Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 179

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

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throughout of over sixteen bushels per acre of wheat. He has'devoted some attention recently to develop- ing stock interests and will make that a prominent feature of his farm work in future, Short Horn, Durham and Mereford cattle taking the lead. An artesian well supplies water to the farm for stock and domestic uses in unlimited quantity and all ar- rangements are complete for the comfort and con- venience of the home.

Our subject was married, in January, 1899, to Miss Martha D. Sutton. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. McCain, upon whom they have bestowed the name of William F. Mr. McCain is an ardent sportsman and lover of good horses and dogs and is a true hunter. Hospitality is extended to friend and stranger and he is highly esteemed. Politically, he is a Jackson Democrat and a prohi- * bition worker.

HERMAN D. ALLERT. Probably no citizen of Cavalier county is more widely known or highly respected than Mr. Allert, of the firm of Allert & Winter, real estate dealers of Langdon. He has been intimately connected with the public affairs of that locality since the early days, and has proven himself a worthy citizen in whom the people may repose every confidence, and in his business affairs lie is. a man of good executive ability and strict integrity. His portrait is a valuable contribution to this historical publication.

Our subject was born in Elbing, Prussia, De- cember 7, 1858, and was reared to the age of eleven years in his native land, when he removed with his parents to Ontario, Canada, and settled in Ber- lin, Waterloo county, where he was reared to man- hood and resided until 1875. He then went to Winnipeg and engaged in the machine business and also stock raising and remained there until 1884, when he came to Langdon, Cavalier county, North Dakota. In the fall of that year he was elected county superintendent of schools and served in that capacity four years, and in the fall of 1888 he was elected auditor of Cavalier county and served con- tinuously in that office until March 1, 1897. He has extensive real estate interests in the vicinity of Langdon, and is also interested in the drug busi- ness in that city. He has been successful in his business and is one of the solid financial men of the county.

Our subject was married in Manitoba, Canada, to Miss Lottie McWilliams, a native of Canada. Four daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Allert, named as follows: Vera, now attending St. Joseph's Academy at St. Paul, Minnesota ; Leonore, Vivian and Daisy. Mr. Allert is actively interested in county and state affairs, and was one of the organizers of Cavalier county, and in 1896 was a candidate for state treasurer, but was defeated by the Republican candidate. In the various public capacities in which he has served he has discharged the duties of his position with rare fidelity and faith-

WM. A. McCAIN.

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fulness and is popular with the people regardless of party affiliations. He is prominent in secret so- ciety circles, and holds membership in the Masonic -

fraternity in ali its branches, and the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of Lebanon Lodge, No. 34, A. F. & A. M., Corinthian Chapter, No. 4, Grand Forks Commandery, No. 3, El Zagel Temple, Fargo, N. M. S., and in 1894 was appointed grand keeper R. S. Grand Lodge, K. P., at Jamestown, North Dakota, and has held this position continuously since that date. Mr. Ellert is also a member of the B. P. O. E., Grand Forks Lodge, No. 255. He was one of the six North Dakota delegates to the national democratic convention in 1900 and was fur- ther honored by being placed upon the committee of notification to notify Mr. Bryan of his nomination. The committee met for this purpose at Indianapolis, Indiana, August 8, 1900.

HON. CARMI WINSLOW occupies a promi- nent place as a well-to-do and intelligent member of the farming community of Steele county, in Golden Lake township, of which he has an elegant farm of eleven hundred and twenty acres, and makes his home on section 12. He has been instrumental in developing and promoting the growth of that region and is a man who is well known for his public spirit and exemplary character.

Our subject was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, August 3, 1867, and was the only child born to John and Mary A. (Winslow) Winslow. Both parents were of Scotch extraction, the father was born in America and the mother in Ireland. When our subject was still a child his father died and the mother worked with the American Missionary As- sociation, becoming matron of Berea College, in Kentucky, and was thus employed seven years. Friends then influenced her to remove with cur subject, then thirteen years of age, to Dakota, and she accordingly filed claim to land in section 14. in Sherbrooke township. Our subject purchased four hundred and eighty acres of his present farm in 1889 and removed to the farm. His first crop was partially hailed out and finances were extremely low, but he persevered and now has one of the best estates in that locality. He has a fine barn on his farm and the improvements are of modern pattern and substantial.

Mr. Winslow early took an interest in public affairs and attended state, county and local con- ventions, and in 1898 was elected to the state legis- lature and served as a member of the following committees : elections and privileges, agriculture, apportionment, military affairs and counties and county boards. He introduced house bill No. 51, relating to assessments, and also house bill No. 150. relating to the erection by railroad companies of platforms for the unloading of grain. He is one of the rising young men of Dakota and is a man in whom the people can repose confidence.

JOHN SCHMITT, whose pleasant home is lo- cated on section 2, in Summit township, Richland county, is one of the pioneer settlers of that locality, and is well known as an intelligent and earnest worker for the advancement of his community. He is the possessor of nine hundred and sixty acres of land, and has gained a comfortable competence and improved his estate equal to any in the township.

Our subject was born in Fond du Lac, Wiscon- sin, in April, 1853. He was reared on his father's farm, and continued to reside in that county until 1881, when in the spring of that year he went to North Dakota and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 2,in Summit township. He is now residing on the tract and is owner of nine hundred and sixty acres in Summit and Center town- ships. He has followed the pursuit of agriculture during his entire career, and is thoroughly posted on the details of the work, and has met with marked success in North Dakota.

Our subject was married in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, May 9, 1876, to Miss Catherine Moersch, who was born in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, October 31, 1857. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt, as follows: Christina K., Jos- eph, died at the age of three years; Paulina, died at the age of thirteen months; John P., Frank J. Mi- chael, William L., Marv J. and Anna M. The fam- ily are members of St. John's Catholic church of Wahpeton. Mr. Schmitt is a valued and respected citizen, and a representative man of the commu- nity in which he makes his home.

GEORGE J. LONGFELLOW, one of the earliest residents and prominent citizens of west- ern Buxton township, Traill county, is success- fully pursuing farming. He has a well-im- proved estate and his land has never -failed of producing a paving crop and he has been one of the potent factors in producing the present solid prosperity of the locality in which he has resided for so many years.

Our subject was born in what is now Wellesley, Massachusetts, August 19, 1848. He was the sec- ond child and oldest son born to Nathan and Eliza (Southwick ) Longfellow. His father was a gradu- ate of the class of 1833 from Bowdoin College, a class graced by such men as J. A. Andrew and the poet Longfellow, a second cousin. The father died December 11, 1894. at the age of ninety years. The mother of our subject was a descendant of the Wayne family and she passed away December 5. 1893.

Mr. Longfellow was reared to farm work and also worked in his father's paper-mill, and when about twenty years of age left his high school studies and entered a general jobbing house in Boston as clerk. The business was ruined in the great Boston fire of 1872 and our subject returned to farm work. He took part in the exposition of 1876, and was Obediah in the representation of

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colonial life known as "The Log Cabin." He next engaged in farming for George W. Phelps at Mt. Morris, New York, and in the spring of 1879 went to Dakota through the influence of Mr. Phelps, and being provided with transportation, viewed the country as far west as Bismarck and took a pre- emption in Grand Forks county, and resided there in a small shanty, which he erected with lumber hauled from Fargo, a distance of sitxy-five miles. He home- steaded the land where he now lives in Traill county in the spring of 1880 and removed his shanty there, and for two years lived alone and passed through the experiences of pioneer life. He had no money and during the winter of 1879-1880 he clerked in Jamestown to earn a living and he had but a few dollars saved when he went to the farm and his present holdings represent earnest and persistent ef- forts. He now owns a half-section of land, which furnishes a comfortable competence.

Our subject was married, in the spring of 1881, to Miss Annie Rein, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, who went to Dakota in 1880 to live with her sister, Mrs. Schumacher. Mr. and Mrs. Longfellow are the parents of three children, as follows: Wilbur, attending Fargo, North Dakota, Agricultural Col- lege ; Grace, attending high school at Buxton, and Edith, also attending the Buxton high school. Mr. Longfellow has held various offices of trust in his township and county, including membership of the township board and a county commissioner, he has also held the office of town clerk for ten years and school clerk for fifteen years and still holds the po- sition. He was one of the organizers of Buxton township and among its first officers. He is a sup- porter of the Congregational church, of Buxton, and is a gentleman of exemplary character and de- servedly held in high esteem.

JOHN A. WHITE, whose career in Dakota has been one of continued success, is one of the most extensive land owners of Steele county, and his home in section II, in Melrose township, is among the highly cultivated and finely improved estates of that region. He is the possessor of nineteen hundred and twenty acres of land-three sections-most of which is under plow, and he has successfully raised the small grains and is recognized among the pro- gressive and leading farmers of his community.

Our subject was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 31, 1836, and was the second in order of birth in a family of eight children born to Uriah B. and Mary ( Warren ) White. Little is known of the ancestors of his father, but his mother is a di- rect descendant of General Warren of Revolutionary times. Our subject's father was a contractor and builder and also engaged in farming, and our sub- ject followed farming on the home place until eighteen years of age, when he joined a force of civil engineers as rod man and was engaged one year on experimental lines and one year on con- struction. He entered the Kings Academy in Ohio,

and graduated from that institution with the class of 1857, after which he erected a saw-mill in Polk county, lowa, and there engaged in the lumber busi- ness eleven years, after which he began farming and stock raising. Ill health demanded a change from that locality and in the spring of 1885 he went to Dakota and purchased section II, in Melrose town- ship, with stock and improvements thereon. In 1883-1884 he made a trip through parts of South Dakota, the Black Hills and much of North Da- kota by team, and his health began steadily improv- ing. He has since resided in Steele county and now enjoys a comfortable home and handsome annual income. His buildings are commodious and sub- stantial structures and his crops are of the finest and above the average yield. The profits of the crop in 1891 covered the original cost of the land cropped, and in 1898 he exceeded the crop of 1891, which was seventeen thousand bushels of wheat, by five hundred bushels, more land being under cultiva- tion.

Our subject was married, in 1858, to Miss Flor- ida Boone. Seven children, six daughters and one son, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White, as fol- lows : William N., a graduate of Ames College, now farming in Melrose township ; George A., a graduate of Ames College, and now secretary of the Duplex Typewriter Company, of Des Moines, Iowa ; Jessie O., now Mrs. L. H. Page, of Minneapolis, Minne- sota; E. Joetta, deceased ; Cora, attending the la- dies' department of Rush Medical College, at Chi- cago; Susie B., a graduate of Emerson's School of Oratory, at Boston, and now completing a post- graduate course, and Mamie, a student of music at Cornell and also in Boston. Mr. White is a sup- porter of the Episcopalian denomination and is an exemplary citizen. He has served his community as a member of the township board since the or- ganization of the township and is deservedly popular with the people among whom he has resided for so many years. In political sentiment he is a Demo- crat.

MICHAEL MADDOCK, one of the earliest pioneers of Antelope Valley, is successfully con- ducting his farm and stock business on section 23, in township 152, range 69. Benson county owes to the men who directed her prosperity and deve]- opment in the early days a debt of gratitude, and among these none is more deserving than the sub- ject of our present review.

Mr. Maddock was born in St. Croix county, Wisconsin, September 30, 1861. He was the sec- ond child in a large family of children born to Pat- rick and Bridget ( Kehoe) Maddock, both of whom were of Irish parentage, though natives of New Brunswick. Patrick Maddock was a pioneer of St. Croix county, Wisconsin, and followed farm- ing as an occupation.

Our subject was reared in St. Croix county, and received such schooling as the public schools

HOME OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL MADDOCK, BENSON CO., N. DAK.

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of the day afforded. He remained at home with his parents until 1883, when he went to Thompson, Grand Forks county, North Dakota. He found employment at good wages on a farm, and was thus engaged for two years. In June, 1885, our sub- ject and Thomas Walker hired horses and started west in search of land, proceeding in the direction of Mouse river. They reached the Antelope val- ley, and there took up land adjoining each other. They built a sod shanty and broke some of their land. Mı November Mrs. Maddock, our subject having married in Wisconsin, took up her abode in the 8x12-foot shack he had erected. Mr. Walker's shack was built just across the dividing line of their land, and the two dwellings were connected by a shed. Here for about four months Mrs. Mad- dock met none but her own household, the nearest family being eight miles distant. During the winter of 1887-8 he removed to Oberon village and erected the first hotel in that place, and conducted it for four years, returning to his farm in the spring of 1892. He has made a success of farming and stock raising, and divides his attention between these two departments.

Mr. Maddock was married in Wisconsin to Miss Rosa McHugh in 1882. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Rosa, Mary E., John J., Agnes, Raymond, Edward and James. Mr. Mad- dock has taken an interest and part in public affairs from the earliest settlement of the county. He was elected county commissioner in 1894, and has held that office continuously since. He is now chair- man of the board. He was influential in his advo- cacy of the building of the new court house, and also in convincing the people of the advisability of mak- ing it a substantial and creditable structure. He has a host of friends in the county, and he well deserves the esteem in which he is universally held by those who know him. In 1897 the Maddock postoffice was established and named in honor of the subject of this sketch, and now Maddock vil- lage is quite a little business center. A view of his home appears elsewhere in these pages, and is a happy addition to this biographical history.

GEORGE A. SUGG. While the pioneer set- tlers of a country are the ones who start the work toward well developed farms and extensive finan- cial interests, it remains for the younger members of a community to further the advancement and take up the work where the first settlers leave off. Among the young men of Cass county who are en- gaged in the pursuit of agriculture and are meet- ing with eminent success, and aiding in strengthen- ing the financial interests of Gardner township, the gentleman above named is noted. He resides on section 33, and has acquired a comfortable compe- tence single-handed, and by his energy and integ- rity has attained a high position among his fellow men.

Our subject was born at Clifford, Bruce county, 52

Ontario, May 15, 1873. He remained in his native place till he reached the age of seventeen and a half years, and then went to Dakota, and has resided in Cass county since that time. He spent three years in Berlin township, and in 1893 took up his resi- dence in Gardner township, where he has since re- mained. He is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land, on which he has placed good buildings and all conveniences for the comfort of the family and the lessening of labor, and his farm is well developed and carefully tilled.

Mr. Sugg was married in Gardner township, Cass county, North Dakota, April 24, 1894, to Miss Emma Cauthers. Mrs. Sugg was born in Bruce county, Ontario, June 28, 1876, and was the sec- ond in a family of ten children born to Thomas and Elizabeth ( Flatt ) Cauthers. Her parents were both natives of Ontario. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sugg, Clifford and Ella E. The last named died in infancy. Mr. Sugg was a son of Samuel and Ellen ( Morrell) Sugg, and was the youngest in a family of seven children. He is one of the rising young men of Dakota and is fav- orably known throughout his locality.

PORTER KIMBALL. Among the gentlemen who are engaged in agriculture in Riverside town- ship, Stecle county, none are more useful in sustain- ing and extending its farming interests than Mr. Kimball. He is a successful and substantial agri- culturist, and a man well versed in the best and most approved methods of operating a farm, and as a pioneer settler of that locality is well known. He is the owner of one thousand five hundred acres of land, and his pleasant home is on section 28.

Our subject was born in Cumberland county, Maine, May 6, 1852, and was the youngest of a family of five children born to Charles and Ruth (Trafton) Kimball. Both his paternal and ma- ternal ancestors were natives of England about four generations back.

Mr. Kimball remained at his boyhood home until seventeen years of age, when he left his father's farm and worked in a provision house at Lynn three years, and at Boston one year, and about 1873 went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and worked at logging in the Minnesota woods. He went to Wilmar, Min- nesota, and followed farming there three summers, and in the spring of 1882 went with his family to Casselton, North Dakota, and during the spring season worked on the Dalrymple farm, after which he went to Hope, and in June, 1882. settled on his farm. He arrived at his land with four horses and a wagon, all mortgaged for their value, and other debts contracted made his financial condition dis- couraging indeed. To avoid hotel bills he loaded his wagon with lumber immediately upon arrival at Hope, and with his wife and child went direct to the farm, and while his wife and child sat in the prairie he built a shanty around them. He now enjoys the comforts of a substantial and commodious

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dwelling, and all the appointments of the place be- speak the thrift and taste of its owner. He is one of the most extensive resident land owners of the township, and his possessions cover one thousand five hundred acres. He keeps one hundred head of sheep and eighty head of other stock, and has a barn, 64x100 feet, with storage for eighty tons of hay. A windmill furnishes power for feed mill and pump, and all conveniences for farm work are sup- plied.

Our subject was married, in 1879, to Miss Eva Merritt. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kimball, as follows: Pearly C., Arthur W., Edgar P., Leonard, Merritt, Eva R. and Grace. Mr. Kimball has always been actively interested in the welfare of his community, and assisted in naming and organizing the township in which he has made his home for so many years. He has served as chairman of the board, and has held school and town- ship offices almost continuously, and is one of the public-spirited men of the locality. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity and Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a man who favors re- form, and in political sentiment is a Populist.

HON. SVEN N. HESKIN, one of the well-to- do and energetic farmers of North Roseville town- ship, resides on section 26, in township 147, range 53. His farm consists of four hundred and eighty acres of land, is on the north fork of the Goose river, and is in a fine state of cultivation.

Our subject was born in Valders, Hamar stift, Norway, September 29, 1854, and was the tenth in a family of twelve children born to Nils N. and Anna ( Hendrickson ) Heskin. When he was twelve years of age the family emigrated to Amer- ica and settled in Dane county, Wisconsin, and later moved to Freeborn county, Minnesota. Our subject left home at the age of thirteen years, and when eighteen years of age started for Dakota with the determination to make a home for himself. He ar- rived penniless and the first few years met with many discouragements, and worked at railroading, boating on the Red river and on the government survey, and in 1873 began improvements on his farmı. He put in his first crop the following year, and this was destroyed by grasshoppers, butt the tide changed the following season, and about 1874 he erected a log house, which constitutes a part of his present comfortable and commodious residence. His barn is 54x80 feet, and has hay storage of one hun- dred tons, and all other outbuildings are substan- tial and complete. Sixty acres of native timber, and one of the finest artesian wells in the county com- plete a home of more than usual comforts.

Our subject was married, in 1874, to Miss Rachel O. Hougan. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Heskins, as follows: Julia, now Mrs. Egan ; Mills, who is farming in Welsh county, North Da- kota ; Ole, farming in Canada ; Mary, John, Henry, Annie, Carl and Helmar. Mr. Heskin was elected

state representative in 1890, and had previously served two ternis as county sheriff and one term as deputy sheriff. He is a Republican in politics, but takes little part in political affairs, and devotes much time to church work. He is a member of the Luth- eran church, of which denomination he is deacon, and during the past four years has done efficient work in conducting revivals and in the organization of churches. He is a man of broad ideas and ex- emplary character and his high standing is well merited.

HENRY GILBERTSON, the first pioneer of Primrose township, Steele county, has passed twen- ty-one winters in Dakota, and is one of the few early settlers who remain to enjoy the result of their lab- ors in that region. He is now the owner of a fine farm, and his home on section 8 affords more than the usual comforts of country life. His portrait ap- pears on another page of this work.

Our subject was born in Valders, Begna Dalen, about fifty miles from Drummond, Norway, July 18, 1854, and was the third in a family of twelve children born to Gilbert and Anna ( Harldson) An- derson, both of whom are still living in their native land. Our subject worked at home most of the time until he reached the age of nineteen years, when le came to America and began farm work in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he was employed two years. He then located in Moore county, Minne- sota, and remained one year, and in the spring of 1878 started for the west, and May 13 took up his residence on the farm which he now owns. His nearest neighbor was then six miles east in what is now Traill county. His first home there was a dug-out. twelve feet square, covered with bark and dirt, which he constructed on the banks of the mi- dle branch of the Goose river, and he lived there alone three years, and during the first year was the only settler for many miles around. Elk, deer and antelope were numerous, and he made good money catching beaver and mink on the river. Fargo, eighty miles distant. was his nearest market and trading place until the winter of 1879, when Old Mayville was started, thirteen miles distant, which furnished a trading point but no market, and two of his crops he marketed at Fargo. He is now the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of land, and has a well developed farm, and keeps about twenty-five head of stock. Fire destroyed about six thousand dollars' worth of property on his farm in 1897, but despite this and other losses he has made a success of his work, and has a substantial and convenient residence and good farm buildings.

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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 179

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