Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 128

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

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HON. JOHN M. ALMEN. This gentleman has become one of the best known and most widely re- spected citizens of Walsh county. His qualifica- tions and character of the highest integrity commend him to an honorable station as a citizen and his suc- cess in the pursuit of agriculture is well known, having accumplated a pleasant estate in section 35. Glenwood township. He is loyal and determined in his adherence to the right and to his friends, and is one of the most important factors in the develop- ment and growth of the social and financial interests of his community.

Our subject was born in Sweden, April 13, 1850,

and when nineteen years of age emigrated to Amer- ica and settled in Minnesota, and worked on a farm in that state one season, and was employed on the railroad during the winter. He later engaged in farm work and attended school in Goodhue county, and after one season spent in Wisconsin, returned to Minnesota, and entered a homestead in Benton county, where he located and remained three years, and then relinquished his claim and in August, 1878, removed with his family to North Dakota. He set- tled on land in section 35, in Glenwood township, Walsh county, and has held his residence there since that date. he has erected good buildings on his farm and now owns and operates two hundred and forty acres of good land.

Our subject was married in Pierce county, Wis- consin, to Miss Nellie Nelson, a native of Sweden. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Almen, named as follows: Minnie, Alfred C., Han- nah M., Alma O., Edith, Olga and Hilda, Otto, Nel- lie, Victor and Alfa. Mr. Almen has always taken an active part in public matters since residing in North Dakota. He was appointed postmaster of Sweden, in Glenwood township, and after a short time resigned this office. He has held the various township offices and in the spring of 1889 was elected a member of the constitutional convention, and in the fall of 1890 was elected to the state senate. He served one term in this capacity and did very efficient work for his community. He is a strong temperance man and a stanch advocate of prohi- bition principles.

Alfred C. Almen, the eldest son of our subject, was born in Benton county, Minnesota, September 5. 1876. He received a common-school education and also attended one term in the State Agricultural College, and when the call was made for troops for service in the Philippines ,he responded and became a member of Company C. First North Dakota Regi- ment. He served faithfully and well and on the Santa Cruz expedition, April 12, 1899, he was shot and instantly killed. His remains were brought to North Dakota for interment and he was laid to rest with military honors, March 20, 1900.

JAMES W. VIDAL, M. D. One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a man may lend his energies is that of the physician. A most scrupulous preliminary training is demanded and a nicety of judgment little under- stood by the laity. Then again the profession brings its devotees into almost constant association with the sadder side of life-that of pain and suffer- ing-so that a mind capable of great self-control and a heart responsive and sympathetic are essential attributes of him who would essay the practice of the heeling art. Thus when professional suc- cess is attained in any instance it may be taken as certain that such measure of success has been thoroughly merited. In Dr. Vidal we find the lead- ing homeopathic physician and surgeon of Fargo

JAMES W. VIDAL, M. D.

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and he has also made for himself an enviable repu- tation among his professional brethren in the north- west. His portrait will be found in this volume.

He was born in Randolph, Cattaraugus county, New York, October 16, 1860, a son of 'Thomas and Sarah (Waite) Vidal, the former a native of France, the latter of New York. His maternal grandfather, James Waite, was a representative of the same family to which Chief Justice Waite be- longed. The father grew to manhood in Paris, and in his native land learned the machinist's trade. At one time he was foreman of the Brooks Locomo- tive Works. On first coming to the United States he located in New York, but later removed to the oil regions of Pennsylvania, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1898, was an extensive oil producer. In his family were two children, a son and daughter, the latter a resident of Rochester, New York.

Dr. Vidal attended Chamberlain Institute of Randolph, New York, and later entered the Univer- sity of Michigan, where he pursued both a literary and medical course and was graduated with the de- gree of M. D., in 1879. The following year he entered the homeopathic department of that institution and completed the course in June, 1882. Returning to his old home in New York, he engaged in practice there that summer, but in the fall of 1882 came to Valley City, North Dakota, where he opened an office in January, following, and engaged in practice until 1891. During that year he came to Fargo and it was not long before he built up the extensive practice which he now enjoys. In 1893 he took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, Chicago, and was granted a di- ploma. by that institution. He is a member of the National Homeopathic Society, and while at Valley City was a member of the pension board, and of the state board of medical examiners for seven years and at the same time was surgeon of the Northern Pacific Railroad for eight years. Socially he is quite popular and is a Knight Templar, Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine.

In 1884 Dr. Vidal was united in marriage with Mrs. Maggie (nee Stewart) Woodhouse, by whom he had one son, James Harold. He was next mar- ried in 1896, his second union being with Mrs. Grace Nichols (nee Houston), a native of Boston, and to them has been born a daughter, Grace Waite.

OLE MONSON. In the agricultural as well as the commercial world industry and natural ability are the leading powers, and men of every nation and clime have given up the home of their birth and sought a broader field for their labor in the new world. Among these foreign-born citizens who are laboring for the better interests of their adopted land, and are aiding in its advancement toward civil- ization, the subject of this review occupies a prom- inent place. He came to America as a young man and has made his home in Dakota since that time,

and is now the owner of a fine tract of land in Ber- lin township, Cass county, and his residence is lo- cated there on section 23.

Mr. Monson was born in Sweden, July 2, 1855, and was reared in his native place and emigrated to America in 1881, when in the spring of that year he went direct to Cass county, North Dakota. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 23, in Berlin township, on which he began farming, and has held continuous residence there. He is now the owner of four hundred acres of land, and on his home farm has erected such improve- ments as entitle it to rank among the finest pieces of property in that vicinity.

Our subject was married in Sweden, March 6, 1881, to Miss Ingra Johnson. Mrs. Monson was born in Sweden, September 17, 1859, and was reared in her native place. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Monson, named as follows: Gerda C., Lillia A., Gill E., Axel W., Victor G., Hednig L., Martha K., Ida M. and Viola G. Mr. and Mrs. Monson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr. Monson takes an active interest in local affairs of a public nature and is a member of the township board of supervisors.

ARTHUR V. SCHALLERN, county auditor, is one of the popular public officers of Morton county. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, March 4, 1861.

The parents of our subject were natives of Ba- varia, and because of the father, Reiner Von Schall- ern, being implicated in the revolution of 1848, they came to this country and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and he was one of the first to enlist in the Civil war in this country, and was a surgeon in the Fifty- eighth Ohio Infantry, ranking as major. He was a noted surgeon and followed his profession throughout his career. He was appointed a phy- sician at Wards Island in New York and was among the prominent physicians there and he afterward owned a hospital in Mansfield, Ohio. The mother of our subject bore the name of Annie Von Hirsch- berg, and she was the countess of Hirschberg, but the family were ostracised for taking part with the common people.

Our subject was reared to manhood in Wiscon- sin, and graduated from Ripon College in that state, and in 1883 started for himself and established a lumber, hardware, and drug business at New Salem, North Dakota, having learned the drug busi- ness in Wisconsin in his brother's store. His mother and sister accompanied him to the new home and they all took land amounting to one section, and a shanty was erected and the property improved upon and they passed through pioneer experiences. They moved to New Salem in 1889, and the lumber office of our subject was the first building in the town. The mother died in 1891. Mr. Schallern disposed ot his business in 1897 and has since devoted him- self to stock raising. He made a success of mercan-

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tile pursuits and carried an extensive stock of goods while thus engaged, and was the pioneer merchant of New Salem, and the first postmaster of the town. He was elected county auditor in 1894 for Morton county, and has been twice re-elected and is now serving his third term in that capacity. Previous to his election as county auditor he was justice of the peace for six years, and during his entire term of office he never had a case appealed from his de- cision. He is ably and faithfully discharging his present duties and his popularity increases. He owns a fine ranch of seven hundred and twenty acres and engages in sheep culture extensively, and he also owns and operates three steam threshing out- fits and a saw-mill. He has taken an active interest in county and state affairs and is a Republican in political sentiment. He is a member of the Mandan Fair Association, and holds membership in the fol- lowing secret societies; Ancient Order of United Workmen, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America, and Knights of the Maccabees. Mr. Schallern has been active in vari- ous public enterprises and was one of the leaders in establishing the first creamery in Morton county. Mr. Schallern's sister, Miss Lilly Schallern, has been with him in all his pioneer and business career and has shared his experiences, and is now acting as deputy auditor in his office.

MARION F. NASH, among the first settlers to locate permanently in Eddy county, is success- fully pursuing stock and grain raising in township 150 north, range 64 west, and is manifesting the true spirit of American progress in his business affairs, and has a host of friends who hold him in the highest esteem.

Our subject was born in Clymer, Chautauqua county, New York, January 27, 1855, and was a son of George O. and Eliza (Edwards) Nash. His father's family has been in America many genera- tions and is of Scotch-Irish descent, and the father of our subject was a farmer during his career, and was a son of Jacob Nash. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Sereno Edwards, who was also a farmer by occupation.

Mr. Nash was the second in a family of six children, and was raised on his father's farm and assisted with the work thereon and received a con- mon-school education. After attaining his majority he began for himself and worked at farm labor and also lumbering for a few winter seasons, and in the spring of 1881 went to Dakota territory, now North Dakota, in company with his brother, Oscar E. Nash, and four other companions. He stopped at Casselton and worked on the Dalrymple farm about three months and then went to what is now Eddy county, and selected land in section 19, town- ship 150 north, range 64, the land being unsur- veyed at the time. He located his claim on the west bank of the Sheyenne river and built a shanty IOX12 feet of logs. He had a dugout for a barn

and did his first farming with oxen, and bought a wagon, plow and harrow. He and his brother worked for others by the month during the first year, and in 1882 they rented the Brenner farm and operated it one year, and his brother was deputy postmaster at Brenner Farm. The first crop of wheat raised for the market in what is now Eddy county was raised on this farm by our subject and his brother in 1882, and the following year our subject removed to his own land and began opera- ting the same. His first crop was fair, and he has since met with success despite losses by prairie fire, hail and other causes, and he is now the owner of nine hundred and sixty acres. Seven hundred acres of his land is under cultivation, and the bal- ance is meadow, pasture and timber land, leaving no waste land on the place. He has a fine set of buildings, including commodious residence, two barns, hog pen, granary and smaller buildings, aside from other buildings on different parts of the farm, and he has all machinery, including a steam threshing rig, for the economical conduct of the place. He engages in grain and stock raising, and now has eighty-three head of cattle and twen- ty-eight head of horses. In 1899 he raised 3.726 bushels of wheat, 1,115 bushels of flax, 528 bushels of rye, and 883 bushels of barley. He has the first sulky plow, fanning mill, and four-horse harrow that were ever taken into and used in the county, and he also put up and operated the second self- binder used in the county.

Mr. Nash has aided in making that district a thriving agricultural section, and is entitled to much credit for his work. He is a man of practical nature and industrious habits, and in public affairs is inde- pendent of party lines.

HENRY C. FELDMAN is an honored resident of Pembina, where he resides, retired from active business pursuits, in a comfortable home, and is passing the evening of life enjoying the fruit of his labor. He was born in Braunschweig, Germany, June 11, 1834, and was the fifth in a family of six children.

The parents of our subject, Christian and Dor- thea (Matthias) Feldman, were natives of Ger- many, and the father was a farmer and lumber merchant. Our subject was reared in his native land and at the age of sixteen years began working at the carpenter's trade and at nineteen years of age emigrated to America to join his elder brother at Angelica, New York, where he took up cabinet- making and followed that trade until 1855, when he started West, and after some wandering around located in St. Peter, Minnesota, and was one of the first twenty-five settlers of that place to receive free of charge a town lot, and there, with his cousin, opened a cabinet shop. August 19, 1862, he en- listed in Company D, Ninth, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry as a private. He served first through the Indian war, being stationed on guard at St. Peter

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for several months. They were then sent to the front, and by erecting stockades furnished pro- tection for returning settlers. In the fall of 1863 he was sent to Missouri, where he guarded pris- oners and had several skirmishes with bushwhack- ers, and was soon promoted to the rank of cor- poral. His first engagement was at Guntown, Mississippi, and then followed Tupela, the raid of Oxford, the campaign in Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, after which he was promoted to ser- geant. Then came the campaign of Mobile, and Jater Alabama, and he was ordered home and dis- charged from the service August 24, 1865. Mr. Feldman resumed his trade in St. Peter and after two years began contracting and building and fol- lowed that until the winter of 1878-79, when he was appointed inspector of customs of St. Vincent port of entry, and in the summer of 1871 took up his residence at Pembina. He was appointed deputy collector in the fall of 1882 and was sent to Neche, and remained there until the spring of 1886, when he returned to Pembina and engaged in the flour and feed business, at which he was employed until 1899. He then placed the business in the hands of his son and retired to private life.

Our subject was married, in 1856, to Miss Har- riet Voss, a native of Germany. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Feldman, as follows: Will- iam, who died January 28, 1890; Charles H., re- siding in St. Peter, Minnesota ; Frank A., who now has charge of the business formerly owned by his father; and Henry O., now in Idaho. Mr. Feld- man is a Royal Arch Mason, and also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is prominent in G. A. R. circles, and is an active worker in behalf of Warden Post, No. 12, which was established in 1883 as Warden Post, No. 83. Mr. Feldman served as commander of the post in 1896. He is a stanch Republican politically, and has cast his vote with that party since Lincoln's first election.

HARRY D. QUARRY, M. D., C. M., specialist of diseases of the eye, ear and throat, superintend- ent of health of the state of North Dakota, and a successful general physician and surgeon, has been a resident of Grand Forks during the past ten years, and has proven himself a valuable citizen and a worthy member of the community where he has chosen his home.

Dr. Quarry is a native of Sandwich, Ontario, Canada, where he was born in 1867. His parents, William B. and Ellen Quarry, were natives of Ire- land and Ontario, Canada, respectively. The father came to America in 1842 or 1843, when a child, and was reared and educated in Canada. He graduated from the Victoria Medical College and practiced his profession in Canada for many years. He is still living in Canada, the mother having died several years ago.

Our subject was reared and educated in Can-

ada, attending the public schools, and afterward the Trinity University, at Toronto, from which insti- tution he was graduated in 1889, with the degree of M. D., C. M. He came to Dakota the same year, and for two years practiced his profession at Ardoch. He then came to Grand Forks, and since 1892 has made a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear and throat, and has been very successful. He has built up a valuable practice, both as a spe- cialist and as a general physician. He is a mem- ber of the North Dakota Medical Society, and of the American Public Health Association. He has been secretary of the state medical examining board, and is the superintendent of public health of the state of North Dakota, to which position he was appointed in 1899. He has attended the follow- ing post-graduate lecture schools: Ann Arbor, Michigan : New York Polyclinic and Philadelphia Polyclinic, and Wells' Eye Hospital of Philadelphia, besides other special lecture courses. For the past five years he has been a member of the United States pension examining board.

HENRY H. WYLRER, an ex-soldier and early settler of Wells county, is successfully pursuing farming in township 147, range 69, and enjoys a good competence in his declining years. He has prospered as a result of good judgment and honest industry, and is widely known as an exemplary citizen and man of energetic spirit.

Our subject was born on a farm in Tennessee in 1825, and was a son of Wiley and Temperance ( Milton) Wilder, both of whom were born in Nash county, North Carolina, and from there moved to Tennessee, and from there to Illinois in September, 1830. The grandfather of our subject, Moses Wylder, was a farmer by occupation and died in Tennessee.

Our subject was the sixth in a family of twelve children, and was raised on a farm in illinois and received little school advantages. At the age of twenty-one years he began for himself and worked at farm labor and also attended school. He began farming in Illinois and continued there on different farms until 1886, and during ten years of the time was engaged in the saw-mill business. He enlisted in Company H, Twenty-eighth Illinois Infantry, in 1864, and was discharged after one year of loyal service in defense of his country. He went to Wells county, North Dakota, in 1886, and entered a pre-emption, homestead and tree claim, and with one blind horse and three cows began farming. He and his eldest son followed farming together for about three years, and he has followed mixed farm- ing for the past eight years and now has sixty head of stock. He and his two youngest sons have nineteen hundred and twenty acres of land and cultivate one thousand acres annually. His farm is well improved and he has all necessary machin- ery for the conduct of the place, and good build- ings for comfort and convenience.

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At the age of twenty-three years our subject was married to Miss Ann Elizabeth Strode. Mrs. Wylder was born in Morgan county, Illinois, in 1830, and her parents were natives of Kentucky. She died one year after her marriage, leaving one child, Mahlon, who was born Jannary 8, 1850, and is now residing in North Dakota. Mr. Wylder was married to Miss Ellen Jones in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Wylder have been the parents of nine children, of whom the following are now living : Jiles, born in 1863; Jack, born in 1867; Lewis, born in 1870; and Calvin, born in 1872. Mr. Wyl- der is active in public affairs, and in political senti- ment is a Republican and cast his vote for Lincoln. He has attended numerous county conventions and is a leader of his party in Wells county. He holds membership in the G. A. R.

FRANKLIN BENDER. An honorable posi- tion among the farmers of Harwood township, Cass county, is willingly accorded to this gentle- man by his associates. He occupies a well-devel- oped farm in section 33, and is greatly respected in the community where he has spent over fifteen years of his life. His maturer years have been de- voted to the pursuit of agriculture, and he has acquired a wide knowledge of his calling, and is an individual aid in the advancement and development of that region.

Our subject was born in Waynesboro, Pennsyl- vania, April 3, 1844, and was a son of George Ben- der, who was a tailor by trade. He was reared in the town of Waynesboro, and attended the schools of that place, and later learned the cabinet- maker's trade and also carpentering, both of which he followed in the factories of that city till 1883. In the spring of that year he decided to try his fortunes in the Northwest, and accordingly settled in Harwood township, Cass county, North Dakota, where he has since resided. He has devoted his attention to farm work entirely and is now the owner of one hundred and ninety-five acres of land. He has placed good improvements on the farm and otherwise has provided for the lessening of labor and the comforts of the occupants of the place, meeting with success in his chosen calling.

Our subject was married, in Waynesboro, De- cember 29, 1869, to Miss Eliza J. Welsh. Mrs. Bender was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1847, and was a daughter of J. R. Welsh, a merchant of that city. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bender, three of whom are living, and bear the following names: Margaret J., George W. and Frank Rudisel. One daughter died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Bender are active workers and members of the Congregational church. Mr. Bender is a man of intelligence and true worth, and keeps pace with the times in all public matters, and casts his influence for good government and right and justice, and his success as an agriculturist is well merited.

THOMAS SCOTT. For over twenty years this gentleman has tilled the soil of Walsh county, and he now has a fine estate in Forest River town- ship, in section 27 of which he resides. He is a man of good judgment and broad ideas, and his practical nature has enabled him to determine the best methods of operation on his farm, and his suc- cess has been steady and good buildings now mark his home.

Our subject was born in Pakenhen, Lanark county, Ontario, November 1, 1830, and was reared there and received his schooling in his native county. After attaining his manhood he began his business career in the pursuit of agriculture and continued thus employed in Canada until the spring of 1880, when he went to Grand Forks, North Dakota. He resided in the vicinity of that town for one year, and then entered a pre-emption and tree claim to land in section 27 of Forest River township, and at once began the improvement of his farm. He now owns five hundred and sixty acres of good land, and his buildings on his home farm include all usually found on a model farm and are substan- tial and built with a view to economy in the conduct of the place, and the comfort and convenience of the inhabitants of the farm. Mr. Scott has given his entire attention to his farm work and has made a success of his career, and is one of the well-to-do men of Forest River township.

Our subject was married, in Lenark county, Ontario, to Alecia Scott, a native of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are the parents of seven children, named in order as follows: Annie, Agnes, Albert, James H., Thomas E., John F. and Mabel. Mr. Scott is a gentleman of the highest character, and earnestly supports all moves or enterprises cal- culated in any way to develop the resources of his locality, and his labors as an agriculturist have done much to further the advancement of the great agri- cultural district of Walsh county. He has served as a member of the township board and is active in all local matters of importance.

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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 128

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