Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 165

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

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Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, June 20, 1859. His parents, Thomas and Mary J. (Houston) Thompson, were natives of Montreal, Canada. His father was a farmer by occupation and died in Canada in 1898, and the mother of our subject survives him. They were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, of whom two sons and three daughters are now liv- ing in North Dakota.

Mr. Thompson was reared and, educated in Canada and followed farming there until 1879, when he went to North Dakota, and remained in Moor- head for some time and in 1881 entered a home-

WILLIAM J. THOMPSON, WIFE AND CHILD.

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stead claim to the southeast quarter of section 32, in Rich township, Cass county, and was one of the first settlers of the township. He has resided there continuously since and has added to his pos- sessions as circumstances would permit and is now one of the substantial land owners of his locality and has made a success of general farming.

Our subject was married in North Dakota in 1883, to Miss Isabelle Beattie, a daughter of Peter Beattie, of Rich township, Cass county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters, named as follows: Thomas A., William J, Mary, Jennie, Alla, Ma- tilda and Myrtle. Thomas A. is attending college in Fargo. Mr. Thompson has served as a mem- ber of the township board for many years, and is actively interested in the welfare of his community. He is well to do, progressive and intelligent and highly esteemed in the locality in which he has passed the past twenty years. A group portrait, showing our subject with his wife and child, is a valuable addition to this work.

HON. MARTIN N. JOHNSON, Petersburg, North Dakota, was born on a farm in Racine county, Wisconsin, in March, 1850. His father, tne Rev. Nelson Johnson, was born in Norway and came to this country in 1839 and was married here to Anna Selheim, a native of Norway. He was a Methodist Episcopal clergyman for twenty-five years. He was also a farmer and kept close to the soil. The family moved to Iowa in 1850, and there the subject of this article was reared to manhood and educated for his life work. He was prepared for college and attended the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. From that excellent school he went to the State University and took the full four-years classical course there and was graduated with the class of 1873. He became a teacher after his graduation and taught for two years in the Cali- fornia Military Academy at Oakland. In 1875 he returned to Iowa and was elected to the legisla- ture from Winneshiek county. This was his first entry into politics, he being twenty-five years old at that time. The next year he was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket and helped to elect President Hayes. In 1877 he was elected a senator in the state legislature and served four years in that capacity. In 1882 he came to North Dakota. He settled on unsurveyed public land and opened a farm where he still resides, near what is now the village of Petersburg, and twenty-two miles from Larimore, which was then the nearest railroad station.

The country was wild prairie for miles around, and the habitation that sheltered our subject from the weather the first winter was a sod shanty, such as the first settlers usually built and used in that country at that time. Much of the farming and other work in those days was done with oxen, and Mr. Johnson used some oxen, but depended mainly

on horses. To-day he owns a farm of two thou- sand five hundred acres. He cultivates about one thousand acres, has as much more fenced in for pas- tures, and has about five hundred acres in meadow and prairie. He has large and commodious barns with room for one hundred and twenty-five head of cattle and horses. He owns a grist-mill and owns a cream separator which is operated by a gasoline engine. Butter from the Johnson farm sells readily for two cents more than the best creamery, which bespeaks its quality.

One of the striking features of the farm which takes the eye of the visitor to the place is the grain elevator built from original plans prepared by Mr. Johnson and constructed under his own supervis- ion. A technical description would puzzle the reader, but as an elevator for his farm, and as adapted to the uses it serves, one can hardly imagine an improvement. It has a capacity of thirty thousand bushels in twenty-four bins, and uses no machinery-only gravity-to move the grain, hence its name, the "Gravity Elevator." MIr. Johnson also has some fine-bred stock, especially Jersey cattle and Percheron horses.

For the first four years after his arrival in the territory of Dakota, Mr. Johnson devoted all his attention to farming. In 1886 he was elected dis- trict attorney, and again in 1888, serving four years in that capacity. In 1889 he was sent as a delegate to the constitutional convention at Bismarck, and was a hard-working and faithful member of that important body. He was chairman of the commit- tee on corporations and had a hand in the shaping of legislation on prohibition and education. That year he was a candidate for the United States sen- ate before the first legislature, and in the Republican caucus had forty-two votes out of the eighty cast, and was entitled to the united vote of the party in the joint convention. The other thirty-eight Re- publican votes were divided among seven com- petitors who finally combined with ten Democrats and thus secured his defeat. This ungenerous treatment, however, so far from eliminating Mr. Johnson from the field as a leader of the people made him in some respects the strongest man in the new state. In 1890 he was sent to the United States congress as a representative, and was three times renominated by acclamation, and has served eight years in the lower house of congress, alike to his credit and to the satisfaction of the people. He has held a prominent place in the arena of politics, and has served on some of the most im- portant house committees, among them being those on coinage, weights and measures, and ways and means. He stood consistently for sound money and a protective tariff.

Mr. Johnson is a devoted member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and has served as a mem- ber of the general conference of that church, which was held in Chicago during the month of May, 1900. Our subject and Miss Stella White were married in 1879. She is a daughter of Amos.

THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN GENTALORS 140 South (Van

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White, and her ancestors have lived in America for two hundred and fifty years. She is a lady of many charms and graces and is a graduate ot the University of Iowa, from the same course her hus- band followed. They are the parents of four chil- dren : Edyth and Nellie, born in lowa; Ralph, in Dakota ; and Florence, in Washington, D. C.

In visiting Mr. Johnson's farm and home one cannot but be impressed with his genial manner and kindness; his love of family and home, and his firmness in standing for those principles which he believes right. A more pleasant hour can sel- dam be spent than with him on the farm.

PETER McKONE. The farming interests of Dry Lake township, Ramsey county, have a worthy exponent in the person of the gentleman above named, who operates a farm in section 8. The entire tract is improved and tillable, and altogether makes up an estate whereon a remunerative busi- ness may be done by intelligent and earnest in- dustry. In the way of buildings every arrange- ment has been made for the economical conduct of the farm, and for the comfort of the family a nice residence has been constructed.

Our subject was born in county Armah, Ire- land, in 1835. He left his native isle in 1847 and came to the United States, and from 1847 to 1854 lived in the city of New York. He then went to Lee county, Illinois, and remained there two years and then removed to Olmsted county, Minnesota, where he followed farming. He resided there, engaged in that occupation, until 1883, and in the summer of that year removed to North Dakota. He settled on the farm where he now resides and at once began the improvement of the place, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres of choice land, and follows general farming with pronounced success.

Our subject was married, in Rochester, Min- nesota, to Miss Margaret Kelley. Mrs. Mc- Kone was born in lower Canada, and removed with her parents to Wisconsin when she was but a year and a half old and was reared and educated in Wanshara county, that state. She is a lady of high accomplishments and with her husband enjoys the respect and esteem of many friends. Mr. and Mrs. McKone are the parents of eight children, who are named as follows: Thomas, Mary E., Edward P., Owen F., Peter J., James R., Margaret C. and Anna G. Mr. McKone is a gentleman who keeps pace with the times and wields an influence for good in his community and supports good iocal government.

SAMUEL G. GIBSON, M. D. In the learned professions there are always many grades of ability, and in most communities there are a few who are justly entitled to a leading place among their brethren. No member of the medical fraternity

of Cavalier county deserves prominent mention in a historical work more justly than the gentleman whose name heads this article. He has won the confidence and esteem of the people of his county, and particularly of the city of Langdon, where he has been a resident for many years. The reader will obtain a better understanding of this sketch by studying his portrait which is contained in this work.

Dr. Gibson was born in Arbroth, Scotland, in 1850. His father, Capt. Samuel Gibson, command- ed a transport in the Crimean war, and when our subject was quite young he accompanied his father to America. They located in Canada, and the boy grew to manhood and was educated in the common schools and at the Collegiate Institute of Galt, On- tario. He then engaged in teaching in various places, and was for five years head master of the public schools of London, Ontario. It was dur- ing this latter period that he took up the study of medicine in the Western University Medical School, from which institution he graduated with the class of '93.

In the spring of 1893 he came to Langdon, Cav- alier county, North Dakota, where he has since practiced his profession He has met with great success, and has been chosen to important positions, in recognition of his skill and ability in his de- partment of learning. He has served two terms as coroner, and is at the present time county super- intendent of health. His popularity is largely due to his conscientious practice and his honesty with his patients, added to his skill and thoroughness in the technicalities and details of his profession.

ALEXANDER G. BURR, one of the leading attorneys of Bottinean county, and well known throughout the state for his ability and success at the bar and in business, is a resident of the city of Bottineau, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice.

Mr. Burr was born in Perthshire, Scotand, in February, 1871. His father, Alexander Burr, was a Presbyterian minister, and was born in Aberdeen- shire, Scotland, in 1830. He came to America in 1873 and to North Dakota in 1883, and his death occurred in 1897 in Bottinean. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Mary McLach- lan, was also born in Scotland, and belonged to the Clan Cameron, famous in Scottish annals.

Mr. Burr is the second child in a family of five children, accompanied his parents to Canada from Scotland, and was reared in the former country until he was twelve years of age, with the exception of one years spent in Trinidad Island. In 1885 the family came to Bottineau coutny, North Da- kota, where our subject grew to manhood. He attended the common schools in Canada. He taught school five terms in Bottinean county, and then took a course in the University of Michigan, graduating from the law department of that institution in 1894.

SAMUEL G. GIBSON, M. D.

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He then returned to Bottineau county and opened a law office. He was elected state's attorney in the fall of 1894, and resigning that position in June, 1896, entered into partnership with W. J. Anderson in the law business in Grand Forks. He was in Grand Forks three years and did an exclusive law business during that time. In 1899 he returned to Bottineau county, since which time he has practiced in Bottineau. He is also doing a large real estate business throughout the county.

Mr. Burr was married, in June, 1900, to Miss J. Roberta Carothers. Mrs. Burr was born in the state of Pennsylvania. Her father was a Presby- terian minister and superintendent of the Iowa State College for the Blind. She is of Scotch- Irish descent, her family having been in America several generations. Mrs. Burr taught school in North Dakota before her marriage. Mr. Burr has taken an active interest in public affairs since his settlement in the county. He was president of the first teachers' association in the county, organized in 1889. He is also secretary of the Old Settlers' Association, himself being one of the earliest pio- neers of the county.

LOUIS STILLMACHER, a pioneer and pros- perous farmer of Johnstown township, Grand Forks county, is the owner of a valuable estate in section 21, where he makes his home.

Mr. Stillmacher was born in Germany, near the city of Berlin, October 3, 1848. His parents wers Louis and Dorothy (Durger) Stillmacher, both natives of Germany, who emigrated to America in 1870 and located in Dodgecounty, Wisconsin, where they both died in 1893. The father was a sailor prior to coming to America and young Louis accompanied him on his voyages. In the family were three sons and four daughters, our subject being the only one of the family in North Dakota.

Mr. Stillmacher was reared to manhood in his native land and followed the occupation of a sailor for ten years. In 1870 he accompanied his parents to the United States and located with them inDodge county, Wisconsin. He lived there four years and then spent some time in travel. In 1879 he came to Grand Forks county and filed a claim to land in section 27, Johnstown township. He proceeded to cultivate and improve his land and made that his home until 1891, when he purchased the land on which his present home is located. He now owns a half-section of the most valuable land in the county, and has a pleasant home.

Mr. Stillmacher was married, in 1881, to Louise Kahler, a native of Germany also, and to this union five children have been born, as follows: Will- iam, Elvina, Henry, Elsie, and one who died in miancy. In political views Mr. Stallmacher is a Democrat and has been active in public affairs of his county and community. He was one of the earliest settlers and assisted in the organization of the township and became one of its first officers.

He is now a member of the township board and has also served on the school board. He is a man of influence and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all. Mrs. Stillmacher died April 8, 1898.

M. L. AYERS, a pioneer newspaper man of Stark county, conducts the "Dickinson Press,," at Dickinson, and enjoys popularity and success. He is a young man of inteligence and activity, and has devoted Ins career to newspaper work and has ac- complished much since taking up the same in North Dakota, and is well known in the newspaper world.

Our subject was born on a farm in Washington county, Vermont, in 1863, where he was reared and attended the country school. He later attended the seminary at Montpelier, Vermont,, and in 1885 went to South Dakota and settled on government land in Edmunds county. He began newspaper work there, and worked on papers in Ipswich and remained in Edmunds county two years. He went to Stark county, North Dakota, in 1887. A colony called the New England colony made a settlement twenty-five miles south of Dickinson, and there our subject started a newspaper in partnership with Col. J. B. Mead, which was styled the "Rainy Butte Sentinel," Mr. Ayers went to Dickinson in 1890 and purchased the "Dickinson Press," which was founded in 1883, by J. T. Scott. The first issue was printed the latter part of March, 1883, and the circulation of the paper was then but two or three hundred copies, which has increased to several times that number under the pro- prietorship of Mr. Ayers. A well equipped job department is in connection with the plant, and this is a source of good income, while the newspaper work itself has prospered to a remarkable degree and Mr. Ayers may feel justly proud of his work in North Dakota.

Our subject is a man of good characteristics and is a Republican politically and is hrm in his convic- tions personally, but editorially is conservative as regards party principles and movements.

HON. CARL G. BROWN, a prominent farmer and leading citizen of Benson county, and one of the pioneers of the county, resides on his farm one mile north of the city of Minnewaukon.

Mr. Brown was born in Buffalo county, Wis- consin, December 4. 1858. He was the younger of two sons born to the union of Hon. Orlando and Margaret ( Gillfillen ) Brown. After the death of the mother, the father re-married, and the step- mother of our subject gave him a mother's care. Mr. Brown was reared on the farm, and attended the public schools, and at the age of eighteen years he took a two years' course in bookkeeping and com- mercial law at LaCrosse Business College. In 1878 he went to northern Minnesota, and there entered a printing ctuce where he was employed for some time. He returned to Wisconsin in 1883. and in company with his father, went to Ramsey county,

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North Dakota, with the intention of securing a town site. In a'few weeks a partnership was formed, its membership including our subject, his father, Cap- tain Heerman, and Messrs Adams, Benson and Kin- dred, tne object being to engage in the town site business. In April, 1883, they started a town at the west end of Devils Lake, which they called West End, and Capt. Meerman established his steamboat line between that point and the town of Devils Lake, while the Northern Pacific Railway Company had agreed to touch their town site. The railroad com- pany failed to keep its promise, however, and the town of Minnewaukon was started in 1884.

After the organization of Benson county Mr. Brown was appointed deputy register of deeds, and later was appointed deputy county treasurer, and in 1884 was appointed treasurer of Benson county. He was successfully elected to that office, holding same until January 1, 1895. In the fall of 1894 he was elected to the state senate and took his seat at the fourth session of that body. He served as chairman of the committee on Indian affairs, and was a member of the judiciary commit- tee, the committee on elections and the revenue taxation committee, and on the latter committee the greater part of mis work was done. In politics Mr. Brown is a Republican, and has been a leader of his party in the county since his first residence therein. He began farming in 1893, and since that time has devoted much atention to that business. He moved to his farm in 1894, and now conducts a farming business on a large scale, his holdings amounting to about one thousand acres. A fire de- stroyed his handsome residence during the spring of 1900, but in other respects his estate is well supplied with all conveniences for the conduct of modern farming. It is his intention to again become a res- ident of Minewaukon in the near future, and devote his attention to his interests there.

Mr. Brown was married in 1886, to Miss Kate Murphy, and to this union four children have been born, namely : Harold, Orpha, Carlton and Phineas. Mr. Brown is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Brown has served the peo- ple of Benson county in an official capacity for a longer period than any other man in the county, his official services extending over a period of fifteen years, and he is today one of the most conspicuous figures in the public life of the county.

CHRIST C. RUTHERFORD. Among the financial institutions which contribute largely to the welfare of Grand Forks county, North Dakota, the Bank of Gilby, of which Mr. Rutherford is president, is entitled to a prominent place. This is one of the thoroughly established banks of the local- ity, and the gentleman who is at the head of the institution enjoys the confidence and esteem of the people among whom he makes his home.

Our subject is a native of St. Lawrence county,

New York, and was born March 21, 1857. He was a son of James and Cornelia (Randell) Rutherford, who were natives of New York. The father was a drover and farmer, and spent his hte in mis native state. He died when our subject was thirteen years of age, and the mother died some years later. l'hey were the parents of three sons and two daughters, of whom one son aside from our subject now sur- vives. One brother died from disease contracted in the service in Virginia. He was a member of the One Hundred and Forty-second New York Volunteer Infantry. The family originally came from Scotland and Ireland.

Mr. Rutherford was reared in New York and educated in the public schools, and began his busi- ness career as a farmer and later engaged in buying farm products and afterward followed general mer- chandise business. He went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, in March, 1882, and soon afterward settled on government land in section 18 of Gilby township, and experienced pioneer life there. He engaged in farming and also handled real estate and stock and sold farm machinery, and also handled insurance. He now owns and controls a large tract of land. Mr. Rutherford accepted the presidency of the Bank of Gilby in 1898, and still serves in that capacity. He went to Dakota without means and is now one of the solid men of the state.

Our subject was married, in November, 1886, to Maggie Braithwait, a native of Wisconsin, whose parents were born in New York. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford, who are as follows: Lydia I., Hazel D. and Nellie M. Mr. Rutherford is a member of the Masonic frater- nity and has passed the higher degrees of the order. He is interested in the welfare of his community, but has never sought public preferment.

WILLIAM P. ROSE. The farming and stock dealing interests of Cass county have a worthy rep- resentative in the gentleman whose name heads this personal history. He has resided in Empire town- ship for the past twenty years, and from a limited start has accumulated a fine property covering one section of land, and is among the substantial men of his community and highly respected by all.

Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, Feb- ruary 6, 1857. His parents, Lawrence and Annie (Phin) Rose, were natives of England and Canada respectively. His father came to Canada in an early day and operated a flour mill until his death in 1885. Our subject was one of ten children, six sons and four daughters, and four sons now reside in the United States. The mother of our subject still makes her home in Canada.

Mr. Rose was reared in his native place and there learned the tinner's trade, which he followed six years, and in 1880 came to the United States and located at Wheatland, Cass county, North Dakota, and during the same spring entered a homestead claim of land in section 6, of Empire township,

WILLIAM P. ROSE AND FAMILY.

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which was the last quarter-section in the town- ship. He has resided there since that date, and now owns three quarter-sections in section 6, and one quarter-section in section 7, of Empire township. His land is good and well improved, and he is en- gaged in general farming and cattle and sheep cult- ure, meeting with remarkable success.

Our subject was married, in 1887, to Miss Ellen E Ellis, a native of Canada. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rose, as follows : Laura L., Viola E., Eleda M., Mary M., and Ogden E. Mr. Rose is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Brotherhood of American Yeo- men, and is widely and favorably known. He is a Republican in political faith and stands firm for his convictions, but has never sought public prefer- ment. A group portrait of our subject and his fam- ily is a valuable addition to this work.

JAMES DUNPHY, county superintendent of schools of Rolette county, is one of the men who have guided the organization and developments of the best interests of the county, and given their en- ergies to those public enterprises in which the peo- ple at large are so vitally interested.

Mr. Dunphy is a native of Nova Scotia, born at Sidney, June 4, 1841. He was the tourth child in a family of eleven children born to Wiliam and Rachel ( Wilkie) Dunphy. The father was of Irish parentage, and the mother was a native of Scotland. The father was born in New Foundland, and became captain of a trading vessel. James accompanied him on many voyages, until about the age of sixteen years, when the family moved to the interior, and settled in Ontario. Here the father soon passed away, leaving the widow and her large family in very straightened circumstances. They kept together, however, and securing land, managed to tide over the trying times. James was injured at the age of seventeen years, by falling from a horse, and being incapacitated for heavy work, he devoted much of his time to study, and at the age of twenty-two, se- cured a teacher's certificate and began teaching. Paying his way by teaching, he took a course at Woodstock College, and later graduated from the Toronto Normal School.

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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 165

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