Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 88

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

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In Valley City, Mr. Hansen was married, in 1889, to Miss Katie Peterson, who was born in Den- mark, in 1871, and they have become the parents of four children, namely : Henry, Thomas, Arthur and Anna. Socially Mr. Hansen is a member of the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. He is not idenified with any political party but votes for the man he believes best qualified to fill the office. For the success that he has achieved in life he deserves great credit, for it is due entirely to his own well-directed efforts.

JAMES R. PIERSON, a representative citizen, and pioneer of Dickey county, resides on section 18, township 130, range 64, in Albion township. He has been closely identified with the development of that region, and his home is one of the pleasant farms of that locality.

Mr. Pierson was born on a farm in Hamlin township, Eaton county, Michigan, June 24, 1841, and was the seventh in a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to Josiah and Lorilla Clark (Walton) Pierson. His father was reared in New York, and died in Eaton county, Michigan, in 1861, where also the mother died.

Our subject resided in his native county until he went to Dickey county, North Dakota, in the spring of 1883. He had purchased land in his native state in 1872. When he located in Dakota he filed claim to a quarter section of land, on which he has since made his home. He has added another quar- ter section to his possesions, and his entire farm of one half-section is fully improved. He has devoted his carreer to the pursuit of agriculture, and has met with success.

Our subject was married in Eaton county, Michigan, October 22, 1863, to Miss Angelina Wal- ter, a native of Summit county, Ohio, who was born October 22, 1854, and was a daughter of Ely and Polly Walter. Mr. Walter has followed farming during his entire career, and is now living on the homestead farm in Eaton county, where Mrs. Pier- son's mother died in 1891, aged sixty-two years. Mrs. Pierson was the eldest in a family of six chil- dren, two sons and four daughters. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pierson, a daughter,

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Inez, who was born on the farm in Eaton county, Michigan, April 6, 1868. She is a graduate of the Eaton Rapids high school, and is now Mrs. C. C. Bowsfield. Mr. Bowsfield is a native of Connecti- cut, and was formerly editor and proprietor of the "Ellendale Commercial," and is now on the editorial staff of the "Chicago Tribune.' He was chief of the senate at Bismarck in 1891, and enrolling and en- graving clerk in the constitutional convention in 1889.

Mr. Pierson is active in matters of a public na- ture, and has held numerous township offices of trust. He is the postmaster at Pierson, which office is at his home, and he is held in the highest esteem by his associates, and has a host of friends in Dickey county.

ANDREW HAYERTZ, proprietor of one of the fine farms of Eldred township, Cass county, is one of the men in whose coming to this county all who honor honest industry and good citizenship can rejoice. He was among the first settlers of that locality and is successfully pursuing farming in section 20 and has a well improved estate.

Our subject was born in Loraine, France, De- cember 21, 1856, and was a son of Nicholas Hayertz, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume. Our subject was reared in his native land and remained there until the family came to Amer- ica in 1874 and went to Cass county with his father and entered a homestead claim in section 24 of Clif- ton township. This he sold and bought the north- west quarter of section 9, Eldred township. He makes his home on section 20, which he rents. The farm comprises one quarter section, and is care- fully tilled and provides a comfortable living.

Our subject was married, in Cass county, North Dakota, March 24, 1886, to Amelia Blase, a native of Bohemia. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayertz, named as follows: Louis, Mary, Christina, Annie, Gustavus and Katherina, all of whom are living. Mr. Hayertz is well versed in his calling and his farm evidences good management and economical conduct, and he devotes his atten- tion entirely to his calling, and has met with success, and is well and favorably known in Eldred town- ship.

WILLIAM D. BIXBY, of the firm of Bixby Brothers & Marsh, owners of an extensive stock ranch, is a resident of section 12, in township 154, range 53, in Ransom county. He has resided in Dakota since he was a boy and has become thorough- ly identified with the farming interests of that state.

Our subject was born in Geauga county, Ohio, August 27. 1864. He was the fourth in a family of five children, born to Dewitt C. and Louisa ( Dun- bar) Bixby, and was reared on a farm, assisting with the work. He went to Dakota when he was twenty years of age in company with his brother and

settled at Lisbon. After a few years he took land in Sargent county and lived there about five years, when he settled on a farm south of Lisbon and en- gaged in dairying and stock raising. He disposed of his interests in the spring of 1899, and jomed in the partnership above named. The buildings of the ranch owned by the firm are located in Richland county, and the range consists of two and a half sections of land in Ransom and Richland counties. It is among the sand hills of which the southeastern portion of Ransom county is composed, and the land presents a most desolate appearance, but is excellent for stock raising. The soil is sandy, but water is obtained at a depth of eight to fifteen feet and range is abundant. The ranch is one of the most extensive in that region, and usually winters from three to four hundred head of stock. The Gallo- way strain of cattle is being introduced as a special feature of the stock raising interests. Mr. Bixby is a practical farmer and stock raiser, and occupies a sound financial position in his locality.

Our subject was married in 1889 to Miss Lyda Parkhurst. Mr. and Mrs. Bixby are the parents of four children, as follows: William, Tracy, Austa, and Ora. Mr. Bixby is a man of ability and keeps pace with the times in all matters. Politically he is a Republican and prohibitionist, and stands firm for the principles of his party.

HENRY QUAMME. Ibsen township is not without its share of well-regulated farms, the in- comes from which form so large a part of the wealth of Richland county. One of these carefully tilled tracts of land belongs to the gentleman whose name introduces these paragraphs. It is located in section four, and on the estate buildings of substan- tial construction have been erected. A visitor to the farm will find that modern methods are in car- rying on the work, and that various arrangements have been made by which the soil can be more easily tilled and the products more perfectly garnered and disposed of.

Our subject was born in Dane county, Wiscon- sin, August 20, 1854, and was the son of Hans H. and Rignald ( Hermunson) Quamme. Of fourteen children Henry was the second in order of birth. He received a common school education and re- mained in Dane county, Wisconsin, until 1881, when he went to Richland county, North Dakota, and at once settled in Ibsen township, then known as Dwight township, where he has since resided. He preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land on section four, which he has improved, and is now the fortunate possessor of an entire section of land, all in Ibsen township. He has a model farm, and has erected substantial buildings, and otherwise transformed the place into one from which he gains a comfortable income.

Mr. Quamme was married in Dane county, Wis- consin, December 18, 1877, to Miss Dora Burnson, who is a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, and

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the daughter of Hans and Esther Burnson. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Quamme, as follows: Rhoda H., Harvey Almer, Minnie H., Theodore H., Herbert C., Arthur B., and Myrtle N.

Our subject is a gentleman who takes an active interest in the affairs of his community, and is at present chairman of the board of supervisors of his township, and is interested in educational matters, serving as school treasurer. He has performed his public duties faithfully and well, and has gained the confidence of his associates, and is justly en- titled to credit for the part he has taken in the de- velopment and advancement of that vicinity. He was a pioneer settler of Richland county, who put his shoulder to the wheel and started it in motion toward the success which awaits every progressive, earnest community. He has aided in giving Ibsen township its present station among the townships of the county, and it is a pleasure to the associates of the early days in North Dakota to recount the many hard experiences, and the surmounted difficulties, and feel that every man who was possessed of energy and public spirit has done his part toward placing that region on its present solid basis. The people among whom our subject has made his home for so many years are ever willing to accord him the highest words of praise, and he may feel justly proud of his labors in the behalf of his country.

ROBERT ANDERSON, one of the well known early settlers of Eldred township, Cass county, is a man of energetic nature, and has made a success of farming, his home being in section 34, where he is surrounded by all that goes to make farm life pleasant.

Our subject was born in Glasgow, Scotland, January 6, 1832, and was a son of Gilbert and Mar- garet ( Maitland) Anderson. His parents were na- tives of Scotland and emigrated to Canada and settled in Ontario, Upper Canada. The father was a weaver by trade, but followed farming in Canada and both parents passed away there. Three sons and six daughters comprised the family of children, of whom one sister of our subject is in North Da- kota, one in South Dakota, and one in Missouri, and one in Virginia. Of the brothers, one is in Canada, and with our subject completes the living children.

Mr. Anderson was reared and educated in Can- ada and followed farming there until 1880, he went to Cass county, North Dakota, and entered a home- stead claim to land in section 34, of Eldred town- ship. He was among the first settlers of that lo- cality and has resided there continuously since that clate. He has improved his farm and is now enjoy- ing the fruits of a well-spent career.

Our subject was married in Canada in 1854 to Susan Phillipo, a native of London, England. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, as follows: Mary M., now Mrs. Flack, of North Dakota; Margaret, now Mrs. Thompson, of North Dakota; John, Gilbert, Eliza, now Mrs. Hunter,

of Wheatland; James, Robert M., Jane, now Mrs. Joseph Small, of Cass county; Martha and Joseph, all of whom are living. Mr. Anderson served as chairman of the town board, and a member of the school board and justice of the peace, and is actively interested in public affairs of local import. He is a man of excellent characteristics and is held in high esteem by his many friends.

JOHN M. THOMPSON. Persistent industry and strict attention to business have placed this gen- tleman among the substantial farmers of Cass county. He has a fine estate in Ayr township where he settled in pioneer days, and has made a success of general farming. A portrait of Mr. Thompson ap- pears on another page.

Our subject was born in Norway, October 24, 1847, and was a son of Thomas and Sophia ( Math- eison ) Thompson, both of whom were natives of Norway. His father is deceased, but the mother is still living.

Mr. Thompson was reared and educated in his native land and remained there until 1866, when he came to America and located in St. Croix county, Wisconsin. He remained there four years and then went to Duluth and Superior, Minnesota, where he spent four years, and in 1874 returned to Norway on a visit. He went to Cass county, North Dakota, in 1879, and located a homestead in section 26 of Ayr township, and was among the first settlers of the township. He began the improvement of the place the following year by breaking land, and has made his home there continuously since that time. He is now the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of land, all of which is improved, and devotes his entire time to the operation of his place, and is one of the well-known agriculturists of his township.

Our subject was married, in 1880, to Miss Jessie M. Moum, a native of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are the parents of four children, named as follows : Stanley A., Matilda M., Jessie M. and Mary. Mr. Thompson assisted in the organization of Ayr township, and was a member of the first town board, and is the present treasurer. He is actively interested in the welfare of his community and has been useful in sustaining good government and fur- thering local enterprises. Politically he is a Re- publican and is strong in his convictions.

WILLIAM MCKEAN, the well-known editor and proprietor of the Sandborn Enterprise, of San- born, Barnes county, North Dakota, was born on the 14th day of May, 1850, in Mercer, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of William and Isabel (Hawthorne) Mckean. The father was born in Ireland in 1801 and came to the new world in 1818, landing at Baltimore, Maryland. He was a highly educated man, well versed in geology, chem- istry and medicine, and had also made a study of the science of navigation. One of the most popular

JOHN M. THOMPSON.

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and influential men of his community, he was called upon to serve in many public positions of honor and trust, and at one time filled the office of as- sociate judge of the district in which Mercer, Pennsylvania, is located. He died in Meadville, that state, in 1876. His wife subsequently made her home with our subject in Sanborn, North Da- kota, where she died at an advanced age.

Mr. McKean, of this review, attended school in his native village, and at the age of fourteen years entered a book and job printing office in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he learned the printer's trade, in which city he remained for about sixteen years. On leaving there he came to Fargo, North Da- kota, where he lingered but a short time before going to Jamestown. There he became foreman of the, Alert, the only paper then published in that city, and one of the pioneer papers of the state. In the fall of 1881 he came to Sanborn and started the Enterprise, a Republican journal, which is now one of the oldest in North Dakota under one and the same management, and is very popular with the reading public, being a bright, newsy sheet, ably conducted.

In Meadville, Pennsylvania, Mr. McKean was married, in 1879, to Miss Rachel Minniss, a native of that city and a daughter of Thomas S. Minniss, a bookbinder by trade and a man of considerable prominence in his community. The children born of this union are Ralph H., Josephine and Thomas M. Socially Mr. Mckean is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity. He is one of the leading and in- fluential citizens of his town and has been elected to several local offices which he creditably filled. As a business man he has met with well-merited success duing his residence in this state and has become quite well-to-do through his own unaided efforts and able management.

SEVER K. PLADSEN. Among the gentlemen who are engaged in agriculture in Primrose town- ship, Steele county, none are more useful in sus- taining and extending its farming interests than Mr. Pladsen. He is one of the successful and sub- stantial farmers and a man well versed in the best and most approved methods of operating a farm, and is the owner of one section of land, three hun- dred and twenty acres of which is in Melrose town- ship, and his home farm in Primrose township, where he resides on section 26.

Our subject was born in Brufath, Norway, September 27, 1858, and was a son of Knudt and Ingeborg (Sorndatter) Pladsen. He was the sec- ond in order of birth in a family of several chil- dren, and when nineteen years of age left the home of his childhood and came to America, his oldest brother having been in America about two years, sending him the money with which to pay his pas- sage. With his brother, in the spring of 1879, and with several others he drove overland to Dakota. Our subject worked at farm labor about one year and

in 1880 secured land. He had nothing with which to make a start and built a board shanty with a hay roof and lived alone. The roof of his dwell- ing was soon destroyed by fire, and he had to replace it by a better one. He has steadily pushed forwad to his present comfortable circumstances, and by his own efforts has accomplished much.

Our subject was married, in 1883, to Miss Karn B. Evenson. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pladsen: Ingar O., Karl H., Emma P., Clara, Ida, Helga, Alma and Tilda. Mr. Pladsen is well known as a man of good ideas, and an active worker for the welfare of his com- munity. He has served on the school and township boards, and has otherwise promoted the growth of that locality. Politically he is a Populist and has attended numerous county conventions of his party and was present at the organization of the same in Steele county. He is a member of the Lutheran church.

CORNELIUS BOYLE, deceased. In the death of Mr. Boyle Cass county lost a worthy citizen and a representative member of the farming com- munity of Highland township. He was a pioneer settler of Ransom county, North Dakota, and fol- lowed agricultural pursuits throughout his career, and at the time of his demise owned a fine farm consisting of one section of land, all of which was well improved.

Our subject was a native of Ireland, and was born in 1843. His parents, Patrick and Rose (Boyle) Boyle, were natives of Ireland, and the father died there, and in 1845 the widowed mother and family, consisting of five sons, emigrated to Canada and settled in Ontario, where the mother spent the remainder of her life.

Mr. Boyle was reared and educated in Canada and followed farming there until 1881, and then went to North Dakota and settled in Ranson county, remaining there until 1888, and then taking up his residence in Cass county, and became a citi- zen of Highland township. He engaged success- fully in farming and followed the same in Cass county during the balance of his career.

Our subject was married in Canada in May 6, 1863, to Ellen Doyle, a native of Ireland. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Boyle, as fol- lows: Owen J., deceased ; Patrick, John ; Cornelius, Peter, Henry T., Francis, Mary and Martin. Mr. Boyle died in North Dakota September 21, 1895. He was a member of the Catholic church, and was highly esteemed in the community in which he spent his life.

ANDREW QUAMME, a prosperous and in- fluential farmer residing on section 12, in Ibsen township, is one of the early settlers of that region, and is a gentleman who is entitled to much credit for the part he has taken in the advancement of

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Richland county. He is well versed in his calling, having been reared a farmer, and his knowledge is of that practical nature which is necessary to insure success. His calling is one of the honorable pursuits of man, and he has, by the close application to businesss, and the exercise of honesty, placed himself among the substantial members of the com- munity of Isben township.

Mr. Quamme was born in Dane county, Wis- consin, on a farm in Bristol township, January 10, 1856, and was the son of Hans and Rachel ( Her- monson ) Quamme, both of whom were natives of Norway. Our subject was the third in a family of fourteen children, and was reared on his father's farm in Dane county. He received a common school education and remained at home until about twenty- three years of age, and in May, 1879, went to Da- kota, and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres on section 12 in what is now Ibsen township, then a part of Dwight township. He settled upon the land, and has since been a resident there, and has erected good, substantial buildings, and made such improvements as make a model coun- try home. He did not let the discouragements which met him on every hand turn him from the course which he had taken, and is today one of the foremost men of his calling in his community. It is a pleasure to meet with a gentleman who has braved the struggles of a pioneer life, and has shown so much active spirit and followed such in- dustrious habits.

Our subject was married in Dane county, Wis- consin, March 31, 1881, to Miss Betsey Burnson, who was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, Septem- ber 18, 1857, and was the daughter of the late Hans Burnson, and Orsa (Erickson) Burnson who were natives of Norway. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Quamme, as follows: Henry A. B., Rudolph H., Alma H., Melvin B., Ella A., James A. and Mary.

Mr. Quamme held the office of supervisor prior to the division of Dwight township, and in Ibsen township he has served as constable, and as an interested educational worker has served as school director. He is a member of the Norwegian Lu- theran church. Although a native born citizen his parents were by birth Norwegians, and of that thrifty, industrious nation he has partaken of those characteristics, and has employed only honest labor and dealings to gain his end. The community has in him a faithful worker for its advancement, and he has gained an enviable reputation in his com- munity. Both he and his brother, Henry Quamme, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume, are valued and respected eitiens of Rich- land county, where they have made their home for many years.

ALBERT HAUGE, a prosperous grain buyer and stock raiser, residing in Sandown, Ransom county, is one of the well known young men of his

locality. He is an early settler of North Dakota, and his career there has been for the advancement of the agricultural interests of that region. He is the owner of one half section of land, on which he conducts stock raising.

Our subject was born in Norway, September 16, 1864, and was the only son, and the older of the two children constituting the family of Andrew and Christe (Anderson) Hauge, both of whom are living in their native land. He started to learn the blacksmith's trade, and later preferred the life of a sailor, and intended following the sea or emi- grating to America. His parents preferred the latter and at the age of sixteen years he came to America, arriving in Richland county, Dakota, in 1881. He worked there at farm labor for eight years, and then settled at Scoville and farmed five years, and in 1894 went to Sandown in the employ of Osborn & McMillan Elevator Company, in charge of their flat-house. He purchased a few head of stock, since which time he has bought and sold stock more or less. He leased land and fenced two thousand one hundred acres, keeping thereon about eighty head of his own stock, and pasturing about five hundred head for others.

Our subject was married, in 1889, to Miss Brita Erickson. Five sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hauge, as follows : Albert, Alexander, Ernest, John and Helmer. Mr. Hauge is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. In political faith he is a Republican and advocates prohibition. He has been the leader in his party in that locality for the past ten years, and has attended as a delegate every county convention since 1890. He is strong in his convictions for right, and is an influential cit- izen.

EDWARD LITTLE. This gentleman is one of the leading and most influential farmers of High- land township, Cass county. One of the early settlers of the township, he has been identified with its interests since its organization, and in all mat- ters pertaining to the civil government, and in every way relating to the welfare of the township he has taken an active part. His residence is lo- cated on section 2, in township 37, range 54, where he purchased his present farm in 1884. He has a well improved estate and enjoys the comforts of country life and the respect and esteem of his fel- lowmen.

Our subject was born in Onedia county, New York, July 15, 1853, and was a son of Edward and Grace (Thompson) Little, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Scotland. His parents came to America when young and were married in New York and later removed to Illinois, and from there to Missouri, and finally located in Dodge county, Minnesota, where the father still resides. They were the parents of four sons, two of whom now live in North Dakota, and one daugh- ter, now Mrs. South of Cass county.

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Our subject was reared and educated in Min- nesota and followed farming there until 1881, when he went to Cass county and first settled at Mapleton, and in 1884 removed to his present home, in High- land township, Cass county. He was engaged in the butcher business at Enderlin two years and also sold farm machinery. He has made a success of his vocation and now has a well improved farmn.

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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 88

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