Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 85

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 85

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Our subject was born in Prussia, Germany, March 19, 1854, and was a son of Frederick and Dorothy (Tantow) Henschel, who were natives of the same province and now reside in North Da- kota. His father was a laborer and in 1858 came to America with his family and settled at Mayville, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and resided there until 1869, when he went to Winona county, Minnesota, and remained there until 1878, when he went to Cass county, and entered a homestead claim in sec- tion 8, of Maple River township, remaining there until 1897, and then moved to the home of our sub- ject, where he now resides. Our subject had one brother and five sisters and two of the sisters are deceased. The others of the family reside in North Dakota.

Mr. Henschel was reared and educated in Wis- consin and Minnesota and went with his parents to Dakota and assisted in building a home in the far West. They were among the first settlers of Cass county and the improvements made on their farm were among the first in the county. During the first year of his residence there our subject entered a pre-emption claim to land in section 20, and later sold this and purchased a half-section in sections 4 and 9, of the same township, on which he began farming in 1882. He remained there until 1888 and then moved to his present home and has followed farming there continuously since that date. He has prospered and is now the owner of two sec- tions and a quarter of choice and well-improved land.

Our subject was married. in 1882, to Augusta Froemke, a native of Buffalo county, Wisconsin,

and a daughter of Carl and Mary (Stangerberg) Froemke. Mrs. Henschel's parents came to the United States in 1857, and her father was among the early settlers of Cass county, settling one mile west of Fargo in 1875 and he died in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Henschel are the parents of six children, named as follows: Frederick C., Augusta R., Marv E., Herbert H., Clara R. and Robert W. The fam- ily are members of the Evangelical Association and are highly respected in the community in which they reside. Mr. Henschel has been chairman of the township board for the past four years and has served in some of the school offices. Politically, he is a Republican.

MADS PETERSON, who has devoted the greater part of his career to agricultural pursuits, has met with success in his chosen calling and is the owner of a fine estate in Ada township, Dickey county. He resides on section 2, in township 129, range 61, and conducts stock and grain raising.

Our subject was born on a farm in Jutland, Denmark, July 21, 1856, and was the second in a family of fifteen children born to Peter and Veta ( Bertelson ) Peterson, both of whom were natives of Denmark. The father was a farmer by occupation and the mother of our subject died in Denmark, when he was but a boy.

Mads Peterson attended the schools of his native land and assisted with the farm work until sixteen years of age, when he emigrated to America. He located in Polk county, Wisconsin, and there worked at farming and in the woods until 1883, in which year he went to Dickey county, North Dakota. He filed claim to the land on which he now resides and is now the owner of the quarter-section which he then took and one other, his farm comprising three hundred and twenty acres. He has improved his property in a thorough manner and engages ex- tensively in stock raising and to some extent in grain raising.

Mr. Peterson is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America and is popular with his associates. He has acquired a thorough knowledge of his call- ing and applies the same in a practical manner, tend- ing to the upbuilding of that section of the country. He is a man of sterling worth and is deservedly held in high esteem by his fellows. Politically, he is a Republican.

ST. ADALBERT'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, in Wahpeton, Richland county, North Dakota, was erected in 1884. Father Francis Prybyl having charge of the work. The church was dedicated in 1886, and was supplied by different priests, only occasional services being held until September, 1886, at which time Father Dvorak became the resident pastor. He remained from September, 1886, to August, 1889, when he was followed by Rev. Thomas Rabsteinek, who remained from 1889 till

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1800 and from 1891 to 1894. During the year 1891 the church was attended by different priests and there was no resident pastor until June, 1895, when Reverend James F. Studnicka became pastor. The first Catholics in Richland county were Albert Chizeck and Mathias Lorenc, who settled near Wah- peton in the spring of 1871 and in the fall of that year Joseph Chizeck, Albert and Frank Formaneck were added to the number, when the settlers began to ar- rive and the county was soon settled. The first mass was celebrated by Father Tomasin in Albert Chizeck's home in February, 1872, after which services were held in Breckenridge and in the spring of 1875 in Kotchevaar's store in Wahpeton. The congregation which is now St. John's church was organized in 1875 and in 1884 the Bohemian Catho- lics erected their church edifice.

The present pastor of St. Adalbert's church, the Rev. J. F. Studnicka, was born in Milwaukee, Wis- consin, April 14, 1872. He was educated in the classical course in Marquette College, at Mil- waukee, and in the theological course at St. Francis Seminary, at St. Francis, Wisconsin, and took a post-graduate course at Washington, D. C. He was ordained for the priesthood at Baltimore, Mary- land, in March, 1895, and three months later en- tered upon his present duties. There are about forty-five families in the parish at the present time and the church is enjoying prosperity. Under the fostering care of the present pastor it has gained in membership and stands on a sound financial basis. He is honored by his people throughout the vicinity.

JOHN L. TANNER has been identified with the business and farming interests of Ransom county since its early settlement and is a man of ability and energetic effort. He makes his home on section 30, in Sydna township, and is proprietor of a fine estate on which he conducts general farming and the raising of draft and driving horses. He also engages in carpenter work and many of the build- ings of that locality are his work.

Our subject was born in Porter county, Indiana, February 3, 1861, and was the third in a family of four children born to Norman B. and Sophonia (Draper) Tanner. His father was of Scotch de- scent. Our subject was reared on a farm and when eighteen years old took a special course in the preparatory department of the Valparaiso (Indiana) Normal. He went to Wadena county, Minnesota, when he attained his majority and worked in the lumber woods and in 1882 went to Red river valley, Minnesoa. He went to Milnor, Sargent county, North Dakota, in March, 1883, and purchased wheat during the fall, after which he entered the employ of N. Linton, dealer in lumber and general merchandise and was connected with him until 1884, and then engaged with Mr. Thompson in the ini- plement business. This venture proved unsuccessful and our subject worked for J. Riddle, lumber dealer,

who sold his business in 1884 to Rose Brothers, con- tinuing with them as foreman until 1885. The firm sold out to J. J. Howe & Company, with whom he continued as foreman until 1892. He then went to reside on his farm, located four miles northwest of Milnor, since which time he has met with suc- cess in that pursuit.

John L. Tanner was married, in 1885, to Miss Sydna A. Lannigan, a native of Wisconsin, who went with her parents to North Dakota in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner are the parents of five chil- dren, as follows: Cora. Charles, deceased, Olive, Frances and Mabel. Mr. Tanner is prominent in local affairs and assisted in the organization of Sydna township, which was named for Mrs. Tan- ner. In 1896 Mr. Tanner was elected county commissioner for the fifth district and he has served his township as clerk. In political faith he is'a Re- publican and twice served on the Republican county central committee.

WILLIAM H. MCDONOUGH. Strict atten- tion to business and integrity of word and deed have placed the gentleman above named among the fore- most farmers of Gill township, of which he is a pio- neer settler. He has been useful in sustaining and upbuilding the financial and social interests of the community in which he resides and his name is closely connected with the early history of Cass county.

Our subject was born in the state of New York, September 21, 1848. His parents, Peter and Mary (Welch) McDonough, were natives, respectively, of Ireland and New York. His father was born in county Meath, Ireland, in 1818 and came to Amer- ica in 1838, settling in New York. He moved to Wabasha county, Minnesota, in 1860, and was a tailor by trade and also followed farming. He served in Company I, Seventh Minnesota Volunteer In- fantry, and served two years. He was in the eastern army and saw hard service. He now resides in Becker county, Minnesota. The mother of our sub- ject died in 1893, leaving three sons and four daugh- ters, and two sons and two daughters are still liv- ing.

Our subject is the only member of the family in North Dakota. He was reared and educated in New York and Minnesota and enlisted in 1863, in Company I, Second Minnesota Cavalry, and served two years in the West, fighting Indians in Dakota and Montana and saw active service at Big Hill, Buffalo Lake and Stormy Lake, serving under Gen- eral Sibley and later under General Sully. After his discharge from the service he returned to Min- nesota and remained there until 1879, when he went to Cass county, North Dakota, and entered claim to land in section 28, in Gill township. He was among the first settlers of that region and ex- perienced the privations of pioneer life. He has fol- lowed farming in that township continuously since that date and is now the owner of three quarter-

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sections of fine land, all of which is well improved and under cultivation and he is among the substan- tial men of his community.

Our subject was married, in 1876, to Elizabeth Corbett, a native of Rhode Island. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McDonough, as follows: Lillian, Edward H., Charles A., Fremont T., Raymond C., Edith, Lawrence H. and William H. Mr. McDonough is a member of the Brother- hood of American Yeomen. Politically, he is a Republican and is a man who keeps pace with the times and well merits his success.

THOMAS SMITH, a gentleman, although young in years, is one of the most energetic and en- terprising agriculturists of Hobart township, Barnes county, where he operates a good farm on section 27. He is a native of Scotland, born in Glasgow, December 25, 1871, and has inherited many of the admirable characteristics of that brave and sturdy race. His father, James Smith, was also a native of that country, where he spent almost his entire life, for he died soon after his emigration to the United States, passing away in Barnes county, North Dakota, in 1883, at the age of forty-four years. His business was that of a grain merchant. The wife and mother, whose maiden name was Mar- garet Mcintyre, is still living and makes her home in Valley City.

Our subject lived in his native city until 1883, when he crossed the Atlantic and became a resident of Barnes county, North Dakota. He completed his education in the schools of Valley City, which he attended until seventeen years of age. In the spring of 1890 he accepted a position with the sur- veying corps of the Soo Railroad and worked on the construction of the main line in North Dakota and Canada. Later he was made a fireman on the road and held that position for two years and in the same capacity was with the Northern Pacific Rail- road Company from 1895 to 1897, running between Jamestown and Fargo. He resigned that position to take charge of his mother's farm in Hobart town- ship, which he has since successfully operated. As he is unmarried, his sister Mary acts a housekeeper for him.

Mr. Smith is one of the most popular and highly respected young men of his community and is an honored member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work- men. He held the rank of sergeant in the Valley City Guard, North Dakota State Militia, and was a member of that organization for nine years. He also served as game warden for two years during the administration of Ely D. Shortage.

ALEXANDER M. MITCHELL. One of the pleasantly situated and highly-improved farms of Walburg township, Cass county, is owned and op- erated by the subject of this review. He is a pioneer

settler of Cass county and has transformed his place from a raw prairie to a thriving farm, which is en- hanced in value and appearance by one of the finest groves in that region. He is a gentleman of ex- vellent characteristics and highly respected by his associates.

Our subject was born in Ontario, Canada, Feb- ruary 4, 1847, and was a son of Alexander and Mary (McClellen ) Mitchell. His father was a native of Scotland and was born near Glasgow. He was a school teacher in his younger days and came to Canada when a young man and passed his life there. The mother of our subject was a native of Canada. The father was married twice but our subject was the only child of the first union.

Mr. Mitchell was reared in Canada and received his education there and in 1867 went to Wisconsin and from there to Minnesota and spent some years in Wabasha and Goodhue counties. He went to Cass county, North Dakota, in 1881 and entered a tree claim to land in section 6, of Walburg town- ship, which he later proved on and is now the fortunate possessor of one of the finest tracts in that section of the country.

Our subject was married, in 1878, to Miss Ada Farnham, a sister of George Farnham, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Mitchell died in 1888, leaving one child, who bears the name of Shirley. Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and in po- litical sentiment is a Republican. He has served as supervisor in his township for the past three years and is a man of active public spirit and deserv- edly popular.

"THE GOOSE RIVER FARMER," a weekly Republican sheet of extensive circulation in Mayville and throughout Traill county and surrounding country, was established in February, 1890, by C. Cranston. The paper was later purchased by Stewart & Drew in June, 1896, and recently passed into the hands of Joseph M. Stewart, as sole owner. Mr. Stewart is the present manager and editor and has made a success of his work. The plant is well equipped for job work and does an extensive busi- ness in that line.

Joseph M. Stewart is a native of Canada, and was born at Cheapside, Ontario. He was educated in the Hamilton Collegiate Institute and started the study of theology preparatory for the church, but gave up the notion and pursued a course of general private reading for a number of years. He went to Manitoba, where he managed a general store for three years and taught school two years. He went to Hope, Steele county, in February, 1890, en route for the coast, and established a barber shop in Hope and later invested in the furniture business. He became manager and editor of the paper with which he is now connected in 1896 and the paper has increased in circulation and now covers an extensive territory. Mr. Stewart is a gentleman

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of excellent education and his push and energy has gained him a prominent place as a citizen and busi- ness man.

Our subject was married in 1887, to Miss Be- atrice A. Drew. Four children have been born to . Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, as follows: Gordon, Alice, Lloyd and Earl. Mr. Stewart is a thirty-second- degree Mason and member of El Zagel Shrine, Fargo, and is a master of Dakota Lodge, No. 55, Mayville, North Dakota. He is identified with the Republican party in political belief and is generally a delegate to county and state conventions of his party. He is a student of the questions of the day and is an intelligent writer and conversationalist.

Mr. Stewart was the eldest of four sons born to Benjamin and Mrs. Alice J. (McGregor) Stew- art, both of Scotch descent.

LEWIS K. RICH, one of the most prominent citizens of Buffalo township, is an early settler of Cass county, and has been useful in extending its agriculture. He is proprietor of a fine farm of five quarter-sections and is widely known as an agricult- urist who is conducting an extensive business.

Our subject is a native of Macomb county, Michigan, and was born August 24, 1848. His parents, Aldis L. and Mariah ( Farr) Rich, were na- tives, respectively, of Massachusetts and New York. His father was a farmer by occupation and moved to Michigan in 1834 and in 1858 to Will county, Illinois. He returned to western Michigan in 1869 and resided there until his death in 1895. The mother of our subject still resides in Michigan. The grandfather of our subject, Jacob Rich, passed his career in Massachusetts. Our subject had one brother and four sisters.

Mr. Rich was reared and educated in Illinois and began his career there as a farmer. He went to Newton county, Indiana, in 1874, where he re- mained until 1880 and then went to Cass county, North Dakota, and was the first to enter land in Rich township, and was among the first settlers in that part of the county. He has followed farming there continuously since that date and is now the fortunate owner of five sections of land, all of which is well improved.

Our subject was married, in Illinois, in 1868, to Emma J. Baldwin, a native of Canada. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rich, as follows: Bertrand A., Carrie E., now the wife of R. H. Straub, of Fargo, Clifford L. and May I. Mr. Rich was a member of the county board from. 1889-1891 and has served in his township as a member of the township and school boards and is actively interested in the welfare of his community: He is a member of the Presbyterian church, with which denomination he has been connected many years and is an elder of the church. He is a gen- tleman of exemplary character, a strong temperance man and highly esteemed in his community. Po- litically, he is a Republican.

JOHN ANDREWS, editor and proprietor of the "Lidgerwood Broadaxe," is one of the able editors of Richland county. He is yet a young man, but has taken a high position among the news- paper men of the state of North Dakota and is well known as a gentleman of true worth. He was born in Portadown, Armagh county, Ireland, July 22. 1874.

Mr. Andrews came to America with his parents in 1888, and spent the greater part of the first year in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He went to James- town, North Dakota, in 1889. and attended the col- lege in that city one year and later went to Hot Springs, South Dakota, and entered the office of Benedict & Hanford, of the "Hot Springs Star," where he remained until February, 1892, when he assumed the management of the "Hermosa Pilot," a paper published in Custer county, South Dakota. He remained there until the fall of 1893, when he took a trip to England, visiting London six months. On his return he entered the employ of Potter & Potter, of the "Casselton Casseltonian," where he remained until 1895, when he purchased the "Lidger- wood Broadaxe." He is now the sole owner and editor of this paper and since taking up the paper its circulation has steadily increased and it is now one of the best newspapers in the community.

Mr. Andrews was married, at Montrose, Wis- consin, February 28, 1898, to Miss Mary Fritz, a native of Montrose. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, whom they have named Jean.

HON. MAGNUS NELSON, a leading farmer of Hall township, Sargent county, is one of the early settlers of North Dakota, and has been occupied by various business enterprises, in each of which he has been very successful. He has followed the pursuit of agriculture for many years, and has been a resident of section 25, in Hall township, for the past ten years. He has a well improved estate, and enjoys the comforts of a country home. A portrait of Mr. Nelson appears on another page.

Our subject was born in the city of Christiania, Norway, August 15, 1848. He was reared and educated in that city and there learned the trade of a brick mason. He remained there until nineteen years of age when he came to America, in 1868, land- ing at Quebec, Canada, in May. From thence he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained a short tinte and then went to Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he followed his trade and conducted a brick yard, and engaged in contract work. He remained there two years, and then went to Kansas, from whence after a few months he returned to Chicago. After the great fire in that city he followed con- tracting and building, in company with his brother, Adolph Nelson, and remained in Chicago until the spring of 1873, when he returned to Winneshiek county, and followed the same business until the spring of 1880, when he went to Fargo, North Da- kota, and was thus engaged for some cighteen

HON. MAGNUS NELSON.

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months. He went to Richland county, North Dakota, in November, 1881, and settled on section 30, in Wyndmere township, where he lived till the summer of 1884, and then removed to Milnor, and engaged in his former line of business for a short time. He was elected treasurer of Sargent county in the fall of 1884, and the first of the following January assumed the duties of the office. He held the position until January 1, 1889. In the meantime, 1887, he settled on section 25 in Hall township, where he has since followed farming.

Mr. Nelson was married in Decorah, Iowa, May 30, 1870, to Miss Mary Hermon, a native of Nor- way. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been the parents of seven children, as follows: Matilda, Amelia, Cora, who died in Hall township, Sargent county, at the age of fifteen years; Dorothy, Mabel, Josie and Herbert. Mr. Nelson was elected to the state senate in the fall of 1890, and served one term. He has held various township offices of trust, and is active in public affairs.

I. W. THOMSON. Among the prosperous farmers of Barnes county, the record of whose lives fills an important place in this volume, it gives us pleasure to commemorate the name of this gentle- man. For almost eighteen years he has been actively identified with the development and upbuilding of the county and is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 18, township 139, range 58.

Mr. Thomson comes from across the sea, his birth having occurred in Jutland, Denmark, January 13, 1846. His father, Theodore Thomson, spent his entire life in that country, following the occupation of a thatch-roof layer, and there he died at the age of seventy-nine years. Our subject was educated in the schools of his native land, and after laying aside his text books worked on a farm with the exception of two years spent as a soldier in the regular army of Denmark.

In May, 1871, Mr. Thompson came to America and located first in Ulster county, New York, where he worked in a stone quarry for two years. He then came west and settled in Duluth, Minnesota. Securing a position on the St. Paul & Duluth Rail- road, he worked on that line until the spring of 1882, which witnessed his arrival in Barnes county, North Dakota, where he has since made his home. He at once filed a claim where he now lives, and has since added to his landed possessions until he now has a whole section of very productive and valuable land, which he has placed under good cultivation and im- proved with substantial buildings.

In 1873 Mr. Thompson wedded Miss Mary C. Hoyer, also a native of Denmark, who was born May 17, 1846, and came to the United States in 1872. After six months spent in Ulster county, New York, she, too, went to Duluth, Minnesota, where their marrage was celebrated. Of the ten children born to them, four are now living, namely : Mary, Tyra, Jennie and Edith. They also have an

adopted son, Charles. Socially Mr. Thompson is a member of the Yeoman and Royal Arcanum, and politically is identified with the Populist party. He is one of the representative farmers and highly re- spected citizens of his community, and has been called upon to fill several township offices.

JOHN M. COCHRANE. In compiling a list of the prominent attorneys of a state as large as North Dakota it is difficult to determine who stands in the foremost place, but it is a well-known fact that the gentleman above named is among those who have done efficient and faithful service for that state, and he is entitled to mention as a public- spirited and progressive member of the bar. He is practicing law at Grand Forks, and has been called upon to serve in many other ways since taking up his residence in North Dakota.

Mr. Cochrane was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1859, and is the son of James and Caroline A. (McDowell) Cochrane. They were natives of Ireland and Pennsylvania respect- ively, and his father was president of the Erie Acad- emy of Erie, Pennsylvania. He went to Faribault, Minnesota, in 1862, and there entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and followed that call- ing many years. He was a tutor in Queen's Col- lege, Belfast, Ireland, and on coming to Amerca in 1850 took a course in Princeton College, during which time he made his home in Erie. He now resides in Minneapolis, and is the father of three sons and one daugliter, our subject and his sister the only ones now living. The mother died in 1895. She was the daughter of a well-known physician of Pennsylvania.

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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 85

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