Compendium history and biography of North Dakota; a history of early settlement, political history, and biography; reminiscences of pioneer life, Part 99

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 99

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Our subject was married in Grant county, Wis- consin, to Anna Lawrence, a sister of M. Lawrence, of Dwight township, whose history will be found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Formanack was born in Bohemia. They have one adopted daughter upon whom they have bestowed the name of Anna. Mr. Formanack has held numerous school offices, and served as township supervisor, and is a zealous worker for the upbuilding of his community. He is one of the rising young men of Richland county, and is held in the highest esteem by his associates.

AUGUST ALBRECHT, who entered Dakota as a pioneer settler of Stutsman county, has suc- cessfully followed agricultural pursuits, and is now the fortunate proprietor of one of the best farms in township 143, range 63. He was born in Germany, April 9, 1844. When he was but about one year of age his father, who was a farmer and millwright by trade, died, and the mother, Caroline Albrecht, remarried when our subject was eleven years of age. With his stepfather he came to America in 1857, and the family settled on a farm in Cook county, Illinois.

Our subject remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he went to Chicago and worked in that city five years. He engaged in the grocery business in Chicago, in 1871, and after about four years established a wholesale hav and feed business, in which he was engaged until 1883. In the spring of that year he went to Stutsman county, North Da- kota, and took the north half of section 26, in town- ship 143, range 63, and purchased land in section 27. He erected a 12x40-foot shanty and a barn of boards and hay, and with a small lot of farm ma- chinery began the cultivation of his land. His eldest daughter accompanied him to the new home, and in 1885 the family all joined them, when our subject disposed of his interests in Illinois. Prairie fire destroyed a threshing rig and two hundred and fifty bushels of wheat, October 14, 1884. entailing a loss of over one thousand dollars. Mr. Albrecht engaged principally in cattle raising in the early days, and also sheep, but later drifted into grain raising. He now has a farm of eight hundred acres, half of which is under cultivation, and on his home farm has a complete set of substantial and commodious buildings, including a barn 56x60 feet, with shelter for sixty head of stock, a five-thousand- bushel capacity granary, and a poultry house 12x30 feet, and also has all necessary machinery and an abundance of excellent water. He and his partner,

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Carl Schrader, were the first settlers in township 143. range 63, and their nearest neighbor was east of them three and a half miles.

Our subject was married, early in life, to Miss Louisa Acoff, who was born and raised in Germany, and came to America with her parents about 1856. Mrs. Albrecht's father, John Acoff, was a farmer and merchant, and settled in Morgan county, Illi- nois. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Albrecht, as follows: Martha, born Novem- ber 24, 1860: Edward, born April 10, 1864; Paulina, born September 12, 1866; John, born September I, 1868; Ida, born November 4, 1870; August, born January 1, 1873: Clara, born May 23, 1875, and Nora, born September 18, 1877. Mr. Albrecht is a member of the Lutheran church, and is a gentleman who is highly esteemed throughout that locality. He has served on the school board for the past nine or ten years, and takes an active part in local affairs. Politically he is a Democrat.

STEPHEN MINOR POSY. Foster county owes its development and progress to the enterprise of its agriculturists more than to any other one class, and foremost among these is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this brief biography. His estate lies in township 145, range 62, and his many farm buildings clustered together resemble a small village. He is at present the owner of one thousand seven hundred and sixty acres of land, nearly twelve hundred of which is tilled annually, and the remainder is devoted to meadow and pas- ture.

Mr. Posy is a native of Illinois, and was born in Jo Daviess county, in that state, in 1851. His par- ents. K. H. and Eliza (McBackin) Posy, lived on a farm, and when our subject was five or six years old he accompanied them to Wisconsin. Three years later the father lost his farm in Wisconsin, and from that time our subject had to work to help support the family. He grew to manhood in Wis- consin, and what little schooling he got was picked up at odd times, but he made the most of his op- portunities. On account of his parents' ill-health he remained at home with them until he was twenty- three years of age. He worked in the lumber camps fifteen seasons, and became inured to the hardest toil. He also farmed some in Crawford county. When he was twenty-one years old he had saved one hundred and thirty dollars, and with this he had intended going to school, and had actually started, when he was taken down with an attack of lung fever, which confined him to his bed for six weeks, and exhausted a good share of his earnings.

Mr. Posy was married in Wisconsin, to Miss Jerusha Gardener, daughter of Stephen Gardener, a farmer of Wisconsin, of which state Mrs. Posy is a native. To Mr. and Mrs. Posy eight children have been born, named as follows: Hattie, Charles, Minnie, Elizabeth, Josie, John, Harry and Alice,

all of whom are living, four being married and hav- ing families of their own.

Our subject owned a farm of forty acres in Wis- consin, a portion of which was timber land, but being dissatisfied with it, he made a trip in 1882 to Mon- tana, Idaho and Utah. The next year he shipped his goods to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory, and from that point drove over what is now South Dakota and parts of Nebraska in search of a suitable location, and finally, in July, 1883, he located in Foster county. He put up a claim shanty 12x12 feet, and a sod barn, and broke about thirty acres of land. After a trip to Wisconsin for the winter, he returned to Foster county in the spring, and raised a crop of one hun- dred and thirty acres, one hundred acres of it being on rented land. Although the crop was good, the prices were so low he hardly made expenses. In the fall of 1885 he lost by fire his building and household goods, clothing, etc., his children being left without shoes and stockings. For the next two years it was a hard struggle, but since that time he has been successful with his crops and stock, and has prospered. He owned at one time two thou- sand two hundred and forty acres of land: three hundred and twenty acres of this he gave to his eld- est son, and sold one hundred and sixty acres. He is today the largest individual land owner in Foster county. His estate is equipped with modern farm buildings, his main barn being 60x100 feet, and of an original pattern designed wholly by Mr. Posy. On the farm are nine granaries, a machine shed, and other outbuildings. He employs three to six men the year round, and uses twenty to twenty-four horses. He engages in threshing each season, and since 1888 he has practically worn out two threshing machines. Upon all this vast property the debts aggregate about four hundred dollars.

Mr. Posy has taken an active interest in local political matters so far as the interests of good gov- ernment is concerned. He has served as president of the school board for six years, and as school treasurer four years. In political faith he is a Re- publican. He is one of the earliest settlers of Fos- ter county, and has witnessed the marvelous devel- opment of that region. Aside from his relatives, there was not a settler within twelve miles of his home when he took up his residence in the county, and many are the stories he could tell of the pioneer days of North Dakota.

EARL J. PEPPER. As an all around promi- nent man of Steele county Mr. Pepper is well known, and justly deserves the title of an intelligent business man. He has charge of the elevator and feed mill at Finley, North Dakota, for the St. An- thony & Dakota Elevator Company, and his ca- reer has been marked throughout by faithful ef- forts. He has a pleasant home in the outskirts of the village, near his business.

Our subject was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, February 22, 1866, and was the elder of two sons

EARL J. PEPPER AND WIFE.

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born to Henry J. and Caroline R. (Brooks) Pepper. His mother is now residing in Aneta, Nelson county, North Dakota. The family located in Livingston county, Illinois, when our subject was about one year old, and after a residence there of two years removed to Piper City, Ford county, Illinois and there he passed his youth. The father became in- terested in land in Dakota in the fall of 1881, and made a trip to the country, and in the spring of 1882 went to Dakota, accompanied by our subject, who was at that time about sixteen years of age. He

secured land in Highland township in Steele county, and our subject was duly established thereon in bachelor's quarters, developing the farm with hired help. Antelope grazed around his shanty, and elk were occasionally seen in the vicinity. The father established in business at Hope, North Dakota, in the spring of 1884, and our subject joined him there, after which the father survived but about one year. Our subject and the mother went to the farm to live in the spring of 1886, and the first season's work was discouraging, and in 1887 he entered the employ of the Red River Valley Elevator Company, and was established at Hope, remaining there two seasons, and then was associated with Cargill Ele- vator Company at Colgate and other places, and in 1891 was again stationed at Hope, where he re- mained until 1897, in which year he located near Finley in his present position.

Our subject was married, in 1893, to Miss Emma Pattarson. Two children have been born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pepper, named as fol- lows: Lloyd A. and Harry J. Mr. Pepper is a member of the Masonic fraternity and its auxiliary lodge, the Eastern Star. He is an enthusiastic lover of sports, and was a member of the locally famous Black Stocking base ball nine. He has spent many years in the vicinity of Hope, and is well known throughout Steele county and highly respected in business and social life. Politically he is a Repub- lican and is an earnest worker for the principles of his party. A portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Pepper ap- pear on another page.

HIRAM A. SOULE is well known throughout Sargent county as a gentleman of excellent business qualifications, and a citizen of true worth. He is one of the firm of Soule Brothers, general merchants of Cogswell, and is an early settler of that region. He is thoroughly acquainted with the country in North Dakota, and for many years engaged in sur- veying in that locality, and is at present county sur- veyor of Sargent county.

Our subject was born in North Fairfax, Frank- lin county, Vermont, March 30, 1853. At the age of ten years he went with his parents to Wisconsin, and the family settled on a farm near Ripon, where he grew to manhood. He received a common-school education, and remained there until 1874, when he went to Yankton, South Dakota, and was employed on the government survey, in which work he has

since engaged with the exception of some four or five years. He has worked chiefly in Sargent county under Gen. W. H. H. Beadle. He located permanently in Sargent county, in 1883, when in the spring of that year he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land in Taylor township, on which he resided for several years. He moved to Cogs- well in 1894, and has since engaged in the mercan- tile business in that town, in company with his brother, John K. Soule, under the firm name of Soule Brothers. He retained his real estate interests, and is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Taylor township.

Our subject was married in Glencoe, McCloud county, Minnesota, April 21, 1897, to Miss Julis E. Ryan. Mrs, Soule was born at East Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was a daughter of Patrick and Eliz- abeth Ryan, of Glencoe, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Soule are the parents of one child, a daughter, whom they have named Loretta May. Mr. Soule has held the office of county surveyor of Sargent county for several terms, and is an efficient worker. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

WILLIAM C. MACFADDEN, ex-treasurer of Cass county, North Dakota, and the present cashier of the Fargo National Bank, is one of the prominent citizens of the state and has been a potent factor in the financial and social development of that part of the country.

Mr. Macfadden was born in Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, March 17, 1857, and was the only son born to William and Emma B. ( Wood) Macfadden, both of whom were natives of Ohio. His father was formerly engaged in the mercantile business but is now retired from active business life. He was a major of the Fifty-ninth New York Volunteer Infantry, and served three years and six months, and during his service was held a pris- oner six months. He was with the army of the Potomac, and was at Gettysburg, Wilderness, Pet- ersburg, Fredericksburg, and many other engage- ments, but received no wounds. He enlisted as a sergeant and rose to the rank of major. He spent some years in California during the gold mine time in 1849. His father, Henry Macfadden, was a farmer by occupation and died in Ohio.

Our subject was the only son in a family of three children, and was reared and educated in the schools of Ohio. He then entered the Knox National Bank of Mount Vernon, Ohio, and rose to the position of assistant cashier. He went to Everest, Cass county, North Dakota, in 1885, where he purchased land and followed farming and grain buying, in which he continued until 1891, when he was appointed deputy county treasurer, and served one and a half years. He was chosen cashier of Cass County State Bank of Casselton, and remained there until he was elected county treasurer in 1894. He was re-elected in 1896, which office he held until

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the Fargo National Bank was organized, when he was chosen cashier, which office he still holds. He is secretary of the Fargo Linseed Oil Mills, and president of the Northwestern Mutual Savings & Loan Association.

Our subject was married, in 1894, to Jennie B. Semple, a native of Ohio. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Macfadden, as follows : William S. and an infant, unnamed. Mr. Macfad- den is a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, being captain general of Auvergne Com- manuery Knights Templar. He takes an active part in public affairs, and politically is a Repub- lican, and was secretary of the county central com- mittee for six years. He is successful in his busi- ness, a man of excellent character, and respected wherever he is known.

JOHN F. LUECK, a prosperous general farm- er of township 141, range 62, is one of the early settlers of Stutsman county, and has acquired com- fortable circumstances and a high reputation by careful methods and industrious habits. He was born in Trittlefitz, Prussia, Germany, March 6, 1854. The father of our subject, John Lueck, was a native of Germany and was a laborer in his native land,and served three years in the German army. When our subject was but six or seven years of age his mother died, and he was raised in his native village until eleven years of age, when, in 1865, the family came to America and settled in Trempealeau county, Wisconsin. Our subject attended the common schools and resided with his brother-in-law and at the age of twelve years started at farm labor. He went to Stutsman county, North Dakota, in 1879, and during the summer of that year entered claim to land southeast of Jamestown as a pre-emption. He erected a 12x24-foot shanty on the place and proved his claim and lived one summer alone on the farm and worked in Jamestown, and with three horses, a plow and wagon began farming. He took the northwest quarter of section 26, town- ship 141, range 62, as a homestead in the fall of 1882, and disposed of the land which he proved as a pre-emption. The following spring he moved onto his homestead and began farming, since which time he has met with success. He erected a 16x20- foot shanty, and a shanty barn in the spring of 1883 and for the first two or three years broke land for others. He worked many days harvesting on land where the court house and Catholic church now stand in Jamestown, and has witnessed the growth of that locality. He now has a farm of six hundred and forty acres and cultivates about three hundred acres. He has a large and con- venient residence, built in three parts, and a good barn, windmill, plenty of water, and all necessary machinery, and has about forty head of cattle and eleven head of horses on his farm.

Our subject was married, in the spring of 1883. to Miss Louisa Koenig, who was born and raised

in Buffalo county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Lueck's father, Philip Koenig, came from Germany to America and was a farmer by occupation. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lueck, as follows: Arthur, Adeline, Elmer, Clinton, Oscar, Arnold, Amanda and an infant unnamed. Mr. Lueck is well known as a man of active public spirit, and has held numerous school offices in his township. He was one of the earliest settlers and his good name and ability have never been called in question. In political sentiment he is a Republican, and stands firmly for the principles of his party.

JOSEPH JASPER. The pleasant estate of this gentleman marks the present solid prosperity of Richland county, North Dakota. He has been a resident of that county for many years, and is the owner of three hundred acres of land in Abercrom- bie and Dwight townships, and makes his home on section 2 of the last named township. He has gained a competence sufficient to give him all the comforts and many of the luxuries of rural life, and has won many friends by his push and energy.

Our subject was born in Germany, November 2, 1846. He came to America in 1867, landing at Baltimore, proceeding at once to Indianapolis, indiana, where he spent one and a half years learn- ing the carpenter's trade. He then went to Win- neshiek county, Iowa, where he worked at his trade and various other occupations until 1869, when he went to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and soon afterward to Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, and was there em- ployed in a lumber mill, and then followed rafting on the river. He was employed at different lo- cations until 1873, when he took a claim in Aber- crombie township, Richland county, North Dakota, and engaged in farming thereon four years, moving from there to Dwight township, Richland county. He located on section 2 and has since made that his home, still retaining luis farm in Abercrombie town- ship. He has erected a complete set of substantial and commodious farm buildings, and engages in general farming.

Our subject was married, in Minnesota, to Miss Antonia Krisan, who died in Dwight township, Richland county, June 23, 1894. Mr. Jasper mar- ried Josephine Shinsky, in Wahpeton, North Dakota. One child has been born of this union, upon whom they have bestowed the name of Antonia. Mr. Jasper is an earnest worker, and to his industry, good management and honesty is due his suc- cess. Mrs. Jasper had two children by a former marriage whose names are Emma M. and Frank J.

TOM ERICKSON, residing on section 20, in township 145, range 52, in Blanchard township, is a striking example of a self-made man. He has gained a fine property by his push and energy and now owns and operates six hundred and forty acres of land.

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Our subject was born on the farm Storedal in Aals Prestyold, Halingdal Stift, Norway, Feb- ruary 18, 1857, and was the fifth of six children born to Erick and Martte (Torkleson) Swenson, both of whom are deceased. He came to America at the age of nineteen years and visited his sister who resided in Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1877 went to Fargo, and from there to Caledonia, and from there took a general survey of Traill county and selected the land which is his present home farm and filed claim thereon. He arrived at Cal- edonia with two and a half dollars, which he used for filing his papers on the pre-emption and then worked for others and as soon as he secured six- teen dollars filed his claim on the tree claim. He built a small sod house on the pre-emption and worked at farm labor near Fargo and passed two winters in the Minnesota woods. After about two years he purchased a yoke of oxen and began farm- ing. He soon afterward established a saloon in Blanchard and operated the same four years and then purchased more land and moved to his farm and began the cultivation of four hundred and eighty acres. His wheat was damaged by frost in 1888 and he lost most of his crop by hail in 1889. · He erected a fine barn in 1891 and has a good set of farm buildings, also a store building in town and four building lots. Mr. Erickson is a Republican in politics and has attended the state and county conventions in the interest of his party.

Our subject was married, in 1883, to Miss Annie Anderson. Mrs. Erickson died in 1895. Three children were born to this union, as follows: Ed- ward, Lottie and Nellie, deceased. Mr. Erickson was married to Miss Minnie Olson, a native of Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, in January, 1899. Mr. Erickson is well known for his active public spirit and is deservedly held in high esteem by his many friends.

CHARLES E. ROBBINS, who now represents the New York Life Insurance Company at Fargo, North Dakota, has been prominently identified with the business interests of the city for some years, especially with its financial affairs. He comes from the east, his birth having occured in Lowel, Mass- achusetts, November 21, 1854. His parents were Joseph P. and Elizabeth (Smith) Robbins, natives of New Hampshire and Vermont, respectively. In 1857 the father removed to Minnesota, but since 1880 has made his home in this state and is now liv- ing retired in Fargo. Throughout his active busi- ness career he followed farming.

Our subject, who is an only son, was reared in Minnesota and principally educated in the schools of that state, though he attended a business college at Boston, Massachusetts, for a time. In 1877 he entered the Plainview Bank, of Plainview, Minne- sota, as bookkeeper, and remained there for two years. In 1879 he came to Fargo as bookkeeper in the First National Bank, started by Mr. Eddy, and

was connected with that establishment until Febru- ary, 1899. From bookkeeper he was promoted to the position of teller, and was serving as assistant cashier when he resigned in order to embark in his present business, which he is now carrying on with marked success. He was secretary of the Fargo Building Association for some years, and organized the North Dakota State Sportsman's Association, of which he was president for two years. Socially he is quite a prominent member of the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the National Union, and has filled of- ficial position in all of these orders. As a business man he has met with well merited success, and as a citizen is justly deserving the high regard in which he is held.

In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Robbins and Miss Agnes D'Ette French, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they have become the parents of four children, namely: Corinne, Frank E., Charles E. and Helen E.

OLE LARSEN, a merchant of De Lamere, Sar- gent county, has been a resident of North Dakota since 1886, eleven years of which time he was en- gaged in the mercantile business and was success- ful. He is well known throughout that region as a business man and public-spirited citizen, and oc- cupies a prominent position in the minds of his fellow men.

Mr. Larsen was born in Norway, February 17, 1839. He resided in his native land until 1886, and engaged in the mercantile business. In July of that year he came to America, and went direct to North Dakota and entered a tree claim; he afterward changed to a homestead on section 4, of Hall town- ship, where he settled and has since made his home. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land and has added substantial improvements, and otherwise provided for the comfort of the family. He en- gaged in the mercantile business in January, 1888, in which he still continues.

Our subject was married in Norway to Caroline Johnson, a native of the same country. Ten chil- dren, four sons and six daughters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Larsen, as follows: Johanne ; Marie: Elizabeth; Ingeborg; Lars, engaged in the mercantile business in De Lamere ; John ; Sigurd; Christine; Ragnhild and Leif. Mr. Larsen takes an active interest in the welfare of his community, and has served as a member of the township board and also of the school board. He is progressive and intelligent, and well merits his success.

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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 99

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