History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 130

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1922
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1767

USA > Wisconsin > Barron County > History of Barron County Wisconsin > Part 130

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MR. AND MRS. JOHN ERICKSON

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worked in the neighborhood at such work as he could get. He still vividly remembers one time when he cut 1,000 rails to get ten bushels of wheat. He used to haul his grain to Menomonie and Eau Claire, the trip requiring three and a half days. After nine years in Maple Grove Township he moved to Bar- ron City for two years. Then he bought eighty acres of wild land in Bar- ron Township, and, as before, erected a log cabin, and started to clear the land. Later he bought 46 acres adjoining in Section 30, Stanley Township, making in all, 126 acres. All of this farm he has had to clear, taking as many as 1,600 stumps out of 80 acres. On the new tract he erected a fine set of buildings. He now successfully carries on general farming and dairying on a success- ful scale. He specializes in Guernsey cattle, and takes much pride in his good herd. He has also been quite successful in producing clover seed. In both townships, he has been active in public affairs. He was supervisor of Maple Grove Township three years, assessor of Barron Township six years, and has held his present position as assessor of Stanley Township for sixteen years. He is thoroughly familiar with land values and local conditions, and his admin- istration of his office has been characterized by absolute fairness. He was one of the organizers of the Barron Creamery Co. and assisted in building the Farmers' Potato Warehouse at Cameron. The temperance cause has found in him an ardent advocate, and for fifteen years he was president of the Barron Temperance Society. The church has also occupied a prominent place in Mr. Erickson's thoughts, and he helped to establish the first Norwegian Lutheran Congregation in Maple Grove Township and the first Norwegian Lutheran Con- gregation in Barron Village. He was married in Dane County, Wis., in 1872, to Carrie Brenden, who was born in Norway, April 28, 1855, and came to the United States at the age of thirteen with her father, Andrew, and her brother, Ole, the mother coming a year later. After living in Dane County, this state, for a while, they came to Barron County. Mr. and Mrs. Erickson have been the parents of the following children: Edward, of Stanley Township; Andrew, who died at the age of four years; Julia (first), who died at the age of five years; Alma, who married Alfred Borgen, and lives at Mt. Vernon, Wash .; George, of Barron Township; Carl, who died at the age of 18 years; Ida, who died at the age of three years; Perry, residing at home; Julia (second), who married Wil- liam Eicher, and they now rent the home farm; Clara, who died in infancy; Nettie, who married B. Lanswerk, and resides in Barron Township; Mollie, wife of John Cole, of Barron Village; and Clarence.

Samuel H. Carsley, veteran of the Civil War, an early settler of Crystal Lake Township, was born in Maine, of good old New England stock, and as a boy was taken to Pennsylvania. He came to Wisconsin when he was twenty years of age, and for a while taught school in Pierce County. Later he was a bridge builder, working along the line of the Omaha, between St. Paul and Eau Claire, in Eau Claire, Dunn and St. Croix counties. Still, later, he took up lumbering. For one year he saw active service in the Civil War, being with Co. I, 38th Wis. Vol. Inf., in its campaign about Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. It was in 1876 that he took a homestead in Crystal Lake Township, this county. While living on this farm he still continued logging for a while. Then he turned his attention to general farming. At the present time he is making a specialty of the bee business. Mr. Carsley married Harriet Bab- cock and of this union were born four children: Eveline, David Clark, Cora and Seth, the last mentioned of whom was killed while working on the rail- road. Eveline is the wife of William B. Connor, of Webster, Wis. David Clark is a farmer near Comstock, this county. Cora is the wife of P. H. Finley, of Washburn, Wis. Mr. Carsley married secondly, Mary Babcock, who was born in New Hampshire, and was brought to Pierce County, Wis., as a child. She and her husband have four children, Isabella, Henry H., Celia and Ernest. Isabella is residing at home. Celia is a high school teacher in Hayward, Wis. Henry H. is postmaster and a general merchant at Comstock. Ernest died at the age of eight years.

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Henry H. Carsley, postmaster and general merchant of Comstock, was born on a farm on the bank of Crystal Lake, in Crystal Lake Township, this county, Nov. 13, 1882, son of Samuel H. and Mary (Babcock) Carsley. He attended the rural school at Comstock, and in 1902 was graduated from the Cumberland High School. In the meantime he had worked in sawmills during the summer vacations, and this he continued for one year after he left high school. In 1904 he attended the Minneapolis Business College, Minneapolis, Minn., where he took up bookkeeping and stenography. With this preparation he entered the employ of the Warner Hardware Co., 13 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, with whom he remained about five years. While in this employ he continued his education in the Y. M. C. A. Night Schools. In 1909 his health failed and he returned home. So greatly was his physique shattered that for some five years he was compelled to use crutches or a cane in order to get about. In 1913 he went to Turtle Lake, and with E. W. Scheel as a part- ner, engaged in the automobile business, handling the Ford cars and acces- sories. He was also a rural mail carrier out of the Turtle Lake postoffice. In 1916 he purchased the Lamoureux Store at Comstock, and is now engaged in business there. He has a typical small-town store, and has built up an excel- lent business, carrying groceries, feed and flour, shoes, work clothing, farm machinery, cream separators and the like, and dealing in farm produce. His appointment as postmaster dates from July, 1916, and he has since continued to serve with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his patrons. The office is a growing one, and has one rural route. Mr. Carsley is a popular man in the community, his local acquaintance and outside experience make him an able business man, his line of goods is admirably suited to the needs of the community, and his reputation for fair dealing and honest methods is far- reaching. In 1911 and 1912 he was town clerk of Crystal Lake Township, and he has served as a member of the school board in Turtle Lake and in Comstock. For four years, at different times, he has been secretary and manager of the Comstock Co-operative Creamery. Fraternally, he is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Masonic Lodge, No. 223, Cumberland. Mr. Carsley was married May 16, 1906, at Star Prairie, Wis., to Minnie Reichert, and this union has been blessed with two daughters: Marion Alice, born Jan. 27, 1907; and Dorothy Lucile, born March 17, 1909. Minnie Reichert was born at La Crosse, Wis., Sept. 23, 1883, the daughter of Godfrey and Theresa (Nedvidek) Reichert, natives of La Crosse County, this state. Her father died in La Crosse when the daughter was eight weeks old. About three years later, the mother mar- ried Frank Davis, and the daughter was often known as Minnie Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Davis live on a farm near New Richmond, in St. Croix County, this state.

Otto A. Olson, cashier of the Bank of Comstock since its organization, March 23, 1918, is a native of this county, born in Crystal Lake Township, July 24, 1888, son of Peter and Sigrid Olson, natives of Sweden, who came to this country in 1880, and located in Crystal Lake Township, where they took a farm, the father working in the woods winters to earn money to support the family while the farm was being developed and improved. They still live on the home farm, which is operated by the son, Emil. He carries on general farming and dairying on a successful scale, and is continuing the improve- ments on the place. In the family there are ten children, all living. Otto A. is a Comstock banker. Julius M. farms at Sturgeon Lake, Minn. Gust H. is a farmer of Crystal Lake Township. He is a veteran of the World War. He left Barron with the first squad of draftees, and was in the service two years, one year in training camps in this country, and one year in France. Emil, as already mentioned, is on the home farm. Agnes J. is assistant cashier of the Bank of Comstock. Mabel is bookkeeper for the Sherman Auto Co. of Cumber- land. Esther is the wife of A. P. Severson, of Maple Plains Township, Bar- ron County. Helga is a teacher in the Comstock graded schools. Nels and Uno P. are at home. Otto A. was reared on the home farm and attended the

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JOHN HAGNA AND FAMILY

MR. AND MRS. ELLEF HAGNA-MRS. ANNA HALVERSON

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district schoolhouse in the neighborhood. He also took a thorough correspond- ence course with the Ransom Business College of Kansas City, Mo., specializ- ing in accounting and banking. When he attained his majority, he purchased a farm in Section 7, Crystal Lake Township. There he successfully farmed until 1918. In that year he helped organize the Bank of Comstock, and when it opened its doors, March 23, was installed as cashier. He is thoroughly familiar with local conditions, he knows every farm and family for miles around, and he thoroughly understands banking. He believes in liberal prog- ress and with a spirit of enthusiasm combines the soundness of judgment and conservatism of action necessary to a successful financier. In addition to his strict application to business, he believes in doing his duty as a public- spirited citizen, and he has done good service as clerk and assessor of the town, and as a member of the school board. Mr. Olson was married June 29, 1910, in Crystal Lake Township, to May Rhode, daughter of William and Augusta Rhode, natives of Germany. The father is still farming in Crystal Lake Town- ship, and the mother is dead. Mr. and Mrs. Olson have three children: Hazel, born May 14, 1911; Alice, born Aug. 6, 1915; and Otto A., Jr., born April 25, 1920.

John Hagna, a well-to-do farmer owning 280 acres of good land in Section 35, Stanley Township, was born in Norway May 17, 1870, the son of Ellef and Margaret Hagna, who lived all their lives in the old country. . The children in the family were Olaf, Ambrose, Turgrim, Johanas, Ole and John. Ambrose and Turgrim came to the United States in the eighties and located in Iowa. In 1886 came John, Ole and Johanas. John, who remained in Iowa, did farm work for seven months, then worked in the woods for Moren & Gallaway two years and eleven months continuously. In 1889 he came to Barron County, Wisconsin, and bought 80 acres in Section 35, Stanley Township. This land had been cleared, but no buildings had been erected. Mr. Hagna started his farming operations here by planting potatoes. He put up the buildings, bought equip- ment from time to time and successfully carried on general farming there for many years. In 1920 he came to his present place of 280 acres in the same section. He remodeled the house, repaired the buildings, and erected a new barn. He has a good farm and carries on general farming and dairying, his cattle being good graded Guernseys. He is interested in the Norwegian Luth- eran Church and is serving the congregation at Pokegema as treasurer. Mr. Hagna was married March 29, 1902 at Pokegema, to Tuna Halverson, who was born in Norway May 22, 1885, and came to America in the nineties with her par- ents, Ole and Anna Halverson, who located in Rice Lake, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hagna have seven children: Alma, Alvin, Arthur, Clifford, Malda, Dora and Lorne.

Christ P. Tyvoll, general merchant and former postmaster of Comstock, was born in Norway Feb. 13, 1860, the son of Peter F. and Mary Tyvoll, who spent all their years in that country. The father was a carpenter and black- smith, and worked for some years at his trade as a blacksmith in copper mines. In the family there were nine children. Christ P. and Peter are in the United States. Bergswan, Maren and Patronilla are in Norway. Margaret, Frederick and Mary are dead; Frederick, a train conductor, having been killed in a rail- road wreck. Christ P. was reared in Norway and attended school there. He was reared to farm pursuits. For nearly five years, as a youth, he was em- ployed in a drug store, and became an expert pharmacist. In 1881 he came to the United States and located in Alamakee County, Iowa. There, at intervals, he clerked in stores and worked on farms in order to attend school. In the spring of 1885 he entered the La Crosse Business College at La Crosse, Wis., and graduated in the commercial course. He came to Cumberland in the fall of 1885 and entered the employ of O. A. Ritan as clerk. When the store man- agement was vested in Ritan & Co. he still remained there. Later he was em- ployed by the S. W. Hines Co. In all he clerked in Cumberland for twenty years. In this period he came to have a thorough knowledge of the people of

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this part of the county and their mercantile needs, and he saw the possibilities of Comstock as a trading point. Accordingly in 1905 he came here, bought out R. E. Smaling, and established his present business. He carries a good line of general merchandise, his business is constantly increasing, he is a good buyer and believes in fair dealing to all, and he consequently has the con- fidence of the people. From 1905 to 1915 he was postmaster and kept the office at his store. He has taken his part in public affairs, and while in Cumberland served as a member of the city council. Fraternally he is a member of the S. A. F., being a charter member and first president of the lodge at Cumber- land. In 1910 he purchased a farm of 120 acres in Section 30-31, Cumberland Township, and there he makes his home with his son, Leonard, who operates the place. Mr. Tyvoll was married at Cumberland in May 1886, to Bertha Ander- son, whose parents spent their lives in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Tyvoll have been blessed with eleven children: Mary M., Peter M., Clara B., Leonard F., Helen, Edna, Walter, Dorris, Clifford and Alice, and a deceased infant. Mary M. married H. S. Howe, who farms near Cumberland. Peter M. is in the store with his father. Clara B. is the wife of Adolph Wold, a farmer of Cumberland Township. Leonard F., as noted, is on the home farm. Helen clerks in a drug store in Cumberland. Edna is attending the State Normal school at River Falls. Walter graduated from the Cumberland High School in 1921. Dorris is a student in the Cumberland High School. Clifford and Alice are in the graded schools.

Patrick Ritchie, garage man and automobile agent of Comstock, was born in Cumberland Township, July 2, 1895, the son of Pio and Isabella Ritchie, natives of Italy. He was reared in Cumberland and Crystal Lake Townships, worked with his parents and attended district school. In 1916 he attended the Ray Automobile and Tractor school at Kansas City, Missouri. In the mean- time since boyhood he had been interested in music and had become a pro- ficient performer with the clarinet and saxophone. He was inducted into the United States army July 15, 1918, and was sent to Camp Hancock, Georgia, where he was assigned to duty as a musician. He was discharged Jan. 15, 1919. Then he came back to Barron County and opened his present garage. He under- stands automobiles thoroughly and does general repair work, carrying a full line of automobile accessories and supplies. He also has the local agency for the Birch car. He is well liked in the community and is building up a good business. Mr. Ritchie married Muriel Nelson, daughter of Fred and Anna Nelson, both natives of Wisconsin, and now farming in Crystal Lake Town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie have two children : Mabel, born Nov. 30, 1919, and Sylvia, born Feb. 20, 1921.

Pio Ritchie, a substantial farmer of Crystal Lake Township, was born in Italy, and there married Isabella Ritchie. They came to America in 1893 and settled on a farm in Cumberland Township, this county. As prosperity crowned their efforts they were enabled to purchase a larger one in Crystal Lake Township where they now live. In the family there are nine children, all living: Minnie, James, Louise, Anna, Angelo, Esther, George, Joseph and Patrick. Minnie married Thomas Abbott and lives in Duluth, Minn.

Charles Bergstrom, for thirty years a resident of this county, was born in Sweden, and there married Anna Olson. They came to America in the fall of 1890 and purchased a farm in Crystal Lake Township, this county. This they improved and developed and became prosperous members of the com- munity. In the family there were two children, Carl E., a business man of Comstock, and Arthur, who lives on the home farm. Mrs. Anna Bergstrom died in 1913. She was a good wife and mother, and a hospitable neighbor, and her death was sincerely mourned. In 1915 Mr. Bergstrom married Amanda Carlson, and this union has been blessed with three children : Else, Evert and Edwin, all at home on the farm.

Carl E. Bergstrom, hardware merchant of Comstock, was born in Crystal Lake Township, this county, Aug. 10, 1893, the son of Charles and Anna

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MR. AND MRS. FRITZ GEHLER WILLIAM GEHLER AND FAMILY

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(Olson) Bergstrom, natives of Sweden. He was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools of his neighborhood. In 1919 he left his father's farm and came to Comstock, where he opened a hardware store. He has a prosperous establishment and carries a full line of shelf and floor hardware and farm implements. He is a good business man, he is thoroughly familiar with local conditions, and his list of satisfied customers is constantly increasing. He has faith in the future of Comstock and the surrounding rural districts, and in the progress and development of this region he is taking his share.

Fritz Gehler, an early settler, was born in Germany, April 16, 1843. He there grew to manhood and learned his trade as a miller. In the middle sixties he came to the United States and located in Ripon, Wis. There, on Dec. 6, 1868, he married Augusta Miltz, likewise a native of Germany. In the seventies, they came to Barron County, and secured 160 acres of land in Section 24, Stanley Township. Here they started in to carve their fortunes. They had little to work with but their hands. Grain was harvested with a cradle. Oxen were their only draught animals. The trading point was Chippewa Falls, and pro- visions were usually brought in afoot. The wife, fortunately for the family, had a spinning wheel, on which she spun yarn to be made into jackets, mittens and socks. She kept this spinning wheel through all her life, and used it up to her last days. Mr. Gehler cleared up the land and erected some unusually good buildings. He was a man of importance in the neighborhood, greatly looked up to by his neighbors. He served on the town board and on the school board and in other positions of public honor and private trust. Before the district was organized, a subscription school was kept in his house. There also some of the first meetings of the German Lutheran Congregation were held. It was there that the first subscription was taken for the building of the church in Stanley Township. After this Mr. Gehler drove from house to house collecting money for the same purpose, and he was himself a liberal contributor. He served for some years as one of the officials of the congregation. Fraternally he was an active member of the Modern Woodmen at Cameron. He was a stock- holder in the Farmers' Cooperative Store at Cameron. In his latter years he retired from the more strenuous duties of farm life and moved to Cameron, where he died May 7, 1919. His good wife, who was born Jan. 11, 1840, died on the farm Nov. 2, 1919. They were the parents of seven children: Anna, Emma, Minnie, Paul, Lena, William and Amelia.

William Gehler, who has a fertile farm in Section 24, Stanley Township, was born on the place where he now resides June 13, 1880, the son of Fritz and Augusta (Miltz) Gehler, the pioneers. He attended the district schools and learned farming from his father. In time he took over the home place, and to it has added 40 acres more. He has remodeled and improved the buildings, and added to the machinery and equipment. He is proud of good stock, and is breeding into pure-blooded Holstein cattle. He also has a drove of Chester White swine, a flock of Plymouth Rock chickens and some good Percheron horses. In public affairs he has taken his part, and has served for a time on the school board. Like his father before him he is a member of the Modern Woodmen Camp at Cameron. Mr. Gehler was married May 5, 1909, to Alice Bong, who was born at Kiel, Wis., Sept. 14, 1890, the daughter of Albert and Laura Bong, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Gehler have four children: Donald, born April 10, 1910; Fred, born Aug. 5, 1911; George, born Oct. 19, 1913, and Lauren, born Oct. 22, 1915, a bright quartette of sturdy sons. The family faith is that of the German Lutheran Church.

Fayette Skinner, blacksmith and wagon maker of Canton, is one of the honored and respected men of the community. He is an excellent workman of long experience, he is a good business man, and he is genial and jovial in tem- perament, qualities which make him well liked by all who know him. He was born in Pennsylvania May 12, 1849, the son of Josiah and Hannah (Belcher) Skinner, natives of New York State. The father, who was a blacksmith, brought

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the family to Wisconsin and located at Stevens Point, Portage County. There he died at the age of fifty-six. His wife lived to the good old age of eighty- four. Their children were: Fayette, Ernest, Joseph, Albert, Emma, Bertha and Mary. Fayette, being the eldest of this large family, had but little opportunity for schooling. He learned the blacksmith's trade from his father, and for sev- eral years worked in the railroad shops at Stevens Point. Then he opened a shop of his own there and later established a branch at Plover. He came to Canton and established his present place in 1910. He is a thorough exponent of Odd Fellowship, belongs to the Subordinate lodge, the Encampment and the Canton, and is entitled to a seat in the Grand Lodge. Mr. Skinner was married Sept. 5, 1874 to Addie Booth, who was born in Lake County, Indiana, June 14, 1855, the daughter of A. J. and Sarah Booth, natives of New York state. Mr. and Mrs. Skinner have had five children. Mabel died at the age of twenty-one. Frank is a circus man. Martin lives at Fond du Lac. Allison, like his father, is a blacksmith, the third generation of blacksmiths in the family, and is located at Ladysmith, in Rush County, this state. Fayette is a railroad postal clerk.

William Lester Sandmire, the energetic and hustling young manager of the lumber yard at Canton for the Canton Lumber Co., is deeply interested in the growth and development of the village. He is a good business man, he thor- oughly understands lumber and fuel, he knows the needs of the community, and he has the confidence of all with whom he has business dealings. He was born on a farm in Richland County, this state, the son of James and Catherine Sandmire. They gave him excellent educational advantages so that he was enabled not only to pass through the rural schools with credit, but also to at- tend the Viola High School in that county. Then he went to Ash Ridge in Rich- land County, and clerked in a store for three years. Subsequently he learned the cheese making business. In 1917 he came to Barron County and built the Canton cheese factory at Canton. This burned in 1918, and he then assumed the duties of his present position. He is a member of the lodge of Modern Woodmen of America at Canton. He was married March 4, 1918 at Canton, to Leahlyn Lepley, who was born in Richland County, this state, July 7, 1896, and they have one child, Catherine Iola, born Jan. 30, 1919.

Robert Mclellan, for many years a resident of Section 26, Stanley Town- ship, was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, and was there reared and educated. As a young man he became a coal miner in which occupation he continued for several years. He married Lovina Rees, who was born in Canada. Eight chil- dren were born in Canada: Charles, Sarah, Mark, John, Ann, George, Robert and David. He brought the family to the States in the early eighties and located in Chippewa County, this state, where he worked in the woods. One child was born there, Alexandria by name. In 1885 he brought the family to Barron County and settled on a farm in Section 26, Stanley Township, where he built up a good farm. There four more children, Isaac, Grace, Arthur and Hazel, were born. Mr. Mclellan died on the farm at the age of 77 years. His wife, now 73, resides on the old homestead with her son, Arthur.

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History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 130

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1767

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1922
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1767