Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens, Part 30

Author: Alden, Ogle & Company
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Alden, Ogle & Company
Number of Pages: 872

USA > Minnesota > Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens > Part 30
USA > North Dakota > Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens > Part 30

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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later, in 1883, he' was accidentally shot by a companion while out hunting. This sad event took place on the 6th of September, 1883. The mother is still living at the age of sixty-five years. They are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal church, and were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are now living - John R., Peter R., Robert, Louisa R., Emily R., Florence (deceased), Henry W., Frederick A., and Francis C.

Mr. Barker, the subject of this biographi- cal sketch, spent his school days principally in West Salem, La Crosse county, Wiscon- sin, and after attending school until he was twenty years of age, receiving a practical business education, went to Parker's Prairie, Otter Tail county, Minnesota. He there engaged in school teaching for a short time. He then engaged as a civil engineer, and assisted in surveying the Fergus Falls & Black Hills Railroad, from Wadena west- ward to Wahpeton, Dakota Territory. After this Mr. Barker followed railroad con- tracting on the Fargo & Southwestern for one season. He then returned home on a visit, intending to return to Dakota. But owing to the sickness and death of Mr. IIenry Aslen, a prominent merchant and a land- mark of Parker's Prairie, Minnesota, he was induced to take charge of his (Mr. Aslen's) general merchandise. He also succeeded Mr. Aslen as postmaster of Parker's Prairie. He remained in charge until the estate of Mr. Aslen was probated and the administratrix was appointed. Mr. Barker then entered the profession of medicine, under Dr. A. E. Henderson, a graduate of the Chicago College of Homoeopathy. After remaining with Dr. Henderson for two or three years Mr. Barker started in the drug business for himself at Osakis, Douglas county, Minne- sota, but in a few months was burned out. In February, 1887, he removed to Elbow Lake, Grant county, Minnesota, and estab-

lished his present drug business. On the 14th of May, 1888, Mr. Barker opened the hotel which bears his name, and which he has since successfully operated.

Mr. Barker was married in November, 1884, to Frances M. McMahan. She, by a former marriage, was the mother of one child, Pearl. Mrs. Barker is a native of Wisconsin, and is the daughter of a promi- nent merchant in Parker's Prairie, Minnesota. Mr. Barker is one of the representative men of his town and county, highly esteemed by all who know him, and a man of the utmost integrity and honor. He takes an active interest in all public and educational matters, and is an adherent to the principles of the republican party.

EORGE L. TREAT, attorney and counselor-at-law, resides in Alexan- dria, Minnesota. He is a native of Rock county, Wisconsin, born at Janesville on November 14, 1859. He is the son of Hiram F. and Pamelia (Sims) Treat, who were natives of New York. His father was for many years engaged in the clothing busi- ness in Boonville, New York, coming to Wisconsin in 1857 or 1858. He remained in that city until 1861, when he came to the old town of St. Anthony, Minnesota. He died October 2. 1876. The mother is now a resident of Afton, Wisconsin. There were two children in the father's family-George L. and Stella H., who is now Mrs. George C. Antisdel, of Afton, Wisconsin.

Attorney Treat received an academic edu- cation in the Janesville Classical Academy and the Beliot (Wisconsin) College. After finishing his course at school he accepted a position in a drug store in Alexandria, Min- nesota, to whichi place he came in 1880. For one year he was in a drug store at Fargo, Dakota, but returned to Alexandria and

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commenced the study of law with George H. Reynolds, Esq. Later he entered the office of Hon. Knute Nelson and George H. Reynolds. Later he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he took one year's course in the law school of the University of Mich- igan. He returned to Alexandria in 1883 and became a partner in the firm of Nelson, Reynolds & Treat. He continued a member of that firm until June, 1886, when Mr. Reynolds withdrew and moved to St. Cloud. The firm then became Nelson, Treat & Gun- derson, which partnership was continued until January 1, 1888. On this date Mr. Treat withdrew from the firm and has since been engaged in practice alone. He was admitted to practice in the district court of Douglas county in 1883. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice, his business not being confined to his own county, but business comes to him from Otter Tail, Pope and Grant counties. He conducts a general line of business, also makes farm loans, and buys and sells real estate in the city and country.

He was married January 1, 1884, to Miss Carrie E. Nellis, of Silver Lake, Iowa, daughter of Alexander Nellis. One child has blessed this union-Alice E. Mr. Treat is a stanch republican in politics, and he and his wife are prominent members of the Congregational church. For some time he has held the office of deacon and superin- tendent of the Congregational Sabbath- school. Mr. Treat is one of the rising law- vers of the Northwest, and stands at the head of his profession in Douglas county.

OREN L. BREWSTER, one of the most prominent and influential mem- bers of the farming community of the fa- mous Park Regions of Minnesota, is a resident of section 8, Elbow Lake township, Grant county. He is a native of Maine, born in

Franklin county, on the 25th day of Septem- ber, 1844, and is the son of Stephen and Mary (Blanchard) Brewster, natives of Maine. They came West in 1857, and set- tled in Wisconsin, where they remained three years, engaged in farming. They then, in 1860, removed to Winona county, Minne- sota, where they have since remained. They are the parents of the following named chil- dren - Loren, Nancy, Maria, James, Morris, Malissa, Stephen, Mary, Myrtha, Eugene and Delia.

Loren L. Brewster, the subject of this biographical sketch, received his earlier edu- cation in Maine and Wisconsin, and finished in Minnesota. He remained in his native State until thirteen years old, at which period in life he removed to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, with his parents, and remained in that county until he was sixteen years of age, and then came with the family to Winona county, Minnesota, where he com- pleted his schooling. After completing his schooling he engaged in farming, and re- mained in that vocation for thirteen years. In 1878 Mr. Brewster moved from Winona county to Grant county, Minnesota, home- steaded a tract of land and at once began improvements, building a house, barn and other out-buildings, breaking the soil and generally improving the place. In about nine months he moved his family to the new home, and has since resided there. He now owns a well-improved farm of 540 acres, and it is one of the most valuable farms in the county. He is an extensive farmer and stock-raiser, handling all grades of cattle, devoting a great deal of his attention to Short-horn cattle and Norman and Prussian horses.

Mr. Brewster was married on the 4th of July, 1865, to Miss Mary Cram, and this union has been blessed with the following named children - Byron, La Porset, Ellion, Horace, Mabel, Herbert and Effie E. The

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wife of our subject is a native of New Hampshire and was educated in Minnesota, to where she moved with her parents in 1856. Her father was a farmer, and died in 1872. Her mother resides in Washington Territory. Mr. Brewster is a republican in his political affiliations, and takes an active interest in all local and public affairs. He has held the office of school treasurer, and, while in Winona county, supervisor, constable, school director, etc. He, with his family, belongs to the Methodist church, and he holds the office of steward of that organization. He is a man of the strictest honor and integrity, highly esteemed by all who know him.

ARCUS J. DUNLAP, of Ada, is one of the earliest settlers in that village, having made a settlement there June 20, 1876. He came to take charge of the depot, a station having just been located at that point, and the railroad company moved one of those small houses, such as are used to shelter the hand cars, from the neighbor- hood of Wild Rice river, and set it up at Ada as the depot. The little cabin was hardly 10x12 feet in area, and did duty for telegraph office, ticket office, freight ware- house, and everything pertaining to the busi- ness. At that time there was not a house within two and a half miles of the station, and Mr. Dunlap and the other parties who came with him had to travel that distance for their meals and lodging until they had built a house, where they kept " bachelor's hall." In the following fall, when the rail-

road ceased running on account of the freez- ing of the river, which prevented the steam- boats reaching Fisher's Landing to meet the train, Mr. Dunlap returned to his family, who were living in Iowa, where he spent the winter. In the spring he returned to Ada, and again assumed charge of the railroad

business. The little shanty in which they were lodged the previous summer lasted them through the year 1877, but in that fall the company erected larger and more com- modious quarters. Mr. Dunlap continued . in charge of the depot at Ada for some five years, and then resigned. For about twelve months he was not actively engaged in any business, but in 1882 was offered and ac- cepted the position of book-keeper in the bank of Ada, where he remained for two years, at the expiration of which he entered in the same capacity the mercantile house of Thorpe Brothers & Company, where he has since been employed. When he first came to the county, in 1876, he took up a claim a mile west of the village, which land he improved and developed gradually, until it is one of the best in the town. He still owns and carries it on.

Mr. Dunlap is a New Englander by birth and education, having first seen the light July 11, 1838, in Chittenden county, Ver- mont, and was reared and educated among the Green Mountains of his native State. He is the son of Thadeus E. Dunlap. In the common schools of his New England home and in its excellent academies he received the elements of a most excellent education, . which he has much supplemented by the study of current topics in later years. He remained at home until 1859, when he started for the West, and located at Lake Forest, Lake county, Illinois, where for two years and a half he was employed as a clerk in a store. But it was at that time he possessed a desire to enter the railroad service, so, in the fall of 1862, he went to Evanston, Illi- nois, and took charge, as telegraph operator and station agent, of the business of the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad at that point. He remained in that connection for two years, and then returned to his boyhood's home and there spent the winter. The next five or six years he spent in various parts of

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the West, but was not permanently . located anywhere. In 1871, however, he settled in Plainfield, Bremer county, Iowa, where he was engaged in clerical work until coming to Ada in 1876.

Mr. Dunlap has been an active and prom- inent citizen of the town, county and village. He has served several terms as treasurer, both of the township and of Ada, and holds that office in the former at the present time. He was united in marriage in June, 1869, with Miss Ellen Pike, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was taken from him by the dark angel, death, May 9, 1884, leaving no family.

ENNIS DWYER, the efficient city marshal of East Grand Forks, Polk county, Minnesota, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Green county, Ohio, January 10, 1858, and is the son of Timothy and Bridget (Kavanaugh) Dwyer, natives of Ire- land. They emigrated to this country in 1850, and settled in Ohio. They had a family of the following children -- John S., whose biography will be found in another part of this ALBUM, and Dennis, the subject of this sketch.

Mr. Dwyer, of whom this article treats, remained at home with his parents, attend- ing school and working on the home farm until he had reached the age of nineteen years. At that period in life he commenced for himself, and for the next four years was engaged in buying grain. He was on the road, and part of the time was working on commission and the remainder for himself. In the spring of 1882 he went to Minnesota with his brother, John, and has been con- nected in business with him ever since. The brothers settled in Grand Forks, Dakota Territory, and took a tract of government land in Walsh county and resided there, en-

gaged in general farming and stock-raising. After leaving their farms, they removed to East Grand Forks and engaged in their pres- ent business. Soon after settling in East Grand Forks they engaged in the machinery business, and have since followed the same in connection with their livery. Mr. Dwyer, the subject of this memoir, heid the office of deputy sheriff of Polk county, and did efficient work. He captured some of the worst criminals in the Northwest and was in many thrilling adventures. Ile effected the capture of the notorious murderer, Hutchins, and arrested him when he (Hutchins) held the bloody knife with which he had mur- dered his victim in his hand. He captured four professional safe-blowers, and also ar- rested many other criminals of the worst class. Mr. Dwyer assisted in the execution of Miller, the murderer of the Snell family. He is one of the best known officers in the Red River Valley, and greatly dreaded by all criminals. He is a member of the Secret Service Agency, and a man of strict business integrity. He now holds the office of city marshal, and has held the same since 1887.

OBIAS O. SAUBY, an industrious and thrifty farmer of Grant county, Min- nesota, is a resident of section 10, Pomme de Terre township, where he is engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising. He is a na- tive of Wisconsin, born in Winchester, Win- nebago county, on the 7th of April, 1857, and is the son of Ole O. and Berget (Tor- grimson) Sauby, natives of Norway. They were farmers by occupation. The mother died in 1884. The father of our subject is still living and is engaged in the vocation of farming. They were the parents of the fol- lowing named children-Tona, Ole, Gunnel, Anna, Kittel, John, Tobias, Maggie, James,

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Easton, and one who died in infancy. Kittel, Maggie and James are deceased.

The subject of this article received his ed- ucation in Wisconsin, leaving school at the age of eighteen years. Until he had reached the age of twenty years, he remained at home, assisting on the home farm. He then started in life for himself, and after working at various occupations in the home neighbor- hood in Wisconsin, he removed to Minnesota. In 1878 he settled in Grant county, and bought 164 acres in Pomme de Terre town- ship on section 10, where he lias since remained, engaged successfully in general farming and stock-raising.

Mr. Sauby was united in marriage on the 17th of December, 1879, to Miss Turena Nelson, and the union has been blessed with the following named children-Norman, Charlie and Nellie. Mrs. Sauby passed away from the scenes of earth in February, 1885. Mr. Sauby was married the second time to Miss Ida Olson, October 14, 1887. Mrs. Sauby is a native of Winchester, Wisconsin, and is the mother of one child, Wilfred. Mr. Sauby, with his family, belongs to the Lutheran church. He has held various offices in the town and county, including those of assessor, chairman of the board of supervisors, constable, deputy treasurer, etc. He is one of the representative men of his township and takes an active interest in all public and local matters. Heis a stanch adherent to the principles of the republican party.

ENNIS F. MCGRATH, a leading hardware merchant, and one of the oldest settlers in that section of the Red River and Park Regions, is engaged in the mercantile business in the village of Barnes- ville, Clay county, Minnesota. He is a na- tive of Wisconsin, born in Appleton, in 1858,

and is the son of Dennis and Ellen (Cash- inan) McGrath, natives of Ireland.

Mr. McGrath, the subject of this article, spent his school days in Wisconsin and Min- nesota. At the age of eight years he re- moved with his parents to Steele county, Minnesota, where he lived until 1879. In the spring of that year he moved to Clay county, Minnesota, and took a claim on sec- tion 18 of Barnesville township, and located upon it. That season he cultivated 100 acres of land, and remained upon the farm, engaged in agricultural pursuits, until 1881. At that time he entered the lumber business, in partnership with P. E. Thompson, whose biography will be found in another part of this ALBUM. They continued in trade until September, 1886, and during that time did an extensive lumber business. In the year 1885 they put on the market 116 carloads of lum- ber, eight carloads of lime, ten of brick and two of windows, doors, paints, etc., and did $40,000 worth of business. They took con- tracts and worked on the installment plan. In September, 1886, after leaving the lumber business, Mr. McGrath purchased the hard- ware stock of Mr. Frankivoz, and has since been engaged in that occupation. He now carries a full line of heavy and shelf hard- ware, and the stock is valued at $10,000. In connection with his mercantile business Mr. McGrath does an extensive insurance busi- ness, representing five different companies, and is also engaged in the produce exchange industry, buying and shipping oats, barley, potatoes, etc.

Mr. McGrath was married in January, 1885, to Miss Anna McGinn, a resident of Owatonna, Steele county, Minnesota. Mr. McGrath is one of the leading men of Barnesville, and has held the offices of pres- ident of the village board for two years, town supervisor, justice of the peace, etc. He owns several residences in the village, and is extensively interested in village real

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estate. He is a member of the democratic party and one of the representative men of Clay county. He is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd-Fellows and an active worker in the interests of the locality in which he lives.

EORGE H. PALMER. Among the leading and prominent attorneys of Polk county, Minnesota, and influential citi- zens of the city of Crookston, is the gentle- man whose name heads this sketch. He is a native of Fayetteville, Onondaga county, New York, the son of Jerome B. and Eliza- beth (Hubbard) Palmer, and first saw the light Christmas day, December 25, 1854. He is a direct descendant, in the eighth genera- tion, of the pure Puritan stock that planted "On the wild New England shore"

the banner of religious and civil liberty, the germ of this great republic, his great ancestor, Walter Palmer, having come from Nottinghamshire, the home of his forefathers for centuries, to the New World, in 1629, landing at what is now Charlestown, Massa- chusetts. That gentleman, one of a party of one hundred families under the guidance of a Rev. Mr. Hooker, soon after pushed westward, under the umbrageous shades of the

"Forest primeval, where the murmuring pines and hemlocks,

Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,

Stand like Druids of old, "

and formed a little settlement at Stonington, Connecticut, fleeing alike from the religious intolerance at home and the unsocial aus- terity of the colony at Plymouth.

The subject of our memoir, like so many of the roving children of New England, is the member of a family association which was organized in 1881, under the name of the Palmer Association, and which contains

over 3,000 members, all lineal descendants of Walter Palmer. The branch of which our subject is a member were settlers in the Empire State many years ago, and there, in the county of his nativity, he was reared upon his father's farm. Laboring during the genial summer months in assisting to carry on the homestead, he attended school and academy each winter, laying the foun- dation of an excellent education, which he has since much enriched by study and re- flection. At the age of fourteen he entered the Madison University, at Cazenovia, New York. He there remained one year.

In March, 1870, when but little more than fifteen years old, an age when most people are but boys, Mr. Palmer, with the rugged independence born of his New England par- entage, and which is so characteristic of the inan, quitted the paternal roof and came to the Great West, and since that time has de- pended entirely upon his own resources, carving out his own pleasant fortune un- aided and by his own energies. Settling at Faribault, Rice county, Minnesota, he en- gaged in clerical employment until the year 1875, when he entered the office of Hon. J. H. Case, of that city, one of the leading forensic lights of that portion of the State, and there, besides attending to the office business of that gentleman, gave his mind to the study of Blackstone, Coke, Littleton, and a host of other luminaries of the legal profession, and whose writings are the text- books of the well-grounded lawyer. Seven years he remained with his employer, but after his admission to the bar in May, 1882, started for the Northwest and the Red River Valley. Arriving in Polk county, Minnesota, in July, he located at St. Hilaire. The railroad was not finished to that point as yet nor the village laid out, so, assisting in the latter labor, he then went to Crookston, from which point he hauled the lumber with which he erected one of the first

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buildings in the new village. He there opened a law and real estate office and com- menced business for himself, and rapidly grew into favor in that new settlement. Hav- ing strict integrity of character and the gift of a natural suavity of manner, he built up quite a business, but a year later he carried his abilities to Crookston, where he has found a wider field for his talents. Establishing a law, collection and real estate office in the seat of justice of Polk county, he soon brought himself into prominence in his pro- fession, and has now one of the best practices in the city. Devoting a fair share of his attention to cases before the Interior Depart- ment of the United States, where he is admitted to practice, a large share of the land cases of this locality find their way into his hands, and many of his efforts for the good of his clients bear a proper fruition. In the spring of 1885 Mr. Palmer was elected city justice of Crookston, and held that office for two years. He hasalways been a stanch and uncompromising supporter of the prin- ciples of the republican party. and a zealous advocate of the claims of that organization to office. During the presidential campaign of 1888 he acted as secretary to the Polk county republican clubs, and mainly through his efforts organized some seventeen other political clubs throughout the county. Frank and outspoken, an able debater and orator, his well-known honesty of purpose has made him a leader in this locality, while his habits of reading and reflection make him no easy opponent in forensic encounters.

Mr. Palmer was united in marriage, May 25, 1881, with Ella L. Patterson, the daughter of Oren P. Williams, one of the earliest settlers of Faribault. But their happy home was soon broken up, the death angel summoning away the beloved wife June 1, 1885, leaving one child, Luther J., but eighteen months old at the time, to a bereaved father's care.

RISON T. ADAMS, assistant in the hardware store of Wells Brothers, in Herman, Grant county, Minnesota, is a na- tive of Iowa, born in Manchester, on the 6th day of February, 1865, and is a son of Ira and Grace (Esterbrook) Adams, natives of Vermont and New York, respect- ively. The father and mother of our sub- ject were married in Dubuque, Iowa, and after their marriage located at Manchester, Iowa, where he (the father) engaged in the hardware business. He was educated at Rochester, New York. They are the par- ents of the following named children-Clara, Alfred, Orison, Elmer, Mary, Sarah, Grace and Bessie. Clara is the wife of a Mr. Fer- guson, located at Waterloo, Iowa.

The subject of this biographical review passed his younger days in his native State, attending the excellent common schools of the region in which he lived. He completed his education at Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, in the winter of 1882 and

1883. After completing his education, he secured a clerkship in a grocery store in Manchester. In two or three months he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and for the next eighteen months clerked in the hard- ware store of Miller Brothers. He then secured employment in a cornice shop, and after working a short time returned to Man- chester and was employed on the Manches- ter Democrat as book-keeper and local writer. In a few months he went to Elma, Iowa, and found employment in a tin shop. He remained in the tinner's trade for about three months and then removed to St. Paul, Minnesota. He there engaged as news agent on the Milwaukee railroad and soon after- ward entered a cornice shop, where he worked for several months. At the expira- tion of this time he went on the road for C. H. Shaffer, as news agent, and after some few months at this occupation went to Grant county, Minnesota. He located at

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Illustrated album of biography of the famous valley of the Red River of the North and the park regions of Minnesota and North Dakota : containing biographical sketches of settlers and representative citizens, Part 30

Author: Alden, Ogle & Company Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Alden, Ogle & Company Number of Pages: 872

Author: Alden, Ogle & Company
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Alden, Ogle & Company
Number of Pages: 872