Jackson County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches, 1910 (part 13 of 13)

Mr. Alexander was married in Olmsted county, Minnesota, in October, 1883, to Catherine Young, who was bom in the county in which she was married September 24, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are the parents of eight children, as follows: Peter Frederick, born February 25, 1884; Wilhelm H., born June 20, 1886; Johan Ferdinand, bom May 22, 1889; Theodore Otto, born November 27, 1891; Frederick Carl, born August 28, 1897; Frederick Adolph, born August 28, 1903; Wilhelmina Magdalena Elisabea, born January 4, 1906; Frederick Wilhelm, born May 4, 1908.

WALTER CAPELLE (1903) is the professor in charge of the Lutheran parochial school of Rost township. He was born in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, March 13, 1884, the son of Henry and Amelia (Heyse) Capelle, natives of Wisconsin and Gernmny, respectively. His father died in 1908; his mother lives in Sheboygan, coimty, Wisconsin. Walter is the fourtli child of a family of seven children.

Our subject spent the first fourteen years of his life on his father's farm in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, attending the parochial school. He then went to Addison, Illinois, and took a five years* course in the Teachers* Seminary of that place, from which he was graduated in June, 1903. Immediately after his graduation he came to Jackson county to accept the principalship of the school in Rost, where he has since resided, engaged in the same work.

Professor Capelle was married in Luxemburg, Wisconsin, July 15, 1906, to Louisa Goetsch, who was bom in that town and who ia the daughter of William and Sophia Goetsch. They have one child, Evelyn, born October 5, 1008. Professor Capelle is the organist of the Lutheran church of Rost township.

BARNEY GliAVE (1909), proprietor of a saloon at Heron Lake, was born in Aurich, Germany, July 21, 1877, the son of Bergart and Tena (Voght) Grave. He came to America with his parents in 1880 and settled in Carroll county, Iowa.

Barney lived on the farm with his parents until his mother's death when he was ten years of age. Then he began to battle with the world on his own account. For a few years he worked on farms in the vicinity of his home, doing what little a boy of that age could. From 1892 to 1901 he was employed in hotels in Sioux City and Sibley, Iowa. He then took a position as bartender in a saloon a^ Sibley, Iowa, and was so engaged until February 18, 1909, where he moved to Heron Lake and bought the saloon of Frank Appel. Mr. Grave is a member of the German Reformed church, lie owns village property at Sibley, Iowa.

Biogbaehical History

1902, to Delia Beek, who was born in Germany and came to America when a child. She is the daughter of B. Beek, of George, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Grave have been born two children, Jesse and Delbert.

REINHOLD C. WEGNER (1891) is a school teacher now located at Cass Lake, Minnesota, his permanent home being in Heron Lake township. He is a native of Buckley, Dlinois, and ^as born May 16, 1884. At the age of seven years he accompanied his parents to Jackson county and grew to manhood on hia father's farm, the southwest quarter of section 22, Heron Lake township. He was educated in the district schools, in the German school at Lakefield, in Concordia college of St. Paul and in the Addison German Lutheran seminary of Addison, Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1908. Since his graduation he has been employed as a teacher in a German Lutheran school at Cass Lake.

Our subject is the son of Albert and Minna (Giertz) Wegner, natives of Germany. They came to the United States when young and, before they came to Jackson county in 1891, lived at Buckley, Illinois. The family lived on their farm in Heron Lake township after coming to the county. Mr. Wegner died June 21, 1906, aged 68 years. Mrs. Wegner still lives on the home place, the farm being conducted by her two sons, Albert and Louis. , There are five children in the family, namely: Reinhold, Charlie, Martha (Mrs. C. J, Marquardt), of Princeton, Wisconsin; Albert and Louis.

BERT ALDRICH (1902) is a Middletown township farmer who resides three miles south of Jackson. He was bom near Hastings, Michigan, December 12, 1882, the eldest son of Brice and Lydia (Smith) Aldrich. His parents resided in Jackson county several years and are now residents of Colorado, where they have recently taken a government homestead.

Bert was three years of age when his parents moved from Michigan to Springfield, Missouri, which was the family home sixteen months. Seven years were spent in Sac county, Iowa, and then the family located in Wright county, Iowa, where Bert grew to manhood. He secured a country school education and worked on his father's farm in Wright county until 1902. Coming to Jackson county in 1902, Bert continued to work for his father in Middletown township until the fall of 1908. Then he married and rented the farm on section 1 from P. H. Sawyer.

The date of the marriage of Mr. Aldrich was August 26, 1908, when he led to the altar Esther A. Johnson, a native of Chicago. One child has been born to this union, a son born June 28, 1909.

BALSER WEPPLER (1902), saloon keeper of Lakefield, was bom in Germany August 22, 1865, the youngest of a family of six children born to Adam and Elizabeth (Wenk) Weppler. Both his parents died in Tazewell county, Illinois.

Balser came across the ocean with his parents when eight years of age. The family located on a farm in Tazewell county, Illinois, and that was the home of our subject until he reached his majority. He then started out in life for himself and for four or five years worked as a farm laborer near Oilman, Iroquois county. After his marriage, which occurred in 1891 1 he rented a farm in Iroquois county and farmed seven years. He then moved to the village of Oilman, where he bought and conducted a saloon three years. He came to Jackson county in 1902, bought a saloon in Alpha, and operated it two years. Moviujg to Lakefield in 1904, he purchased the saloon of Ed. Kolander, and has since conducted it. Mr. Weppler owns his home in Lakefield.

On the 29th day of December, 1891, Mr. Weppler was married to Mary Brill at Oilman, Illinois. Five children have been born to this union: Carl, Frank, died April 8, 1909, at the age of 14 years; Ernie, Lizzie and Martha.

JOHN DIEDRICH BARGFREDE (1906), who is engaged in farming in Petersburg township, was born in Hamburg, Germany, July 31, 1872, the son of Fred and Mary Bargfrede. His father died October 17, 1908, aged 75 years.

Our subject came to America when nineteen years of age, resided respectively in Armstrong, Emmet county, Iowa; Vale, Crawford county, Iowa; and Arcadia, Carroll county, Iowa. He arrived in Jackson county, Minnesota, February 6, 1905, and has since been engaged in farming on section 23, Petersburg township.

to Emma Schulte. They are the parents of the following children: Louie, Herman, Alice and Alma. The family are members of the German Lutheran church.

HENRY KABLE (1886) is an Enterprise township farmer. He was bom at Rushford, Minnesota, August 10, 1878, and is the son of Wensel and Anna Kable. When a little past seven years of age Henry accompanied his parents to Jackson county, and has ever since made his home in Enterprise township. He received a common school education and until reachini^ man's estate assisted in the farm work on his father's farm. He and his brother Thomas now farm in partnership and for the past five years have been engaged in the threshing business. He is a member of the Catholic church of Jackson.

JOHN A. ALBERT (1908) is the proprietor of a restaurant and pool hall at Okabena. He is a native of Germany and was born November 6, 1882, the son of Zacharias and Tina (Edzards) Albert. In 1893 he came to America with his parents and located in Cumberland, Cass county, Iowa. There he continued his schooling, which had been begun in the old country. In 1895 he moved to Laurens, Iowa, and two years later to Fonda. In 1906 he located at Round Lake, in Nobles county, and in December, 1908, located in Okabena, where he engaged in the restaurant and pool business.

Mr. Albert is a member of the German Lutheran church and of the M. W. A. lodge. He was married at Round Lake September 23, 1908, to Miss Sena Koster, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Koster, of Round Lake, Minnesota.

EDWARD TEIG (1906), of Christiania township, was born in Story county, Iowa, August 18, 1887, and is the son of Ole K. and Nellie (Raymond) Teig. In his native county he received a common school education, having been brought up on his father's farm. He accompanied his parents to Jackson county in 1906 and has since made his home on the farm on section 15^ Christiania township.

Mr. Teig was married May 17, 1909, to Victoria Thompson. He and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Christiania township.

JOHN S. CRAWLEY (1901), cashier of the State Bank of Alpha, was bom in Tuscola, Douglas county, Illinois, February 3, 1865, and in that town spent his boyhood days and grew to manhood. He was educated in the public schools of Tuscola and just before reaching his majority he took a position with the Diamond Prospecting company, of Chicago, a firm handling mining machinery and engaging in general prospecting. He remained with this firm five years and then engaged in the loan and real estate business at Tuscola.

Two years later Mr. Crawley moved to Margin county, Minnesota, bought a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits two years. He then located in Sherburn and for the next three years was en^ployed by a real estate firm. The next year he spent working in the Bank of Sherburn, and in 1901 located in the village of Alpha. For a few years he was employed as cashier of George R. Moore's private bank, and when the bank was incorporated as a state bank in 1904 he became a stockholder and has since served as cashier.

The bank of which Mr. Crawley is cashier was organized as a private bank in 1899 by George R. Moore and C. F. Albertus, the former being president and the latter cashier. On July 1, 1904 it was incorporated as a state bank, capital stock $10,000, and the name was changed to State Bank of Alpha. The present officers are George R. Moore, president; J. A. Krause, vice president; J. S. Crawley, cashier. At the present time the bank has a surplus of $2,500. It does a general banking business, makes collections, loans and writes insurance. The bank building was erected in 1899.

The father of oiu* subject was E. S. Crawley, who was born in Tazewell, Tennessee, August 23, 1830. His maternal ancestors were colonial stock, having come from England and settled in Virginia. E. S. Crawley moved to Indiana when thirteen years of age and to Tuscola, Illinois, in 1855. He spent the rest of his life in Illinois, and died in Champaign county at the age of 79 years. The mother of our subject was Almetta J. (Lester) Crawley, a native of Illinois and a descendant of old Kentucky stock. Her maternal ancestors came from Scotland and her paternal ancestors from

England. Her father took part in the Blackhawk war and the old rifle that he, carried ia now in the possession of our subject. £. S. Crawley and Almetta J. Lester were married in Illinois February 4, 1858. She died in Tuscola, Illinois, at the age of 56 years. There were seven children in the family.

Our subject was married at Indianapolis, Indiana, in April, 1894, to Nora Smith, a native of Douglas county, Illinois, having been bom January 10, 1863. She is the daughter of David and Ann Smith. For eight years she served as superintendent of schools of Douglas county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Crawley have six living children. They are named Keith, Crene, Rose, Lloyd, Gail and Max. The first bom, Wayne, died when ^ve or six years of age.

Mr. Crawley is treasurer of Alpha village, treasurer of the creamery association and is a member of the local school board. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the Knights of Pythias and M. W. A. lodges.