USA > Nebraska > Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska > Part 214
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Mr. Carlson's advent to the state of Nebraska dates from 1886, when he came to Antelope county, living there seven years on a timber claim, which he had taken up shortly after com- ing from Sweden. In 1893 he, with his family, came to Knox county, Nebraska, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of fine land, which he has steadily improved, until now he has a fine home and good improved farm.
Mr. Carlson was united in marriage in 1884 to Miss Mathilda Sophia Anderson, a native of Sweden, and Mr. and Mrs. Carlson are the par- ents of a family of five fine children, whose names are as follows : Nels Clarence, Inez Sophia, Leonard (now decased), Carl Algot, Arvid Ru- dolph.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlson and family enjoy the respect and high esteem of all who know them, and Mr. Carlson, as before stated, is held in high regard in the community in which he dwells, and is known as one of the substantial citizens of his region. He now owns two hundred and eighty aeres of land in Knox county, and eighty acres in Lincoln county, Nebraska. He is a republican, and he and his family belong to the Swedish Lutheran church at Wausa.
J. E. BAGGSTROM.
The hardy Norseman has always been a desira- ble citizen in the settlement of the new world, and the settlement of Swedes in and around Wausa, Nebraska, is but another example of their sterling worth.
Of this progressive race is John E. Baggstrom, manager of the Union Telephone Company of Wausa. The father, Erie Baggstrom, was a na- tive of the village of Ofvanoker, Helsingland province, Sweden, born in 1844. He was a farmer in Scandinavia, and followed that vocation on taking up his residence in the new world. Emi- grating about 1867, he crossed the North sea from Guttenburg to Hull, then traversed England by rail to Liverpool, and there embarked in the steamer "City of Baltimore" for New York, and, after a voyage of eleven days, landed in the western metropolis.
On landing, he came west to Boone, Iowa, where there was a colony of his countrymen, and, after cultivating rented land for a year, he took up the carpenters' trade and cabinet-making, pur- chasing the county right for manufacturing a folding bed, one of the first of that convenient household furniture to be invented, and for a
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time found the manufacture of them quite profit- able. His first finished product was traded for a cabinet organ and five hogs. The proceeds of this craft he invested in land near Stratford, and moved to this locality, where he lived until he sold his eighty acres, and moved to Nebraska in 1885,
He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land from a homesteader, five miles northwest of where Wausa now stands, and lived here until 1907, when he sold, and retired from aetive life. He spent two years, from 1889 to 1891, eontraet- ing and building in San Francisco. When he came to Nebraska, the townsite of Wansa was an open prairie, and in making hay one season. he put up a stack where the Methodist Episcopal church now stands. His industry is unabated, and, although retired from farming, he takes occasional jobs at carpentry and joinery to keep his hands from being idle. Eric Baggstrom was married in Sweden to Miss Ellen Olson, a native of the same village and province where he was born. Of their family of five children, two sur- vive, the son and a daughter, Emma, who has remained dutifully beneath the parental roof.
J. E. Baggstrom was born within a mile of Stratford, Iowa, January 10, 1870. He attended school in Iowa, and one year after coming to Nebraska. He attended the Lutheran College at Wauhoo, completing the course in fourteen months-three months the first year, four the second, and seven the third-teaching school be- tween times in order to pay his way. Few, if any, ever completed the course in so few months, but it required burning much of the midnight oil. He made an especial study of grammar, which was not a favorite study with him, and became so profieient that he devised a primary grammar for use in his own schools, making the study clear and interesting to young minds. He also devised a chart of universal history, for which the college professors offered him a priee for use in their institution. Mr. Baggstrom intends to complete these useful works in time, and place them in the schools of the country. He is the author, too, of a table for instantly computing the price of various pieces of lumber, saving, by this tabulation, hourse of time in computing the amount of a large bill of timber.
In September, 1898, in company with Mr. F. E. Anderson, Mr. Baggstrom established the "Wausa Gazette," with the prediction of its of its predecessor that it would be short-lived. But the earliest journal has long since been discontinued, while the "Gazette" is one of the most flourishing country papers in this section of Nebraska. Mr. Baggstrom sold his interest in the paper, January 1, 1901, and re- entered the teaching profession, taking the school at Winnetoon, where they had difficulty in secur- ing a competent teacher, and for one year he 32 16
taught the grammar department of the Wansa school.
Mr. Baggstrom had learned building from his father when living in San Francisco, and, after disposing of the "Gazette," engaged in building for five years.' In the winter of 1906, he became manager for Lundberg Brothers, of their Wausa yards, and had charge of the same until the spring of 1911, when he took charge of the Union Telephone Company, whose home office is at Wausa. He has acquired a good knowledge of architecture, and has planned many of the public and private buildings of Wansa and vicinity.
Mr. Baggstrom was married in Wausa, May 6, 1903, to Miss Nilla Anderson, a native of Sweden. Her parents, Andrew and Nilla Ander- son never emigrated to America. The father died in the old country, and the mother, with one daughter, are all of a family of fourteen that are left there, and they may follow to the new world soon. Those here came one at a time, each help- ing those left behind to emigrate. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Baggstrom, named Carl O. T., Lillie A., Mildred G. and Vivian L.
Mr. Baggstrom is a republican in polities, and a member of the Lutheran church. He is now township treasurer, and was township clerk for many years. When the township, in which his father settled, was divided, Mr. Baggstrom had the honor to select the name for the new division, and named it Columbia. Wausa was named for Wasa, one of the Swedish kings, and at Mr. Baggstrom's suggestion, the spelling was changed to conform to the English pronounciation.
At the time of the great blizzard of Jannary 12, 1888, Mr. Baggstrom was attending confirma- tion school in Sioux City, working in a meat mar- ket out of school hours to pay his board. He happened to be at the market at the time of the storm, and on his way to his employer's house, took the middle of the street. He lost his bear- ings somewhat in the blinding storm, walked off a bridge, and fell into the bed of the stream, and was covered with snow in floundering out of it. While he was making his way laboriously baek to his boarding place, his father was having a more serions experience at home, and is probably the only man who passed the night out doors and came through alive. When the storm came up, he was within a mile and a half of home, and in sight of it. In the blinding blast he lost his way, and abandoned his sleigh within sixty rods of the house, where it was afterward found, and after wandering on for four miles more, lay down under a bank, and let the snow cover him, which with his buffalo coat, kept him from freezing. At dayhreay, weak and stiff, he made his way to a neighbor's, five miles away, where he was given snecor, and later returned home to relieve the worry of his wife and daughter, who had sup- posed him to be lost. When he moved to Cali-
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fornia, he gave the coat to the neighbor as a re- minder of the occasion when a friend was sorely in need. Although he had but a small herd of cattle, he lost all of them in this storm.
The family knew hard times in the early days. For two years in Iowa, they had no bread but that made from corn meal. They lived several years in a dugout after coming west, before being able to build a better house.
At this writing, May, 1911, Mr. Eric Baggstrom is planning to soon go on a trip to his native country.
OLE OLSON.
In the gentleman above named, we have another one of the sturdy sons of Norway who left his na- tive land and came to this country to help in the steady march of progress, and incidentally to build up for himself a home and fortune. Mr. Olson re- sides on his pleasant farm on section thirty-two, township twenty-two, range three, where he has succeeded in building up one of the valuable es- tates of the locality, and is considered one of the substantial agriculturists of the community.
Mr. Olson is a native of Norway, in which coun- try he was born October 12, 1844, a son of Omon and Julia (Catal) Olson, who were natives of Christiana, Norway, the father dying when our subject was but six years of age.
In 1853, Mr. Olson, our subject, with his mother, left their native land for America, sailing from Christiana on the sailboat "Inga," being eight weeks on the sea. They landed in Quebec, Canada, and from there came on to LaSalle, Illi- nois, settling there, where they remained twenty- two years; during his residence liere Mr. Olson was married, of which we will write further on in this sketch.
In 1882 Mr. Olson came to Madison county, Ne- braska, where he bought out a tree claim and home- stead right, first building a frame house on this land. Mr. Olson has had his share of discourage- ment and losses since his residence here, and as late as 1894 suffered the loss of his entire season's crops by the hot winds that were a result of the terrible drouth of that year, and which burned out the crops for miles in extent ; but he has persevered, and now owns four hundred and eighty acres of choice land, on which he has twenty acres of fine trees.
Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Craw, October 14, 1871, Miss Craw being a native of Norway, and a daughter of Helge and Anna Craw, who were also natives of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Olson are the parents of the following named children : Emma, deceased; Anna, John, deceased when small; John, Andrew Alloy, Ulysses, Hilmer, and Clara. They are a well known family, and eu- joy the respect and esteem of all who know them, and in their pleasant home are surrounded by a host of friends and acquaintances.
ROBERT GIVEN (Deceased.)
Robert Given, an honored and respected pioneer of Custer county, Nebraska, had the sincere respect and esteem of a large circle of friends, by whom his death was deeply deplored. He had been recog- nized as a public-spirited and substantial citizen and represented the best intrests of his county and state during his long life there. He and his wife whose maiden name was Mahulda (Jordan) Given, came from West Virginia to Whiteside county, Illi- nois, in 1867. In 1878 they came to Fillmore county, Nebraska, with an emegrant car containing horses, cows, and household goods, and bought land there from the railroad company. In the fall of 1884, Mr. Given, with his wife, their sons, Ellis, and Ewell, and their daughter, Debora, came into Custer county, and took up a homestead comprising southwest quarter of section twenty- eight, township eighteen, range twenty-one. Their son, Sampson, had preceeded them a year, filing on a homestead and timber claim ncar where Merna is now situated. They were among the early settlers of the region and among the best known families in Custer county. Mrs. Given died Jan- uary 19, 1809, and her husband died April 3 of the same year, at the home of his son, Ellis.
Mr. and Mrs. Given were survived by the fol- lowing named children, five of whom reside in Ne- braska : Kate, now Mrs. J. S. Kennard, of Fillmore county ; William, of Lincoln; Sampson and Ellis Given, and Debora, now Mrs. James Anderson, of Custer county. Ewell lives in Wyoming. Sketches of Sampson and Ellis appear elsewhere in this work.
HARVEY MARICLE. (Deceased).
Harvey Maricle, a former venerable resident of Boone county, Nebraska, was born in Greenbriar county, West Virginia, on, January 5, 1827, and died September 14, 1910, on the home place. He was the sixth in a family of eleven children born to Jacob and Sarah Maricle, who were of German de- scent but natives of America, the former born in Pennsylvania and the mother in West Virginia.
When our subject was about eight years of age, the family left West Virginia and settled in Smith county, Tennessee, remaining for two years, then moved to White county, Illinois, where Harvey Maricle grew to manhood.
At the age of twenty-two, he strated in life for himself, locating at Grayville, in the northeast cor- ner of White county, and followed his trade of wood-work and wagon-making, later taking up the work of a carpenter and builder. He made that his home up to the spring of 1860, at that time going to Wabash county, that state, and settled on a farm.
On May 5, 1857, Mr. Maricle was married in Gibson county, Indiana, to Miss Sarah Amira
HARVEY MARICLE, DECEASED, AND WIFE.
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Knowles, who was born and raised in that county. Four children were born to them, a daughter dying in infancy, and three sons, Leonard Fletcher, Ro- zander C. and Carson Wallace, still living, are well known residents of Boone county; the two former married, and the last mentioned living with his mother. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Maricle appear on another page.
Mr. Maricle came to Boone county, Nebraska in May 1871. He filed on a homestead on section eighteen, township nineteen, range five, also took a pre-emption of one hundred and sixty acres in section seven, and proved up on both. His first dwelling was built from lumber hauled from Columbus, nearly all the work being done by him- self, and as soon as it was completed, he returned to Illinois and brought his wife and children back with him, they arriving in July. The first preach- ing service in the county was held in this new home. There they went through pioneer experiences, be- ing among the very first settlers in that portion of the county, and the original homestead was Mr. Maricle's home until his death, and is now occupied by his widow and son. He improved the farm in fine shape, having good buildings of all kinds, and conveniences in the way of machinery, etc. There is a nice grove, and plenty of fruit and other trees, good fences, and everything to make it one of the valuable estates in that region.
Mr. Maricle was one of the original appointees to organize the county of Boone, this being in 1871, and at that time was county commissioner, the meeting at which the organization was perfected, being held at Mr. Maricle's home. He also served as postmaster at Boone, holding the position for about twenty years, the postoffice being located at his home for seven years, then moved to Boone, when the Union Pacific railroad was built, it being the third postal station established in the county.
At the age of thirty-two, Mr. Maricle was con- verted and joined the Presbyterian church, and lived a christian life ever after.
HARRY FULLEN.
Few men living in Nebraska today can recall the primitive conditions of so early a day as Mr. Harry Fullen, formerly of Osmond, but now a resi- dent of Grand Island. His birth occurred on April 11, 1861, in Burt county, Nebraska, and at that time the narrow rim of settlements extended but a few miles west from the Missouri river. As a boy he has seen a thousand Indians in a body moving to or from the reservations north of Omaha. In these migrations the ponies were packed with the tent covering, with the lodge poles fastened above and trailing out behind. and frequently a platform was lashed to these beyond the reach of the pony's tail, and on this was places babies, and occasionally a dog or some other goods, the balance of the band walking except the chief, or lord and master of the tribe, for whom the best ponies were reserved. Mr. Fullen also well remembers stories of their lives,
and at one time there must have been a fierce battle in the vicinity, for in an ash grove near his boyhood home were found skulls and bones in large num- bers. In this spot some of the reckless young men of the locality were wont to assemble and shoot at the skulls for the drinks to be had at Chris Weiser's, a German who kept a store and groggery at the landing where goods for Tekamah were put ashore.
At this early date oxen were the only draught animals in the vicinity, and our subject's success in driving them was not an astonishing thing, going their own sweet way without heed to his wishes. The market for the produce of their farm was some distance away, and at times when the river was frozen over their drsesed hogs were hauled as far as Red Oak, Iowa, before purchasers could be found, although Omaha was their usual market, which was fifty miles away. The trip took several days to accomplish, and it was necessary for the farmers to go in parties of several people, as there was a band of desperadoes which infested the trail along the Missouri river and would hold up the returning settler and rob him of his money and goods. Therefore, when one was ready to go to market, all the neighbors were called on and a "killing bee" was held, slaughtering from forty to fifty hogse, and a hundred or more turkeys and as many chickens, the occasion being made a frolic.
Mr. Fullen's early years were spent in a log house, as well as his first schooling, slabs at that time being used for seats, but later on after he had prospered on his farm near Tekamah, he ordered from St. Louis a ready framed building requiring only to be put together and raised.
Mr. Fullen's father, James Fullen, was born about 1833, in County Tyrone, Ireland. His ma- ternal uncles were all sea captains who had visited every part of the world on their various voyages, and when four years of age, his father, Barney Fullen, with his family, emigrated to the United States, embarking at Belfast in an old sailing ves- sel. They were buffeted by the storms and high seas for six months before sighting the coast of America, and on landing, went directly to Essex county, New York, where he was reared, and at an early age apprenticed to the carpenter's trade. In 1856 he settled in Henry county, Iowa, where he married and resided until coming to Nebraska, as stated above.
Mr. Fullen, father of our subect was married in Mt. Pleasant, 1859, to Rebecca J. Haywood, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, she is now deceased, her death occurred in August, 1910, and is buried in the family lot at Tekamah, Nebraska, a beautiful plat beside that of the father overlooking the Mis- souri valley viewing many scenes of their pioneer days. Of her seven children, Harry, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest. He was married Septem- ber 19, 1900, to Louise M. Junge, a daughter of M. F. and Catherine Junge, a sketch of whom appears in this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Fullen are members of the Pres-
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byterian church, and have hosts of friends in their comunity. He is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America, and Masonic order. Politically he is a democrat.
Mr. Fullen has travelled much through the west, having made three trips to Old Mexico. He is very observing, has a good memory, and the gift of relating his experiences in an interesting manner, thus being a most entertaining and congenial com- panion. He is extensively interested in real estate and banking in the northern part of Pierce county, and is counted among the successful and prominent business men of the state.
M. F. JUNGE. (Deceased.)
One of the early settlers of Pierce county, who has filled an important place in the community, was Michael F. Junge, who died on August 29, 1896. He was a man of much broader education and wider experience than the usual emigrant seeking oppor- tunities in the great republic, and he was consid- ered one of the 'foremost citizens of his locality dur- ing his residence in Nebraska.
Mr. Junge was born in the village of Elmshorn, Province of Holstein, Germany, on January 22. 1833. His father, Diedrich Ferdinand Junge, died when our subect was a small boy. His mother, Helecia (Bartels) Junge, was a woman of strong character and gave her children each a good edu- cation to fit themselves for the battle of life. As a boy, Mr. Junge had a longing for the sea, and to cure him of this the mother sent him on a voyage to Greenland. This, instead of curing him, was exactly to his liking, and he made two more voy- ages to the same ports, so his mother became recon- ciled and sent him to the schools of navigation at Flensburg and Hamburg, from both of which he graduated, later taking an academic course at other colleges, becoming proficient in Greek, Latin, Span- ish, French and English. He held a Master's cer- tificate, but usually served as first mate. During eighteen years spent on the high seas he visited Africa, the Orient, doubled Cape Horn three times and in 1851 called at San Francisco and witnessed the wild rush of those seeking gold during the ex- citement in that country. Returning from a voyage to South America in the Santa Maria on one trip, the vessel sank in the roadstead of Bremen Haven, but managed to keep afloat until shallow water was reached and all were saved. It was known that this ship was. unseaworthy, and the captain feared that she might go down before sighting land. He being sick in his berth at the time, Mr. Junge carried him on deck and succeeded in getting him in one of the ship's boats when the Santa Maria sank in the water. IIer cargo of coffee salvaged from the wreck, was on sale for a umber of years in that re- gion.
On coming to America Mr. Junge sailed the great lakes for four years, and for two years was in the service of the Federal government on the
Mississippi river, his technical knowledge making him a valuable man in the service. In 1868 he re- turned to his native land and for four years was in the commission business in Altona with his brother. He then came back to America, settling at Belle Plaine, Iowa, where he engaged in the ag- ricultural business, remaining there for thirteen years. During this time he had purchased a tract of land near Osmond, and in 1886 came to Pierce county for permanent residence, occupying his original homestead until his death.
Mr Junge was married at Belle Plaine, Iowa, in January, 1873, to Katherine Charlotte Nagel, a native of the village of Buchholz, Holstein, Ger- many, coming to America with her parents in 1852 in a sailing vessel. They were landed at New Or- leans after a voyage of six weeks, and from thence went to St. Louis where the family spent one win- ter; when navigation opened in the spring, coming by boat to Davenport, Iowa, where the father has made his home ever since. Mrs. Junge is at pres- ent living at Big Springs, Nebraska. The Junge family has been prominently known in the north- ern provinces of Germany for generations, W. Junge, an ancestor, having built the first Lutheran church in that region after the Reformation. They have always been a family high in culture and education, foremost in business and social circles in their native country.
FRANCIS CROWE.
Francis Crowe, an old and prominent resident of St. Paul, enjoys a pleasant home in that beau- tiful city. He has spent many years in Howard county, during which time he has succeeded in ac- cumulating a valuable estate consisting of five hun- dred acres of choice farm lands besides other in- terests here, and is known as one of the wealthy men of that region.
Our subject is a native of Canada, born Octo- ber 20, 1837, and was the eldest child in a family of eight. He grew up in that country, during his young manhood following farming and stock rais- ing, and was married there January 31, 1858, to Alice Crowe, five children resulting from their un- ion, three of whom died in infancy, and the mother died in Canada in 1868. In the following year he married Bessie Crowe, and ten children were born of this marriage, seven now living, namely : Alice, Belle, Charlie, Viola, wife of E. W. Docker, they living in Black Buke, Wyoming; Ida, wife of Allen McPherry, Wallace M. and Bruce, the three last mentioned living at home, while the others are mar- ried all residing in Howard county.
Mr. Crowe came into Howard county with his family in 1878, landing here in October. He had been through the country two years previously and at that time purchased a piece of land, after- wards returning to Canada where he remained un- til coming back to Nebraska with his family. They went through the usual pioneer experiences in get- ting their farm started but stuck to it through good, bad and indifferent times and gradually suc-
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