USA > Mississippi > History of the upper Mississippi Valley, pt 2 > Part 18
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St. Joseph was one of the first settled towns in the county. In 1854, two settlements were made, one in the vicinity of the present village of St. Joseph, by some Germau families, and the other on the east side of Sank river, in the southeast corner of the town, by Americans.
In the German settlement, the first settler was Peter Loso, who made a elaim on sections nine and ten, where he resided until his death which oceurred in 1877. The family still reside in St. Joseph. Mr. Loso was followed the same fall by Michael Lenz, Nicholas Rassier, J. H. Linnemann, M. J. Orth, P. Kraemer, B. Fuelis, and M. Fied- ler, all settling within a mile or so of the present village. N. Rassier settled on seetion fourteen, and still resides there, being one of the active men of the town. J. H. Linnemann is also a resi- dent of the village.
'The pioneer in the American settlement, was J. C. Staples, a native of Maine, who came in Oeto- ber, 1854, and took a elaim on sections twenty-six and twenty-seven. Accompanying him were his sons, James S., Ivory S., Edward, and William, the two former taking land in section twenty- seven, where they still reside. " Mr. Staples, senior, has passed away. The population of St. Joseph, according to the census of 1880, was 863 persons.
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The town was organized in 1858, and embraced the south half of St. Wendel, the east half of College- ville, and a portion of Avon, making a total area of 81 square miles. It has been gradually re- duced to its present limits, by the establishment of the boundaries of the towns above mentioned.
Its area is now 36 square miles, or 23,040 acres, of which 4,078 are under cultivation.
The first election washeld at the house of Peter Loso, and the following officers elected: Supervi- sors, Moses Morrison, Chairman, John Loher, and John Weber; Clerk, Jolm Payne; Assessor, John A. Miller; Collector, Nicholas Rassier; and Justi- ces of the Peace, Andrew Schroeder and Christian Becker.
A short distance west of the village, and located on the South Fork of the Watab river, there is a flouring mill, built in 1856, by William Roehin, which contained but one run of stones, and was wholly devoid of a bolting eloth. It was operated by different parties, but passed into the hands of the present proprietor,Mr. Danzl, in 1866. He has sinee made valuable improvements, and greatly increased the capacity of the mill, besides raising the quality of the flour to a high standard. Mr. Danzl has also a saw mill which stands on the opposite bank of the stream, and is propelled by the same water-power.
The products in 1880 were: wheat, 47,304 bush- els; oats, 25,010 bushels; corn, 9,885 bushels; bar- ley, 20 bushels; rye, 103 bushels; buckwheat, 20 bushels; potatoes, 4,090 bushels; cultivated hay, 25 tons; wild hay, 1,495 tons; apples, 47 bushels; tobacco, 6 pounds; wool, 1,065 pounds; butter, 5,820 pounds; and honey, 1,250 pounds.
VILLAGE.
The village of St. Joseph is situated on seetions nine and ten, and lies on the line of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba railroad, seven miles west of St. Cloud, and is one of the most thrifty towns in the eonuty.
One of the first settlers here, was J. H. Linne- mann, who owns and operates a steam flouring mill in the village. It was built in 1862, and eon- tains three run of stones with a capacity of thirty barrels per day.
The building is 50x50 feet, and the machinery is propelled by a thirty horse-power engine.
There is a grain elevator at the depot, owned by Pillsbury & Hulbert, of Minneapolis. It was built in 1879, and is 34x36 feet, with an engine- room and warehouse attached. The capacity is 55,000 bushels. It is in charge of G. F. Wilson, who has handled, during the eight months end- ing on the 1st of May, 1881, 150,000 bushels of grain.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is located here, and is under the anspiees of the Order of St.
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ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP.
Benediet. The first mass held here was by Father Pierz, in a small log honse abont eighty rods from the present railroad station, in February, 1855. Then services were held at different times, at the house of J. H. Linneman, but in 1856, a log build- ing was erceted, which served the dual capacity of church and schoolhouse, and Father Wineger was appointed regular missionary.
This primitive building served the purposes of a church until the erection of the present substan- tial stone edifice. This was commeneed in 1867, and completed in 1870. Adjoining the elmreli, there is an elegant parsonage, also built of stone.
School district number two has its school in the village, and is the outgrowth of the school begun in 1856, in the little log church. They have a good two-story building, and the school is tanght by the Sisters of St. Benedict. These Sisters also keep an extensive boarding-school for young ladies, and on the same grounds, a home for the Sisters has recently been erected ..
The village contains a number of stores, two hotels, wagon and blacksmith shops, mills, etc., and does the ordinary business of a thriving country town.
The annual railroad shipments at this place aggregate more than at any other point in the county.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
CASPER CAPSER, for twenty-two years a resident of Stearns county, and one of the first settlers in St. Joseph, is a native of Gaars, Bavaria, and was born on the 16th of March, 1828. At the age of thirteen years, he commeneed an apprenticeship to the hatter's trade, and served three years. In 1846, he came to America with his parents, who settled in Elk eounty, Pennsylvania. The follow- ing year he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith in Clearfield county, where he served three years, and has continued the business most of the time sinec. In the spring of 1855, he came west to ex- plore the country, and visited the site of St. Jo- seph and vicinity. He was so well pleased withi the prospeet, that he returned to Pennsylvania and disposed of his property, returning to Stearns county in 1859. He at onee took a claim, near Richmond, and also opened a blacksmith shop at St. Joseph, which he has operated ever since. Mr. Capser was united in marriage with Miss M. A. Schriver, of Pennsylvania. They have eight eliil- dren.
'T. ConBENTSON was born in Christiansand, Nor-
way, on the 24th of December, 1836. He was ed- neated in telegraphy at an early age, and em- ployed as Government operator at Staranger, Bre- viy, and several other large towns. In 1871, he emme to America, and was employed by the St. Panl and Pacific Railroad Company, as assistant agent and telegraph operator at Benson, for a time; he was then transferred to Melrose, and for the last six years, has been station agent, express agent, and telegraph operator, at St. Joseph.
H. H. CLEVELAND was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, on the 3d of October, 1828. At the age of fourteen years he went to St. Johnsbury, and attended school there about two years, after which, he attended the Academy at Brownington, Vermont, for a time. Returning to Canada, he was employed at farming and railroading until 1852, when he came to Illinois and drove a stage from Peoria to Bloomington for one year. In 1853, he came to St. Clond, spent the first winter in the pineries, and the following season, engaged with Patterson, Benson, and Ward, driving stage for them and their successors for ten years. Then was engaged in the Hudson Bay traffie with H. C. Burbank and others until the railroad reached St. Cloud. Mr. Cleveland then settled on a tarm near New Munich, and followed the plough for three years; then returned to St. Cloud, and again re- sumed the freighting business, continuing it until his removal to this town in 1880. His wife's maiden name was Miss Sarah Hutchinson, with whom he was united in marriage on the 4th of July, 1866.
FERDINAND DANZE is a native of Bavaria, born on the 23d of December, 1835. When a young man in his native country, he acquired the miller's trade, which has been his chief occupa- tion through life. He came to America in 1856, and after remaining in Canada a short time, came to St. Joseph, arriving here on the 24th of June, 1857. He obtained employment in the mill which he now owns, working there for seven years. Hc then went east, and after a stay of eighteen months in New York and Pennsylvania, returned to Ger- many, but eame again to America in 1866, and purchased the flouring and saw-mill near St. Joseph, which he now carries on, besides operat- ing a farm in the vicinity. Mr. Danzi was mar- ried on the 14th of Angust, 1866, to Miss Catha- rine Ebent; of eiglit children, the result of this union, but six are living. One of his children, a bright little girl, was caught in the gearing of the
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
mill on the 16th of September, 1880, receiving injuries from which she died twenty-six hours uffer.
THOMAS DANZE is a native of Funstraus, Ger- many, born on the 3d of May, 1829. When cighteen years of age he began to learn the cooper's trade, at which he continued three years; lie was then engaged on a farm one year; was employed in a sugar refinery at Estraeg, and after- wards in a coffee house the same length of time. He then returned to his former home, but soon after, in 1860, came to America, settling on his farm north of St. Joseph, in May of the same year. In 1873, he moved to St. Joseph and opened a saloon which he still conducts; he has also beeu Postmaster for three years. Mr. Danzl was mar- ried on the 28th of May, 1860, to Miss F. Kies- miller; they have had six children, five of whom are living.
J. W. Koor, head miller at Linnemann's Mills, was born at Dorsum, Germany, on the 6th of Feb- rnary, 1855. His home was with his parents un- til sixteen years of nge, after which he was em- ployed on the neighboring farms until 1873, when he came to America, and has been a resident of St. Joseph ever sinee. Mr. Koop obtained em- ployment with J. H. Linnemann soon after his arrival, and still works for him. He first drove a team, then was engineer and assistant in the flour- ing mill, and has been head miller for the last four years. He was married on the 11th of July, 1878, to Miss Regina Linnemann, of St. Joseph, who died after one year and three days of wedded life.
JAMES KEOUGH is a native of Wexford county, Ireland, and was born about 1811. He was left an orphan at the age of ten years, and soon after, was bound in apprenticeship to a sea captain, but at the end of two years, located in Canada, and was employed on the St. Lawrence river and the lakes for ten years. Then removed to New York State, and in 1846, to Wisconsin, where he was engaged in farming and mining for three years. In 1849, he came to Minnesota and settled at Sank Rapids, but in 1853, removed to the west sido of the Mississippi, and built a house on the Sauk river, in the prosent town of St. Clond; this was probably the first farm-house built in Stearns county. Mr. Keongh resided on this farm until abont ten years ago, when he removed to his pres- ent home in. St. Joseph. He was married in June, 1855, to Catharine Brady. They have had six childron, all of whom nro living.
P. H. LEY, one of the pioneers of Stearns eoun- ty, was boru near Kolne, on the Rhine, Prussia, on the 15th of September, 1833. He came to Amer- ica with his parents in the spring of 1842, they settling ou a farm in Fond du Lac county, Wis- consin. Here the subject of our sketeh grew to manhood, in the meantime acquiring the art of engineering. In 1857, he eame to St. Martin, Stearns county, where he was engaged with his father on a farm for some time. In 1858, he went to Michigan, but after a stay of two years, returned to St. Martin, and was engaged in farming pnr- snits, until the Indian outbreak, in which he took an active part, narrowly escaping death at the hands of the savages on several occasions. After the Indian war, he again engaged in farming nntil 1871, when he moved to Melrose, and kept the Railroad Honse at that place for a unmber of years, after which he eame to St. Joseph, built the Railroad Hotel, and has sinee been its proprietor.
PETER LOSO, (deceased ) the first white settler in St. Joseph, was born in Prussia, on the 25th of February, 1824. On first coming to America, he settled in La Fayette, Indiana, and remained un- til the summer of 1854, when he came to Stearns county, and made a claim on sections nine and ten, adjoining the present village of St. Joseph, on which he resided a short time. He also pre-empted a portion of the town site, on which he moved within a year, still cultivating his farm. Abont 1863, he bought a flouring and saw mill, within a few miles of the village, moved his family there and carried on the mills, until 1867, when he dis- posed of the property, returned to St. Joseph, and built the Washington Hotel, which he eondneted in connection with his farm, until his death, which ocenrred on the 27th of October, 1877. Mr. Loso was married to Miss Margaretha Fiedler, daughter of M. Fiedler, also one of the pioneers of St. Jo- seph. They have had ten children, seven of whom are living.
G. A. MARSHALL, dates his birth in Germany, on the 19th of July, 1838. The family eame to Amer- iea in 1853, and settled in Oneida county, New York, but in the spring of 1855, came to Minne- sota, and settled on the farm where the subject of our sketch now resides. His father died on the 10th of May, 1881, and Mr. Marshall now owns the old homestead. He was elected Town Clerk in 1873, and has held the position nearly ever since. Miss Annie M. Suck became his wife on the 29th of November, 1866. Six daughters gath-
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ST. MARTIN TOWNSHIP.
er around the family hearthstone, but their only son is dead.
NICHOLAS RASSIER, for twenty-seven years a res- ident of Stearns county, and one of the first set- tlers in St. Joseph, is a native of Losheim, Ger- many, born on the 19th of January, 1828. His father owned a large farm on which Nicholas was employed during his residence in the old country. In 1852, he came to America, and after a short stay in the Atlantic States, eame to Detroit, Mich- igan, residing in that city and vicinity, nearly two years. He then visited Indiana and Chicago, af- ter which he came to Stearns county (not then or- ganized ) on the 9th of November, 1854. He se- lected the claim on which he now lives, near'St. Joseph, the same year, and has grown up with the country, taking an active interest in the progress- ive affairs of his neighborhood, and holding a num- ber of important local offices, the duties of which he has discharged with marked ability. Miss Su- san Flesch, of Wisconsin, became the wife of Mr. Rassier, on the 4th of June, 1857. Of nine child- ren which they have had, but seven are living.
REV. CLEMENS STAUB, a pioneer missionary of Stearns county, is a native of Baar, Canton of Zug, Switzerland, born on the 10th of August, 1819. After receiving the usual preparatory edu- cation, he commenced to study for the ministry in the city of Zug, in 1844, and thence to Lu- zerne, where he remained one year, after which he entered the Swiss army and was in active service until the close of the war. In November, 1847, he entered the College of the Benedictine Fathers, at Foralberg, Austria, where ho remained one year. Came to America in February, 1849, going at once to the Abbey of St. Vincent, Pennsyl- vania, where he completed his theological studies, and was ordained priest, by Cardinal Bedini, in December, 1852. He was soon appointed German missionary in the Alleghany Mountains, and was also Procurator of the Abbey for six years. In 1857, he was sent as missionary priest, to Minne- sota, arriving in St. Joseph, in May, of the same year, and was appointed assistant to Father Bruno. Father Staub hold the first service at the places now known as, New Munich, Meire's Grove, St. Martin, Lake George, and Lake Henry, and gave the present names to the towns of New Munich, St. Martin and St. Wendel. He visited those places regularly for three years, in all kinds of weather, traveling most of the time on foot. He then officiated as parish priest in St. Joseph and
St. Cloud, one year and a half in cach place. In June, 1863, he took charge of the Assumption Church, at St. Paul, which he retained for thir- teen years and four months, during which, he built the large ehnreh, school, and parsonage. He was also Vicar-general for twelve years, of the Diocese of St. Paul, but was called from thence by Abbot Edelbrock, of St. John's Col- lege, to fill the position of Prior of the Monas- tery at that institution. After remaining one year and a half, he was appointed to the charge of St. Joseph's Church, at St. Joseph, which posi- tion he now fills.
JACOB C. STAPLES, deceased, was born in Lin- nington, York county, Mainc, on the 6th of March, 1801. When a young man he learned the trade of clothier, but abandoned it for the car- penter's trade, which he followed in connection with farming in his native county nntil 1839. Then removed to Waldo county, and was engaged in farming and also worked as ship carpenter until coming to Minnesota in 1854. On his arri- val here, he selected a claim on sections twenty- six and twenty-seven, which was his home until his death, which occurred on the 29th of Novem- ber, 1879. . He was married on the 30th of Marchi, 1828, to Miss Elizabeth Small. They have ten children, nine sons and one daughter, all reside in Minnesota.
JACOB STAPLES, a son of the subject of the above brief sketch, was born in Waldo county, Maine, on the 6th of December, 1841. Came to Minnesota with the family, and resided at home until 1864, when he enlisted in the Second Min- nesota Heavy Artillery, serving one year. Re- turning from the army, he settled on a farm in Paynesville, but in the spring of 1881, returned to the old homestead, which he now owns.
ST. MARTIN.
CHAPTER CXIII.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION -EARLY SETTLEMENT-OR- GANIZATION-VILLAGE-SCHOOLS -- AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS-BIOGRAPHICAL.
This township lies near the center of the coun- ty. It has an area of 23,040 acres, of which 2,983 are under cultivation, and embraces all of township 124 north, range 32 west.
The southern part of the town is watered by the
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
Sauk river, along the banks of which nre some fine meadows, bordered by a beantiful rolling prairie. The northern part is brush and timber, with some swamp and marsh land.
In 1857, a settlement was made south of the river, by Henry Ley, J. C. Noll, Peter Hahn, Peter Kuhl, and Peter Frevel. Mr. Ley fell from a wagon and was killed, in 1865. Mr. Kuhl died the same year, and Hahn, Frevel, and Noll still reside here. North of the river, the first perma- nent settler was William Bosworth, in 1857. He was followed during the same year by Eben and W. A. Pillsbury, and the year following quite a number arrived, mostly Americans, so that this came to be known as the American settlement. Of these, the Bosworth family only remain, the others having either moved away or crossed the dark river.
In 1858, a line of stages between St. Cloud and Fort Abercrombie opened a public thorouhgfare along the valley, and passed through this town on the north side of the river. A Post-office, called Kennebec, was established at the residence of Eben Pillsbury, but both stage-route and Post- office were discontinued on the completion of the railroad to Melrose. The population of the town, in 1880, was 516 persons.
The territory now embraced in St. Martin town- ship, was included in the town of Verdale, organ- ized in 1858. In 1859, Marion was organized, and included all the territory now contained in St. Martin, Lake Henry, Spring Hill, and a por- tion of Lake George. The name was soon after changed to Kennebec, and the territory reduced so as to contain only what is now St. Martin and Spring Hill. The name was again changed, in 1863, to St. Martin, and the town reduced to its presont limits on the organization of Spring Hill, in 1871.
The officers elected at the organization of Ma- rion, now St. Martin township, were: Supervisors, William Bosworth, Chairman, Andrew Nett, and J. B. Getchell; Clerk, E. E. Abbott; Assessor, John C. Noll; and Collector, Oscar R. Champlin.
The first school in the town was tanght by a Miss Brooks, in the winter of 1861 62, in the house of William Bosworth. This was a privato school, and derived its support chiefly from Mr. Bosworth. There are now two schools in the township, one is on section twenty-three, and the other is in the village of St. Martin.
The first house in what is now the village of St.
Martin, was a log shanty, 16x24 feet, built by Henry Ley in the fall of 1857. In 1866, Joseph Zimmerman opened a general store here, and abont the same time, the Post-office was established, called Leedston.
The village has two general stores, three hotels, one saloon, three blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, one milliner's store, one shoe shop, one church, and one school.
The products of St. Martin township in 1880 were: wheat, 31,910 bushels; oats, 14,020 bushels; corn, 3,345 bushels; barley, 270 bushels; rye, 220 bushels; potatoes, 2,625 bushels; wild hay, 765 tons; apples, 45 bushels; tobacco, 20 pounds; wool, 910 pounds; butter, 8,870 pounds; and cheese, 100 pounds.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
WILLIAM BOSWORTH, the first American settler in what is now the township of St. Martin, is a native of New York, and was born on the 8th of February, 1807. In 1843, he moved to Michigan, where he remained till 1857, then came to Minne- sota, arriving at St. Paul on the 4th of May of the same year. He rented a farm on Bottineau Prairie, near Osseo, and after putting the secd into the ground, made his first trip to Sauk Rapids, where he crossed the Mississippi river and fol- lowed the Sauk valley up to this place, staking out a claim, which he afterwards bought at gov- ernment price. In February following, he brought his family to their new home. St. Paul was then the chief market town for this country, requiring about ten days to make the round trip; camping ont wlicnever night overtook the traveler. Mr. Bosworthi was the prime mover in the organ- ization of the' township, the first meeting being held in his old claim shanty. He was Chairman of the first board of Supervisors, which position he filled for a number of years, and also held a number of minor town offices. Mr. Bosworth married Miss Eliza J. Colvin, of New York, on the 20th of July, 1836. They have had seven children; Hannah M., now Mrs. Champlin, Mary E., now Mrs. Staples, John N., Charles C., Lora A., now Mrs Macomber, Phoebe M., now Mrs. Payne, and William E. In March, 1879, Mrs. Bosworth, who was in a declining state of health, visited her daughters, Mrs. Champlin and Mrs. Macomber, of Maple Plain, Hennepin eonuty, where her health failed so rapidly that she could not return to her home. After a few weeks of great suffering, she died on the 27th of September, 1879, surrounded by a
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ST. WENDEL TOWNSHIP.
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large circle of mourning relatives and friends.
CHARLES C. BOSWORTH, the fourth son in this family, came to Minnesota with his father in the summer of 1857, and assisted him in improving his farm in Sauk valley. He now owns a part of the old homestead, having built a fine honse on the same, nffording his father and the family a comfortable home. He was married on the 4th day of April, 1880, to Miss Fannie A. Little, of this township. Her parents were also among the early settlers in this part of the State. They have one eliild, Julius F.
JACOB DIEDERICHIS, a native of Germany, was born on the 29th of July, 1843. He is a fair rep- resentative of the enterprising German element, to which this town owes much of its prosperity. His father died when he was but an infant, and his mother, about the time he became a man. He learned the wagon and carriage manufacturing business in his native country, and has given his attention to this business during life. He emi- grated to the United States in 1878, landing in New York on the 13th of July, and came immedi- ately to Lake Henry, Minnesota, but soon went to Northwood, Iowa, where he remained till the spring of 1881, when he returned to Minnesota and located in St. Martin, opening a wagon and carriage shop, in which he is doing a good busi- ness. He has acquired a good knowledge of the English language, being already able to read and write well. His only relatives in this country are a sister and brother.
PETER KUIIL, one of the first settlers in this township, but now deceased, was of German birth, being born in Prussia in September, 1831. He emigrated lo America in 1856, coming directly to Minnesota. In The following year he visited the town of St. Martin and seenred a fine tract of land on section twenty-six, lying mostly on the right bank of Sank river. Here he made a good home for himself and family, from whom he was separated by death in November, 1865. He was one of the organizers of the town, and a worthy representative of the German element, and had held the principal town ollices. He was married to Miss Anna Kirst, of Prussia, just before sailing for America in 1856. They have had seven chil- dren, of whom four are living; Susan, Peter, Ma- thias, and Daniel. Susan married Mathias Butala, of Austria, in 1877. Peter was born at the old homestead in September, 1858, and has always ived on the farm selected by his father, being,
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