USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume II > Part 35
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Andrew O. Gimmestad, a leading citizen of Belview, is one of the foremost men of the county, and there are probably few men in the upper Minnesota valley whose interests are so varied, or whose influence is so widely extended, or whose work has meant so much in the building up of the region in which they have made their homes. Starting as a poor boy, with few advantages, and with little encouragement, he has established himself as pub- lic official, extensive land owner, and successful business man, and it is to his credit that his powerful influence has ever been exerted in behalf of those principles which he has believed to be right, even when his espousal of such principals has meant a
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personal sacrifice. In spite of his prosperity, and the demands made upon him by his extensive interests, he is democratic and ap- proachable, and when time permits, he likes nothing better than to leave his banking house and join in the labors of the tenants and employes on his various farms, especially during the harvest season. Through all his years of success he has not forgotten the struggles of his early years, and his delight is in speaking an encouraging word to any boy who is trying to make good under adverse circumstances. He was born at Gimmestad in Gloppen, Nordfjord, Norway, August 5, 1865, son of Ole Mathiasson Gim- mestad and Eli Christenson (Mardal) Gimmestad, who brought him to Swedes Forest township, this county, in 1876, arriving here on July 7. He had attended school to a certain extent in Norway, and this education he continued in the schoolhouse of District No. 5, near his home in Swedes Forest. His training was further perfected by courses in the Windom Institute, Monte- vidio, Minn., in 1889 and 1890, and in Beeman's College of Actual Business, Red Wing, Minn., in 1890 and 1891. In the meantime he has been working his own way by various lines of endeavor. He toiled on his father's farm, herded cattle, sold books, clerked in stores, bought wheat, acted as an agent for farm machinery, sold lands, and wrote insurance. These activities culminated in 1893 in the establishment of the Gimmestad Land & Loan Agency, at Belview, an organization which is still in existence, and which is doing a good business. In 1905, with three others, he organized the Belview Mercantile Co., of which he was a member for eight years. His banking interests are extensive. In 1906 he secured control of the State Bank of Belview, of which he is now presi- dent; he helped incorporate the Delhi State Bank and was its president two years; he helped organize the Redwood County State Bank of Redwood Falls, and is one of its directors. In connection with his business career he has been executor or ad- ministrator and attended to the probating of over twenty estates. A thorough believer in co-operative effort, he was the main factor in organizing the Farmers Grain & Fuel Co. of Belview, was its first president and treasurer, and is now, and has at all times since its organization in 1900, been its treasurer and a member of the board of directors; he was.president of the Belview Creamery Association a number of years; he was a member of the board of directors of the Redwood County Rural Telephone Co. for a time, and its president for two terms. Belview's two civic or- ganizations have found in him an ardent supporter; he is presi- dent of the Belview Commercial Club, of which he has been a mem- ber since 1893, and he has been the only president of the Belview Automobile Club, which he assisted in organizing in 1913. His services in local township and village offices have been many. As justice of the peace for the village of Belview and township of
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Kintire from 1892 to 1894, he gave general satisfaction. In one of these years he heard no less than seventy-six cases. He also performed several marriages. From 1894 to 1899 he was clerk of Kintire township. From 1894 to 1900 he was a member of the village council of Belview, and its president four years. Since 1895 he has served continuously as a member and treasurer of the Board of Education, and has recently been reelected for three more years. From 1906 to 1909 he was treasurer of the village. A Republican in politics, he was a member of the Seventh District Republican Congressional Committee for twelve years, and rep- resented the district at the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1908. Owning large tracts of land, and personally supervising his three farms of 720 acres near Belview, he is deeply interested in the agricultural welfare of the county, is an active member of the Redwood County Farmers' Club, and was a dele- gate from Minnesota to the First National Farm Land Congress held in Chicago in 1909. Although there lives no truer American than he, he nevertheless has many tender memories of the land of his birth, and has been an active member and is now treasurer of the Nordfjordlaget of America, an association of those who came from Nordfjord, Norway, and their descendants. In religion, a devout adherent of the Norwegian Lutheran faith, he has been treasurer of the church of that denomination in Belview since its organization in 1896. The Luther College Club, of Decorah, Iowa, the Gale College Club of Galesville, Wis., and the Home Finding Society of Chicago, all find him an active member. Mr. Gimmestad was married June 15, 1892, to Annie B. Hegdal, who was born in Swedes Forest township, December 14, 1870, daughter of Bent H. and Barbro (Bergseth) Hegdal, and this union has been blessed with nine children: Oscar, Ella B., Bertha, Bern- hardt, Alfred, William, Evelyn, Agnes and Walter. Oscar was born January 4, 1893, graduated from Gale College at Galesville, Wis., and is now assistant cashier in the State Bank of Belview. Ella B. was born January 20, 1895, is a graduate of the State Normal School at Winona, and of the Ladies Luther Seminary at Red Wing, and is now a teacher in the public school at Vesta, Minn. Bertha was born January 5, 1897, graduated from the Ladies Luther Seminary at Red Wing, and is now a student at the Stout Institute, at Menomonie, Wis. Bernhardt was born September 25, 1898, and is now a student at St. Olaf College, at Northfield. Alfred was born April 27, 1902; William, August 11, 1905; Evelyn, April 13, 1908; Agnes, July 17, 1911, and Walter, November 13, 1914.
Ole M. Gimmestad was born at Gimmestad in Gloppen, Nord- fjord, Norway, October 12, 1823, and was married June 22, 1850, to Eli Christensen Mardal, who was born August 9, 1826. They came to America in 1876 and located in Swedes Forest, this
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MR. AND MRS. OLE M. GIMMESTAD A. O. GIMMESTAD AND FAMILY
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county. Their first farm consisted of 80 acres in section 20. Later they added 160 more in sections 18, 19 and 29. They achieved success by hard labor and were numbered among the most substantial people in the community. Mr. Gimmestad died June 17, 1896, and his good wife passed away December 5 of the same year. In the family there were four children: Berte, Mathias, Christen and Andrew O.
Bent H. Hegdal was born in Nordfjord, Norway, and there married Barbro Bergseth. They came to America in 1869, and located in Swedes Forest, this county, first securing 80 acres, and later adding 160 acres more. Mr. Hegdal retired from active work in 1910 and moved to Belview, where he died April 12, 1915.
Christ Nielsen, a well known merchant of Revere, was born June 2, 1874, in Denmark. His father is a gardner and still lives in Denmark, and his mother died in 1912. Christ Nielsen came to the United States June 21, 1892, and located in Sleepy Eye, Minn., where he attended school and took a course in English to prepare himself for a business career. In the fall of 1892 he went to Sanborn, Minn., and was employed by Bendixen & Co. for six years. He then went to Lamberton, where he worked one year in a general store. In 1898 he returned to Denmark for a visit to his home and a year later returned to the United States. He next spent several months in New York City attending the Eagan School of Business, and he then went to Wanda in Redwood county, where he became manager of the first general store in the town, owned by Schrader & Co. of Sanborn. After six months he left Wanda to accept a position as salesman for Pattridge Bros. of Tracy, Minn., which position he held for nine years. He was also at Tyler and Russell for a short time. In the fall of 1910 he came to Revere and bought his present store, stock and build- ing, succeeding Matt. Miesen. Mr. Nielsen is a progressive busi- ness man and has won and held the respect of the people of the community by his integrity and high character. He has been an earnest temperance worker and has always used his influence to promote good morals and sobriety among the people where he has lived. He was secretary of the Farmers Elevator Company of Revere for the first year of its existence. Mr. Nielsen was married in 1903 to Nellie Johnson, born May 15, 1874, Skåne, Sweden, daughter of Bengt Johnson, who came to America in 1885, settling first in Lyon county, Minnesota, and later in Mur- ray county, Minnesota, where he died in 1914 at the age of eighty years, his wife having died many years before. Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen have four children : Alvin, born in 1904; Walter, born in 1906; Gertrude, born in 1908, and Charles, born in 1909.
Earl J. Hoagland, who, with his brother Frank L., owns and edits the Lamberton "Star," was born at Marshall, Minn., Octo- ber 5, 1882, son of James F. and Agnes (Marshall) Hoagland.
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He passed through the common and high schools of Marshall, and has since been in business with his brother, first in St. Paul under the name of the Hoagland Printing Co., then in West- brook, Minn., where they issued the "Sentinel," and later in Lamberton, where they succeeded E. M. Wilson of the "Star." Mr. Hoagland is a Mason, and is also associated with other or- ganizations. He was married May 3, 1904, to Beatrice Watson, born at Marshall, Minn., daughter of Fred J. and Cynthia (Mof- fett) Watson, the former of whom is a building contractor at St. Paul.
Frank L. Hoagland, who, with his brother, Earl J., owns and edits the Lamberton "Star," was born at Marshall, Minn., Feb- ruary 8, 1888, son of James F. and Agnes (Marshall) Hoagland. He passed through the common and high schools of Marshall, and also attended the Hamline University, since which time he has been in business with his brother. Like him, he is a member of the Masonic order and of other organizations.
James F. Hoagland was born in Pennsylvania, May 13, 1856, came to Lyon county, this state, as a boy, and followed farming until 1889, when he entered the employ of the Marshall Milling Co. He married Agnes Marshall, who was born in London, Eng- land, June 16, 1862. They have four children : Earl J. and Frank L., editors of the Lamberton "Star"; Claude, of Marshall; and Robert, of Devils Lake, N. D.
James E. Neil, scientific agriculturist, was born in Long Grove, Scott county, Iowa, October 4, 1886, son of John F. and Caroline (Brandt) Neil. He was reared to farm pursuits by his father, passed through the common schools, graduated from the Au- gustana College Academy, at Rock Island, Ill., in 1907, and from the Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa, in 1911. January 1, 1912, he became an agent in the Farm Extension Bureau of the Uni- versity of Minnesota. His work in this capacity won him favor- able attention, and on November 1, 1913, he was tendered the position of County Agricultural Agent of Redwood county. Dur- ing the years he held this position he was a factor in several dis- tinct forward movements in Redwood county agriculture. The office was discontinued in the summer of 1916, and Mr. Neil is now devoting his time to various lines of agricultural work. His work here has won him many friends, he has established himself as one of the masters in his chosen profession, and a brilliant future is assured him. The influence of his labors will continue to grow, though the abolishing of his office has retarded the frui- tion of many of the results which were on the eve of being real- ized. Mr. Neil is the author of the scholarly article on Red- wood County Agriculture which appears in this history. He was married August 2, 1913, to Edith C. Otto, born September 2, 1885, daughter of William H. and Emma (Edgar) Otto, and
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FRED DEIKE AND FAMILY
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they have one child, Lantha D., born February 19, 1915. John F. Neil, father of James F. Neil, was born April 25, 1858, and was married May 27, 1884, to Caroline Brandt, born October 10, 1857. Their children were: Alma, born March 5, 1885; James E .; and Mary J. and Charles F., born September 13, 1889, all of whom are on the home farm except James E. William H. Otto, father of Mrs. James E. Neil, was born in Pennsylvania, September 12, 1845, and is now a retired farmer of Ames, Iowa. He married Emma Edgar, born in Iowa, August 6, 1854. Their children were: Ira E., manager of the College book store, Ames, Iowa; Wilber W., manager of the Park Davis branch, New York; Grace M., wife of G. L. Clayton, in the railway service; Edith C., wife of J. E. Neil; Iva D., now wife of F. C. Waples, real estate dealer of Manchester, Iowa; Ada F., wife of Rev. W. L. Patter- son, a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, Arthur, Iowa.
Fred Deike, an enterprising and successful farmer of Sheri- dan township, was born near Chicago, Ill., April 27, 1860, son of Frederick and Mary (Gathman) Deike. He was reared on the home place, and there remained until several years after attaining his majority. About 1885 he came to Redwood county, and purchased 320 acres of wild prairie land in the southeast quarter of section 1, and the northeast quarter of section 12, Sheridan township, which farm he has since increased to 480 acres, 400 acres of which are under cultivation. Valuable fea- tures of the place are a tract of 135 acres in clover and timothy, and an orchard of four acres, as well as extensive groves. On this place, Mr. Deike carries on general farming along the latest approved lines, and makes a specialty of feeding Poll-Angus cattle, grade swine and Shropshire sheep for the markets. Hold- ing, as he does, the esteem and respect of his neighbors, he has served as justice of the peace for six years and has been a di- rector of school district 61 for twelve years. Mr. Deike was married April 9, 1885, to Louise Helberg, born April 12, 1862, at Schaumberg, Cook county, Illinois, daughter of William and Louisa (Mensing) Helberg. Mr. and Mrs. Deike have had twelve children: Edward, Fredericka (deceased), William, Arthur, Mathilda, Albert, Walter, George (deceased), Fred, Katherine, Theodore and Louis.
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Frederick Deike was born in Germany the others in his fam- ily being: Henry, who died in Germany; Christian, who died in Rice county, Minnesota; Mary (deceased), Mrs. Henry Barn- stedt, of Rice county, Minnesota; William, who was killed in the Civil war; and Louise, now Mrs. Henry Kiecher, of Itasca, Dupage county, Illinois. Frederick Deike came to America in 1855 and located in Cook county, Illinois, where he lived until his death in 1897 at the age of seventy-six years. He married
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Mary Gathman, who now lives in Ontarioville, Ill., and their chil- dren are: Fred, of Sheridan township, this county; Henry (de- ceased) ; William, of Rice county, Minnesota; Herman, of Ar- lington Heights, Ill .; Edward, of Franklin Park, Ill .; Ernest, of Cook county, Illinois; and Caroline, now Mrs. William Esau, of Aberdeen, S. D.
William Helberg was born in Germany, the others in his fam- ily being: Mary, who married William Grote; William, Fred, Dorathea, who married John Koeling; Henry, Louis, and Sophia, who married Jacob Bushard, all except the youngest, Sophia, . being now deceased. William Helberg came to America in 1845, and located in Cook county, Illinois, where he died in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight years. He married Louisa Mensing, who died in 1895, at the age of seventy-two years. Their children were: Henry (deceased) ; Frank, of Elgin, Ill .; Margaret (de- ceased), who married Henry Mensing; Sophia, who married Ger- hard Greve and lives on the Helberg farm in Cook county, Illi- nois; Louise, now Mrs. Fred Deike; and Emma (deceased).
Charles J. Scott, a proficient farmer of Delhi township, was born December 18, 1866, in Northfield, Minn., son of Elias and Lucia (Erwin) Scott. His father was born in Ohio in 1837 and died in Renville county, Minnesota, in 1902, and his mother was born in New York state in 1846 and is now living in Renville county. The father was a farmer and came to Renville county in 1875, where he bought 240 acres of land and farmed there until he moved to Renville in 1898. The following children were born to these parents : Charles J .; Mabel, of Renville county ; Earl, living in Montana; Effie, Mrs. Fred Tibbets of Delhi; Fred, of Renville county; Frank, of Fargo, N. D .; and Arthur, of Fargo, N. D. Charles J. Scott attended public school until fifteen years of age. He also attended Cogan's Academy at Sauk Center, Minn., and spent one year at Curtis Business College, Minneapo- lis. At the age of twenty-eight years he came to Redwood county and bought 160 acres of land in section 6, Delhi township. There was a small house and barn on the place at the time. In 1900 he built an eight-room modern house and also a granary. In 1915 he built a machine shed, two corn cribs, a hog house and hen house. He set out a grove of trees and has about thirty apple trees. He has also done considerable fencing and tiling. He has increased his farm to 204 acres and carries on diversified farming. He keeps from twenty-five to thirty grade Shorthorn cattle a year, about fifty head of Duroc Jersey swine, and from six to eight Percheron horses. He raises some grain, having fifty acres of wheat, forty acres of oats and seventy acres of corn this year, and is increasing his corn and diminishing his wheat acreage every year, raising white and yellow dent corn. Be- sides farming he has operated a thrasher for ten years, was em-
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ployed on the C., M. & St. L. Railway for six months and has worked in the woods a year. Mr. Scott is a Republican in poli- tics and has served on the township board for six years, and was justice of peace of Delhi township from 1900 to 1910. He has been president of the school board for district No. 18 for five years and is director and stockholder of the Farmers' Grain and Fuel. Company at Delhi. Fraternally he is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. at Redwood Falls. He is a member of the Presby- terian church. Mr. Scott was married September 4, 1894, to Mary Gaffney, who was born November 6, 1871, in Flora town- ship, Renville county, daughter of James and Mary (Powers) Gaffney, farmers of Renville county, now deceased. There were ten children in the family: George, deceased; Annie, deceased; Edward, of Renville county; Catherine, Mrs. John Anderson, of Washington; Nellie, deceased; John, of North Dakota; James, of Delhi township; Frank, of North Dakota; Joseph, deceased; and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have nine children: Guy, born in 1896; Percy, born in 1898; Gladys, born in 1899; Earl, born in 1901; Howard, born in 1903; Stanley, born in 1905; Inez, born . in 1907; Geneva, born in 1909; and Dorothy, born in 1914.
Charles Church Little, a progressive farmer of Delhi, was born October 19, 1857, at Scottsville, Albemarle county, Virginia, son of Theodore and Sarah (Bragg) Little. His father was born in Massachusetts in 1818 and died January, 1903, and his mother was born in Massachusetts, August 26, 1824, and died January 10, 1899. They were married September 30, 1846, in Tecumseh, Michigan, where Mrs. Little had moved with her parents at an early age. Theodore Little went to Virginia when a young man and for thirteen years was in the drug business. He also pat- ented, manufactured and sold a medicine called "Little White Oil," which he sold in twenty-three states of the union. For several years before the Civil war he was captain of a United States government packet boat on the James river canal. He also owned and operated a woolen mill at Scottsville, Va., which was burned down by General Sheridan's troops in 1864, the general thinking his father a southern sympathizer. General Sheridan also made his headquarters in Mr. Little's house for several days. Because of losses sustained at the time of the war, Mr. Little lost a fortune of $80,000. In 1865 Theodore Little moved to Bowens Prairie, Ia., where he lived on his father's farm. In 1890 he moved to Spencer, Clay county, Iowa, and lived there the rest of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Little were the parents of eight children, of whom five are now living. Charles C. Little acquired his early education in the schools of his neighborhood and finished his education at Davenport; Iowa, Business College. Then he engaged in the poultry business at Cascade, Ia., for four years. He also operated a cheese factory
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and creamery at Spencer, Ia. In 1881, after making a trip to Denver, Colo., he went to Clay county, Iowa, and worked on a farm there owned by his father. In 1902 he bought his present farm and made many improvements thereon, but did not live there himself until 1908, renting it out in the meanwhile. During these six years he was engaged in the dairy business at Redwood Falls, Minn. He carries on diversified farming and intends to make several improvements in the near future, including the tiling of 150 acres and the building of a new house and machine shed. In politics a Democrat, Mr. Little has served on the school board for one year. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Spencer, Ia. December 17, 1884, Mr. Little was united in mar- riage to Margaret Jones, born October 8, 1856, near Rockford, Ill., daughter of William and Elizabeth (Pells) Jones. Her father was born in Wales May 18, 1810, and came to Canada with his parents. He studied at Boston, Mass., and began practice as a physician in Illinois. He died August 20, 1879. His wife was born in Dunkirk, N. Y., September 23, 1823. The Johnsons and Lathrops from whom she was descended were prominent in the early history of New York, an uncle, Dr. Ebenezer Johnson, being the first mayor of Buffalo. She died October 19, 1905, having made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Little, since 1886. There were five children in the family, of whom two are now living. Mrs. Little is a member of the Eastern Star, Charity. Chapter No. 35, having served as Worthy Matron and secretary of said chapter. She is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Redwood Falls, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Little have two children : Theodore W. and Maude I. Theodore W., born July 15, 1886, graduated from the Redwood Falls High School and spent one year at Lawrence College, Appleton, Wis., and is now teaching school near Forsyth, Mont. He belongs to Lodge No. 91, A. F. & A. M., of Redwood Falls and to the Royal Arch Chapter at Forsyth, Mont. Maude I., born July 25, 1889, studied in the Redwood Falls high school and the State Normal school at Wi- nona. She is a member of the Eastern Star Lodge.
Clarence A. Johnson, editor of the Belview Independent, was born April 22, 1884, in Minneapolis, Minn., son of Arthur B. and Mabel (Emory) Johnson. The father, Arthur B. Johnson, born in Elgin, Illinois, March 25, 1855, came to Minnesota with his parents, locating at Farmington and later at Minneapolis. In 1881 he came to Redwood county, where he rented a farm one and a half miles east of Seaforth, in which village he now lives. He was married, November 15, 1883, to Mabel Emory, who was born February 21, 1858, in Meeker county, and died in Philadel- phia, December 26, 1903. Clarence A. Johnson remained at home until he was sixteen years of age. He studied telegraphy in the railroad office at Seaforth, but later gave it up and worked in
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the Seaforth "Item" office under G. R. Tuttle. Later he was employed at Belview, Vesta and Sanborn. June 1, 1905, he left Redwood county for the Pacific coast and was gone about six years. After his return he worked in St. Paul, Duluth and Chi- cago. Returning to Minnesota in 1914, he, with his brother, Lovel, leased the plant of the Belview "Independent" from Otto Flom, the brother remaining until the following November. In the following spring, Clarence A. bought the plant and has since been its proprietor and editor of the paper, a bright and newsy weekly. He also runs the plant as a job printing office. April 17, 1915, Clarence A. Johnson was married to Sophia G. Martin, who was born in Swedes Forest township, this county, in 1891, daughter of John and Turina (Rennevammen) Martin. He and his wife have one child, Maurice Lovel Johnson, who was born February 11, 1916.
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