History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 41

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

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HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY

Weseloh, natives of Hanover, Germany, who came to the United States in 1863, and spent the remainder of their years on various farms in Sauk county, Wisconsin, the mother dying October 3, 1910, at the age of seventy- three and the father October 2, 1912, at the age of seventy-five. The children in the family were: Henry, William, Dorethea, Fred, Edward, Henry W., Bertha, Minnie, Mary and Martha. Henry, Edward and Minnie are deceased, the two first named having died as infants. The father was a devout Luth- eran, and a trustee of his congregation. Thus in a home of piety, Henry W. was reared. He attended parochial school until he was confirmed, and then entered the public schools. By hard work and close application he earned enough money to pay his way through a higher institution. Accordingly he entered Concordia College at Springfield, Ill., and was graduated in 1900. Soon afterward he was ordained and was assigned to a charge in La Mour county, North Dakota. After doing good work there for six years and three months, he came to his present congregation in November, 1906. He is a deep student, a clear thinker, a faithful pastor, a good preacher, and a devout theologian. He has been identified in a general way with several progressive movements in the church and in the community. Rev. Weseloh was married November 25, 1900, to Minnie Elfers, and they have six children: Henry John, Martin Edward, Edward Julius, Adela Mary, Edna Emma and Walter Paul. Minnie Elfers was born in Washington township, Sauk county, Wis- consin, October 28, 1874, daughter of Henry and Catherine Elfers, natives of Hanover, the former born May 4, 1846, and the latter July 24, 1837. They were married in Wisconsin, and had the following children: Henry, John, Minnie, William and Julius.

Richard Morgan Van Dervort, of Fair Haven, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, February 4, 1842, son of Jonah and Eliza (Phillips) Van Dervort, and grandson of Paul and Elizabeth Van Dervort and Joshua and Lucinda Phil- lips. Paul Van Dervort came from Holland to New York, and thence to Clinton county, Ohio, where his homestead is still in the possession of his descendants. The Phillips family is prominent in Kentucky. Jonah Van Dervort spent the span of his years in Clinton county, Ohio. He was a prac- ticing physician of the allopathic school. He and his wife had six children: Martha, Emmerson, J. B., Richard Morgan, Jennie and Mary.

Richard Morgan Van Dervort received his early education in Ohio, and as a youth became interested in the mercantile business. In 1861 he came to Minnesota and settled in Fair Haven township. At a cost of $450 he pur- chased 200 acres in sections 14, 21 and 28. Later he sold this tract and pur- chased a small farm of sixty acres adjoining the village. There he farmed until 1875. Then he bought cattle and drove them to Ft. Lincoln, near the present site of Bismarck, issuing meat to Custer's army. Subsequently he operated a market for N. P. Clarke at Winnipeg one year. Then he entered the employ of Grinols & Cooper, at Fair Haven. After eight years Mr. Cooper died, and Mr. Van Dervort was appointed the administrator. For two years R. M. and J. B. Van Dervort conducted. a mercantile establishment at Fair Haven under the firm name of the Van Dervort Brothers. When this concern was sold out, R. M. Van Dervort secured a position as the purchaser of the

MR. AND MRS. RICHARD M. VAN DERVORT

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right of way for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. Later he was claim agent for this company for four years, and at the com- pletion of his service had charge of erecting a fence along the tracks of that road from Lowery to the Minnesota state line. Since 1893 he has been a veterinary surgeon, holding a license from the state. Mr. Van Dervort is justly proud of his war record. August 18, 1862, a messenger came through the valley for the purpose of securing volunteers to fight the Indians. Mr. Van Dervort started that very afternoon, and on reaching Kingston joined a company organized to patrol the frontier. In the skirmish at Green Lake, he was wounded in the ankle. In September he returned to Maine Prairie and became one of the guards in the stockade. In civil life he has been no less faithful. In politics a Republican, he has been town chairman, town clerk, justice of the peace, school director and school treasurer. For some years he was a member of the Christian (Disciple) church, but he is now a Baptist. He was married May 24, 1866, to Alma C. Webb, and they have two children. Homer W. lives in Bemidji, Minn., where he is a log scaler. Charles H. is a traveling salesman for a commission house in Minneapolis.

Alma C. Webb was born in Lewis county, New York, April 21, 1848, daughter of Orrin D. and Esther E. (Northrop) Webb. Orrin D. Webb was born in New York state. He was a miller by trade, and built early mills in Sauk Rapids and Fair Haven, Minnesota. He located in Sauk Rapids in 1856, coming here from Illinois. Two daughters, Ella and Alma C., were born in Illinois. Emma was born in Sauk Rapids. Anna and Allison were born in Fair Haven.

Jacob Hamlin Lyons, a representative former of Fair Haven township, was born in Licking county, Ohio, August 5, 1850, son of Benjamin T. and Lydia (Wince) Lyons, who brought him to Stearns county when he was seven years old. He received a district school education, and early in life became a railroad helper. For four years he was employed on what is now the line of the Great Northern, from Big Lake, Minn., to St. Cloud. Before he was twenty-one he was a section foreman. For about seventeen years he worked in the lumbering regions, part of the time as lumber camp foreman for Thomas Steen. Before he had given up his lumbering career he had mar- ried, and had acquired eighty acres of land on section 16, Fair Haven. On this farm, he and his wife located. He cleared a large enough space to erect a small frame house one story high, and a straw barn, and gradually he cleared the land for crops. For the first two years he had neither oxen nor horses to assist him. He now owns 160 acres of good land, and is especially interested in dairying. At one time he was actively identified with the Maine Prairie Creamery Association, now out of existence. He is treasurer of School District No. 32, of which he has been a member eighteen years, and is serving his sixth term as assessor of Fair Haven township.

Mr. Lyons was married August 31, 1879, to Mary Ellen Spaulding, born June 25, 1860, daughter of Alexander Spaulding. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons have six children : Ernest, a North Dakota farmer, married Mary Brandt. Clar- ence, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, is a traveling salesman. Thomas Archie lives in

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Grand Forks, N. D., and during the harvest season operates a threshing ma- chine. Blanche, a former school teacher, is now Mrs. Fred Goodner, of Al- berta, Canada. Hazel is now Mrs. Henry Stueck, of Fair Haven township. Ada is at home.

Oliver H. Knickerbacker, a modern and progressive farmer, of Fair Haven township, was born in Clearwater township, just over the line in Wright county, September 14, 1863, son of Herman and Jane (Hutcherson) Knickerbacker, and grandson of Herman Knickerbacker, the elder. Herman Knickerbacker, the elder, grandfather of Oliver H., was born in Holland, and settled in New York state. Herman Knickerbacker, father of Oliver H., was born in Schaghticoke, New York, and followed the sea as a ship captain for many years. In 1856 he came to Minnesota, and homesteaded 160 acres in section 32, Clearwater township, Wright county, where he farmed for many years. He died in 1894. His wife died in 1899. Oliver H. Knickerbacker at- tended the Murphy School in Clearwater village, and was reared to farm pur- suits. In 1898 he bought 120 acres in section 36, Fair Haven township, where he lives at the present time. He is a genial gentleman to meet, progressive in every way, and is always in favor of improvement and development of farm conditions throughout Minnesota. His own splendid farm shows thrift, in- telligence, and scientific management in every acre. The buildings are sightly and modern, and all are well adapted to the purpose for which they were built. His orchard contains 175 apple trees, and the pride of the neighbor- hood is a vineyard of one-half acre of Concord grapes. Such a vineyard is unusual in this part of the state, and has proven an innovation in fruit grow- ing in central Minnesota. Mr. Knickerbacker is a popular member of the Modern Brotherhood of America. He was married to Mary Mooney, and they have four children : Harvey, Elic, Henry and James.

Edwin Higgins, a well-known farmer of Fair Haven township, was born in St. Anthony, Minn., December 31, 1867, son of John and Sarah (Newton) Higgins, and grandson of Edwin Higgins, the elder. Edwin Higgins, the elder, was born in Ireland. He sailed the oceans for many years, but eventually settled in Canada. John Higgins was born in Ottawa, Canada. He brought his wife to section 30, Lynden township in 1866, and built two log houses. He cleared the land and developed the farm, and in time erected frame build- ings. Edwin Higgins, the subject of this sketch, received his early education in the Lynden schools, one of his teachers being Sophia Pratt. He was reared on the home farm, and started out for himself at the age of fourteen years. For seven summers he worked for J. H. Baldwin. In 1890 he went to Mon- tana, and for three or four years devoted his time to various occupations such as herding cattle, railroad work and the like. After this he worked several seasons as a harvester. Mr. Higgins now has a splendid farm of 120 acres near the home of his parents. The place is in a high stage of cultivation, and everywhere bespeaks the thrift and energy of the owner. The residence erected in 1910 is home-like and comfortable and the other buildings are mod- ern and commodious. Mr. Higgins is a most estimable man, he has a bright and active partner in life, and they are both proud of their interesting family of children. Mr. Higgins was married in 1894 to Mary, the daughter of Mar-

MR. AND MRS. LORENZO B. JOHNSTON

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HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY

tin and Catherine (Dougherty) Daley, and they have five children: Laura, Ethel, Sarah, Martin and Louise.

Willard C. Tufts, for many years an estimable citizen of Fair Haven, and an honored veteran of the Civil War, was born in Boston, Mass., and in that city and vicinity was reared and educated. Just before the Civil War he came to Minnesota and located in Fair Haven. At the outbreak of the conflict he enlisted in Company D, Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and proved not lacking in valor in many a bloody battle, march, skirmish and siege, notably at the battles of Gettysburg and Second Bull Run, and with Sherman on the March to the Sea. After the war he came again to Fair Haven and settled. IIe be- came a prominent farmer, and here lived until his death October 28, 1901. For many years he was a prominent member of the G. A. R. Mr. Tufts was married to Elvira Smith, who died September 29, 1909. In the family there were two children: John H. and Caroline.

John H. Tufts was reared on the home farm. When he was twenty-one years of age he drove the stage from Fair Haven and Kimball to St. Cloud. In this employment he remained some eighteen months. It was in 1905 he opened a livery at South Haven. He is a popular young man, and belongs to the I. O. O. F. and the M. W. A. He married Hattie Mericle, and they have three children, Russell, Lewis and Eugene. Caroline Tufts married Alson Noyes, son of George and Laura (Abell) Noyes, and they have four clidren : Raymond, Ruth, Ione and Ercel.

Lorenzo Baker Johnston, veteran and pioneer, was born in Harmony, Chautauqua county, New York, June 3, 1837, son of Thomas and Roxianna (McKay) Johnston, who were born in New York state and spent their declin- ing years in Fair Haven, Stearns county, Minn. Lorenzo B. was reared in his native town and in 1860 married Ruth Grinols. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- pany F, One Hundred and Sixteenth New York Volunteer Infantry, and served two years and ten months. When he enlisted he left his wife at home. Three months later, his daughter, Nettie, was born. Upon returning from the war Mr. Johnston set his affairs in order, and started for Minnesota. He secured 160 acres in Fair Haven township, two miles east from Fair Haven village. He erected a log house and log stable, and with two yoke of oxen started farming. The second year he secured some cows. After he had proved up on this homestead he sold out and moved to Minneapolis, where he lived two years. Subsequently he returned to Fair Haven township, and secured a farm of eighty acres on the St. Cloud road, a mile north from Fair Haven village. On this place a frame house had already been erected. Here the family lived until 1895, when Mr. and Mrs. Johnston retired and moved to Fair Haven village. There Mr. Johnston died in January, 1904. Mrs. Johnston, who was born in December 18, 1836, still resides in the village. Mr. Johnston was a prominent Republican. He was one of the organizers of the G. A. R. Post at Kimball, and was its first commander. He was a member of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston had two daughters: Lillian May, is deceased ; Nettie married Clark Mitchell, of Tacoma, Wash. They have six children : Robert L., Velonia M., Clara Alberta, Lulu M., Raymond and Roy Lorenzo.

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Fred R. Warner, a well-known farmer of Fair Haven township, was born in Spruce Creek, Penn., August 24, 1851, son of Conrad and Susan (Apple- holz) Warner. The parents came to America from Germany in 1850, and lo- cated at Spruce Creek, Penn. In 1856 they moved to Randall Station, Wis., and farmed until 1860. That year they came to Minnesota and located on a farm in Fillmore county, in which county they were actively engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until 1880, when they moved to Sherburne, in Martin county, and there spent the remainder of their days in retirement. He died in 1906 and she in 1904. The children in the family were: Fred R., Gust, Kate and Louisa. Louisa is now Mrs. Fred Algrim, of Sherburne, Martin county, Minn. Kate is now Mrs. Frank Sanborn, of Minneapolis. Gust lives in California. Fred R. lives in Fair Haven. Fred R. Warner came to Minnesota with his parents in 1860, and attended the public schools of Fillmore county. It was in 1874 that he started out for himself by going to Martin county where he farmed for two years. But at the end of that period, the grasshoppers ate up everything and he returned to Fillmore county, where he farmed for another five years. Then he preempted 160 acres in Lac qui Parle county. He broke up the wild land, brought it to a high stage of cultivation, erected a sightly residence and other buildings, and became one of the representative farmers in his township. He served on the town board of supervisors, and for fifteen years was treasurer of School District No. 50. It was not until 1900 that he sold out his splendid interests in Lac qui Parle county, and purchased his present farm of 176 acres in Fair Haven township. In the fifteen years or so that he has lived here he has greatly improved his farm, and made it as good as any in the neighborhood. He follows general farming and stockrais- ing along the latest approved lines, and has been most successful in his opera- tions. He is doing good service as clerk of School District No. 79. Mr. Warner was married February 17, 1874, to Eliza Gahringer, and they have had five children: John M., born April 19, 1875; a son who was born in 1878 and died at the age of one year and seven months; Edward, born January 21, 1883; Henry, born October 2, 1887; and Emma, born October 22, 1896. The four are at home. Mrs. Warner is the daughter of Mike and Mary Gahringer, and was born in the state of New York in 1853. Her brothers and sisters are: Mary, Emma, Sarah, F. E., and J. M. J. M. died July 24, 1912.

John U. Anderson, the pioneer, now deceased, was born in Tin, Norway, in 1814, and came to Wisconsin, at about the age of twenty-one. After re- maining in that state ten years he went back to Norway, and brought over his parents and most of his brothers and sisters. They all settled in Winchester, Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where about 1852 he met and married Juliana Larson Langum. In April, 1864, after selling his farm and other property, he immigrated with his family to Minnesota, going by rail to La Crosse and from there to St. Peter by steamboat, where he camped during the first part of the summer, making trips in various directions, west and northwest, looking for a suitable place to settle. About July he rigged out with two pair of oxen, half a dozen cows and a prairie schooner and moved west as far as Meeker county, where he built a log cabin near Hoop Lake, six miles south of Grove City and about two and a half miles southeast of Acton, where the first

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five whites were murdered at the beginning of the Indian outbreak, in August, 1862, where he lived over winter and from this place making trips further north and west looking for his future home, which he found in Big Grove, which later became North Fork township, Stearns county, Minnesota. He was the first man to buy land here and in the spring of 1865 he took up a homestead of 160 acres in sections 33 and 34, North Fork township. With the exception of Ellen Baalson and Hans Peterson Heieie, who had arrived the week before, he was the first settler. He built a pole shack, and covered it with marsh hay, and thus started life in the wilderness. When the terrific rain storms came, which seemed abundant especially that summer, the water came through the roof and the sides of the shack, and the occupants many a night waded in water ankle deep. The nearest railroad was the Great Nor- thern at Big Lake, from where Nels Olson, the first Big Grove storekeeper, hauled with a pair of mules, merchandise, and not to forget a little whiskey, for the new settlers, a distance of about eighty miles. Mr. Anderson hauled flour from St. Peter, a distance of 100 miles. It was on one of these trips that he and his oldest son, Thomas J., then nine years old, who drove one of the ox teams, that the two lived for two days on a twelve-inch pickerel, which they caught in a little stream and fried in the ashes of their camp fire. In order to get seed wheat in the spring of 1866 Mr. Anderson, Ole Benken, Andrew Erickson, Kittle Strande, Ellen Baalson and Hans Heieie went to Spring Hill, fourteen miles east, and got it there at $2.75 a bushel, and each carried on their shoulders from a bushel and a half to two bushels, wading swollen streams and enduring many hardships. The flooded streams were an especially severe drawback to the early settlers as no bridges had been built, but they had enough Viking blood to stick it out, although they have all, at this writing, gone beyond to their forefathers. They all left prosperous descendants, many of whom yet reside on the old homesteads in and around Big Grove. Mail was brought once a month from Paynesville by Ellen Baalson, who in the winter made the trip on skis, an art which he had learned in the old country. Mr. Anderson had been well educated in a seminary in Norway, and being a friend of education he associated himself with Embrick Knudson, in starting the early schools in his neighborhood. When the town was organized he was elected the first assessor. Later he served in other positions. He died in July, 1869. His wife, Juliana, who was born in Arendahl, Norway, in 1833, died in January, 1902. Of the family of six children, all are living. They are: Geoline, now Mrs. Kittle Halverson, of North Fork township; Thomas J., a merchant of Belgrade, and who has also off and on for nearly thirty years, operated stores at Minneapolis and Su- perior; Amelia, Albert, Clara and Syvert. Clara married Thomas Kjeldahl, a graduate of Prof. D. J. Cogan's College at North Fork. Mr. Kjeldahl was killed in his best age by a runaway team of horses, while stacking grain on his farm.

Thomas J. Anderson, the oldest of the three boys, was born in Winchester, Winnebago county, Wis., December 5, 1855, and was reared on the North Fork farm and picked up his education in the first North Fork log school- house and later at Sauk Centre, but Thomas thought walking after the plow

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was too slow and lonesome and at the age of twenty-one, he went to Willmar and entered the employ of C. F. Clark, who kept the postoffice, express office and drug store. The first year, 1876-77 he worked for $100 and board. So well did he attend to his duties that the second year he was paid $50 a month and board. After a year and a half with Mr. Clark he worked in Paulson & Larson's general store. In the fall of 1879 he started a small general store of his own in Big Grove, North Fork township. A year later he took in as a partner there E. E. Knudson, youngest son of old Embrick Knudson, then a druggist of Sauk Centre, and opened a branch store at Minneapolis. In 1886 when the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad came through this county Anderson and Knudson dissolved partnership and discon- tinued the North Fork store, Mr. Anderson building a large general store at Belgrade, where he has ever since done a large business and Mr. Knudson' moving to Brooten, also starting a general store. At about the same time he sold out his Minneapolis interests, and opened a store at Superior, now one of the largest of its kind in that place. In the spring of 1914, however, he opened another store at Minneapolis under the firm name of Anderson Grocery Supply Co., where Thomas Coleman, his oldest son, is partner and manager. "T. J.," as he is familiarly known today to all his acquaintances, stands with his city retail stores squarely between the producer and the consumer. This together with the fact that he is a cash buyer, besides a large and close buyer, accounts for his success and puts him in a position to do well for all his patrons. He has always been a hard worker, attending very closely to busi- ness. He has ever since his location at Belgrade been a strong advocate of temperance and other measures tending to lift up mankind, and while he naturally has made some enemies by it he has the frendship and respect of those who have learned to know him of all nationalities. He says he hopes to live to see the American saloon banished, not only from Minnesota, but from every square foot of North American soil.

He married Mrs. Josephine Holt in 1883, and they have six children : Thomas Coleman, Lulla, Samuel Norman, Della, Ruth and Mary, an adopted daughter. Thomas Coleman is in charge of the store at Minneapolis. He mar- ried Christine Johnson, and they have three children, Seigmund, Jerome and James. Lulla is the wife of Dr. Hendrick Shipstead, of Glenwood, this state. Samuel Norman has a dairy farm at Cloverland Station, on the Minneapolis and Superior branch of the "Soo," twelve miles south of Superior. The other children are at home. The family faith is that of the Lutheran church.

Ole C. Reiquem, a prominent citizen of Belgrade, was born in Norway, May 27, 1856, son of Ole and Olena Reiquem, who brought him to Wisconsin in 1872 and to Crow river township in 1874. Ole C. remained home until twen- ty-two years of age. After his marriage he farmed in Crow river township, and still later in Lake George township. In 1884 he moved to Belgrade, and gave considerable of his time to railroading. When the town of Crow River was organized, he was the first constable, a position he held for many years. He was the first marshal of Belgrade and served for thirteen years. For four years he was deputy sheriff. January 22, 1909, he was appointed postmaster at Belgrade by Theodore Roosevelt, and held that position until July 31,

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1913. In addition to his interests in the village, he owned his father-in-law's homestead in section 31, Crow River, which is now operated by his son, Oscar. Mr. Reiquem married Betsey Wrolson, who was born near Stevens Point, Wis., the daughter of Torger Wrolson, a pioneer of Stearns county, who came to the United States about 1850. They have five children. Thea is the wife of Benjamin Babcock, of Minneapolis. Anna was assistant to her father in the postoffice. Albert was in the United States naval service and died March 6, 1914. Oscar operates the home farm. Adeline lives at home.

Ole Reiquem and Olena, his wife, were born in Norway. His parents were also called Ole and Olena. The older Ole was a veteran of the Bonepart wars. The older Ole and his wife died in America, fifteen years apart, each at the age of ninety-two. In the family were seven children: Olena, Mary, Ole, Martha, Nels, John and Alpha. It was in 1872 that the family set sail for America. In the family were: Ole and Olena Reiquem, the elder; Ole and Olena Reiquem, the younger; and the eight children of the latter: Lena, Ole C., Christopher, Mary, Anna, Andrew, Alpha, Lillian. After five weeks and two days on the Christopher Columbus, the party reached Quebec, Canada. Then by boat and by rail, they finally reached Eau Claire, Wis., from which place they drove to Bloomer, in Chippewa county, Wis., where two years were spent on a farm. In 1874 they came to Stearns county, and located on 160 acres of land in section 11, Crow River township. They erected a log cabin 16 by 26, over a cellar. As a barn for their pair of oxen and two cows, they dug a cellar and roofed it over with coarse hay. Ole Reiquem, the sub- ject of this sketch, became a successful farmer. He increased his holdings to 400 acres, and replaced his primitive buildings with modern structures. For the sake of old time memories he erected his new two-story house on the cellar of the old log cabin that had been their original home. Finally he sold out. He consistently voted the Republican ticket, but never cared to seek office. He died in 1906 at the age of seventy-three years. His widow, who was eighty-two on April 16, 1913, is still living. The family adheres to the faith of the Lutheran church.

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History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume II, Part 41

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