Freeborn County, Minnesota - Chapter 60: Topogkaphy and Location Baely Settlement -, 1882

Chapter 60: Topogkaphy and Location Baely Settlement -

This one of the southern tier towns of Freeborn county, lying contiguous to Iowa on the south; and the townships of Albert Lea, Shell Rock, and JNunda, respectively, on the north, east, and west. It is a full congressional township, the greater part of which is under an admirable state of cultivation, as a glance at the statistics will show.

The surface of the township is considerably broken and inclined, in places, to be very hilly although there are no bluffs, and but few jjlaces so abrupt as to be detrimental to agriculture. There are also numerous sloughs dotting the prairie, which form the only obstruction to cultivation to be found, and many of these are valaal rle for hay and grazinj;. A good deal of small timber is found, aud it might be said the greater part of the area is jack and burr oak opening land, although very open, with prairie and natural meadows interspersed. The main body of timber is in the central part.

The soil is variable, but in the greater portion of the town is of a rich dark loam, although not unfrequently a locality is passed where the sand and clay are visible.

The water courses of this town are all sluggish and small affairs, there being only one which is as yet dignified upon the map with a name. This is Goose Creek, which rises west of the boundary and enters by way of section eighteen, then taking a southeasterly course passes through Grass Lake and leaves for Iowa. Another small stream rises in the northern part and flows southeasterly across the northeast corner of the town. Several small streams fJow into Grass Lake, but have no names, and in the low country are liable to change their courses.

Grass Lake is a body of water located in the corners of the four southeastern sections in the township. It is a sloughy concern, and is surrounded by such a low, wet and marshy country, that it is impossible to get to it; in fact, it is said that the entire southeastern part of Preel)orn has never been explored'.

Therere are no villages in the township. The Minneapolis and St. Louis railroad enters and crosses the northeastern corner, and the B. C. & N. railway line crosses the northwestern comer.

Early Settlement

The early settlement and initiatory steps which led to the founding and subsequent development of this thriving township, in common with the majority of Freeborn county's subdivisions, dates back well into the fifties. Its early pioneers and hardy civilizers were fiot adventurers who came here merely tor speculation, nor were they men who expected or even hoped to accumulate a fortune in a day; but men who knew there would be trials and hardships to endure, while the first few years of their existence here must be almost a hermitage. And they were not mistaken, as those who can retrace the steps of memory to actual experience will testify, while those without having passed through it can never know.

It is claimed that Freeman township had received a settler as early as 1854; this statement is made in a sketch of the history of the township published in the Albert Lea papers in 1877, and prepared by Mr. Parker, president of the Old Settlers' Association, and Mr. Botsford. But for the edification of our readers we will publish the sketch verbatim, to-wit:

"The first settler in this town was Ole Olenhouse, who made his claim as early as the summer of 1854, and was probably the first settler in the county.

Sarah White, in 1859, taught the first school, the same being held in the dwelling-houee of Joseph Shaw. The first parties married were Louis B. Probetin and Libbie Banning, in 1857, the ceremony being performed by William Andrews, Esc]. The first child born was in 1857, and connected with the Uleiihouse family. The first death was that of Mrs. Wadsworth, who died in I860."

Where the above information came from we know not, and, therefore, will make no comment upon it; but will commence the story of early settlement, as we get it from the most reliable and oldest settlers now living.

Among the early settlers, not the first in the township, was John Freeman, in whose honor the town received the mime it bears. He was bom in Northamptonshire, England, in the year 1805. In 1855, he came to Minnesota, and direct to this township, where he secured, under the pre-emption law, the whole of section fifteen for himself and three sons. After living in a tent for several months he erected the log house in which he now lives, the logs l)eing cut from poplar trees, and covered with what was termed a "shake roof," i. e., clapboards cut from oak timber. The log house is in a good state of preservation, and under the third roofing. Three of Mr. Freeman's sons are yet in the town, and one is on the Pacific coast.

The above statement is disputed by some, as to his being the first, and we give all sides a hearing by producing the statement. John Oldinghouse [or OlenlwuseJ was a native of Germany, having lately sojourned for a time in Wisconsin, rrrived in Freeman township in the summer of 1855, with his family, and squatted upon section twelve, where he dug a hole in the ground and covering it with poles and hay, spent the winter here. The following year he pulled up stakes and removed to section twenty-fcur, and this point is probably the hinge leading to the error into which many settlers have fallen in thinking the date of his settlement in section twenty-four was identical with that of his arrival; for in early days, his original place in section twelve was considered in the town east of this, or the Shell Rock settlement.

years, when he with his family removed to Kansas, where he died soon after his arrival, from the effects of an exposure which affected his brain.

In the fall, a man named Mr. Oliver Diamond, arrived and constituted the next settler. He was a native of Vermont, and located in the same section with Oldinghouse (24, ) where, among other improvements, heerecttd a log house, lt)x22 feet, which still stands, although rather delapidated and imoccupied, a remembranceof 'ye olden time', Diamond did not remain long and sold to Charles Grim who still lives on the place.

About the same time in 1855, Jacob Hostetter, a Pennsylvania German, who came direct from Ohio, tciii Wisconsin, settled with his wife, four daughters, and two boys, upon section one. He erected a log house and commenced improvements which he continued for fifteen or sixteen years, and then sold to Mr. Nelson who is yet on the place. Mr. Hostetter now resides in the township of Albert Lea.

The spring following the arrival of Hostetter, in March, 185(5, Christian Bias, a German, arrived, and being a single man, commenced keeping "batch," upon the claim he secured in section twenty-two, the present Joseph Lang place, and remained here for a couple of years when he returned to Illinois from whence he came.

William Edwards, from England originally, but late from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, arrived on foot in Freeman township on the 20th of Sept<'mber, 1856, and took a claim in section twenty-four, where he commenced improvements, boarding in the meantime with Oliver Diamond. His claim was jumped shortly afterwards by a Mr. Finch, and he took a place in section twenty-two; but finally, in 1857, sold that and took the place he now occupies in section three.

Just before Christmas, in 1856, a couple of Germans, Charles Bessinger and Phillip Herman, late from Canada, made their appearance and selected homes. Chas. Bessinger selected his domain in section nine and lived there several years, when he sold to his brother, Morris Bessinger, who yet owns the place. Phillip Herman planted his stakes upon a fine track of land in section thirteen where he yet holds forth.

The first of that small but determined army of the natives of Norway, arrived shortly afterward in the person of Lars Nelson, who declared him- self at rest upon a farm ia section twenty-three, and he has since been joined by enough of his countrymen to declare a majority of the inhabitants of the town.

Pioneers Deceased

Joseph Lang was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 25th of July, 1799. When 23 he married miss Jeannette LockharJ, and seven years thereafter came to Canada, and in 18.5fi to Freeborn County, and planted himself in the township of Freeman where he spent the remainder of his life until finally transplanted to the mystic realm on the 11th of April, 1875. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and left a wife and seven children.

Miss Josie Lang came with her parents when they settled in Shell Rock, and afterwards removed to Freeman. She was a dutiful daughter, affectionate sister, and a worthy member of society, and her name should have a place among Freeman's honored dead. The future life, with its hopes, promises, and possibilities, was opened up for her on the 10th of June, 1881.

Pabton Greene was born in Ehode Island on the 15th of May, 1795. His parents removed to New York State in 1805. In 1817, he located in Erie county, and remained there until 1855, when he came and procured a farm in Freeman where, at the age of four score and three, he, on the 15th of May, 1878, was gathered as a sheaf fully ripe. He never married, but was industrious, sober, and enjoyed uniform good health, always preferring to walk rather than ride, having thus made a journey to Albert Lea a few days before his death.

First Births. - The first event of this kind to transpire occurred in 1857, and ushered into this reputed world of sorrow, Matilda Oldinghouse, whose parents resided in the town. Another early birth was that of a son of Oliver and Emily Diamond, it is claimed late in 1856.

Death. - It is claimed that the first death in the township carried away George W. Wadsworth, a son of the parties who were first married in the town. The child was nine months old.

This town effected an organization as a local government at a meeting held on the 2d of April, 1861, at the house now occupied by William Freeman, by the election of the fallowing officers: Supervisors, B. H. Carter, Chairman, William H. Moore, and Lirs Nelson; Clerk, W. Wadsworth; Treasurer, Heary Eiton; Assessor, William Eaton; 3ohool Superintendent, J. E. Marvin. After this meetings were held for four years in the sam? house, and thea the schoolhouses were brought into requisition.

The present officers are as follows: Supervisors, Ole OpJahl, Chairman, Robert Freeman, and Ole Anderson; Clerk, W. Wadsworth; Treasurer, O. K. Plaakerud; Assessor, E. K. Fla-fkerud; Justice of the Peace, Andrew Ling. Another Justice was elected, but he stubbornly refusad to qualify or have anything to do with it, so, as expressed by a citizen, "his place was easily filled by leaving it vacant."

The matters pertaining to the public welfare have been well and ably managed, nothing having transpired to disturb the usual tranquility of such business.

From various reports we have compiled the following statistics, showing the agricultural resources, the values, and the products of the township:

Population. - The census of 1870 gave Freeman a population of 6()4. The last census, taken in 1880, reports 772 for this town. Showing an increase of 168.

Freeman has two church organizations, each having neat and valuable buildings. The total cost of church buildings in the town amounts to alout .S2,750. The total number of members of the two organizations is about 350. The churches are about one mile apart.

The first religious services were held on the 8th of October, 186], by Rev. Walter Scott. It was held at the house of Mr. W. Wadsworth, upon the occasion of the obsequies of his deceased son.

Norwegian Lutheran Church. - This is located in the northeastern part of section twenty-one. It was erected ia 1874 at a cost of §1,350, but in the summer of 1880, it was reduced to an almost entire wreck by a severe wind storm which did considerable damage throughout this county. It was rebuilt, however, the same year, and now stands on the old site, in good condition, a monument to the public spirit and enterprise of the builders. The first pastor of this temple of worship was Rev. T. A. Torgeson, and through the earnest efforts of this good and sincere gentleman, prosperity shed its bright rays upon the small band of worshipers, until its membership increiaed to two hundred. After about two years a change of pastors was made and Rev. J. Mosby was installed. The present pastor is Rev. S. B. Hustuet.

Lutheran Church. - Belonging to the Norsk Dansk Conference, is located in the northwestern part of section sixteen. It was erected in 1878 at a cost of $1,400, being a neat and cnmmodious building, equal to any in this part of the county. The church society has been very successful and efficient in its labor.s, for it now numbers as followers of its faith about one hundred and fifty members. There is also a cemetery ground connected with this church.

Educational facilities in Freeman are at least at par with a majority of the towns, both in numerical strengeth and m efficiency. The territory of the town for this purjjose is divided into five districts, which, if divided equally, would give an area of a little over six s([uare miles to each* district. The numbers and location of schoolhouses in the various districts are shown in the short sketch of each which is below presented.

Dittrict No 46. - Effected an organization in i 1862, and the first term of school was taught by Orfa Skinner at the residence of William Eaton, with seventeen scholars present. Shortly afterward a schoolhouse was constructed in the southern part of section three at a cost of S600, eipiipped with common furniture and the uece.s.sary apparatus. The attendance has grown from the first, and at present, instead of seventeen, the rolls show about thirty.

District No 44. - The first school in this district was taught in 1865, at the residence of Swan Anson, by Miss Altha Young, with eighteen juveniles on the benches. This was about, or shortly after the district effected an organization. School was held in private houses after this until 1873, when a building was decided upon and the schoolhouse now in use was constructed, at a cost of about .$125, in which Miss Mary Buchanan first called school to order, with an average attendance of twenty - two. The location of the schoolhouse is the center of section sixteen.

District No. 48. - The first school in this educational locality was taught by Mrs. W. H. Moore with an attendance of thirty^scholars. In 1873, a good and substantial school structure was erected, at a cost of .'i!80(), being well furnished and well kept. The present attendance of the school is about forty pupils. The district embraces the territory in the southwestern part of the town, with the schoolhouse in the northwestern part of section thirty-two.

although at that time it-was uuorgiinized. Thii first school was taught in Charles G rims' house, iu the winter of 1862, by Mr. Charles Grim, with an attendance of fifteen pupils. This district etfected an organization and continued holding school in private residences until 1870, when a school house 16x20 was erected in the northeastern part of section twenty-three, which is still in use. The first school in this district was taught by Miss Jemima Blighton, with an attendance of twenty pupils; the average attendance has now increased to thirty.

District No. 66. - This district embraces the territory in the northwestern part of Freeman with a schoolhouse located in section six, which was erected iu 1867, at a cost of $150. The first school therein was taught by Miss S. Carter, with an attendance of fifteen pupils. The average attendance has gradually increased, and is now about twenty-four.