Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 146

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

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in his business and is one of the substantial men of Ramsey county.

Our subject was born in the Parish of Lesje Norway, December 22, 1856, and came to America with his parents in 1868. They settled on a farm in Watonwan county, Minnesota, where our sub- ject grew to manhood and continued his residence there until 1881. His education was received in the common schools and at the State Normal at Man- kato, where he graduated in 1879. He was engaged in teaching and farming in Wantonwan county untli 1881, when he went to North Dakota and taught school one year in Cass county, afterward going to Griggs county, where he took a homestead claim. He engaged in the land and loan business at Ccopers_ town and remained there till the spring of 1884, when he went to Devils Lake, following the same business there several years. He formed a part- nership with Hon. F. H. Prosser in 1891, under the firm name of Prosser & Serumgard, and they have since engaged in the farm machinery business and have made a success of that line.

Mr. Serumgard was married at Mankato, Min- nesota, to Miss Karen Throdahl, who was a native of Norway also. Mr. and Mrs. Serumgard are the parents of four children, named as follows : Pauline, Olga, Inez and Harold. Mr. Serumgard taught the first school in Griggs county, and is a gentle- man of excellent mind and systematic nature. He was elected treasurer of Ramsey county in 1886, and served two terms. He was appointed a trustee of the State Normal School by Governor Andrew H. Burke, and resigned after serving one year. He has been a member of the city council of Devils Lake for several years, and in July, 1898, was ap- pointed by President Mckinley as register of the United States land office at Devils Lake, assuming the duties of that office in September of that year. At the time of his appointement he was serving as mayor of Devils Lake, to which office he was elected in the spring of 1898.

PROF. EDWARD J. FOX, the efficient county superintendent of schools of Cavalier coun- ty, has the distinction of being one of the original, if not the only original, settler in the city of Lang- don.

Mr. Fox was horn in the county of Leeds, Ontario, Canada, July 31, 1858. His boyhood days were spent on the farm up to the age of eighteen years, and having in the meantime ob- tained a good education, he engaged in teaching school in Leeds county. In 1884. however, he emi- grated to Dakota and settled in Walsh county, arriving there during the winter of 1884-5. He took up a claim west of Park river, where he lived for one season, and then came to Lang- don, Cavalier county, and since that time has continued to make that city his home. During the winter of 1885-6 Mr. Fox was the only man actually residing in Langdon. One or two

other parties had located there, but did not remain during the winter, so that Mr. Fox was the sole resident of the city during that winter.

Mr. Fox was elected county superintendent of schools in Cavalier county in June, 1888, and so ably and conscientiousiy has he discharged the duties of that most difficult position, he has been successively re-elected and still holds the office. He has labored incessantly for the good of the schools of the county and has been very successful in his work. He is a graduate of the Perth Col- legiate Institute, of Ontario, Canada.

In 1889 Mr. Fox was married to Miss Mary Joyce, of Frontenac county, Ontario. They are the parents of one daughter, Kathleen M.

MRS. JOHN H. ROBERTSON, of whom a steel engraving will be found on another page, owns and operates one of the model farms of Foster county. She has managed the estate for the past four years, and success has attended her efforts. She is a lady of rare attainments, and was among the first settlers of that region, and has shared in the hardships and labors incident to pioneer life. Mr. Robertson passed away in 1897, leaving our subject with the care of the farm, and the estate has every appearance of a carefully cultivated and thor- oughly improved tract.

Mrs. Robertson was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in August, 1853, and was a daughter of An- drew Lowdan, a native of Virginia, who was of Scotch-Irish descent. The grandfather of our sub- ject. Samuel Lowdan, came from Londonderry, Ire- land, and was one of the prominent Orangemen there. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Amelia Clark, was a grandniece of Gen- eral Greene, and was a native of Virginia, where the family settled when they came to America from Ireland, in the seventeenth century. The great- grandfather of our subject, John Greene, was killed in the Revolutionary war at the battle of Brandy- wine. The family on both sides have participated in the various wars of the country.

Mrs. Robertson was the sixth in a family of seven children, and was raised on a farm and at- tended the country schools. At the age of sixteen years she removed to McLean county, Illinois, with her parents, and soon afterward began teaching school there, which profession she followed five years. She was married, in 1874. to John H. Rob- ertson, a native of McLean county, Illinois. Mr. Robertson was of English descent, and his family came from South Carolina, where they settled in 1800, and in 1820 the family located in Kentucky, and later his parents moved to McLean county, Illi- nois. Mr. Robertson was a soldier in the Civil war; and saw four and a half years of active service. He was a loyal and brave soldier, and an esteemed citi- zen wherever he made his home. He was a black- smith and wagonmaker by trade, and he and Mrs. Robertson resided in Downs, Illinois, seven years

Isabelle J. Robertson

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after their marriage, and then spent two years in Bloomington, Illinois, where Mr. Robertson was engaged in the hardware business. The family moved to Foster county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1883, and located on the southeast quarter of section 8, in township 145, range 66, as a soldier's homestead. They erected a house and barn, and clid the first farming with mules. The farm now comprises six hundred and forty acres, all of which is under cultivation, and Mrs. Robertson has entire control and management of the estate. An exten- sive grove of forest trees surrounding the buildings enhances the value of the property as well as adding to the beauty of the home, and every convenience of modern farming has been supplied. Carrington was but started when they located there, and Mrs. Robertson was the first woman to market there, and was the first to sell butter in Carrington. Their first home on the farm had no floor, windows or doors, and had a barley roof and sides, and Mrs. Robertson and her husband built their house and she gave it the first coat of paint. She engaged in every kind of work about the place, and also attend- ed to her household duties, and presided with true womanly grace. One daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Robertson, Amelia, who was born in Da- kota, in 1888. Mr. Robertson was the father of two children by a former marriage, and each of the children were given their education at home by Mrs. Robertson, as there were no schools near their farm for several years after they took up their residence there. Mrs. Robertson justly deserves much praise for what she has accomplished, and her successful management of the farm for the past few years is evidence of her executive ability and practical nature.

OSCAR W. SERNS, deputy sheriff of Nelson county, has a fine farm a half mile from Aneta, and is one of the well-known men of that locality. He was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, Au- gust 26, 1856, and was the oldest of a family of six children born to Sern and Sarah A. (Thomp- son) Serns. The father is the only surviving parent and resides in Wisconsin on the homestead farm and follows the mason's trade.

Our subject was reared to farm work and at- tended Albion Academy. Previous to attaining his majority he went to Iowa and worked one sea- son and in 1876 bought a farm in Hancock county, Iowa, and devoted himself to farming four years with little success. He went to Mayville, North Dakota, in the spring of 1881, with four horses, and made some money breaking for others and then returned to Iowa for the winter, and in the spring of 1882 went to Nelson county and took a homestead adjoining the town site of Aneta on the north. He worked for others and dealt some in horses and in 1884 went to his farm to develop the same and by engaging in diversified farming met with fair success. He purchased a farm one-

half mile northeast of Aneta in 1895 and there built a fine home, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land.

Our subject was married, in 1893, to Miss Emma Marquette. One daughter nas been born to Mr. and Mrs. Serns, upon whom they have be- stowed the name of Cecyl Lola. Mr. Serns and wife attended the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 and spent about a year in that city, and since their return to Dakota our subject has taken an active interest in public affairs of a local nature. He was appointed deputy sheriff of Nelson county in 1897, and is now serving in that capacity and is an efficient and faithful officer. He holds member- ship in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a Republican and is firm in his convictions. In the early days in Dakota he had many experi- ences and hardships to bear, and in February, 1885, passed a night in a severe storm with a team of horses and a sleigh. He attempted to keep the trail, but overturned the sleigh several times, and finally, coming to a shanty, unhitched the teani and drove them around until morning, when the storm abated and he proceeded to his home, reaching there with the empty sleigh and little the worse for the experience, although the thermometer stood thirty degrees below zero.

ERIC R. RAMSTAD, one of the well-known old settlers of Ward coutny, has a fine farm in the vicinity of Minot, and is engaged extensively in stock raising. He was born on a farm in Nor- way, January 17, 1860.

The father of our subject, Ryer Peterson, was a farmer by occupation. Our subject was the sec- ond in a family of six children, and was raised on a farm and attended the country schools. He left home at the age of nine years and hired out at farm work, and at the age of twenty-one canie to America, setting in Freeborn county, Minne- sota. He went to Ward county, North Dakota, in 1883, and settled on the present town site of Minot. He built a log house and followed break- ing with cattle, and his first crop was in 1884 from land north of where the Leland House now stands. He gave the Great Northern Railroad Company the land where the town is now located. He has followed farming and cattle raising exten- sively and conducts a ranch near Minot. In 1884 he met with severe loss of grain and hay by prairie fire. He drove overland with oxen to his new home and began operations on the raw prairie, and has remained to develop a good farm and is now well to do.

Our subject was married, in 1883. to Lena R. Oleson. Mrs. Ramstad was born in Wisconsin, on a farm, and was a daughter of Ole Gulson, a native of Norway. Mr. Ramstad assisted in the organization of Ward county and was active in getting the county seat located at Minot. He has

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held various city offices since residing in Minot, and has taken an active part in all local affairs of township and county. Politically he is a Repub- lican and firm in his convictions and is an earnest worker for party principles. He has devoted his attention to farming and stock raising and is well versed in his vocation, and has met with well- merited success. He enjoys the esteem of his fel- low men and is widely known.

JOHN JAMIESON. An honorable position among the farmers of Brenna township, Grand Forks county, is accorded this gentleman, who is one of the old settlers of that region. He occupies one of the well-developed farms of the county, and is greatly respected in the community where he has spent nearly twenty years.

Our subject is a native of southeastern Penn- sylvania, and was born January 6, 1856. His par- ents, Andrew and Eliza Jamieson, were natives of Ireland, and emigrated to America and located in Pennsylvania. From there they went to Canada, and in 1878 located in North Dakota, where they now reside, and are respected pioneers of their community.

Mr. Jamieson was reared in the United States mostly and went to Dakota with his parents, and the following year, 1879, he entered claim to the land on which he has since resided, with the exception of the first two years, which he spent in Montana. He has thoroughly improved his farm, and gains comfortable competence therefrom.

Our subject was married, in 1883. to Elizabeth Davidson, a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Jamieson are the parents of four children, who are named in order of birth, as follows: William D., Wilder G., Buela M. and Clifford J. Mr. Jamieson is road overseer of his township, and is one of the well-known public spirited men of his community. In political sentiment he is a Democrat, and is a man who keeps pace with current events and casts his influence for good government and the upbuild- ing of his adopted state.

HON. JAMES McCORMICK. This gentle- man is one of the most prominent citizens of Coulee township, Ramsey county, having resided there since 1883, and has always been associated with every good enterprise or public project which had for its purpose the upbuilding of business or social interests in his community. He is a man of the highest integrity of character, intelligent and well educated, and well merits his high social standing. His home is in section 12, of Coulee township, where he conducts a good farm and enjoys rural life.

Our subject was born in Queens county, Ire- land, April 21, 1847, and when he was about six years of age came with his parents to America. He resided in LaSalle county, Ilinois, for many

years, and was there reared to manhood, and from there enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in Febru- ary, 1865. He was in the service eight months, and then returned to LaSalle county, Illinois, and engaged in railroad contract work, grading, for some twelve years. In April, 1883, he went to North Dakota, and at once located on the farm where he now resides, and where he has since en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. He has made val- uable improvements and erected good buildings, and cultivates and owns two sections of land.

Our subject was married, in Wayne county, Iowa, in the town of Allerton, June 22, 1876, to Miss Cynthia A. Carmony, a native of LaSalle county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick are the parents of five children, four of whom are now living, and are named as follows : Jessie M., Mabel, Ada C. and James L. A daughter, Margaret, died at the age of fourteen months. Mr. McCormick was elected to the first state legislature in 1889, and his efficient work and popularity while a member of that body is best evidenced by the fact that he was returned to the senate in 1890. He was president of the board of trustees of the North Dakota School for the Deaf four years,, being appointed by Gover- nor Shortridge, and he has been county commis- sioner for Ramsey county from 1885 to 1889, and was again elected in the fall of 1898, and is now serving. He has always been identified with the Republican party politically, and is anearnest worker for party principles.

THOMAS CASCADEN, the pioneer settler in Leeds township, and a prosperous and influential farmer, is one of the susbstantial citizens of Ben- son county who have done so much to put that county in the front rank in the matter of prosperity and rapid development. His home is on section 12, Leeds township.

Mr. Cascaden was born in the province of On- tario, Canada, December 23, 1856. He was the youngest of four children born to John and Isa- bella (Wigle) Cascaden, both of whom are now cleceased. The grandfather on the father's side was of Scotch descent, and came from the north of Ireland. On the mother's side our subject inherits German blood, the Wigles locating in Canada three generations back.

Thomas Cascaden was reared on a farm in Canada, and got such education as the public schools afforded. He remained at home until twenty-three years of age, and then rented lands and farmed for himself, finally taking charge of the home farm. In 1882 he sold his belongings and went to Man- itoba and engaged in wheat raising. This venture proved a failure, and in 1885 he gathered together his resources and came to Benson county. He took up government land, and built a 12x18-foot shanty on the unbroken prairie in what is now Leeds township, his being the first house erected in the

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township. Devils Lake, thirty miles distant, was the nearest market, and his next door neighbor was eight miles east of his farm. They realized all the hardships incident to pioneer life, both Mr. and Mrs. Cascaden being ill at the same time, with none to look after them and the four small children, while the stock and property went uncared for. They fought it through as best they could, and soon began to prosper. After one year the shanty was supplanted by a small frame house which was their home until 1898, when their present comfortable and commodious residence was erected. Mr. Cas- caden's most profitable crop was in 1891, when his wheat yielded twenty-five bushels per acre, and sold for seventy to eighty cents per bushel.

Mr. Cascaden was married, in 1879, to Miss Ad- eline Truax. Their home has been blessed by the birth of the folowing children: Arthur W., Myrtle B., Thomas Roy, Albert, Cora G., John Bryson, Laura, Luella, Horatio Nelson, Lewis J. and Alice V. In political sentiment Mr. Cascaden has been a Republican since coming to the state. In the past he.has favored the free silver principles, and for a time acted with the Populist party movement. In 1892 he was elected county commissioner for the first district, and during the third year of his term was made chairman of the board. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has shown himself to be an able representative of the people in an official capacity, and his adherence to duty has won his the respect and confidence of all with- out regard to party lines.

JOHN C. HUNT. Among the leading citizens and early pioneers of northern North Dakota, no one is more deserving a place in history than John C. Hunt, a well-to-do farmer living on his home farm on section 17, Mount Pleasant township, near the city of Rolla.

Mr. Hunt was born in Ontario, Canada, March 19, 1861. He was the second child and oldest son of the Rev. David and Agnes (Fury) Hunt. At the age of seventeen years. John C. Hunt began working at cheese making, and followed that occu- pation till he was twenty-one years of age. In the spring of 1882 he started with a company for Mani- toba, and then down to the Turtle mountains, and there settled in what is now known as Fairview township. He and his party of ten were the first to settle in that region. The Indians, claiming that they were on reserve land, refusd to allow thm to cut wood in the mountains, and in the month of July a band of twenty Indians called upon them, and through an interpreter, gave them two days notice to leave the country, threatening to shoot their stock and hinting at more serious results if they did not move. The seven settlers then at home, held a consultation and decided it was best to cross over to the Canadian side, where they camped until the arrival of troops. As soon as the

affair was settled they returned to their lands. Our subject began the development of his farm, the postoffice being twenty-five miles distant, and the nearest market was Churchs Ferry. His main source of income the first few years was the sale of vegetables and seed grain to the arriving settlers. In 1887 he removed to the farm he now occupies, which he took as a homestead. Rolla was soon afterward built, and in the fall of 1892 Mr. Hunt was elected county judge. In this capacity he served three terms.

Much valuable work has been done by Mr. Hunt toward the development of the resources of the county. He erected a cheese factory in 1894, with a capacity of five thousand pounds of milk per day, and in this movement he has enlisted the interest of the farming community, to the great benefit and profit of the indiviuals, and the enterprise is in- creasing in favor.

Mr. Hunt was married, in 1887, to Miss Martha Maloney, and to this union four children have been born, namely : Eva A., Harris, Wilfred and Ethel. They have a pleasant home surrounded by all the conveniences of modern farm life. Mr. Hunt can be classed as one of the actual pioneers of the re- gion, and he recounts many of the early experienecs with which he met. He recalls with a mixed de- gree of pleasure his "baching" days, the frying of "bannocks," and preparing of other dainty bachelor dishes. In February, 1887, he and one companion were coming from the mountains with wood, when they lost their way and wandered many hours be- fore they again found the home trail.

JOHN H. COOK, in part the proprietor of the largest livery barn in Willow City, Bottineau county, has achieved a decided success in Dakota agriculture, and presents in his own career a good illustration of its opportunities for poor men not afraid of labor and willing to work and wait.

Mr. Cook was born on a farm in Connecticut, June 5. 1862. His father, Nicholas Cook, was Ger- man born and bred, and in the old country had fol- lowed the shoemaker's trade all his life. He mar- ried in Germany and brought his family to this country in 1861. John H. was the oldest in a fam- ily of twelve children, and grew to early manhood in West Goshen, Connecticut. At the age of seventeen he left his home, and made a bold strike for Dakota, landing in Cass county in 1881. He was engaged by the Amenie-Scharon Land Com- pany, and employed in farm labor for the next six years. In 1887 he left the company and came to Willow City, and was the first man in charge of the Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company's elevator in this village. He and another agent were the first two grain men in town. He bought the first load of wheat shipped from this market. This was bought on September 3. 1887, and from that day he has been continuously in the employment of the

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same company. Their first elevator had a capacity of sixteen hundred bushels of wheat. Their pres- ent plant can take in fifty-five thousand bushels, and is provided with a gasoline engine, and every requirement for handling an immense business ex- peditiously and economically. It is the largest elevator in town, and handles the most business. Without doubt its success must be attributed to the energy and careful management of the hustling agent of the company in this city.

In 1889 Mr. Cook filed a claim on a section of government land, put up a claim shanty, and lived there four years. He was married, November 30, 1888, to Miss Lizzie Taylor. She is of Scotch de- scent, and was born in Canada. Her father, John Taylor, is an old settler. He was born in Canada, and has made his way successfully in this country. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of four chil- dren: Clifford, Lillian, Margaretta and Melvin- all natives of Willow City. He was quite exten- sively engaged in farming during the first four years of his residence in Dakota, but in 1892 he left the farm and moved into Willow City. He now owns four hundred acres, and has one hundred under active cultivation. He still retains his livery interest. He is a Republican, and has served two terms on the town board, and at present is one of the school directors. He takes an active interest in political affairs, and is often seen at county and state con- ventions of his party. He is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, being one of the charter members of the local lodge. He is also a Mason. He stands high, and an enumeration of the more prominent business of Bottineau county could not be made without mentioning him among the very first.

HON. DUNCAN C. CUNNINGHAM, an early settler and leading agriculturist of Grand Forks county, may be mentioned among those who have had much to do with the course of public affairs in his county and state, and one whose influ- ence has always been given in the interest of better conditions, not only in a financial way, but in moral and educational growth. His home is on section 18, Americus township.

Mr. Cunningham was born in Argylshire, Scot- land, December 27, 1849. His parents emigrated to Canada when he was ahout four years old, and setted on a farm near Sarnia, in Lambton county. Here young Cunningham lived until he was seven- teen years of age, when he purchased a half inter- est in a flour and grist-mill in Lambston county. He was engaged in the milling business there until 1880. In June of that year he came to Dakota, and filed a pre-emption claim to the tract of land, one hundred and sixty acres, where he has since made his home. He found little of civilization in his adopted county, but set to work courageously to assist in the development of the great state that he saw must eventually rise from the prairie wil-

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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 146

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