USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume II > Part 13
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L. P. Larson, the efficient auditor of Redwood county, was born in Denmark, October 10, 1870, son of Hans and Sophia Larson, the former of whom is still living in that country at the age of seventy-two years, and the latter of whom died in 1891 at the age of forty-five years. The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native land, and at the age of twenty years came to America in 1890 to take up his home with an uncle in Brookville township, this county. With this uncle he remained for several winters, in the meantime working during the agricultural season with various farmers of the neighborhood. It was in De- cember, 1892, that disaster overtook Mr. Larson, and changed the. course of his life. Struck by a railroad train he was so badly in- jured as to necessitate the amputation of his right arm at the shoulder. Thus incapacitated for farm work, the young man pluckily determined to secure an education, and so insure for him- self a life of usefulness. Accordingly, poor in purse, handicapped by his misfortune, with little knowledge of the English language, he entered Wilder College, at Wilder, Minnesota, an institution
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which has since closed its doors. By industry, perseverance, undaunted courage, and the strictest self-denial, he completed his course in the spring of 1897. With this preparation he spent two years in an insurance office at Walnut Grove. Here he accumulated a little money, and was thus enabled in 1899 to purchase 80 acres of land in section 20, Johnsonville township. In 1902 he became deputy county auditor, and was elected auditor in 1906, since which time he has held the office con- tinuously by successful re-elections, his present term expiring on January 1, 1919. Mr. Larson is a genial, affable gentleman, widely known and honored, and his conduct of the arduous duties of the auditor's office has met with wide favor. In spite of the constantly increasing work of the office, with its rapidly added cares and responsibilities, he has shouldered the burden cheerfully, and has met with ability every new problem that has presented itself. Mr. Larson has a beautiful home on the banks of Lake Redwood, and his yard, bordering on the lake, is fast taking on the aspect of a sightly private park. On November 22, 1899, Mr. Larson was married to Mae M. Smith and took his bride to his farm. She was born May 8, 1876, daughter of Erastus Smith, a well-known farmer of Cottonwood county, who died in 1897 at the age of sixty-eight years. Her mother, Mrs. Mattie Smith, now lives at Proctor, Minn., and she was born in 1850. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Larson; Verda C., born July 25, 1900; Vern, born Jan. 10, 1902; John, born Nov. 16, 1903; Bernice, born Oct. 29, 1905; Marguerite, born March 18, 1907; and Dorothy, born Dec. 6, 1908. In April and May of 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Larson made an extended trip to the Pacific coast, and visited the two Expositions taking place there at that time.
W. Burrell Clement, one of the most popular young men of Redwood Falls, has lived here some eleven years, and during that time has established for himself an enviable position in the community. His genial personality, his straightforward character, and his business ability, have made him an important influence in the life of the city and county. Lieutenant Clement was born in Racine, Wis., July 16, 1884, son of William H. and Elizabeth (Bull) Clement. After passing through the graded schools and attending the Conrad (Iowa) high school, he entered Cornell College, at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, later attending the Central Iowa Business College at Marshalltown, Iowa. Thus prepared, he became bookkeeper and stenographer at the Iowa Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown. In July, 1905, he came to Redwood Falls, as stenographer for the First National Bank. After a few months he was promoted to assistant cashier, and some three years later he became the cashier. In this position he served with credit and ability for some three years. Then he resigned,
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and bought the insurance agency of J. B. Robinson, which had been established in Redwood Falls in the early days. On Sep- tember 1, 1914, he sold the agency to A. E. King, retaining, how- ever, the life insurance business. As district agent for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. of Newark, N. J., his district covers eight counties. For some months he was connected with H. M. Hitchcock & Co., dealers in drugs, stationery and optical goods. Lieutenant Clement, at the time of going to press (October 1, 1916) is on the Texas border with his regiment. He became a member of Company L, M. N. G., in 1908, and was commissioned first lieutenant in July, 1913, an office he still retains. He has proven a most efficient soldier and officer, and is popular with officers and privates alike. Fraternally, Lieutenant Clement is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Masonic Order. The family faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Clement was married August 3, 1910, to Gretchen Hitchcock, born December 13, 1884, daughter of H. M. Hitchcock. They have two children, Katherine Ruth, born April 6, 1913, and Margaret Louise, born October 30, 1915. Rev. William H. Cle- ment, father of W. Burrell Clement, was born in Geneseo, N. Y., and was there reared. Coming to Racine, Wis., as a young man, he secured employment as an iron moulder. Later he worked as a gold miner in the Black Hills. Subsequently he turned his attention to religious work as a Y. M. C. A. worker. In 1889 he became a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church as a member of the Upper Iowa Conference, and preached in various places, including Minneapolis.
Jacob Schmahl was among those early German pioneers to settle in the Minnesota Valley. He was born in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, in 1817, a descendant of one of the early families to settle in the Middle Palatinate, from which family there sprang Lorentz Schmahl, Adam Schmahl and Wentz Schmahl, who, on September 2, 1743, sailed on the ship Loyal Judith, Capt. James Cowey, master, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes, for American shores, the former settling on a farm six miles from York, Pa., where he pursued assiduously and successfully his calling to the close of his life, leaving four sons, John, Kilain and Lawrence. Of this branch of the Schmahl family, it is remarkable that it required only one generation to reduce the name to plain "Small." Jacob, when young, moved to Balti- more, and his son, Col. Jacob Small, was mayor of the city for a time following the revolutionary war. John Schmahl moved to and settled in Beaver county, Pa., and Kilain and Lawrence remained in York. From the former the greater part of the numerous Smalls in York county descended. Of the other mem- bers of the Schmahl family to settle and grow up on the Middle Palatinate, it appears that they remained in Germany until long
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after the Revolutionary period. Certain it is that the head of the Traverse des Sioux family did not come to the United States until after 1837, and romance has it that he followed the girl who was to be his future wife to this country, he having met her before she left Mainz, Germany, accompanied by her father, for this country. He came to Galena, Ill., and thence to St. Paul, where he again met the girl of his first choice, Roset Apfel, and shortly afterwards they were united in wedlock. It was about this time that Jacob Schmahl fell in with those sturdy Minne- sota pioneers and boomers-Sibley, Rice, Becker, Flandrau, and many others identified with the early history of the state. Polit- ically, he and they were Democrats, he, probably, through follow- ing in the paths of those active men of the territory, and it was by their advice that he and his bride moved to Traverse des Sioux, in the hopes that ere long the capital of the state would be moved to that point, or a point near that famous crossing of the Sioux. Thither they went, at least, and engaged in the hotel business, and at their stopping place many of the prominent men of early days put up for the night on their journeys up and down the river. Here, too, occurred frequent payments of Indian annuities. When the St. Peter Townsite Company collapsed, as a result of the theft of the capitol removal bill, after the same had passed both houses of the legislature, by Hon. Joseph Rolette, chairman of the committee on enrollment, the Schmahl family moved west to a farm three miles east of Ft. Ridgley. When the Indian outbreak of 1862 occurred the family was the last to enter the fort, Colonel Sheehan's company returning from Glencoe, forcing the family in against its will, both Mr. and Mrs. Schmahl believing that no danger would result by their remaining in the farm home. During the eleven days' residence in the fort Jacob Schmahl had a leg injured, and was unable to give much assis- tance to the men fighting against the Indian foe. Following the defeat of the Indians the family returned to their home east of the fort, and finding it nearly destroyed, their household effects demolished or stolen, their wearing apparel all gone, they returned to Traverse des Sioux, where they remained until 1870, when, by team and by foot, they moved to Redwood Falls. Here Jacob Schmahl engaged in the brewery business, and for a time conducted a saloon as an adjunct to the same, in neither of which did he meet with success. Following the destruction of the family home in 1876, Mr. Schmahl moved to Canby, Minn., leav- ing his family at Redwood Falls, and at Canby he again com- menced the brewery business, with but little success. Early settlers of the Minnesota Valley between Redwood Falls and Lac qui Parle will recall him bringing beer to the farm houses and towns along the way, and referring to it as "Schmahl's Best." Following the abandonment of his venture at Canby he
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gave up active business for himself, and was employed at various occupations at Fargo and Casselton, N. D., and at the latter place he had one hand so seriously injured by the kick from a horse that amputation was necessary. After this he returned to Red- wood Falls, where he resided up to a few months prior to his death, he having gone to St. Alexander's hospital, New Ulm, where he passed away in September of 1906. Mr. Schmahl was the father of ten children, six of whom are still living at the time of the publication of this history. The four who have passed away are Phillip, who died in infancy, Julia Schmahi Jaehning, Emil and Otto Schmahl. The six surviving children are Mrs. Matilda Schmahl Liebenguth, Alexander C. Schmahl, Teckla Schmahl Wingett, Herman G. Schmahl, Julius A. Schmahl and Charlotte Schmahl Palmer.
Alexander C. Schmahl is a tinner and hardware man by trade. Early in life he was apprenticed to a New Ulm hardware mer- chant, and after spending several years in New Ulm, he returned to Redwood Falls, and worked as a tinner in various stores up to the time that the firm of Schmahl & Jaehnings was organized, when he became the senior member of that hardware firm, he continuing as such until his health became impaired, and he was obliged to retire, closing out his interests to Jaehning Bros. After spending some time in farm life he took up his residence in the city, where he still resides, and is employed at various times by Jaehning Bros. He was married to Mary Dittman and they have no children.
Herman Germonicus Schmahl was the second son born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Schmahl, and came to Redwood Falls from Traverse des Sioux in 1870. His first years were spent in doing such work as possible and going to school. He herded cattle for one or more seasons, and then entered the employ of E. E. Har- riott, publisher of the Redwood Gazette. It was there that he acquired a thorough knowledge of the printing business. Later he found employment in the store of Philbrick & Francois, and when that firm dissolved he became a member of the firm of Francois & Co., general merchants at Redwood Falls. With the death of C. A. Francois the firm changed its name to Francois & Schmahl, and a few years ago Mr. Schmahl became the sole owner of the business under the name of H. G. Schmahl & Co. The firm conducts one of the largest general merchandise stores in the Minnesota valley. Mr. Schmahl was married to Carrie Porter, who passed away in 1912, and he is the father of one child, Irma Schmahl.
Julius August Schmahl, secretary of state of Minnesota at the time that this history was being written, first saw the light of day at Traverse des Sioux, Nicollet county, Minnesota, on August 1, 1867. Three years later his parents moved to Redwood Falls,
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then a frontier town of Minnesota, and the transportation to which at that time was made either by foot or by horse or ox team over unusually rough roads. He was one of a family of ten children, one sister alone being his junior in the family. His school years were spent in the town, but when he was six years old he, with an elder brother, were obliged to spend the summers in herding cattle and doing such other labor as would assist the mother in caring for her family. Later, for three years, he herded cattle on the prairies of Swedes Forest, Vesta and other townships of the county, boarding at the homes of John Rucker, James Durtnall, Harvey Wingett and Thos. D. Barber. When twelve years old he entered the printing office of the Redwood Gazette, under James Aiken, and worked at the printer's trade in that office for over two years. He then went to Fargo, where he was employed in the Fargo Argus job printing office for more than two years. Returning to Minnesota he worked at the trade for a time in St. Paul, and finally returned to Redwood Falls to work in the office of the Redwood Reveille. It was while em- ployed in that office that he became a member of a local chau- taqua circle, and continued the course of reading prescribed by that circle for the full term of four years, and Mr. Schmahl points to that system of education as being responsible for his after advancement in life. From 1885 to 1892 he was engaged in reporting for the Minneapolis Journal, Tribune, and Times, and for the St. Paul Globe, Pioneer Press, and News, spending three years of that time as the political and capitol reporter on one or more of the papers. On August 1, 1892, with Herbert V. Ruter, he returned to Redwood Falls, and the two purchased the plant of the Redwood Gazette from James Aiken, changing the paper from a four-page patent inside paper to an eight-page all- home print. The partnership continued for a period of fifteen months, when Mr. Ruter retired and James Aiken again returned to the plant, the new firm being known as Aiken & Schmahl. Mr. Schmahl was elected chief clerk of the house of representa- tives of the Minnesota legislature in 1901, re-elected at the extra session of 1902, and the regular sessions of 1903 and 1905. His acquaintance grew from session to session and on January 15, 1906, he announced that he would be a candidate for the Repub- lican nomination for secretary of state. This was in the old con- vention days, and on June 13, 1906, at the Republican state convention held in Duluth, he was nominated on the second ballot, in a field of nine candidates, he receiving 703 votes, or nearly 200 more than the required number. He was elected the following November, and on December 1, 1906, he announced his retirement from the Gazette firm, closing out his interests to his partner, James Aiken, and shortly afterwards Mr. Schmahl and family moved to St. Paul to take up his official residence.
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He was re-nominated by two succeeding conventions, and again at the state wide primaries of 1912, 1914 and 1916, as the choice of his party for secretary of state, being elected at each succeed- ing election in the following November, and with the expiration of the term commencing January 2, 1917, he will have held the office continuously for twelve years. Mr. Schmahl was married to Elizabeth T. Dunnington, at Redwood Falls, on February 20, 1895, and one son was born to them, Dana C. Schmahl, now a lieu- tenant with the First Minnesota Field Artillery. Mrs. Schmahl passed away on February 6, 1914, and Mr. Schmahl has since been married to Minerva B. Fowlds of Brooten, Stearns county.
E. A. Lyman, the pioneer, came to Minnesota from Wisconsin, in 1865. In 1868 he located in Redwood Falls and at once identi- fied himself with the life of the community. As a teamster he made many trips between Redwood Falls and St. Peter and New Ulm, and he also did considerable trucking for various pioneer enterprises as well as for many of the old settlers. To him belongs the credit of owning one of the first threshing ma- chines of the county. After a long career, filled with busy work and successful endeavor, he moved, in 1900, to Zephyr Hills, Florida, where he now resides. His wife, Clara A. Pryor, died in 1889, at the age of seventy. In the family there were three children : Alice, wife of R. E. Anderson, a Presbyterian clergy- man of Onarga, Ill .; Ellen C., the wife of M. Yingling, a retired business man of New Comerstown, Ohio, and E. A., Jr., a promi- nent dentist of Redwood Falls.
E. A. Lyman, Jr., D. D. S., one of the leading men of Redwood Falls, was born in Zumbro Falls, Minnesota, April 21, 1867, son of E. A. and Clara A. (Pryor) Lyman. After passing through the common schools, he was graduated from the Moorehead high school in 1882. Early becoming interested in dentistry, he spent two years in a dental office in Moorehead, and later entered the dental department of the St. Paul Medical college, from which he was graduated in 1888. Since 1889 he has been in the practice of his profession at Redwood Falls. A thirty-second degree Mason, he has passed through the Blue lodge, Chapter, Com- mandery at Redwood Falls, being past commander of Redwood Falls Commandery, No. 15, Knights Templar. He also belongs to the Winona Consistory, No. 4, and to Osmund Temple, No. 4 at St. Paul. He has been a public spirited citizen, has served on various committees, and was a member of the fire department from 1890 to 1913. He was married December 5, 1889, to Blanch S. French, daughter of E. D. French and Sarah (Johnson) French. Mr. French was a dealer in real estate, served as judge of probate and was revenue collector at St. Cloud. Dr. and Mrs. Lyman have four children: Ruth, Mrs. R. A. Cooper; E. D., a bookkeeper at the State Bank of Redwood Falls; Susan, Mrs.
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Ed. Lund, wife of a farmer at Walnut Grove, and Berna, at home.
Alfred O. Dolliff, attorney-at-law, and special judge of the Redwood Falls municipal court, was born in Oldtown, Me., Sep- tember 30, 1874, son of Lucius P. and Mary (Gould) Dolliff, and was reared in his native state and in Minnesota. After receiving the necessary preliminary education he entered Carleton college, at Northfield, Minn., and after studying there three years entered the University of Minnesota. Upon graduating from the law de- partment of that university, June 7, 1895, he was admitted to the bar, and a few months later, on September 4, 1895, he took up his residence in Redwood Falls, where he has since been in the active practice of his profession. He is one of the leading attor- neys of the county and has been concerned in considerable im- portant litigation. For several years he was city attorney. As a progressive Republican, he has been active in public life, and during the Republican campaign of 1906 did efficient work as chairman of the Republican county committee. At college, Mr. Dolliff was admitted to membership in the Delta Chi fraternity. For many years he has been a member of the State Bar Asso- eiation. As a loyal citizen he is an active member of the Com- mercial club. For some years he was lieutenant of Co. C, Second Minn., M. N. G. His fraternal affiliations are with the A. F. & A. M. and the Knights of Pythias, and in the local lodge of the latter order he has occupied all the chairs. Mr. Dolliff was married November 25, 1895, to Lulu V. Porter, born November 16, 1873, daughter of Richard and Harriet Porter. Mr. and Mrs. Dolliff have one son, Roger P., born February 17, 1897. Mrs. Dolliff, who is a graduate of the Decatur (Indiana) high school, taught school in Indiana for a while and was later a teacher in the Redwood Falls schools. Lucius P. Dolliff, father of Attor- ney Alfred C. Dolliff, was born in Maine, and was there married. Later in life he went to northern Wisconsin, and there remained until 1884, when he moved to Minneapolis, where he was joined by his family who came directly from Maine. In 1885 he moved to Wood Lake, this state, and there remained for several years. In 1892 he again took up the lumber business in Minneapolis and there he still makes his home.
Carl August Herman Laudon, a pioneer, was born in Sagast, Germany, October 2, 1843, and was there reared and educated. In 1868 he came to America with his parents and located in Olmsted county, this state. From there, in 1871, he came to Red- wood county, and purchased 200 acres of land in section 23, Sherman township, where he successfully farmed for many years. He died January 6, 1914. His wife, Frida W. Turban, was born in Germany, June 5, 1848, and came to America to be married in June 1871. She died August 26, 1897. In the family there
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were eight children. Mr. Laudon was a prominent man in his township and served for many years in such positions as town clerk, supervisor and assessor.
Alfred R. A. Laudon, judge of probate, was born in Sherman township, this county, January 7, 1875, son of Herman and Frida W. (Turban) Laudon, and was reared to farm pursuits. He received his preliminary education in the schools of the county and was for a time employed as a teacher near Wabasso. Sub- sequently he attended the Northern Illinois College of Law, at Dixon, Ill., and also studied law with Judge Joseph Chadderdon, of Redwood Falls, being admitted to the bar in 1900. Since then he has been in the continuous practice of his profession in Red- wood Falls, and has appeared in a number of important cases. His public work includes service as city recorder, clerk of the municipal court and judge of the municipal court. In the fall of 1910 he was elected judge of probate, and in that position, by re-election, he is still efficiently serving. His fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias, in the local lodge of which he has passed through all the chairs. August 24, 1902, he was married to Florence A. Baker, born July 10, 1881, daughter of John S. and Hannah M. (South) Baker. John S. Baker, a retired farmer of Redwood Falls, and a veteran of the Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry, died February 21, 1913, at the age of seventy years. Mr. and Mrs. Laudon have two children: Lowell R., born March 4, 1905; Frida M., born March 11, 1913.
William S. Ball, Civil war veteran and pioneer, was born in New York state in 1825. He was there reared, and learned the carpenter and joiner's trade. He married Emily Griswold, who bore him six children, and in 1855 he brought the family west- ward to Wisconsin, where he lived for a number of years in Fond du Lac county. His wife died in 1866 at the age of thirty- five years, and sometime later he returned to Pennsylvania, where he died in 1897. During the Civil war, he served two and a half years as a private in Co. A, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, being honorably discharged at the expiration of this time as the result of disability acquired in service. Some years later he was granted a pension, which continued until the time of his death.
Halbert M. Ball, financier, man-of-affairs, and leading citizen of Morgan, has been prominent in the public life of two counties, and is now president of the State Bank of Morgan, an institution with which he has been connected since its organization. He was born in Chemung county, New York, March 1, 1849, one of the six children of William S. and Emily (Griswold) Ball, both de- scended from sturdy York state stock. As a boy, in 1855, he was brought to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and was still of ten- der years when he lost his mother. At the age of sixteen he started out for himself. He was eighteen years old when he
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came to Minnesota and located in Brown county, where, after learning the carpenters' trade, he followed building and contract- ing until 1880. Then he bought 160 acres in Eden township, in that county, and started farming. There he built up a good place, increased his holdings to 300 acres, and successfully car- ried on general farming and stockraising for many years. During this period he served six years as county commissioner of Brown county and his efficient work in this capacity is still remembered by the people of that county. It was in 1892 that he came to Redwood county. A year later he assisted in organizing the State Bank of Morgan. When this bank opened its doors he was cashier and general manager, a position he retained until 1913, when he assumed the duties of his present position. His person- ality has built up the bank into a successful, solid institution which has been an important factor in the upbuilding of the village and the surrounding rural community. An ardent Re- publican in politics, Mr. Ball has served as a member of the Red- wood county Republican central committee. Fraternally, Mr. Ball is associated with the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. His religious affiliation is with the Morgan Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Ball was married April 2, 1874, to Augusta Hartwick, born in Newark, N. J., and this union has been blessed with five children, Elizabeth M., William H., Walter, Myrtle and Stella, who died at the age of two years.
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