History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 80

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

USA > Wisconsin > Barron County > History of Barron County Wisconsin > Part 80

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Charles T. Blair, an active farmer of Section 12, Clinton Township, was born in Palmerson, Canada, Oct. 18, 1878, the son of William and Margaret Blair, natives of Canada. These good people came to the States in 1886, and homesteaded 80 acres in the town of Cumberland, this county. This was all wild timbered land. The father put up a log cabin, and started clearing the land with the assistance of his family. Part of the time he did logging work in the woods to get funds to keep the family going. As time passed he got up some good buildings, and developed a good farm. He was well on the road to prosperity when he died. He was a good man and was held in the highest esteem. The mother is now living with her daughter, Ida, of Ladysmith. Of

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MR. AND MRS. W. E. BJURMAN

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the family of seven daughters and four sons there are now living eight: Belle, wife of Thom. Nelson, lives in Burnette County, this state; Jennie is the wife of John McDonald, of Barron City; Tena is the wife of David Shields, of Clinton Township; Maude is the wife of Archie Nelson, of Barron Township; Ida is the wife of James Ducklow, of Ladysmith, this state; William lives in Gravelberg, Province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Albert is on the home farm. Charles T. was a boy of eight years when brought to this country. He was reared in Cumberland Township, attended school, worked on the farm, in the lumber woods and at the carpenter trade. In 1911 he purchased 80 acres of land in Section 12, Clinton Township. This place was partly improved. He has remodeled the house, built a new barn, 34 by 56 feet, with full basement, and fixed over the other buildings. He also has continued to develop the land so that he now has a nice place. He successfully carries on general farm- ing and dairying and has a good herd of graded Jerseys and Guernseys. As the father of children, he is interested in education and is serving as'clerk of his school board. Mr. Blair was married at Barron on Dec. 22, 1904, to Nellie J. Hanson, who was born at Oconomowoc, March 28, 1885, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Duchlow) Hanson, old settlers and now retired farmers of Clinton township. Mr. and Mrs. Blair have five children: Florence Idell, Clarence T., Gladys N., Melvin C. and Phylis V. Florence is attending High School at Barron, and the others are at home.

Nickanor Bjurman, for some years a substantial resident of Section 10, Clinton Township, was born in Sweden, and was there reared and educated, and there he married. As a young man he was employed in sawmills. In 1885, he came to America, and found his way directly to Barron County. For a year he worked in the sawmills at Cumberland. In 1886 he homesteaded 80 acres in Section 10, Clinton Township. This was all wild, covered with timber. No roads had been built. He put up a small log cabin, and there his family made their home for a while. In time he developed the place, put up a frame house, barn, and other buildings, and successfully carried on general farming and dairying. He was a good man and a good citizen, he worked hard early and late, he planned well, and he was highly re- garded. After a useful life, he died Jan. 4, 1912. His wife, Clara, is still living on the home place. In the family there are seven children: Albert, John, William E., Carl Victor, Ellen, Elizabeth, and Inez. Albert is at Poskin. John farms in Clinton Township. Ellen is the wife of Dave Ekenstedt, of Cumberland Township. Elizabeth is the wife of Carl Marklund, of Two Harbors, Minn. Inez is at home and helps her mother with the home work. William E. and Carl Victor operate the home place. Both were born on this farm, William E. on Sept. 21, 1888, and Carl Victor on July 26, 1890. They were reared here, attended school in the neighborhood, and learned farming from their father. They continued to help him with the work until his death, and then took over the home place. Here they successfully carry on general farming and dairying, and have a good herd of full blooded Holstein cattle. They are widely known as breeders of registered stock for production, selling to farmers in Barron County and the surrounding country. They are energetic young men, they keep thoroughly up to date in farming methods, they are popular among all the young people of the community, they are highly regarded, and are already making rapid strides along the road to success. Both were under arms during the World war. William E. was inducted into service, and trained at Camp Grant with Battery F, 340th Field Artillery, 89th Division. He saw active service at St. Mehiel, and in the Argonne, with the American Expeditionary Force, and served also in the American Army of Occupation. He was discharged June 7, 1919. Carl Victor trained with the 10th Company of 27th Infantry, at Columbia Barracks, at Columbus, Ohio. Both young men are especially interested in stock improve- ment. They have one young cow, two and a half years old, which in the seven-

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day test, in June, 1921, gave 520 pounds of milk, from which 23 pounds of butter were made.

William Gelting, for some years a substantial farmer of Section 18, Clinton Township, was born in Germany, and was there reared and educated. He came to America in the seventies, and after finding his way to Galena, in Jo Daviess County, Ill., came over the line into Grant County, this state. He married Mary, the widow of George Puls, and after farming in Grant County for a time, moved the family to Iowa, where he farmed near Dubuque. In 1903, he came to Barron County, and bought 160 acres in Section 18, Clinton Township. This was all wild. He rebuilt a small house standing on the place and moved his family in, and started clearing up the land. Here he carried on general farming until his death, Feb. 2, 1917. In the family there were five children. August and Barney operate the home farm. William and Kate died four days apart in January, 1912. One died in infancy. Mrs. Gelting still lives on the home farm with her sons. By her first husband she had two children. Henry G. Puls farms near Poskin. Mary is the wife of Barney Brink, of Bancroft, Iowa.

August and Barney Gelting, energetic farmers of Section 18, Clinton Township, were born near Dubuque, Iowa. August on May 29, 1884, and Barney, May 30, 1886, the sons of William and Mary Gelting. They were brought to their present farm by their parents in 1903. They helped their father with its development, and in 1913 took over its management. All the buildings on the place had been destroyed by fire in 1912, the same year that their father died, so they practically had to start in anew. They now have as good a place as is to be found in the neighborhood. They have a good cement block house of eight rooms, with hot water heat, running hot and cold water, bath, and other conveniences. Their barn is 34 by 76 feet, with full basement, and furnished with the James and Louden equipment. The stock is supplied with running water. The granary is in the barn. There is also a good set of other buildings including tool sheds, machine sheds, chicken house and the like. About 100 acres are cleared, and much of the farm is fenced. It is excellently equipped with tools, implements and machinery, including a Water- loo Bay tractor. Here the two brothers successfully carry on general farming and dairying. They have a good herd of Holsteins, headed by a full blooded sire. The hospitable home is kept by a housekeeper, and the good mother makes her home here at the age of 78 years. The young men are stockholders in the Almena Telephone Co., the Almena Produce Co., and the Almena Live Stock Union. Both are members of the Foresters and the Knights of Columbus, August being one of the organizers of the Forester camp at Almena.

Clarence M. Dimick, prosperous farmer of Section 17, Clinton Township, and for over thirty years a sawmill man of this state, was born in Richfield Township, Adams County, Wis., Jan. 10, 1865, the son of Richard E. and Mary E. (Miles) Dimick. Richard E. was born in Watertown, New York, and as a boy was brought to Adams County, in the forties. As a young man he married. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in an Infantry regiment, and served throughout the terrible conflict. He died at Oshkosh, Wis., Dec. 25, 1866. His wife, a native of Ohio, whose people were early set- tlers of Oshkosh, Wis., afterward married Charles Toynbee, of Adams County. By the first marriage there were four children: Clarence M .; Edwin L., of Laurel, Neb., and Raleigh and Richard E., deceased. By the second marriage there was one son, George F., a mail carrier in Cumberland, this county. Clarence M. was not quite two years old when he lost his father. For some years he lived with his Grandfather and Grandmother Miles, at Oshkosh, but later went back to Adams County. For some years he farmed in Adams County. As a young man he started in sawmill work at Oshkosh, and with an interval of farming of six years. Then he worked for one company in a sawmill at Rhinelander, Oneida County, for twenty-five years. In 1914 he came to Barron County, and settled on 240 acres, which he had purchased in

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1896. This was wild cut-over land. He put up a house, 16 by 28 feet, in 1900, with a lean-to, in which he left his family while he continued to work in Rhinelander for another year. Since then he has devoted all his attention to the upbuilding of his farm. He has sold a part of the tract, and now has 120 acres. This he has cleared, fenced and cultivated. In 1920 he built a nine- room residence, with furnace heat, running water, bath and other conveniences. He also has a good barn and an excellent set of other buildings. Here he successfully carries on general farming, dairying, and stock raising. He has a good herd of graded Guernseys with a pure blooded sire; a good drove of Duroc-Jersey swine, and some excellent Belgian horses. As a progressive and public spirited citizen, he has taken stock in the Pavilion at Barron, the Almena Telephone Co., and the Almena Produce Co., and in the First Joint Stock Land Bank, of Minneapolis. As the father of children he is interested in education, and has done excellent service on the school board of his district. Fraternally he is a popular member of the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen, and other orders. He does his part as a good citizen in every respect, and is a man of highest probity and worth. He was married at Hurley, Wis., April 6, 1891, to Mary B. Hogan, who was born at Union, Brown County, June 10, 1871, the daughter of John and Mary (Alfson) Hogan, he a native of Massachusets, and she of Norway. They were early settlers of Brown County, Wis., and both are now dead. Of the twelve children in the Hogan family, there are now living six. Ella, Julia, Myrtle, George, Chester and Mary. Ella is the wife of J. J. Gibson, of Rhinelander; Julia is the wife of George Harrigan, of Milwaukee; Myrtle is the wife of Oscar Schultz, of Green Bay; George and Chester are in Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Dimick have five children : Maude, Dorothy, Richard, John and Kathryn. Maude is employed in a bank in Seattle, Wash. Dorothy is the wife of J. L. Hilderbrand, of Rhinelander. Richard and John help their father with the farm work, and Kathryn helps her mother about the house. The family faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Oscar Forseth, a well regarded farmer of Section 6, Clinton Township, was born at Fergus Falls, Ottertail County, Minn., April 14, 1879, the son of Carl and Mary Forseth. Carl Forseth was born in Norway, of a long line of fisherfolk, and himself was connected with the fishing industry there until he was thirty years of age. Then he set out for America, the voyage aboard a sailing boat taking sixteen weary weeks. Upon his arrival he took a home- stead in Ottertail County, Minn., being one of the first homesteaders in the vicinity of Fergus Falls. For a time he lived the life of a real pioneer. His first home was a dugout, with only the crudest of conveniences. Not a foot of the soil was tillable without first breaking. The grain market was at St. Cloud, on the Mississippi, more than two thirds across the state, a tedious trip to be made with ox teams. But he and his wife had courage and strength, and in time their hard work and hardships resulted in a well developed place. On this place, both died. In the family there were two children, Oscar and Carrie. Carrie is the widow of Oscar Olson, and lives in Duluth. Oscar was reared on the home farm, attended school, and learned farming from his father. After his father died he went to Duluth, and for several summers was a sailor on the Great Lakes. In the winters he worked in the woods and in the sawmills at Cumberland, in this county. Then for several years he was connected with the dairy business at Duluth. In 1913 he bought 40 acres in Section 6, Clin- ton Township, at that time all wild. Here he has now built up a good place. He has a good frame house of many comforts, a commodious barn, and such other buildings as silo, horse barn, sheds and the like. His land is well cultivated and well fenced. The equipment in tools, implements and ma- chinery is of the best. Mr. Forseth successfully carries on general farming and stock raising, and makes a specialty of dairying. He has an excellent herd of pure blooded and graded Jerseys, and sells the cream to the Barron Creamery Co. Mr. Forseth was married at Cumberland on Dec. 12, 1899, to

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Inga Newhouse, the daughter of Ole and Mary Newhouse, early settlers of Clinton Township. Mrs. Forseth died on Sept. 7, 1904, leaving a daughter, Caroline, born Sept. 7, 1900, who now keeps house for her father. Later Mr. Forseth married Tena Newhouse, daughter of Jacob and Anna Newhouse, also early settlers of Clinton Township. She died in September, 1914. The two wives were cousins.

Ansel W. Hammond, was born near Brockville, Leeds County, Ontario, Canada, June 22, 1833, the son of Elisha R. and Lois (Parrish) Hammond, descended through New England colonists from English ancestry. Ansel W. was brought to Lawrence, St. Lawrence County, New York, as a small boy, and attended the rural schools and the Potsdam Academy. He started teaching school as a youth, and later clerked in a store at Potsdam, where he married the daughter of his employer. In 1856 he moved to Chilton, Calumet County, Wis., located on a farm and taught school, serving for some years as county superintendent of schools. In 1864 he resigned, and moved his family to New Brunswick, N. J., while he was employed in the quartermaster's department at Washington. After the war he again came to Chilton, was again made county superintendent, and served as deputy register of deeds. In 1876, with a partner he opened a drug store at Durand, Wis., and later bought a farm near there. Afterward he was elected justice of the peace and devoted much of his time to real estate and insurance business. He was postmaster from 1886 to 1889. He helped to incorporate the Bank of Durand in 1883, and served as the first president. In the Congregational church he was a deacon. Fraternally he was prominent in the Masonic order and in the Modern Wood- men. He died Jan. 12, 1899. Mr. Hammond was married Oct. 2, 1855, to Mary C. Vickery, the daughter of Matthias and Jane P. (Day) Vickery, and this union was blessed with three children: Alice, who married George Edwin Scott; Lucy who married Henry Goodrich, and Ansel Vickery.

George Edwin Scott, now deceased, was for many years a leading figure in the life of Prairie Farm Township, assemblyman, state senator, chairman of the township, member of the county board, president of the village, founder and president of the First State Bank of Prairie Farm successful merchant and prominent fraternity man. He was born in Durand, Pepin. County, this state, July 3, 1860, the fourth of six children of Seth and Bolina M. (Fisher) Scott. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and were married in that state. In the late fifties they came west to Pepin County, where Seth Scott was a partner in erecting and operating a pioneer chair factory, and where he lived for many years, moving in later life to northern Minnesota, where he spent his declining days. He was a strict adherent of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The subject of this sketch attended the graded and High School of Durand, and early determined to devote his life to mercantile pursuits. He was scarcely in his 'teens when he began to run store errands, and he was soon regularly employed as a clerk. With the experience thus gained, he moved to Menomonie, in Dunn County, in April, 1881, and there became clerk in the general store of Knapp, Stout & Co. July 1, 1883, he came to Barron County, and located in Prairie Farm Village as manager of the store and mill owned by Knapp, Stout & Co. In 1891 he bought the store and mill property, and continued as sole owner of the store the remainder of his life. He built up what was regarded as one of the most beautiful country stores in this region. He carried a good line of goods, had a wide trade, and enjoyed the confidence and trust of all his customers. After his death, his wife and daughters operated the store for a while, and then sold to the Farmers' Store Company of Bloomer. From the first, Mr. Scott took the deepest interest in development and progress of the village. He helped to organize the First State Bank of Prairie Farm and was its first president. He also helped to organize the Prairie Farm Telephone Co., and the Prairie Farm Co-operative Creamery. He was instrumental in having the village incorporated, he helped to create enthusiasm for the proposed measure, and

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GEORGE E. SCOTT

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when the petition was presented to the county board of which he was then a member, was placed by that body on the committee to act upon it. He was a regular contributor to the support of all the English speaking churches in this vicinity, and helped with the building funds of the other churches. In public life, Mr. Scott took a most active part. He was a natural leader among his fellow men, and soon became chairman of the township, not only handling the affairs of the township with credit, but also doing most excellent service on the county board, as a member of which he was appointed to many important committees. So great was the confidence in which he was held, that he was elected to the Assembly in 1904, and sat in the session of 1905, 1907 and 1909. The distinction he thus attained caused his election to the Senate, in the sessions of which he sat in 1911 and 1913. He was on the joint finance committee both when a member of the Assembly and when a mem- ber of the Senate, and he also served on various other important committees. He exhibited special activity along the lines of forest conservation, fire pre- vention and public utilities control. A notable measure which he did much toward putting through was the act giving state support to the Stout Institute at Menomonie. He also did many other things in the interest of education in the state, county, township and village. In 1913 he was chosen chairman of the Republican State Central Committee. He was a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Menomonie. Fraternally he was a high degree Mason, be- longing to the Blue Lodge at Barron, the Chapter at Rice Lake, and the Council and the Shrine at Milwaukee. He was also a charter member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Prairie Farm. After a useful and active life, he died Nov. 9, 1915, at his home in Prairie Farm. Mr. Scott's success in life was due to his native ability, his genial temperament, and ability to make friends, and his unswerving integrity. He loved his work, he put his heart into everything he undertook, he had a sympathetic understanding of human problems, and he was ever ready to give help and encouragement. He was a loving husband, an indulgent father, a loyal friend and an ideal citizen, and the world is truly the happier for his having lived in it. Mr. Scott was married Nov. 24, 1881, at Durand, to Alice Hammond, born at Potsdam, New York, the daughter of Ansel W. and Mary Climena (Vickery) Hammond. To this union were born eight children: Eula Mildred, Frank Lucille, Hammond Edwin, a bright and affectionate boy of unusual promise who died at the age of fourteen years, and five who died in infancy. Eula is the wife of J. A. Helland, and they have two sons, George and James. Mr. Helland took over the mill property in Prairie Farm Village. Frank Lucille is the wife of Edward Dallas of Pasadena, Calif., and has a daughter, Virginia. Mrs. Scott is a gra- cious kindly lady, of many accomplishments, who has had a pleasant influence on the life of the village for many years. During the war she helped in Red Cross and other Home Defense work, and is now a member of the War Records Commission of Barron County, organized for the purpose of preserving the story of Barron County in the world conflict. She has been active in temperance work and in home and foreign missionary endeavor, especially that connected with the Congregational Church, of which she is a member. Fraternally she is associated with the Eastern Star and Royal Neighbors. The family residence is one of the most beautiful in this vicinity, pleasantly located on the banks of the Hay River, amid delightfully picturesque surroundings.

John G. Fornell, an estimable farmer of section 6, Clinton Township, was born in Sweden, Nov. 16, 1862, the son of Daniel and Sarah Fornell, farmers of Sweden, the former of whom is dead, and the latter of whom has reached the good old age of 94 years. Of the twelve children in the family there are now six living: John, of Escanaba, Michigan; Swan, of Le Sueur, Minnesota; John G .; and Marie, Johannah and Emma, who have remained in Sweden. John G. was reared in Sweden, attended school there, and assisted his father on the farm. He came to America in 1886, and settled in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, where he worked on the railroad for eighteen years. In 1904 he came to Bar-

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ron County and took up farm work. In 1913 he bought 40 acres in section 6, Clinton Township. A nine room brick house had already been built, and the land was partly improved. Much of it, however, was covered with stumps, stone and brush. This he has cleared up and has developed an excellent place. He has built a barn, granary, swine house, chicken house and other buildings, and dug a good well. Here he carries on general farming, specializing in dairy- ing. The cream is sold to the Barron Creamery Co. Mr. Fornell was married at Le Sueur, Minnesota, March 18, 1888, to Amanda Peterson, who was born in Sweden in 1866, the daughter of Peter and Martha Peterson. The father died in Sweden, and in 1884 the mother came to America, settled at Le Sueur, Minnesota, married Peter Anderson, and died in 1915. Amanda, now Mrs. Fornell, came to this country in 1885 and settled at Le Sueur, where she lived until she was married. She has one sister, Johannah, of Denmark. Mr. and Mrs. Fornell have eleven children, of whom there are now living nine: Esther L., Ellen E., Hilding, Ruth W., Dora, Clara, Florence, Melvin and Harold. Esther L. is the wife of George Teller, of Durand, Michigan. Ellen E. is the wife of John Stratton, of Minneapolis. Hilding is in Bradock, North Dakota. Ruth W. is the wife of William Jacobson, of Clinton Township. Dora is a dry goods clerk at Cumberland. Clara is attending the Barron County Training School at Rice Lake. Florence is attending the Rice Lake High School. Melvin is attending the high school in Cumberland and Harold is doing well with his studies in the district schools.

Fred J. Hanson, an active farmer of section 11, Clinton Township, was born at Oconomowoc, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Dec. 2, 1883, the son of John and Elizabeth (Ducklow) Hanson, natives of Ashland County, Wisconsin, of Norwegian and Irish descent. John Hanson is a farmer and carpenter. He came to Clinton Township in 1886, and secured 80 acres in section 2, to which he later added 80 more, making a good place of 160 acres, which he devel- oped, and where he carried on general farming until his retirement. In the family there were eight children. Fred J. is a Clinton farmer. Nellie is the wife of Charles Blair, of Clinton Township. Charles farms on the old homestead. Lila is in Rice Lake. Theodore J. lives in Poskin, this county. Gordon, Clar- ence and an unnamed infant are dead. Fred J. was brought to this township when he was three years old, and was here reared and educated. He thoroughly learned farming and carpentering from his father, and remained at home until after he was 27 years old, helping with the farm work and following his trade throughout the surrounding country. In the fall of 1911 he bought 80 acres in section 11, Clinton Township. He has developed this into a good place, and here he successfully carries on general farming, stock raising and dairying, breeding good cows, horses, sheep and swine. He is one of the enterprising young men of the community, modern in his methods, liberal in his ideas, and held in the highest liking and esteem by all who know him. Mr. Hanson was married at Dallas, this county, Sept. 27, 1911, to Hilma Thollander, who was born in Clinton Township on Feb. 18, 1890, the daughter of Charles J. and Signe Thollander, natives respectively of Sweden and Norway, and early set- tlers of Clinton Township, who now live at Hudson, this state. There were two other children in the family: Teckla and Emma, who died at the age of two years. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have two bright children. Budd J. was born Oct. 28, 1915, and Glen C. was born April 8, 1917.

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History of Barron County Wisconsin, Part 80

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

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