Brown County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches, 1916 (part 6 of 9)

Otto Tappe

Otto Tappe, well-known building contractor at New Ulm, this county, is a native of Germany. He was born on March 9, 1860, son of Henry and Johannah Tappe, also natives of the Fatherland, the former of whom was a tailor by trade and followed that trade until his death. In 1880 Henry Tappe and his wife and their younger children came to the United States and located at New Ulm. There Mr. Tappe opened a tailor shop, which he conducted until his death. He and his wife spent their last days in New Ulm. They were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch and Mrs. Mary Koester are the only ones living in this country.

Otto Tappe received his education in the schools of his native land and was trained to the trade of a butcher. After his parents' immigration to this country in 1880 he worked for a couple of years at farm labor in his native land and then, in 1882, followed his parents to America, locating at New Ulm, where he found employment as a butcher. He later began working for the railroad company and was for some time located at Minneapolis, presently returning to New Ulm, where he began working as a carpenter and thoroughly familiarized himself with all details of the building trades. In 1890 he engaged in the general building-contracting business on his own account and has been very successful, some of the best buildings in this and the adjoining county of Nicollet testifying to the substantial character of his work. Among the buildings at New Ulm which he has erected may be cited the handsome dormitory of the Dr. Martin Luther College, a photographic reproduction of of which is presented in the historical section of this volume. Another of his distinctive buildings is the large addition to Turner Hall.

In 1886 Otto Tappe was united in marriage to Rosa Spaeth and to this union five children have been born, Freda, Otto, Edna, Elmer and Esther. Freda Tappe married the Rev. Emanuel Albrecht and has three children, Fridubert, Norma and Lorna. In the fall of 1887 he and his family went to California; there he followed the carpenter trade. In 1889 he came back to New Ulm again, and started the contracting business on his own account. Mr. and Mrs. Tappe are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and take an active interest in the general good works of the community. Mr. Tappe is an ' 'independent' 9 voter.

Adolph R. Eggensperger

The editor of the Herald, who is also the postmaster at Hanska, Adolph R. Eggensperger, has long been regarded as one of Brown county's best boosters and leading citizens. He was born at North Star, this county, September 6, 1879, and is a son of Adolph and Otilda (Kersten) Eggensperger, natives of Poughkeepsie, New York, and Posen, Germany, respectively. Mr. Eggensperger 's paternal grandfather was the first of the name to come from Germany to the United States. He located in Poughkeepsie, New York, while a comparatively young man, and but little is known of the family history earlier than that. The mother of the subject of this sketch came to the United States about 1863, with her parents, Julius Kersten, and wife, locating first in Winona, Minnesota, where they lived until about 1865, when they moved to North Star, where Mr. Kersten homesteaded a tract of land, on which he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. The father of our subject came West from New York state when about twenty years of age, locating at Rochester, Minnesota, where he lived but a short time, then, about 1877, came to North Star, where he lived until about 1881, when he removed to the city of St. Paul, where he worked at his trade of cigar-maker, becoming foreman in the factory of Kuhles & Stock. He remained there until about 1890 when the family removed to Henderson, this state. Prom there they moved to Springfield, then to Sanborn, and finally to Howard Lake, Minnesota, where they lived until 1899, when they located in Mantorville, this

Adolph R. Eggensperger received his education in the public schools of North Star and St. Paul and the high school at Springfield. In the fall of 1897 he entered Breck College at Wilder, Minnesota, where he spent two years, later attending the State University at Minneapolis for one year. However, after leaving Breck College he engaged in taching four years in the schools of Mulligan, Bashaw and Melford townships, Brown county. In 1903 he became principal of the public schools of Hanska, which position he held until 1906, giving eminent satisfaction and raising the standard and efficiency of the work. But although a success as an educator, he decided that the field of journalism held greater attractions and possibilities for him, and he accordingly gave up teaching and in 1906 bought the Hanska Herald, which he has since operated. It has grown rapidly in circulation and prestige and wields a potent influence for the general welfare of Hanska and Brown county. It is regarded as one of the best country newspapers in the state. Taking an interest in public affairs, Mr. Eggensperger was a candidate for county superintendent of schools in 1907, but although he made an excellent race, was defeated. In connection with his newspaper he does a large job printing business, and branched off into calendars and advertising novelties a few years ago. In the fall of 1914 he became interested in the Hanska Auto Company. In May, 1911, he was appointed postmaster, which position he has held to the present time, giving satisfaction to the people and the department.

in St. Paul to Dora C. M. Schneuer, who was born on February 13, 1879, in Sigelberg, Holstein, Germany, and is a daughter of Henry and Katherine Schneuer, who came to the United States in 1881, locating first in Odebald, Iowa, where they lived two years, then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they made their home until 1904, at which time they moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The father is a cabinet-maker by trade, and he has also done contracting and building. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eggensperger, one of whom died in infancy, Lillian, by name ; those living are, Gladys M., born on October 6, 1904; Mildred V., July 20, 1906; Arlo R., March 9, 1909; Omar L., March 25, 1911, and Harold O., April 29, 1913.

Politically, Mr. Eggensperger is a Republican. He has been a delegate to both county and state conventions. He and his wife were both reared in the Lutheran faith.

Louis Albert Fritsche was born on May 28, 1862, on his father's homestead in Lafayette, Nicollet county, within two miles of the city of New Ulm.

His paternal grandfather, John Karl Fritsche, with a family of eight children, emigrated to this country from Saxony, Germany, in the year 1854, and landed at New York on May 22. On account of the unsettled political conditions in Germany following the revolution of 1848 and, in order to have his sons escape the military service, he decided to seek his fortune in the New World. The voyage was made in a three-masted sailing vessel, named the "Leibnitz," and took fifty-two days to cross the ocean. The voyage was a very tedious and boisterous one. His destination was Chicago and reached that city in due time. He resided there for one year. Having been a small farmer in Saxony, he longed once more to engage in agriculture. About this time the German Land Association of Chicago was being organized for the purpose of establishing a colony in some territory, which was being opened up for settlement in the Northwest. He became a member of this association.

The choice of location for this settlement fell upon the present site of this city and country surrounding it. The association acquired three hundred and twenty acres from the government, which was platted in city lots. John Karl Fritsche pre-empted a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres joining the city site in the summer of 1855. In the following year a colony from Cincinnati bought up the charter of the German Land Association and in addition acquired John Karl Fritsche ? s homestead, together with thirteen other homestead quarters, and had the same platted into lots. This merger made the city site exceptionally large.

Frederick Fritsche, the second son of John Karl Fritsche, and the father of the subject of this biography, upon reaching his majority, pre-empted a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in the year 1860 on the north side of the Minnesota river, in Nicollet county, two miles from New Ulm. This homestead later became the nucleus of a large stock farm.

The maternal grandfather, Christian Lillie, emigrated with a family of four children from Hanover, Germany, to this country in the year of 1852 and first settled in Allegany county, New York. There he resided until the year of 1858, when he removed to the state of Minnesota and pre-empted a claim in Nicollet county, four miles distant from New Ulm.

Frederick Fritsche was married to Louise Lillie, youngest daughter of Christian Lillie, on April 20, 1861. Eight children were born to this union, namely: Louis Albert, Bertha, Emil H., Fred W., Otto A., Rudolph E., Carl J. and Henry W. Bertha was married to William H. Mueller, of St. Peter, who is a member of the manufacturing firm of Johnson & Company. Emil H. and Otto A. have remained on the divided homestead and are prosperous farmers. Fred W. practiced dental surgery until his (24a) death, three years ago. Rudolph E. was a member of the hardware firm of Arnold & Fritsche and died five yearp ago. Carl J. and Henry W. died during childhood.

Louis Albert was raised as all junior pioneers and shared all the pleasures, as well as all of the privations and tribulations, which are incident to pioneer and order life. At the time of the Sioux uprising he was three months months old, and was the cause of much anxiety for his mother. Before the outbreak the Indians would camp in the Fritsche ravine every winter, near the Fritsche log cabin, and when the pale-face baby was born the squaws would often come in to fondle the same.

At the age of six years, Louis Fritsche was sent to the district school, which was a small log building, and two miles distant. At that time there were no graded public roads, only beaten tracks winding over the hill, through timber and prairie, lined on both sides with high buffalo grass. At the age of ten years his fortune changed, so far as his education was concerned. His father, Frederick Fritsche, was elected treasurer of Nicollet county in 1872, and re-elected four times thereafter. The family removed to the county seat at St. Peter and, thereby, the children were given a better opportunity for an education, as St. Peter at that time had good graded schools and a high school. This was a stepping stone to his future career.

In the year of 1878 the family moved back to the farm, as his father was wanting to retire from office and actively re-engage in the raising of blooded stock. The management of the farm was placed in Louis Albert's management until 1882, when his father retired from office to reassume the management.

The following year, Louis Albert, after attaining his majority, procured a second-grade teacher's certificate and taught district school for one year. Having met with the requirement of the law at that time, necessitating one year of experience as a teacher, before a first grade certificate could be granted, he procured a first grade teacher's certificate from both Nicollet and Brown counties.

However, he did not follow teaching any more, as he wanted another means of making a livelihood. With the above mentioned credentials he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan on September 24, 1884. While a student at Ann Arbor he was an honorary member of the Adelphia Literary Society.

After completing the full course of three years he graduated from that institution on June 30, 1887. The day after his graduation, on July 1, 1887, the new medical law of the state of Minnesota went into effect, which required all practitioners to pass a state examination. The first examination of the newly created medical board was held at the state capitol in St. Paul on July 5 and 6, 1887, and only three applicants were present. Doctor Pritsche passed this examination without any difficulty and was awarded license No. 1, and, therefore, has the distinction of having received the first license issued by the state board of medical examiners of this state.

On August 1, ]887, he opened an office in New Ulm and practiced there until the latter part of April, 1889. Then he went to Berlin, Germany, to do post-graduate work and specialize in surgery at that famous university. At the same time he intended to take his second doctor's degree. At the end of two semesters he passed the

"examen rigorosum, tentamen medicum" and presented a thesis for graduation. On March 31, 1890, he had the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Surgery conferred upon him with the standing of cum laude, from that university. During the third semester, from April 1 to August 1, he was second assistant to the famous surgeon, Prof. Dr. Julius Wolff.

He was a member of the Tenth International Medical Congress which convened in Berlin from the 6th to the 13th of August, 1890, and had the honor to present two cases in the English language to the Gynaecological Section for Prof. Dr. Alfred Duhrssen. This congress was attended by seven thousand professors and doctors from all over the world.

Doctor Fritsche returned home October 15, the same fall and re-opened his office, and has been in active practice up to the present time. The Doctor is a member of the Brown County Medical Society, the Southern Minnesota Medical Association, the State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. When the Minnesota Medical Society was united with the Southern Minnesota Medical Association, four years ago, he was elected the first president of the new organization.

Medical career: He has served as health officer of the city of New Ulm from 1891 to.- 1894. He served as a member of the pension medical examining board under President Cleveland's second administration for this district. He was elected as coroner of Brown county for four terms, serving from 1896 to 1904. In the year 1900 he was appointed as a member of the state board of medical examiners by Gov. John Lind for three years, and the last of

Civil career: He was elected a member of the board of education for three years and served from 1893 to 1896. He was appointed as a member of the board of public works by Mayor Weschke in 1904 and served as such until 1912. In 1912 he was elected mayor of the city and has been twice re-elected without opposition, and still serves in this capacity.

Military career: In the year of 1907, Gov. John A. Johnson commissioned him as a member of Brig.-Gen. Joseph Bobleter's staff as brigade surgeon with the rank of major. This commission was renewed by Gov. A. O. Eberhart, and, after General Bobleter's death, was continued on the staff of General Reeves and again by his successor, Gen. A. W. Wright.

Business career: In the year 1900 he was elected as president of the Brown County Bank and has served as such only in an honorary capacity up to the present time. He is vice-president of the New Ulm Roller Milling Company and a director in several other industrial enterprises. He is also director and medical director of the Minnesota Commercial Men's Association, of Minneapolis, which is a mutual health and accident insurance company for business and traveling salesmen.

Political affiliation: He has always been a Democrat in politics and attended many Democratic state conventions as a delegate. In the year of 1908 he was elected as a delegate from the second congressional district to the Democratic National Convention at Denver. He was interested in the candidacy of Gov. John A. Johnson for the

In July, 1914, the Doctor received an invitation to join a commission of mayors and civic leaders, headed by United States Senator Duncan Fletcher, from Florida, to attend an International Congress of Municipal Executives held at London, to attend the International Urban Exposition at Lyons, France, and to visit a number of European cities for study purposes. The commission sailed from New York on July 9 and met with some thrilling experiences before they returned home. Each member of the commission was provided with a personal letter of introduction from former secretary of state William Jennings Bryan, to all of our ambassadors and consular agents abroad, who were apprised of the coming of this commission by Mr. Bryan. A hearty welcome awaited them at Liverpool and London and the lord mayors of these cities entertained this party at tea in their respective mansion houses.

The International Municipal Congress was opened on Monday noon, July 20, by Viscount Peel, chairman, in the presence of our ambassador, Mr. Page. Other speakers were the Earl of Kintore, Lord Eotherham, Sir John A. Cockburn and Senator Fletcher.

The afternoon session was called at three o'clock, under the chairmanship of Senator Fletcher, and this session was devoted to public health administration and sanitation. The first address was courteously left to the Americans and was delivered by Dr. L. A. Fritsche, from Minnesota.

July 25, and reached Paris the same evening. At the Paris station they were met by Mr. Sulzdorf , the secretary to our ambassador, Mr. Herrick, and escorted to the hotel.

Monday afternoon this commission was tendered a reception by the governor and city officials of Paris, our ambassador, Mr. Herrick, being present. Tuesday afternoon Mr. Herrick tendered the party a reception, to which the city officials of Paris were invited in return. During this reception, about 5:30 o'clock, a telegram came in announcing that Austria had declared war against Serbia. The countenances of the Paris officials dropped at once and one could notice that this telegram was an evil foreboding for them. That same evening an immense demonstration of tens of thousands of people took place, crying "Down with the war, we want no war," but this demonstration was gradually controlled by the police.

On Wednesday evening, July 29, the commission left for Lyons, reaching that city late in the night. A most cordial reception awaited them there. The first thing they saw the next morning were the runs on the large banks. Thousands of people had lined up in front of the banks to draw out their deposits. The next day the banks refused to pay out any more money, and it went hard with the Americans, as their traveling checks were not accepted any more. The war clouds were getting darker and the esprit de corps of the party was being gradually dampened. On Friday evening, July 31, Mayor Herriott, of Lyons, tendered the commission a reception on the exposition grounds and this was the last official function. After returning to the hotel that evening, a hasty war council was held by the party and it was decided to discontinue the journey. On

Saturday morning train service was already interrupted on account of the heavy movement of troops to the Alsatian border, and the balance of the commission had considerable difficulty in making their way back to Paris.

Doctor Fritsche, with two members of the commission, decided to go to Switzerland and left Lyons on the last train out to Geneva. Upon reaching Geneva on Saturday evening they learned that Germany had declared war against Russia. On Sunday morning all train service to the border countries had been suspended, and the Doctor, with thousands of American tourists, was bottled up in Switzerland for three weeks. After all of the armies of the belligerent countries had been moved to the various war fronts, railroad transportation was restored in a measure, and the Doctor was enabled to cross the Swiss border into Germany. While on the way to Frankfurt on the Main he passed two train loads of wounded soldiers, one was carrying wounded Frenchmen and the other wounded Germans - a sight that will never be forgotten. After making short visits in Frankfurt on the Main, Berlin, Frankfurt on the Oder, Leipzig and Jena, visiting the hospitals where the wounded soldiers were cared for, he was fortunate enough to engage his return passage on a Holland liner from Rotterdam. When in sight of the statue of the "Goddess of Liberty" in New York harbor, sixteen hundred passengers breathed a sigh of relief and thanked heaven that they had escaped from that European turmoil.

Doctor Fritsche was married in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 1890, to Amalie Pfaeiider, daughter of Col. William Pfaender, deceased, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and who later had charge of Ft.

Ridgely from the year of 1862 to 1866. Seven children have been born to Doctor and Mrs. Fritsche, namely : Elsa, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in June, 1915, and is now engaged in teaching at Dover, of this state; Albert, who is a medical student in the University of Minnesota; William, who is a medical student at Marquette University of Milwaukee; Louise, who is a pupil of the New Ulm high school ; Carl and Theodore, who are pupils in the graded schools, and Alexander Frederick, who died at the age of seven months.

As a junior pioneer, Doctor Fritsche has beheld the transformation that followed the advent of the white man in this part of the country - the reclamation from a wilderness in the life-time of hundreds of those who assisted in the onerous tasks of wresting from the idle and indolent savage, as fair a land as the sun ever shone on, moulded now into the magnificent commonwealth of Minnesota, with its cities and towns, its schools and churches, its network of railroads, its thousands of rural homes, many of them modern in all respects and connected with one another by the telephones, its vast herds that have displaced the buffalo and the antelope, and its golden fields - a great state subdued, beautified and made rich from the fertility of its own matchless soil. What a privilege to have witnessed such a transformation, inconceivable in any but this wonderful country, for such a transition one could not witness on the continent of Europe were he permitted to live a thousand years.

Blessed is the memory when the early settlers ranged with a free hand in the work of reclamation, amid scenes forever vanished, or now obscured by the stage-settings of civilization. Sixty-two years ago, so far as the works of man were concerned, all was desolation. Buffalo and antelope scurried over the great, wild pastures in herds and bands innumerable, while the Indian, in all his pride and glory, roamed as the undisputed master of the region that to man was merely a solitude of limitless possibilities.

John P. Bertrand, a well-known and progressive harness manufacturer and dealer in harness and horse goods generally at Sleepy Eye, this county, and one of the bestknown men in Brown county, he having been a resident here since pioneer days, is a native of Germany, having been born in the village of Oberanven, Luxemberg, August 13, 1845, son of Jacob and Mary (Pideler) Bertrand, both natives of that same village and small farming people there, who later came to this country and became prominent in the pioneer life of Brown county.

Jacob Bertrand was the eldest of the three sons of his parents, the others having been Peter and J ohn P., and he grew to manhood on the paternal farm in Luxemberg and became a farmer. He married Mary Fideler, who was the second in order of birth of the three children born to her parents, she having had a brother, J ohn, and a sister, Anna. Grandfather Pideler, who was a miller, died before reaching middle age and his widow married again, having two children by her second marriage, John and Nicholas. In 1857 Jacob Bertrand and his family came to the United States, proceeding directly to Minnesota upon their arrival on this side the water, locating in Scott county, where they engaged in farming and where they remained until 1867, in which year they came to Brown county, locating in Home township. Jacob Bertrand bought a farm of about one hundred and sixty acres in Home township and there he established his home, he and his wife spending the remain- der of their lives there, his death occurring in 1881, he then being seventy-nine years of age, his widow surviving until 1896, she being eighty-one years old at the time of her death. Both were Catholics and their children were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, namely : Edward P., of Sleepy Eye, this county; Dominick, deceased; John J., of Sleepy Eye ; John P., the subject of this sketch; Mary, wife of Nicholas Schmitz, of Home township, this county; Mary Ann, wife of Matthias Hoffman, of Sleepy Eye ; Barbara, deceased, who was the wife of Nicholas Welter; Emma, wife of Charles Neid, of Kissimi, Florida, and two who died in early youtibu

John P. Bertrand was twelve years old when he came to America with his family and he grew up as a farmer boy. He had received an excellent elementary education in his native land and upon coming to Minnesota continued his studies in the little old log school house on his father's farm in Scott county. When the family moved from Scott to this county he was twenty-one years of age and instead of accompanying his parents here went to Henderson, in the neighboring county of Sibley, where he learned the harnessmaking trade, which he has followed ever since, a period of a half century. In 1871 he came to Brown county and located at New Ulm, where, in partnership with Christian Schrader, he engaged in the harness business. This partnership continued for two years and six months, at the end of which time Mr. Bertrand bought his partner's interest and continued the business alone. In 1877 he married and in 1878 he moved to Sleepy Eye, establishing himself in the general harness trade there, both as a manufacturer and as a merchant, and has been engaged in business in that city, having built up a large business in that line, long having been regarded as one of the leading merchants in that town, enjoying the confidence and regard of his business associaates generally. In addition to looking after this extensive business affairs, Mr. Bertrand has found time to give a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and has served two or three terms as a member of the city council, having been president of the council during one of these terms.

On September 4, 1877, John P. Bertrand was united in marriage at New Ulm to Elizabeth Kioes, who was born in Weimas Kierschen, Luxemberg, March 29, 1857, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Schmitz) Kioes, natives of that same province of Germany, who came to the United States with their family in 1869 and settled in New Ulm, where both died in the eighties. Mrs. Kioes was one of the eight children born to her parents, Joseph Schmitz and wife, natives of Germany and early settlers in Brown county, she having had four brothers, Peter, Nicholas, John and John P., the latter of whom was killed by the Indians during the uprising in 1862, and three sisters, Anna, Mary and Catherine. Philip Kioes and wife were the parents of six children, Pierre, Michael, Marie Frances, Catherine, Anna and Elizabeth.

To John P. and Elizabeth (Kioes) Bertrand eight children were born, as follow: Marie, born on August 1, 1878, who is organist in the Catholic church at Sleepy Eye ; Aloysius Jacobus, June 20, 1880, partner with his father in the latter 's business at Sleepy Eye, married Magdalena Steffen and has four children, Leonard John, Cornelius, Marcella and Margaret; Mary Elizabeth, November 28, 1882, now deceased; Mary Prances, May 12, 1884, died on

July 3, 1891 ; Clara Catherine, August 8, 1886, who married E. P. Lilla, of Confrey, this county, and has two children, Elizabeth and Arthur; Anna, October 23, 1888, who is a clerk in a store at St. Peter, in the neighboring county of Nicollet; Matthias Philip, February 18, 1891, who is a jeweler in the state of Mississippi, and Joseph, April 7, 1893, who died in December of. that same year. The mother of these children died on March 10, 1894, and on August 5, 1895, John P. Bertrand married, secondly, at Henderson, this state, Mrs. Catherine Grode, a widow, daughter of Matthias and Margaret (Rock) . Bertrand, which union has been without issue. Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand are members of the Catholic church, in the various local beneficences of which they take a warm interest, and are held in high esteem by their many friends throughout the county.

August Schweiger

August Schweiger, well-known retired butcher, of Sleepy Eye, this county, who has been a resident of Brown county since 1873, is a native of Germany. He was born on November 28, 1849, son of Ferdinand and Rozina (Morris) Schweiger, both of whom also were born in the Fatherland. Ferdinand Schweiger was a carpenter and school teacher. He died in 1865 leaving a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, Fritz, Julius, Gustave, August Carl and Matilda, all of whom are residents of this county save Gustave, who remained in his native land.

August Schweiger 's school days came to an end when he was fourteen years old, after which, for five years, he worked in a brickyard. He then, in 1868, at the age of nineteen came to the United States, landing at the port of New York, proceeding directly thence to the state of Illinois, where he worked on a farm for two years, at the end of which time he went to Chicago, where he worked in a packing house until 1873, in which year he came to Minnesota and settled at Sleepy Eye. For more than three years after arriving there he worked in a butcher shop and then went over to New Ulm, where he worked in a butcher shop for five or six years, acquiring a thorough acquaintance with the needs of the retail meat trade. He then, in 1882, returned to Sleepy Eye and opened a butcher shop of his own and was thus very successfully engaged until his retirement from business in 1907, at which time he turned the shop over to his son-in-law, who is continuing the business at the old stand. Mr. Schweiger was a good business man and did well while actively engaged in business in Sleepy Eye. In his political views he is classed as an " independent/ ' In his fraternal relations he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has occupied all the chairs in the local lodge of that order.

In 1878, August Schweiger was united in marriage to Charlotte Jent, who was born in Illinois, daughter of Charles and Johanna Jent, who came to Brown county in 1869, and to this union six children were born, one son and four daughters, Emma, Minnie, Gusta, August and Florence. Of these children Minnie married F. W. Meyer, who is now conducting the retail meat business established by Mr. Schweiger at Sleepy Eye in 1882. To that union two children have been born, Elaine and Carrie. August Schweiger, J r., who is assistant cashier in a bank at Montevideo, this state, married Sue Fisher and has one child. Mr. Schweiger 's remaining children are at home with him. His wife died in 1909.

One of the most promising of the younger physicians of Brown county is Theodore Hammermeister, of New Ulm. He was born on July 25, 1887, in Morgan, Eden township, Brown county, and is a son of Carl and Emily (Strey) Hammermeister, both natives of Hinterpomieren, Germany, from which country they came to the United States when young in years and were married in Minnesota. The father was a blacksmith by trade, which he had learned as a boy in his native land, but after coming to America he followed farming. He is now living retired in New Ulm. He has five children, all living in Brown county but one, the doctor having been next to the youngest in order of birth.

The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public schools of the country, near his home in Brown county, then entered the high school at Sleepy Eye, from which he was graduated with the class of 1908. In the autumn of that year he entered the University of Minnesota, preparatory to taking the medical course in that institution, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1912. He was graduated with the class of 1914 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, soon after which he took up hospital work at the Northwestern Hospital of Minneapolis, where he worked a little over four months, then took up a similar line of work at the University hospital. On June 15, 1915, he returned to New Ulm, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession in partnership with Doctor (25a)

Strickler. While in the university he specialized in surgery and the eye, ear, nose and throat, also immunity and laboratory work. All this required special attention aside from his regular medical course, but he believed they would be valuable assets in his future practice and of great benefit to his patients, hence redoubled his efforts and made a good record in each department.

On June 8, 1915, he was married in Minneapolis, to Isabelle M. Dunn, who was born on June 29, 1886, in Waseca, Minnesota. She is a daughter of James M. and Matilda (Turnecliff) Dunn, natives of Scotland and the United States, respectively.

The doctor and wife are members of the Lutheran church. He is a young man of pleasing address, has laid an excellent foundation in his chosen profession, is honorable and energetic and held in high esteem by all.

Peter Roland

As miller and manager of the elevator at Hanska, Brown county, Peter Roland is doing a thriving business, being in the center of an excellent wheat country. He was born on September 27, 1858, in Foberg, Norway, and is a son of Nels C. and Lena (Gelberg) Roland, both natives of that country also. The father was a mason by trade and continued in the same until he was past eighty years of age. He came to the United States in 1866 with his family, which consisted of his wife and four children. They came direct to Minnesota, locating in South Bend, Blue Earth county, where they lived two years, then came to Brown county, locating in Lake Hanska township where the father homesteaded eighty acres in section 24, on which he lived until his death, which occurred on November 23, 1913, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. His family consisted of six children, namely: Christ, Peter, Mrs. Jorgena Seymoure, Matt, Mary and Nels.

As a boy, Peter Roland received a very limited education, for the nearest school house to his home in Brown county was three miles. When about fourteen years of age he began working to earn his living, assisting his father on the home place, more land having been acquired, and he was thus employed at home until he was married. About that time he bought two hundred and forty acres in Stevens county, to which he removed. It was wild land, and after living there one year he gave it up owing to his wife objecting to living in an undeveloped country. They came back to Brown county and bought property on the townsite of Hanska, where they built a house, which was the second in the place. He then started a dray business and followed that until the fall of 1910, when he became manager of the New Ulm Roller Mills and elevator in Hanska, and is still operating them with much success.

Mr. Roland was married in Brown county, September 17, 1899, to Tanethe Gibberg, who was born in Norway, a daughter of Jens Gibberg and wife. She was about twenty years old when she came to the United States, her father coming a few years later, her mother having died in Norway. The union has been without issue.

Politically, Mr. Roland is a Democrat, as was his father before him from the time he was naturalized and he and his sons were the first Democrats in Lake Hanska township, in which there were but ten families at the time of their locating here. The country was wild, and there were deer and much small game, ducks, geese, prairie chicken, etc. Madelia was their nearest postoffice, which town at that time contained only about thirty-five people. Mr. Roland has held minor offices in the town of Hanska. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and wife belong to the Unitarian church.

An enterprising merchant of Hanska, Brown county, is Nels J. Ouren, who enjoys a good trade with the town and surrounding country, owing to his fair and courteous dealings with all his customers. He was born May 14, 1869, in Linden township, this county, and is a son of J ohn J. and Johanah (Nelson) Ouren, both natives of Toten, Norway, from which country they came to the United States about the year 1862, locating at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they remained a short time, then came to Corn Prairie and later to Fillmore county, Minnesota, and in 1868 came on to Brown county, Minnesota, where the father bought a farm of about one hundred and sixty acres in Linden township, just east of the present town of Hanska. He later sold this farm and moved to Madelia, where he lived for ten years, engaged in blacksmithing, then returned to Brown county, buying a farm in Linden township again, and lived there until his death. Neither of the farms were improved when he got them, so he developed and improved two good farms in Linden township. His family consisted of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was third in order of birth, and the eldest boy living.

Nels J. Ouren received a good education in the common schools and when a boy assisted his father with the general work about the place. Later, he attended the Madelia high school, but did not complete his education there, going to Onoka Business College. After completing the course there he worked for A. Hellesheim, of Madelia. In

1899 he came to Hanska and took charge of the Hanska- Linden Company, which store was opened for business in 1893, and he has continued manager of the same to the present time, giving eminent satisfaction to all concerned. He has increased the business from thirty-three thousand dollars to sixty thousand dollars annually in that time. He has also added to the original building and introduced many new and modern improvements and changes. A large and well-selected stock of general merchandise is carried at all seasons.

Mr. Ouren was married on June 26, 1899, in Brown county, to Julia De Nora Ouren, daughter of Anton Ouren, and to this union four children have been born, namely: James Arnold, Julius Maurice, Evelyn Viola and Ernest.

Politically, Mr. Ouren is a Democrat and is active and influential in party affairs. He has been county committeeman for his party for the last ten years or more. He was mayor of Hanska for over twelve years, during which time he did much toward the general development and welfare of the place, whose interests he has ever had very much at heart and sought to promote in every legitimate way possible. He supports the Unitarian church, of which his wife is a member. Although of the same name, he and his wife were not relations; however, both families came from the same locality in Norway.

Hans Mo

Hans Mo, the veteran president of the State Bank of Sleepy Eye, in the thriving little city of that name in this county, and one of the most enterprising, progressive and energetic citizens of Brown county, is a native of the kingdom of Norway, having been born in the village of Vaage, Gudbraudsdalen, March 17, 1850, son of Einar and Ingeborg (Paulsdatter) Mo, natives of that same district.

Einer Mo was the son of John and Thore (Olsdatter) Johnson, residents of that same district in Norway, both of whom lived to advanced ages, and his wife was the daughter of Paul Haugen and wife, neighbors of the Johnsons. He received an excellent education in his youth and at the age of sixteen began teaching school in his home village and was thus engaged until the time of his death, a period of fifty years, during which time he exerted a most profound influence for good upon the common life of that community. For forty years he also was postmaster of the village, his first year's salary in that public capacity having been nine dollars. Einar Mo died in 1897, at the age of sixty-eight years. His widow survived until 1910, she having been seventy-two years of age at the time of her death. Both were stanch Lutherans and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, namely: Knud E., of Minneapolis, this state; Hans, the subject of this sketch ; Ragnald E., wife of J. O. Holen, of Stillwater, this state ; Ingeborg, who died in 1914, after having been for twenty-five years actively connected with the State Bank

Hans Mo received an excellent education in the schools of his native town and became a bookkeeper and deputy in the office of the sheriff, which position he held for four years. He served for one year as deputy postmaster in the postoffice in Sell and also served for one year in the roads department of the department of the interior, under the supervision of Hans Gragh. In 1872, he then being twenty-two years of age, Hans Mo came to the United States and upon landing on the shores of this country proceeded immediately to Minnesota, stopping at Byron, where for a short time he was employed on the railroad section. He then secured employment as clerk in a store at Byron and was thus engaged until 1877, in which year he moved to Sleepy Eye, in this county, where for three or four years he was employed as a clerk in a store. He then received the appointment as postmaster of Sleepy Eye and served in that office for four years, at the end of which term of service his services were engaged by the bank of Sleepy Eye and he was put in charge of the real-estate loans department of that concern. At that time the bank of Sleepy Eye was a private concern owned by F. H. Dyckman. Mr. Mo proved a valuable assistant to the latter, retaining his connection with the bank as a clerk until 1888, in which year he and O. W. Hagen each bought a one-third interest in the bank with Mr. Dyckman, after which the concern was conducted as a partnership until 1891, in which year it was incorporated under the laws of the state as the State Bank of Sleepy Eye, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, and has since then been operated as a state bank and is regarded as one of the soundest financial institutions in this part of the state. The bank has a surplus of fifteen thousand dollars and its present officers are as follow: President, Hans Mo; vice-president, Edward F. Berkner; cashier, J. A. Herzog; assistant cashier, E. P. Schmitz; directors, Arnold Hillesheim, Frank F. Romberg, P. D. Raverty, Joseph Seifert, Edward F. Berkner, George J. Vollmer and Hans Mo.

On August 23, 1877, Hans Mo was united in marriage to Anne Johnson, who was born in Vaage, Norway, which also is Mr. Mo's native town, on April 2, 1855, daughter of John and Ronnang Stockstadt, both natives of the same place. John Stockstadt died in his native land in 1875, after which his widow and her four children, Anne, Peter, Hans and Andrew, came to America, where she married Andrew P. Stockstadt, her deceased husband's brother, which second union was without issue.

To Hans and Anne (Johnson) Mo four children have been born, as follow : Elmer James, cashier of the Scandinavian-American Bank of Big Timber, Montana, who married and has one child, a son, Hans ; Rolf Ingvar, employed in the garage at Sleepy Eye, who married Ada Black and has two children, Lucile and Helen ; Pearl Inez, who married Saxe Somerville and has three children, George, Alice and Inez, and Alice T., who is at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Mo are earnest members of the German Lutheran church and their children have been reared in that faith. The family for years has been regarded as one of the leaders in the development of the social and cultural life of Sleepy Eye and is held in high esteem throughout the whole county.

Mr. Mo is a stanch Republican and ever since becoming a resident of Brown county has taken a good citizen's part in the political affairs of the county. Few men in the county have a wider acquaintance with men and conditions hereabout than he, and his counsels in the deliberations of the local managers of the party have much weight. He has been a natural leader in the direction of the educational interests of Sleepy Eye and for nearly twenty years was a member of the school board, in which official capacity he was able to render a very valuable service to the public, it being undoubted that his unremitting and earnest efforts in that behalf did very much toward the elevation of educational standards in that thriving little city. He also has been a member of the library board ever since the organization of the same and in other ways has done all in his power to advance the general interests of his home community. Mr. Mo has prospered, as he deserves to prosper, since coming to America, and has long been recognized as one of Brown county's most substantial citizens. He owns a fine farm of four hundred and eighty acres near Tracy, this state, and a one-half joint interest in a farm of three hundred and seven acres in Brown county. He is a wideawake, progressive and public-spirited citizen and an excellent business man, cheerfully doing what he can to promote the general welfare of the people of this section of the state.

Christ Spellbrink

One of Brown county's successful agriculturists is Christ Spellbrink, who, after long years of hard work and economy, is now living in retirement in his pleasant home in New Ulm. He was born on March 5, 1846, in Hanover, Germany, and is a son of Christ and Louise Spellbrink, both parents also natives of Hanover, where they grew up and were married. The father worked at different trades until shortly before coming to America, when he engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he continued until 1857, when he set sail for America, locating at New Ulm, Minnesota, entering one hundred and sixty acres of land in Milford township, broke up the sod, planted crops and built a small log hut. He prospered by hard work and there carried on general farming until his death. His family consisted of six children, three of whom are still living, namely : Christ, who is the eldest ; Louis and Gustav.

Christ Spellbrink grew up on the homestead, where he worked during the summer months, and he received his education in the common schools in Germany and also in this country, being ten years of age when he accompanied the family to America. However, he was educated principally by his father, with whom he worked on the farm until he was thirty years of age, then rented land and farmed for himself a number of years, then bought one hundred and ninety acres, which he improved, spending several thousand dollars in this manner, until his farm ranked with the best in the township. Here he continued to farm until 1902, when he moved to Lac qui Parle county, Minnesota, on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, on which he farmed until 1912, when he retired, and located in New Ulm, where he has a well-furnished home. No man living in Brown county can give a better account of the famous Indian massacre that took place here than Mr. Spellbrink, who was over sixteen years of age at the time, and he was one of the boys who helped to defend New Ulm, and he talks most interestingly on the subject. He assisted the editor of this work in preparing the chapter dealing with the famous battle.

Mr. Spellbrink was married to Louise Goede, a daughter of William Goede, and to this union the following children were born: Louise, Martha, Adolph, Oscar, Anna, Thelma, Meta, Nancy, Flora and Clarence. Mr. Spellbrink has held public office. He was township clerk for twenty years, performing his duties most faithfully. He has also been assessor, justice of the peace and chairman of the board of supervisors. He is an independent voter. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

Herman R. Stegeman

The well-known architect and contractor, Herman R. Stegeman, of New Ulm, Brown county, was born March 9, 1872, in Pomerin, Germany, and he is a son of Carl and Wilhelmina (Buboltz) Stegeman. The father was a miller and engineer, also learned the brick-maker's trade. He was a stone-masonry engineer most of his life. In May, 1881, he came to the United States, making a quick trip for those times, the voyage requiring only eleven days. He arrived in New York on May 18, having boarded the ship at Hamburg. He and his family came direct to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they spent three months, then the father bought a farm in La Crosse county, three and one-half miles from Bango, and he lived on that farm until he retired from active life and removed to Sparta where he lived with his daughter, Mrs. Olga Streeck, until his death. His wife died in 1890. They were the parents of four children that lived to maturity, namely : Olga, Mrs. Amanda Piska, Paul (deceased), and Herman R.

Herman R. Stegeman received a common-school education and worked on the home farm during his vacations. When sixteen years old he started in to learn the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1894, when he began contracting. In 1891 he came to Fairfax, Minnesota, where he lived until 1896, with the exception of six months which he spent in Oklahoma. He located in New Ulm in 1896, beginning work here as a carpenter. In February, 1904, he began contracting again and has since been very busy as a builder of all kinds of buildings, and has also established a small sash and door factory. He has studied architecture and architectural drafting in the International Correspondence School of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he now draws all of his own plans, having drawn about seventy plans to date (1916). His first plan was that of a residence in New Ulm. He has since designed and built the Brown county poor farm's buildings; also those of the Redwood county poor farm, the First Methodist church in Selby, South Dakota ; the German Lutheran church at Springfield, the Evangelical church in North Redwood, the Catholic church in Searles, the Evangelical church in New Ulm, and the new armory at New Ulm, his largest and best building, which was constructed at a cost of fifty-five thousand dollars ; he also built the New Ulm roller mills.

Mr. Stegeman was married in New Ulm, October 12, 1900, to Ida Weilandt, who was born on November 1, 1876, in Ranville county, Minnesota. She is a daughter of Carl and Augusta (Fitzloff) Weilandt, natives of Pomerin, Germany, from which country they came to the United States on March 27, 1867, first locating in Warsaw, Wisconsin, where they spent one year, then moved to New Ulm in 1870, but a year or two later moved to Renville county, where the father took up a homestead. They returned to New Ulm in 1896 and here the father spent the rest of his life, dying on September 7, 1915. The mother died on January 6, 1916. To Mr. Stegeman and wife three children have been born, namely : Harry, born on J uly 26, 1901 ; Arthur, October 20, 1903, and Ruth, J uly 7, 1915. He and his family are members of the Evangelical church. He is a member of the

In 1912 Herman R. Stegeman enlisted in the machinegun company of the New Ulm Minnesota National Guard in which he became corporal. In 1897 he enlisted in Company A, Minnesota National Guard.

Col. William Pfaender

William Pfaender was born in Heilbronn, Wurtemberg, Germany, July 6, 1826, and received a commonschool education, but he was a reader and a thinker, and upon this basis he constantly built his large store of knowledge. The German revolution of 1848 caused young Pfaender, with many of the best men in Germany, to emigrate to America that year, and he located in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849. There in 1851 he married Catherine Pfau, and in 1856 he came West with a committee of the German Settlement Association of the city mentioned to find a location for a new German settlement. That search brought them to New Ulm, where they found a German colony from Chicago, then struggling in a somewhat impoverished condition to build a town and provide for the settlement of the surrounding country. This was reported to Cincinnati headquarters, and it was decided by the Association there, who had money, to buy a half interest in New Ulm, which was done, and Mr. Pfaender was sent here as agent and manager for the Cincinnati Association. That infused new life in the Chicago colony, then fused with the arrivals from the Ohio city, and thence forward there was steady thrift in the new German settlement, only interrupted by the Sioux Indian massacre of August, 1862, the grasshopper raid of 1875 to 1877, and the cyclone of 1881. Mr, Pfaender took a government claim of one hundred and sixty acres about a mile north of the present city limits, and there for a time he was postmaster, with a cigar box as a depository for the letter mail. In after years he owned and operated a saw-mill, and then was builder and owner of a planing-mill near the business center of the present city. He always had at heart the interests of New Ulm and its people, and was ever a promoter of the best interests of the locality and its inhabitants.

Mr. Pfaender had been an active member of the German Turner society in Ulm, in Germany, and he was one of the organizers of the Turner society in Cincinnati. True to his faith, he organized the New Ulm Turnverein in November, 1856.

His capacity for public affairs and his integrity as a man were soon recognized by his fellow citizens here, and in 1860 he was elected register of deeds of Brown county, and he was elected to the house of representatives of the Minnesota Legislature the same year, and then elected to the state Senate in 1870 and served one term. He was elected state treasurer in 1876, and served two terms to 1880. Meanwhile he had served as mayor of New Ulm from 1873 to 1876, when he resigned to take the office of state treasurer. Later he served as a member of the city council from 1890 to April, 1893. When Hecker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, was organized he was its commander for sixteen years.

That William Pfaender was not only a public spirited citizen and busy man in civil life, but a patriot of high type, is proven by his record in war, for he served in the army with distinction from 1861 to 1865 during the civil conflict. He and about twenty other residents of New (26a)

Ulm and vicinity enlisted in the First Minnesota Battery in September, 1861, and he was commissioned first lieutenant of the battery, which was sent to the Southwest as soon as organized. While the entire battery deserves great credit for courage and patriotism, the two surviving members in New Ulm of that battery are ready to bear witness to an act of Lieutenant Pfaender at the terrible battle of Shiloh, on the banks of the Tennessee river, in 1862, that should have made him a brigadier-general. The battery was in the thickest of the battle, holding its position, while the Federal army was being driven back by the impetuous onslaught of the rebels, who were advancing with victory in sight. As the officer in command of the troops of which the battery was a part and the retreating army were passing, Lieutenant Pfaender, in command of the battery, asked for orders. But he received none from the fleeing officer. Quick as a flash Lieutenant Pfaender grasped the situation, and with a courage never surpassed, then having two of his six guns disabled and the remaining four dangerously hot from rapid firing, he ordered his men to hold their position and continue firing under a terrific hail of rebel bullets, in what was afterward named the " Hornets ' Nest," as it was - a veritable Grecian pass of Thermopylae. This act of supreme heroism checked the rebel advance for twenty to thirty minutes, when the Federal army had time to re-form, and with the stimulated courage of the battery to advance and drive the rebels back. It was a test of do or die, and the battery saved the day. Had Lieutenant Pfaender ordered a retreat, as that section of the Federal army was passing in retreat, they would have been driven into the Tennessee river and many of them to death. This conspicuous act of unsurpassed heroism was never reported as it should have been by the higher officers of the command, and has never been related in public at home. It should have made the modest lieutenant commander of a brigade and promoted every hero in the battery.

On hearing that New Ulm had been attacked by the Indians, his solicitude for his family and New Ulm induced Lieutenant Pfaender to ask for leave to return home late in the autumn of 1862, and he was sent to Minnesota on recruiting service. The First Minnesota Mounted Rangers was then being organized, and Lieutenant Pfaender was mustered out of the battery and commissioned lieutenantcolonel of that regiment. He was placed in command of the frontier, then imperiled by Indians, with headquarters at Ft. Ridgely. The following December Colonel Pfaender was mustered out with the regiment, but he was again commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Second Cavalry Regiment, and was continued in service and in command of the frontier until 1865, when he was finally mustered out. Colonel Pfaender died in 1905.

The corner stone of Mr. Pfaender 's character was a high sense of justice and honor, and whether in civil or military life he was always a courteous gentleman. In any and all positions, or however busy, he was always approachable by the humblest alike with the most exalted. It was these qualities that won for him the universal respect of his fellow-citizens and their implicit confidence. While he was firm in his convictions of his rules of life, he was always tolerant of differences of opinion ; and he was ever a peace-maker. In all the relations of life, as friend and adviser, as leader or co-worker, remembering his courage in war and his many good deeds in peace, Col. William Pf aender was easily the foremost and most honored citizen of New Ulm, and should by right be looked upon as its father. He will be missed as no other resident could be. He will be missed especially by his comrades in arms and all old soldiers and settlers whose friend he was and for whose welfare he always labored. That the last Legislature a few months prior to his death did tardy justice to the memory of himself and comrades for gallant deeds at the battle of Shiloh by appropriating a small sum to erect a monument to their memory on the battle-field, was some consolation in his last days. In his domestic life his kindness of heart and gentle government were all that could be asked of husband and father; and his pure life must ever beckon those who remain to follow where he blazed the way.

Mrs. Pf aender died in 1892, and after that a daughter, Miss Josephine, made the home pleasant for her father. Mr. and Mrs. Pfaender were the parents of fifteen children, five of whom died, most of them from diphtheria in 1881, and ten children are living. These are William, Frederick, Herman and Albert Pfaender, Mrs. L. A. Fritsche and Misses Josephine and Minnie Pfaender, in New Ulm ; though the last named is most of the time teaching school in St. Paul, where Mrs. G. Stamm, Mrs. Charles Albrecht and Mrs. Charles Hauser reside. The sons and daughters and some of their children, as also Dr. G. Stamm, were all at the funeral.

members of Hecker Post, Captain Burg's battery, the Second Regiment band, Company A of the National Guard, and members of the New Ulm Turnverein. At the grave the band played a dirge, when the Grand Army of the Republic service was given, and after some appropriate remarks by Commander Klossner, Judge B. F. Webber paid the last tribute in words to the departed in the admirable address that follows :

"Friends and fellow citizens - We meet with those who mourn the loss of a dear father and with other relatives at the grave of Col. William Pfaender. You have listened in the language that his ears first heard, in the language in which his mother expressed her love for him in his cradle, to a brief history of his achievements and the high esteem in which he is held by those dear to him by reason of his nativity. As an American citizen and as his neighbor, I wish to express, in the language of his adopted country, the high esteem in which his memory is held by every American citizen of his acquaintance, and the deep grief which they feel at the termination of a noble manhood. We recall his birth, nearly eighty years ago, in the far off land beyond the sea ; we recall the struggles of his boyhood and early manhood, in the school room and counting-house; we recall his emigration and settlement in his adopted country at the age of twenty-two; we recall his settlement with a little colony of Germans in the then wilderness among the Indians at the age of thirty, and his continuous residence at the same place for nearly fifty years. We recollect that he took a leading part as a municipal and county officer in the early history of our city and county; that he cast one of the electoral votes of the state for the noblest of American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln ; that he served his country well as an officer in the War of the Rebellion and in protecting the homes of the early settlers from the savage Sioux; and that he afterward served his state honestly and faithfully in a responsible state office. From all of those positions, boy, emigrant, neighbor, officer, soldier, citizen, come only the words 'well done, good and faithful servant.'

"And now, in the neighborhood where he has been known and loved so long, almost in sight of his home for nearly half a century, below the branches of the trees that his own hands have planted, beneath the flowers strewn and planted by loving hands, with the birds singing and the breezes whispering in the branches above him, shall his ashes rest until the resurrection morn ; and it requires no effort for me to believe that the loving father, true friend, neighbor, soldier, citizen and patriot, will enjoy the best there is beyond the 'dim seen strand of that untrodden, silent land, that covers all the past/ "

Rev. Edward F. Wheeler

The pastor of the Congregational church at New Ulm, Rev. Edward F. Wheeler, is doing a commendable work and is popular with all classes. He was born at Grafton, Vermont, January 20, 1862, and is a son of Melanchthon Gilbert and Frances C. (Parkinson) Wheeler. The father was born at Charlotte, Vermont, May 22, 1802, and the mother at Columbia, Coos county, New Hampshire, March 9, 1819. She was a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Kelso) Parkinson. Her grandfather, Henry Parkinson, came from Londonderry, in the north of Ireland, and settled near Concord, New Hampshire. He graduated from Princeton College, then called Nassau Hall. He excelled as a classical scholar and fitted many students for Dartmouth College. He served in the Revolutionary War and was at one time quartermaster in Col. John Stark's regiment.

Robert Parkinson was born in Francestown, New Hampshire, May 18, 1781, passed his youth in Concord and Canterbury, then secured a farm in Columbia, where he built of hewn timber the best house at that time in the county. The embargo of the War of 1812 with England brought him financial distress by making unsalable a large consignment of lumber which he had delivered for shipment at Portland, Maine. He also lost through endorsement of a friend's note. He had been honored by election to the state Legislature, but now with wife and six children, went to live in poverty in New Boston, New Hampshire, where his wife's father had secured to her a house and lot.

From that time all the honors of the battle. went to the devoted wife, a woman of sincerest piety, cheerful disposition, and untiring energy. The children had to work hard, but studied early and late to secure such education as the town furnished. After finishing the course of the district school, they attended a high school kept three months in the year by a college student. After her mother's death in 1837, Frances C. Parkinson went with her brothers and sisters to live in Nashua, where part of the family attended an academy kept by David Crosby. She did excellent work in this school, reading much Latin, and excelling the boys of her class in mathematics. In 1838 she was elected to teach in one of the graded public schools of Nashua. She spent her vacations in study at the academy. After about three years she was offered a much better position as teacher in the Young Ladies' Seminary at Milford, New Hampshire, where she remained four years. She thus earned a special course in Mt. Holyoke Seminary at South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she made the acquaintance and friendship of the principal, Mary Lyon, a wonderful woman in many ways. Then she was engaged to take charge of the girls' high school at Northampton, Massachusetts, where she remained until her marriage to M. G. Wheeler, May 4, 1848, at Nashua, New Hampshire.

M. G. Wheeler was the son of Hon. Zadoc Wheeler, who was chief judge of the county court and represented the town of Charlotte, Vermont, for several terms in the state Legislature. M. G. Wheeler's mother was Mary Holbrook, of Boston. Her father taught a ladies' school in Boston for many years, in a building standing on the corner of Washington and West streets. Melanchthon knew that his mother longed and prayed that he might enter the ministry. His uncle, Judge Wheeler, of Whitehall, New York, who had become a man of wealth, invited him to enter his office after graduating from college and promised to do all in his power to advance his worldly interests, on condition that he would take up the study of law and abandon his purpose to become a pastor; but in memory of his mother's wish, he put aside the temptation and decided to press on with his preparation for the ministry. He graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York, in the class of 1825, receiving the second honor - i 6 The Philosophical Oration. " In 1826 he entered Princeton Theological Seminary, where he studied for two years, then joined the seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, in hope of receiving benefit from manual labor, for which there was more opportunity than at Princeton. He graduated here with honor on September 23, 1829. His first pastorate was at Falmouth, Massachusetts, where the severe climate, coupled with the sometimes reckless zeal of his young manhood, caused serious throat trouble, from which he never fully recovered and which required frequent, though brief, periods of rest and many refusals to urgings to make his pastorates more permanent. He held the following positions with unvarying success, svhen not disabled by poor health - pastorates at Abington Center, Massachusetts, October, 1831, to August, 1833 ; Conway, Massachusetts, December, 1833, to August, 1841. Following this he worked a year as financial secretary of the Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary; then, against medical advice, resumed preaching, as pastor of the Congregational Church in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, October, 1842, to March, 1846 ; then as supply, for a few months, of the J ona- than Edwards Church in Northampton. In 1848 he followed Dr. Caleb Tenney as agent of the Massachusetts Colonization Society, and continued this work seven years, then resumed pastoral labors for the rest of his life, as pastor of the church at South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, from October, 1855, for four years ; then at Grafton, Vermont, from the fall of 1859, for three years; then at West Roxbury, Massachusetts, now included in Boston, for three years until July, 1865, when he was installed over the North church in Woburn, Massachusetts, where he remained until his death on February 9, 1870. Here, with the savings of a lifetime, he purchased ten acres of land and a fine old colonial house built in 1880 by Colonel Baldwin, after whom the Baldwin apple was named. This house is now the home of E. F. Wheeler's youngest sister, Mrs. W. W. Hill. Rev. Melanchthon Wheeler's widow survived until January 1, 1905, and was buried from this home in Woburn. By almost superhuman effort she kept the home out of debt, kept the children in school until they became self-supporting, and frequently entertained old friends and visiting clergymen.

To the union of these parents five children were born : Elizabeth Parkinson, now deceased, who taught in the Woburn high school and married John R. Carter, a civil engineer of Woburn, and became the mother of three boys, Charles, who graduated from Dartmouth College and is now clerk in the Bank of the Metropolis, New York ; Morris, who led his class at Harvard and is now custodian of the Boston Art Museum; and Royal, a Dartmouth graduate, now in business in the Philippines; John Henry Wheeler, the second child, who graduated at Harvard University, standing third in rank in the large class of 1871, taught for one year in the private classical school in Boston of Professor Noble, entered the Harvard law school and was admitted to the bar in 1873, received from Harvard the degree of Master of Arts at the annual commencement in 1875, was appointed Fellow in Greek at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1876, received an appointment to a Parker Fellowship of Harvard, which enabled him to study three years in Europe; in August, 1879, received from the University of Bonn, Germany, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, then from September, 1879, to July, 1880, studied the manuscripts of classical authors in the libraries of Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, and Paris, was tutor in Greek and Latin at Harvard 1880- 1881, then professor of Latin at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, from June, 1881, to June, 1882, then professor of Greek at the University of Virginia until his death on October 10, 1887. He left a valuable library, most of which was presented to Middlebury College. Caroline A., the third child, is a graduate of Wellesley College, and is now the wife of Pres. Charles H. Cooper, of the Mankato, Minnesota, State Normal School. Their children are Helen, who teaches in the East high school, Minneapolis ; Margaret, who teaches in a college at Des Moines, and Robert, who is a student in Carleton College. Cornelia Frances, the fourth child, took a special course at Wellesley College and is the wife of William W. Hill, general agent of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, residing in her father's home in Woburn, Massachusetts. They have two daughters, graduates of Wellesley ; Avis, the wife of Rev. Theodore Berle of Reading, Massachusetts, and

Rev. Edward F. Wheeler spent his childhood from the age of three in Woburn, Massachusetts, graduated from the high school there, when sixteen years old, after a three years course, and entered Dartmouth College in the class of 1883, but the serious interruption of typhoid fever in the spring of the sophomore year, combined with an invitation from his brother, Professor Wheeler, to live with him at Brunswick, induced him to change to Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, where he graduated in 1883. He then taught in the evening school of the Woburn high school for a short time ; then was commissioned by the Congregational Home Missionary Society, and came to Appleton, Minnesota, in the fall of 1885, and for a year preached here and in various country school houses, founding the missions - now churches - at Dawson and Madison, Minnesota, driving long distances and enduring the usual hardships of a new country and severe climate until the fall of 1886, when he entered the Theological Seminary at Hartford, Connecticut, graduating there with the class of 1889. Invitations to supply in the vicinity of Hartford enabled him to take a post-graduate course there until May, 1890, when he accepted a call to Grace Union church, North Wilbraham, Massachusetts, where he was ordained and installed on May 14, 1890. In January, 1893, he accepted a call to the Church of the Redeemer, St. Louis, Missouri, where he labored five years; then for nearly four years was pastor of the First Congregational church of Austin, Minnesota; then served as pastor at Newell, Iowa, for three years, and on July 1,

1905, after supplying here for several Sundays, began his present pastorate at New Ulm, which is making a reputation for keeping her public servants.

Rev. Mr. Wheeler was married on July 11, 1891, to Clarissa Anna Goar, a daughter of Joseph J. and Lavinia (Fisher) Goar. She was born in the town of Berlin, Tipton county, Indiana. Her father served throughout the Civil War in Company C, Tenth Indiana Volunteer Regiment. He is still living in good health and has a fine farm at Montevideo, Minnesota, which he took as a homestead soon after the war. To Rev. and Mrs. Wheeler three children have been born, namely: Clara, who died when one year old; Elizabeth Parkinson, and Joseph Edward. These two graduated together from the New Ulm high school, then Ellizabeth finished the three years' course at the Mankato State Normal School and is now teaching in the Lincoln school in St. Peter, while Joseph worked as bookkeeper in the Eagle roller mill, and has finished his second year of study in the University of Chicago.

Politically, Rev. Wheeler votes independently. He is a member of the Psi Upsilon college fraternity and of the Masonic order, including the Mystic Shrine. He has been high priest in the chapter and was prelate for several years and then commander for one year of DeMolay Commandery No. 26, Knights Templar. While in St. Louis he served several years as state secretary and treasurer of the Congregational church conference, and is now registrar of the western association of the Minnesota Congregational churches. By election of the boys, he is serving as scout master of Troop No. 1, Boy Scouts of America.

Carl Otto Wetlandt

Carl Otto Weilandt, well-known millman, contractor and builder, head of the prosperous and progressive firm of Weilandt & Stegeman at New Ulm, this county, is a native son of Minnesota, having been born on a farm in Wellington township, Renville county, January 22, 1879, son of Carl and Augusta (Fitzlaff) Weilandt, natives of Germany. He died on September 4, 1915; she died January 6, 1916.

Carl Weilandt is the third in order of birth of the six children born to his parents, Julius Weilandt and wife, well-to-do farming people of the vicinity of Schiefelbein, in the province of Pomerania, Germany, the others being Julius, Herman, Herminia, Augusta and Mary. He grew to manhood on the home farm and became a farmer on his own account. When a young man he came to America and settled in the Northwest. In 1863 he came to the United States, proceeding directly to Minnesota and settling at New Ulm, good reports of which thriving settlement had reached the Fatherland. For a time after coming here, Carl Weilandt worked in a brickyard at New Ulm, but presently he "got his bearings/ ' and in 1865 homesteaded a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Penville county and there he established his home, gradually developing and improving the place until he came to be regarded as one of the substantial farmers of that neighborhood. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church and ever took their part in the good works of the community during their long residence in Renville county. Six children were born to them, but two of whom lived to maturity, Ida, who married Herman R. Stegeman, well-known builder and contractor and millman, of New Ulm, and Carl Otto, the subject of this review. When well past middle age, Carl Weilandt and his wife retired from the farm and moved to New Ulm, where they made their home until their death.

Carl Otto Weilandt was reared on the homestead farm in Renville county, receiving his elementary education in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, which he supplemented by taking a business course in the Dr. Martin Luther College at New Ulm, to which he added a further course in a correspondence school in which he acquired a thorough technical knowledge of carpentry and building. When nineteen years of age he took up the practical side of the carpentry trade and shortly became a competent craftsman in that line, following the trade as a journeyman carpenter for a number of years. He then, in 1904, formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Herman R. Stegeman, and the firm established a planing-mill in New Ulm and engaged in the general building and contracting business, in which it has been very successful, many of the best buildings in and about New Ulm testifying to the substantial character of the work done by Weilandt & Stegeman, the firm early having acquired a fine reputation as skilful and reliable builders.

On July 23, 1903, Carl O. Weilandt was united in marriage to Louisa Schroer, who was born and reared in New Ulm, daughter of Henry and Mary Schroer, natives of Westphalia, Germany, and tolerably early settlers in New Ulm, where both spent their last days. Mrs. Weilandt is the fourth eldest of thirteen children born to her parents, the others who grew to maturity being Emma, Mary, Minnie, William, Fred, Herman, Carl and Ernest. Mr. and Mrs. Weilandt are members of the Lutheran church and take a warm interest in the general beneficences of the same, being held in high esteem throughout the entire community. Mr. Weilandt is a wide-awake and public-spirited citizen, deeply interested in the progress and welfare of his home community, and occupies a firm place in the regard of business circles generally hereabout.

J. P. Edward Bertrand

Among Cobden's efficient officials the name of J. P. Edward Bertrand must be included, for those acquainted with his work say it has always been well and faithfully done. He was born in the township of Home, Minnesota, December 11, 1876, and has been content to spend most of his life in Brown county. He is a son of Dominic and Mary (Huffman) Bertrand, both natives of Luxemburg, Germany. The former came to this country as a young man, settling in Dakota county, Minnesota, removing to Brown county in 1865, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres in Home township, developing a good farm through hard work, and there he continued to reside until his death in 1885. His family consisted of eight children, namely : Jack, Paul, Kate, Matt, J. P. Edward, John, Frank and Anna.

Mr. Bertrand grew to manhood in Home township, Brown county, working on the farm during the crop seasons and attending the district schools in the winter time, later was a student of the high school at Sleepy Eye, then spent one year in the Mankato Normal, after which he taught school for five years in his native county, then purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Redwood county, where he lived two years, removing from there to Cobden where he entered the livery, feed and dray business, also handled fuel, following this line of endeavor for seven years, then sold the livery business and bought the Cobden Mutual Telephone Company's business of which he (27a) is still proprietor. It consists of about sixty telephones and about thirty miles of telephone lines. He is also proprietor of the Cobden feed and grist-mill, which business he started in 1913. He has been successful in all these enterprises.

Mr. Bertrand was married in 1904 to Kate Miller, a daughter of J. P. Miller, who was a native of Saxony and who was one of the pioneer settlers of Brown county, Minnesota, coming here when young, and here he received his education. He had two children, a boy and a girl, the former dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand have six children, namely: Florence, Edward, Roman, Rosella, Elnora and Clarence.

Mr. Bertrand is an independent voter. He is now recorder of Cobden. He has held all the town offices but that of mayor. He is a Catholic and belongs to the Knights of Columbus, at New Ulm, and St. John's Society at Sleepy Eye.

Alex Schwendinger

Alex Schwendinger, church decorator of New Ulm, Brown county, was born on November 29, 1862, in Tyrol, Austria, and is a son of Ignatz and Josepha (Rein) Schwendinger. The father was born in Tyrol, Austria, where he grew up and married and there he followed the trade of sculptor until he brought his family to the United States in the spring of 1879. He and his wife had four children, two sons and two daughters. The family located at once in New Ulm, Minnesota, where the father lived until his death in November, 1904.

Alex Schwendinger spent his boyhood in Tyrol, Austria, where he received his education, and he studied painting and decorating for four years in the Munich art school, and he has since followed his trade with much success, being highly skilled and a rapid worker. He decorated the Holy Trinity church in New Ulm, and has done a great deal of similar work on churches in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. He was married on January 8, 1907, in Carroll county, Iowa, to Anna Vens, who was born on September 23, 1886, in Roselle, Carroll county, Iowa. She is a daughter of J ohn and Mary Vens. Pour children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schwendinger, namely: Norbert and Elvira, twins, who were born on March 23, 1910; Seraphia, June 15, 1911, and Alphonse, December 23, 1912. All the family are members of the Catholic church.

settlers at New Ulm, August 22, 1862. In his earlier career he did a great deal of portrait painting, in which field he has considerable talent, but of recent years he has had but little to do in this line, owing to the advanced art of photography, which has taken the place of oil paintings to a great extent. He is in partnership with M. E. Schuster, and looks after the inside painting and decorating and the business end of the firm, which has existed since 1912.

Theodore Schwendinger, brother of Alex, was born on February 11, 1860, in Tyrol, Austria, and after attending school until he was fourteen years of age, began learning the marble-cutter's trade, which he has since followed with much success and in which he is very highly skilled. His father was a sculptor and he worked with him until his death, since which time he has conducted his business alone and makes tombstones and monuments exclusively. He has made a great many of the monuments in the cemeteries of Brown county, his work being of an exceptionally high order. He was married in New Ulm, July 11, 1893, to Catherine Schneider, who was born in Tyrol, Austria, June 8, 1865, and is a daughter of John and Christinsea (Martin) Schneider. She came to the United States in March, 1892, and is the only one of her family living in America. To Theodore Schwendinger and wife five children have been born, two of whom are deceased, dying in childhood; those living are Valeria, born October 14, 1895 ; Mathilda, March 8, 1899; Alexia, born February 28, 1903. The parents and children are all members of the Catholic church, and he belongs to the German Catholic Society of Minnesota.

Rev. William C. Albrecht

The Rev. William C. Albrecht, pastor of St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran church at Sleepy Eye, this county, is a native son of Minnesota, having been born in Scott county, this state, September 23, 1884, son of the Rev. G. Albrecht and wife, both natives of Germany, who are now located at Emmett, Renville county, this state, the Rev. G. Albrecht having freen pastor of the German Lutheran church at that place since 1897.

The Rev. G. Albrecht has been a resident of this coun- 4 try since he was about twenty-five years old, he having come to the United States at that period of his life, entering Northwestern College, at Watertown, Wisconsin. Upon completing the course there he entered the German Lutheran Seminary at Milwaukee and upon completing his theological course there was ordained to the ministry. His first charge was at Jordan, in the neighboring county of Scott, this state, he having been installed as pastor of the church at that place in 1883, and there he remained until 1897, in which year he accepted a call to the church at Emmett, where he is still stationed. He and his wife are the parents of thirteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest and all of whom are living save Ruth, the eighth in order of birth, the others being Minnie, Theophilus, Emma, Lydia, Imanuel, Henry, Paul, Christian, Victor and Marie.

the same by a two-years course at the Dr. Martin Luther College at New Ulm, after which he attended Northwestern College at Watertown, Wisconsin, for two years and thus equipped by preparatory study entered the theological seminary of the German Lutheran church at Wanwatosa, Wisconsin, and after completing the course there was ordained in 1906. The Rev. W. C. Albrecht's first charge was at White Brookings county, South Dakota, to the church at which place he was called immediately after leaving the seminary, and he remained there until the call came to him to accept the pastorate of St. John's German Lutheran church at Sleepy Eye. He entered upon the duties of pastor of that parish in April, 1911, and has been so engaged ever since, during which time he has done a fine work in extending the interests of the parish both spiritually and materially.

On June 19, 1907, the Rev. William C. Albrecht was united in marriage to Minnie B. Retzlaff, daughter of F. H. and Minnie Retzlaff, and to this union four children have been born, Ruth, Gilbert, Armin and Philip. The Rev. Mr. Albrecht takes a warm interest in local civic affairs, but is not an active adherent of any political party, reserving to himself the privilege of voting only for such aspirants for public office as he deems best fitted for the performance of the duties of the offices to which they aspire.

Andrew J. Goblirsch

One of the well-known men in financial circles in Brown county is Andrew J. Goblirsch, of the State Bank of Cobden, Minnesota. He was born in Lafayette, Nicollet county, this state, March 5, 1881, and is a son of John and Elizabeth Goblirsch, both natives of Austria, in which country the father grew to manhood, was educated and remained until he was thirty-five years of age when he immigrated to the United States, taking up a homestead in Lafayette township, Nicollet county, Minnesota. By hard persistent labor he developed a good farm- from the virgin prairie and there spent the rest of his life, dying in 1908. His family consisted of ten children, namely: Adam, George, John, Mike, Joe, Frank, Charles, Anton, Andrew J. and Katherine.

The subject of this review grew up on the homestead where he worked when a boy, and he received his education in the public schools of this community in Nicollet county, but on leaving school at the age of eighteen, he went to Mankato, spending two years as a student in the normal college there, and then began working in a general store in Lafayette, remaining there two years, after which he took an interest in a mercantile business in Wabasso, Minnesota, where he remained about three years ; then went to Leonard, North Dakota, and was assistant cashier of the First State Bank of that place for three years. From there he went to Grace City, that state, where he became assistant cashier in the Farmers and Merchants Bank and remained in this po- sition one year, after which he went to Morgan, Minnesota, and engaged in the grocery business one year, then became cashier of the State Bank of Cobden, .where he has since remained. This bank has a capital of about ten thousand dollars, two thousand dollars surplus and about eighty-five thousand dollars assets. Mr. Goblirsch has done much toward its steady growth.

Mr. Goblirsch was married in 1904 to Susa M. Welter, a daughter of Peter and Louisa Welter. Her father was born in Luxemburg, Germany, and the mother was a native of Wisconsin. Mrs. Goblirsch was born in Sleepy Eye. Nine children, two sons and seven daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Welter. To subject and wife four children have been born, namely: Edmund, Margeurite, Evelyn and Elaine. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus lodge at New TJlm, and the Catholic church at Sleepy Eye.

A. H. Pickle

A. H. Pickle, the well-known insurance agent at Sleepy Eye, this county, an honored veteran of the Civil War, who also for years has been one of the best-known general dealers in real estate in this county, is a native of the British dominion across the border to the north, having been born in Canada, July 2, 1843, son of Simon and Sarah (Taylor) Pickle, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of England, who later became pioneers of Minnesota, their last days being spent in this state.

Simon Pickle was born in the city of Boston and when a boy moved with his parents to Canada, east, where he grew to manhood on a farm. He married there and became the owner of a farm, on which he lived until 1855, in which years he came to the United States and settled in Illinois. A year later, however, he came to Minnesota and Mr. Pickle homesteaded a quarter of a section of land in Olmsted county, about midway between what is now known as Dover and Eota. His family came in 1857. He and his wife spent their last days in Dover township, Olmsted county. They were the parents of ten children, John E., Joseph, Simon Taylor, George T., John, Myron A., Tryphena M., Catherine C, Alma, Sarah and A. H. Eight of these children are deceased.

A. H. Pickle was about thirteen years old when he came to this state with his parents and he worked on the farm until he enlisted, August 14, 1862, for service during the Civil War, in Company K, First Regiment, Minnesota

Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. On February 1, 1864, he was promoted from private to corporal and was transferred to the First Minnesota Battalion; on July 22 following he was promoted to sergeant and on May 30, 1865, was promoted to first sergeant, which was his rank when he was mustered out at Baileys Cross Roads, Virginia, June 8, 1865, his regiment having previously participated in the Grand Review at Washington. Mr. Pickle witnessed much severe service during the war, having taken part in the battles of Louden Valley, Fredericksburg, Hay Market, Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Mine Rim, Petersburg, Jerusalem and Plank Road, Deep Bottom, Reams Station, Hatchers Run, Farmhill and Highbridge and was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. At the battle of Deep Bottom, at the imminent peril of his own life, he carried from the field Major II. D. O'Brien, who had been seriously wounded. For this act of conspicuous bravery Mr. Pickle was awarded a Medal of Honor by Congress in 1895. During his long and arduous service in the army Mr. Pickle was never wounded. He celebrated his twentieth birthday anniversary while engaged in action at the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, and fifty years later attended the famous "blue and gray" reunion on that field. For many years Mr. Pickle has been an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic and since 1908 has been commander of Wesley Green Post No. 71, of that patriotic organization at Sleepy Eye, and whenever possible is present at the state and national encampments of the organization. Senator Knut Nelson introduced a special bill in Congress which awarded Mr. Pickle an increase in pension from seventeen to thirty dollars a month.