USA > North Dakota > Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life > Part 125
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FRANCIS COLWELL. Among the energetic and capable farmers of Gardner township, Cass county, may be classed the gentleman above named. He is proprietor of a fine estate in section 10 and has acquired his possessions by careful manage- ment and industrious habits.
Our subject was born in Nova Scotia, February 19, 1834, and was reared in Huron county, Ontario. He lived in Bruce county, Ontario, about thirty years, where he was engaged in farming till he went to North Dakota, in the spring of 1880. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 10, of Gardner township, where he has since · made his home. He has added to his possessions as circumstances would permit, and is now the fort- unate possessor of three hundred and twenty acres of land. His farm is carefully and thoroughly tilled and made to produce abundantly and the crops are of good quality. He has placed modern im- provements on the place and provided every com- fort for the family and all conveniences for carrying on the work and is among the substantial men of his community.
Our subject was married, in Bruce county, On- tario, June 27, 1854, to Miss Jane Collins, who was born in county Lanrick, Ontario, September 15, 1834. Fourteen children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Colwell, eight of whom are living and bear the following names: Mary A., Elizabeth, Maria, David H., Francis S., Anna L., Adella C. and Sam- uel P. The following children are deceased: De- borah A., Sarah J., Catherine A., Lillie M., Ed- ward C. and John B. Mr. Colwell and family are members of the Free Methodist church. Mr. Col- well is highly respected in his community and enjoys his well-merited success.
AUGUST HEIN. The incomes from the well- regulated farms of Farmington township, form a large part of the wealth of Walsh county, and one of these carefully-cultivated tracts belongs to the gentleman whose name introduces this review. It is located in section 36 and consists of one hundred and sixty acres, on which buildings of substantial construction and good design have been erected.
He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Grafton township. Modern methods are used in carrying on the work of the farm and various ar- arrangements have been made by which the soil can be more easily tilled and the products more perfectly garnered and disposed of. Mr. Hein is one of the early settlers of that locality, and although a citi- zen of foreign birth, he has become thoroughly identified with American progress and customs and is one of the influential citizens of his locality.
Our subject was born in Germany, February 16, 1849, and spent his childhood and boyhood there and remained until 1871, when he came to America. He landed at Baltimore and soon after his arrival went to Olmstead county, Minnesota, and worked at farm labor in Minnesota until 1882. In the spring of that year he went to North Dakota and at once purchased land, on which he now resides in Farm- ington township, and has his home in section 36. Mr. Hein is well versed in his calling and his hon- est industry and careful management have brought about most satisfactory results and his home and surroundings are of the most pleasant nature.
Our subject was married, in Germany, to Miss Minnie Martin, who was born in Germany, Feb- ruary 12, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Hein are the parents of nine children, named in order of birth as follows : Amil, Hulda, Charles, Minnie, Ida, John, Edward, Mary and Lizzie. One child died in infancy. Charles Hein, the second son of our subject, was a soldier in the Spanish-American war and was a member of Company C, First North Dakota Regi- ment. Mr. Hein has spent his career in agricult- ural pursuits and takes little part in public affairs and is one of the highly esteemed and energetic men of Farmington township.
DAVID G. GEDDES is engaged extensively in the pursuit of agriculture in section 15, of Kinyon township, Cass county, and has been a resident of that locality for the past ten years. He gives his business strict attention and by persistent industry has gathered about him all the comforts of rural life, and provided for his declining years. He is widely known and highly respected as a citizen of honest principles and faithful efforts.
Our subject was born in Huron county, On- tario, April 25, 1855, and was a son of David and Isabella (Wilson) Geddes, both of whom were na- tives of Scotland. They went to Ontario when young and there married and settled in Huron county, where they still reside.
David G. Geddes was the eldest in a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, and he was raised on his father's farm in Huron county, where he lived most of the time until 1881, when he went to Manitoba, and in June, 1882, went to North Dakota. He settled in Union township, Grand Forks county, where he lived till the fall of 1889, when he removed to Cass county and settled on the farm where he now lives. He is the owner
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of six hundred and forty acres of land in Kinyon township, on which he has placed excellent improve- ments and his farm is entitled to rank among the fine pieces of property in the vicinity.
Mr. Geddes was married in Grandin, North Da- kota, December 22, 1883, to Miss Agnes Thom, who was born in the county of Lanark, Ontario, July 22, 1860. Mrs. Geddes was the fourth in a family of ten children, three sons and seven daugh- ters, born to James W. and Jane (McConnell) Thom. Her father was a native of Scotland and her mother of Ontario. They were married in On- tario and went to Cass county, North Dakota, in 1881, and settled in Grandin, where they still re- side. A brief sketch of their lives will be found elsewhere in this volume. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Geddes, named as follows: Myrtle, Alfred, Isabelle, Hazel and Annie. Mr. Geddes is a man of active public spirit and has been a member of the township board of supervisors. He holds membership in the Brotherhood of Ameri- can Yeomen.
CHARLES H. STANLEY, widely known as an attorney and real estate man of Steele, Kidder county, is a potent factor in the prosperity enjoyed by Kidder county. He is a man of wealth and pop- ularity, well informed and generous and his public spirit has never been called in question.
Our subject was born in Jerseyville, Illinois, November 29, 1860. His father, John Stanley, was a carriage manufacturer throughout his career and made his home in the east. The grandfather of our subject, James Stanley, was a native of England and came to America and lived in Newark, New Jersey. He was a hatter by trade. The mother of our subject, Elmina Budlong, traces her ancestry to Christopher Wadsworth, who came from England in the ship "Lion" and landed at Boston in 1632. He settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and some of the members of the family later went to Lebanon, Connecticut, and New Lebanon, New York, and all were of Puritan stock. Christopher Wadsworth was the father of two sons, Joseph, who was born in 1636, and John, born in 1638. The mother of our subject was a descendant of Joseph Wadsworth and the poet, Longfellow, was a descendant of John Wadsworth. All the family were long-lived people and both branches took active part in the Revolu- tionary war and many were officers in the army.
Mr. Stanley removed with his parents to Co- lumbia county, New York, when four years of age, and there grew to manhood and received his edu- cation. He took a special course at Troy Confer- ence Academy at Poultney, Vermont, and took clas- sical and scientific studies and a full commercial course. He later attended the University of Mich- igan and graduated with the law class of 1883 and from there went to Steele, North Dakota, where he established an office and has followed the prac- tice of his profession there since with unbounded
success. He also opened up and developed four large farms in that locality and also handles real estate. He practices in all courts and has an ex- tensive and remunerative business.
Our subject was married, in January, 1886, to Miss Mary L. Belden, of Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. Stanley was a daughter of Daniel Belden, a pros- perous farmer. She is a lady of rare attainments and culture and attended Knox College, of Gales- burg, and later became an instructor in the public schools. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, named as follows : Charles J., born in November, 1886; Martha, born in November, 1888; Jennie, born in June, 1892 ; Eugene, born in January, 1894, and Helen, born in September, 1898. Mr. Stanley was elected state's attorney of Kidder coun- ty in 1896 and re-elected in 1898, and is now serv- ing on the second term in that capacity. He was a member of the World's Columbian commission, and as a member of the board who planned and had charge of the exposition, met many prominent men of the nation. He was appointed aide-de-camp on Governor Burk's staff in 1890, but resigned the commission. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Ancient Order of United Workmen and in political sentiment is a Republican and an earnest worker for his party and has attended most county and all state conventions for the past fifteen years.
WILLIAM K. SEAVER, one of the well- known and energetic farmers of section 31 in Eldo- rado township, was an early settler of that region and was for many years identified with the public affairs of Traill county, gaining for himself an en- viable reputation as a public-spirited citizen. A portrait of Mr. Seaver is shown on another page.
Our subject was born in Boone county, Illinois, October 5, 1857, and was the third in a family of thirteen children, eleven of whom are still living, born to Knute and Thora ( Hjordal) Seaver. The family name was originally Quarme, but our sub- ject's father adopted the Christian name of his father as a surname. His father was a 'forty-niner in Cal- ifornia, but after several years there returned to Illinois, and engaged in farming the land purchased about 1845, a tract of one hundred and sixty acres which has increased to two hundred and thirty acres comprising the present farm.
Our subject remained at home until seventeen years of age, and then went to his uncle's in Mitchell county, Iowa, and worked at farm work four years, and in the spring of 1879 went to Caledonia and took land in what is now Belmont township, and after a couple of years sold his farm and was appointed dep- uty sheriff and served eight years in that capacity. He thus mixed in pioneer life in Hillsboro from the start of the town and served on the police force as chief of police and afterward as deputy sheriff. He was elected sheriff of Traill county in the fall of 1892, and in 1897 purchased the farm on which he now resides, and settled to diversified farming. He
WILLIAM K. SEAVER.
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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.
erected a new part to an original log house, the log part being utilized as a quaint dining room. He now owns two hundred and eighty acres of land near the Goose river, and has about twenty acres of timber land.
Our subject was married, in 1885, to Miss Hannah Hanson, a native of Winnesheik county, lowa. Mrs. Seaver attended the Normal School of Cedar Falls and was a teacher, and in 1882 went to Dakota, be- coming one of the pioneer educators of Traill county, and spent two and a half years in that work. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Seaver, as follows: Herbert K. and William Arthur. Mr. Seaver is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Lutheran church. Politically he is a Republican.
JAMES W. THOM, a retired merchant of Grandin, North Dakota, is well known throughout Cass county, where he has resided for nearly twenty years and is highly respected by his associates.
Our subject was born in Glasgow, Scotland, January 6, 1827, and resided there till 1842, when he emigrated to Canada and settled in the county of Lanark, and engaged in farming. He continued his residence there about twenty-seven years and then removed to Huron county, Ontario, where he lived about thirteen years and in March, 1881, re- moved to Grandin, North Dakota. He engaged in the mercantile business there until the spring of 1899, when he retired from business life. He owns a half-section of land in Cass county and has a comfortable competence.
Our subject was married in the county of Lanark, Ontario, to Jane McConnell, a native of that county. Ten children were born to this union, five of whom are living, and are named as follows : William, Agnes, Henry, Euphemie and John. The deceased children bore the following names : Jane, Jeanette, Bessie, James and Bessie. The daughter, Agnes, is married to David G. Geddes, a prosper- ous farmer of Kinyon township, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work.
JOHN DYNES may be truly classed as one of the leading farmers of Kinyon township. He has for some time been numbered among the agricult- urists of Cass county, and in prosecuting his farm work is very industrious and progressive in his ideas and is the fortunate owner of an extensive tract of land, on which he conducts general farm- ing. His handsome residence is on section 29, and he has a thoroughly-equipped and improved farm.
Our subject was born in Dufferin county, On- tario, March 29, 1860, and was reared on a farm in his native county and remained there until he reached the age of twenty years. He went to North Dakota in the spring of 1881 and worked at farm labor until the spring of 1888, when he rented land in Traill county, and engaged in farming thereon 37
one year, and in the fall of 1888 purchased six hun- dred and forty acres of land in Kinyon township, Cass county, in section 29, where he has since re- sided. He and his brother, James W. Dynes, own, in company, fourteen hundred and forty acres of land and are well known as successful men. Mr. Dynes has spared no pains in making his home farm one of comtort and for the family a fine residence has been constructed and the other buildings on the farm are in keeping with this and altogether present a pleasing appearance and evidence the thrift and prosperity attendant upon the owner.
Our subject was married, in Kinyon township, Cass county, June 6, 1888, to Miss Emma l'latt, a daughter of Josiah Flatt, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Dynes was born in Ontario, August 15, 1867. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dynes, as follows : Rachel Fern and John Elmer. Mr. Dynes is a man of active public spirit and has held numerous school offices in his township and is recognized as a worthy citizen, who is deserving of the highest esteem of his fellows. Mr. Dynes, his wife and family are all members of the Free Methodist church. A fine church building of his denomination is within half a mile of his residence and stands on the Dynes farm, to which the Dynes family were and are liberal contributors. In politics he is a Republican.
PETER B. ANDERSON. In whatever vocation engaged the successful man is always the persistent man. The subject of this review was a pioneer settler of Eddy county, North Dakota, and after having passed through pioneer experiences for seven years there without meeting with the desired result he became a pioneer of Wells county and has worked earnestly to gain his present holdings, and he is now one of the well-to-do agriculturists of township 149, range 71, his home being located on section 20.
Our subject was born in Norway, December 12, 1859. His father, Anders Hanson, was a na- tive of Norway and a farmer by occupation and passed his life in his native land. Our subject was the eldest of a family of three sons and was raised on the home farm and given good educational advan- tages. He attended the country schools and later graduated from two high schools, and at the age of twenty years emigrated to America, landing in Quebec, Canada. He went at once to La Crosse county, Wisconsin, where he remained with rela- tives one year. He made his first trip to North Dakota in 1882 and worked during the summers in Traill county and spent the winter months in the lumber woods of Wisconsin. He worked two years in Wisconsin constructing railroads and in 1885 took a pre-emption and tree claim in Eddy county, North Dakota, on which he erected a claim shanty and with three oxen, a wagon and a plow began the improvement of his farm. Crops were poor and his farm was thirty miles from a market and after
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seven years there he returned to Wisconsin and spent the years of 1890-1891 and in 1892 filed claim to his present homestead farm. He built a claim shanty and hauled lumber from Cathay, twenty- two miles distant, but has met with good success in his operations on that tract. He now has a sub- stantial and commodious residence, good barns, granary and other outbuildings, and all necessary machinery and follows grain raising mostly, but is interested to some extent in stock raising. His farm is well improved and under cultivation and he is one of the substantial men of his community.
Our subject was married, in the spring of 1886, to Miss Anna D. Johnson. Mrs. Anderson is a native of Norway and came to America in 1869 at the age of six years. Her father, Nels Johnson, is a prosperous farmer of Wisconsin. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, as fol- lows: Arthur, born April 21, 1887; Nennie, born September 19, 1889 ; Orren, born February 20, 1890; Cora, born May 27, 1893; Gertrude, born May 10, 1895; Esther, born May 10, 1895, and Perry, born September 28, 1899. Mr. Anderson takes an active part in local affairs and has served as school treas- urer for three years. He is a member of the Pop- ulist party.
JOSEPH E. LEE. This gentleman is widely known as a member of the firm of J. LaMoure & Company, general merchants of Neche, Pembina county, and is manager of the business in that city. He is a man of excellent ability and progressive nature and has made a remarkable success of the business of the firm. He is also active in public matters and is chairman of the village board and also of the school board, and is closely connected with the history of that thriving town.
Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, Oc- tober 19, 1857, and was the second in a family of three children born to William and Margaret (Lang- ton) Lee. The father was a contractor and builder, but our subject cared little for that line of work, although he remarks that his father taught him the art of "seeing straight." He began clerking in a general store in Canada at the age of sixteen years, and in 1881 went to Dakota and continued in the same work at Pembina and Hamilton until 1886, and in September, 1887, went to Neche as manager for J. LaMoure & Company, and soon afterward purchased an interest in the business. Their stock in Neche covers all general merchandise, a full line of clothing and also shelf hardware, and the stock is valued at twenty-five thousand dollars and is the most complete stock in the town. A branch house was established in Walhalla in 1898.
Mr. Lee was married, in 1892 to Miss Mabel Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Lee are the parents of one son. Although our subject is a man of strict busi- ness methods, he has taken his place among the prominent citizens of his locality and is actively in- terested in county and state affairs. He is a mem-
ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Knights of Pythias and Masonic fraternity and in political faith is a Republican and stands firmly for the principles of his party.
JOSIAH FLATT, one of the early settlers of Cass county, resides on section 28, in Kinyon town- ship, and is well known and highly respected in his community.
Our subject was born in the county of Norfolk, England, October 7, 1832, and when about sixteen years of age emigrated to America and settled in Simcoe county, Ontario, where he remained till 1878. In the spring of that year he went to North Dakota, and for several years made his home in Fargo, while he was engaged in farming in that vicinity. He purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land on section 28, in Kinyon township, in the summer of 1886, and has resided thereon since that time. He has made valuable improvements to his property, and has met with success in the pur- suit of agriculture.
Our subject was married to his second wife, in Simcoe county, Ontario, March 25, 1875, to Miss Tamar Whitley, who was born in Simcoe county, February 14, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Flatt are the parents of nine living children, as follows: Thomas G., Josiah, Jr., Emogene, Charlotte, Eugene, Wes- ley, Walter, Earl and May. Four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Flatt died in infancy or childhood. as follows: Hannah, Eugene, Pearl and an infant unnamed. Mr. Flatt is a prominent citizen and active in social and religious affairs of his com- munity and enjoys the respect and esteem of the people among whom he has resided for many years.
ERNEST R. BROWNSON. The educational interests of North Dakota are not without able rep- resentatives and a foremost place among those who are engaged in Williams county is accorded the gentleman above named. He is principal of the Williston high schools and has accomplished much in educational advancement since taking up his work there.
Our subject was born on a farm in Allegan county, Michigan, May 3, 1870. His father, Al- fred Brownson, was of English-Scotch descent, and was a farmer by occupation. His ancestors par- ticipated in the early American wars and the fam- ily settled in Vermont in the early days. Our sub- ject's mother, who bore the maiden name of Adalaide McRay, was of Scotch-English descent and her an- cestors came to America in 1639 and settled in Connecticut. The paternal grandfather of our sub- ject, Joel Brownson, served in the war of 1812. The parents of our subject were married in Michi- gan and of their family of four sons, our subject was the third in order of birth. He spent his boy- hood on the home farm and attended the common schools until twelve years of age and then began to
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work out for the neighboring farmers. He went to North Dakota in 1884 and joined his father in the western part of Sargent county, where he had located in 1882, and he worked for others by the month and attended school in the country until eighteen years of age. He then attended Oakes high school and paid his way by doing janitor work, and at the age of twenty years taught his first term of school. He taught one year and then entered McAllister College at St. Paul and after one year there returned to North Dakota. His brother had died suddenly and the charge of the home farm largely devolved upon him for three years and he then taught school and also attended to the farm. In the fall of 1885 he entered the Valley City Nor- mal School and graduated in the scientific course with the class of 1897. Soon after he accepted a position of the Williston high school as principal, and has done very efficient work there since, and is now retained for the fourth year. The school has been reorganized and graded, and five teachers aside from Mr. Brownson are now employed, and the attendance is 212 pupils. In 1898 our subject estab- lished a ranch near White Earth, North Dakota, and engages in cattle raising to some extent. He has experienced pioneer life in North Dakota with all its blizzards and prairie fires, but despite these has remained to witness its advancement and aid mate- rially in the same.
Mr. Brownson was married, December 27, 1898, to Miss Francis A. Williams, a native of Wiscon- sin. Mrs. Brownson is a daughter of Minor S. Williams, a prominent ranchman of White Earth, North Dakota, who has served six years as county commissioner of Ward county. Mr. and Mrs. Brownson are the parents of one child, born March 23, 1900, who bears the name of Ada Clair. Mr. Brownson is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and was a charter member of Williston Lodge, No. 5396. Our subject and wife are active members of the Congregational church, and Mr. Brownson is chairman of the board of trustees of that denomination, and is president of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, and takes a prominent part in the affairs of the church so- cially.
WALLACE NYE, owner of one of the carefully cultivated tracts of land in Kinyon township, Cass county, is a man of industrious habits and integrity. He has made many friends throughout his locality and is enjoying country life on his fine farm in sec- tion 30.
Mr. Nye was born in Geanga county, Ohio, on a farm, June 26, 1849. He was reared in that and Lake counties, Ohio, and received a common-school education, and was engaged in farming and cheese and butter making from 1878 to 1882 in Summit, Ohio, until the spring of 1882, when he removed to North Dakota. He entered claim to land as a home- stead in Grand Forks county, on which he resided
till the following fall, and then removed to Cass county and settled on the farm which he occupies in Kinyon township. His land comprises three hun- dred and sixty-six acres, and he has added the usual farmı improvements, and made arrangements for enjoying the comforts of rural life. He follows general farming, and is thoroughly versed in his calling.
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