashley town- ship in 1902. He owns a splendid farm of 350 acres, and has been very suc- cessful in his farming operations. His son, John, also owns a large farm in the same neighborhood. Mr. Roen married Mary Jansen, and they have six children : John, Emma, Henry, Robert, Frank, Oliver and Rudolph. Frank died in infancy.

James Swift, a substantial and honored citizen of Ashley township, was born in Canada, September 21, 1849, and in 1885 came to Minnesota and ac- quired eighty acres of land. Conditions when they arrived were primitive indeed. No buildings had been erected on the tract, no road led to it, and there were no church or school advantages in the neighborhood. But they set at work with a will, and by hard work, courage and frugality, they have attained success and are numbered among the best people in the community. They have a pleasant home with the necessary barns, they have a telephone in the home and are served by a rural mail route, while the neat place is beau- tified by a grove, and equipped with the necessary tools for the successful carrying on of the farm work.

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History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 39

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