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 43

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 43
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 43

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The subject of our sketch remained at home in his native country and received a common school education. After coming to America with his parents, he went at work on the railroads, grading on some of the principal lines in this Western country. He continued at this occupation for three years, after which he became a clerk in a general store at Fountain, Fillmore county, Minne- sota, where he remained one year. In 1871 he moved to Otter Tail county, where he took a pre-emption of 120 acres in the town

of Tordenskjold. He improved this farm thoroughly, built a log house 8x10, liv- ing in the same for one year. Then until 1874 he worked about the country at what- ever he could find to do in the line of farm work. In this year, 1874, he was married and settled down on the farm where he lived until 1881. In this year he turned his atten- tion to railroad contracting and continued in this line of employment for three years. At the end of this period he was appointed deputy sheriff of Otter Tail county, which position he has held ever since.

Mr. Johnson was married, in 1874, to Miss Eva G. Moe, a native of Norway and the daughter of Jacob Moe. Four children have blessed this union, their names being Carl, Eli- nor, Christopher and Tord. Mr. Johnson is a respectable and respected citizen, and a man in whom the people have placed much confi- dence. He has held the office of town clerk and supervisor, and helped to organize one of the first school districts in the county. While living on the farm he was appointed under President Hayes as postmaster in that town, and held that office for three years. In 1879 he was assistant sergeant-at-arms in the house of representatives at St. Paul. He owns a fine residence on Vernon avenue, one of the model homes of the city of Fergus Falls. Mr. Johnson affiliates with the re- publican party and is a leading Knight of Pythias. He is one of the leading citizens of Fergus Falls.

AMES H. LETSON is proprietor of the Letson House, Alexandria, Minnesota, it being the only first-class hotel in Alexandria for travelers and tourists. Mr. Letson is a native of Clinton county, New York, and was born in 1847. He is the son of Samuel and Ann (Carson) Letson. Samuel Letson's par-

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ents were John and Margaret (Carr) Letson, who came to America from County Antrim, Ireland, in 1832, and settled in Clinton county, New York, where they lived, engaged in farm- ing until the father's death. They had a family of ten children, nine of whom are now living - Samuel, William, Thomas, John, Isaac, Mariah, Elizabeth, Henry and Jane.

Samuel, the father of the subject of our sketch, is still living and is a resident of Alex- andria. He is now with his son at the Let- son House. He has followed various lines of business, in New York engaging in farming. On leaving New York he came to Wisconsin, and for the last thirteen years has been a resident of Minnesota.

James H., the subject of this sketch, was reared in the State of New York until he was ten years of age. At that age his parents went to Canada, where they remained for three years, at the end of which time he came west to Michigan. At fourteen years of age he left the parental roof and went upon the lakes, holding various positions on the steam- ers that plied from point to point. He fol- lowed this business until 1868, assisting in the large hotels during some of the winter months. In 1868 he came to Minnesota and settled in Minneapolis. Here he was em- ployed in the Nicollet and Windsor Hotels for about six years. He then ran the Ex- celsior House at Minnetonka for five years as a tourist's hotel. In 1880 he came to Alex- andria on a hunting expedition and, being struck by the beauty of the country, he con- cluded to tarry with this people, and as there was no first-class hotel he conceived the idea of building such an institution and running it himself. The city people gave him three lots, and he built the hotel at an expense to himself of several thousand dollars. For the last six years he has run the Hotel Alex- andria at Geneva Beach, caring for some three hundred people from the South and East during each season.

Mr. Letson was married in 1875 to Miss Mattie Waite, who was the daughter of W. W. Waite, of Minnetonka. Mr. and Mrs. Letson have only one child living, Alta, who is now a student at St. Paul.

Mrs. Letson's parents were William W. and Harriet (Fairchild) Waite. They were natives of Albany, New York. He was a manufacturer of cigars and tobacco in Chi- cago for some time, and was interested in mills, and was a wholesale merchant in Indianapolis, Indiana. He came to Minnesota for his health and died at Excelsior in 1873. Mrs. Letson's mother is still living at Minne- apolis. They had a large family, of which six children are now living - Mrs. J. H. Letson; Lucretia, now Mrs. Bliss; Grace, now Mrs. McCarthy; Eliza, now Mrs. Dicker- son; Wallace and Leon. The father of this family was a stanch, true republican in politics and was a loyal member of the Bap- tist church. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The Waite family are of English descent, and their gen- erations have been traced back to 1075. William the Conqueror gave the earldom, city and castle of Norwich in England to Rolf de Waite, who was a son of Rolf, an Englishman by a Welsh mother. Rolf de Waite married Emma, sister of Roger, earl of Hereford, who was a cousin of the Con- queror. The genealogical tree shows that Waite, of the county of Warwick, in A. D. 1350, was escheator of the counties of Wilks, Oxford, Berkshire, Bedford and Bucks. Thomas Waite was a member of Parliament, and one of the judges who signed the war- rant in 1649 for the execution of Charles I. Of this remarkable line of ancestry comes the Hon. Jonathon Waite, who was born in York, Livingston county, New York, 1811, and who is a brother of Mrs. Letson's father.

Mr. Letson is an ideal hotel-keeper. He is always alive to the interests and welfare of his guests, providing the best of accommo-

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dations, and setting one of the best tables to be found in any hotel west of Minneapolis or St. Paul. As a business man Mr. Letson stands among the foremost of Alexandria. He has assisted financially in many enter- prises that have been for the improvement of his adopted town. In politics he is a demo- crat. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and, with his wife, is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Letson has always enjoyed the esteem and regard of his fellow-townsmen wherever he has resided.

RANK HOPPE, who is engaged in the liquor business in Breckenridge, Wil- kin county, Minnesota, is a native of Ger- many. He was born in that kingdom in 1849 and is a son of Godfred and Florenten (Schlieker) Hoppe, natives of Germany. The father was a farmer and followed that occu- pation until his death in 1858. The mother died in 1863. They were the parents of twelve children. They were devoted mem- bers of the German Catholic church.

Frank Hoppe, the subject of this biograph- ical sketch, received his education in his na- tive land, and spent his early childhood on his father's farm. After his parents' death he secured work on a large farm, at which he worked for three years. He then secured the position of foreman of the same farm; after holding that place for four years he emigrated to the United States. He left his native land in October, 1872, and, after reaching America's shores, settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Although part of his time there was spent in a grocery store, the greater portion of the three years' sojourn in that city was taken up with the liquor busi- ness. Mr. Hoppe next removed to Lake City, Minnesota, where he worked on a farm for one year and then engaged in the same kind of business, which now occupies his

time. In three years he had the misfortune to bè burned out; then came to Breck- enridge, Minnesota, where he engaged in the saloon business. Soon after settling in this place he built a brewery just across the river, in Wahpeton, Dakota Territory. He sold this in about one year and then gave his attention exclusively to his business in Breckenridge. In addition to his liquor interests, he owns a farm of 310 acres, one mile and a half from the town, which he has rented since 1885.

Mr. Hoppe was united in marriage in 1879 to Miss Emma Stahmann, by whom three children have been born-Francisca, Fred and Clara. Mrs. Hoppe is the daughter of Fritz and Mary (Anding) 'Stahmann, and was born in Lake City, Minnesota. Her parents were natives of Germany, and, on coming to this country, settled in Lake City, where the father engaged in farming.

Mr. Hoppe, the subject of this article, is one of the substantial business men of Breckenridge. He has held various local offices, and has always taken an active inter- est in everything calculated to benefit the locality in which he lives. In political mat- ters he is an adherent to the principles of the democratic party.

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HARLES H. BROWN, of Ada, Minne- sota, who is engaged in carrying on the principal harness-making establishment in that village, is one of the early settlers of the county, and has been quite prominently identified with several of the institutions of the county seat ever since.

Mr. Brown was born in the city and county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1851, and is the son of Charles and Agusta (Haney) Brown, natives of Germany. In 1854 he was brought by his parents to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and for some

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twelve years was reared upon a farm in the environs of the city of Waupun, and there laid the foundation of his education. In 1866 the family removed to Redwing, Good- hue county, Minnesota, and there, in June, 1867, our subject commenced an apprentice- ship at the harness-making trade with E. P. Watson, of that city. After remaining with that gentleman for some two years and a half he worked as a journeyman at the trade in various parts of the State, until 1879, when he came to what is now Norman county, and purchased a farm of the railroad company, within three miles of Ada. Entering upon agricultural pursuits, he there made his home until January, 1882, when he removed to Ada and established his present business, harness-making. Here he has continued ever since, and is to-day the leading manu- facturer and dealer in that class of ware in the county, but still carries on his farm in the same connection.

Since his residence in Ada Mr. Brown has taken considerable interest in village matters, and has been a prominent member of the council for several years. While upon the farm, prior to moving into the village, he was the chairman of the town board, and in the fall of 1886 was elected chairman of the board of county commissioners for four years, and is the present incumbent of the latter responsible and onerous office, and ful- fills the duties of the position to the satisfac- tion of the majority of the qualified electors of the county.

The subject of this sketch was one of the charter members and helped organize, in the fall of 1882, Norman Lodge, No. 154, A. F. & A. M., he having been made a Mason in Herman Lodge, No. 41, of Zumbrota, Min- nesota, in 1879. He has always manifested an active interest in the workings of the order, and has held some office in the lodge since the date of its organization. He was also one of the originators of the Ada fire

department, organized in 1883, and has been its chief since that time, and discharged his duties in that capacity with ability and praiseworthy energy. He also helped organ- ize the Ada Cornet Band, in 1885, which is one of the institutions of that village.

Since he was eleven years old Mr. Brown has depended, to a great degree, upon the result of his own efforts, although he made his home with his parents until 1875, and is the sole architect of his own fortune. Act- ive, energetic and ambitious, he devoted his entire efforts to rise in the world, and while he has gained the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens, he has accumulated a hand- some nucleus of a fortune.

Mr. Brown was united in marriage Decem- ber 4, 1879, with Miss Lucy Pfund, who died July 23, 1883.

LBERT BOERNER, one of the respected and industrious farmers of Grant county, Minnesota, is a resident of section 30, Roseville township. He is a native of Prus- sia, and comes from a race proverbial for their thrift and economy and integrity. He was born in that kingdom on the 28th of January, 1851, and is the son of Fred and Christena Boerner, natives also of that grand division of Germany. The parents came to the United States in 1863, and, after remain- ing in Chicago, Illinois, for three months, moved to Wright county, Minnesota, where they lived until 1878. In 1878 they removed to Grant county, Minnesota, where they are still living. They have a family of eight chil- dren, named as follows-Fred, Caroline, So- phia, Henry, William, Albert, Herman and Julius.

Albert Boerner, the subject of this bio- graphical sketch, spent his school days in his native land, and in 1863 came with his parents to the United States. He remained with his

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parents until he was twenty-one years old, when he commenced in life for himself by engaging in farm labor. He now owns a most desirable and highly cultivated tract of land, comprising 320 acres on sections 20 and 30, Roseville township. He is extensively en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is one of the prominent citizens of Grant county.

Mr. Boerner was married on the 25th of January, 1872, to Miss Mary Dickow, a na- tive of Minnesota, and they are the parents of five children, named as follows-Julia, Edwin, Frank, Alfred and Emil. Mr. Boerner, with his family, belongs to the Lu- theran church. He is a man of the utmost honor and integrity, highly esteemed by all who bear his acquaintance. He has held various offices of his township, including supervisor, school treasurer, etc. In polit- ical matters he affiliates with the republican party, and takes an active interest in all pub- lic and educational affairs.

EV. THOMAS. E. DICKEY, a min- ister of the gospel, will form the subject of this sketch. He, like every other man, has had an experience that would fill a volume of this size, if given in detail, but duty devolves upon the writer to herewith record only the chief facts concerning this man's birth, parentage and relation in life with men.

He is a native of Nova Scotia, born April 2, 1836. His parents were Ephraim and Mary (Tupper) Dickey, natives of the same country. The father was a lumberman and followed the business of lumbering until his death. He was a major of the militia and a justice of the peace. Our subject's grandfather was William and his grand- mother Hannah (Howard) Dickey. Han-

nah's father was a colonel in the Revolu- tionary War and a native of England. Mary Tupper's parents were Eddy and Annie Tupper, natives of England and Nova Scotia, respectively. Ephraim Dickey had a family of nine children, seven of whom are now living-Eddy, Hannah (now Mrs. L. C. Munson, of Minneapolis), William, Elijah, Eliza, Benjamin, and Mary (now Mrs. Will- iam Holesworth).

Until he was fourteen years old, our sub- ject attended school in Nova Scotia, and then embarked in the lumbering business at the age of eighteen years. He came to Minneapolis, Minnesota, doing the same business until he was twenty-one years old. He then attended the high school of Minne- apolis a year and went to the Jubilee College, in the town of Robbin's Nest, Illinois, another year, then came to Faribault, Min- nesota, where he finished his classical studies, also graduated from the seminary, in 1867, having the degree of B. D. conferred upon him. He then took charge of the Episcopal parish at Le Sueur, Minnesota, · for three years. His next charge was at Austin, Mower county, Minnesota, where he remained two years, then went to Olympia, Washington Territory, remained' one year and next spent a year in California. From that State he went to Silver City, Idaho, where he remained a year. The next three years were spent in Bozeman, Montana Terri- tory. From there he came to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 1877, taking charge of the mission on the Northern Pacific extension from Lake Detroit to Bismarck, making two trips per month for a year. He was then made president of the Nebraska College, at Nebraska City, holding that office four years, and then returned to Moorhead and became rector of that parish. He built the Bishop Whipple School, in 1882, south of Moorhead. The buildings and grounds cost not far from thirty thousand dollars.

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The date of our subject's marriage was 1870. His wife was Miss Helen Wright, a native of Vermont. Her father was Kent Wright. Their children are-Henry W., Charles K., Ellis S. and Edward. The first named is now a teacher in Dakota.

Politically Mr. Dickey is a democrat. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is now numbered among Moorhead's most promi- nent men.

ICKEL M DUNN, the respected and successful blacksmith in the village of Barnesville, Clay county, Minnesota, is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born in Cambria county, within eight miles of the Allegheny Mountains, on the 2d of April, 1845, and is the son of Patrick and Mary (O'Donald) McDunn, natives of Ireland. The subject of this article spent the first seventeen years of his life in his native State, attending school in the winter and working on the home farm in the summer. In his seventeenth year he removed to the village of Wetmore, and worked two years and a half as an apprentice to the blacksmith's trade. In 1865 he removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he worked on the farm for two months, but not liking the locality he returned to his native home in Pennsylvania. Shortly after his return he went down the Ohio river and stopped at Jefferson, Indiana, where he remained six months, working at his trade. At the expiration of the time mentioned, or in the fall of the same year, he again returned to his old home, and in the spring of 1866 emigrated to the far West, and settled near Hastings, Minnesota, locating on a farm with his brother. After remaining there for three years he returned to the old home in Pennsylvania and remained with his parents for two years. In 1871 Mr. McDunn returned to Minnesota and

settled at Hastings on the farm. He remained there, engaged in agricultural pursuits, until the spring of 1879, at which time he went to the village of Barnesville, Clay county, Minnesota, where he has since resided, engaged in blacksmithing.

Mr. McDunn was married, in 1872, to Miss Mary Gavin, a native of Hastings, Minne- sota. They have been blessed with the fol- lowing-named children-Mary, Katie, Eliza- beth, William, Thomas and Michael. Mr. McDunn is one of the prominent and success- ful men of Clay county, and is a man of honor and integrity, highly esteemed by all who know him. He is one of the earliest settlers of Barnesville, having located here when there were only about half a dozen houses.

ICHAEL J. GLENNON is the pro- prietor of the Fergus Falls Bot- tling Works, and puts up artificial and natural mineral waters. He does a large busi- ness, and is located in Fergus Falls, Otter Tail county, Minnesota.

The place of Mr. Glennon's nativity was in the county of Westmeath, Ireland, where he was born in 1855. He is the son of Michael and Bridget (Macken) Glennon, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father was by occupation a farmer. He died in the fall of 1854; the mother still lives in her native land. They had a family of two children-Mary, now Mrs. Tynan ; and M. J., the subject of our sketch.

Educational advantages being of a good character in his native land, the subject of our sketch received a very good schooling. When fourteen years of age he left Ireland and came to America, first stopping at New York City. There he put his hands to work, at whatever turned up; in other words, he worked at whatever he could find to do, continuing at this general business for three

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years, at the end of which time lie removed to Pennsylvania, where he worked out for three years. Thence he went to Iowa, stopping at McGregor, and thence to St. Paul, Minnesota, returning to McGregor, where he stopped a short time. He remained in St. Paul for three years. In 1881 he came to Fergus Falls, Otter Tail county, Minne- sota, and engaged in work for the Manitoba Railroad Company as warehouse-man for two years. In 1884 he longed for a business of his own, and, after casting about, bought his present establishment. In 1885 he estab- lished a branch business at Wahpeton, Da- kota, where he built up a fine business, and, after running it for one year, sold out.

In 1881 Mr. Glennon was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Bridget English, a native of Ireland, by whom he has two liv- ing children-Francis M. and Theresia.

Since coming to Fergus Falls Mr. Glennon has been deeply interested in the growth and welfare of the city. He has built up a large and increasing business, and lives in a beau- tiful home just south of his bottling works, on Whetford street. In politics he has be- come quite prominent in the democratie party ; has been a delegate to the demo- cratic congressional convention, and has a number of times been delegate to the demo- cratic county conventions. He and his wife and children are members of the Catholic church of Fergus Falls.

R. GEORGE D. SWAINE, physician and surgeon, is the present mayor of Wahpeton, Richland county, North Dakota. He is a native of Marquette county, Wis- consin, where he was born February 18, 1850.

Dr. Swaine is a son of Asa B. and Cath- arine (Cross) Swaine, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter a native of Ohio. The grandparents were William and Mercy

(Fish) Swaine, the nativity of the former being the country of Denmark, and of the latter, the State of Ohio. The grandfather came to this country, with his parents, when quite young and settled with them in the East. Asa B. Swaine, the father of the subject of our sketch, was reared on a farm and, in an early day came to Wisconsin, settling at Verona, in Dane county. Here he engaged in farming for several years and then moved to Marquette county, where he engaged in the hotel business; thence he went to Waushara county, where he held the position of county auditor for some years before the war. On the breaking out of the Rebellion his heart was fired with patriotic zeal, and, in 1862, he entered the service as Captain of Company G, of the Thirtieth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. He remained in the service of the Union for two and one-half years. On receiving his discharge he moved to Elysian, Le Sueur county, Minnesota, where he is now engaged in farming. He has been very successful in his business affairs and has accumulated con- siderable means. Being an intelligent, pro- gressive citizen, he and his family are held in high esteem in the town in which they live. In the family there were eight children, four of whom are now living-Dr. George D .; Edith, now Mrs. Westlake, of Kasota, Minnesota ; Blanche, now Mrs. Rev. George Hixon, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Florence, now Mrs. George Loudon, of Min- neapolis.

The Doctor spent his younger days on the farm and at twelve years of age attended the high school at Whitewater, Wisconsin. He came with his parents to Minnesota, and until he was eighteen years old he worked on the farm during the summers and in the winter months attended the district school. On reaching eighteen years of age he put in practice a long-cherished idea and com- menced the study of medicine at odd hours .

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and on rainy days, otherwise doing work on the farm. He continued his studies under these circumstances until he came of age, and then he entered the Rush Medical College of Chicago, Illinois, from which institution he graduated in February, 1873. After his graduation he commenced the practice of his profession at Elysian, Le Sueur county, Min- nesota, remaining there until, as he says, he got a start; thence he went to Negaunee, a place of 6,000 inhabitants, in Northern Michigan. But eighteen months were spent in Negaunee. It was too cold in the winter, and the Doctor again returned to Minne- sota, settling in Le Sueur, Le Sueur county. Here he was engaged in active practice for eight years, and at the end of that period removed to Wahpeton, North Dakota, where he has since resided. While at Le Sueur he was also engaged in the drug business in connection with the practice of his profession. Since coming to Wahpeton he lias hield many prominent positions of trust and responsibility, having been a member of the city council and being the present mayor of the city. Beside these positions he has been the honored president of an insurance com- pany; is now the president of the Wahpeton Telephone Company, and is treasurer of the Northern Light Electric Company. He is a leading member of the Minnesota Valley Med- ical Association and is superintendent of the territorial board of health. The Doctor affil- iates with the democratic party in politics, and is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. O. F. and K. of P., of which latter he is the grand vice-chancellor.

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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 43

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