Illustrated album of biography of Southwestern Minnesota : containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers...:History of Minnesota, embracing an account of early exploration...and a concise history of the Indian outbreak of 1862, Part 35

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago : Occidental Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Minnesota > Illustrated album of biography of Southwestern Minnesota : containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers...:History of Minnesota, embracing an account of early exploration...and a concise history of the Indian outbreak of 1862 > Part 35

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of Jasper county, Iowa, and our subject. The educational advantages in the early days of Wisconsin were somewhat limited, and it was only by much effort that our subject succeeded in acquiring a common- school education. Schools, like railroads, in that early day were few and far between, and our subject had to walk a distance of three miles to the nearest school house. He continued with his parents in their home in Dane county until he was about twenty- one years of age. He then rented a farm in Jasper county, Iowa, and for two years con tinued its operation for himself, at which time he was marricd and then purchased a farm of 120 acres in the same county, and made that his home for about one year. He then sold out and removed to Rock county, Minne- sota, bringing his horses, mules, cattle, etc., with him.

Mr. Shawver was united in marriage to Miss Mary Roger of Des Moines, Iowa. This union has been blessed with four children- Wallace A., now a student in a business col- lege in Quincy, Illinois; Eldora E., Henrietta and Mary L.

Our subject has become one of the best known and most widely respected citizens of Rock county. His financial interests are of extensive nature, and he is actively engaged in numerous of the most important business enterprises of Rock county. Thrifty, indus- trious, and withal a man of economical habits, he has accumulated a large fortune and is now enjoying the results of an active and successful business career. He is a man of excellent business qualifications, possessed of broad ideas, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large circle of business and social friends. He has actively interested himself in all public matters since coming to Rock county and has aided in every way in elevating and improving the administration of local government. While living in Clin- ton township he held the office of town clerk

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for five years, and in other ways served his constituents with honor and credit. He is considered as being the most extensive farmer in the county, and employs from ten to twenty men at work constantly on his vari- ous farms. In his business in the city he re- quires three men to assist him the year round. HIis stock enterprise has been exceedingly profitable. and out of this he has made a large amount of money. He has had as high as one thousand head of stock at one time, and has been the largest shipper of cattle from Rock county to Eastern markets. It can be readily seen that our subject is extensively interested in the financial development of Luverne and vicinity, and throughout his ca- reer here he has shown his willingness to aid in all projects tending toward the business development by giving liberally of his means as well as assisting in various other ways. He has become one of the most substantial and respected citizens of Rock county. In politics he affiliates with the democratic party.

AMES R. CARSON is the able and pop- ular mayor of Pipestone city, Pipestone county, Minnesota, at this writing. The place of his nativity is found in Goshen, Ver- mont, where he was born July 14, 1846.

The subject of our sketch is the son of David and Maria (Allen) Carson, the former a native of Upper Canada and the latter a native of Vermont. The father was an ex- tensive farmer in the State of Vermont, where he remained until 1857, in which year he sold out and removed to Randolph, Columbia county, Wisconsin. For a number of years he engaged in farming principally, but is now retired from active business, and is living a quiet life in Columbia county. He is a man widely respected in the county in which he lives, and held the office of county treasurer of Columbia county for two years.

For years he was engaged in raising fine blooded horses and sheep, and became one of the substantial and live farmers of the county. He had a family of five children-Polly, who died at the age of fifteen years; James R., Julius A., George G., and Belle, now Mrs. Hughes. The four last named are still living.

The home of our subject's parents remained his abiding place until he reached the age of twenty-one years. Up to this time he had been occupied with work on the home farm, and with pursuing his studies in the district school in Columbia county, Wisconsin. On at- taining his majority he purchased eighty acres of land adjoining his father's farm, where he engaged in farming for himself for seven years.« In 1876 he sold out his interests in Wisconsin and came to Grand Meadow township, Mower county, Minnesota, where he purchased 160 acres of land and engaged in farming for about five years. At the end of this period he sold eighty acres of his land and came to Pipestone city, where he has since continued to reside. He purchased 160 acres of land in Eden township, Pipe- stone county, and also became the owner of two lots in the city, upon which he built a fine residence. He has been engaged in diversified financial enterprises, and, since coming to Pipestone, has engaged in buy- ing and selling wheat, grain of all kinds, and also in handling coal. In the last lines mentioned he has done an immense business, and it can be truly said that he handles more grain and coal than any other firm in the city. He is in the employ of Messrs. Hodgins & Hyde, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, with whom he has been engaged for a num- ber of years.

Mr. Carson was married in 1873 to Miss Martha A. Harris, the daughter of William and Alice Harris, of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Carson have one living child-Neal A. A daughter, Agnes, died when one year old.

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In politics Mr. Carson affiliates with the republican party, in which organization he has become exceedingly popular and influ- ential. His abilities as an official have been tested in various ways, and in every instance he has proven his efficiency, and has attended to his various duties ably and with increas- ing popularity. He has been a member of the village council for some years, and was elected mayor of the city in 1886, which position he has held until the present writ- ing, being the present incumbent. Since coming to the city he has assisted in the most active manner in every project which has had a tendency to elevate and improve the business, social and financial interests of the community. By his public spirit and efficiency in the management of various public projects, he has created a warm senti- ment in his favor among the people, and has built up an extensive circle of friends. He is an influential member of the Masonic fraternity.

HILIP A. JAEGER is an influential and well-to-do farmer and stock raiser of section 34, Dovray township, Murray county, Minnesota. He located in that county in 1878, first settling in Holly town- ship, where he purchased a farm. He lived there for one and a half years and then removed to his present location, where he took a homestead. He was one among the early settlers and the first year engaged in making various improvements, built a house, put up hay, etc. He has since been engaged in general farming and the raising of graded stock. He has taken an active interest in all matters of a public nature and has served his fellow-citizens in various official posi- tions. He has taken a special interest in educational matters and has held various offices in the school district.

Mr. Jaeger was born in the City of New

York, May 3, 1844, and removed with his parents when six years old to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained five years, after which he went to Winnebago county, same State. The parents were John and Mary (Durr) Jaeger, both natives of Ger- many. They came to America when they were quite young, the father coming when he was about fourteen years of age. In the father's family there were the following- named children-John J. (deceased), Philip A., Mary, Louisa, William, Edward, Lewis, Aaron, Sophia, Albert, Abraham and Ernest. The father was by trade a cabinet maker and after coming west devoted con- șiderable of his attention to farming. The parents still live in Winnebago county, Wis- consin.

The subject of our sketch received most of his education in the city of Milwaukee, com- pleting his educational course at the age of eighteen years. He then engaged in farm- ing until twenty-one years of age, after which he learned the ship-builder's trade at Green Bay. He followed that occupation for some ten years, and then engaged in bridge-build- ing for a year, settling after that time in Shawano county, where he engaged in farm- ing and lumbering for five or six years, dur- ing which time he occupied several official positions, such as under sheriff, county super- visor, etc., and was employed as government scaler on the Indian Reservation in said county (Menominee). He then came to Mur- ray county, Minnesota, where he has since resided.

Mr. Philip Jaeger was married to Mary Forrest in January, 1866. She was a native of Illinois, and died in 1868 in Berlin, Wis- consin. Mr. Jaeger was married again in 1870 to Mrs. Lizzie Grimmer, who died in 1877, leaving two children-Olive L. and Winnie M., the oldest being now married and a resident of section twenty-six, Dovray township, Murray county. August 28, 1878,

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Mr. Jaeger was married to Miss Mary H. De Vore, a native of Rock Island county, Illi- nois. Eight years of her life were spent in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, from whence she removed to Berlin, where she engaged in teaching during her younger days. She was the daughter of Gabriel and Clarissa (Ball) De Vore, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Her father was a cooper by trade, but is now engaged in farming. The parents are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are residents of Murray county, where they located in 1879. In her father's family there were five children - Mrs. Jae- ger, Mattie, Frank, Abraham and Vina. Mrs. Jaeger learned type setting while in Berlin, Wisconsin, and this, with teaching, was her avocation during fourteen or fifteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger have been blessed with five children-John P., Clara, William, Ed- ward, Sarah and Alice.

In politics the subject of our sketch affil- iates with the prohibition party. He is a man of strong temperance principles, and be- lieves in voting in accordance with his prin- ciples. His wife is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while he formerly belonged to the Advent church. He is an influential member of the Odd Fel- lows' fraternity, and is an honorary member of the Farmers' Alliance. Mr. Jaeger is a man of excellent qualities, generous, warm- hearted, and public-spirited, and is respected by all who know him.

DWIN RAY HUMISTON is the present register of deeds of Nobles county, Minnesota. His parents, Caleb and Polly (Todd) Humiston, were natives of Connecticut, and our subject was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, May 6, 1827. When he was six years of age the family moved to Hudson, Ohio, where the father carried on a brick-making business for

some years. Our subject remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age, then learned the carpenter's trade and followed that business in Ohio until the win- ter of 1855.

Our subject received a good common- school education in Ohio, and in 1855 came to Dubuque, Iowa, and in the spring of 1856 left that place and removed to St. Peter, Minnesota, where he found employment as carpenter and millwright until the fall of 1871. His home, however, during this time was in Cleveland, Le Sueur county. In the fall of 1871 he left St. Peter and came to Worthington, where he engaged in carpen- ter work until November, 1888, when he was elected register of deeds on the republican ticket. In January, 1889, our subject en- tered upon the duties of his office, and up to the present time has been giving excellent satisfaction.

In politics Mr. Humiston affiliates with the republican party. His first vote was cast for Martin Van Buren, the candidate on the free-soil ticket. Since that time he has voted with the republican party.

During the early days of his settlement in Minnesota Mr. Humiston witnessed many exciting occurrences. While in St. Peter, April 12, 1857, he was one of forty men who volunteered to go out and fight the Indians who participated in the Spirit Lake massacre. This little company of men left St. Peter one Sunday at eleven o'clock A. M., starting out in a bad storm on foot. Hurrying along, the morning of the next day they found themselves forty-nine miles distant from St. Peter. They camped late at night and our subject was assigned to the cookship, the company having brought provisions with them. They camped near a deserted house, the inhabitants having left for regions safe from Indian depredations. In this house our subject found a large dish pan nearly full of flour and was mixing it preparatory

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to the baking of bread. While in the act, a man who had discovered that these new comers were white men, came to the house and told our subject that no provisions found in that house must be eaten as strychine had been put into everything in the house; and this was true as was afterward discovered, strychine being found in the flour, sugar and all other articles, having been put there for the purpose of killing any Indians who might chance that way and partake of the provisions. This was a narrow escape indeed for the entire company, and had not this man discovered what our subject was doing the entire company would have been pois- oned. Mr. Humiston drew one month's pay for services on this expedition. At the time of the massacre in 1862 he was living in the big woods of Le Sueur county, and becoming fearful as to the safety of his family he spent the summer as a scout, being familiar with the Indian trails and the entire country. He was with a party on Scott's Lake at the time when two Indians were killed-one escaping. In order for protection in case of necessity they built a small stockade in a corner of his garden.

Mr. Humiston was married May 13, 1858, in Cleveland, Le Sueur county, Minnesota, to Miss Mary A. Davis. This union has been blessed with the following-named children-Frederick, Willis, Henry, John, E. Ray and Mary. Frederick married Ger- trude Warren and lives in Worthington, where he is engaged in the hardware busi- ness in company with his brother Willis, who married Lillie Glass.

- ASON N. CADWELL is a prosper- ous farmer of Amo township, Cot- tonwood county, Minnesota. He located on section 14 of that township in 1871, taking up his present claim. He brought his family to the farm in 1872, and has since resided on

the place, with the exception of two winters spent in Wisconsin, during the grasshopper raid in southern- Minnesota.

The subject of our sketch was born in Alle- gany county, New York, September 29, 1846, He was the son of George and Melissa Cad- well, the former a native of Allegany county and the latter a native of Cattaraugus county, New York. The father was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1879. The parents were both members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and were loyal Christian people.

The subject of our sketch spent his early life on the home farm, receiving his early training and education in the district schools. At eighteen years of age he went to Jefferson county, Wisconsin, and engaged in agricult- ural pursuits for seven years. He then spent one summer traveling through Nebraska and Iowa, and then came to Cottonwood county, where he has since lived. Our subject was one of three living children-Marvin, Eva and Mason N.

The subject of our sketch was married, January 18, 1872, to Miss Mary Jane Waite, of Dane county, Wisconsin, and daughter of Martin Waite, a farmer and a native of Cat- taraugus county, New York. Miss Waite was also born in Cattaraugus county, New York. In early life she removed to Wiscon- sin with lier parents. Mr. and Mrs. Cad well have three children-Arthur M., Myra E. and Guy.

Mr. Cadwell, being one of the very first settlers of Amo township, there being but five other settlers in the region when he lo- cated here, has found it necessary to engage heartily in public enterprises, and has will- ingly assisted in these matters for the pur- pose of building up the affairs of the town- ship. In politics he affiliates with the prohi- bition party, and has held various official positions, among them being chairman of the board of supervisors, which position he held for three years; township treasurer one

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year; township clerk, to which he was elected in 1886, and of which position he is the present incumbent, and clerk of school district No. 49. He has held this latter posi- tion since the organization of the district, and has given excellent satisfaction, because of the interest and energy he manifests in all educational matters. He is a member of the Grange, and is one of the representative cit- izens of Amo township. He is a very pleas- ant neighbor, genial, warm-hearted, and has an agreeable family, and resides in one of the most hospitable homes of the township. He has labored hard on his farm to make it one of the best stock and grain farms in his part of the county, and has provided it with good improvements, and has about eleven acres of a fine grove of trees surrounding his house.

ILLIAM H. BUDD. After having spent a long and successful career, engaged in farming, having accumulated some means and gained an enviable reputa- tion for honor and integrity, the gentle- man whose name we have just given is now living a retired life in Fairmont, Mar- tin county, Minnesota. He is the son of Abraham D. and Margaret F. (Goble) Budd, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. The place of the nativity of the subject of our sketch is in Roxbury, Morris county, New Jersey, where his birth took place March 28, 1829.

William H. was reared in New Jersey on a farm where his father was born, and where he died on July 31, 1867. He received a good common-school education, and when twenty-one years of age went to Dodge county, Wisconsin and engaged in day labor for a year. Then in March and April, 1851, he took a trip through Western Wisconsin, to within twenty miles of La Crosse ; then

to Prairie du Chien ; then to Iowa, traveling through the northern counties, which then were nothing but a wild prairie. There were but very few settlers, sometimes the houses being from twenty to forty miles apart, and much of the traveling to and fro was done on foot. He returned to Dodge county in the course of a month and a half, and purchased a farm on which he lived until the spring of 1854. He then came to Minnesota and engaged in carpenter work in the city of Mankota for some time. He then went to Kasota and engaged in various employments until December 11, 1855, dur- ing a part of which time he was in St. Peter. At the time of his visit to Mankato and St. Peter there were but seven houses in the for- mer and one in the latter place. December 11, 1855, he returned to Wisconsin; had to travel on foot from Kasota to Winona and La Crosse; sold his farm and remained until the spring of 1856, when he went to Chicago, Illinois, then St. Louis, Missouri ; to Kansas City ; then Lawrence, Topeka and Leavenworth, Kansas, passing through Iowa; on the way back to Mankato, Minnesota. He remained in Kansas but a short time and then returned to the North by the way of Council Bluffs, Des Moines City and Dubuque, reach- ing Mankota in May, 1856, and engaging as an assistant overseer on the Indian reserva- tion until July 1st of the same year, when he came to Martin county to assist several families in finding a location. Our subject had no team, and had to travel the entire dis- tance on foot. Arriving in Martin county he bought a squatter's right to a claim on which was some native timber, as he expected the families before referred to ere long, and purchased this farm in order to secure wood for them. He paid therefor fifty dol- lars. He also purchased a team, but was disappointed in that the expected additions to the settlement did not come. He continued to hold his claim, however, a part of which

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is now within the village limits of Fairmont. He still lives on this land. In March, 1857, the Indian chief Inkpaduta made an attack on the village of Springfield, now Jackson, Jackson county, and, not satisfied with the depredations committed there, the Indians swept down over the country in the vicinity of Fairmont. Luckily for our subject, he was not on his claim, having gone with a neigh- bor with their ox teams to Iowa for pro- visions. They were on the return, but were forced to stop for a time, because of the heavy crust that had formed over the sur- face. The snow was deep and a thick crust had been formed by a rain of sixty-four hours. So our subject had to assist in caring for the oxen, and by the time he returned home the Indians had left the country. In order to find feed on which the oxen might subsist, he was forced to take them further into Iowa, and had to break the crust for four miles before they found a road where the cat- tle could travel. After reaching a suitable place, he left the oxen and returned to Wis- consin, where he remained a short time. He then came back to his claim in Martin county. He improved this land during that summer, and July 22 they received informa- tion of another Indian attack on the set- tlers toward the northwest-Ft. Ridgely. Our subject, with several neighbors, went about nine miles distant from his claim and built a fort and prepared to fight the In- dians. They remained in the fort about one month, and found that the report was false, and they then returned to their claims. In December, 1857, the county was organized, and our subject was appointed one of the first county commissioners by the governor, and in October, 1858, was appointed post- master at Fairmont. In the spring of 1860 the village of Fairmont was surveyed and platted in the vicinity of our subject's farm. In all these matters he took an active part, and assisted materially in the development

of all projects tending toward the advance- ment of his locality. IIe continued in the office of county commissioner until the spring of 1860, and then went to Fillmore county, and worked in Chatfield and Winona during the summer and part of the winter, after which he returned to his Martin county claim. He was elected county commissioner again in 1862, and held the office until Feb- ruary 20, 1864. He has also been clerk of the court, and has held various other official positions. In the fall of 1862 and spring of 1863 he acted as a scout and guide for vari- ous parties. February 20, 1864, Mr. Budd enlisted in Company C, Sixth Minnesota In- fantry, serving faithfully until August, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He participated in the battles of Blakeley, Span- ish Fort, and numerous skirmishes and bat- tles of minor importance. When he was discharged he returned to his farm and fol- lowed agricultural pursuits principally, but also engaged to some extent in work at the carpenter's trade. He has always been a public-spirited, enterprising citizen. He has been a member of the village council two or three times, and has also been village presi- dent for some time. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Phil Kearney post, No. 18, of which he has been quarter master and chaplain. In the fall of 1866 he was elected county commissioner, and served as chairman until 1873.

Mr. Budd was married in Martin county, Minn., March 31, 1864, to Lydia J. Swearin- gen, daughter of John B. and Jane (Brown) Swearingen, natives. respectively, of Ken tucky and Pennsylvania. She was a native of Illinois, and was the widow of Mr. Z. Allen, by whom she had two children-Zil- pha and Amy Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Budd have two children-Edith May and Jennie M. The two latter are living with their parents, the two older are married and live near by.

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RANCIS M. RANDALL is one of the thrifty and most reliable farmers and stock raisers of Lake Benton township, Lin- coln county, Minnesota. He homesteaded his present excellent farm on section 10, in 1872. At the time our subject came to the county there were but very few settlers, and but very few of those who were here then are now living. Looking back upon his early experiences in this locality, our subject wonders that he had not grown discouraged and removed to find fairer fields and more bountiful results from labors expended. He has met with many hardships and has lost numerous crops. During the years 1874-75- 76 his grain was entirely destroyed by grass- hoppers. May 11, 1887, his house and its contents were destroyed by fire, and October 17, 1887, his grove was burned. At that time this was the best grove in Lincoln county. Despite all these things, however, our subject has continued manfully at work and has overcome all the misfortunes which have met him. He has gradually grown in wealth and prosperity until to-day he is one of the leading farmers in the county. In 1883 he was met with another misfortune, having his entire crop of wheat, oats, and flax destroyed by a hail-storm, but in spite of these things Mr. Randall is not made of the material which easily gives up. He was full of what is known as " western grit " and outlived and overcame these various troubles by keeping steadily and manfully at work. He deserves great credit for his perseverance and courage, for the hardships through which he has passed have been of such a character as to dash the spirits of the bravest.

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Illustrated album of biography of Southwestern Minnesota : containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers...:History of Minnesota, embracing an account of early exploration...and a concise history of the Indian outbreak of 1862, Part 35

Author: Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago : Occidental Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 814

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago : Occidental Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 814