Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 59

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 59

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PETER D. MCKENZIE, a prominent citizen of Carrington, is the owner of one of the best farms in Foster county. He was one of the early settlers of that region, and has aided in upbuilding his com- munity. He was born in the provinec of Quebec, Canada, in May, 1838.

The father of our subject, Dugald Mckenzie, was of Scotch birth, and was born on the Island Arron, and came from Scotland to America in 1828. He was a fisherman in his native land, and after taking up his residence in Canada was a farmer during the balance of his career. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Isabelle Mc- Killop, was born and raised in the same place as the father of our subject, and the parents were married in Scotland.

Mr. Mckenzie was the sixth in a family of seven children, and was raised on a farm in Can-

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ada, and attended the country schools and the high school for one year. After attaining his majority he began for himself in the mercantile business, and he and his older brother conducted a store for three years, and were successful. Our subject then spent another year in the high school, paying his way as he went, and at the age of twenty-five years he estab- lished himself in the mercantile business at Cots- wold, Ontario. He disposed of his business in 1866 and entered a partnership with Archibald McKil- lop in the sawmill business, which they followed four years. He then spent one year clerking in Iverness, Quebec, and then removed to Lowell, Massachusetts, and entered the employ of the Meri- mac Print Works as timekeeper, which position he filled two years, and then became manager of one of the departments of the business, which office he held seven years. He purchased a farm in Floyd county, Iowa, in 1880, and began farming, and after three years disposed of the property at a good advance of purchasing price and bought two car- loads of horses, which he shipped to Carrington, North Dakota. He traded some of the horses for a half-section of land four miles west of Carring- ton, and in 1885 removed to the farm. He erected good buildings, and later purchased another half- section of land near his original farm, and is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land, most of which is under cultivation. He disposed of his personal effects in 1892 and rented the land, and after paying a visit to Wells county and renting his daughter's farm, the family moved to Charles City, Iowa, and resided there until the year 1896, since which time they have resided in Carrington.

Our subject was married, in 1865, to Margaret Shield. Two daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mckenzie, named Lizzie A. and Belle. Mrs. Mc- Kenzie was of Scotch-Irish descent. She died in 1896, in Iowa. Mr. Mckenzie married Mrs. Lucy J. Studson, a native of Jefferson county, New York, in 1896. Mrs. Mckenzie was of French descent, and was a daughter of Luke Lacore, a divine of the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Mrs. Mc- Kenzie removed to Illinois when five years of age and was raised there. Our subject is a member of the Good Templars. He is an exemplary citizen, and during the past few years has taken an active part in local affairs, and has served as justice of the peace. He is a Silver Republican politically, and stands stanchily for his party principles.

JOHN J. WAMBERG. The business inter- ests of Hope, Steele county, have an able repre- sentative in the gentleman above named. He is a man of excellent characteristics and business tact, and the firm of Wamberg & Jacobson is well known as the leading drug firm of that locality. They also have extensive farm interests near the city.

Our subject was born in the vicinity of Bergen, Norway, February 14, 1854, and was the fourth in a family of five children born to John H. and Ger-

trude (Espe) Wamberg. The father died when our subject was but two years of age, and he was reared to the age of fourteen years by his grandparents. The mother, with our subject and two other chil- dren, came to America in 1869, and made a home with the eldest son of the family, who several years previously had settled in Crawford county, Wis- consin. Our subject worked at farm labor and also railroading and in the Michigan woods two years, and in 1872 entered a general store at Rising Sun, Wisconsin, where he worked about one year and then went to Iowa, and during the winter of 1873-74 he attended. the Breckenridge Institute at Decorah, Iowa. He secured a position in a drug store in that city in the spring of 1874, where he continued employed until the spring of 1881, when he went to Valley City, Barnes county, Dakota, and there established in the drug and grocery business. After one year he removed the store to Hope, in Steele county, and his was the first established drug store in the village. He combined general merchan- dising with the other lines, and Mr. Jacobson was his partner from the establishment of the business. The mercantile business was disposed of in 1894, since which time drugs has been the sole line carried. The extensive farming interests which the firm also owns claims a share of their attention. They are well-known and successful business men.

Mr. Wamberg was married, in 1884, to Miss Christina A. Neisheim. Mr. and Mrs. Wamberg have been the parents of five children, as follows: Gertrude, deceased; William Floyd, deceased ; Wilma, deceased ; John C .; and Sibyl. Mr. Wam- berg is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a thirty-second-degree member, and also affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Mod- rn Woodmen of America and Brotherhood of Amer- ern Yeomen. He is prominent in public affairs, and was elected railroad commissioner of the state in 1894. He is a stanch Republican, and is a favor- ite delegate to the state conventions, and in 1892 was nominated as presidential elector, and was the only Republican who carried the ticket, and he ran ahead of the party ticket. He was a member of the Republican state central committee two ternis, and served one term as chairman of the Republican county central committee.

JOHN W. KAEMMER is a man of progressive, enlightened views, and his standing as an early set- tler of Richland county and a citizen of prominence in Garfield township is well known. He is the pro- prietor of one of the fine estates of that township, and makes his home on section 28.

Mr. Kaemmer was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, December 1, 1858, a son of John and Bertha ( Baumann) Kaemmer, residents of Freeborn county, Minnesota. Our subject lived in his native place until sixteen years of age, when he went to Freeborn county, Minnesota, and after a stay there of a year and a half returned to Washington county,

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Wisconsin. After two years he again went to Free- born county, and remamed there until his removal to Dakota, in 1879. In November of that year he located in Richland county, and in the spring of 1880 he entered claim to one quarter-section of land on section 28, and began what has proven to be a successful vocation. He is now the owner of one hundred sixty acres of land, and his farm is well im- proved with comfortable and commodious buildings.

Our subject was married, in Freeborn county, Minnesota, February 21, 1882, to Miss Katie Eber- hardt, who was born in Des Moines county, lowa, August 9, 1861. Mrs. Kaemmer's father, Kev. Henry Eberhardt, died in Freeborn county, Minne- sota, at the age of thirty-eight years, and the mother, who bore the maiden name of Barbara Kopp, still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Kaemmer are the parents of four children, as follows: Etta J., Louis W., Alfred E. and E. Ray. Both our subject and his wife are prominent members of the Evangelical church, and Mr. Kaemmer has been class-leader and Sunday-school superintendent in the same The family are well known and highly respected by their acquaintances. Mr. Kaemmer has held nu- merous local offices, including supervisor, school treasurer, township assessor of Denton township. Since that township was divided, in 1893, he has been clerk of Garfield township. He takes an active part in local affairs, and is a man whose life is de- voted to his country's best interests. Politically he favors Republican principles.

EDWIN FOLSOM, M. D., is a prominent and successful physician and surgeon of Fargo, North Dakota, who has been engaged in practice there since October, 1881, and is now the oldest repre- sentative of the homeopathic school in the city and state. He has made a careful study of his profes- sion and has been remarkably successful in practice.

The Doctor was born in Somerset county, Maine, September 30, 1841, and is a son of Peter and Vira ( Niles) Folsom, natives of New Hamp- shire and Vermont, respectively. The mother was a sister of Bishop William Niles, of New Hamp- shire, and Judge Niles, of the United States su- preme bench in Mississippi. The Doctor's father, who was a merchant, died in Maine. He had two sons, the older of whom is now living in Illinois, at the age of eighty-two years.

In his native state Dr. Folsom grew to man- hood. He attended the Somerset Academy at Athens, Maine, from which he was graduated in 1857, and the following year commenced the study of medicine at Hopkinsville, Kentucky. In 1859 he entered the Rush Medical College, Chicago, but before completing the course he laid aside his text- books, in 1861, to enter the army, for the war of the Rebellion had already begun. He was commis- sioned second lieutenant of a company in the Sec- ond Maine Regiment, but was later transferred with the same rank to Company F, Twentieth Maine

Volunteer Infantry. He resigned in October, 1862, to accept the position as captain and acting assistant inspector general. The following December he was transferred to the navy and reported at the navy yard at Mound City, Illinois, but in August, 1863, he again became a member of the land forces and was with the Army of the Potomac until March 4, 1865, when he resigned his commission and re- turned home. He participated in thirteen different engagements, including the second battle of Bull Run, the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Cape Girardeau. At one time he was slightly wounded.

After a short time spent in Maine, Dr. Folsom again came West, and this time located in Bloom- ington, Illinois, where he was engaged in the prac- tice of his chosen profession from 1867 until 1872. He then gave up practice for two years and re- turned to his old home in Maine. In 1875 he en- tered the Boston University School of Medicine, and after graduating from that institution in 1877, he was appointed surgeon off the coast of Maine by the treasury department, which position he most. creditably and satisfactorily filled for four years and a half. In October, 1881, he came to Fargo, North Dakota, and has since been engaged in successful practice at this place, his practice being both large and lucrative. Socially he is a member of the Ma- sonic order and the Grand Army of the Republic. . Genial and affable in manner, he makes many friends, and has the happy faculty of being able to retain then.

In 1863 the Doctor was united in marriage with Miss Mary Whittier, who died in 1869, leaving one son, Edwin W., who is now engaged in the grain business in Minneapolis. For his second wife Dr. Folsom married Mrs. Josephine Miller, nec Law- rence, in 1871. Mrs. Josephine Folsom organized the Woman's Relief Corps, Department of North Dakota, in 1890, and was made the first president, which office she filled for two terms, from 1890 to 1802, inclusive. She takes great interest in the or- ganization, giving much of her time to the work of the society.

CYRUS H. JENKS, superintendent of the Northern division of the Great Northern Railroad, is a man of thorough knowledge in railroad work, and has spent thirty years in this line. He was born in Boone county, Illinois, November 29, 1844.

The parents of our subject, Cyrus C. and Eliza- beth (Quilliams) Jenks, were from New York and Isle of Man, respectively. The father was a car- penter, brickmason, and also engaged in teaching, and moved to Illinois in 1821 and to Minnesota in 1848, settling in St. Anthony, and was the first school teacher and firs constable of Minneapolis. He was born August 4, 1808, and was three times married, and was the father of thirten children. In company with Morton M. Goodhue he printed the first issue of the "Pioneer," which later be-

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came the "Pioneer Press," of St. Paul. He made the brick from which old Fort Ridgely was built. This pioneer of Illinois and Minnesota died in 1897.

Our subject was five years of age when he re- moved with his parents to St. Anthony, and was educated there and at Rockford. He enlisted, in 1862, in Company B, Sixth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and served until August, 1865, and was in the Sixteenth Army Corps of the Army of the Gulf, previous to which he had been in the Indian service and assisted in the capture of the Indians of Mankato and Spirit Lake, after which he was sent south and was at Spanish Fort and Fort Blake- ley and also participated in numerous minor engage- ments. He returned to Minnesota after the war and located at Rockford, and in 1870 engaged with the Great Northern Railroad Company as brake- man, and rose rapidly in rank and soon was a con- ductor of freight and passenger trains, and in 1882 went to Crookston, Minnesota, as assistant superin- tendent of the Northern division and served as such until 1887, when he assumed charge of the Dakota division and was superintendent there until 1892, and was then transferred to the Northern division for one year and then given the Montana Central for one year, after which he returned to the Northern division and has held the office at Grand Forks continuously since that time. He as- sisted in building the road and is one of the few men left who began railroad life as early as 1870.

Our subject was married, in 1867, to Hattie E. Hayford, a native of New York. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jenks, as follows : Charles O., and Lotta Q., now Mrs. C. C. Shap- leigh, of Moorehead. Mr. Jenks is prominent in affairs of the Masonic fraternity and has passed the degrees of all the departments of the order. He is a man of excellent business capacity and is highly esteemed throughout the locality in which he makes his home.

NILS EGGEN is one of the representative gen- eral farmers of Bear Creek township, Ransom coun- ty. He has been a conspicuous figure in the devel- opment and extension of the great agricultural in- terests of that part of the county. He has a pleas- ant estate and makes his home on section 35, town- ship 136, range 58. In the accumulation of this fine property much credit is due Mrs. Eggen for her share in the labors necessary for success.

Nils Eggen was born in Norway, April 25, 1842. He came to America when he was twenty-six years of age, after having engaged in farm work in his native land. He worked in a sawmill in Michigan for some time and then resided in La Crosse, Wis- consin, six years, after which he spent three years in lowa. He went to Ransom county, Dakota, in 1880, and entered claim to land in township 136, range 57, upon which he erected a shanty, where he lived alone and rented his land and worked at carpenter work, assisting in the erection of many

of the pioneer shanties. His wife hled upon land which comprises their present farmi, and on which they took up their residence in 1893. The farm consists of two hundred acres of land, and is well improved. Mr. Eggen has made a success of his vocation and enjoys the comforts of a quiet country life.

Our subject was married, in 1893, to Miss Bettey Olson, nee Torgeson. Mr. Eggen is a member of the Lutheran church. He takes an active interest in public affairs of local importance, and is at pres- ent school and township treasurer. He is well known along the valley, and has gained the con- fidence and esteem of his associates. Politically he is a Republican and Prohibitionist.

BENJAMIN GRAHAM. The maturer years of this gentleman have been devoted to the pursuit of agriculture, in which he has met with unbounded success and is the proprietor of one of the finest farms to be found in that part of North Dakota. He makes his home on section 14, township 131, range 65, in Whitestone township, and is one of the early settlers of Dickey county.

Our subject was born on a farm in Orange county, New York, August 20, 1849, and was the third in a family of four children, three sons and one daughter, born to Edward and Jane (Groton) Graham. His parents were natives of Ireland and the father was born in 1801. He was a farmer by occupation and died in Ingham county, Michigan, at the age of seventy-elght years, and the mother died in the same state in 1889.

When a child of two and a half years our sub- ject was taken to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he attended school and later moved to Ing- ham county, that state, where the family resided near the village of Stockbridge. He remained at home until he attained his majority, when he learned the blacksmith's trade in the village and followed the same in Stockbridge until the spring of 1884, when he went to Dickey county, North Dakota. He entered claim to the southeast quarter of section 34, township 131, range 65, which land he' now owns, and his home farm comprises three quarter- sections of land. On this he has placed valuable improvements and his barn is the best structure of the kind in the locality, if not in the southern coun- ties of the state. He has sixty-five head of well graded Durham cattle and thirteen head of good work horses.

Our subject was married in Stockbridge, Michi- gan, in 1877, to Miss Helen Kellogg, a native of Ingham county and a daughter of Benjamin Kel- logg. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Graham, the eldest and youngest of whom died in infancy. The two surviving children are names as follows: Fred J. and Ethel. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Graham are presented on another page. Mr. Graham is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a Repub-

BENJAMIN GRAHAM.

MRS. BENJAMIN GRAHAM.

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lican. He is public-spirited and has held varous township offices and is highly esteemed throughout the county.

JOSEPH H. WILCOX, one of the pioneer set- tlers of Ayr township, is widely known as an agri- culturist of industrious habits and excellent char- acter. He and his brother, William J. Wilcox, now deceased, located land in the early days of the set- tlement there and struggled together to make a comfortable home and a good income for future years, and the present thriving condition of their farms bears evidence of their successful efforts.

Our subject was born in Dodge county, Wis- consin, February 2, 1854, and was a son of David and Charlotte ( Bowser) Wilcox, who were natives of Lincolnshire, England. They were farmers by occupation and the father also operated a canal boat. The family came to the United States in 1849 and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where the father purchased land and cleared up a farm, and still resides in that county. Five sons and one daughter were born to them, and the daughter and our subject are the only members of the family now in North Dakota.

Mr. Wilcox was reared in Dodge county, Wis- consin, and in 1879, in company with his brother, William J., notice of whom appears below, he went to Cass county, North Dakota, and entered claim to the southwest quarter of section 32, in Ayr town- ship, as a homestead, and became one of the first settlers of the township. They began the improve- ments at once, and our subject now has one of the finest farms of that locality, and cultivates two quarter-sections.

Our subject was married, March 4, 1880, to Miss Minnie E. Mihlmier, a native of Dodge county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Wilcox is a daughter of John and Louise (Scroeder) Mihlmier, natives of Ger- many, who came to America in 1855 and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox, as follows: David J., Edith M., Byron J., Luella B., Charles E. and Ernest L. Mr. Wilcox assisted in the organization of his township and served on the board for many years, and was also chairman of the town board. He is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and is popular with the people. Politic- ally he is a Republican.

WILLIAM J. WILCOX, deceased, brother of Joseph Wilcox, was one of the early settlers of Ayr township, and was highly respected as a citizen and farmer.

Mr. Wilcox was born in Dodge county, Wis- consin, January 2, 1856, and was raised in his native state, and in 1879 went to North Dakota with his brother and settled on the northwest quarter of section 32, in Ayr township, where he resided until his death.

Mr. Wilcox was married in Wisconsin, March 17, 1881, to Louise P. Mihlmier, a sister of Mrs.

Joseph Wilcox. Our subject died March 20, 1894, leaving his wife and five children, as follows: Eve- lyn L., Ira William, Clara A., George H. and Ches- ter A. Mr. Wilcox was prominent in local affairs and served as toownship treasurer and assessor. He held membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he was a Republican and earnest in his convictions.

HON. ROLLIN C. COOPER. One of the most highly reputed citizens of Griggs county bears the foregoing name. Mr. Cooper is a man of broad ideas, integrity and business uprightness, and being a man of abundant financial strength, has aided materially in the upbuilding of every public enter- prise throughout that region. He has been a resi- dent of Cooperstown for the past twenty years and was the founder of the city, and the city was named in honor of Cooper Brothers. Since its earliest set- tlement he has watched its needs, and has worked earnestly for its better interests. He is conducting extensive enterprises in that locality, and aside from operating his farm lands, consisting of seven thou- sand acres, he also owns and operates a grain ele- vator and deals extensively in grain.

Mr. Cooper is a native of Washtenaw county, Michigan, and was born September 30, 1845. He was the ninth in order of birth in a family of eleven children born to Thomas and Caroline (Baker) Cooper, both of whom were natives of Vermont. His parents were married in their native state and removed to Michigan in 1832, where the father of our subject engaged in farming, and was one of the pioneer settlers of the state.

Our subject left the home farm when thirteen years of age and went to Minnesota, where he re- mained a few years, and then went to Colorado, and there engaged in mining several years. He went to Griggs county, North Dakota, in the fall of 1880, and the following year settled at Coopers- town. He platted the town which bears his name, and at once engaged in farming and grain buying. He has added to his acreage from time to time and is now one of the most extensive land owners of the state, and engages in grain raising.

Mr. Cooper was married in Colorado, in 1870, to Miss Emma C. Hutchin, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Henry and Ella Hutchin. Mr. Cooper has served his community in various important positions, and has always been found standing firmly for right aud justice, and performing his duties faithfully and with commendable public spirit. He was elected to the house of representatives in 1894, and to the senate in 1898, and served one term in each office. In the house he was chairman of the railroad committee, and was also a member of other committees, and he was a member of the first board of county commissioners of Griggs county, being appointed in that capacity by Governor Ordway dur- ing territorial days. He continued to serve on that

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body until 1898. Mr. Cooper is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and in political sentiment is a Republican.

CHARLES K. BASSETT, proprietor of the "Valley City Alliance" and one of the prominent and representative citizens of that place, was born in Abingdon, Knox county, Illinois, February 24, 1859. His father, George Bassett, a native of the Empire state, was born in 1809, and when a young man removed to Ohio, where he married Miss Nancy Wilson, whose birth occurred in 1818. She still survives her husband and makes her home in Abingdon, Illinois.

Charles K. Bassett is indebted to the public schools of his native place for his educational privi- leges. At the age of twelve years he entered the office of the "Knox County Democrat" to learn the printer's trade, and in March, 1877, started the "Abingdon Register" in company with C. S. Thomp- son. In June, 1879, he removed to Plymouth. Illi- nois, and was the editor of the "Plymouth Phono- graph" for three years and seven months. On com- ing to North Dakota, in 1883, he first located at Oriska, Barnes county, where he was in the employ of the Town Site Company for two years, but since then he has been in continuous business at Valley City, as editor and proprietor of the "Valley City Alliance"-one of the leading journals of this part of the state. He is a clear and forcible writer, a man of good business ability, and has met with ex- cellent success in newspaper work. He takes quite a prominent and influential part in public affairs, and has most creditably served as alderman of Val- ley City for six years and as chief of the fire depart- ment for one year.

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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 59

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