Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 67

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

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must be numbered Henry Krogh, an attorney of Fargo, and the Danish vice-consul for North and South Dakota.

He was born at Elsinore, Denmark, November 8, 1853, and was reared and educated in his native land, attending the colleges of that country, includ- ing the agricultural college at Copenhagen. He studied civil engineering and engaged in the prac- tice of that profession in Denmark until 1877, when he came to the United States. He spent some time in travel, visiting Wisconsin and Minnesota, but in 1879 located in Fargo, South Dakota, where he has since made his home. Soon after settling here he commenced the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1890. Prior to this time he was associated with Jacob Lowell and F. J. Thompson in practice before the United States land office, and has followed that line of business up to the present time. He is also interested in the real estate busi- ness, and has been eminently successful since com- ing to this state. He is recognized as one of the prominent and influential citizens of his community, and in 1882 was appointed Danish vice-consul for the territory of Dakota, a position he has since most acceptably filled. He takes considerable interest in political affairs, but has never sought nor desired public office. Socially he is one of the oldest Ma- sons in the state, and is also a member of the Mod- ern Woodmen of America.

In 1883 Mr. Krogh married Miss Marie Voigt, also a native of Denmark, and they have three sons -Gerhard, William and Fred.

HON. JAMES PURDON. This name is borne by a prominent business man of Wahpeton, whose life and labors in North Dakota extend over a pe- riod of nearly twenty years. During this time he has manifested the true spirit of American progress in his business affairs, and his connection with the advance of civilization.

Our subject was born in the county of Lanark, Ontario, April 21, 1840. He was reared in that county, and received a common school education, and assisted his father. on the farm until about seventeen years of age, when he served an appren- ticeship as a carpenter and joiner, and also learned the carriage maker's trade. He followed that line of work as an apprentice and also in business for himself until the spring of 1868. He also con- ducted a mercantile business and served as post- master of Watson's Corners, in Lanark county, which office he resigned in the spring of 1868. He then went to Alexandria, Minnesota, and settled in the township of Hudson, adjoining Alexandria, in Douglas county, where he engaged in farming two years, and then removed to Alexandria and fol- lowed carriage making for several years, and also engaged in otner occupations from time to time, in- cluding the mercantile business. After twelve years, in the spring of 1880, he removed to Wahpe- ton, where he has since engaged in the mercantile

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business. He carries an extensive stock of goods, and enjoys his share of the patronage.

Our subject was married in Lanark county, On- tario, to Miss Lucretia G. Walker, a native of Scot- land, who was reared in Lanark county. Mrs. Pur- don was born September 17, 1839, and died October 16, 1875, leaving three children, as follows: Sarah G., William R. and Isabella C. Mr. Purdon was married in Alexandria, Minnesota, to Miss Annetta Anderson, a native of Norway, who was reared in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Purdon are the parents of six children, as follows: Myrtle G., Cleveland A., Frank R., Clara, Florence and Edith. His son, William R., was captain of Company I, First North Dakota Regiment. He served in the Phillipines, and was accounted a brave and efficient officer. Mr. Purdon has always held a prominent position wher- ever he has resided, taking an active interest in the welfare of his community. While a resident of Alexandria, Minnesota, he held all of the important offices of the village, and was elected clerk of the district court for Douglas county, which position he held four years. Since residing in Wahpeton he has served as county commissioner, mayor of the city, alderman of the city, and numerous minor offices, and in the fall of 1894 was elected on the Re- publican ticket to the North Dakota legislature, serving one term. He is a public-spirited citizen in the broadest sense of the term, and lends his in- fluence for advancement. He is liberal in his relig- ious belief.

JAMES E. RENFREW is successfully pursu- ing farming in township 149, range 67, in Eddy county, and is the owner of seven hundred and sixty acres of tillable land. He was born on a farm in Bremer county, Iowa, July 3, 1861.

The father of our subject, John Renfrew, was a farmer and later a miller, and is now engaged in farming in northern Minnesota. Our subject at- tended the country school, and when about seven- teen years of age left home and worked at farm labor, and at the age of eighteen years went into the lumber woods of northern Minnesota, where he spent his winters until the spring of 1884. He then went to North Dakota, and after a stop at Grank Forks, thence to Fargo, and later to St. Paul, and then to Big Horn, Montana, where he worked at railroading a short time, and worked on a farm near Helena, Montana. He remained there until October, 1884, and then went to Portland, Oregon, and after a short stay went by boat to San Francisco, where he was employed on a grain farm one season and then returned to Park Rapids, Minnesota, via Los Angeles. He again went to Fargo, North Da- kota, in the spring of 1885, and worked a short time on a farm, and went to Carrington, and from there walked to New Rockford, and filed claim to the southeast quarter of section 12, in township 149. range 67, and then went to Devil's Lake, and there spent the summer at farm work, and returned to

the lumber woods for the winter months. He was engaged at farm work near Fargo during the sum- mer of 1885, and in the spring of 1886 bought a team of horses and worked for others during the spring and then went to his tree claim in Eddy county, and broke seventy-three acres of his land and boarded with a neighbor. He did not build his residence until 1888, and followed farming with oxen from 1891-95. He engaged in wheat and flax raising, and has met with success. He has about six hundred acres under cultivation, and one hun- dred and sixty acres in grass and pasture land, and on his home farm has a complete set of substantial buildings, and all machinery for the conduct of the place, and his farm bears evidence of painstaking care in its operation.

Mr. Renfrew is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America, and in political faith is a Demo- crat, and is prominent in local affairs.

BARTLEY W. SCHOUWEILER, one of the leading business men of North Dakota, is a resident of Fairmount, Richland county. He has been iden- tified with the business interests of that region for over fifteen years and is a man of large means, liberal and public-spirited, and takes a leading part in all matters or moves calculated to benefit his town or county.

Mr. Schouweiler was born near Dubuque, Iowa, May 3, 1856. When he was but one year of age the family moved to Wabasha county, Minnesota, where our subject was reared on a farm. He was edu- cated in the common schools and the busniess col- lege of La Crosse and made his home with his parents until twenty-four years of age, when he engaged in the mercantile business at Hector, Ren- ville county, Minnesota. He remained there four years and then disposed of his interests in 1884 and in the fall of that year went to North Dakota, locating at Fairmount, Richland county. He at once engaged in the mercantile business and has continued thus engaged to the present. He car- ries a complete stock of goods and has one of the best equipped stores in that region, enjoying an ex- tensive patronage. He became a stockholder and vice-president of the bank of Fairmount on its or- ganization in July, 1895, and two years later was elected president of the institution. He is also president of the La Moure County Bank, which was established in 1897, and is also interested, in com- pany with his brother, in the mercantile business at West Superior, Wisconsin, and has extensive real estate interests in that city, and four hundred acres of land near there, adjacent to Lake Superior. He and his brother, John A., are owners in company of three hundred and fifty acres of land.

Our subject was married, in Fairmount, North Dakota, in March, 1893, to Miss Carrie Nelson, daughter of N. P. Nelson, of Fairmount. Mrs. Schouweiler is a native of Denmark. Four sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schouwciler, as

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follows: Le Roy, Earl, Austin and Lloyd. Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Eastern Star and the Knights of Pythias.

NIELS HEMMINGSON, one of the most pro- gressive and influential citizens of Griggs county, is successfully pursuing agriculture in Greenfield township and is a man of careful methods and prac- tical nature. He makes his home on section 10, of Greenfield township, where he located in pioneer days, and his farm is well improved and convenient to the village of Hannaford, North Dakota.

Our subject was born on the picturesque island of Moen, Denmark, December 22, 1845, and was the tenth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, born to Hemming and Caren (Hanson) Rasmussen, both of whom were natives of Denmark. His father was a soldier in the regu- lar army of Denmark and served six years as cor- poral. His parents died in their native land at an advanced age.

Mr. Hemmingson completed his education in his native land and remained at home until twenty- two years of age, when he emigrated to America to seek his fortune in the New World. He located at Ford county, Illinois, where he worked on a farm for some time and from thence went to Manis- tee, Michigan, and then went into the pineries and worked during fifteen winters and spent his sum- mers at farm labor in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He went to Griggs county, North Dakota, in 1883 and filed claim to the land on which he now resides. He went to Dakota without means, but is now the fortunate possessor of four hundred and eighty acres of land and has added such improvements to the place as entitle it to rank among the fore- most farms of Griggs county.

Our subject was married, in Racine county, Wis- consin in 1873, to Miss Mary Skarie, a native of Norway. Mrs. Hemmingson was born in 1843 and came to America when a child aged four years. One child has been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hemmingson, Walter, who at present has charge of the home farm. Mr. Hemmingson is a man who keeps pace with the times in all public affairs and is active in his labors for the advance- ment of his community. He was appointed county commissioner during territorial days and served on that body twelve years. He has held numerous offices in his township and the honor of christening the township was conferred upon him. He is a Republican in political sentiment.

ERWIN E. TOWN. Among the better class of agriculturists, whose farms evidence enterprise and painstaking care, this gentleman stands in a foremost rank. He has added valuable improve- ments to his estate and is one of the substantial men of Dickey county. He makes his home on section

11, township 129, range 65, of Spring Valley town- ship, and every appointment bespeaks the good taste of the family.

Our subject was born on a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, January 4, 1863, and there attended school and resided until eighteen years of age. He was the third in order of birth in a family of eleven children born to Allen and Jane ( Haggert) Town. His father was a farmer bv occupation and died in Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1898 and the mother died in the same county in 1892.

After completing his education our subject be- gan railroad work between Winona, Minnesota, and Harvard, illinois, and continued thus engaged four and a half years, when he returned home for a short time and in March, 1886, went to Dickey county, North Dakota, where he filed claim to land and began farming. He and Mrs. Town each own one quarter-section of land and their home farm is equipped with the most modern and improved ma- chinery and buildings and every arrangement made to lessen the labor incident to farm life.

Our subject was married, in Ellendale, North Dakota, in December, 1893, to Miss Mary Stephens, a native of New Richmond, Wisconsin, who was born in 1870. Mrs. Town was a daughter of Michael and Ellen Stephens. Her father died when she was a small child and her mother was killed in the cyclone which destroyed the town of New Richmond, in the spring of 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Town are the parents of three children, as follows : Ellen, Allen and Marian. Mr. Town has served as assessor of Spring Valley township for the past five years and is a man who takes an active interest in the welfare of his township and county. He is always found standing on the side of right and justice and is highly esteemed throughout the county where he has made his home for so many years. Politically, he is a Republican.

EBEN W. L. CARKIN. In Hillsboro town- ship, Traill county, there is quite a settlement of New Englanders, whose thrifty habits have brought them success in a country where extravagant out- lay has accomplished little or nothing more. Com- fortable homes, good schools and culture and refine- ment are evidenced in their every-day life and sur- roundings and as one of this class the gentleman above named is entitled to prominent mention. Mr. Carkin has a fine farm of seven hundred acres and his home in section 28 is a model in every par- ticular, although less ostentatious in appearance than many of those of the so-called "bonanza farmers" of the country. He has pushed steadily forward and by perseverance and economical habits and good judgment has acquired a home of comfort and easy circumstances.

Our subject was born in Appleton, Knox county, Maine, July 10, 1850, and was the fourth in a fam- ily of six children born to Isaac and Sabra (Bump) Carkin, both of whom are deceased. He left his

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home when nineteen years of age and obtained em- ployment in a shoe factory at Marblehead, Massa- chusetts, and after about seven years of that work, during which time he had obtained a modest bank account, he returned to his native state and in Appleton he embarked in the general merchandise business and conducted this extensively until 1882. In the spring of that year the "westward ho" fever seized him and he went to North Dakota and was soon established on a farm in the Red river valley, boarding himself and following his ox-team and plow, an employment wholly foreign to that fol- lowed by him for the preceding thirteen years. His family joined him in 1884 and have resided in North Dakota continuously since. He has purchased ad- ditional land and improved his farm and has an excellent property, which yields an abundant crop of grain annually.

Our subject was married to Miss Ada L. York, in 1882. Mrs. Carkin was for several years en- gaged in the school rooms of New England and is always interested in all pertaining to educational advancement. For the purpose of giving their children the best school advantages they reside in Hillsboro during the winter months. Their chil- dren are as follows: Jolin H., Theone, Howard E. and Everett O. Mr. Carkin is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and Independent Order of Foresters. He is identified with the Democratic party in politics and has mixed freely in public affairs, and considering the fact that his party is in the minority, he has proven himself a decidedly popular man. He was elected county commissioner in 1897 and is now serving as chairman of the county board. For many years he has served as township treasurer and has assisted in the upbuilding of schools in Hillsboro township and city. He is a gentleman of broad views and well merits his high standing.

JAMES G. BROWN. The farming and stock raising interests of Cass county have a worthy rep- resentative in the gentleman whose name introduces this review. He is engaged extensively in agri- cultural pursuits in Gill township and has a model farm, the direct result of well-directed labor and economical methods. He is highly esteemed by his fellow men and enjoys well-merited success.

Our subject was born in county Formaugh, Ireland, January 7, 1857, and was a son of James and Mary ( Tichbourn ) Brown, natives of the same county. His parents emigrated to America in 1875 and settled in Bruce county, Canada, where the father died in 1800, aged eightv-three years. He was a farmer and stock raiser and prospered in his calling. The mother of our subject resides with him in North Dakota. The maternal grand- father of our subject, George Tichbourn, lived in Canada, to the advanced age of ninety-three years.

Our subject was one of five children, three sons and two daughters. His brothers are deceased and

his sister resides in Canada. Mr. Brown was edu- cated in Ireland, receiving an academic education until sixteen years of age and in 1873 left home and started for the United States. He landed at Port- land, Maine, with fourteen cents in money and soon after was taken seriously ill and in consequence was soon many dollars in debt. Within nine months, however, he was able to land one hundred dollars from his savings and he remained in Portland one year and then removed to Port Hope, Canada, where he remained three years and engaged in the manu- facturing of brick and tile. He then went to Cass county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1880 and purchased a relinquishment and filed claim to the quarter-section of land on which he still resides. He began the improvement of his farm at once and the following year went to South Dakota and en- tered claim to land near Aberdeen, where he lived two years, and then returned to Cass county, North Dakota, where he has followed farming and stock raising continuously since. He ships a large amount of stock annually and operates a section of land, on which he has placed improvements which en- title it to rank among the finest farms of the county.

Our subject was married, in Canada, in 1875, to Jane Collins, a native of Canada, of Irish parent- age. Eleven children, four sons and seven daugh- ters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Mr. Brown is active in public affairs of local importance and was one of the organizers of Gill township and was the first treasurer of the same and has served as chairman of the township board and also as- sessor. He was elected county commissioner in 1898 and is now serving as chairman of the board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and assisted in the organization and erection of the church edifice of the Gill church and was also in- strumental in the erection of the school building on the same corner of the township. He is a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. Poli- tically, he is a stanch Republican and is a member of the county central committee and has served as a delegate to all conventions of his party and is a recognized leader.

EVEN H. BAKKE, who owns and operates a fine farm on section 26, Norman township, has for many years been one of the most highly esteemed and valued citizens of Barnes county. He is of foreign birth, but his duties of citizenship have been performed with a loyalty equal to that of any native son of America and when the nation was imperiled by rebellion he went to the defense of the Union and protected the cause of his adopted country on many a southern battle field. A portrait of Mr. Bakke appears on another page.

Mr. Bakke was born in Norway, September 19, 1833, and continued his residence in that country until 1850, when he came to America with his par- ents, Hans and Martha (Anderson) Bakke, also natives of the Land of the Midnight Sun. The

EVEN H. BAKKE.

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father was born during the latter part of the eight- eenth century. In their family were nine children, of whom our subject is the eldest.

On their emigration to the United States, the family located near the village of Cambridge, in Dane county, Wisconsin, where Even H. Bakke completed his education by a short attendance at the district schools. He aided his father in the operation of the home farm until the Civil war, when he could no longer remain quietly at home. Hardly had the echoes from Fort Sumter's' guns died away when he enlisted, in April, 1861, in Com- pany K, Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which went into camp at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and on the 5th of July was ordered to Harper's Ferry to do garrison duty. Our subject was in most of the important engagements in which the Army of the Potomac took part, including the bat- tles of Boliver Heights, Winchester, Cedar Mount- ain, Pope's campaign, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Beverly Ford, Gettysburg, Resaca. Dallas, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah, Bentonville and Averysboro. He also helped quell the draft riots in New York City and participated in the grand review at Washington, D. C. Although he was in many battles and skirmishes he fortunately escaped uninjured and was never taken prisoner.

After his discharge in the fall of 1865, Mr. Bakke returned to his old home in Wisconsin, where he remained until the following fall. He then went to Monona county, Iowa, where he purchased land and lived until the spring of 1880, which wit- nessed his arrival in Barnes county, North Dakota. He filed a claim where he now resides and has since given his time and attention to the improvement and cultivation of his land. It is the model farm of Norman township, being most pleasantly located and supplied with all the modern accessories and conveniences needed by the progressive farmer of the nineteenth century.

On the Ioth of May, 1866, Mr. Bakke was united in marriage, in Dane county, Wisconsin, with Miss Johanna Gullickson, a daughter of Knut and Maria Gullickson. Our subject and his wife have no chil- dren of their own, but have an adopted daughter, Hilda. They are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them, and their circle of friends seems only limited by their circle of acquaintances.

JOHN MARESH, a well-known farmer and highly respected citizen living on section 24, town- ship 141, range 59 west, Barnes county, North Da- kota, was born on the 23d of March, 1851, in the village of Rodna, Bohemia, Austria, and is a son of Mathias Maresh, a farmer and lumber merchant, who was born in Bohemia in 1800 and died in 1885. Reared in his native land, our subject began his edu- cation in the schools of Pohnany and when between nine and ten years of age went to Tabor, where he at- tended school until about twelve years old. For one season he was a student in a school in the city 21

of Eglan, Moravia, and while there acquired a knowl- edge of the German language.

After six months spent at home with his parents, Mr. Maresh returned to Tabor, where he served an apprenticeship to the miller's trade and when he had mastered that occupation worked at it in dif- ferent cities throughout Austria. He also traveled in upper Moravia and lower Hungary for the pur- pose of gaining further knowledge concerning his trade. Subsequently he took charge of a mill at Tabor and remained at that place until he sailed for America in the fall of 1868. After stopping for a short time in New York he came west and lo- cated in Iowa City, Iowa, where he worked in a mill until the fall of 1869. On leaving there he traveled through that state and Nebraska for a time and then went to work on the Missouri river at Sioux City, Iowa, but not being pleased with his employ- ment he abandoned it after three days' trial and en- listed, in 1869, in the regular army, being assigned to the Twenty-second Infantry. For a short time he was stationed at Sioux City and then was or- dered to Fort Randall, South Dakota, which at that time was the most important post on the Missouri river. He did scout duty and saw much hard fight- ing against the Indians of the great Northwest and took part in some of the historic Indian battles, notably the one in which Lame Deer, the great Sioux chief, was killed at his lodge. General N. A. Miles was commander of the United States forces at that time and Mr. Maresh has served under many other famous Indian fighters, including Gen- erals Stanley, Terry, Brooks and Otis. In 1877 he secured his discharge from the army after one full term of five years and three years of another. In the fall of 1877 he came to Valley City, North Dakota, where he remained until the following spring and then took up land where he now resides and has since devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits with marked success, becoming owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of valuable farm land.

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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 67

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