History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 100

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318

USA > Wisconsin > Trempealeau County > History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin > Part 100

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also a half sister and a half brother. The half sister, Laura, born in 1872, is now Mrs. G. O. Banting of Chippewa Falls, Wis .; the half brother, Charles Miller, born in 1866, resides at Stoughton, Wis., where he is superintendent of the electric department of the Mandt Wagon Works. Mr. Paine's mother is still living and resides at Chippewa Falls, with her daughter Laura, whose husband, G. O. Banting, is superintendent of city schools.

Christian G. Wenger, who is now living retired in Arcadia Village, after a successful career as an agriculturist, was born in Ohio, Aug. 18, 1852, son of Christian and Magdalena Wenger. When a boy he accom- panied his parents to Buffalo County, Wisconsin, they settling on a farm in Cross Township. There he was reared, acquiring his education in the district school, and also becoming familiar with farm work on the home- stead. On April 29, 1884, he was united in marriage with Bertha Wolfe, daughter of Phillip and Catherine (Rudeiger) Wolfe, who lived on a neigh- boring farm. Mr. Wenger and his wife had known each other from child- hood, having attended the same school. In the spring in which they were married they took a rented farm in Cross Township, near the old home, and in the following year Mr. Wenger purchased the farm. After operating it until 1890 he was attacked by rheumatism, which compelled him to give up farming for awhile, so he rented out the place and took up his residence in Fountain City, where he made his home for a year and a half. He had recovered from his rheumatism, however, at the end of a year, and during his last six months in Fountain City he was engaged in a brick yard. In the fall of 1892 Mr. Wenger went back to his Buffalo County farm and resumed agricultural operations. It contained 160 acres, mostly improved, and he operated it for ten years longer. Then in 1902 he sold it and pur- chased the Meili farm, two miles north of Arcadia on Independence road. This also was a farm of 160 acres, well improved. In 1908 Mr. Wenger bought the Winkel farm of 113 acres, all improved with good buildings, and situated one mile north of Arcadia on Independence road. These two farms he operated until the summer of 1917, when he retired and, building a beautiful residence in Arcadia Village, has since resided here in the enjoy- ment of an ample competency gained through his own efforts as a general farmer and dairyman, in which branch of industry he achieved a marked success. He has rented his farms to his two sons, Alvin operating the Meili farm and Walter the Winkel farm. Mr. Wenger is a Republican in politics. He served one term as a member of the township board and was for a number of years a member of the district school board. For many years also he has belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America, being a member of Camp No. 769 of Arcadia. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are the parents of four children: Oscar C., Alvin E., Olivia Ida and Walter H. Oscar C., born in Cross Township, Buffalo County, Nov. 29, 1886, is resid- ing in Arcadia and is a rural mail carrier. He married Lena Ulbrecht of Courtland, Wis. Alvin E., born Feb. 25, 1889, in Cross Township, is a farmer, as mentioned above. He married Marie Shunk of Union Grove, Wis. Olivia Ida, born May 14, 1891, was graduated at the Arcadia high school and for some time was a teacher. She is now the wife of Rev. C. H. Kolander, pastor of the Evangelical church at Madison, Wis. Walter H.,

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born Nov. 22, 1894, in Cross Township, is unmarried, and, as already men- tioned, is operating the Winkel farm, residing with his brother Oscar and wife. The family are members of the Evangelical Association, being active in its good work and aiding in its support. They are good repre- sentatives of the best agricultural class in this part of Trempealeau County.

Leonard E. Danuser, well-known merchant of Arcadia, was born in Sauk County, Wisconsin, April 18, 1849, son of Florian and Celia (Buehler) Danuser, the pioneers. Florian Danuser was born in Canton Grisons, Switzerland, came to America in 1848, lived for some years in Sauk County, Wisconsin, and in 1855 came with other members of the family to Buffalo County, where they settled in the ravine that has since been known as the Danuser Valley. Leonard E. Danuser was reared to farm pursuits, and early turned his attention to merchandising. In 1877 he engaged in the hardware business in Independence, and thus continued until he came to Arcadia and purchased the business of Emil Maurer. The store is con- ducted under the name of L. E. Danuser & Son, and the son Ralph W. is the active manager. The company occupies a sightly brick building on Main street, compounds prescriptions, conducts a soda water fountain and deals in drugs, cigars, stationery, toilet articles, rubber goods, china, cut glass, jewelry and silverware. Mr. Danuser was married Dec. 6, 1877, to Hannah E. Lehman of Naperville, Ill., daughter of Henry M. and Sarah (Huber) Lehman. Mr. and Mrs. Danuser have four children: Ralph W., his father's partner; Sadie, wife of O. B. Strouse, cashier of the State Bank of Arcadia, and Lulu, who died at the age of seven years; Lillian, who is at present clerking in the store.

Ralph W. Danuser, licensed pharmacist and active manager of the store of L. E. Danuser & Son, Arcadia, was born in Independence May 14, 1880, passed through the graded schools and graduated from the Indepen- dence high school in 1896 and the Arcadia high school in 1898. Then he took a course in pharmacy and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, with the degree of Ph. G. Since then he has been connected with his present concern. Fraternally Mr. Danuser is a member of the Masonic order, the Elks and the Independent Foresters. Mr. Danuser was married May 22, 1909, to Ina L. Paine of Arcadia, daughter of Frank R. and Kate A. (Rathbone) Paine, and this union has been blessed with four children: Donald, born April 12, 1900; Eileen, Aug. 12, 1911; Adeline, Nov. 13, 1914, and Bruce, May 26, 1917.

William H. Selck, manager of the electric light plant at Whitehall, Wis., and proprietor of the W. H. Selck Electric Company, was born in Arcadia, Trempealeau County, 1877, son of Timothy and Anna (Ehlers) Selck. Timothy Selck, who was born in Germany, came to America in 1860, resid- ing for a few years in Winona, Minn., and Trempealeau, Wis. He then moved to Arcadia, where for over 30 years he followed the tailor's trade, dying in 1894 at the age of 52. His wife Anna, whom he married in Winona, now lives in Fargo, N. D., with her daughter Cora, who is the wife of Thomas Sullivan, a newspaper man. There were three elder children in the family, which numbered four in all, namely: Lena, wife of John

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Danuser, an electrician living in Arcadia; Lydia, wife of Henry Schroeder, a barber of Arcadia, and William H., of Whitehall. William H. Selck, after acquiring his elementary education, attended the Arcadia high school, and subsequently the University of Wisconsin. He then found employment as a bookkeeper, first at Pittsburgh, Pa., where he remained one year, and later in St. Paul, Minn., of which city he was a resident for two years. Returning to Arcadia he entered the employ of the Arcadia Telephone Company, and was with them for one year, during which time he helped to install the electric light plant at Independence, which he operated for one year subsequently. In 1903 Mr. Selck assumed the duties of his present position and has been thus employed up to the present time. In February, 1915, he bought from the village of Whitehall the electrical supply busi- ness which he is now operating under the name of the W. H. Selck Electrical Company, doing all kinds of electrical construction work. This business and his official duties as manager of the local light plant keep him busily employed in remunerative work. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. May 12, 1902, Mr. Selck married Ellen Michaels, daughter of John Michaels, a liveryman of Ackley, Iowa. He and his wife have had six children: Harold, who died at the age of 12 days ; Miles, who died at the age of four years ; Rolland, Norman and Warren, who are living, and one other who died at birth.

Daniel Scholz, who for many years was one of the best known and most respected citizens of Lincoln Township, was born in Schlesan, Ger- many, May 4, 1863, son of Gottlieb and Annie (Reuter) Scholz. The parents, both of whom are now deceased, came to America with their chil- dren in 1874, locating in section 7, Lincoln Township, this county, from which place they removed subsequently to a homestead in section 11. On this latter farm they spent the rest of their lives. Daniel Scholz was eleven years old when the family settled in Trempealeau County. At an early age he assisted his father in the work on the farm, and after the death of his parents came into possession of the homestead, where he followed farming until his own death from drowning, March 24, 1913. His sudden removal while in the prime of life was a great grief to his family and a shock to the whole community. He had served as school clerk for nine years, and was a member and for most of his life had been an official of the German Lutheran church. Daniel Scholz was married Oct. 5, 1886, to Augusta Strege, who was born in Pomerania, Germany, Nov. 27, 1861, daughter of Herman and Caroline Strege, and who came to America in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz had nine children: Carl F. C., who manages the farm for his mother ; Bertha, the wife of Henry Underwood, who assists Carl on the farm; Annie, who married Carl Woychik, a carpenter living near the Scholz farm, and has two children, Raymond and Adeline; Ella, wife of Albert Fromm, also living in the neighborhood, who has one child, Evelyn; Emma, a graduate of the La Crosse normal school, who has been teaching for four years in Hale Township; Clara, Rudolph, Paul and Otto, all of whom reside at home.

Martin Gunderson, Jr., who owns and operates the old Gunderson farm in Hale Township, was born April 1, 1882, son of Martin, Sr., and

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Olea (Olson) Gunderson. The father was born in Soler, Norway, in 1834, and came to the United States in 1862, settling in Blair, Trempealeau County, Wis., where he remained two years. In 1864 he homesteaded a farm in section 6, range 8 west, township 22 north, Hale Township, and devoted the rest of his active period to its cultivation, his death taking place in October, 1881. His wife Olea, who was born in Soler, Norway, in 1842, after her husband's death contracted a second marriage with Brede Ramstad of section 1, Chimney Rock Township. She died Jan. 8, 1906, her second husband surviving her and being still a resident of his farm in Chimney Rock. Martin Gunderson, Sr., was an industrious, capable man and during his career as an agriculturist in Hale Township did much to improve his farm. He is still remembered by the older residents of the township, among whom he had many friends. Martin Gunderson, Jr., who was the youngest of eight children, acquired a good knowledge of agriculture and on the death of his mother purchased the old homestead, which he has since carried on with profitable results, doing general farming. His two-story frame residence, having seven rooms and basement, was erected in 1910 and is a neat and substantial dwelling. In 1915 he built a frame barn, with basement of cement blocks, 36 by 70 by 16 feet above basement, the latter having cement floors. It is equipped with steel stanchions and other necessary or useful appliances, furnishing ample accommodations for his stock. Dec. 25, 1908, Martin Gunderson, Jr., was united in marriage with Amelia Anderson, who was born in Whitehall, Wis., Feb. 20, 1872, being the eldest of the 12 children of Gilbert and Mary (Matson) Anderson. Her father, who was born in Norway in 1849, came to this country in 1860 and engaged in farming in Rosko's Coolie, Hale Township. He died March 8, 1911. Her mother, born in Soler, Norway, Jan. 19, 1854, is now a resident of Eleva, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Gunderson have no children of their own, but are rearing a son of Mrs. Gunderson's brother, Otto, Roy Anderson, who was born Nov. 20, 1903.

Olof C. Olson. Among the model farms of Unity Township is that of Olof C. Olson in section 19, containing 200 acres, and which is one of the old established farms of the township, its development having occupied a period of over 40 years. It was settled in 1873 by Christ Olson Poajakka, father of the subject of this sketch, who, born in Norway in 1834, emigrated to the United States in 1872, first locating in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. There, however, he remained only a year, at the end of that time coming to Unity Township, Trempealeau County, where he bought from the railroad company the land which now constitutes the above mentioned farm, and which is now known as Beef River Valley Stock Farm. Here Christ Olson Poajakka resided subsequently until his death in 1894, actively engaged in the development and improvement of his property, in which enterprise he made considerable progress. His wife, whose maiden name was Marie Flatten, is still living and resides with her son Olof C., the present pro- prietor of the farm, being now 76 years old. Olof C. Olson was born on the farm he now owns, July 21, 1873, soon after his parents had moved onto it, and here he has passed all his subsequent years. Until March, 1901,

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he worked for his parents, and then purchased the farm, since which time he has made some important additional improvements on it. In 1912 he built a barn, 36 by 100 by 16 feet above the basement, which is constructed of cement blocks, having cement floors, steel stalls, stanchions and man- gers, cement water troughs and steel calf pens, with room for 75 head of cattle. He has also a side barn, 16 by 48 by 8 feet, and another, 16 by 24 by 9 feet ; two stave silos, 14 by 32 and 14 by 30 feet, and a hog house, 20 by 30 feet, with cement floor. His residence is a good substantial frame house of six rooms. The farm is well fenced with woven wire fencing. Mr. Olson keeps and raises pure-bred Shorthorn cattle, having a herd of 50 head, all registered, the head of his cattle herd being the five-year-old bull Roan Duke, weighing 2,250 pounds. His hogs are of the large type Poland-China breed, all full-blooded, registered animals, of which he has 200 head, selling 150 head in the season of 1916. The heads of the hog herd are King Jumbo, two years old and weighing 850 pounds, and Big Type Jim, which weighed as a pig in March, 1916, 250 pounds, and has won several prizes at various important fairs. Mr. Olson also raises Percheron horses, having two stal- lions, has a flock of 60 pure-bred Mammoth Bronze turkeys and flocks of Toulouse geese and Black Minorca chickens. June 6, 1899, Mr. Olson was united in marriage with Paulina Thomasgaard, who was born in Unity Township, Sept. 16, 1872, daughter of Ole and Marie (Kleven) Thomas- gaard, of whom a memoir appears elsewhere in this work. He and his wife have five children: Colonel, Edwin, Mabel, Melvin and Julia. The family are members of the United Norwegian Lutheran church, and Mr. Olson belongs also to the Order of Beavers. He is a stockholder in the Unity Co-operative Creamery at Strum. His present prosperity affords a strong contrast to the conditions which prevailed when his parents first settled on this farm, as the house in which he was born was a dug-out in the hill, roofed over with marsh hay, and with a dirt floor and sod walls. In his boyhood days luxuries were unknown except that game was more often seen on the table than it is today, but often had to be eaten when other food would have been more palatable. As the son of early settlers, and himself a native of Unity Township, he is widely acquainted through- out this and neighboring townships, and he and his family stand high in public esteem.

Louis N. Larson, M. D. C., who is engaged in veterinary practice in Whitehall, Wis., was born in Norway, Aug. 30, 1874, son of Bernt and Johanna (Nelson) Larson. The father, also a native of Norway, came to America with his family in 1880, settling in Berton, S. D., where he followed farming until 1909. He then removed to Pearson, Wash., which is his present place of residence. At the age of 62 he retired from farming. His wife Johanna died in 1889 at the age or 39 years. Louis N. Larson, after acquiring his elementary education, spent two years in the high school of Spring Valley, Minn., and afterwards one year at Minneapolis Academy. He then entered the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated in 1905. Locating in Whitehall in the spring of the same year, he has since followed his profession here suc- cessfully. He has made special studies in bacteriology and histology, espe-

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cially as applied to veterinary science, and is rapidly becoming recognized as an expert in his line. He is a member of several medical associations, the Society of Graduate Veterinarians of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Veter- inary Medical Association. One of the stockholders of the Peoples State Bank of Whitehall he takes an interest in the success of that institution. His fraternal affiliations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a Republican. Dr. Larson was married May 23, 1906, to Tina Gusk of Preston Township, who was born in that township Nov. 23, 1881, daughter of Bernt and Jonena (Strate) Gusk. Her father, who still lives on the Gusk homestead, was born in Norway and came to America in 1870. Dr. and Mrs. Larson have a wide circle of friends and acquaint- ances in and around Whitehall.

Clarence J. Van Tassel, county surveyor of Trempealeau County, was born in Hale Township, this county, July 5, 1879, son of James and Clara (Wegner) Van Tassel. The father, who was born in Kenosha, Wis., came to Trempealeau County with his parents in 1863. They located in Hale Township, where he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1898 at the age of 40 years. His wife Clara, to whom he was married in Whitehall, is living at the age of 62 years. Clarence J. Van Tassel after acquiring an educa- tion took up the occupation of school teacher in 1895 and was thus engaged four years. Then, having learned the trade of photographer, he followed it in Whitehall till January, 1916, when he sold out. In the meanwhile he studied civil engineering at home, devoting a part of his time to it from 1907 to 1912, since which time he has followed it exclusively. He was elected county surveyor in the fall of 1910 and re-elected in the fall of 1914, having · held the position continuously up to the present time. He also does engineering work for the Ettrick & Northern Railroad from Ettrick to Blair. His fraternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs. Mr. Van Tassel was married Nov. 1, 1899; to Anna Stanley of Onalaska, who was a public school teacher, daughter of Lyman and Diana Stanley. Her mother is now a resident of North Yakima, Wash. Mr. and Mrs. Van Tassel have been the parents of five children : Wilma, who died at the age of six months ; Thurman, Howard, Gerald and Olive. The family reside in Whitehall, where they have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

Edward Torgerson, popular and efficient sheriff of Trempealeau County, from Jan. 1, 1915, to Jan. 1, 1917, is a native of this county, having been born in Independence July 2, 1885, second of the eight children born to Christ and Martha (Bidney) Torgerson, the former of whom is a hard- ware merchant in Independence. He passed through the public schools, and as a boy began work in his father's general store at Whitehall. There he remained until his father sold out in 1912. In the fall of 1914 he was elected sheriff. As sheriff he did excellent work and won the admiration of all the people of the county. Mr. Torgerson's fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen. He was married April 28, 1911, to Stella Torson, daughter of Ole and Anna (Skogen) Torson, the former of whom is a meat dealer in Whitehall.

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Frank L. Koepke, who is engaged in business in Whitehall as horse trainer, and as manufacturer and distributor of the Koepke controller bridles and the Koepke leading and subduing bridle, was born in Pommern, Germany, July 14, 1868. His parents, William H. and Albertina (Geffe) came to the United States with their family in 1869, settling in south- eastern Pennsylvania, where the father engaged in railroad work. In 1885 they came to Wisconsin, and for two years resided in La Crosse. Then coming to Trempealeau County, William H. Koepke took a farm in Burn- side Township, which he operated five years. Subsequently buying a farm in Hale Township he made that place his residence for the rest of his life, dying in 1911 at the age of 76 years. His wife died in 1913 at the age of 78. Frank L. Koepke was employed in railroad work for two years in early manhood. He then worked on his father's farm until 1898, in which year he took up the business of horse breaking, in which he has become an expert, having handled successfully all kinds of vicious horses. For some time he worked on horse ranches in Western Nebraska, handling as many as 83 horses for one ranch. He was employed on the Spade ranch, the largest ranch in Nebraska, and also on the Ostrander ranch at the same place. In 1906 he came back to Whitehall and in 1911, in company with his brother Carl, he conducted his father's farm, afterwards operating part of it for himself until 1914, since which time he has lived in Whitehall. Mr. Koepke was married Nov. 2, 1910, to Frances Gibson of Whitehall, a daughter of James and Alice (Bateman) Gibson, and who for some 12 years before her marriage was engaged in teaching, Mrs. Koepke's father, who was a pioneer settler in this region, died in Whitehall in 1902 at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Koepke have three children: William James, born Oct. 26, 1913; Fern Majorie, born Jan. 16, 1912, and Donald Richard, born June 13, 1916.

Theodore B. Olson, proprietor of the Whitehall Cement Block Factory, at Whitehall, Wis., was born in Moe Cooley, Pigeon Township, Dec. 25, 1884, son of Brede and Tina (Peterson) Olson. The father was born in Norway in 1829 and came to America in 1871, buying a farm in Pigeon Township, this county, where he remained until his death in September, 1912. His wife, to whom he was married in Norway, was born there in February, 1841. She is still living and resides with her son Brede in Pigeon Town- ship. Their living children are four sons and one daughter: Johanna, who is now Mrs. B. P. Moe of Pigeon Township; Ole, a retired farmer living in Whitehall; Brede B., a farmer of Pigeon Township; Martin, a farmer in Sumner Township, and Theodore B. of Whitehall. Theodore B. Olson was the youngest member of his parent's family, which numbered in all 11 children. He remained at home until he was 20 years old, working during the last four years of that time for his brother Brede. In 1907 he began learning the carpenter's trade, and worked at it subsequently in various places until August, 1912. Then taking up his residence in Whitehall, he entered the employ of A. E. Wood, a contractor, for whom he worked until December, 1915, at which time he bought an interest in the Whitehall Cement Block Factory, of which he is now the proprietor. The business is carried on in a one-story frame building, 36 by 90 feet, which is equipped

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with one press machine for making ell-blocks, a tamping machine for 8-inch blocks and a brick machine. The factory has a capacity of 500 blocks a day, and employs three men, having a ready sale for all the product they can turn out. Mr. Olson at first bought a one-third interest in the busi- ness, but purchased the remaining two-thirds May 4, 1916. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.

George N. Hidershide, M. D., dean of the medical profession in Trem- pealeau County, pioneer physician, retired army officer, useful citizen, and man-of-affairs, came to Arcadia in 1875, less than eighteen months after the railroad was opened, and his experiences were typical of that heroic band of medical practitioners who had so important a part in the develop- ment of the Northwest. The story of his career presents him as working out the destinies of pioneer life hand in hand with the other forces for the common good. He was an integral part of the pioneer social fabric. As such he shared the aims and ambitions of his companions. Only rough outlines can be given of the heroic and adventurous side of his long and honored life. The imagination cannot, unaided by facts, picture the primi- tive conditions with which he had to contend. Long and dreary rides by day and night, in summer's heat and winter's cold, through flood and drought, through snow and mud, through rain and hail, were his common lot. Often he went for a week without being out of his clothes, and some- times he went days without sleep. He trusted himself to the wilderness, crossed unbridged streams, made his way over untrodden ridges, and traveled the roadless wilderness. What few roads there were, were in the worst of condition. Often he took routes which showed not a single trace of human travel. Some roads consisted merely of parallel wheel tracks, from which the rain had washed the earth, leaving ruts whose stones made travel a constant succession of jolts. The present generation cannot realize the difficulties of a physician's travels in those days. Oftentimes the traveler had to make a temporary bridge across the swollen streams with planks or logs or poles. Sometimes in a dangerous place the horses had to be unhitched and led for a distance and tied, and then the vehicle

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History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, Part 100

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn; Pierce, Eben Douglas
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago Winona : H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1318