Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 175

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

USA > North Dakota > Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life > Part 175

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Dr. Scanlan was reared and educated in Wis- consin, in the high school, and also attended St. John's College for some time. He then taught school three years and then went to North Dakota in 1890, and located at Sanborn. He began read- ing medicine in 1891 and in 1893 entered Hamline University of Minnesota, in the medical department,

WILLIAM SCANLAN, M. D.

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and graduated from that institution in 1896, and the same year began the practice of his profession at Page, North Dakota. He follows a general practice and an enjoys an increasing patronage. He is rail- road surgeon for the Great Northern Railroad Com- pany and is a skillful operator and conscientious practitioner.

Our subject was married, in 1897, to Edith M. Mitchell, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. On child has been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Scan- lan, named Kenneth L. Dr. Scanlan is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Eastern Star and Modern Woodmen of America and is prominent in social circles.

DUGALD H. McARTHUR. Probably no man in Bottineau county has been more closely identified with its business development and growth than Du- gald H. McArthur, the prosperous druggist of Bot- tineau.

Mr. McArthur was born in Ontario, Canada, June 16, 1864. His father, Duncan McArthur, was born in Scotland in 1810, and was a shipbuilder on the Clyde. The mother of our subject, also a na- tive of Scotland, was born in 1820. Several of her relatives took part in the battle of Waterloo. Seven children were born to this worthy couple, all of whom, together with the parents, are now living in Bottineau county. There are five sons and two daughters, all but one of whom are married.

Mr. McArthur was reared on the farm in Can- ada, and attended the country schools. At the age of eighteen he obtained a position on a drug store at Toronto, and there learned the business. He ac- companied the family to North Dakota in 1885. The father took up farming, but our subject opened a drug business in the old town of Bottineau, it being one of the very first drug stores in that town. The next year he removed the building to the new town of Bottineau, and was the first man to begin busi- ness in the town, and sold the first goods ever sold there. His building was 14x18 feet. He removed to his present location in 1887, and the following year one of the worst fires that ever visited the town burned his building and stock, along with a num- ber of the best buildings in the town. His loss was total, having no insurance. He at once started in business again, and in 1892 again removed to his present location, having built a store 24x40 feet, with residence apartments in the rear. He carries a com- plete line of drugs, druggists' sundries and cigars, and has made his business a success from the start, and notwithstanding his severe loss by fire he has prospered steadily.

Mr. McArthur was married, in 1888, to Miss Amelia H. Knapp, of Hamilton, Ontario. Mrs. McArthur is an accomplished musician, and taught music for several years. Her parents are Cana- dians, the family having lived there for many gener- ations. To Mr. and Mrs. McArthur two children have been born, namely, Lottie and John. Mr. Mc-

Arthur is a Democrat, and has been active in public affairs since coming to the county. He was ap- pointed postmaster in 1895, and served three years, and has been either postmaster or deputy postmaster almost continuously since beginning business in the county. He is also a land owner, and in 1896 took government land, and went through the claim shanty experience along with other pioneers of the county. He is popular and highly esteemed throughout the county.

WELCOME J. HOLBROOK is well known in Pierce county as a prominent business man and farmer. He resides in Rugby, where he owns a fine residence property, and is also engaged in farm- ing in that vicinity, and also in grain buying.

Our subject was born in Ohio, on a farm in Union county, February 25, 1861. His father, C. B. Holbrook, was a farmer and Methodist Episco- pal minister, and the grandfather of our subject, Luther Holbrook, was of American birth and par- entage. Our subject's mother was of German de- scent, and her grandmother, Gearhart, came from Germany.

Our subject was the fifth in a family of seven children, four of whom grew to maturity. He was educated in the common schools, and was reared to farm work, and at the age of eighteen years started for himself. He began farming in Ne- braska. His father was a soldier in the Civil war, and served from 1863 to 1866 through Wyoming, Montana and the west. Finally he returned to Ohio and then went to Iowa and later to Nebraska. Our subject followed farming in that state eight years, but suffered loss of crops by hail and other causes, and in the spring of 1887 settled on government land seven miles southeast of the present town of Rugby. He built a shanty, and oxen and a span of mules were his first teams. The crop of 1888 was frosted and was a complete failure, but he remained on the farm five years and met with good success. He removed to Rugby in 1890, and engaged in grain buying at that station for the Farmers' Northwest Elevator Company, and was with this company three years, and was then employed by their suc- cessors, Heising Elevator Company, and has con- tinued in their employ since. He handles the larg- est amount of grain of any elevator in the town and does a paying business. He also follows farming, and has an estate covering four hundred and eighty acres of land, within one and a half miles of Rugby to the west. All the land is cultivated, and he lias a complete set of farm buildings thereon and it is one of the finest farms of the county. His resi-

dence in Rugby is located on a tract of land 100x300 feet, and is a pleasant and comfortable home.

Our subject was married at the age of twenty years to Miss Mattie Randolph, a daughter of D. B. Randolph, a native of Virginia. Her father was a cooper by trade and served in the Union army. Mrs. Holbrook was reared in Pittsburg. Nine children

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have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook, who are as follows : Bertie, teaching in Dakota ; Bessie, attending high school; Edna, Grace, Ruth, Ralphı, Fern, Donald, and an infant, unnamed. Mr. Hol- brook has held numerous city offices and takes an active part in prohibition movements. He is a Re- publican politically. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an offi- cer in the Grand Lodge of Good Templars.

OLE G. OLSON, of the firm of Olson & Pierce, is one of the prominent men of Nelson county, and is now serving as county register of deeds. He is an efficient officer and highly esteemed by all.

Our subject is a native of Freeborn county, Min- nesota, and was born September 21, 1860. He was the eldest in a family of seven children, born to Gut- torm and Martha (Millang) Olson, who are resi- dents of Minnesota. Our subject remained at home tintil he attained his majority and then went to the free lands of Dakota in the spring of 1882, and set- tled in Grand Forks. He took a pre-emption claim to land near Northwood, in Grand Forks county, and secured employment with Brooks Brothers, dealers in lumber and grain, and he remained with this firm six years. He made a trip to Nelson county in 1885, and the following year he and his brother-in- law began farming in partnership in Nelson county, in Melrose township, and in 1887 Mr. Olson se- cured land as a homestead and made his home in Melrose township until 1894, when he was elected to the office which he now holds. He now has farming lands to the extent of one thousand one hundred and thirty acres. A section of land is in Rochester township, some in Melrose and some in Michigan township. These farms, which are a valuable property, he continues to improve. He also has equities in other lands in different parts of the country. In 1898, in company with W. J. Pierce, he opened a set of abstract books and the firm of Olson & Pierce is one of the well known ab- stract and real estate firms of the city.

Our subject was married, in 1893, to Miss Eliza- betli Greene, a native of Canada. Mr. Olson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a man of active public spirit, and has served in various positions in his township, and is widely and favorably known. He is a Republican politi- cally and prominent in party affairs. He holds mem- bership in the Lutheran church, and is an exem- plary citizen and faithful public officer of Nelson county.

ROBERT MENZIES, proprietor of a fine farmi in section 26, of South Carlisle township, Pembina county, is a man of progressive ideas and energetic spirit, and has accumulated his handsome estate by clint of his own efforts. He was born in the prov- ince of Ontario, Canada, April 15, 1859.

The parents of our subject, Duncan and Annie

(McIntyre) Menzies, were born in Scotland, and the Menzies family is Highland Scotch and one of the old Scotch clans. Both parents are now de- ceased.

Our subject was the third in a family of eleven children, and was raised to a life of farming and woodcraft, and in the fall of 1880 the father settled in Dakota, where our subject went in the spring of 1881 and filed a homestead claim to land adjoining his father's farm, and also took land as a pre-emp- tion. He lived at home and worked with his fa- ther in common until 1886, when he erected a small house and began life on his own farm, and has con- tinued there since with good success. He engages in diversified farming, and since 1897 has devoted some attention to the raising of full blood Short Horns. Surface water is not plentiful on the place, but a good flow is obtained by an artesian well sunk to a depth of one hundred and forty feet, which throws the supply within four feet of the surface. Mr. Menzies has erected a comfortable and comnio- dious dwelling, and has furnished it with all mod- ern improvements, and the appointments of the home bespeak culture and refinement in every par- ticular.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Miss Rachel McConnell, a native of Canada. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Menzies, as follows : Roy P., Myrtle, Duncan A., Roberta D. and Harold B. The children are given the best educational advan- tages, and Mr. Menzies provides every advantage for mental improvement in his power and has a home of refinement and good cheer. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in re- ligious faith is a Baptist and a member of the church of that denomination. He served as assessor of his township for several years, and is earnest in his en- deavors toward the upbuilding of his community, and his success and good name are well merited.

FRED W. WARREN. Few men have been more bountifully rewarded by cultivating the land of the Red river valley than the gentleman whose name introduces this article. He now owns and operates seventeen hundred and eighty acres. most of which yields well, and he is one of the most ex- tensive farmers of Traill county. He has a home of more than usual comforts, in section 30, of North Mayville township, and has spared no pains in completing every detail of convenience and furnish- ings. Mr. Warren's portrait in this work will be received with pleasure by his many friends.

Our subject is a native of Vermont, and was born at Poultney. He and a younger sister con- stituted the family born to William W. and Jane (Robinson) Warren, both of whom resided near Mayville. North Dakota, until their deaths. His father was a soldier in the Civil war and was by occupation a farmer, and in 1878, at the request of J. L. and E. B. Grandin, took charge of the Mayville farm. He remained there as superintend-

FRED W. WARREN.

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ent during the rest of his career, and our subject was given employment on the farm and after a few years became overseer of a part and during the time he was thus engaged he secured three pieces of government land near Mayville. He took up his residence in section 30, in North Mayville town- ship, in 1888, where he still resides, and has pur- chased additional lands, his home farm now con- sisting of one thousand acres, and he also has a section of land northwest of Portland, all of which he personally oversees. His home is large and fur- nished with modern conveniences, including modern plumbing, hot and cold water, bath, etc. He has met with unbounded success and his land averages, in wheat, from fifteen to twenty-six bushels per acre. He raises an abundance of timothy hay and with about sixty acres of corn the question of feed for stock is well disposed of and every feature of the farm is carefully planned and carried out.

Our subject was married, in 1884, to Bertha Lee. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Warren, as follows: Lottie 1., Arthur W., Clarence H., Mary Josephine, George L., William W., Fred F., Frances and James M. William and Fred are twins. Mr. Warren is a man of broad ideas and politically is a Republican and supports prohibition. He is well known and held in the highest esteem by all with whom he comes in contact.

AUGUST H. THRUN is an honored resident of Lakota, Nelson county, where he is living in retire- ment, and enjoying the result of a well spent career. He is owner of a fine estate near the city, and for many years was actively engaged in its culture and development.

Our subject was born in Germany May 11, 1840, and was the fourth in a family of nine children born to Christian and Henrietta Thrumn, both of whom are now deceased. When our subject was sixteen years of age he came with his parents to America, and they settled in Rice county, Minnesota, and there he worked on a farm with his father until he attained his majority, and in the fall of 1861 he enlisted in Company I, Fourth Minnesota Regiment, and served three years, nine months and ten days, and his service is one of which he may well be proud. He was with his regiment in every engagement, which covered about twenty battles and skirmishes, among the most important of which were the follow- ing: Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge. and was with Sherman on his march to the sea and then through the Carolinas, and at Altoona he re- ceived an injury to one eye, by a splinter from breast works. He was discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, July 19, 1865, with the rank of corporal. Returning from the war, Mr. Thrun began farming in Rice county, Minnesota, and from there in the spring of 1885 went to Walsh county, North Dakota, where he had filed on a tree claim. He took a homestead in Sarnia township, Nelson county, and made that his home. His farm there now comprises eight hun-

dred acres of land, all of which is well improved, and he has an abundance of good water, and made a success of his farm work. He rented his farm in 1898 and with his wife removed to Lakota to en- joy the fruits of his labors as an agriculturist.

Mr. Thrun was married, in 1867, to Miss Char- lotte Hanes. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thrun, named as follows: Charles W., now engaged in ranching in North Dakota west of the Missouri river ; Zilpha L., now Mrs. C. W. Ty- ler, of St. James, Minnesota ; and Cynthia A., now Mrs. H. M. Simons, engaged in farming in Nelson county. Mr. Thrun is commander of G. K. Warren Post, No. 41, Grand Army of the Republic, and he is prominent in work of the order. He is a Repub- lican politically, and is an earnest worker for party principles.

ROBERT GORMAN, county sheriff of Mc- Henry county, and a resident of Towner, is one of the substantial and honored citizens of that locality. He is a pioneer settler of North Dakota, and has witnessed the growth and advancement of the com- munity in which he has made his home and is truly entitled to credit for the share he has taken in the same. He is proprietor of a fine farm near Towner, and engages extensively in stock raising with un- bounded success.

Our subject was born in western Ontario, Can- ada, on a farm in 1860. His father, George Gorman, was born in Ireland and came to America when a young man. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Margaret Craiton, and was born in Ireland and came to America when young. The parents were married in Canada, and of the eight children our subject was the seventh in order of birth. Mr. Gorman received limited school advan- tages, and assisted with the farm work. He went to Manitoba in 1881 where he entered claim to land and began farming. He built a small shanty and lived alone on the farm, and spent five years in an attempt to raise a crop, but failure met his every effort, and in 1886 he came to McHenry county, North Dakota, and located near the Mouse river, one-half mile east of the town of Towner. He had a limited start and built a small shanty and lived there alone two years, and his first crop was good. Crops failed in 1889 and 1890, and Mr. Gorman worked on the Great Northern Railroad west of Havre and into the Rocky mountains, spending two summers at this line of work. He engaged in grain raising and also stock raising to some extent. He now has a farm of four hundred and eighty acres under cul- tivation and one hundred and eighty acres devoted to stock raising. On his home farm he has a com- plete set of farm buildings, and has one of the best equipped farms of that region.

Our subject was married, in May, 1888. to Miss Amelia Hutton, a native of Minnesota, and a dangh- ter of Robert Hutton, a farmer and early settler of North Dakota. She is of Scotch descent, her par-

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ents being natives of Scotland. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gorman, named Samuel, who was born in 1889. Mr. Gorman was elected sheriff in the fall of 1892, and re-elected in 1896, and in 1898, and is now serving his third term in that office. He is an active member of the Republican party, and is firm in his convictions. He holds member- ship in the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Gorman has experienced pioneer life in North Da- kota, and has faced many of the storms of that re- gion. In 1895, with his wife and son, he was over- taken by a blizzard, and after a long search through the storm succeeded in finding the court house in Towner and was there sheltered from the storm. He has remained in McHenry county despite his experiences, and is now one of the solid men of that locality and is deservedly popular as a citizen.

JAMES M. HOWSER, residing on section 14 in illinois township, Nelson county, is one of the pioneer farmers of that locality, and with his three sons conducts a farmi of one section of land. He is a native of Spencer county, Kentucky, and was born February 22, 1834, and was the third child and oldest son, born to Joshua and Rebecca (Miller ) Howser, both of whom are deceased. The father died in September, 1896, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. The Howser family were orig- inally settlers in Pennsylvania, and were of Dutch descent. When Mr. Howser was but one year of age the father removed to Logan county, Illinois, and there our subject was raised to agricultural pursuits and received a common school education and at the age of twenty-one years settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land in Logan county, and remained there until 1883, in the fall of which year he visited Dakota, with the idea of establish- ing his sons on farms for themselves. He moved to Dakota in the spring of 1883 and in the fall of that year, when the land was placed on the market filed a pre-emption where he established his home. The eldest son broke about sixty acres of land in 1882, and this was cropped to wheat in the spring of 1883, and was the first wheat crop in Illinois town- ship, and yielded fourteen bushels per acre, and was sold as seed wheat. The sons held the land, but re- mained at home most of the time, the work of the farms being conducted in common. They began sheep culture in 1890, which proved unsuccessful, since which time they have followed diversified farming and have met with good results.

Mr. Howser was married, in 1855, to Miss Ma- tilda Moyer, a native of Ohio. Mrs. Howser died in 1869. Four children were born to this union, who are as follows: Hortense, deceased ; Joshua, teaching at Lincoln, Illinois, one of the oldest set- tlers of Illinois township; Mary, deceased ; and Ed- gar, clerk of courts of Nelson county. Our subject was married to Miss Maggie A. Patterson, in 1870, and again in 1878 he was called upon to lose his life companion, Mrs. Howser passing away in that

year. Three children were born to this marriage, as follows: Frank, now at home ; John C., at home ; and Maggie A., living in the state of Illinois. Mr. Howser was married, in 1882, to Miss Mary Scarth. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. How- ser, who bears the name of Emma, and is now at- tending high-school at Lakota. Our subject is a present member of the township board, and is promi- nent in affairs of local importance. He is a life- long Republican and firm in his convictions.

GEORGE W. GROVES. The agricultural in- terests of Illinois township, Nelson county, find an excellent representative in the person of George W. Groves. He resides in section 23 and his farm con- sists of four hundred and eighty acres, a good share of which is under cultivation. He was one of the earliest settlers of his township, and is widely known as a man of active public spirit and good citizenship.

Our subject was born in the town of Hastings, Sussex county, England, in April, 1863, and was the eldest in a family of eight children, born to William and Charlotte M. ( Barnes) Graves, both of whom are deceased. The father was mason by trade and a contractor and builder, and with a desire to gain land for his family he emigrated to Canada in the spring of 1879 and remained in Ontario one year, and in the spring of 1880 went to Grand Forks and worked at this trade and took a homestead in Walsh county. In the spring of 1882 our subject and his father went to Nelson county and the father entered a pre-emption and tree claim on section 25, and the parents resided there until their death. In the spring of 1884 Mr. Groves located on the land where he now resides. He has made a suc- cess of his calling and enjoys a comfortable compe- tence.

Our subject was married, in 1892, to Miss Emma MI. Raebel, a native of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Groves are the parents of four children, named as follows : Edward W., Ruth, deceased ; Mildred and Grace. Our subject has been prominent in county affairs since taking up his residence in North Da- kota, and has held the office of county surveyor two terms, and is now township clerk, in which capacity he has served for eleven years. He is an old-time Democrat in politics. He holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is the old- est settler now living in Illinois township, his father's shanty being the first here, the lumber for the home being hauled from Grand Forks.

HON. PETER P. CHACEY. An honorable position among the farmers of Harwood township, Cass county, is willingly accorded to this gentle- man by his associates. He occupies one of the well-developed farms of the county and is highly esteemed in the community where he has spent nearly a quarter of a century. He is an ex-soldier who can review with justifiable pride a long and

HON. PETER P. CHACEY AND WIFE.

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loyal service in the defense of the Union, and his public spirit is beyond question. His home is in section 15, of Harwood township, and his portrait in connection with this sketch, shows the lines of a varied carcer.

Our subject was born in Wayne county, Ohio, December 15, 1840, and when about ten years of age went with his parents to Whiteside county, Illi- nois, where he made his home till 1870. He fol- lowed steamboating on the Mississippi river during the summer and fall months and in September, 1861, enlisted in Company C, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and served nearly four years till the close of the war. He was wounded at Martinsburg, Virginia, by a sabre. After the close of the war he returned to Illinois and followed steamboating as captain and pilot till the fall of 1878. He went to North Da- kota in 1877 and entered claim to land as a home- stead and tree claim in Berlin township, and in 1878 purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in section 15, in Harwood township, where he has resided since. Two years later he purchased the remaining half of section 15 and he is now the owner of two sections of land. He has erected good buildings on his home farm and completed every arrangement by which the work incident to farm life may be lessened and the comfort of the family provided.

Our subject was married, in Lena, Illinois, Feb- ruary 27, 1870, to Ruth J. Lincoln. Mrs. Chacey was born in Ontario county, New York, November 5, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Chacey became the parents of five children, named: Lincoln P., Clarence B. and Lola B. are now living; Ruth L. and an infant unnamed, are deceased. Mr. Chacey was elected to the state legislature from the tenth district on the Republican ticket, in the fall of 1898, and served one term and in this capacity did very efficient work for the better interests of his community. He has held numerous school offices and is a member of the township board, and justice of the peace, and takes an active part in all local affairs. He is a member of John F. Reynolds Post, No. 5, G. A. R.

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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 175

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