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 93

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 93
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 93

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Mr. Platt was born at Alden, Erie county, New York, May 29, 1859, and is a son of Charles M. and Aseneth A. (Dayton) Platt, who were also born in the Empire State. The father and mother had a family of the following children-Lewis D., our subject ; Frank L., a locomotive engineer of Rich- mond, Virginia ; Louise M., now Mrs. F. L. Barnet, of Alden, New York; Nettie D., single and living with the mother. The father died in 1875.

Lewis D. Platt, whose name heads our pres- ent article, spent his boyhood-days in and about his father's mill. He received a good education, attending school and working in the mill during vacations and after school hours. When he was eighteen years of age he went to the Clarence Academy, at Clar- ence, New York, and took a thorough course, graduating from that institution in 1882. In the meantime, however, he had devoted

PARK REGIONS OF MINNESOTA.

considerable time to teaching school, teach- ing three winters at Crittenden, Erie county, New York, and vicinity. After his gradua- tion he went to Buffalo, New York, and en- gaged as clerk and book-keeper for Bissell & Finn. For two years he was with them at 14 Central Wharf, and then for two years on Seneca Street.

During six months of the four years he was book-keeper for the Buffalo Lubricating Oil Co. In the spring of 1886 he removed to Hillsboro, Traill county, North Dakota, and engaged with W. W. Greene, as book-keeper in the North Dakota Roller Mills of that place. He has since retained his connection with the mill, and is rated as one of the most capable and thorough business men of the place. In July, 1888, when . the North Dakota Millers' Association was organized, our subject was elected secretary and treas- urer.

The North Dakota Roller Mills, of Hills- boro, with which Mr. Platt is connected, is rated as one of the best in the Red River Valley. It has all the modern improvements known to the milling business, and has a capacity of 250 barrels per day. It was erected in 1885-86 by E. P. Allis & Co., of Milwaukee.

Mr. Platt was married at Alden, Erie county, New York, October 18, 1887, to Miss Anne A. Hawthorne, who was born at that place, and a daughter of Ira B. and Carrie (Moore) Hawthorne, who were born in Vermont. Her father is a prominent farmer of Erie county, New York.

H. MYRAN. Among the prominent citizens of the village of Ada, Minne- sota, who are of Scandinavian birth, and who have done so much for the growth, develop- ment and public welfare of that community, may be cited the gentleman whose name

appears at the head of this article, who is engaged in carrying on the agricultural implement business in that village.

Born in the kingdom of Norway, January 18, 1853, Mr. Myran remained in that far northern land with his parents until 1868, when the family, with the natural ambition to better their condition, bade farewell to their native land, and, crossing the wild and stormy Atlantic, landed after a tedious voy- age on the shores of the New World. They for about a year made their home in the State of Illinois, but in 1869 removed to Goodhue county, Minnesota, where our sub- ject was reared to manhood on a farm. His earlier education was obtained in the land of his birth, where the school-house is better appreciated than anywhere else in Europe, and finished in this State. Mr. Myran remained at home with his parents, assisting his father in the family maintenance until he had attained his majority, and then, with the view of following a mercantile life, entered a store and was there employed as a clerk and salesman for a year or two. At the expiration of that time he removed to the extreme western part of Minnesota, and tak- ing up a claim in Lincoln county, com- menced to open up a farm. For some five or six years he remained there, following agricultural pursuits, but in May, 1881, came to Ada, and foreseeing its future prosperity and promise, decided to locate there. He at once had erected the building known as the Northwestern Hotel, which he had ready by July 1st, and which he opened, as landlord, at that time. He continued at the head of that hostelry until the fall of 1882, when he leased it to another party and devoted his attention to the sale of agricultural machinery, steam threshing machines and engines, a business which he has followed with excellent success ever since. During his residence here he has erected several business houses, part of which he has sold and a portion rented. Besides

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his property in the village he is the owner of a fine farm of 315 acres of excellent arable land in the county, 100 acres of which are under cultivation.

In all movements for the general welfare of the community or the prosperity of the vil- lage, Mr. Myran is ever foremost, and merits and receives the respect and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact. The inde- pendence of his nature, so strongly charac- teristic of the race from which he sprang, has won him many friends, whom he has strongly attached to himself by his kindly and affable manners.

Mr. Myran was united in marriage in 1875 with Miss Mary Nelson, who, however, died October 19, 1886, leaving three children. In 1887 Mr. Myran married Miss Carrie Nelson, but two months later she was taken away by death.

EORGE H. CLARK, one of the prom- inent farmers of Wadena county, Minnesota, lives about two miles south of Verndale. He was one of the first settlers of that village, having located there in the spring of 1878. In November of the year previous he left Floyd county, Iowa, where he then lived, and came up into the State of Minnesota to prospect and find, if possible, a desirable location. After traveling over considerable territory he finally landed in the southern part of Wadena county, and, being taken with the looks and lay of the country, he concluded that here was the place to locate. So, after a short time, he returned to Iowa, and on the last day of April, 1878, left his home in that State, and in company with Wash. Young, Eugene Smith, the family of L. W. Smith, and with six teams and a lot of cattle drove across the country, reaching Wadena county, May 19th, of that year. This was a long,

tedious trip overland, but was not without its pleasant side. They were twenty days on the way, and saw much delightful country, coming by way of Albert Lea, Waseca, Litchfield, Sauk Centre and Parker's Prairie. As soon as Mr. Clark arrived he at once commenced operations and broke a portion of the eighty acres of land which he had pur- chased the fall before. He also put up a part of the present Bolton House and called it the Clark House, where he engaged in running a hotel for three years. He then rented the property, but remained as a resi- dent of the village until 1882. In the fall of that year he sold his hotel, and conclud- ing to turn his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchased a farm one mile south of the village. He broke 100 acres of land on this place and continued his farming opera- tions there for four years. Then, in company with his son, he purchased another farm, which was run for a time as a partnership business. In the fall of 1888 he purchased his present place, two miles south of the village.

Mr. Clark is a native of Gallia county, Ohio, where he was born in 1829. Mr. Clark was much attached to his early home and re- mained with his parents, acquiring a good com- mon school education, until he was twenty- one years of age. He then started out to face life's duties alone, removing to Stark county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming for two years. Then in the spring of 1852 he started with his wife and two other families to go by team to Chickasaw county, Iowa, where he became one of the first settlers. They settled on Government land within one- half mile of where Nashua now stands. Building a log cabin, he covered it over with bark and laid the floor of "puncheons," and lived in this primitive dwelling for some two years. He then concluded to find some place near what he called civilization, so he sold his farm and removed to Floyd county,

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where he turned his attention to speculating in farms until the spring of 1878, at which time he removed to Wadena county, Min- nesota. While in Floyd county, Iowa, he opened up seven new farms, his plan being to purchase unimproved lands, improve them thoroughily, then sell out and again move upon a new unimproved farm and follow the same plan as before. In this way Mr. Clark accumulated considerable means, and became one of the prominent citizens of Floyd county

Mr. Clark was married September 13, 1848, to Miss N. C. Armstrong, a native of Gallia county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have a family of seven children-six daughters and one son-all of whom are still living and all but one married.

Mr. Clark has lived a long life of usefulness which has been at the same time filled with difficulties and embarrassments; but in spite of these hardships, such as are experienced by the pioneer settlers of every country, he has lived through it all to now enjoy the blessings and comforts resulting from a well- spent and honorable career. In his business ventures he has been at all times the recipient of merited success. In all public matters he has proven himself liberal spirited and by his energy and push in public as well as private matters has drawn to himself many warm friends, and is respected and esteemed by all who know him.

R. L. B. WOOLSON, who will form the subject of our present article, is the leading physician of Atwater, Kandi- yohi county, Minnesota. He is an old settler of that place, having been prominently identi- fied with its business interests and his name is indissolubly associated with its history. A kindly, genial gentleman, a man of high character and integrity, and a skillful physi-

cian, he is highly esteemed both profession- ally and as an exemplary citizen.

Dr. Woolson was born in Plainfield, Wash- ington county, Vermont, on the 7th of Sep- tember, 1812, and is a son of Charles R. and Susana (Bancroft) Woolson. His mother came from one of the most intellectual and noted families known to American genealogy, being a niece of the historian, George Ban- croft. The father of our subject was drum- major of a regiment during the War of 1812, and participated in the battle of Plattsburg. Charles R. Woolson and wife were the parents of ten children-Preston, Fannie, George (all of whom died in childhood), Ephraim, Moses, Sarah (died April 11, 1888, aged ninety-one), Gardner, Albina, Loina and George. The father moved to Vernon, Oneida county, New York, in 1816, where the family was raised and educated.

Dr. Woolson, whose name heads our present article, was raised and educated in Syracuse, New York. He received an excel- lent education, attending the common schools and taking a course at the high school in that city. He then took a thorough and practi- cal course of reading in medicine at Fayette- ville, New York. In 1856 he came to the then Territory of Minnesota, landing at the village of St. Paul on the 12th of March. He went to Shakopee, where he remained two months and then settled at Belle Plaine, Scott county, Minnesota. There he kept the old Basswood Hotel, and took an active and prominent part in the development of that locality, remaining there until 1871. During that year he came to Atwater, Kandiyohi county, where he has since lived. He has practiced medicine continuously since his settlement here, and in 1876 opened a drug store, which he ran in connection until it was destroyed by fire in May, 1888. The doctor is a republican in political matters. He is still hale and hearty, having borne well the brunt of life's battles, and after a

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long life of usefulness and uncommon activ- ity is spending his declining years, enjoy- ing, in the fullest sense, the esteem and regard of all who know him.

The doctor was married on the 22d of June, 1835, to Miss Annie Downie, of Esper- ence, New York. She died March 31, 1888, aged seventy-one years. - -

JOHN PETERSON, one of the successful and enterprising farmers of Lund town- ship, Douglas county, Minnesota, is a native of Sweden. He was born in Smallen, Sweden, January 13, 1850, and is the son of Swan and Anna (Daniels) Peterson, natives of that king- dom. There was a family of five children- Sophia, Matilda, Jenetta, John and Emil. Our subject came to the United States in 1859 with his parents, and settled in Red Wing, Minne- sota. They remained there for two years, and then removed to a farm ten miles from Spring Creek, Goodhue county, Minnesota. They followed agricultural pursuits on this place for one year, when they settled in the town of Goodhue, in Goodhue county. After remaining in this place for one year and a half they returned to the old farm, and. the parents of our subject soon moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota, and from there journeyed · to Douglas county. The mother died in 1863, and the father is now living in Grant county, Minnesota.

The subject of this biographical sketch received his education in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and at the early age of fourteen years commenced in life for himself. As soon as he had reached the requisite age he homesteaded 160 acres of land in Lund township, Douglas county, Minnesota, where he has since resided. His well-cultivated land lies in sections 27 and 28, and comprises 463 acres. In January, 1865, Mr. Peterson enlisted in the Minnesota Heavy Artillery, entering and leaving as a private. While in

the service he went as far south as Chatta- nooga, Tennessee, and was honorably dis- charged at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in the fall of 1865.

Mr. Peterson was united in marriage December 26, 1879, to Miss Emma Bergrin, by whom three children have been born- Oscar A., Clara J. and Aarnt V. Mrs. Peter- son is a native of Sweden. The family are members of the Lutheran church, of which organization Mr. Peterson is a deacon. He is one of the substantial and enterprising citizens of his town and county, and takes an active part in all public and educational matters. He holds the office of supervisor of his township, and is school treasurer; he is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Peterson is extensively engaged in general farming and stock-raising, dealing in Holstein cattle.

HOMAS C. MYERS. The subject of our present article is one of the most active and prominent business men in Wadena county, Minnesota, and is propri- etor of the Verndale Saw and Planing Mills. He went there in the spring of 1880 with E. M. Britts, for whom he erected a grist-mill. After finishing this mill he engaged in con- tracting and building, and during that season erected from $25,000 to $30,000 worth of buildings, employing from twenty-five to thirty men. He remained there working at this line until February, 1881, when he returned to his former home in Troy, Ohio. In May, 1885, he again came to Verndale and engaged in contracting and building, erecting the present school building at a cost of $8,000, and numerous other buildings throughout the county. He brought his family to Verndale in the fall of 1885. During the same fall he purchased his present mill property, which was then in a

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very dilapidated condition. He rebuilt and put in an improved engine and necessary machinery, and now has a mill with a capacity for sawing 12,000 to 13,000 feet per day. The mill is finely equipped with planing machine, matching and moulding machines, sash, door and blind machinery, and does an extensive business.

Mr. Myers is a thorough American-his foreparents, on the paternal side, having come to this country with William Penn, and his Grandfather Myers was an officer in the Revolutionary War, and afterward died from the effects of wounds received in the service. After the close of that war he took as a homestead the present site of Perrysburg, Pennsylvania. On the maternal side the ancestry runs back as Americans into the sixteenth century.

Thomas C. Myers was born in Troy, Miami county, Ohio, in 1848, and is the son of Samuel and Frances (Pettit) Myers. His life was spent in his native village until February 17, 1865, when he enlisted in the One Hun- dred and Ninety-fourth Ohio Infantry, being then but little over sixteen years of age. Immediately after his enlistment his com- pany joined Sheridan's army in the Shenan- doah Valley, where he served until July 17. He was then ordered to Washington, and in October was sent to Camp Chase, where he received an honorable discharge November 2, 1865. He then returned to his native home, where he remained a short time and then started out in life for himself. Since that time he has followed the trade of a car- penter and builder, and has visited nearly all parts of the United States.

On New-Year's eve, December 31, 1873, he was married to Miss Rhoda A. Parke, of Troy, Ohio. Our subject is an active mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is adjutant of C. C. Parker Post, No. 113. He is also an honored member of the Odd- Fellows fraternity.

DWARD T. THOMPSON. Prominent among the county officials of Pembina county, North Dakota, is the subject of this biographical memoir, the present incumbent of the office of county treasurer, and a tem- porary resident of Pembina, where he is engaged in the discharge of the duties devolving upon his official position. His home is in the village of St. Thomas, North Dakota, where he has been prominently identified with the mercantile interests since September 1882. He is a native of the State of Iowa, born in McGregor, Iowa, on the 11th day of November, 1862, and is the son of O. P. and Thonette Thompson, natives of Norway. They emigrated to the United States and located first where Edward was born, and shortly afterward removed to Decorah, Iowa.

Mr. Thompson, of whom this article treats, removed, when he was a small child, with his parents to Decorah, Iowa, where his boyhood-days were spent at home, with the usual educational advantages of the common schools, and then graduated from the Decorah High School in 1881, and from the Decorah Business College in 1882. After leaving school, at the age of nineteen, he removed to the Red River Valley, locating in St. Thomas, North Dakota, in September, 1882, and engaged in the mercantile business with Olson and Thompson, the firm name being Olson, Thompson & Company. He has since remained in business in that place and is one of the leading and most successful business men of the county. They carry a full stock of general merchandise, and are engaged in an extensive trade. In Novem- ber, 1888, Mr. Thompson was elected county treasurer of Pembina county, and at once removed to Pembina to take charge of his duties. He has since resided in Pembina, although his business interests are centered in St. Thomas. He assumed his position as treasurer on the 7th day of January, 1889,

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and since that time has discharged the duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to all parties concerned.

Mr. Thompson is closely connected with the best interests of St. Thomas, and is the president of the board of trustees of that village. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows of St. Thomas, North Star Lodge and Olive Encampment, St. Thomas. He has held the offices of noble grand of the Star Lodge, and is C. P. of the Encampment. In political matters he is an adherent to the principles of the republican party and is actively interested in all the cam- paigns of that organization. He is a public- spirited citizen and encourages in every way any and all home enterprises. A man of integrity and honor, he is highly esteemed, both as an exemplary citizen and a practical, energetic business man.

JOHN GUMMER. Prominent among the respected and successful farmers of Otter Tail county, Minnesota, is the subject of this biographical sketch, a resident of Fra- zee City, Becker county, where he is devoted to agricultural pursuits, his farm being within two miles of the village. He is a native of Canada, born in the Province of Ontario, on the 17th day of March, 1837, and is the son of William and Jane (Hopper) Gummer, natives of England and Ireland, respectively. The mother died in 1869, and was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church. The father of our subject emigrated to Canada when he was about eighteen years old, and settled in Ontario, where he remained until his death. He was a member of the Episcopal church, and a prominent citizen of the locality in which he lived. They were the parents of the following-named children -John, Nancy and Edward.

Mr. Gummer, the subject of this biograph- ical article, received his education near the

city of Kingston, Ontario. After leaving school, at the age of nineteen years, he remained at home until after his father died, and then took charge of the old homestead until he emigrated to the States. He set- tled at Frazee City, Minnesota, and for the first two years engaged in farming. He then removed into the village, and after remaining there for four years returned to his farm, where he has since remained, engaged in general farming and stock-rais- ing. He is one of the prominent and repre- sentative members of the farming community, and is highly esteemed by all who know him.

Mr. Gummer was united in marriage on the 1st day of May, 1859, to Miss Almena Chilton, and this union has been blessed with the following-named children - Emma, Edward, Edgerton and Hannah. Our sub- ject now affiliates with the republican party, and while in his native land was an adherent to the principles of the conservative party. He had been a member of two different tem- perance organizations, and to-day is one of Becker county's most respected citizens.

ENRY SHEPHARD, county coroner, has been prominently identified with the official history of Polk county, Minnesota. He is an old settler in the Red River Valley, and has remained here ever since the days when the settlers were few and far between, and when the present cities were being plat- ted and laid out, and he deserves appropri- ate mention in a work devoted to the pioneers of the Northwest.

Henry Shephard was born in Sothering- ton, Connecticut, May 11, 1830; and is a son of Amos and Statira (Alcott) Shephard, who were also natives of Connecticut. When our subject was about fifteen years of age his father died and the support of his mother fell upon him. He worked at the trade of

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iron-moulder, at which he continued until 1858, when he came to Minnesota. He set- tled at Henderson, in Sibley county, where he engaged in running a ferry boat and remained there until the winter of 1870. In May, 1871, he went to the present site of Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he en- gaged in cooking for Griggs, Walsh, McCor- mick & Co., who laid out that place and also built a mill. He remained there until April, 1872, when he went to Polk county, Minne- sota, and "claimed" land twelve miles east of Grand Forks, where he supposed there would be a railroad crossing. In this he was disappointed and in June he abandoned his claim and went to Crookston, where he has remained since. In the fall of the same year the first election for county officers was held and Mr. Shephard was chosen the first justice of the peace in the county. He held this office until 1882, and since that time has been constable. He has held the office of county coroner for nearly three terms-now on his third. At the last election he was nominated by the republicans and indorsed by the democrats and prohibitionists. Mr Shephard also holds a commission as deputy United States marshal under United States Marshal W. M. Campbell. He is a gentle- man of excellent business abilities, genial and affable, and has made many friends throughout this region.

RNEST P. LE MASURIER, editor and proprietor of the Hallock News. is one of the enterprising business men of Kittson county, Minnesota. He was born in London, England, April 16, 1864, and is the son of Phillip and Sarah (Stone) Le Masurier. His parents were also natives of England, but when our subject was six years old the family emigrated to America and settled on a farm near Arilla, County Simcoe, Canada,

where Ernest P. grew to manhood and re- ceived his education. In 1881 they sold out and removed to Kittson county, Minnesota, and secured land both by homestead and pre-emption. The parents are now living in Hallock, and our subject has always lived with them. Phillip Le Masurier and wife were the parents of the following family of children-Ernest .P., Phillip, Anna, Fred, Flora, George, William, Arthur, Louis and Charles. Phillip married Katie O'Connor, and is engaged at farming near St. Vincent. Anna married Martin Ray, a school-teacher of St. Vincent. The family are honored members of the Church of England.

Ernest P. Le Masurier, in company with William G. Deacon, established the Hallock News, January 1, 1889. The paper is one of the leading journals of the county. It is ably edited and neatly made up and printed, and it is meeting with well-merited success.

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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 93

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