Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 76

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 76

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Our subject was married, in 1885, to Miss Alice R. Gates. Mr. and Mrs. Dye are the parents of five sons, named as follows: Arthur E., Perley H., Verner A., Floyd L. and Dexter G. Mr. Dye is one of the enterprising and progressive men of his community, and enjoys an enviable reputation. In political faith he is a Republican and Prohibitionist. A portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Dye appears in connec- tion with this sketch.

GEORGE JACOBSON, one of the early set- tlers of Pleasant township, is engaged in various enterprises in that locality and has a pleasant home near the village of Hickson, and justly deserves the title of a prominent citizen of Cass county. He is one of the successful farmers of his township and enjoys the fruits of his labors in that locality.

Our subject was born in Iowa December 26. 1858. His parents, Andrew and Julia (Oppen) Jacobson, were natives of Norway and emigrated to America about 1854 and settled in iowa, where they still reside. Seven sons and three daughters were born to them, who reached the age of ma- turity, of whom our subject and one brother are now residing in Cass county, North Dakota. Three children died in infancy.

Mr. Jacobson was reared in Iowa and received liberal educational advantages there and assisted on the farm until 1878, when he went to Fargo, North Dakota, and the same year entered a homestead claim to land in section 28, of Pleasant township, Cass county. This was wild land at the time, but he has brought it to a high state of cultivation and now owns one section of land as a homestead and a half section in Nelson county. He also deals in farm machinery and buys grain at Hickson in com- pany with Lewis Hicks. His business ventures have proven profitable in every instance and he is now considered one of the solid men of Cass county.

Our subject was married, in 1880, to Marie Blili, a native of Norway. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson and are named

in the order of birth, as follows: Alice S., Gustie, Gilbert, Mable, Cornelia, Ruth, Myrtle and Harry. The family are members of the Synod Lutheran church and are highly esteemed in the community in which they have made their home for so many years. Mr. Jacobson is one of the public-spirited men of his locality and in all moves calculated to upbuild or in any way to enhance the worth of the public enterprises of his community he gives hearty support. He is supervisor of his township and has filled various local offices from time to time. Politically he is a Republican and is strong in his convictions and keeps pace with the times in pub- lic matters.

JACOB H. HOHL. This name is borne by a prominent citizen of Eddy county whose residence is at New Rockford. Since taking up his home in North Dakota his life has been one of continued successes in every direction and in every line in which his faculties have been directed, and he has acquired a comfortable competence and a good name. He is proprietor of the leading lumber yard of the town and is also engaged extensively in general farming near New Rockford.

Our subject was born on a farm near Ft. Mad- ison, Lee county, lowa, and is the eldest in a fam- ily of four sons born to Martin and Christine (Schmidt) Hohl, both of whom are natives of Ger- many. His father came to America in 1843 and his mother emigrated to this country when twenty years of age. Mr. Hohl received a country-school edu- cation and assisted with the work on the home farm in Iowa and attended college one summer at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, at the age of seventeen years. He began working at the age of thirteen in a gen- eral store and after attending college was employed in a general store at Primrose, Iowa, where he re- mained as a clerk for three years. After having attended college at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, he came to North Dakota in 1883 and located at Valley City, where he worked in a general store over three years, and in 1886 came to New Rockford and in com- pany with N. J. Hanson established a general store and also a lumber yard for the Gull River Lumber Company. Mr. Hanson conducted the store and our subject had charge of the lumber business. This yard was among the first in the town, as was also the store among the first, and the mercantile business was started in a 24x60-foot building, one of the largest in the town at that time. Business prospered and it was necessary to enlarge the build- ing in 1893, and a 24x90-foot store and a forty-foot warehouse has been used since. Mr. Hanson died in October, 1898, and after his death our subject disposed of the store to Rodenberg Brothers, and Mr. Hohl devotes his attention to the lumber busi- ness and enjoys an extensive trade. He owns twelve hundred acres of land in partnership with F. E. Owen, and the land is devoted to general farming, with grain raising in the lead.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

Mr. Hohl was married, in 1893, to Miss Mar- garet E. Wren, who was born and raised in On- tario, Canada. Mrs. Hohl's father, William Wren, is of Scotch-English descent, and died in Canada in February, 1900. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hohl, as follows: Gladys E., Berenice A. and Janet L. Mr. Hohl is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and the Mystic Shrine, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Modern Wood- men of America and Knights of Pythias. Polit- ically he is an independent voter, but prior to 1896 was identified with the Democratic party. He is a man who keeps pace with the times, and lends his influence for good local government.

PETER M. MATTSON, state's attorney of Eddy county, North Dakota, is a gentleman of excellent business ability and education and is widely known as a citizen of true worth, He is a native of Sweden, but has given up the home of his birth to seek a broader field of labor, and has made a success of his career in his adopted land.

Our subject was born in Sweden, May 30, 1861, and was a son of Matts and Bengta (Fyjers) Mattson. His father was a farmer by occupation and came to America in 1879, and settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota. Our subject was raised on a farm in his native land, and attended the common schools and after emigrating to America attended the high school at Vasa, Minnesota. He began farming in Eddy county, North Dakota, In 1884, and was thus engaged until 1892. He erected a claim shanty 12×16 feet, and lived therein all alone and farmed the first two years with oxen. He re- moved to New Rockford, North Dakota, in 1892, and established the machinery business, and began the study of law. He was elected clerk of courts on the Republican ticket, and served two years, and during the winter of 1895-96 took a course in law in the State University of Minnesota. He was admitted to practice in the supreme court in North Dakota, in September, 1896, and the same year es- tablished an office in New Rockford. In the fall of 1898 he was elected state's attorney for Eddy county on the Republican ticket, in which capacity he is at present serving.

Mr. Matson was married, in 1887, to Miss Kate Peterson, a native of Sweden. Three children have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mattson. Mr. Mattson holds membership in the Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Work- men, Modern Woodmen of America and American Yeomen. He is a man of practical nature and en- ergetic spirit, and has made a success of whatever enterprise or vocation he has entered into, and is classed among the public-spirited men of that region.

HON. EBENEZER P. PERRY, one of the best known attorneys of Dickey county, North Dakota, makes his home in Ellendale, where he has enjoyed

an extensive practice. He is also connected with various enterprises in that thriving city, and is one of the potent factors in the prosperity enjoyed in that locality.

Our subject was born in Rushford township, Allegany county, New York, February 20, 1825, and was a son of Ebenezer P. and Hannah ( Speer ) Perry, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of New Hampshire. His father was a farmer by occupation, and moved into western New York during its early settlement. He was a soldier in the war of 1812.

Our subject was the youngest of ten children, and completed his schooling in the district schools of his native place and Rushford high school. He left New York when sixteen years of age and went to Whitmanville, Michigan, where he taught school two years, and began reading law under Redfield, a prominent attorney of Cassopolis, Michigan. He then returned to New York and made Rushford his home until about 1848, when he moved to a farm in Linden township, Cattaraugus county, New York, where he resided five years, and then went to New London, Wisconsin, and engaged in the mercantile business with his brother Robert, the brother conducting a hotel while our subject had charge of the other business, their interests being in common. They also, in company with Mr. Swift, operated a flouring and saw-mill and general store at Whitmanville, Michigan, which was de- stroved by fire. Afterward our subject began the practice of law in New London, having been ad- mitted to the bar in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, in 1857. At the outbreak of the Civil war he en- listed in Company E, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service at Madison, June 11, 1861. They went at once to Washington, thence to Arlington Heights, where they joined the Thirteenth, Sixty-ninth and Seventy- ninth New York Volunteers, and became a part of the Army of the Potomac. Our subject was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg on the first day of that bloody fight, and also participated in the battle of Bull Run and many of the important engagements of the war. He was transferred to Company D, of his regiment, in March, 1862, and commissioned second lieutenant, and rapidly rose to the rank of captain. He commanded Company D from the bat- tle of Antietam until the regiment was mustered out, and he was finally discharged at Madison, Wis- consin, July 29, 1864. He then returned to Wis- consin and began the practice of law at New Lon- don, where he continued until 1882, when he went to Ellendale, North Dakota. He has built for him- self a lucrative practice, and is also proprietor and editor of the "North Dakota Record" (in partner- ship with his son, H. H.), which was established in August, 1894.

Our subject was married, in 1848. to Miss Sophia White, a native of Rushford, New York. Mrs. Perry died in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, leaving two children : Florence, now deceased ; and

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Charles, residing in Clintonville, Wisconsin. MIr. Perry married Caroline Krause in New London, Wisconsin, in 1866. Mrs. Perry is a native of Ger- many. Four children were born to this union, as follows: Ella, Oscar, Laura and Hector H. The last named is now associated with his father in the newspaper work of the "North Dakota Record," and is clerk of court of Dickey county. The paper is a Populist sheet, and the official paper of the county and city. Mr. Perry takes an active inter- est in public affairs wherever he makes his home, and while a resident of Wisconsin was chosen a member of the legislature of that state in 1867, dur- ing which term of office he did very efficient work. He cast his vote for the Republican ticket from 1856 to 1872, since which time he has voted the Democratic ticket. He is a man of deep thought and advocates reform principles.

HECTOR H. PERRY, associate editor and joint owner with his father, Ebenezer P. Perry, of the "North Dakota Record," is one of the prosper- ous and enterprising young men of Dickey county. He is also clerk of the court of Dickey county.

Our subject was born in New London, Wiscon- sin, August 20, 1876. He completed his education in his native place, after which he went to Michigan, and there learned the art of type-setting and print- ing. He then returned to New London and fol- lowed his trade there until 1894, when he went to Ellendale, North Dakota, soon after which he and his father commenced the publication of the "North Dakota Record," which paper they have since edited and published.

Mr. Perry was married, in 1897, in Ellendale, North Dakota, to Miss Jennie Montey, a native of New York. Mr. Perry is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of Pythias and In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He was elected clerk of the court of Dickey county in the fall of 1898 on the Populist ticket. He is popular with the people throughout the county, and deservedly so.

JOSEPH BUCHHEIT. Griggs county is well known for her pleasant and well regulated farms, and one of these fine tracts is owned and operated by the subject of this review. He is a pioneer settler of that region and has aided materially in bringing the country to its high state of civilization. Mr. Buchheit resides in section 10 in Willow township, and has acquired a comfortable home by dint of faithful efforts and good management.

Our subject was born on a farm in Waterloo county, Ontario, Canada, May 2, 1854, and was the seventh in a family of thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, born to Jacob and Mary (Buchheit ) Buchheit. His parents were natives of Germany, and later emigrated to America, and died at an advanced age in Indiana.

When our subject was eight years of age he re-

moved with his parents to St. Joseph county, In- diana, and they settled on a farm near South Bend, where he attended school and assisted his father until sixteen years of age, when he took a position with Clark, Whitson & Company, of Mishawaka, Indiana, and remained in their employ five years. He then returned home and remained for some time, and in 1880 went to Griggs county, North Dakota. After looking over the county he re- turned to Mishawaka, and followed clerking there about one year, and in the spring of 1882 again went to Griggs county, North Dakota. He then filed claim to the northeast quarter of section 10, in Wil- low township, as a pre-emption, since which time he has resided thereon. He is now the possessor of seventeen hundred acres of land, all of which is well improved, and from a limited capital he has gained a comfortable income and is numbered among the substantial men of his locality.

Our subject was married in Fargo, North Da- kota, in 1887, to Miss Ella M. Minnick, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary Min- nick. Mrs. Buchheit's father was a farmer by oc- cupation. Mr. Buchheit takes an active part in lu- cal affairs of a public nature, and has held various of- fices in his township and county. He is the present chairman of the board of county commissioners, having been elected in that capacity on the inde- pendent ticket. He is a man who has the interests of his community at heart, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen.

JOSEPH MILLER. Among the foreign-born citizens of Clifton township, Cass county, who have acquired a comfortable home and an enviable repu- tation by dint of their earnest industry and strict honesty, the gentleman above named is entitled to foremost mention. He has a fine estate and his home is in section 22, where he has resided for many years and has followed farming.

Our subject is a native of Austria, and was born June 24, 1851. His parents, Anton and Ther- esia (\'aith) Miller, were natives of Austria and spent their lives in their native land. Two sons and two daughters were born to them, and our sub- ject is the only member of the family in the United States.

Mr. Miller was reared to the age of sixteen years in Austria and in 1867 came to the United States and remained in Chicago, Illinois, three years and then spent some years in various places in the west. He went to Steele county, Minnesota. and later to Wabasha county, where he followed farming until 1880 and then went to Cass county, North Dakota, and entered land as a homestead in Howes town- ship. He resided there about two years and then removed to his present location in Clifton town- ship, where he has held continuous residence since first locating there. He now owns a section of good land and is one of the well-to-do men of his com- munity.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

Our subject was married in Minnesota, in Jan- uary, 1874, to Rosa Langer, a sister of Frank and Joe Langer, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, as follows: Rosa, now Mrs. H. Shaw of Barnes county; Emma, Lottie, Hubert, Elizabeth, Bertha, Alice, Joseph and Edna. Mr. Miller takes an active part in local affairs of a pub- lic nature, and has filled various local offices, as as- sessor, member of the school board, town board, and minor offices. He is a member of the Modern Wood men of America. Politically he is a Republican and is firm in his convictions.

CHARLES W. CONNOR, the fortunate owner of one of the fine estates of Riverside township, in Steele county, is well known as an agriculturist who is doing an extensive business. His farm con- sists of four hundred acres of land, and he makes his home on section 22, in township 145, range 57. He is a man of wide experience and intelligence and is held in high esteem as a public-spirited cit- izen.

Our subject was born in Madison county, Illi- nois, April 19, 1860, and was the elder of the two sons born to Silas F. and Susan A. ( Hanson ) Con- nor. The mother died in 1899 and the father is still living. The families of both sides are of English extraction. The father was engaged in the manu- facture of the Alton Pitts Separator, and patented and introduced an arrangement for easy raising and lowering of the concave.

Our subject was given a liberal education, and attended one term at Shurtleff College, Upper Al- ton, and then was employed in the grocery store of his father, and a portion of the time during 1880, 81-82-83 he traveled for the Walter A. Wood Com- pany. He made a trip to Dakota in August, 1881, and inspected the land from Buffalo, in Cass county, and with one companion drove to Elsbury, and through the southern part of what is now Steele county. During the trip he accidentally received a flesh wound from a shot gun. He located a tree claim in Hope township, and the following winter took a course at the Missouri State University at Columbia, in surveying and kindred studies, and then joined a surveying party in charge of the sound- ing boat while surveying the Misouri river from Lexington to Booneville, after which he took charge of quarter boats on government work, riprapping the river banks at St. Charles, Missouri. He went to Steele county, North Dakota, and began farming in the spring of 1884, and the following fall was elected county surveyor, and was again elected in 1894, since which time he has held that position. He conducts a farm of four hundred acres of land, all but one hundred sixty acres of which le has acquired by purchase, and is one of the substantial men of his community.

Our subject was married, in 1886, to Miss Florence Brown, of Alton, Illinois. Two sons have

been born to Mr. and Mrs. Connor, as follows : Francis and Clyde. Mr. Connor is the present treas- urer of Riverside township. and since taking up his residence in Dakota has been actively interested in the welfare of his township and county. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a Republican.

JACOB FAUST. This well-known resident of Barnes county is one of our leading Swedish- American citizens, and in his successful business career he has shown the characteristic thrift and enterprise of his race. Beginning with no capital except that acquired by his own industry he has be- come the owner of a valuable farm of thirteen hun- dred and twenty acres in Hobart township, his home being on section 2, and he is to-day one of the most prosperous citizens of his community.

Mr. Faust was born October 18, 1844, on what was known as the Ansorba farm near Falkenberg, Sweden, and is a son of Tora and Enger ( Anderson ) Faust, also natives of Sweden. The father, who was a farmer and carpenter by occupation, died in that country in 1858, but the mother survived him for many years and came to America to spend her declining days with her children. Her death oc- curred in Barnes county, North Dakota, in 1888.

Our subject attended school in his native land until he attained his founteenth year, and during the succeeding thirteen years worked on different farms near his boyhood home. In 1871 he decided to try his fortune in the new world where he believed bet- ter opportunities were afforded ambitious and enter- prising young men, and accordingly he came to the United States in that year. He first located in War- ren, Pennsylvania, where he worked in sawmills for nine years, during which time he erected in North Warren an elegant residence at a cost of $1.700. . In the spring of 1880 he came to Barnes county, North Dakota, and filed a claim of one hundred and sixty acres on section 2, Hobart township, where he has since made his home. Here he has steadily prospered, being one of the most industrious, pro- gressive and energetic agriculturists of the township, and it is doubtful whether there is a better farm in Barnes county than the Jacob Faust place, which is now under a high state of cultivation, while the buildings are all that money and mechanical skill can produce. Mr. Faust has five brothers, viz. : Charles J., Aaron, John, Otto and Peter, all living in Barnes county, and all farmers excepting Charles.

During his residence in Warren, Pennsylvania, Mr. Faust led to the marriage altar, in 1874. Miss Anna C. Petersen, who was born in Halmstad, Swe- den, October 20, 1854, and to them have been born six children, as follows: Amanda J., Tilda V., Carl J., John A., Walter D. and Fred V. The three first named were all born in Pennsylvania, the others in Barnes county, North Dakota, and all are still liv- ing with the exception of Walter D., who died in in- fancy. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Faust appear on

JACOB FAUST.

MRS. JACOB FAUST.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

another page. Socially, the family is one of promi- nence in the community where they reside, and their hospitable home is always open for the reception of their many friends. In 1894 Mr. Faust, with his wife and youngest son, Fred V., took a trip to Swe- den, visiting old friends, and stayed at the home of Mrs. Iaust's parents for three months, stopping on their return trip at New York and in Pennsylvania. The trip each way was made on a Cunard boat-the Lucania and Campania. While Mr. Faust does not give much of his time to politics, he is unwavering in his support of the Republican party, and has served as a member of the school board. Fraternal- ly he belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and, religiously, is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church. His uprightness, integrity and public-spiritedness have won him the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, and he is classed among the most respected representative citizens of Barnes county.

REV. GUSTAV OFTEDAL, pastor of the United Lutheran church, of Buxton, and three outlying churches, has accomplished creditable work since taking charge in Dakota, and has en- deared himself to his people. He is a gentleman of excellent education, refined, and earnest in his work, and his success is well merited.

Our subject was born in Stavanger, Norway, February 22, 1856, and was the fifth in a family of seven children born to Sven and Gunhild (Stokke) Oftedal. His father was a teacher and cashier of a bank, and his sons were given the best education- al advantages.

Our subject entered the university in Christiania and completed a law course, graduating with the class of '72, and afterward practiced law a few months, and then became president of the telegraph station at Arendal. He began the study of theol- ogy in 1875, intending to devote himself to church work in Norway; but before completing his studies he was called to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1877, and soon took charge of one of the leading congre- gations of that city and St. Paul, and after four years went to Alexandria, Minnesota, and there as- sumed charge of seven congregations in three dif- ferent counties. He went to Richland county, North Dakota, in 1884, and in 1889 to Buxton. The Buxton United Lutheran congregation, of which he now has charge, was organized in 1887 by Saug- stad, and consisted upon the arrival of our subject of fourteen families. Mr. Oftedal reorganized the congregation with the same number of families, and it has steadily increased to twenty families. A

handsome church building was erected in 1893, and is acknowledged as the finest edifice of the kind in that part of the county, and is valued at five thousand, five hundred dollars. Grue congre- gation, which is also under the charge of our sub- ject, consists of about thirty families, and the church building is located on section 24, in East Buxton

township, and is valued at three thousand, five hun- dred dollars. St. Olaf congregation consists of about thirty-three families, with a church building valued at five thousand, five hundred dollars, locat- ed in Americus township, in Grand Forks county. North Prairie congregation consists of seventeen families with a church building on section 16, in Logan township, valued at two thousand, five hun- dred dollars. These congregations represent about one hundred families, and property, including churches and parsonages, valued at about twenty thousand dollars, all without debt and erected since 1892, under the supervision of our subject. The growth of the denomination has been remarkable, and their pastor commands the respect and love of those among whom he labors.

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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 76

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