Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 52

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

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GEORGE C. GATES is a well-known agri- culturist of Richland county, North Dakota, whose farm is pleasantly located on section 21, Centre township. A gentleman of integrity and sterling worth, he has pursued the even tenor of his way as an honest man and good citizen and commands the respect of all who know him.

Mr. Gates was born in Montgomery, Franklin county, Vermont, October 5, 1.859, and is a son of Darius and Julia (Sykes) Gates, also natives of the Green Mountain state. At the age of four years he acompanied his parents on their removal to Wisconsin and in St. Croix county they passed their remaining days, the father dying at the age of sixty-nine years, the mother at the age of fifty-two.

Our subject was reared upon a farm in St. Croix county, Wisconsin, and early became familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the agri- culturist, while his literary education was obtained in the common schools of the county. He continued his residence there until the fall of 1886, when he came to Richland county, North Dakota, and bought a half-section of land on sections 21 and 22 Centre township. To the improvement and cultivation of his place he has since devoted his energies and has added to the original purchase a tract of two hun- dred and forty acres. He has erected good build- ings upon the farm and placed the land under a high state of cultivation. He takes an active in-

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terest in public affairs and has filled the offices of township clerk and school clerk in Centre town- ship. He has a comfortable home over which his sister, Laura, presides. Religiously, he is a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is highly respected and esteemed by all with whom he comes in contact.

WILLIAM N. CAMPBELL, a leading business man and representative citizen of Valley City, North Dakota, is now successfully engaged in journalistic work in connection with David W. Clark, as proprietors of the "People's Advocate," the only paper published in the interest of the Peo- ple's party in that city. It is a bright, newsy sheet and under its present able management is meeting with well-deserved success. Mr. Campbell is also engaged in the insurance and real estate business and is now president of the Alliance Hail Insurance Company.

He was born in Addison county, Vermont, De- cember 16, 1854, and is a son of Charles and Electa (Newton) ) Campbell, who are at present living at Watertown, South Dakota. The father was born in Vermont in 1816 and prior to the Mexican war was a soldier in the regular army, while during the Civil war he was captain of a company in the Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Colonel Hege.

At the age of five years William N. Campbell went with his parents to Waupun, Wisconsin, where he was reared upon the home farm, which he assisted his father in operating during his boyhood and youth. His early education, acquired in the district schools near his home, was supplemented by a course at the Oshkosh Normal School, Wisconsin. He came to North Dakota in the spring of 1882, when it was still a territory, and two years later he took up a quarter-section of land in the southwest part of Barnes county, on which he made his home, engaging in general farming, until coming to Valley City in the spring of 1892. Since then he has given his attention to the insurance and real-estate busi- ness, and in 1896 also became interested in news- paper work. Upright and reliable in all things, the prosperity that has attended his efforts is cer- tainly justly merited and he has gained a host of warm friends throughout his adopted county.

On the 8th of February, 1885, Mr. Campbell was united in marriage with Miss Lillie J. McCune, a native of Waupun, Wisconsin, and a daughter of John and Marcie McCune. Three children bless this union, one son and two daughters, namely :. Mabel, Charlie and Luella.

GEORGE A. CARPENTER. M. D., one of the most successful and prominent physicians and sur- geons of Fargo, North Dakota, is a native of Min- nesota, born in Monticello, Wright county, Febru- ary 7, 1863, and is a son of George W. and Mary

( Williams) Carpenter, both natives of New York. In 1858 they removed to Minnesota, where the father engaged in merchandising for many years and also served as probate judge of Wright county for some years. In 1889 he brought his family to Fargo, where the parents now reside.

In the county of his nativity, Dr. Carpenter was reared and educated and in 1882 he entered the Minnesota Hospital College, which later became the State University, and was graduated from that in- stitution in 1885 with the degree of M. D. During the same year he opened an office at Marine Mills, Washington county, Minnesota, and continued there until the fall of 1889, when he came to Fargo and has since engaged in the general practice of medi- cine and surgery. He is a progressive member of his profession-one who keeps abreast of the latest discoveries and theories by his perusal of medical journals. His skill and ability are attested by the liberal patronage he enjoys and he is ranked as one of the leading physicians of this section of the state.

Dr. Carpenter was married, in 1886, to Miss Sadie Clark, also a native of Minnesota, and to them have been born two daughters, Irene A. and Minnie L. In political sentiment the Doctor is an ardent Republican and for two terms he has served as health officer of Fargo and as county physician for five years. He was a member of the board of pension examiners for five years ; is now special ex- aminer for pensions, and examining surgeon for the United States recruiting station at Fargo. He is a member of the Cass County and North Dakota Medical Societies, the American Medical Associa- tion, the Masonic fraternity, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Foresters and the National Union. For the past five years he has been grand medical examiner of the state for the Workmen. He spent some time in 1890 in New York hospitals and gives his whole time and attention to his profession. He has won a foremost place in the ranks of the medical fraternity in the Northwest and merits and receives a liberal patronage.

THOMAS A. CURTIS, state's attorney of Ransom county, residing in the city of Lisbon, is a man of estimable character and has gained the con- fidence of those among whom he has chosen his home. He has become a leader in his profession by dint of his own efforts and well merits his suc- cess.

Our subject was born at Magnolia Corners, Rock county, Wisconsin. January 27, 1862, and was the youngest in a family of four children, born to Is- rael and Elizabeth (Fitzpatrick ) Curtis, both of whom are deceased. The mother was of Irish birth and the father was of colonial English descent. Three of five sons of an English lord of the Curtis family were kidnapped and brought to America, where they were sold or bound out to pay for pas- sage and our subject is a descendant of the son who chanced to settle in New York. Soon after the birth

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of our subject his father went to the Civil war and the family removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, and the father rever returned from the service.

A common-school education was afforded our subject and he worked in a shoe factory until sixteen years of age, when he became a painter, which oc- cupation he followed four years, during which time he read law, under the guidance of J. B. Cassoday, who is now chief justice of Wisconsin. Mr. Cur- tis went to Marshalltown, Iowa, in 1881, where he worked in a barbed-wire factory one year and then went to Minneapolis, and from thence to Fargo, Dakota. He arrived at Lisbon, Ransom county, May 7. 1883, and followed lathing and carpenter work, in the meantime pursuing his law studies. He entered a law office at Lisbon in the fall of 1884. and March 23. 1885, was admitted to the bar. He then entered the real estate office of Judge Allen and was also city clerk and October 1, 1886, began work with C. D. Austin and the following April established an office for himself. He was appointed city attorney in 1890 and was elected to his present office in 1898. He .defended the only murder case ever tried in the county and secured acquittal for his client, in state vs. Frank Welch.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Miss Phebe Forward. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, as follows : Loren B., Walter G., Rollo A., Elsie S. and Alice L. Mr. Curtis was elected mayor of Lisbon in 1892 and served two years, the honor being conferred upon him through the efforts of the G. A. R. He was a candidate for state's attorney in 1892 and county judge in 1894 and 1896, but was defeated and in 1898 was elected state's attorney by a large majority. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Modern Woodmen of America and Knights of Maccabees. He is a young man of prominence and has a bright future in North Dakota.

EZRA B. EDDY, deceased, whose portrait ap- pears on another page, was numbered among the honored pioneers of Fargo and was the founder of the First National Bank, of which he was president many years. He was prominently identified with the development and upbuilding of his adopted city and was one of its most public-spirited and pro- gressive residents. As the years passed he faithfully performed his duties of citizenshin and his interest in the welfare and progress of the community never abated. Becoming widely and favorably known he made many friends and his death was a great loss to the city.

Mr. Eddy was born in Ohio December 14, 1829, a son of Rev. Ira Eddy, a Methodist Episcopal min- ister, who was engaged in preaching in that state for half a century. He had two sons. Reared in Ohio, our subject was educated in its common schools and during his youth learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a few years. In 1855 he re-

moved to Wabasha county, Minnesota, and located on the present site of Plainview, where he took up government land. He erected the first building on what was called Greenwood prairie and there fol- lowed farming until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted as first lieutenant in Company G, Third Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. After two years of arduous service he was forced to resign on account of failing health and return home. He continued his farming operations in Minnesota un- til 1865, when he met with misfortune in the loss of a hand in a threshing machine. He then engaged in the hardware business at Plainview and later in the insurance and banking business, founding the Plainview Bank, the first bank of Wabasha county.

Disposing of his interests there in 1879, Mr. Eddy came to Fargo, North Dakota, where he had started the First National Bank the year previous. He served as its first president and continued to fill that position up to the time of his death in 1885. In company with his son, E. C. Eddy, he also founded the Fargo Loan Agency under the firm name of E. B. Eddy & Son, and was also interested in that organization until his death. In 1879 he platted an addition to the city, known as the Eddy & Fuller outlots and he assisted in starting nearly every enterprise in Fargo. He lost a great deal of property in his endeavor to build up the city, but was instrumental in making it one of the most thriv- ing cities of the Northwest. He took an active in- terest in political affairs, but never sought public office. His support was never withheld from any enterprise calculated to prove of public good ; he was the founder of the Fargo Library Association, and one of the organizers of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he gave its first organ. Socially he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a man of prominence and influence in his community.

In Ohio Mr. Eddy was married, in 1850, to Miss Jane B. Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, and to them were born five children, three sons and two daughters, namely: William, who died in infancy ; Ernest C., Inez L., Ira T. and Ethelda J., all living. The sons are both residents of Fargo.

ERNEST C. EDDY, the older of the two sons now living, was born in Minnesota June 24. 1856, and was reared and educated in that state and at Racine, Wisconsin. During the residence of the family in Minnesota he was in the employ of his father and on the organization of the First National Bank, of Fargo, North Dakota, was chosen its first cashier, which position he filled until 1881, when he was made vice-president. He served in that ca- pacity until January, 1886, when he was chosen president, but the following year disposed of his interest in the business and opened a private bank, known as the Banking House of E. C. Eddy & Company, with which he was connected until the hank was destroyed by fire in 1893. Since then he has given his attention principally to farming and stock raising, though he still continues to engage

ERNEST C. EDDY.

EZRA B. EDDY (Deceased).

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in the real estate and collection business. He is a man of excellent business ability, energetic and pro- gressive, and in his undertakings has been remark- ably successful. He commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, either in business or social life, and is a prominent member of the Masonic order, being eminent com- mander of Auvergne Commandery, No. 2, K. T.

In 1877 Mr. Eddy was united in marriage with Miss Ida E. Hopson, who was born in Minnesota, and they have become the parents of the follow- ing children: Wayne G., Carrie J., Hattie Gean, Ray W., Ezra B., Paul H. and William Tubbs. A portrait of Ernest C. Eddy is presented in connec- tion with this sketch.

FRANK A. LITTLE, a leading farmer of Centre township, Richland county, North Dakota, has his home on section 15. He evidences by the manner in which he carries on his business that he thoroughly understands the vocation in which he is engaged, and that success is attending his efforts towards acquiring a competence. Neatness and order prevail upon his place, which is managed, with regard to its cultivation, in a manner which re- flects great credit upon the owner.

Mr. Little was born in Lake county, Illinois, No- vember 11, 1855, and is the fourth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, whose parents were Asa and Deborah Ann ( Palmer) Little. The father, who was a native of New York, died in Lake county, Illinois, when nearly seventy years of age, and the mother died in the same place when over sixty.

In the county of his nativity our subject grew to manhood, and there he was married, November 6, 1876, to Miss Jessie Colls. She was also born in Lake county, Illinois, August 23, 1856, and was a daughter of Professor R. K. and Delia ( Gage ) Colls, who died in that county, the former at the age of sixty-seven years, the latter at the age of forty-two. In their family were nine children, of whom Mrs. Little is the sixth in order of birth. Our subject and his wife continued their residence in Lake county until the spring of 1885, when they came to North Dakota and settled in Centre township, Richland county, where he has since carried on operations as a general farmer with the exception of three years spent in his native county. He now owns one hun- dred and seventy acres of well improved and highly cultivated land.

GRAFTON NATIONAL BANK, of Grafton, North Dakota, was organized January 1, 1884, and was the successor of the Bank of Grafton, which was organized in 1881, with the following officers : W. W. Hartwell, of New York, president; F. R. Fulton, vice-president and D. C. Moore, cashier. The institution did a general banking business and had a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars. They

operated as the Bank of Grafton until 1884, when the first named bank was organized, the same officers continuing. Mr. Hartwell later retired and Mr. Fulton was chosen president. They have a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and carry deposits amounting to two hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars, and the bank has undivided surplus of sixty thousand dollars. Mr. D. C. Moore, cashier, has handled the business of the institution for many years, and his skillful management has placed it foremost among the substantial institutions of the Northwest.

D. C. MOORE is a native of Lewis county, New York, and was born in 1851. He was reared and educated in his native state and went to Iowa in 1872 and engaged in the real estate business there until 1875 at Decorah, and then followed the prac- tice of law until 1879, and was then elected sheriff of the county and again served in that capacity in 1881. He resigned his office to go to Grafton, North Dakota, and has been associated with the bank of which he now has the management since that date. He is a man of excellent business qualifica- tions and whatever enlists his attention is almost sure of meeting with success. He is careful and systematic in all details and has a clear head and a good education, and is well-known as a man of the highest honor and is respected by all with whom he has to do so. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity. He does not seek public preferment and takes no part in political affairs.

GUY O. WALTERS, proprietor of one of the largest estates in Stutsman county, is one of the rising young men of that region. He has resided in Dakota since his boyhood days and has witnessed the development of the country and aided materially in its advancement. He is a gentleman of intelli- gence and energetic spirit and merits the success which has attended him. He makes his home in township 144, range 64, and his home farm is thor- oughly equipped for the economical conduct of the same.

Our subject was born in Mason county, Mich- igan, November 21, 1870. His father, Adam Walters, was born in Ohio and was of Pennsyl- vania Dutch descent. He was a farmer and lumber- man and owned a saw-mill in Michigan and was one of the soldiers of the Civil war. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Rosetta Root, was of English descent. The Root family were among the first settlers of America and are related to Governor Oglethorp. Our subject's great-grandfather, William Root, was an aide to General Washington, The grandfather, Russell Root, was a farmer by occupation.

Our subject was the younger of two children and was raised on a farm in Michigan. The family removed to Stutsman county, North Dakota, in Att- gust, 1881, and was the first family to settle in township 144, range 65. Our subject grew to man-

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hood in Dakota and attended college at Jamestown and later at Valparaiso, Indiana, after which he engaged in teaching. He entered claim to land as a homestead in 1892 and erected a house and began farming. He had a few horses, but was without means, but is now the owner of thirteen hundred and fifty acres of land and has about one thousand acres of his farm under cultivation. He has five acres of forest trees, a residence, barn, granaries, sheds, windmill, blacksmith shop and other buildings and all necessary machinery, and also owns and op- erates a twenty-two-horse-power steam threshing rig. He engages in grain raising and has marketed ten thousand bushels of products in one year. He has met with eminent success and enjoys the com- forts of rural life. During the winter of 1893-1894 and the summer of 1896 he traveled as an aeronaut through Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois. He made twenty- six balloon ascensions and went to the height of seven thousand feet.

Mr. Walters is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. He takes an active interest in the affairs of his com- munity and is an earnest supporter of every public enterprise which tends to the development and ad- vancement of the locality. Politically, he is a Democrat and has attended numerous county con- ventions as a delegate.

FREDERICK L. GOODMAN. A prominent position as a citizen and business man is accorded this gentleman, and he is deservedly gaining the con- fidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen. He is engaged in the real estate, loans, and insurance busi- ness in Hillsboro, and is one of the best known men of Traill county. He has interested himself largely in the financial enterprises of the city and in all mat- ters of a public nature and all projects tending to the development and improvement of that locality he has taken an active interest and aided by his counsel and liberality.

Our subject was born at Fort Ann, New York, February 24, 1861, and was the youngest of four children born to Origin W. and Mary J. (Farr) Goodman, both of whom are now deceased. The Goodman family dates in America to Colonial days and the first authentic record in 1646.

Our subject was but one year of age when his father died and his mother re-married when he was ten years old. At seventeen years he entered the Troy Conference Academy at Poultney, Vermont, and took a classical course, and in March, 1881, he left the institution to accept a position in the real es- tate and loan department of the First National Bank of Fargo, North Dakota. He assumed charge of that department in the fall of 1882 and in the spring of 1886 established an office in partnership with S. W. Shields, and has since engaged in that line. He han- clles loans and has paid much attention to placing loans throughout the Red river valley.

Our subject was married in 1888 to Miss Har- riet B. Angevine, a native of Vermont, and a grad- nate of the Boston School of Liberal Arts. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Goodman, as follows: Cecyl B .; Elma F., deceased ; Paul A. and Donald F. Mr. Goodman has served in the city council two terms, and in 1898 was mayor of Hills- boro, and has taken an active interest in local ini- provements, including city water works and electric light plant. He is a member of the First Congrega- tional church and is prominent in secret society cir- cles, holding membership in the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias. He is the present grand representative of the last named order. Politically he is a stanch Republican.

WATSON E. BOISE, one of the prominent early settlers of Steele county, is a gentleman of good business tact, and is the cashier of the Hope State Bank, organized at Hope, North Dakota, in May, 1900, and was previously bookkeeper in the Steele County Bank for nearly five years. He has been identified with the growth of the country and every enterprise to which he devoted his attention has been successful in its results, and he has gained an enviable reputation as a citizen and business man.

Our subject was born in Huron county, Ohio, September 8, 1857. The name is of French origin, and his ancestors were among the French Hugue- nots who left their native country for Holland. His ancestry in this country dates to the days of its early settlement, he being a direct descendant of Pere- grine White, the first white child born in New England. His grandparents moved from Worces- ter, Massachusetts, to Ohio by ox team in 1832, and settled in Lorain county, and his grandfather was once a trustee of Oberlin College.

Mr. Boise was the oldest in a family of five chil- den, and was a son of Spencer W. and Celestia E. (Gould) Boise, both residents of Ohio. He was raised on the home farm and remained there until seventeen years of age. He entered the preparatory department of Oberlin College in March, 1875, and graduated from that institution with the class of 1880, with the degree of A. B. Excelling in the languages, he planned a career as teacher of these branches. He came to Dakota in April, 1881, and upon his arrival entered claim to land on section 26, in Hope township, Tower City being the nearest railroad point. There were no buildings in the township until that spring, and he hauled lumber twenty-five miles from Tower City and erected a 10X12 shanty, one of the first buildings in the town- ship. He built a frame house the following fall, and soon afterward had a farm of three hundred and seventy-five acres under plow. He resided on the farm and steadily improved the place and met with unbounded success. Sheep culture was successfully carried on during the years 1890-98. Mrs. Boise's ill health caused him to leave the farm in 1894, and he accepted his present position in 1895.

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Our subject was married, in 1882, to Miss Grace S. Pomroy, a native of Bristol, New York. Mrs. Boise was a student of Oberlin College, and was by profession a teacher. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Boise, as follows: David W., Charles W., Howard S., Otis P., Florence M., and Eugene B. Mr. Boise is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Brotherhood of American Yeoman. He is president of the board of trustees of the town of Hope, and is a man of active public spirit. Politically he is a Populist, and is a man who keeps pace with the world and favors reform principles.

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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 52

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