Fillmore County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches (11 of 11 so headed), 1882

Biographical sketches

The town with this spring reminding name is the seoond from the south on the western boundary of the count j. Its contiguous neighbors are Spring Valley on the north, Forestville on the east, Beaver on the south, and Mower county on the west. Cutting across the township in a diagonal way are four different geological formations. The stream that bisects its territory near the center of the town is the south branch of the Root River, and there are several creeks joining this, most of them coming from a northern direction. The little streams in the northern part of the town flow in that direction to mingle with the waters of another branch of Root River.

The western and middle parts of the town are prairie, and the southeastern, bluffy. The soil is of that peculiar black character so common in this region. Along the bottoms there is heavy timber on both sides of the river, while in the southeastern part it is hilly and rocky.

Eably Histoby

William B. McNee, in quest of a home, in October, 1855, found a place that suited his purpose in section fourteen, which he bought, having preempted a place in section thirteen in Spring Valley.

The first school was held in 1856, in what is now district No. 110; the school was taught in a log house, and to this work Elder Ropes gave his services for six dollars a month and his board, which was obtained by itinerating around from house to house, so many days at each. In district No. 109, in 1860, their schoolhouse was built, and it yet remains in use. The settlers turned out to do the work, charging themselves seventy -five cents a day. The first school in the new house was governed by Miss Helen Lilly, who received the munificent sum of $1.50 a month and board. About twelve juveniles gathered on the benches. Messrs. McNee and Craig were the most influential citizens of the town, or ot least of that section, in locating the building, starting the school, and securing and paying the teacher. The first religious instruction was at Etna, the little hamlet in section twenty-five. Rev. Mr. Bly, of the Baptist faith, was the missionary.

In the meantime a number of Norwegians had settled in the central and western part of the town and along the streams, and had got their farms under a fair state of cultivation. H. and Ole Hellikson and a family named Oleson had settled and are still living in the town; it is claimed they arrived in- 1853. A. Q. Langum had settled upon section sixteen; Even Stensen had put in an appearance and filed on section twenty-two. A number of others of the same nationality had secured homes in the same region.

In 1855, J. H. Shaw with his family, consisting of his wife and seven children, arrived from New York State and settled on one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-six, where he still manipulates the plow although well along in years. With this party came George Barnes and Daniel Carey, together with their families, and they also

At this early date wolves were in abundance in the woods, and hardly a night passed but some unfortunate settler lost a part of his meager flock or herd.

An Accident. - One Sunday in the summer of 1855, Mr. O. H. Bryant, one of the pioneers near Etna, purchased a fine span of horses and took them home, priding himself on being the owner of as fine a team as was in the country, and at that day horses were very scarce in the town of Bloomfield. The next morning he hitched up his team, intending to drive over to a neighbor's on an errand. When he arrived at the ford he found that owing to recent rains the river had become a torrent. A number of friends tried to dissuade him from attempting to ford, but he, in confidence that his team could puU through, drove into the ford. He had driven but a short distance when the depth of th6 water compelled him to realize his foUy, and in attempting to turn around, capsized his wagon and was compelled to swim to shore, the horses being swept down by the irresistible current, and drowned.

Various Items of Interest. - ^The first store in Bloomfield was in a log cabin called a schoolhouse, about a half mile from Etna, kept by Beuben Odell. The goods were afterwards moved down, and in the course of a year sold out, when Hartley Parks erected a frame building in the village, and sold goods for about three years.

In June, 1856, there ww* a murder of an Irishman who had a claim, and his body was thrown into the south branch. Some members of a halfbreed family in the vicinity were arrested, but no convictions resulted.

Craig's house, and commenced on Tuesday and held over until Wednesday at midnight before the election was decided. Mr. McNee was elected Justice of the Peace.

On the 11th of May, 1858, the first regular town meeting, to fully organize the town, was held at the same place. The town officers elected were: Supervisors, O. B. Bryant, Chairman, John Mallory, and Joseph Campbell ; Justices of the Peace, M. T. Gaylord and W. T. Bly; Clerk, S. A. Hunt; Assessor, W. T. Bly; Collector, R 0- McCord; Overseer of the Poor, John Carey; Constables, A. C. McCord and Horatio French. Provision was made that the next annual town meeting be held at the house of Andrew Lanby, in section fifteen. In September a town meeting was held, and a tax of $125 raised to meet current expenses.

Among the officers elected for 1882 are: D. M. Leach, Chairman of Supervisors; Clerk, O. Larson, Justice of the Peace, Dr. Spencer; Assessor, S. Toplif.

District No. 108. - The first school taught in what is now this district was in the summer of 1857, by Mrs. Hunt, in a log cabin, where it continued until the schoolhouse now in existence was built, in section twenty. This building is kept in good repair, and still accommodates the scholars. * District No. 132. - The first in this part of the town was taught by Miss Qroham in Mr. - Allen's house. In 1864, a building was bought, moved, and fixed up, which served until early in the seventies, when the present edifice was constructed. The school building is located in the northwestern comer of section seventeen.

District No. 107. - A log schoolhouse was built in 1856, and a school opened by Daniel Scoville. The school officers were John Bateman, Mr. Mc- Cord, and Dwight Bathbom. There were at first about a dozen juveniles to be taught; now the number of pupils is about thirty. The schoolhouse is located upon the eastern line of section two. A Sabbath school was organized here in 1857, with Mr. Daniel Scoville as Superintendent.

District No. 111. - This district was organized in 1859, and a plain slab shanty erected on section thirty-three, by subscription. This mde hut lasted until 1876, when the present neat building was erected on the same place, size 18x24 feet, at a cost of about $400. The first school was called to

District No. 110. - This comprises the territory known as the Etna school district. It was organized in 1656, and a log schoolhouse rolled together on section thirty-six. This rude structure filled the requirements until 1865, when the present house was built on section twenty-six, size 24x30 feet, at a cost of |700, and it was afterwards removed to its present location on section twenty -five, in the western part of Etna village. The first school was taught by Elder Ropes.

District No. 109. - Was organized in the fall of 1858, and in 1859 a school was held in Mr. Baker^s granery by John B. Freeborn. In 1860, everyone in the district turned out to assist in putting up the schoolhouse now in use, and all were credited seventy -five cents per day on their tax. The schoolhouse is 20x25 feet, and stands on the northwest comei^ of section twenty-three. The cost is estimated at about $150.

The first sermon preached in town was in 1854, in John Bateman's house, by Rev. B. F. Hilton; wide notice had been given and people came from the neighboring towns. The first regular service was by that pioneer Methodist minister and evangelical itinerent missionary, Rev. Benjamin Crist, whose circuit was bounded on the east by the Mississippi River, and on the west by the setting sun, and whose appointments at wide intervals of distance and four weeks of time, were met through sunshine and storm, with the regularity of a through express train.

Evangelical Ltttheran Church. - This church is located on the west line of section thirty-three, and hap a burial ground aroimd it. It is upon the farm of G. Hanson, he having donated the land for that purpose.

Baptist Church. - ^There is a Baptist Church at Etna which was built in 1871. The size of the building is 28x36 feet, and was erected at a cost of $1,500. The first sermon for the denomination was delivered by Rev. Famsworth, and since then their pulpit has been supplied by various ministers of different denominations. The edifice is situated in the western part of the village.

Loomis was the first person buried there, a little two year old girl. There are now a score or more of mortal remains reposing in the enclosure.

There is also a cemetery on the line between sections two and three, and there is another on the west line of section sixteen. A larger one than either of these is on the southern boundary of section twenty-six, with one hundred occupants, and still Another on the west line of section thirtythree, in connection with the Lutheran Church, and there may be still others.

This village was platted by Enos Gray as the surveyor, and C. L. Colby as proprietor. Its location is the southwest quarter of the the southwest quarter of section twenty-five, and was recorded as being ''set apart and dedicated for village purposes" on the 18th of September, 1867. The panic which followed the next mouth, must have been a wet blanket to the cherished hopes and glowing anticipations, which had out up a farm into lots, four rods by eight, to make a rural village. The village was laid out as "TifiFfcon," but as the post-office was called Etna, common usage obliged the village to adopt the same suggestive cognomen.

The first Post-office established for the convenience of the settlers of this region was one mile east of Spring Valley. John M. Smith was the Postmaster; this was in 1855.

Etna Post-Office

In the spring of 1856, the people in the neighborhood of Etna wanted a post-office, as the nearest one was Carimona, twelve miles distant, and one day there happened to be a half dozen persons at the house of Peter McCracken, aud the subject coming up, the question as to a name was discussed, and it was proposed to settle the point by lot, and each one wrote a name on a slip of paper. Mrs. McCracken drew from the hat where they had been placed the name ''Etna,*" put there by Charles Hanson, of Forestville. A petition was accordingly started right there, and signatures were obtained at a precinct meeting at the house of Lathrop Abbott in the town of Beaver. But the name being of a volcanic origin, created opposition, and a real eruption of bad feeling, which went so far that of the superstitious opponents of the name got hold of the petition, cut off the original heading «nd substituted an- other name, and deposited it in the nearest postoffice, to be sent to Washington, but the friend« of Etna, bj threats, induced them to withdraw it, and it was destroyed. Mr. Hanson, however, got up another and procured a few signatures and sent it on, with a favorable result. Bedar Judd was appointed Postmaster, and held the office about one year, O. B. Bryant fchen had the office for a year, when he was succeeded by H. French. The town plat when surveyed was named and recorded as Tififton, but has always been called Etna, although there has never been any eruptions of a volcanic nature, or any other for that matter.

Etna FLouRiNa Mtll. - This was built in 1868, on the Root River, on section twenty-five, a half mile north of Etna, by A. Defor. It has two run of stone, excellent water power, with a Lafell wheel, and grinds all kinds of grain, turning out good work. A. Defor is still proprietor.

John Bateman was bom in Pulaski county, Virgiiiia, on the 2l8t of July, 1816. He lived in his native State until 1846, when he moved to Missouri; remained there part of one year, then went to Wisconsin, and in three years to Iowa. In 1853, he made improvements on land in Bloomfield township, this county, and in 1854, moved his family to this place. He held the office of Justice of the Peace while in Iowa, and also in Minnesota while this county was divided into voting precincts. He was married in Virginia to Miss Ketturah Halsey. They have had thirteen children, ten of whom are living. They are all married but two. One child died in infancy, in 1849, the second death was in 1868, and the third was killed in Texas in 1881, by the accidental discharge of a gun.

OiiivE HovEY Bender was bom in Canada in 1811; was brought up on a farm, and afterward married to Russell Rexford. She is the mother of five children, two of whom are living. One boy died in the rebel prison at Macon, (Jeorgis, in 1862, aged twenty-one years. She came to Wisconsin in 1852, remained but a short time, then removed to Minnesota, and was the first settler in Bloomfield township. Her husband died in 1856^ and she was married again the same year, to Duvid Bender.

and Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a Baptist minister, in Michigan, in 1840. He has since preached the Gk>spel in Michigan, Hlinois, Indiana, and Minnesota. He was married in 1839, to Miss Elizabeth R Miller, and they have had ten children, but five of whom are living. In 1853, he came to Fillmore county and settled on a farm, which he conducted in connection with his ministerial duties. Mr. Bly has been a member of the Baptist Church upwards of fifty-one years, and Mrs. Bly forty-three years.

Hawlet Oooke was bom in Otsego county. New York, in 1811. He was brought up on a farm and received his education in his native State. When he was eighteen years of age he engaged in a restaurant in New York City. In 1837, he removed to Chicago, where he clerked for two years, then engaged in farming and also taught school. He was married in 1841, to Miss Mary Seward, a native of New York. In 1842, they removed to Wisconsin, and in 1859, came to Minnesota and located in Bloomfield, where he has since lived on a farm- Mr. and Mrs. Cooke have had eight children, five of whom are living. His wife died in 1862, forty-one years of age. Mr. Cooke has held the office of County Superintendent, and is generally well liked.

Hans C. Gullickben, a native of Norway, was bora near Christiania on the 29th of June, 1832. In 1854, he came to America and located in Racine county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in farming and as a day laborer, working in different localities of the same State. In the fall of 1856, he came to this county and pre-empted a quarter section of land in Bloomfield, which he has made his principal home ever since. He was married in 1858, to Miss Martha O. Larsen, who has home him seven children, three of whom are living. Mr. Gullicksen has filled a number of local offices, and in 1868, was elected County Sheriff, holding the position four yeaiB. Was then appointed Deputy Register of Deeds, held the office two years, when he resigned and moved back to his farm. In 1879, he was elected Register of Deeds, and reelected in 1881, and has since filled the office with general satisfaction.

William B. McNee was bom in Delhi, New York, on the 16th of November, 1815. He was united in marriage, in 1845, with Miss Susan Jane Craig. In 1854, they removed to Illinois and remained one year, then came to Minnesota and loiigitized by cated in Bloomfield, where he has three hundred and sixty acres of land, most of which is improved. Mr. and Mrs. McNee have five children. He has been County Commissioner, and held other local offices.

WiiiiiiAM OsTBANDEB is a native of New York, bom in 1819. The next year his parents removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared on a farm and received his education. In 1843, he went to Indiana, where he remained five years, engaged in farming and milling. On the 15th of October, 1845, he was joined in marriage with Miss Jane Butts, who died in 1849. He engaged in the grocery business in Pennsylvania until 1856, then came to Wisconsin, where he remained one year, and thence to Bloomfield, Minnesota, where he has since been engaged in farming. He was married again in 1880, to Mary Ann Say res, a native of England. Mr. Ostrander has been a member of the school board ten years.

Lyman E. Postlb was bom in Friendship, Allegany county, New York, in 1831. When ten years old he removed with his parents to Wisconsin. He completed his education at Madison University, studied surveying and worked at it about three years, when he removed to Minnesota and engaged in farming. Miss Anna C. Lea became his wife in 1856. She is a native of England. They have been blessed with eight children, three of whom are married. Mr. Poslle enlisted in the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers and served one year and one month. He has been Town Clerk and Constable several terms, and Postmaster for eleven years.

W. J. Sherwin was bora in New York, in 1827, and grew to manhood in his native State. He came to Minnesota in 1858, where he married the eldest daughter of Rev. W. T. Bly. They have four children. His mother lives with them, aged eighty- two years. They are members of the Baptist Church.

where he lived until twenty-two years old. He attended school there, and studied medicine. He then removed to Wisconsin and taught school and practiced dentistry. In 1861, he came to Minnesota, remained four years, then returned to Wisconsin and thence to Vermont In 1868, he came to this State once more, and then went to Dakota where he practiced medicine for three years, when he permanently located in Etna, Bloomfield township. He was married in 1874, to Miss Carrie Hovey, a native of Wisconsin. They have one child, six years of age. Mr. Spencer is the present Justice of the Peace in this town.

WiiiLiAM Tbioos was bora in England in 1815, where he attended school and grew to manhood on a farm. In 1850, he oame to America and worked on a farm in Hlinois imtil 1856, when he came to Bloomfield and engaged in farming, which he still follows. He was married in 1862, to Mrs. Lucy Pike, a native of Maine. She was a widow with one child. Mr. and Mrs. Triggs have one child, named John, thirteen years old.

Luther Wiiioox was bora in Canada in 1818, and reared as a farmer. He was married in 1840, to Miss Sarah Glidden. She died in 1842, leaving two children. He was married again on the 16th of June, 1846, to Miss Mary Ann Ricks, who has borne him five children. In 1855, he oame to Bloomfield, Minnesota, where he has since been a farmer. Mr. Wilcox has been Justice of the Peace twelve years.

Henry Wooden was bom in New York in 1836. He received his education in his native State, and when twenty-two 7 ears of age removed to Illinois. He enlisted in 1861, for three years, then reenlisted and served one year. He married Miss Sarah Norton, a native of Ohio, who has borne him three children. His mother, Sarah Wooden, a native of New York, is living with her son. She came to Minnesota in 1864. His father died when sixty-four years of age, on the place Henry now occupies.