Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 144

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 144

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Blanche E. is now Mrs. James Meade, and re- sides about five miles southwest of the home farm. A family group portrait will be found on another page. Mr. Higgs is an active worker in public af- fairs, and has held numerous township offices. Po- litically, he is a Republican.

JOHN P. SUNDQVIST, one of the men who have made Nelson county famous for its agriculture and stock raising, resides upon his valuable farm in section 23, Ora township, where he owns a section of land.

Mr. Sundqvist was born near Storvik, Gefle Borgstan, Sweden, May 30, 1862. He was the sec- ond child in a family of five children born to Cart and Johanna ( Wiren) Sundqvist, both of whom are still living in Sweden. The father was a railroad man, and our subject followed railroading until he was fifteen years of age, when he entered the repair shops to learn the trade of machinist. Two years later he became engineer on a coasting steamer, and in May, 1882, he came to America. He first worked in Chicago, and then proceeded to Moorhead, Min- nesota, where he worked in a planing mill, and later in a foundry. He worked a short time at Fargo in the same line, and also in the Northern Pacific Rail- road shops. In the spring of 1886 he came to Nel- son county, and the next year filed claim to one hundred and twenty acres of government land. He was without means, but he worked hard and man- aged wisely, and has built up for himself one of the finest estates in the county. For some years he de- voted his attention to sheep raising and was very successful, but as the range became limited he aban- doned this line of business, and he is now giving his attention to general stock farming. He has im- proved his farm with many of the conveniences of farm life, and his outbuildings afford shelter for stock and abundant storage for his crops.

Mr. Sundqvist was married in 1884to Miss Caro- line Teien, and to this union eight children have been born,named as follows: Johanna C., Aggie A., Os-

car E., Arthur R., Arnold G., Ida, Hjalmar E. and Emma. In political sentiment Mr. Sundqvist is an Independent. He was greatly dissatisfied with man- agement of public affairs in the country and state, and welcomed the reform movement, and was one of the organizers of the party in Nelson county. He has been active in local political affairs, and has been a school officer for many years. He is a con- sistent member of the Lutheran church, and a mem- ber of good standing, of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. organizations.

HERBERT C. HURD, the efficient and popular postmaster of Rugby, North Dakota, is engaged in newspaper work in that city and is senior member of the firm of Hurd & Irwin. He is a young man of energetic character and has prospered in his calling.

Our subject was born in a village in Ontario, Canada, April 5, 1871. His father, William S. Hurd, was a farmer most of his life and settled on a farm in North Dakota about 1882. He died on his farm near Rugby when our subject was seventeen years of age. The mother of our subject was born in Ire- land and bore the name of Mary J. Hendry. She came to America in 1844 and the parents were mar- ried in Canada. Of their family of five children our subject is fourth in order of birth. He was raised on the farm and received a limited education and at the age of eleven years went to North Dakota with his parents and settled at Grand Forks where the parents followed farming five years, and then went to Pierce county in 1887 and settled on a farm one mile from Rugby. After the father's death the fam- ily moved to Rugby and our subject worked on the "Pierce County Tribune," which was established in June, 1888, by David P. Thomas. Mr. Hurd bought the plant in 1891 and became editor and proprietor. The paper was the second paper of the county, and since 1889 has been the only paper published in the county. Our subject sold a half interest in the paper in 1899 to H. F. Irwin, and the paper is now con- ducted under the firm name of Hurd & Irwin.

Mr. Hurd was elected clerk of courts in 1892 and served one term. He was appointed postmaster of Rugby in July, 1897, and is serving in that capacity. He continued farming and owns and operates a tract of one hundred and sixty acres.

Our subject was married October 15, 1893. to Anna Gram, a native of Canada. Mrs. Hurd is a lady of accomplished manners and was a teacher prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd are the parents of one child, Alice H., who was born in De- cember, 1897. Mr. Hurd was one of the early set- tlers of that locality and can recount many hardships and experiences of early life there. He is promi- nent in local affairs and a Republican.

H. F. Irwin, Mr. Hurd's partner in the news- paper work, was born in Illinois, May 10, 1872. He was educated in Michigan and learned the printer's trade at Detroit, Michigan, spending fifteen years

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at newspaper work there. He went to North Da- kota in 1899. His father, Bell Irwin, was of En- glish descent and was a general merchant.

LOUIS BLANCHETTE. For over twenty years this gentleman has been associated with the agricultural interests of Grand Forks county, North Dakota. He has accumulated a good property in Rye township, where he settled in the early days of that locality, and is widely and favorably known throughout the county as a man of industrious habits and good principles.

Our subject was born in Canada, February 19, 1845, and was a son of John and Lucy ( Larvier ) Blanchette. His parents were natives of Canada and moved to Massachusetts in 1855, where they remained five years and then returned to their na- tive place and spent the remainder of their lives there. They were the parents of eleven sons and three daughters, of whom our subject is the only one in the west, the others locating in the eastern states.

Mr. Blanchette was reared in his native place and in 1855 went to Massachusetts with his parents and there learned the shoemaker's trade, beginning his apprenticeship at the age of ten years. In 1865 he enlisted in the Thirteenth Ohio Cavalry and be- came a member of Company M. He enlisted at Cincinnati under the name of Louis White, the translation of the name Blanchette being White. nie served about seven months and saw some serv- ice in Virginia and was at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia. He was discharged from the service in 1865 and returned to Massachusetts and followed his trade there until 1880. He then went to Grand Forks county, North Dakota, and entered claim to the land upon which he has spent the intervening years. He has added to his possessions and now has a section of choice land, all of which is im- proved and tillable, and on his home farm he has a set of good buildings and is one of the prosperous men of his township.

Our subject was married, in Massachusetts, in 1872, to Miss Meresline Sivaliar, a native of Can- ada. Nine children, eight of whom are now living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blanchette, and are as follows: Ella, now Mrs. J. Jarvis; David ; Frank; Eva, deceased; Louis; Charles; Josie ; Benjamin and Leo. The family are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Blanchette has served on the township and school boards and has been chair- man of the latter for the past eighteen years. He is a Republican politically and is earnest in his con- victions.

JAMES GRAHAM, a prosperous and repre- sentative farmer of Grand Harbor township, Ram- sey county, is comfortably located on section 23, where he has surrounded himself with all the com- forts and conveniences of farm life.

Mr. Graham was born in Haldimand, Province of Ontario, Canada, February 18, 1852. He was reared to manhood and educated in his native province, receiving the benefits to be had from the common schools until he was nineteen years of age, in the meantime doing his share of work on the home farm. He continued to live in Canada until 1885. In the spring of that year he removed to North Dakota, first settling in the northern part of Grand Forks county. He resided there only six months, however, when he removed to Bottineau county and took up a claim to land. There he re- mained until 1896, when he came to Ramsey coun- ty in the spring of that year and took up the land on which he now resides in Grand Harbor town- ship. He still holds his land, two hundred and forty acres, in Bottineau county. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land and has been a successful agriculturist since coming to Ramsey county. His property is well improved and supplied with good stock.

Mr. Graham was married, near Lindsay, On- tario, Canada, to Miss Abigail Peel. Mrs. Graham is also a native of Ontario, her birthplace being in that province, near the village of Lindsay. Here she was reared and educated and became the wife of Mr. Graham. They are the parents of three chil- dren, named as follows: Margaret B. J., Mary A. and Charles H. Mr. Graham has never sought political preferment, but has been content to· do what he could toward the material prosperity of his community and county. He has proved him- self a valuable and representative citizen and en- joys the confidence and esteem of all.

FRANK BOLL. For over fifteen years this gentleman was a resident of Summit township, Richland county, North Dakota, where he settled during the year 1879. He is the owner of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land on section 34, and one hundred and sixty acres in section 33, but has re- moved within the past few years to Breckenridge, Minnesota, and makes his home in Island Park, which is his property, comprising twenty-four acres, a half-mile race track, a flowing well, and grounds fully equipped for picnic purposes. He also owns three hundred acres in Wilkin county, Minnesota. He was successful in farming, and one of the substantial citizens of Richland county.

Our subject was born in the town of Russell, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, November 26, 1854, and when about twelve years of age went with his parents to Brothertown, Calumet county, Wiscon- sin. He was engaged in farming there until 1877, when he went to Marshfield, Wood county, Wiscon- sin, and spent two years lumbering. He went to Richland county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1879, and took a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 34, in Summit town- ship, where he engaged in farming until 1896. He then moved to his present home in Breckenridge,

FRANK BOLL AND WIFE.

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Minnesota. His farm is well improved, and he had a complete set of substantial farm buildings erected on the same. He is the owner of one half-section of land in Richland county, North Dakota, and three hundred and twenty-four acres in Wilkin county, Minnesota.

Our subject was married in Marshfield, Wiscon- sin, in June, 1879, to Miss Mary Lerch, a native of Austria. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Boll, named as follows: John, Frank, Joseph, Mary, Adam, Philip and Anna. Mr. Boll is an earnest worker for the interests of his com- munity, and has a wide circle of friends in Rich- land county, and Wilkin county, Minnesota. The family are communicants of the Catholic church. A portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Boll appears on another page.

COURTLAND R. GAILFUS, state's attorney and United States commissioner at Rolla, has won for himself an enviable position among the business and professional men of North Dakota. He stands in the front ranks of the Rolette county bar and is well known throughout the state.

Mr. Gailfus is a native of Ontario, Canada, born October 28, 1866. He was the youngest of the three children born to B. and Elizabeth ( Wink- ler ) Gailfus. When he was a small boy he lost his father by death, and his mother removed to Manito- ba in 1879, and in the spring of 1885 the family set- tled in Towner county, Dakota. As soon as our subject reached the age of maturity he began to take up government land. He secured three claims, -a pre-emption, a tree claim and a homestead claim. He made his residence upon his homestead in 1890 and about this time began teaching school, having secured a fair education by private study. He taught during the summers and attended the university at Grand Forks during the winter months. He later entered the University of Minne- sota and took up the study of the law. In 1893 he went to Chicago and took a course in the Kent Col- lege of Law, at the same time working in the office of W. B. Keef. He graduated with the class of '95 from that institution and was admitted to the Illinois bar June 26, 1895. In the autumn of that

year he came to Rolla and engaged in wheat buy- ing. He was admitted to the bar of North Da- kota October 7, 1895, and began the practice of his profession. He was elected state's attorney that same fall and still holds that office. On July 2, 1897, he was appointed United States commissioner at Rolla, which office he also holds at the present time. He entered the legal field against competi- tion experienced and well established, but made his way rapidly to the front and has maintained his position. He is also part owner of fourteen hun- dred and forty acres of land in Towner and Ro- lette counties, his partner being Guido Widmeyer. This vast acreage is devoted exclusively to wheat raising.

Mr. Gailfus was married, in 1896, to Miss Ella May Paupst, and to this union three children have been born, named in the order of their birth as fol- lows : Lorna, Manila and one infant unnamed.

Mr. Gailfus is a Republican in his political faith and has taken an active part in the public affairs of his county and state. He is a member in good standing of the A. O. U. W. and the M. W. A. He is a worthy citizen and valued member of the community.

OLE K. HANSON is successfully pursuing farming on the fertile soil of Raymond township, Cass county, and has a pleasant home in section 22. He is one of the pioneers of that region and his thorough practical knowledge of his calling and his honest industry have been potent factors in pro- ducing the present solid prosperity of the locality and giving to it a name as a thriving agricultural district.

Our subject was born in Norway October 30, 1853, and remained in his native land until 1873. when, in June, of that year, he came to America. He settled in Minnesota and was employed at farm labor and also worked in the woods and at different occupations, and in the fall of 1877 went to Cass county, North Dakota, and located on the land where he still resides. He has built a complete set of good, substantial farm buildings on his place and made every arrangement by which he can more easily till the land and dispose of the products, and he is recognized as one of the substantial farmers of Raymond township. He owns five hundred and sixty acres of land and engages in general farming.

Mr. Hanson was married, in Moorehead, Minne- sota, July 18, 1887, to Miss Marv F. Anderson, who was born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, No- vember 20, 1865. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, three of whom died in child- hood. The surviving children are named as fol- lows: Henry F., Martin A. and Fred T. Mr. Hanson has always taken an active interest in the welfare of his community and has held numerous local offices, and is highly esteemed and respected for his true citizenship. He is a man of just prin- ciples and his career has been marked throughout by persistent efforts to advance the interests of those for whom he labored as well as for himself. and he has been rewarded in a financial as well as social sense for his earnest efforts.

J. J. EUGENE GUERTIN is a well-known and public-spirited citizen of Omemee, Bottineau county, and has had a varied and eventful experi- ence. He has passed through adversity and is now reaping the rich reward ot thrift and industry.

Mr. Guertin was born on a farm near Montreal, Canada, February 1, 1850, where his father, Julien Guertin, was the proprietor of a considerable agri- cultural establishment. The family is of French

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extraction and its forefathers came to Canada be- fore 1763. The paternal grandfather of our sub- ject fought in the British army during the war of 1812, and his maternal uncles and grandfather were engaged in the Canadian rebellion of 1837-38. His mother was Sophie L. Lanctot and she was also of Canadian birth and French descent. Her people have been in Canada many generations and have been always prominent in local politics. They are members of the Liberal party.

Mr. Guertin is the third child in a family of eleven children and part of the domestic burdens necessarily fell on his shoulders. He was a student in the common schools, but finished his school days before he was fifteen. When he was eighteen the family removed to the state of Connecticut and young Eugene thought it was time for him to shift for himself. When he was twenty-two he was mar- ried to Miss Virginia Lizotte, a native of the province of Quebec and of French descent. Her family has long been residents in Canada. They are the parents of nine living children : J. Albert, Earnest H., Anna M., Ernestine, Joseph, George, Delia, Clodia and Oscar. After his marriage Mr. Guertin clerked and kept books first in a Connecti- cutt store and then in Rhode Island. In 1878 he emigrated to Manitoba, where he fancied he might do well. The actual results transcended his dreams. He settled on wild land, improved it, held it four years and then sold out for six thousand dollars. He began with next to nothing and in these few years had created this very large estate. With it he went back to Canada and engaged in farming and real estate in Quebec. For three years he re- mained there, but the wild west had laid hold of him and he could not escape. In 1885 he came to Bottineau county, North Dakota, settled on gov- ernment land and in due time received titles to three farms. His first location in this county was north- east of Omemee, where he farmed for a year and a half with oxen. He put up a claim shanty, 14x18 feet, and in this spent the first year "baching," with his brother for company. He has thoroughly explored all this country, has slept out nights under the wagon and in a tent and knows every possible phase of Dakota climate.

In 1886 his first crop proved light, but his fam- ily came on that year and began housekeeping in a log shanty, 18x22 feet. The crop of 1887 was good, those of 1889 and 1890 were failures and that of 1891 was the most abundant ever garnered in the state. At the present time Mr. Girertin owns seven hundred acres in four different farms. About one-half the land is under cultivation and is under substantial improvements of every kind. In the fall of 1893 he left the country and moved into Willow City and there entered into business life as cashier of the Farmers and Merchants' Bank. He held this position four years and was president of the bank one year. In 1807 he established an agri- cultural implement business at Willow City and Omemee, and the next year disposed of all his

banking interests. In the spring of 1900 he moved his family to Omemee, where he has gathered his commercial interests and now makes his home in that thrifty village. He is a Democrat and was elected county treasurer in 1890 and was re-elected i11 1892. He attends county conventions and other party gatherings and is an influential member of his party. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World and the Yeomen of America and stands high in local esteem.

GULICK THOMPSON. Among the foreign- born residents of Grand Forks county must be men- tioned Gulick Thompson, whose home is on sec- tion 23, Walle township. Like so many of his fel- low countrymen he has won his way to a position of affluence and popularity by his steady energy and good management, supplemented by his affa- bility and good citizenship.

Mr. Thompson was born in Norway October 27, 1855. He landed in America in 1874 and for three years lived in the southern portion of Minnesota, Fillmore county. In June, 1877, he came to Grand Forks county and settled on the farm where he now resides and where he has made his home since com- ing to North Dakota. His farm originally con- sisted of one hundred and sixty acres, but he has added to his holdings from time to time and now owns four hundred acres of excellent land, on which he has made valuable improvements and his home is furnished with all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of modern country life.

Mr. Thompson was married, in Fillmore county, Minnesota, to Miss Tilda Knudson, who was born in the state of Iowa. To this union have been born ten children, named in the order of birth as follows : Thomas G., Julia, Ida, Betsey, Knute, Gertie, Chris- tina, Hattie, Ole and Andrew. Mr. Thompson has always taken an active interest in all public matters of a local nature and has made his influence felt in the affairs of his township and county. He has filled various township and local offices, among them that of assessor and supervisor, and is now serv- ing in the latter capacity, having been a member of the township board for several years.

PROF. DWIGHT F. BANGS, superintendent of the School for the Deaf, a state institution, lo- cated at Devils Lake, is too well known to the peo- ple of North Dakota to need any introduction. His life has been devoted to this line of work and he is favorably known wherever he has labored.

Mr. Bangs was born at Washington Heights, New York City, July 3, 1863, and one year later removed with his parents to Flint, Michigan, where he was reared and educated. His father, Prof. Egbert L. Bangs, was for many years superintend- ent of the Michigan School for the Deaf, and there our subject received his knowledge of the sign language. He graduated from the Flint high school

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and also attended St. Johnsbury Academy at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, graduating in the class of 1886. In the fall of that year he entered Amherst College, where he was in attendance one year, and in 1888 went to Farribault, Minnesota, and accepted a position in the Minnesota School for the Deaf, where he remained as teacher seven years. In July, 1895, he was appointed superintendent of the School for the Deaf at Devils Lake. This is a state institution and under the able management of the present superintendent the attendance is con- santly increasing.

Our subject was married, at Faribault, Minne- sota, June 5, 1890, to Miss Cora Van Dorin, a na- tive of Fairfield, Iowa, and a daughter of the late Richard Van Dorin, who was a veteran of the Mexican as well as the Civil war. Mrs. Bangs was educated in the public schools at Fairfield, Iowa, and also attended a private school in that city, known as Axline University, six years. She was engaged in teaching at Council Bluffs in the school for the deaf and at Faribault, Minnesota, in a like institution three years. Since residing in Devils Lake Mrs. Bangs has been matron of the institution of which her husband is superintendent. The buildings are kept in first class order and neat- ness rules throughout and Mrs. Bangs is the right woman in the right place. Mr. and Mrs. Bangs have one daughter, named Gertrude. Mr. Bangs is devoted to his work and the discipline of the school is of a high order and the teachers are thor- oughly trained and efficient.

HON. JOHN THORDARSON, one of the early settlers of Pembina county, is well known as a man of good business qualifications and is high- ly esteemed by the people among whom he lives. He resides in Hensel and is engaged in buying grain there, and for many years was identified with the farming interests in Pembina county.

Our subject is a native of Iceland and was born on the farm Svinarnes-on Eyafjord, Thingeyarsislu, August 20, 1846, and was the oldest of a family of six children, five sons and one daughter. His father, who still resides in Iceland, was a ship- builder and pilot. When fourteen years of age our subject began fishing and at the age of eight- een years shipped on a vessel for a cruise of shark fishing. He took a course in navigation of an old sea captain when twenty-two years of age and was soon afterward made captain of a fishing ves- sel and for six seasons caught sharks among the icebergs. He experienced a ship wreck on the north coast of Iceland and death was escaped by running the ship into the rocky coast as an only means of escape. He embarked for America Au- gust 5, 1873, and arrived at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 6, where he obtained work in a ship yard and later in a furniture factory and worked two years in a linseed oil manufactory. In 1877 he went to Winnipeg and in October, 1878, removed

with his family to Pembina county, North Dakota, and entered claim to land in Carlisle township, where he lived three years and then sold his in- terests and purchased a farm in Gardar township and lived there until 1891, when he went to Hensel as manager of the lumber yards of the Robertson Lumber Company, which position he held until 1897, and then began buying grain for McCabe Brothers and has since been stationed in Hensel in that capacity. He has several times been a member of the township and school boards in Pem- bina county.

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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 144

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