Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 108

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432

USA > North Dakota > Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life > Part 108

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Our subject was reared in Canada and received his education there and then followed farming until he went to Cass county, North Dakota, in 1881. He entered claim to land in section 12, of Rich

township, and later homesteaded land in section 14, of the same township, which now comprises his home farm. He has added to his possessions from time to time and is now the fortunate possessor of eight hundred acres of choice land, which he successfully operates.

Our subject was married, in Canada, in 1873, to Elizabethi Caister, a native of Canada. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill, as follows: Laura L., Henry L. and Ethel M. Mr. Hill keeps abreast of the times and is actively in- terested in the welfare of his adopted country. He has served as chairman of the town board and is widely and favorably known. He is independent in politics.

JUDGE JAMES W. TRUAX, county judge of Williams county, was born in Ogdensburgh, St. Lawrence county, New York, August 18, 1836. He has been a resident of Lawrence county since its early settlement and is thoroughly posted in the affairs of the northwestern portion of the state.

James W. Truax was the sixth child in a fam- ily of eleven children born to Daniel V. and Sarah (Wright ) Truax. The father was a steamboat man on the St. Lawrence river and was born at Schenec- tady, New York. The Truax family are of French descent, the father of our subject being born in Paris and coming to the United States when a young man. The mother of our subject was born in Whitehall, Vermont, and was of English lineage. James W. Truax was reared on a farm and attended the public schools of the neighborhood. When he was fifteen years of age he accompanied the family to Hastings, Minnesota, and was employed as clerk in a store. The next year he accompanied a party of government surveyors and assisted in surveying all the country between the Minnesota river and the Iowa line. He then engaged for a time in locat- ing lands and worked for others on the farm for several years. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry. He ac- companied his regiment to Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, and from there did scout duty all through Missouri and Arkansas and later through Missis- sippi, Louisiana and Alabama. He was in the service altogether three years and in active service two years. He returned home in 1865 and for some time ill health prevented his doing any hard labor. He purchased wheat, clerked in a store and speculated for several years after the war and in 1879 was employed by the Great Northern Railroad . as foreman of car repairs. He remained in the employ of that company for eighteen years. During this time he was steadily pushed west and in 1889 was placed in charge of car repairs and wrecking at Minot, North Dakota. In 1895 he went to Willis- ton and in 1898 quit the service of the company. He took land two and a half miles from Williston and took up his residence thereon. He still owns this farm and it is a valuable piece of property.

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Judge Truax was married, in Minnesota, in 1858. of Miss C. A. Wheeler, of St. Lawrence county, New York, and to this union five children have been born. He was again, in 1875, married to Mrs. Rosie B. Stone. Of this union three chil- dren have been born. In political faith the Judge has been a Republican all his life and has taken an active interest in public matters. He was elected county judge in 1898 and is still serving in that ca- pacity. He has been able and upright as a judge and has always done his duty with a fidelity to principles of justice and the interests of his fel- low men. . He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity.

LOUIS JUNO, one of the best-known and highly esteemed citizens of Rich township, Cass county, is an early settler of that locality and has accumulated a fine property by dint of honest ef- forts.

Mr. Juno is a native of France and was born October 4, 1826. His parents, John B. and Cath- erine Juno, were natives of France and emigrated to America about 1840 and settled in Pennsylvania and later moved to Wisconsin, where the father died. The mother moved to Minnesota and died there at the age of ninety-six years.

Our subject was raised in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and moved to the last named state in 1865 and resided there until 1881, when he went to Cass county, North Dakota. He at once en- tered claim to land in Rich township and was among the first settlers there. He now owns three quarter- sections of good land, all of which is under the plow, and he derives a comfortable income from the cultivation of the same. He has added good im- provements and has a valuable estate.

Our subject was married in Pennsylvania, in 1846, to Elizabeth Gabel, a native of that state. Four sons and six daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Juno, as follows: Charles, William H., Elizabeth, Jennie, Arminda, Hester, John B. and Louie T. Three sons and one daughter now reside in Cass county. Mr. Juno is a member of the first township board and has been actively in- terested in the affairs of his township since taking up his residence there. He has served in various local offices and also as school officer and has aided in sustaining good local government and his success as a citizen and farmer is well merited.

HENRY WEST is one of the leading farmers of Cass county and is the owner of one section of choice land. He was among the first settlers of Rich township and his farm, in section 30, is well improved in every particular and furnishes a com- fortable home.

Our subject is a native of Lincolnshire, England, and was born April 29, 1854. His parents, Francis and Mariah (Stoddards) West, were natives of the

same shire and passed their lives in England. Our subject had three brothers and three sisters and he is the only one of the family in North Dakota.

Mr. West was raised in England and remained there until 1872, when he emigrated to Canada and remained there eight years. He went to Cass coun- ty, North Dakota, in 1880, and entered a homestead claim to land in section 30, in Rich township, and was among the first to take up residence in that locality. He has added to his possessions as cir- cumstances would permit and is now the fortunate possessor of one section of land, on which he has placed the usual improvements and is regarded as one of the solid men of Rich township.

Our subject was married, in 1878, to Mary J. Newton, a native of Canada. Mrs. West's father, George Newton, was a native of England, and her mother was born in Canada. Mr. and Mrs. West are the parents of five children, as follows : William F., Albert, George H., Charles and James, all of whom are living. Mr. West has actively participated in the affairs of his township and held various local offices and is an influential and enterprising citizen. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically, he is a Republican and is firm in his convictions.

WILLIAM H. WHITE, the oldest continuous lumber merchant of North Dakota, is entitled to distinction as one of the most progressive and enter- prising men of the state, and has for twenty-seven years been identified with the business interests of Fargo. Upon the commercial activity of a com- munity depends its prosperity and the men who are now recognized as leading citizens are those who are at the head of extensive business enterprises. Mr. White is a man of broad capabilities who carries. forward to successful completion whatever he un- dertakes. On another page is presented a portrait of Mr. White.

He was born in Whiting, Addison county, Ver- mont, July 31, 1851, a son of Lyman P. and Phebe (Keeler) White, also natives of the Green Moun- tain state. The paternal grandfather, Elijah White, was born in Massachusetts and served as a coniniis- sioned officer in the Revolutionary war, at the close of which conflict he removed to Vermont. For some time the father of our subject was general superintendent of the Rutland & Burlington road,. now the Vermont Central, and later was general fuel agent for the Northwestern Railroad Com- pany, with office at Chicago, Illinois, for ten years. In 1869 he removed to Minnesota, and is now living in Brainard, that state, at the ripe old age of eighty- nine years. He had four sons, of whom three still survive.

The early life of William H. White was spent in Vermont and Wisconsin, and his education was completed at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis- consin. At one time he was a resident of Chicago, where he was engaged in the lumber trade with

WILLIAM H. WHITE, Proprietor of the oldest established business in North Dakota.

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his father, and in the fall of 1871 went to Brainard,, Minnesota, but during the following spring removed to Moorehead, that state, where he was also engaged in the lumber business. He sold the lumber which built the first bridge over which civilization entered North Dakota, it being the Northern Pacific Rail- road bridge across the Red river at Moorehead. In the fall of 1873 he opened a yard at Bismarck, North Dakota, but after conducting it one year re- turned to Moorehead, Minnesota, and in 1874 run flatboats of lumber down the river, and it was in the fall of 1874 that Mr. White took up his residence 112 Fargo and has since given almost his entire time and attention to his extensive lumber trade, now owning and operating twenty-three lumber yards in the Red river valley. He is the oldest lumberman in years of continuous business in North Dakota and has been remarkably successful, being a man of sound judgment, keen discrimination and good business ability, as well as energetic, progressive and enterprising. For years he was a director of the First National Bank of Fargo.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 20, 1876, Mr. White married Miss Anna M. Williams, a na- tive of that city. They are consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and liberally support every enterprise for the public good. Mr. White is the first member of that de- nomination in this state and built the first Methodist church in the state at Fargo in 1874. He has also taken an active interest in educational work and was president of the board of trustees of the Method- ist Episcopal University at Wahpeton, North Da- kota. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason and a life-long Republican, but has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office, though he is ever willing to aid movements calculated to ad- vance the interests of his adopted city and state.

HENRY KLINDWORTH, one of the promi- nent men of township 149, range 69, conducts an extensive farming and stock business and is one of the wide-awake and wealthy citizens of Wells coun- ty. He started for himself with nothing except the tools which nature gave him and from his first em- ployment at a small salary has steadily risen by his own efforts to a position of comfort and plenty.

Our subject was born in Hanover, Germany, October 11, 1844. His father, Henry Klindworth, was an orphan boy and during his career was a farmer and wood dealer. He served in the German army several years. Our subject was reared on the farm in Germany and attended the country schools and at the age of fourteen years began working out in the city. He entered the army at twenty years of age and served sixteen months and participated in one battle. In 1867 he emigrated to America, landing at New York in February, and worked there in a hotel six months. He then went to Pittsburg and worked on a farm and also in a hotel and then went to Chicago, where he worked

three years in the gardening business. He was in southern Illinois at the time of the great Chicago fire, but returned soon afterward and worked at teaming or whatever he could find to do for about three years and then traveled in Arkansas, Tennes- see, Missouri and Illinois, spending his winters in the South and his summers in the North. He finally settled near Red Wing, Minnesota, and established in the gardening business and remained in Min- nesota until 1887, in the spring of that year going to North Dakota. He entered a pre-emption tree claim in Wells county and built a shanty and barn and he had six horses, a wagon and a little ma- chinery. His first crop in North Dakota was off rented land near New Rockford and in 1888 he farmed his own land, but lost the crop by frost and in June, of the same year, prairie fire destroyed his barn, horses, oats and harness, causing a loss of fifteen hundred dollars. He had a struggle to get through the winter of 1888-1889 and in the follow- ing year he raised a good crop. Fire again visited his farm in September, 1891, and burned his cattle barn, horse barn, one hundred tons of hay and some grain standing in the field, a total loss of two thou- sand dollars. He now has a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, all of which is under cultivation, and on his place he has a complete set of substantial and commodious farm buildings and keeps twenty- one horses and about twenty-five head of cattle. He has all machinery necessary for operating a good farm and has made a'success of his vocation and has one of the best-equipped farms of the neigh- borhood.

Our subject was married, in Minnesota, April 22, 1877, to Mary Pepper. Mrs. Klindworth is a native of Germany and came to America at the age of thirteen years. Her father, George Pepper, died soon after coming to America. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Klind- worth : Katie, born April 13, 1879: John, born No- vember 25, 1882; Henry, born August 4, 1884; Willie, born March 1, 1885; Charlie, born No- vember 4. 1887; Annie, born September 16, 1888; Herman, born November 17, 1891 ; Mary, born July 2, 1893; Walter, born June 18, 1896, and Bertha, born in 1890 and died in 1895. Mr. Klindworth and family are members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Klindworth is independent in politics. He was among the earliest settlers of Hamberg township and aided in its upbuilding.

ALEXANDER MOUG, one of the well-to-do and enterprising farmers of Cass county, resides in Rich township, where he located in the early days of its settlement. He has succeeded in ac- cumulating a good property and is highly esteemed by his associates.

Our subject was born in Scotland, June 11, 1835, and was the only child born to James and Ann (Smart) Moug, both of whom were natives of Scotland. His father was a farmer and was

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married a second time, our subject being the son of the first marriage.

Mr. Moug was reared and educated in his na- tive land and there followed farming and the dairy business until 1882, when he came to America and settled at East Saginaw, Michigan. He remained there eight months and then went to Cass county, North Dakota, and the same year entered a home- stead claim to land in Rich township, on which he has since resided. He now owns a section and a quarter of good land and has fully improved the place and enjoys the comforts of farm life. His career has been devoted to that calling and he is well versed in all lines of agriculture and is one of the solid men of his community.

Our subject was married in Scotland, in 1855, to Catherine Christie, a native of Scotland. Seven sons and two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mong, as follows: James, John, David, Alexander, William, Stewart, George, Mary, now Mrs. J. Rutherford, of Cass county, and Margaret I:, now Mrs. Farley. Mr. Mong is a member of the Presbyterian church and an exemplary citizen. Politically, he is independent and is a man who keeps pace with the times in public affairs and lends his influence for good local government.

CYRUS H. RULAND. Among the better class of agriculturists of township 149, range 64, Eddy county, whose homes are places of social comfort and refinement, and whose farms are well improved and evidence careful management and painstaking care, the gentleman above named is entitled to a foremost rank. He has gained his fortune single- handed and while so doing has gained an enviable reputation for liis excellent character and indomit- able will.

Our subject was born in Warren county, Penn- sylvania, on a farm, March 6, 1856, and was a son of William and Lemira (Grover) Ruland, the former of Dutch descent and the latter from a New York family. His father was a farmer and car- penter and joiner by trade and followed bridge building most of his life. The paternal grand- father of our subject, Silas Ruland, was born on Long Island and was a lumberman and the owner of two or three lumber mills in Pennsylvania.

Our subject was the second in a family of four children and was raised on a farm in his native state and at the age of nine years removed to Iowa with his parents, where the father followed farming in Fayette county three years and in 1865 removed to New York state, locating in Jamestown, in Chau- tauqua county, where he followed his trade until his death in December, 1898. Our subject worked with his father at bridge building and began while a boy to assist himself and at the age of twelve years began earning his livelihood and as a conse- quence his educational advantages were limited. He worked in the oil business, saw-mills, lumber woods, etc., and in April, 1883, arrived at Grand

Forks, North Dakota, and worked in the vicinity of Grand Forks and Larimore three years. He entered claim to government land near Tiffany and built a claim shanty, 8x12 feet, and in 1887 removed to his farm for permanent residence and lived alone there and followed farming seven years. He began farming with a team of horses, a wagon and an old drag and his first crop was eight acres of oats and a few potatoes, which he raised on the fire break around his shanty. He has met with failures and good crops in Dakota, each in turn, and has sur- mounted every loss and discouragement and now owns four hundred and eighty acres of well-im- proved land, on which he has erected a complete set of good farm buildings and has an abundance of machinery, including a threshing machine, in which business he has engaged every season since locating there and has owned an outfit since 1897. He has plenty of small fruits on his home farm and has provided other luxuries and all the com- forts of rural life and follows general farming.

Our subject was married, January 10, 1895, to Ardelia S. MaGee, who was born and raised in Illinois. Mrs. Ruland's father, Moses B. Hercy. was born in Maine and was of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a contractor and builder throughout his career. Mrs. Ruland had one son by a former marriage, Wentworth Magee, who was born in 1872, and is now engaged in farming in Dakota. Mr. Ruland is president of the Tiffany Literary and Debating Society and is a man of intelligence and active in social affairs. He has held numerous township offices and is a Republican in political senti- ment and deservedly popular with the people.

HENRY BLINSKY. The wealth of Foster county is formed in a large part by the income from her well-regulated farms, and one of these fine estates is owned by the subject of this review. Mr. Blinsky makes his home in section 28, in town- ship 145, range 66, and has gathered around him all the conveniences and comforts of rural life.

Our subject was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, August 4, 1867, and was a son of John and Mary Blinsky, both of whom were natives of Germany. His father was an extensive farmer and land owner and came to America about 1849.

Mr. Blinsky was the youngest in a family of nine children, four of whom died in Germany. He was raised in Watertown and worked on his father's farm and attended the public schools. He left home at the age of seventeen years and went to Montana in 1883 and worked at odd jobs three summers at Great Falls, Montana, and spent a short time on a ranch. He went to Foster county, North Dakota, in 1886 and worked on a stock ranch for B. L. Russell two years, the ranch at that time being owned by Maccabee & Lentz. He spent two years in farming and lived on his claim alone in a shanty. He did his work with oxen, raised a fair crop of wheat and after the close of the two years he dis-

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posed of his effects. In the fall of 1890 went to Fair Haven, Washington, where he was employed in the Fair Haven machine shops eight months and then returned to Foster county and in the spring of 1892 he began farming again. He purchased land section 28 and section 22, township 145, range 66, bought horses, machinery, etc., and has since prospered in his calling. He has experienced exciting times, fighting prairie fires and facing blizzards which have visited the coun- try. He lost four hundred acres of crop in 1899 by hail, but despite every discouragement he has steadily moved forward to comfortable circum- stances. He is now the proprietor of a farm of six hundred and forty acres and' cultivates about six hundred acres annually and has all necessary machinery and horses and stock. Mr. Blinsky has always taken an active part in the advancement and development of his township and county. He is a stanch Republican and has attended as a delegate some of the conventions of his party.

JOHN JOHNSON, engaged in diversified farming in section 18, in Gardar township, is one of the progressive and intelligent younger members of the farming community composed mostly of na- tives of Iceland. The family of which he is a mem- ber were among the first of that land to take up their residence in this country, and have become worthy citizens and men of active public spirit, manifest- ing American progress in connection with the ad- vance of civilization.

Mr. Johnson was born in Iceland, November 1, 1862, and he and an elder sister were the only chil- dren born to John and Sigurbjorg ( Stephanson ) Johnson. The parents now reside with our sub- ject. In the fall of 1873 they joined the first Ice- landic emigration colony bound for America and arrived at Quebec, August 25, and were among the ten families who pushed on to Milwaukee. They remained in Dane county, Wisconsin, one year and then removed to Shawano county, Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1880 our subject, with two companions, came to Pembina county, North Da- kota, seeking land for a small settlement of some five families of Icelanders. Mr. Johnson located on the land where he now resides and made some im- provements and the following fall the father went there and filed claim thereon. The men composing the colony drove overland with cattle from Wis- consin, a distance of nine hundred miles, and the farm which our subject located was on the north fork of the Park river and a beautiful site was chosen and a log house erected, which still stands there among the trees. Three years later a better log house was erected and in 1899 a handsome and commodious residence, fitted with furnace heat and modern improvements, was built and the furnish- ings and appointments of the home are perfect in every particular and furnishes a home of great com- fort and one of the pleasantest in the township. The

wealth of the family in the early days consisted of nine head of stock and during those days our sub- ject worked for others and clerked in a store at Gardar for about two years.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Miss Gudbjorg Peterson, a native of Iceland. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, named as follows: Emelia, Stephan, Fredrick, John, Fjola, Sigrun and Clara. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and Modern Woodmen of America and also holds membership in the Lutheran church. He was elected county commissioner from the second dis- triet in 1888 and is a man of active public spirit in county and township affairs and keeps pace with the times and wields an influence for good in his community.

CHARLES L. KING, president and general manager of the North Dakota Telephone Electrical Company, is a gentleman of good business qualifi- cations and has become thoroughly identified with the advancement and progress of the Northwest. He resides in Harvey, Wells county, and is well and favorably known throughout that region.

Our subject was born in Jackson, Michigan, April 27, 1862. His father, James H. King, was born in the same place, his parents having settled in Michigan in an early day, removing there from New York. They were of Dutch descent and the grandfather of our subject, Finner King, was a farmer and went to Michigan in 1836 and took government land on which the city of Jackson is now built. On the maternal side, the grandfather, An- thony Burwell, was a farmer and raiser of fancy horses and the mother's family were from Ver- mont.

Our subject was the eldest in a family consisting of two sons and one daughter and was raised on a farm. He also resided at times in Parma, Homer, Tecumseh and Jackson, as his father was engaged in the hotel business at different times. Our sub- ject attended the city schools and also the Adventist College at Battle Creek, Michigan, four years, and in 1882 went to South Dakota and located at Mil- bank, purchasing land there. He also bought wheat at Milbank and in that vicinity three years for St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company and also for himself, and in the spring of 1802 he sold his land, comprising three hundred and twenty acres, for twenty-five dollars per acre, and moved to Minne- apolis, where he engaged in the commission business one year. He went to North Dakota in the spring of 1893 and was employed during the summer as civil engineer on the "Soo" Line, then being built to Portal, North Dakota, after which he was em- ployed at Harvey as clerk and cashier at the railroad station and in the summer of 1894 erected the hotel known as "King's Place," and conducted the busi- ness until November, 1896, when he disposed of his interests, and in June, 1898, organized the North

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Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 108

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle Number of Pages: 1432

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago, G.A.Ogle
Number of Pages: 1432