Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 115

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 115

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WILLARD H. LINCOLN, a pioneer settler of Cass county, is one of the most highly respected and influential citizens of Webster township. He resides on section 4, and in company with his brother operates two and a half sections of choice land.

Our subject was born in Michigan, August 23, 1843, and was a son of George L. and Sarah ( Bovee) Lincoln, natives of New York. His father was a farmer and lumberman and went to Michigan in an early day, settling at White Pigeon, where he resided some years and then removed to Adrian, Michigan, where his death occurred in 1854. The mother survives and makes her home in North Da- kota. Three sons and one daughter constituted the family of which our subject was a member and all now reside in North Dakota.

Mr. Lincoln was reared and educated in Mich- igan and Wisconsin, removing to the latter state when he was twelve years of age, and settling in Green Lake county. After two years he removed to Waseca county, Minnesota, in 1857, where the mother took land as a homestead and there our sub- ject grew to manhood, assisting in making a home on the frontier. He enlisted in Company F, Tenth Volunteer Infantry, in 1862, and served on the frontier fighting Indians nine months, when he was discharged from the service on account of dis- ability. He returned to Minnesota and remained there until 1880, when he went to Cass county, North Dakota, and took land as a homestead in sec- tion 2, in Webster township, where he resided five and a half years. The land was all wild land and he at once began to make a home there, but removed to his present location in section 4 later, and is now conducting a tract covering two and a half sections. His brother and he are interested together in farm- ing, and are among the substantial men of Webster township.

Mr. Lincoln was married, in 1871, in Dodge county, Minnesota, to Mary E. Perley, a native of Green Lake county, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Stephen and Sarah E. (nee Wells) Perley. Mrs. Lincoln's parents were natives of New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and were among the pioneer settlers of Green Lake county, Wisconsin. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln: Leonard W., C. Herbert. Richard S., Nellie I., F. Fern, Mary E., S. Elizabeth, Sarah E., Emma P. and Dorothy B. Mr. Lincoln assisted in the organization of his township and is actively interested in the general welfare of his community. He has served as a member of the town board, and in political faith is a free-silver Republican. He holds membership in the G. A. R. and is highly esteemed by his associates.

EMIL C. OTTE, of the firm of E. C. Otte & Company, is one of the best known business men of New Salem, North Dakota, and he and his mother have extensive business interests in the town and vicinity. Mr. Otte was born in Aurora, Illinois, March 24, 1871.

The father of our subject, Christ Otte, was a general merchant at Aurora, Illinois, establishing his business there in 1865. He was a native of Hanover, Germany, and the mother of our subject

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was also of German descent. Our subject was sec- ond in a family of five children, and was reared in the city of Aurora, and in the spring of 1887 went to North Dakota with his parents, settling at New Sa- lem, where the father established a general store. He purchased the business of G. B. Woodward, and conducted the business until his death in Janu- ary, 1899, since which time the business has been conducted by our subject and his mother under the firm name as above given, and our subject has full management of the business. The business of the firm' has steadily increased, and they now do as much as any firm in the city, and occupy a good business block. The mother owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and some cattle, and owns several residences in New Salem, which are rented, and some thirty lots in the town. Mr. Otte is now building a handsome residence in New Salem, and he also has other extensive interests in property, including two creameries, and, with his mother, owns land in Missouri valued at five hundred dol- lars, and a fruit farm in Michigan, and residence property in Aurora. The farm is well equipped with buildings and machinery, and is well kept and cultivated.

Mr. Otte was married, in 1896, to Miss Tena Egge. Mrs. Otte was born in Germany and came to America in 1879. Her father died in Germany. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Otte, named as follows: Earl, born in June, 1897, and Roy, born in January, 1900. Mr. Otte is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Brother- hood of American Yeomen and Woodmen of the World. Mr. Otte has taken an active interest in the upbuilding of New Salem, and he is deservedly popular with the people among whom he resides.

WARREN A. STICKLEY, editor and pro- prietor of the "Wells County News," residing at Fessenden, is one of the able business men of that thriving town, and is recognized throughout the county as a young man of determination and active public spirit. His paper is widely circulated and is among the brightest exchanges of the newspaper world of North Dakota, and is the second oldest paper of the county, and was the first paper in the county to stand for Republican principles.

Mr. Stickley was born in Ainsworth, Iowa, Feb- ruary 1, 1869, and was a son of J. W. and Elizabeth Stickley. The father was a carpenter and con- tractor, and followed his trade throughout his life in Iowa. He served over four years in the Civil war, enlisting from West Virginia, and he was forced to steal his way out of his neighborhood to avoid violence to him, as they were all southern sympa- thizers in that locality. His family has been in America for many generations. The mother of our subject was born in Delaware county, Indiana, and her family are Americans.

Our subject was the oldest in a family of four children, and was raised in his native state. He left

home at the age of thirteen years, and first worked as an apprentice on the "Keota Eagle," at Keota, Iowa, and in about 1885 started to see the country. He traveled through the west and returned east as far as Chicago, working on the daily papers of the largest towns, including St. Paul and Salt Lake City, and traveled thus until about twenty-two years of age. . While in Des Moines, Iowa, he played with the Iowa State Band, known as the Third Regiment Band of Iowa, and took various trips in company with them. He located in Lisbon, North Dakota, in 1890, and was foreman on "The Star," now the "Free Press," and remained there till 1893, when he went to Fargo and worked in all capacities on all the papers of that city, and while there played with Rupert's Orchestra. He went to Wimbledon, North Dakota, in 1895, and started the "Wimbledon News" for O. B. Dagg, remaining there till August, 1895, and then went to his present location and es- tablished the "Wells County News." This was the second paper started in the town, and there were but two others published at the time in the county. The first issue was printed September 12, 1895, and it is now one of the leading sheets of the locality. He published a German paper at Fessenden, the "Nord Dakota Staatszeitung," from the fall of 1897 to May, 1898, when he sold it to answer the call of his regiment for service in the Philippines.

Mr. Stickley was married, in 1892, to Miss Leta Thompson, who was born and raised in Gouver- neur, New York. Mrs. Stickley is of Irish and Yankee descent, and her grandfather was a native of Ireland. Mr. Stickley was appointed county justice for two years, and January 3, 1899, was ap- pointed secretary of the board of railroad commis- sioners of North Dakota. He has been a member of the North Dakota state militia for the past ten years, and is in the First Regiment Band. He is prominent in secret society circles, and holds mem- bership in the following orders: Masons, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, An- cient Order of United Workmen, Modern Wood- men of America and several others. Politically, he is a Republican.

PROF. THOMAS SHEEHAN. Cavalier county has been fortunate in the selection of her public men, and none has discharged the duties of the office with greater fidelity and satisfaction than the worthy superintendent of schools of Langdon, Mr. Thomas Sheehan.

Mr. Sheehan was born in Simcoe county, On- tario, Canada, September 2, 1860. He was reared and given a preliminary education in Bruce county, Ontario, after which he attended St. Catherine's Collegiate Institute, and later, the Normal School at Ottawa, from which he graduated in 1881. He then was engaged in teaching in Bruce and Gray counties, Ontario, until 1889. In that year he came to Cavalier county, North Dakota, and engaged in teaching in Olga township. He was a con-

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scientious teacher, and his work attracted attention. He continued to teach in Olga township until 1893. when he was elected superintendent of schools of Langdon. Since that time he has made many im- portant improvements in the system of the city schools and his work is thorough and in every way practical.

Mr. Sheehan was married in Langdon, North Dakota, in 1897, to Mrs. Belle O. O'Shaugnessy- Murnane. They are the parents of two children, Mary and Robert John.

Mr. Sheehan is a close student and witha knowl- edge of practical life that is of great value in the work of his profession. He has enjoyed the con- fidence of the public from the time he began school work in this county and is earnestly interested in the work of education, and has done much for the advancement of schools in this part of North Da- kota.

OLE C. GRONVOLD. Among the better class of agriculturalists of Eddy county, North Da- kota, whose homes are places of refinement and social comfort, the gentleman above named stands in a foremost rank. He is well educated, enterpris- ing and progressive, and in all matters pertaining to the general welfare of his fellowmen is always ready to support a just cause. He has met with unbounded success in his work in Dakota, and is among the substantial farmers of township 149, range 67, where he has resided for many years, and is surrounded by every comfort of rural life, and many of the luxuries.

. Our subject was born in the eastern part of Norway, about fifty miles west of Christiania, May 19, 1855. His father, Ole O. Gronvold, a son of Ole Stoveren, was born in Norway, and spent his entire life in his native land, where he followed farming. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Christine Heem, was born and raised in Norway, and of her family of six children our sub- ject was the youngest. He has two half-brothers and two half-sisters.

Mr. Gronvold was raised on a farm in his native land, and attended the Lutheran schools, and at the age of seventeen years left home and was engaged for one year clerking in a country store in the lumber woods of Norway. He came to America in 1873, landing at New York, and going from thence to Iowa, where he learned the carpenter's trade at Calmer, and followed his trade three years. He entered the Lutheran College at Decorah, Iowa, in the fall of 1876, and pursued his studies in that institution five years, theological studies and the languages comprising his chief work. He went to Springfield, Illinois, in 1881, where he attended Concordia Seminary one year, and then studied two years at the Lutheran Seminary at Madison, Wisconsin, where he was graduated as a minister of the Lutheran denomination. He went to North Dakota in 1884 and located at Cooperstown, where

he followed preaching two years, and in the spring of 1886 went to Eddy county and entered claim to government land northwest of New Rockford. He erected a shanty and a barn and began farming with oxen. He now has a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, all of which is under cultivation, and has placed upon his place modern improvements looking to the comfort of the family and the eco- nomical conduct of the farm. His residence and outbuildings are of the best and he has met with unbounded success in Dakota. He also follows the carpenter's trade, and is a skilled workman. He also manufactures a hay stove or flax straw burner, which is an invention of his own.

Our subject was married at Madison, Wiscon- sin, in 1883, to Miss Mary Thompson, who was born and raised in Norway, and came to America at the age of six years. Mrs. Gronvold was a daughter of Thorgrim Fetcher, who was a farmer by occupation. She died in January, 1895, leaving six children, as follows: Ruth, Cora, Olger, Anna, Elmer and Maria. Mr. Gronvold is a member of the Lutheran church. Politically he is a Republican, and stands stanchly for the principles of his party. He is a great lover of music, has a fair bass voice, and is and has been an instructor in music to some extent.

JESSE R. FRENCH, president of the Peoples" Bank of Wahpeton, is also a large land owner of Richland county, and makes his home on section 29, in Center township. He is one of the early settlers of that region, and is a prominent citizen. His por- trait will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Our subject was born in Cortland, Dekalb coun- ty, Illinois, July 1, 1861, and was the only son of Theodore L., and Mary E. (Barnes) French, a sketch of whom will appear elsewhere in this work. Mr. French was educated in the public schools of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Iowa State Normal, and the Shattuck Military School at Faribault, Minne- sota. After completing his studies he entered the office of his father at Sandwich, Illinois, as book- keeper, remaining with him one year, when he went to Dakota, in 1878, and has since been a resident of that state. Since the death of his father he has had charge of the estate of three thousand acres of land. His father organized the Peoples' Bank of Wahpeton, in 1887, and was president of the same until his death in 1892, at which time our subject took the presidency in the same institution, and has. since acted in that capacity.

Mr. French was married, at Angola, Erie county, New York, January 7, 1891, to Miss Carrie M. Green, a daughter of Rev. Eli Green, of Angola,. New York. Our subject is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of D. O. K. K. Temple No. 8. He is a practical and thorough business man, and the affairs of the institution of which he is the head are ably conducted by him. He is one of the rising

JESSE R. FRENCH.

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young men of the state, and has already taken a prominent position among the leaders of his com- munity.

ZEPH VARNUM. This genteman is the for- tunate owner of one of the fine estates of Wells county, and has resided near Sykeston since the early days of the settlement of that locality. When he located there the buildings of Sykeston were shanties or small business buildings, and he has witnessed the growth of that thriving city. He has a well improved estate and is surrounded by all the comforts of rural life, and enjoys the respect and esteem of his associates.

Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, April 4, 1838, and was a son of Prescott and Elizabeth (Clemmens) Varnum, both of American birth. His father was a farmer and blacksmith throughout his career. Our subject was the youngest in a family of six children and was raised on a farm in Mich- igan, where his parents moved when he was five years of age. He attended the county schools and assisted with the farm work and at the age of twenty- one years began working for others. His father's death occurred soon afterward and our subject conducted the farm for his widowed mother for ten years. He went to Attica, Michigan, in 1872, and operated a flouring mill there ten years, and in the spring of 1883 went to Wells county, North Dakota, and entered claim to government land near Sykeston and began farming. He had limited means and built a small claim shanty and the first year raised wheat. He now has a farm of eight hun- dred acres, with six hundred acres under culti- vation, and has a complete of substantial farm buildings and all machinery necessary for operating a model farm. He has a few small fruits and has improved his farm in every particular and enjoys prosperity.

Our subject was married, in 1864, to Miss L. V. Vibbert. Mrs. Varnum was a daughter of Stephen Vibbert, a farmer by occupation, and a native of New York. He was a school teacher for several years, and is a lady of rare attainments. Mr. and Mrs. Varnum have been the parents of four chil- dren, as follows: Althia, now married ; Edith, also married ; Clarence, employed in a lumber yard ; and Loren, deceased. Mr. Varnum was elected justice of the peace in 1896 and served four years as such, and has taken an active part in public affairs since residing in North Dakota. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and politically is a Republican and firm in his convictions.

WILLIAM HENRY STANDISH, ex-attor- ney general of North Dakota, is one of the leading lawyers of Grand Forks, and is widely known as a gentleman of ability and thorough knowledge of his profession.

Our subject is a native of Ontario county, New York, and was born near Bristol Springs, March 15, 1842. His parents, George T. and Hannah ( Hall) Standish, were natives of New York, and the father was a farmer and school teacher, and both are buried in Ontario county, New York. The grandfather of our subject, Thomas Standish, was a direct descendent of Miles Standish of the May- flower, and the family have engaged in agricultural pursuits through several generations. Our subject had four brothers, one of whom is now residing in Casselton, North Dakota.

Mr. Standish was reared and educated in New York, and attended the Canandaigua Academy four terms and roomed in the room occupied by Stephen A. Douglas while attending that college. He had devoted some time to the study of law and in 1863 moved to Batavia, Clermont county, Ohio, and finished reading under Julius A. Penn. He enlisted in May, 1864, in Company K, One Hundred and Fifty-third Volunteer Infantry, as sergeant and served four and a half months until the expiration of his term of enlistment and was then discharged from the service. He participated in the battle of Sir John's Run in Morgan county, Virginia, and after his discharge returned to Ohio, and was soon afterward admitted to the bar and practiced his profession in Ohio until 1867 in company with Mr. Penn, and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained there until 1874, during which time, in 1872, he was nominated for probate judge and re- ceived a good vote, but the ticket was defeated. He went to Chicago in 1874 and to Polk county, Minnesota, in 1879, and in 1883 to Bartlett, North Dakota, and remained in that city until 1886, and then to Lakota. He remained there until 1892 and was then nominated on the fusion ticket for at- torney general and was elected by a majority of two thousand five hundred and sixty-six, and served two years in that capacity, and was an efficient and popular officer. Since the expiration of his term of office he has followed the practice of his profession, and is one of the leaders of legal circles in Grand Forks.

Our subject was married, to Annie W. Harper, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1868. Mrs. Standish died in February, 1885. Three children were born to this union, one of whom is now living, named William B. Mr. Standish was married. August 17, 1886, to Ada M. Seward in New York. Mrs. Standish's father is a cousin of William H. Seward. Our subject was a Republican politically until 1892. when he became identified with the movements of the Populist party and is still identified with the reform principles of that party, and is an ardent worker in the same. He is a member of the G. A. R., and has been commander of the local post. He has built up a good practice and is one of the best known and most highly esteemed men of North Dakota. He is well known as a writer upon the principle of the free coinage of silver, at the ratio of sixteen to one, and his letters have been pub-

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lished in almost every state of the union and cir- culated in Europe. He is the author of the letter of July 25, 1893, in answer to the Windom theory that the free coinage of silver would force us to accept the silver money of Europe at a great loss, and in which argument he used a certificate from the director of the United States mint that the silver money of Europe could not be secured at any discount and any attempt to place the silver money of Europe on us, for re-coinage, would be done at a loss to the parties who attempted it. Since then the Windom argument has been dead.

AUGUST BOLMEIER, one of the prosperous and widely known citizens of Hunter township, Cass county, is pursuing farming, and is one of the pioneer settlers of that locality. He has a thorough knowledge of his calling and has placed himself in comfortable circumstances by his push and energy.

Our subject was born near Lemgo, Germany, October 9, 1857, and was a son of Frederick and Fredericka (Bokemeier) Bolmeier, natives of Ger- many. His parents were farmers and lived and died in their native land. They were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters. The father died in 1892 and the mother in 1899.

Mr. Bolmeier was reared and educated in Ger- many until nineteen years of age, when he came to America and located in Monroe county, Wiscon- sin. Later he located in Illinois and in 1879 went to Cass county, North Dakota, where he took land as a homestead, and has resided thereon continu- ously since that date. He has broken all the land for cultivation and is now the owner of a half- section of well improved land. He is also farming an additional eight hundred acres, and is a suc- cessful agriculturist.

Our subject was married in Wisconsin, in 1883, to Caroline Albert, a native of Germany. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bolmeier, as follows: Amma, Fred, William, Reuben, Esther, Roy, Edward and Haven. Mr. Bolmeier keeps pace with the times in local affairs and is a Re- publican in political faith, but does not seek public preferment, devoting himself wholly to his farming, and well merits his success.

ANDREW PETERSON. Among the well- to-do and influential citizens of Hunter township, Cass county, the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this article is deserving of prominent mention. He went to that locality with no means and by dint of his own efforts and strict integrity of word and deed has placed himself in the fore- most rank as an agriculturist and gentleman of worth. He is proprietor of a fine farm of three quarter-sections of land near the village of Hunter, and the appointments of his place bespeak pros- perity and good taste.

Our subject was born in Denmark, March IO, 1848, and was a son of Peter and Moren ( Hansen) Polson. His parents were natives of Denmark and passed their lives there, where the father was a farmer by occupation. Our subject had three brothers and three sisters.

Mr. Peterson was reared in his native land and received his education there and continued his residence in Denmark until 1871, when he came to America and located at Marquette, Michigan, remaining there until 1876, when he went to Moore county, Minnesota. He resided in Minnesota until 1881 and rented land on which he now resides ward purchased the land on which he now resides in Hunter township, Cass county, and has con- tinued farming thereon since that time. He has met with eminent success, and owns three quarter- sections of land which he has improved and the buildings on the place entitle it to rank among the well improved farms of that region. He re- sides within one mile of the village of Hunter, and enjoys the comforts of country life and the con- veniences offered by the neighboring town.

Our subject was married, in 1872, to Sine Han- son, a native of Denmark. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, two of whom are deceased. The surviving children bear the names of Albert and Arthur, and the deceased were Charles and Lydia. The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and are highly respected in the neighborhood in which they reside. Mr. Pet- erson is a Democrat in political sentiment, but does not take an active part in party affairs. -

CHARLES J. PAGE. This gentleman is well known as a prosperous farmer of township 1.46, range 67, in Foster county, and as a pioneer settler whose acquisitions have been gained by his own efforts. He is highly esteemed throughout that region.

Mr. Page is a native of Illinois and was born in Jerseyville, Jersey county. His father, T. M. Page, is a Yankee, and is one of the old settlers of Dakota, where he is engaged in farming. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Julia Adams, was born and raised in New Hamp- shire.

Our subject was the fourth in a family of five children, and was raised in Jerseyville until about ten or twelve years of age, when he went to Mont- gomery county, Illinois, with his parents who fol- lowed farming there. He attended the country schools and grew to manhood there, and in 1882 went to Dakota, and later returned to Illinois, and in 1885 the family removed to North Dakota. Our subject and his father followed farming in com- pany, and remained thus engaged until 1893. Our subject filed claim to the southwest quarter of sec- tion four, in township 146, range 67, in 1892, and built a claim shanty, and broke the land for cultiva- tion. He is now the owner of four hundred and

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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 115

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