Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 170

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

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Our subject was married, in 1889. to Miss Eliza- beth Hesketh. Mr. and Mrs. Partridge are the parents of six children, named as follows : Arthur T., Harold, one child deceased. Roderick, Sylvia and Cecil. Mr. Partridge served three months in the North Dakota National Guards. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Knights of the Maccabees. He has always taken a most hearty interest in public matters of local importance and framed the petition for the organization of Ro- lette county. Politically Mr. Partridge is a Demo- crat and favors prohibition and is a gentleman who keeps pace with the times and casts his influence

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for good government and supports any enterprise which tends to strengthen the social or financial life of Rolette county.

SAMUEL LEESON, whose home is on sec- tion 2, Levant township, is one of the pioneers of the township and a well-known resident of Grand Forks county.

Mr. Leeson was born in Ontario, Canada, March 1, 1837. His parents were Richard and Annie ( Horton ) Leeson, both natives of Wexford, Ireland. They came to Canada in an early day and passed the remainder of their lives there. They had seven sons and one daughter, our subject being the only one of the children in North Dakota.

Samuel Leeson was reared in Canada and re- mained there until 1867, when he came to the United States and took up his residence in Mitchell county, Iowa. In 1879 he came to Grand Forks county and filed a claim to a tract of land in sec- tion II, Levant township, where he resided many years. He now lives on section 2. He came among the earliest settlers of the township. He is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land, and has it under a state of good cultivation, and has added many improvements and conveniences which go to make a model country home.

Mr. Leeson was married, in 1860, in Canada, to Rhoda Errett, a native of Ireland, who came to Canada with her parents when a child. To this union five children have been born, namely : George, Robert, Alice, Samuel, Jr., and Foss. The family worship with the congregation of the Methodist Episcopal church. In political views Mr. Leeson is a Republican and has been active in public matters. He assisted in the organization of the township and was chosen one of its first offi- cers. He has served as justice of the peace of his township for many years.

CAPT. FREDERICK W. PETTES is one of the prosperous and extensive farmers of section 35, in Lakota township, Nelson county. He is a native of Pulaski, Oswego county, New York, and was born October 16, 1841.

Mr. Pettes is the oldest child and only son born to Colonel William H. and Sophronia (Mansfield) Pettes, both of whom are deceased. The father was a native of Vermont and was a graduate of West Point. He died February 29, 1880, and the mother died in 1858. The father was a surveyor and civil engineer and during much of his life was in the employ of the government. When our sub- ject was a young boy the family moved to Buffalo, New York, and there he was educated, in 1858 entered Perry Academy, in Wyoming county, New York, and in 1860 entered Bellville Academy, Jef- ferson county, New York. At the outbreak of the Civil war he assisted in raising a company at Perry,

New York, and was elected ensign, but the company was not mustered in and soon disbanded, when our subject enlisted in Company D, First New York Lincoln Cavalry, with the rank of private, and was transferred to the Fifteenth New York Engineers and was assigned to Company D. He was in the recruiting service, and during the winter of 1801-2 he was sick and rejoined his regiment in the spring with the rank of second lieutenant. He partici- pated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancel- lorsville, and was at engineer duty and often in the rifle pits and was in the battle of the Wilder- ness, acting as first lieutenant in the third day of the battle and served on the firing line. He then followed the Mine Run expedition and in April, 1864, he was commissioned captain, although he had served for nearly a year in that capacity prior to receiving the official papers. He was mustered out of the service July 8, 1865, after a service of over four years. Returning from the war, Mr. Pettes farmed in Wyoming county and soon after- ward went to Washington and took government contracts for public work near Washington and on the Ohio river, and in 1884 assumed charge of his father-in-law's farm. He disposed of his Eastern interests in March, 1888, and went to Da- kota with Mr. C. A. Hall, and purchased land about a mile southeast of Lakota, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres of valuable and well-improved land. They removed to Dakota owing to the ill health of Mrs. Pettes, who has gained greatly in North Dakota, and they now enjoy good health and prosperity.

Mr. Pettes was married, in the early '6os, to Miss Florence Atkins, a daughter of Rev. M. R. Atkins, president of Perry Academy, New York. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pettes, named as follows: William, now living in New York City ; Charles, engaged in the real estate business in Lakota; Anna married James White and is now deceased; Elenor, a teacher ; Robert, teaching, and Harry, working the home farm. Mr. Pettes is a member of the G. A. R., and has twice been commander of the local post. He is a member of the Republican party and served six years as secretary and treasurer of the county Re- publican central committee.

HON. JAMES JOHNSON, a prominent and influential citizen of Miuot, Ward county, is a pio- neer settler of North Dakota, and has gained for himself a remunerative business and an enviable reputation. He is actively engaged in various pur- suits, and is one of the extensive agriculturists of the county, owning the most extensive farm, and con- ducts cattle raising on a large scale. He is one of leading attorneys of his locality, and has long been at the head of the Ward county bar.

Our subject was born on a farm in Denmark, May 1, 1850, and was the fourth in a family of eight children. He attended the country and high

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schools and at the age of fourteen years went to sea. At the age of eighteen he was drafted into the Danish navy and served eighteen months. He came to America in 1872, landing at New York, and went at once to Ottertail county, Minnesota, where he became a pioneer and engaged in farını- ing and lumbering there until 1882, conducting an estate of four hundred acres. He settled at Lis- bon, Ransom county, North Dakota, during the winter of 1882-83 and in the spring located at Burlington, Ward county, and was the first settler of that locality. He hauled lumber from Bismarck, the nearest railroad station, one hundred and fifty miles distant. He continued his farming there and in 1885 Burlington was made the county seat. Mr. Johnson and his father-in-law, Joseph L. Col- ton, were active in the organization of the county, and they owned the town site of Burlington and were active in building the town. Our subject was admitted to the bar in 1889 and established his office in Minot in 1888 when the county seat was located there. He was appointed clerk of the district courts in the spring of 1886 and in 1889 was elected county judge and served one term. He was elected to the state senate in 1890 and served in that capacity one term and proved him- self a faithful and efficient member of that body. He was appointed state's attorney in 1892 and has has been re-elected three times since that date, serv- ing eight years in that office. He has built up a good practice in his profession and has a good farm at the junction of the river Des Lacs and Mouse river and extends two miles along the river, cov- ering over one thousand acres of meadow, tim- ber and valley land.

Our subject was married, in 1879, to Miss Ida J. Colton, a native of St. Lawrence county, New York. Mrs. Johnson is a daughter of Joseph L. Colton, whose ancestors came to America in the Mayflower in 1620. They were of English descent and took part in the Revolutionary war and also the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of seven children, named in order of birth as follows: Arthur, Carrie, Effie, Harvey, Rolla, George and Grace. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is active in public affairs in Ward county, and being one of the earli- est pioneers of that region has gained a good degree of popularity as a developer of the country. In 1878 he assisted in the erection of the first shack on the present town site of Lisbon, North Dakota.

MARTIN O. DYVSVEN is one of the promi- ment and prosperous merchants of Taylor, Stark county. He is a pioneer settler of North Dakota and has aided materially in the upbuilding of the business and social interests of the locality in which he has made his home. He follows the general merchandise business in partnership with C. H. Engen, H. Halvorson and Louis Bergon, and has full charge of the establishment, as the other men-

bers of the firm are engaged in other pursuits. The business has prospered under Mr. Dyvsven's guid- ance and control.

Mr. Dyvsven was born in the central part of Norway, January 20, 1865. His father, Ole Ole- son, is a native of Norway, and still resides there, as is also the mother, whose maiden name was Siri Madson. Our subject is the oldest in a family of six children and was raised on a farm and received a limited education. At the age of sixteen years he began to learn the carpenter's trade and spent five years as an apprentice and then followed his trade in Norway until he came to America, in 1888. He went from New York to Minnesota and spent a year and a half there at his trade and then went to West Superior, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1891 and followed his trade there until the spring of 1893, when he came to North Dakota. He settled at Taylor and established in the lumber busi- ness and conducted the first regular lumber yard in the town and continued in that business until 1899. The mercantile business in which he is now in- terested was established in February, 1898, and dur- ing the past year or two Mr. Dyvsven has devoted his attention to that line of business, having dis- posed of the lumber yard to L. T. Louis in 1899. The store is one of the largest in the west end of the county and carries a stock amounting to ten thousand dollars, including groceries, dry goods, shoes, clothing, etc.

Mr. Dyvsven was among the pioneers of Tay- lor and has done his full share in its upbuilding and commands the esteem of all with whom he has to do. He is a Republican politically and takes a hearty interest in the affairs of his township and county.

CHARLES H. HONEY. The development and growth of Park River, Walsh county, and vicinity, is due in a large measure to the faithful efforts to- ward this end put forth by the subject of this review, whose portrait appears elsewhere. Mr. Honey has been a resident of that locality since the early set- tlement of that region and was instrumental, with others, in getting the railroad line through Park River and consequently building up the town, and he has also personally added to the improvements of the place by setting shade trees, and doing other services in the town and he is recognized as a lead- ing and influential citizen. He has two fine farms near the city and also has a comfortable home within the city limits.

Our subject was born in Biddeford, England, May 31, 1830, and when twenty-two years of age. in 1852, came to Canada and followed the carriage- maker's trade there for several years, and then en- gaged in the manufacture of fanning mills and also operated a planing-mill and dealt in lumber. He remained there until 1879, and in the fall of that year went to Dakota territory and located land on Park river, in Kensington township, Walsh county,

CHARLES H. HONEY

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and then returned to Canada. He made permanent settlement on his land in 1880, and was actively engaged in farming his land until 1885, when he removed to Park River, as its first postmaster, where he has since resided.

Our subject was married, in Ontario county, Canada, to Miss Susan Wadge, a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Honey are the parents of six living children, as follows: William F .; George F .; Sarah E., now Mrs. Thomas Catherwood; Edith V., now Mrs. M. E. Quigley ; Florence M., now Mrs. George E. Towle, and Beatrice H. Two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Honey died in infancy and were buried in Canada. One daughter, Ada Jane, died in Park River, North Dakota, at the age of nineteen years. While residing on his farm in Kensington township, Mr. Honey was appointed postmaster of the Kensington postoffice, which was later trans- ferred to Park River, and he held the office for several years and was an efficient and popular officer. He was again appointed postmaster by President Harrison and held the office four years. He served as chairman of the board of supervisors when Ken- sington township was organized and held that office five years, and has been justice of the peace and police magistrate of Park River since 1887. He was nominated on the Republican ticket for the state legislature in the fall of 1898, but was de- feated in the election by the fusionists. He is a Republican politically and an earnest worker for party principles. In religious work he takes a most hearty interest and is active in Sunday school work. He has been a Christian from his boyhood days and has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since seventeen years of age.

JOHN W. HARRISON. Among the Cana- dian people who have made their homes in Grand Forks county, and by their energy and good man- agement added to the wealth and prosperity of the county, and by their law-abiding and orderly con- duct raised the standard of good citizenship in the state, none is more deserving of mention than the gentleman whose name introduces this article. He is a pioneer of Levant township, on section 17 of which he still resides.

Mr. Harrison was born in Ontario, Canada, June 26, 1845. His parents were William and Louisa (Watts) Harrison, the former a native of Wexford, Ireland, and the latter of Somerset county, England. The father emigrated to Can- ada about the year 1830 and is still living there, at the age of eighty-six years. He has four sons and three daughters, our subject being the only one of the children in North Dakota.

John W. Harrison was reared to the age of thirteen years at his home in Canada. At that age he ran away and began steamboating on the St. Lawrence river and the Great Lakes, and fol- lowed that calling for eighteen years, being em- ployed a good share of the time as engineer. In

1880 he came to Grand Forks county and filed a claim to a tract of land in section 17, Levant town- ship, where he now resides. He has made many improvements and has greatly enhanced the value of his farm. He has prospered and owns a half section of land and is one of the substantial agriculturists of his county.

Mr. Harrison was married in Canada, in 1877, to Miss Eliza Pritchard, who was born in London, England. To Mr. and Mrs. Harrison six chil- dren have been born, as follows: Edith, William, Herbert, Steadman, Grace and Elida. In his po- litical views Mr. Harrison is independent, and has given his support to such measures as he deems best calculated to advance the welfare of his fel- low men. He has never sought office. He as- sisted in organizing the first school in the district in which he lives and has been chairman of the board continuously for sixteen years.

C. F. EWALD ranks among the foremost mer- chants of Hebron, North Dakota, and is entitled to much credit for the share he has borne in the upbuilding of that locality. He went to North Dakota without means and braved the dangers of life in the Northwest in the early days and endured the hardships of pioneer life and is now one of the substantial and prosperous men of his community.

Mr. Ewald was born on a farm in the southern part of Germany, June 27, 1859, and lost his father, George Ewald, when he was but nine years of age. His mother bore the maiden name of Katie Ruff. Of a family of six children he was the youngest and he was raised on a farm and at the age of sev- enteen years began to learn the machinist's trade and when nineteen years of age started for himself. He worked in the largest cities of Germany, and at the age of twenty-two years entered the army and served in the artillery service three years and was then discharged with the rank of corporal. He followed railroad work six months in the shops and six months as fireman and in 1885 came to America, landing at New York. He visited his brother three months at St. Joe, Michigan, and in August, 1885, arrived at Hebron, North Dakota. He at once entered claim to government land and erected a frame shanty and with a team of oxen. which he took from Chicago, the largest team in the county, he began farming. His brother, Fred Ewald, was active in the establishment of the Hebron colony.

C. F. Ewald lived alone on the farm one year and in the spring of 1886 established a blacksmith shop in the town and followed the same there two yers and then moved the businesss to his farm two miles north of Hebron and continued his trade and farming there. He followed grain farming six years, with little success, and in 1891 began stock raising on a ranch thirty-five miles north of Hebron and was there engaged two years. He moved to Hebron in 1893 and conducted a hotel there six and a half

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years and then disposed of the business and in the fall of 1899 bought an interest in H. Halst Lumber Company, and is now manager of the business and handles lumber, grain and machinery. The busi- ness has proven a success and he has an office and three warehouses. During the early days he barely made a living and in 1887 he went to Bismarck and worked a few months on the Missouri river. The only team he had was mortgaged and one of them was killed by lightning. The Indian scare of that locality in 1890 also interfered with his business, when he took his wife to Hebron and there they and all the neighbors of that locality built a sod fort and remained until the excitement subsided.

Mr. Ewald was married, in August, 1886, to Miss Dora Pforr, who was born in northern Ger- many and came to America alone in 1883. Her father, Andreas Pforr, was a mason by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Ewald visited their native land in 1897 and spent six months abroad. Mr. Ewald is. a member of the Evangelical church and in po- litical sentiment is a Republican and prominent in party affairs.

WALTER T. WARNER, of Fargo, North Da- kota, is the fortunate owner of five hundred acres of land in Mapleton township, Cass county, and is widely known as an agriculturist of experience and an early settler of that locality. His portrait ap- pears in this work.

Our subject was born in Stormont county, On- tario, August 27, 1851, and was the eighth in a family of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, born to Adam and Marian (Hunter) Warner. His father was a native of Ontario and re- moved to St. Croix county, Wisconsin, where he died at the age of sixty-eight years. The mother of our subject passed away in Mapleton township, Cass county, North Dakota, at the age of seventy- four years.

Walter T. Warner was reared on his father's farm in Ontario till about seventeen years of age, when he removed with the family to St. Croix county, Wisconsin, and there he resided and was employed till the spring of 1877, when he went to Dakota. He entered claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land as a homestead and one hundred and sixty acres as a tree claim in Mapleton town- ship, Cass county, where he has since made his home. He has added to his possessions from time to time and his extensive farm, now comprising five hun- dred acres, is conducted with modern methods, and he has placed upon it valuable improvements, which entitle it to rank among the best properties in the township.

Our subject was married, in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, March 5, 1890, to Miss May H. Mc- Donald. Mrs. Warner was a native of Canada, and was the third in a family of thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, born to George and Frances A. (Harris) McDonald. Her parents

were natives of Ontario and went to Minnesota about 1882, and settled in Clay county, where they now reside. Four children have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Warner, named as fol- lows : Raymond D., Clifford H., Frederick W. and Mabel C. Mr. Warner is a man of good principal, thorough and systematic in his work, and is held in high esteem by all with whom he comes in con- tact.

HON. OLE I. HEGGE. To the assertion that the avenues to success and eminence are closed against the poor in these latter days, the gentleman whose biography is here given stands as a living refutation. From a position of honest toil he has risen by virtue of his own energy and integrity to a place of honor and prosperity, although he has yet scarcely reached the prime of life. As cashier of the First National Bank of Minnewaukon he has exhibited a rare degree of business ability and as a representative of the people he has shown a breadth of view and adherence to principle that we too often miss in our legislative halls.

Mr. Hegge was born near Hundorp, in Gud- brandsdalen, in Hamar Stift, Norway, December 12, 1869, and was the eldest of seven children born to Iver O. and Anne (Seielstad) Hegge, both resi- dents of Norway. Mr. Hegge was reared and ed- ucated in his native land and at the age of seven- teen years came to America and located at Crooks- ton, Minnesota, and during the same summer went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad. In the fall of 1887 he obtained a position as clerk in a bank at Pelican Rapids, and remained in that position until 1890. He then went to Wahpeton as assistant cashier in the Citizens' Bank of that city. He resigned in 1894 to accept a position in a bank in Jamestown, and in October, of the same year, came to Minnewaukon and organized the Benson County State Bank. This bank has recently been reorganized and is now the First National Bank of Minnewaukon, of which our subject is cashier.

Early in his career in this country Mr. Hegge identified himself with the Republican party and its principles and took an active interest in its suc- cess. He attended all county and state conventions of his party and in 1898 was elected state senator from his district, this being the first public position of a political nature he has held. In the senate he has served as a member of the committee on in- surance, the committee on education, the committee on state affairs, etc., and has always wielded an in- fluence in the interest of better government.

Mr. Hegge was married, in 1891, to Miss Rag- nild Svare. In a social way Mr. Hegge is popular in his community. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him, regardless of party fealty.

WALTER T. WARNER.

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JOHN RYON BARKER, one of the first set- tlers of Johnstown township, and one of the most prominent men in Grand Forks county, resides on section 20, of the above named township.

Mr. Barker was born in Elkland, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1842, and moved to Wellsborough in 1866. His parents were Joseph and Harriet (Ryan) Barker, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a machinist and inventor and they moved to Chicago in 1866. The mother died in 1874, the father in 1894. The grandfather, William Barker, was also a machinist and was a native of the state of Massachusetts. Our subject had two brothers and two sisters, of whom but one sister is now liv- ing, who makes her home in Chicago.

John R. Barker was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and there engaged in general mer- chandising and farming. In the winter of 1879 he took a homestead claim to the northeast quarter of section 20, Johnstown township, where he now resides. He has devoted his entire attention to agri- culture and has made a success of it. He follows diversified farming and pays much attention to stock -his cattle are of the Durham and Jersey breed and he has one or two thoroughbred Hambletonian horses for his own driving : his farm is noted for the manufacture of choice butter, which he ships weekly to St. Paul. He has all the necessary machinery for manipulating a model farm and large and con- venient barns for the housing of stock and farm products. He is also engaged in the grain and ele- vator business in Johnstown. He is now the owner of eleven hundred acres of valuable land in Grand Forks county and has a fine property and a home in the village of Johnstown supplied with all the comforts and conveniences of modern life. He was one of the first settlers in the township and among the first to erect a frame house. He assisted in the organization of Johnstown township and was one of the first school directors in his district. He was first postmaster and the postoffice and station and township were named for him.

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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 170

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