Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 168

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

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CAPT. PETER LA TOURETTE is now living in retirement in the village of Lakota, and in one of the well known and honored residents of Nelson county. He was engaged in farming near Peters- burg. Nelson county, many years, and but recently disposed of his interests in land there, and now en- joys a well earned rest from active pursuits.

Our subject was born in Orange county, New York, June 8, 1834, and was the fourth in a family of seven children, born to Jacob and Caty (Trem- per) La Tourette. The families of both parents have been in America since colonial times, and the father's family came to America in 1685, from France after the edict of Nantes. Our subject's mother was of the family of Ten Eyck, who were known as the hrst Holland family to settle in New York. The LaTourette family are blacksmiths for many generations, and our subject and his son fol- lowed in the footsteps of the forefathers, making seven generations of workers of iron.

Mr. LaTourette was reared on a farm and fol- lowed the blacksmith's trade, and he was captain of Company G, Nineteenth New York Militia, and in May, 1862, was mustered into the service, and served til the fall of that year when he returned home and met with an accident which crushed his limb, and he was then unable to rejoin his regiment, which was re-organized as the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth New York. His father died in 1879, and our sub- ject then conducted the farm about one year and then removed to New York city and worked at his trade until failing health decided him in trying the north- west. He went to Polk county, Minnesota, in 1882, and assumed management of a well stocked farm, and operated the same until 1884. He took land in 1882 in section 27, in Nash township, Nelson county, and built a small shanty thereon, which he com- pleted in time to shelter himself, three companions and a team of mules from a severe storm during that fall. He took up his residence in Nash township permanently in 1884, and at once developed a grain stock farm and lived entirely different from most farmers of the early days in Dakota, planting trees, vegetables, and kept plenty of chickens and stock, and during the severe winters which followed found themselves amply provided for from their own place, and they were one of two families in Nash township who remained in the country. He recently disposed of this farm in Nelson county, and makes his home at Lakota.

Our subject was married, in 1855, to Miss Han- nah Newkirk,, a native of New York. Five chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. LaTourette, who are named as folows: Mary, now Mrs. George Dickson, of Grand Forks; Peter, farmer in Nash township; Hamlet, mechanical engineer ; Margaret and Ten Eyck, farming in Nash township. The daughter, Margaret, has been thoroughly identified with the educational interests of Nelson county. She filed claim to land in Nelson county, whereon she built a shanty, and in 1888 began teaching at which profession she has been engaged until the

year 1900. She taught in Petersburg and taught the first school in Nash township, the school room being her father's claim shanty, and tar paper served as a blackboard. Miss LaTourette is a mem- in the Lakota school two and a half years, and with her retirement from the school room Nelson county loses from her list of educators one of the pioneer teachers of the locality. Mr. LaTourette is a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and polit- ically is a Republican.

JAMES A. TYVAND, a leading merchant of Pierce county, located at Barton, has been intimately connected with the growth and development of that section of the state from its first settlement.

Mr. Tyvand was born in Wisconsin on a farm, May 4, 1868. His father, James P. Tyvand, was born in Sanikedal, Norway, and came to America in 1843. He was a farmer all his life. . The mother, Ande Jacobson, was also born in Norway in upper Telemarkin, and came to America prior to her mar- riage.

James A. Tyvand is the youngest in a family of ten children born to the worthy couple above men- tioned. Six of the children are now living. The parents died when James was fourteen years of age, up to which time he had lived in Wisconsin. He then went to live with a brother in Northwood, Worth county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood. He attended the Decorah Institute of Decorah, Iowa, graduating from the business department at the age of nineteen years. He then came to North Dakota, and took up land in Benson county. He erected a shanty, and began work. He rented land and raised a crop in 1888, which yielded nine bushels to the acre. He then farmed his own land for three years, and rented it out the two years following. In the meantime he went to Wisconsin and secured a po- sition at Stewart, in that state, returning, however, and taking a position in a general store at Leeds, North Dakota. In the spring of 1893 he came to Pierce county, and purchased a general store in Bar- ton, which had been established by Christ Evanson several years before. The building was 20x32 feet, and the stock small. By good business judgment and attention to details of his trade his patronage has constantly increased, and his stock, which has been increased to several times its former propor- tions, now occupies a store 20x52, with a warehouse 20x38 feet. He has a valuable trade, and his hon- esty, energy and business acumen have placed him in the front ranks of the business men of the county.

Mr. Tyvand was married, in 1898, to Miss Ade- laide McGuire. Mrs. Tyvand was born in the state of New York, and is the daughter of Patrick Mc- Guire, a farmer of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Tyvand have one child, James A., born January 25. 1900. Mr. Tyvand is a Republican in political be- lief, and has been an active member of his party in the county. He has attended numerous conven-

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tions of his party, and has taken an active part in public affairs since coming to the state. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is held in high esteem by all who know him. In addition to his mercantile and other property interests, he owns five hundred acres of land in Pierce county, three hundred and fifty of which is cultivated annually, grain raising receiving most of his attention in this department of his business.

HON. CHARLES E. GREGORY. The pro- fession of law is well represented in North Dakota, and practical skill and theoretical knowledge place many in the foreground, and a prominent place among that number is accorded the gentleman herein named. He has been associated intimately with the development of the state and is one of the pioneer attorneys and enjoys a growing profesional patron- age both in his own home, and irom abroad.

Our subject was born in Nauvoo, Hancock county, Illinois, in 1858. His father, Edwin Greg- ory, was an American, and was a farmer by occupa- tion. The family has been in America many gen- erations and have served in all the wars of this country, the great-grandfather, Peter Gregory, serv- ing in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Annie Lane. She was of Scotch descent and her family settled in America prior to the Revolution.

Mr. Gregory was the eldest in a family of three children, and was reared in Rochelle, Illinois, and attended the public schools there, and later gradu- ated from the State University of Illinois, with the degree of B. A. He later graduated from the Union College of Law in Chicago, in 1880, with the degree of B. L. He went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1880 and was employed in the office of Senator Frank Pettigrew, and in 1882 went to Car- rington, North Dakota, where he established a law and land office, and was appointed clerk of the dis- trict court. He was active in the organization of Foster county, and took a homestead where the town of New Rockford now stands, and it was largely through his efforts that the county was divided into Foster and Eddy counties. In 1887 he went to Mi- not, and there engaged in the practice of his pro- fession exclusively, and while residing there was elected states attorney of Ward county, and served two terms, and then served four years in the state senate. He held the office of grand chancellor of North Dakota in the Knights of Pythias lodge while there, and was prominent in social and business affairs of that region. He went to Fargo, Nortil Dakota, in 1895, and practiced law there until the spring of 1898, when he enlisted in the Rough Riders, and was commissioned captain of Troop G, of Grigsby's Rough Riders. During the time of their encampment in Georgia they met with severe losses by disease, and at times there were hardly enough well men to care for the sick. He served five months, and then returned to North Dakota,

and took up the practice of his profession in Dick- inson in the summer of 1899. He enjoys an increas- ing practice and is one of the rapidly rising attor- neys of the state.

Our subject was married, in the summer of 1899, to Helen L. Drake, a native of Marshall, Minne- sota. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory are the parents of one child, who bears the name of Helen, and was born at St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Gregory was a candi- date before the Republican convention for nomina- tion for attorney general of North Dakota in 1894, and in 1900 was the nominee of the Republican party for state's attorney of Stark county. He is prominent in secret society circles and is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Masonic fraternity, and has passed the thirty-second degree in the last named order.

THOMAS E. LEWIS can claim the distinction of being the first permanent settler of Gilby town- ship, Grand Forks county, North Dakota, and his long residence here has made him thoroughly famil- iar with all the details of the history of his county and state, and none can tell better the story of its development and progress.

Mr. Lewis was born in Oswego county, New York, August 23, 1852. Edward and Caroline (Jones ) Lewis were his parents, and they were both natives of England, and came to the United States about the year 1850. They settled in Oswego county, New York, and the father followed his trade of stone and brick mason. The family removed to Stillwater, Minesota, and thence to St. Croix county, Wisconsin, about 1855, and there the father worked at his trade for many years. In 1881 the parents came to Gilby, North Dakota, where the mother still lives, the father having died in Octo- ber, 1899. They had three sons and four daughters, one of the latter being now deceased. One son is at present in the Klondyke.

Thomas E. Lewis grew to manhood and was educated in Wisconsin. From that state he came to Polk county, Minnesota, in 1877, and purchased railroad land, and lived upon it for two years. Then in 1879, shortly before any other settlers had ar- rived, he located in Gilby township, Grand Forks county, North Dakota, taking land on section 11 of that township, where he has resided continuously since. He now owns a half-section of land, and has converted it into one of the most valuable and at- tractive estates in the county.

Mr. Lewis was married, in 1895, to Miss Rosa Kline. Mrs. Lewis is a native of the state of New York. To this union three children have been born, namely: Warren, Pearl and an infant un- named ; all are living. Mr. Lewis is a Republican in his political belief, and has taken active part in public affairs of his county. He assisted in the or- ganization of Gilby township, and has served as a member of the township board and of the school board, and has filled other local offices. He is a

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member of the M. W. A., and is widely known throughout the county, and has the respect and es- teen of all.

ANDREW J. AMES, a prominent attorney of Towner, North Dakota, is now serving as states attorney of McHenry county, and is an efficient and popular public official.

Our subject was born in Byron Center, New York, January 18, 1838. His father, Charles Ames, was a shoemaker and farmer and the family are of English descent. Jonathan Higby, the mother's ancestor, came to America prior to the French and Indian war in this country. The grandfather of our subject, Isaac Ames, was an American sea cap- tain, and took part in the early wars. The parents of our subject were married in the state of New York, and of their family of nine children our sub- ject was the eldest. He was reared on a farm in Seneca county, Ohio, and attended the common schools, and later an academy. He began for him- self when he was eighteen years of age, and April 18, 1861, he enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Ohio Vol- unteers. They were sent to West Virginia and the first engagement was at Phillippi, and he was through West Virginia and Virginia, and partici- pated in the battle of Cedar Mountain, Chan- cellorsvile, Antietam, South Mountain, Fred- ericksburg and Gettysburg. He then left the Army of the Potomac and went to Folly Island, off Charleston Harbor, and he assisted in taking Fort Craig, and also in the bombardment of Fort Sumter and Batteries B and C. The regiment then veteranized, and then went back to the sea coast in South Carolina, and took part in the sea coast de- fense, and opened communication with Sherman's army. They participated in all the minor engage- ments in the rear of Sherman's army, including Honey Hill, and the regiment remained in South Carolina until July, 1866, when they were dis- charged. Our subject was in active service five and a half years, and was wounded several times. At Chancellorsville he was wounded and was in the hospital eight months, and later received a sabre wound in the head at Rappahannock Ford, and was later wounded at Gettysburg. From one of these wounds the ball has never been extracted. He re- turned to the carpenter's trade in 1866, and in the spring of the following year settled in Douglas county, Minnesota, with his family. He followed farming there five years, and in 1870 was elected register of deeds, and re-elected twice, serving six years in that capacity. He was appointed jus- tice of the peace in 1871, and held the office eleven years. He studied law and was admitted to the bar December 7, 1878, and practiced some in Minnesota, and in 1886 he went to Fargo, North Dakota, and engaged in his profession there, and was admitted to the North Dakota bar in September, 1886. He went to Towner in October, 1888, and established the pioneer law office of McHenry county. He

was appointed legal advisor for the board of county commissioners and in the fall of 1889 was elected state's attorney. He resigned, and was again elected in 1892, and resigned the office. He was re-elected in 1896, and again in 1898, and is now serving the last part of two terms in that office. He has built up a good practice in his profession.

Our subject was married, in 1864, to Miss Phœbe Harford, a native of New York, and a daughter of a farmer. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ames, who is named Mary J. Mrs. Ames died in 1886. Mr. Ames is a member of the G. A. R., and has held numerous offices in the post. He is a Republican politically, and is prominent in the affairs of his party, and is chairman of the county central committee, and attends all conventions.

JOHN S. HOCKING, a prosperous and highly esteemed farmer of Cass county, makes his home in section 34 in Empire township, and is one of the pioneers of that locality. He has acquired a fine estate through honest industry, and stands fore- most in his calling.

Our subject was born in Cornwall, England, June 24, 1846, and was a son of Edmund and Tabitha (Bennetts) Hocking, both of whom were natives of Cornwall. His father was a tin miner and passed his life in England, and the mother died there in 1896. Four sons and three daughters were born to them, our subject being the only one of the fani- ily in the United States. The family is one of the oldest and best known in England. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Hocking, was a soldier under Wellington at Waterloo and was awarded several medals during his service for bravery.

Mr. Hocking was reared and educated in his native isle until nineteen years of age, and in 1866 came to America, landing at New York. He located in New Haven county, Connecticut, and worked there as a miner one year and then went to North Carolina, where he worked in the copper and gold mines, and in 1868 went to Lake Superior, in the copper mines of Michigan, and remained thus en- gaged until the spring of 1878, when he went to Cass county, and began farming. He entered claim to land in section 4, of Wheatland township, as a homestead, and later took land as a tree claim in Empire township, in section 34, where he has resided continuously ever since. The land was all wild at the time he settled thereon and there was but one settler between his place and Cas- selton. Mr. Hocking is now the owner of two and a quarter sections of land, all of which is under plow, and he has met with unbounded success in his vocation.

Our subject was married, in 1870, to Miss Mary Matters, a native of Devonshire, England. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hocking, named as follows, Ella, now Mrs. R. S. Smith ; Jen- nie, now Mrs. Walker; Edmund, Samuel, Richard. John, William, Thomas, Harry and Isaac Newton.

JOHN S. HOCKING.

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Mr. Hocking is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has filled various local offices in the township and has been chairman of the town1- ship board for many years. He is progressive and intelligent and works earnestly for the better interests of his community and well merits his high standing. Politically he is a Republican. A por- trait of Mr. Hocking is found in this publication.

PATRICK BERRIGAN, an agriculturist of prominence in Levant township, is deserving of mention in the history of Grand Forks county, as he was one of its pioneer settlers. His home is on section 31, where he has surrounded himself with the comforts and conveniences of modern country life.

Mr. Berrigan was born in Quebec, Canada, Jan- uary 15, 1835. His parents, Patrick and Mary (Cullen) Berrigan, were natives of Ireland. The father came to America about the year 1818, and passed the remainder of his life in Quebec. He had a family of five sons and one daughter, three of the sons being now deceased. Our subject and sister are residents of the United States.

Mr. Berrigan was reared in Quebec, and worked on the farm until 1878. In that year he came to Grand Forks county, North Dakota, and took a homestead claim on section 24, Levant township, filing his claim in 1878, thus becoming a pioneer of the township. He located on his claim the follow- ing year, and resided there until 1885, when he oc- cupied his present home on section 31. He made many valuable improvements and is the owner of one of the best homes in the county.

Mr. Berrigan was married, in 1858, to Mariah Laley. Mrs. Berrigan was born in Ontario, Can- ada. Her parents, Thomas and Mary (O'Connor ) Lahey, were natives of Ireland, and emigrated to Canada in 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Berrigan are the parents of nine children, named as follows : Thomas, Stephen, Cecelia, Theresa, Jennie, Margaret, Eliza- beth, Minnie and Annie. The members of the family are communicants of the Catholic church. Mr. Berrigan, while doing his duty as a citizen and member of the community, has never entered act- ively into political affairs. He has established for himself and family a good and comfortable home, and he is well known and esteemed for his integrity and upright character. Mr. Berrigan assisted in the organization of the first school in the district in which he lives, and has been a member of the school board since that time, fourteen years.

EMMEL F. MESSERSMITH. No one of the citizens of Stark county is better known or more highly respected than Mr. Messersmith. He is en- gaged in stock raising and real estate business, and has followed various pursuits in North Dakota, all with the most successful results. His active pub- lic spirit is commendable, and he enjoys popularity 49

for the active part he has taken in the development of Dickinson and vicinity, and many of the public en- terprises of Stark county are traceable to his in- fluence and hearty support.

Our subject was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1845. His father, George Messersmith, was born in Hesse, Germany, and was a weaver by trade. He came to America about 1840. He had eleven brothers and one sister, and they all came to America and the brothers took part in the Civil war, some on the Confederate side and some on the Union side. Two brothers were killed in the Confederate ser- vice. The great-grandfather of our subject, Joe Rinehart, was among the Hessians captured by Washington, and his stay in America covered eiglit years, when he returned to Germany. The family of Messersmiths came to America in 1801 or 1802.

Our subject was the second in a family of five children, and at the age of fourteen years left home and earned his own livelihood. He served with the troops in the rebellion on the army transports from Galveston to New Orleans, and up all the trib- utaries of the Mississippi in the south, and up the Ohio, Red, Mississippi 'and Missouri rivers into Minnesota and Montana, and spent five years in this service. He was an eye-witness when the boat Sultana with two thousand four hundred troops was blown up. After the close of the war he went to Iowa and established a butcher business at Straw- He berry Point, and continued there three years. went to Minnesota in 1870 and established his fanı- ily in a home in St. Paul, and then began railroad work for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and was with different construction men from St. Paul to Glendive, Montana, and followed this oc- cupation from 1870 to 1881. He was in Fargo be- fore a house was built, and when soldiers had to protect the graders along the line of railroad in Da- kota. He put up the first sign in Jamestown on the Jamestown Hotel, which was a large tent, and the town was then called James River Crossing. In 188t Mr. Messersmith settled with his family at Dickinson. The railroad company built a small portable shack and our subject conducted the first eating house there for the accommodation of pas- sengers on the Northern Pacific Railroad, and con- tinued the business two years until the dining car service was established on that line. In 1883 he shipped the first bunch of cattle into Stark county, and continued the stock business until 1886, when he engaged in the flour and feed business and re- mained thus engaged about thirteen years. He dis- posed of the business in the summer of 1899, and now devotes his attention to stock raising and the real estate business. He has followed the fornier most of the time in which he engaged in the four and feed business, and he conducts the same on an extensive scale, and has made a success. He was among the first settlers of Stark county, and was the first business man of Dickinson, and built the first residence in the town. He spent much time and and means in research for clays for brick and pot -

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tery manufacture, and through his efforts a brick plant is now in operation in Dickinson.

Our subject was married, in 1870, to Miss Ber- tha Gupser, a native of Missouri. Her father, Mi- chael Gupser, was a capitalist. He was of Swiss descent and the mother was of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. Messersmith are the parents of five chil- dren, who are named as follows: Rose, Carrie, Jos- eph, Emma and Jessie. Mr. Messersmith is promi- nent in local affairs, and was instrumental in getting the county of Stark enlarged. He is a Republican politically, and is firm in his convictions.

DR. SID O. MORGAN, a prominent physi- cian, agriculturist and business man of Glen Ullen and Morton county, has the distinction of being the first physician in western Morton county. He is also serving as postmaster of Glen Ullen. Dr. Mor- gan was born in Brecksville, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, February 24, 1841. His father, Consider Morgan, was a farmer by occupation, and was a descendant of a Welsh family that settled in Connecticut be- fore the Revolutionary war, and afterwards emi- grated to New York state. His father, Dr. Isaac Morgan, was a physician of Cuyahoga county. The mother of our subject, Mrs. Consider Morgan (nee Nancy Gleason ), was a native of Stark county, Ohio, and was of Irish and Welsh descent. Her father was of Irish lineage, and his parents were married in Ohio.

Sid O. was the fifth child in a family of nine children. He was reared on a farm, and had plenty of hard work to do. He attended the public and select schools of the neighborhod, and in 1859 went to Illinois, where he taught school and worked on the farm for two years. In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served for three months, principally at Cairo, Illi- nois. He re-enlisted, this time in Company B, Thir- ty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was en- gaged in his first fight in Arkansas. He served all through Mississippi, was at the siege of Vicksburg. at Arkansas Post, and the capture of Mobile in 1865. He was engaged in twenty-one engagements, serv- ing four years, eight months and twenty-three days. In the meantime he was made captain of Company E, Forty-eighth United States Colored Troops, and served in that capacity two years. His last battle was the assault on Blakesley. Alabama. April 9, 1865, at 5 p. m. He was mustered out January 4, 1866.

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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 168

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