Lyon County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches, 1912 (part 10 of 17)

Mr. Burckhardt has two sisters and two brothers: Katie Sophia, Augusta and Albert Cleveland Burckhardt, of Freeport, Illinois, and Frank J., of Coon Creek township. Mrs. Burckhardt has five brothers and one sister, as follows: Stanley and Eugene Thurston, of Moore, Montana: Leon and Floyd Thurston, of Stanford, Montana; C. W Thurston, of Oregon; and Ada Thurston, of Moore, Montana.

FRANK L. HOLLEY (1898) is one of the most prosperous farmers and stock raisers of Lake Marshall township. He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, November 3, 1867, and is a son of Steven and Mariette (Fairchild) Holley, natives of New York. The parents moved to Illinois in an early day and settled in Kankakee county.

Frank received his early education and grew to manhood near his parents' home in Illinois. When twenty-one years of age he rented land and started farming for himself. In 1898 he came to Lyon county and purchased 240 acres of land in Island Lake township, which he farmed four years and then returned to Illinois, where he farmed two years. He again took up his residence in Lyon county and purchased 280 acres on section 2, Lake Marshall township, where he has since resided. In addition to grain farming, Mr'. Holley raises considerable stock, including Shorthorn cattle, Duroc- Jersey hogs and Shropshire sheep. He feeds and ships his own stock. He is a shareholder and director of the Farmers Elevator Company of Marshall. He is also a director of the Lyon County Fair Associatlon, a member of the Township Hoard of Supervisors, and a member of the Masonic lodge.

Mr. Holley was married in Illinois December 25, L891, to Minnie A. Corliss, a native of that state, she was born August 29, 1872, and is a daughter of John I. and ('. Jennie (Switzer) Corliss. The lather is a native of Ohio and the mother of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Holley are the parents of the following children: Merlin C, born December 1, 1899: Arlo J., born December 29, 1904.

H. RAYMOND SEITER (1883) is a native of Lyon county and was born at Tracy July 10. 1883. a son of H. F. and Emma C. (Swanson) Seiter, the former a native of New Ulm and the latter of Sweden. They came to Tracy in 1882, where the father still resides, a retired business man and president of the Citizens Bank. Mrs. Seiter died in 1902. They were the parents of three children: Winona (Mrs. I. W. Bedle), of Spokane, Washington; H. Raymond and Dudley H. Our subject has made his home in Tracy nearly all his life.

The subject of this review received his education in the Tracy High School and was a member of the original Tracy High School orchestra. While yet a young man he entered the Citizens State Bank and remained about four years. He then removed to Kansas City, where he remained four years - one year in the National Bank of Commerce and three years representing the Lake Erie Seed & Silo Company. He returned to Tracy in July, 1911, and still represents the last named firm, with headquarters at Tracy.

Mr. Seiter was married in Kansas City on May 2, 1907, to Louise Maderia, a native of that place. They are the parents of one child, Herman Ridgley.

TOLLEF T. MOULAND (1890), the owner of 240 acres of well-improved land in Vallers township, was born in Stavanger, Norway, February 27, 1864, and is a son of Tonnes and Berthae (Holen) Mouland. Both the parents of our subject are dead.

Tollef grew up on the farm in his native land and received the customary education of the farmer lad. He was twenty-two years of age when, in 1886, he came to America and located in Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota. There he worked at farm labor for a time, and later worked one year in the pineries of Northern Wisconsin. His advent to Lyon county occurred in 1890, in which year he took up his residence on 160 acres of the north half of section 27, Vallers township, having purchased the land two years before. The next year Tollef bought an additional eighty acres, and he has since been farming successfully the whole piece. He raises considerable stock. Mr. Mouland is active in the township's affairs, has been assessor four years, a member of the town board one year, and has been a member of the school board of district Xo. 71 eleven years.

Our subject's marriage to Bertha M. Lende occurred in the county December 27, 1890. She was born in Norway May 3, 1870, and is a daughter of Oli and Grette M. (Kverneland) Lende. Her parents came to America in 1879 and settled in Yellow Medicine county, later moving to Lyon county and taking a homestead on section 22. Vallers township. After a few years they sold that farm and moved to Lucas township, where Mr. Lende died in 1909 and where Mrs. Lende still lives at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Mouland have the following children: Bertha E., born October 6, 1891; Oscar, born August 4, 1893; Tonnes R., born July 27, 1895; Conrad M., born October 2, 1897; Thomas B., born October 20, 1900; and Grette M., born July 23, 1903. The family belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church.

HERMAN C. STANKEY (1874), who carries on a business in Marshall under the title Marshall Auto Company, has resided in Lyon county all except the first twelve years of his life. He is a native of Germany and was born February 24, 1862. At the age of five years he came with his parents to America, the family settling at Chatfield, Minnesota. His mother died when he was seven years old, and at the age of ten years he started out in life for himself, leaving home in the fall of 1872 to go to Gary, Minnesota,

In 1874 young Stankey accompanied the Edwards family to Lyon county, a homestead and tree claim being taken in Fairview township. Mr. Stankey remained on the home farm until twenty-one years of age; then he engaged in farming for himself in the same precinct. He prospered and purchased land until he was the owner of 40& acres of Lyon county's productive soil, the home place being the northeast quarter of section 4, Fairview. He engaged in farming until 1900. when he moved to Marshall.

For a few years Mr. Stankey worked at the machinery business and then engaged in the auto livery business, opening the first auto repair shop in the city. In the fall of 1910 Mr. Stankey erected a fire-proof cement block garage, 44x80 feet, and the following January opened the place with a large stock of cars. The capacity of the garage is thirty cars. He conducts a repair shop in connection and deals in automobile accessories.

Mr. Stankey was married in Lyon county December 23, 1885, to Emma Marshall, a native of Canada. They have one child, Bertha (Mrs. Bert Robbons). During his residence in Fairview township Mr. Stankey served three years as a supervisor and for several years was a member of the school board.

EDWARD MARCOTTE (1900), of Sodus township, is a native of Kankakee county, Illinois, where he was born April 1, 1852. He received his education in the county ^where he was born, living with his parents until his marriage in 1875. In the latter year he rented his father's farm, which he operated one year, after which he moved to an eighty-acre farm which he received from his father. He operated the latter farm three years and then he sold out and moved to Cloud county, Kansas, where he purchased a homestead right, on which he proved up. He resided in Cloud county twenty years.

In 1900 Mr. Marcotte moved to Lyon county and rented land in Lake Marshall township nine years. In 1909 he bought the west half of section 5, Sodus township, and has resided thereon since. Mr. Marcotte is a member of the Catholic church. His parents are Antoine and Louise (Belouin) Marcotte,

At Manteno, Illinois, April 5, 1875, occurred the marriage of our subject to Josephine Brosseau, a native of Kankakee county. She is the daughter of Peter and Julia (Pilotte) Brosseau, natives of Canada. .Mrs. Marcotte was born April 25, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Marcotte are the parents of the following children: George L., born December 5, 1S76: Nellie C, born August 9, 1880; Antonie P., born September 26, 1S82; Hector A., born August 24, 1SS4; Victoria J., born November 12, 1SS6, died October 7, 1903; Fred J., born August 27, 1S88; Leon C, born January 12. 1892; Meria A., born March 28, 1S97; Juliett, born March 19, 1899.

Louis Orsen, brother of the above, was born on his father's homestead in Westerheim township and grew to manhood on the farm. He left home at the age of nineteen years and started out for himself, working at farm labor. In 1910 he took a homestead in Perkins county, North Dakota, and proved up on the place the next year. He then rented the farm he now conducts on section 18, Westerheim township, from his grandmother, Mrs. Magnild Orsen. He farms in addition eighty acres on section 19.

NICKOLAI ORSEN (1882) is a native of Lyon county and was bora on his father's homestead in Westerheim township August 2"). 1882. He has always lived on the place, with the exception of ten months spent in Stanley county, South Dakota, in 1907-08. At that time he filed on a homestead and acquired land which he still owns.

Ole L. and Theoline (Nelson) Orsen, parents of our subject, came to the United States from Norway. Ole L. Orsen emigrated in the early seventies and settled first in Iowa, where he lived several years, and then he came to Lyon county and took a homestead on the northeast quarter of section 18, Westerheim township. He married Theoline Nelson and they have the following children living: Louis, Amelia (Mrs. C. G. Lee), Nickolai, Alfred, Olai, Theoline, Magnhild, Mamie and Nora. A daughter, Mattie, died a few years ago and another child died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Orsen retired to Minneota to live in 1904.

Nickolai was educated in the district schools of his township and in the Agricultural College at St. Paul, and later helped his father on the home farm, having conducted the old homestead since his parents moved to Minneota He also owns the southwest quarter of section 18, which he bought in 1911, and farms 400 acres in all.

Our subject was married in the township December 13, 1905, taking for his wife Beatrice Olevson, a native of Watertown, South Dakota. To this union four children were born, Ivan, Irven, Tillie and Orval. Mr.

JACOB A. RICKERT (1907), of Tracy, was born in Byron, Olmsted county, Minnesota, December 31, 1881, a son of Jacob A. and Annie E. Rickert. He received a common and high school education at Wahpeton, North Dakota, where his parents reside.

Mr. Rickert completed a course in the Law Department of the University of Minnesota in 1902 and practised law at Spokane, Washington, two years. He had banking experience with the First National Bank of Wahpeton, North Dakota, and the First National Bank of Lidgerwood, North Dakota. He moved to Tracy January 1, 1907, to take the position of assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank, and was elected cashier one year later, a position he still holds.

At Spokane, Washington, in 1908, Mr. Rickert was married to Eva C. Lowry. Mr. Rickert is a member of the Board of Education and treasurer of the school district. He is treasurer of the Tracy Savings and Loan Association.

HARRY A. TATE (1890) is manager of the Tate elevator of Balaton. He was born in St. Charles, Minnesota, June 19, 1885, and is a son of George A. and Lillian M. (Dickinson) Tate, natives of Minnesota and residents of Balaton. The father is president of the First National Bank of Balaton and is a large land holder and grain dealer. They are the parents of two children, Harry A. of this sketch and Georgia.

Harry Tate accompanied his parents when four years of age to Oshawa. Minnesota, where they resided a year, moving to Balaton in 1S90, where they have since lived. Harry attended the schools of Balaton and later the Marshall High School, from which he was graduated. He then attended Carleton College at Northfield, Minnesota, two years. In 1906 he took charge of his father's elevator at Balaton and has had charge since. He holds membership in the Masonic and Modern Woodmen lodges.

Our subject was married in Balaton July 13, 1910, to Iva H. Hall, who was born near Wessington Springs, South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Tate are the parents of one child, Eva Louise, born May 27, 1911.

The Tate elevator of which our subject has charge is the outgrowth of the Winona Grain Company's elevator, which was built twenty-seven years ago. It was purchased in 1900 by George A. Tate, who rebuilt the house, making it the largest in the county, with a capacity of 40,000 bushels. He conducted it several years after buying and then installed his brother-in-law, W. E. Dickinson, as manager. The latter had charge until 1906, when our subject took charge and has managed it since. He handles grain, coal, feed and flour.

GEORGE H. BAMFORD (18S2), of Lake Marshall township, was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, April 23, 1877. His parents are William E. and Catherine (Cairns) Barnford, the former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Kentucky.

When five years of age George accompanied his parents to Lyon county and his father purchased land in Sodus township. He has resided in the county since that date. Our subject worked at home until 1896, at which time his father died and he took charge of the home farm. In 1906 he became the owner of the southeast quarter of section 30, Lake Marshall township, where he now resides. He has a fine farm. Mr. Bamford is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is clerk of school district No. 7.

The subject of this review, was married at Marshall November 14, 1906, to Caroline F. Buchert, who was born in Appleton, Wisconsin. Mrs. Bamford was born December 12, 1882, and is a daughter of Henry and Emily (Lippoldt) Buchert, the former a native of Wisconsin and the latter of Germany.

GEORGE A. HANSEN (1902) is the proprietor of a meat market and grocery store at Tracy, where he has resided the past ten years. He is a native of Denmark and was born April 23, 1872. When eighteen years of age he came to America and for a number of years made Sioux City, Iowa, his home. There he learned the butcher business and there he afterward engaged in the business for himself. He conducted a shop at Plankinton, South Dakota, four or five years and then engaged in the mill and elevator business at Dakota City, Nebraska.

From the last named place Mr. Hansen moved to Tracy in 1902. He purchased the John W. Beedle meat market on Front Street and conducted it five years. Then he engaged in the livery business in partnership with Al. Swoffer for a short time and afterwards was in the ice business two years. During that time he also had an interest in a meat market in partnership with C. M. Duus. In 1909 Mr. Hansen bought the general store of Vilwock & Reetz, in the John Owens Building. He disposed of the merchandise stock and now handles only meats and groceries.

Mr. Hansen owns his home in the city, village property in Tyler, and a Lyon county farm. He is a member of the City Council and holds membership in the Odd Fellows, Workmen and Woodmen lodges.

Our subject is one of a family of ten children, of whom the five named reside in America: George A., of this biography; Olaf W., of Los Angeles, California; Peter C. and Carrie Boe, of Sioux City; and Ferdinand, of Aberdeen, South Dakota. The parents, Hans Andersen and Bodel M. (Hansen) Andersen, are deceased.

Mr. Hansen was married at Plankinton, South Dakota, April 22, 1896, to Anna K. Clark, who was also born in Denmark and came to America when a child. To Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have been born seven children: Flora, George, Bernice, Leo, deceased; Edith, Gladys and Clark A.

STEPHEN NICHOLSON (1901) is a hardware, stock and lumber dealer of the village of Lynd. He also deals in fullblood Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mr. Nicholson is a native of New York and was born in Livingston county, near Rochester, on May 11, 1854, a son of William and Hanna Nicholson, natives of England. The parents were at various times residents of New York, Illinois and Bremer county, Iowa. From the latter place they moved to Pasadena, California, where both died. They were the parents of four children: Mrs. C. E. Banks and Miss Jennie Nicholson, of Algona, Iowa; Stephen and Fred Nicholson, of Lynd.

When two years of age the subject of this review accompanied his parents to Belvidere, Illinois. They resided there until 1867 and then moved to Bremer county, Iowa. It was there that Stephen received his early education and grew to manhood. He engaged in the grocery and crockery business in that county three years and then moved to Burt, Kossuth county, Iowa, where he engaged in a similar business until 1900.

In 1901 Mr. Nicholson located in Lynd and built his present hardware store and lumber yards and put a complete stock in each. A year later his brother, Fred D. Nicholson, joined him in the business and the firm name was changed to Nicholson Brothers. Besides carrying on their lumber and hardware business, they buy and ship stock. They are the largest breeders of Duroc-Jersey hogs in the state, their sales extending throughout Minnesota and Iowa. They hold public sales of thoroughbred sows every February. Our subject is a member of the A. O. U. W. lodge and has been president of the school board of district No. 1 for a number of years.

The subject of this review was married at Waverly, Iowa, April 16, 1884, to Mabel N. Kelley. They are the parents of four children as follows: Frank, a graduate of the Mechanic Arts School of Saint Paul, now a student of Cornell University; Richard, Paul and Helen, who reside at home. Fred D. Nicholson is a native of Illinois and was born at Belvidere. He is a member of the firm of Nicholson Brothers and movedrto Lynd in 1902, where he associated himself with his brother Stephen.

Fred Nicholson is also a man of family. He was married at Waverly, Iowa, to Agnes Kelley. They have four children: Mrs. A. C. Boomer, of Owatonna* Minnesota; Roy, .Maurice and Robert, of Lynd. Mr. Nicholson is a member of the A. O. U. W. lodge.

JOHN W. MOORE (1899) is the owner of eighty acres on the northeast quarter of section 4, Lyons township, where he has resided the past thirteen years. He is a native of New York and was born in Belfast, Allegany county, September 13, 1855, a son of German R. and Almina (Orcutt) Moore, natives of Vermont. They came to Minnesota in the seventies and located in Martin county, where the father of our subject homesteaded land.

John Moore received his schooling in Martin county and there grew to manhood, experiencing many of the inconveniences of frontier life, notably the grasshopper scourge and blizzards. He assisted with the work on the home farm several years and homesteaded land adjoining his father's homestead. He also purchased 120 acres of state land, which he farmed until 1899. Then he sold and came to Lyon county, buying the land in Lyons township upon which he still resides. Besides farming, Mr. Moore raises considerable stock, among other breeds the Duroc- Jersey and Poland China hogs. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and was clerk of school district No. 14 five or six years. He was a member of the Township Board of Supervisors in Martin county and served several terms.

Mr. Moore was married at Houston, Minnesota, in August, 1884, to Mary McCann, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Peter and Margrette McCann, natives of Ireland. Mrs. Moore was born in Plymouth, Wisconsin, April 29, 1862. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore have been born the following children: Bettie L., born April 3, 1886; May M., born June 7, 1888; Nina E., born April 26, 1890; Dora M., born December 11, 1891; Harry J. and Hatty M., born October 12, 1897; Leslie R., born September 27, 1899; John W., born August 10, 1901; Marilla J., born October 25, 1903; Pearl, born November 5, 1905.

JOHN F. FINXEGAN (1880) is a member of the firm of Finnegan & Huyck, who conduct a butcher shop and buy live stock in Minneota. He was born in Durham, England*, November 17, 1875, and when five years of age accompanied his parents to the United States. The family located in Nordland township, Lyon county, where the father purchased land from the railroad company. His father having died when John was twenty-two years of age, our subject then operated the home farm five years.

In 1901 the subject of this review moved to Minneota and worked two years for George Geiwitz, after which he engaged in the butcher business, and he has since conducted a shop. In July, 1910, he sold a half interest in the business to Smith Huyck, the firm name now being Finnegan &, Huyck. They also deal in live stock. Mr. Finnegan continues to operate the old home farm. which is owned by himself and his sister, Mrs. A. J. Kelly, of Gilroy, California. Mr. Finnegan holds membership in the K. C. and M. W. A. lodges and was banker of the latter order nine years. He was a member of the Village Council two terms. He has three sisters: Mrs. W. P. Fessler, Mrs. A. J. Kelly and Mrs. Martin Murry, of Redwood county, Minnesota.

Mr. Finnegan was married at Minneota April 17, 1900, to Mary Tillemans, a native of Holland. Her father, John Tillemans, located in Nordland township in 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan are the parents of six children: Marie, Bernice, Dolores, John, Felicia and Katherine.

ALBIN W NELSON (1890), a Rock Lake township farmer, is a native of Lyon county, having been born at Burchard June 8, 1890. His father, Andrew W. Nelson, also lives in Rock Lake township; his mother, Annie (Munson) Nelson, is deceased. The family made settlement in the county in the late eighties.

Albin attended the district school until sixteen years of age and thereafter worked on his father's farm. He was married in 1912 and is now engaged in farming for himself. He owns the southwest quarter of section 9. Mr. Nelson is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church of Balaton.

1912, Mr. Nelson was married to Ellen Ottida Nelson. She was born in Ida Grove, Iowa, April 21, 1894, and is a daughter of Gust and Tilda (Larson) Nelson, of Rock Lake township. Her parents were born in Sweden, came to America early in life, and have lived in Lyon county since 1907.

HARRY W. ADDISON (1876) is associated with his father in the hardware business at Marshall. They are the largest dealers in the city, carrying a full line of hardware and dealing in implements, farm machinery, automobiles, gas engines and carriages. Much of the firm's success has been due to the energy which Harry has displayed.

Our subject was born January 21, 1869, at Waseca, Minnesota, and when seven years of age the family moved to Marshall, where he has since made his home. He received his education in the public schools and was a member of the Marshall High School's first graduating class, in 1888. When a lad he commenced to work in his father's hardware store and has always been associated with him, being admitted to partnership in 1892, since which time the firm has been R. M. Addison & Son.

Harry Wood Addison is a son of R. M. Addison and Ella (Wood) Addison. His mother died January 18, 1908. The father is one of the city's pioneer business men, having located here in the seventies. R. M. Addison has another son, Robert M., Jr., who is a resident of Marshall and associated with the firm, and a daughter, Edith D. (Mrs. S. McKennan), of Helena, Montana.

At Marshall, in February, 1899, occurred the wedding of Harry W. Addison and Anna L. Weikle. Mrs. Addison is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. K. Weikle, of Marshall, and her birthplace is Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Addison are the parents of two children, Ella Barbara and Harry Wood.

THOMAS I. CASTLE (1885) conducts a farm in Clifton township and is the owner of the south half of section 26. He raises Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and has one of the best improved farms in the township.

parents of our subject, were born in Yorkshire, England, and came to America in L865, settling in Illinois and pursuing the occupation of farmers. Thomas I. was born in Will county, Illinois. August 20, 1S75. He lived with his parents on the Illinois farm until he was ten years of age, at which time the family moved to Lyon county.

Thomas Castle received his early schooling in Illinois and later attended country school in Lyon county. His father upon coming to Lyon county had purchased the homestead right to the southwest quarter of section 26 and a tree claim to the southeast quarter of the same section, Clifton township. Thomas grew up on the farm and when twenty-two years of age he rented the southwest quarter of section 26 and later bought both quarters from his father, and he now conducts the half section.

July 4. 1903, occurred the wedding of Thomas I. Castle and Leora Dickerman. To this union have been born three children: Florence I., born April 5, 1904; Morris, born August 27, 1905; and Mildred, born January 30, 1907. Mrs. Castle was born January 6, 1877, in Olmsted county, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Eugene and Maribah (Templeton) Dickerman, natives of Vermont.

LEWIS A. WEWETZER (1889) is one of the comparatively young farmers of Island Lake township and owns the northeast quarter of section 13, where he has farmed since 1898.

Mr. Wewetzer was born in Lake county, Illinois, May 8, 1871, and is a son of Gustav and Malvina (Boettcher) Wewetzer, natives of Germany. The parents came to this country in 1869 and 1870, settled in Illinois, where Lewis was born, and in 1889 the family moved to Lyon county. The father had purchased the northeast quarter of section 1, Island Lake township, the previous year, and upon their arrival in the county the Wewetzers took up their residence on that land.

The subject of this sketch had received his education in Illinois, and after the family's arrival in Lyon county the boy helped his fatlter with the farm work until 1896, when his mother died Then Lewis, in company with his brothers, G. C. and F. C. Wewetzer, took charge of the home farm and managed it until 189S, when Lewis moved to the farm on which he now lives and which he had bought the year before. On that place he has since made his home and has done very well and prospered from his farming and from his stock raising. Mr. Wewetzer every year ships blooded Duroc- Jersey hogs to market.

Lewis Wewetzer and Rosie Clark were married at Marshall July 27, 1898. His wife was born in Lake Marshall township October 16, 1873, and is a daughter of Josiah and Charlotte (Currier) Clark, natives of Maine and now deceased. The Wewetzers have three children: Lewis J., born January 30, 1901; Millicent A., born March 20, 1903; and Harold C, born April 18, 1905.

Mr. Wewetzer is treasurer of school district No. 62 and has served fourteen years in that capacity. He has served as chairman of the township board six years, was assessor two years, and one year was clerk of the board. His fraternal associations are with the Modern Brotherhood of America.

A. BLANCHARD (1893) is secretary of the Marshall Milling Company and the superintendent of that company's mill at Marshall. He has been a resident of Marshall nineteen years.

Mr. Blanchard was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, April 17, 1856. His parents were N. H. Blanchard and Mary Jane (Ellsworth) Blanchard, both natives of Maine. The family moved to a farm in Winona county, Minnesota, in 1860, and there the subject of this review grew to young manhood. In 1876 he took employment in a flour mill at Minnesota City and in 1881 he moved to Sleepy Eye, where he was engaged in the grain business until moving to Marshall in 1893. Mr. Blanchard was one of the incorporators of the Marshall Milling Company, one of the big institutions of Lyon county, and was the first treasurer of the company. For the past five years he has been secretary and superintendent.

IYER O. SATHER (1S90) is a farmer in Lucas township and has heen a continuous resident of that precinct since 1890. He was born in Gubrandsdalen, Norway, January 31, 1862, a son of Ole and Mary (Erlandson) Sather. The former is deceased; the mother is still living in the Fatherland at an advanced age.

Iver received the customary bringing up of the farmer boy of his time and attended the common schools of his country until fifteen years of age. After completing his education, farm labor claimed his attention until 1884, in the spring of which year the young fellow set out for America. Upon his arrival in the United States Mr. Sather went to Otter Tail county. Minnesota, and for the next five years he found employment there as a farm laborer, afterward going to Richland county. North Dakota, and working there several months.

The spring of 1890 found Mr. Sather in Lyon county. For two years he worked on farms and then purchased the land in Lucas township which he now operates, the southeast quarter of section 21. He has a wellimproved farm and a comfortable home. In addition to his general farming he is engaging to some extent in stock raising.

The subject of this sketch was married to Carrie Slette in 1890, and to this union two children have been born: Peter, born November 27, 1894, and Olaf, born January 30, 1899, both residing at home. Mrs. Sather is a native of Norway. She and her husband are members of Silo Norwegian Lutheran Church. Mr. Sather was a trustee of the church for six years.

JOHN LINDHOLM (1892) is a farmer and land owner of Coon Creek township, where he has resided twenty years. He was born in Sweden March 1, 1870. His parents are Carl and Johannah (Johnson) Larson. John received his schooling and grew to manhood in the land of his nativity.

In 1892 John Lindholm came to America and located in Lyon county. He purchased forty acres of land in Coon Creek township, which he later sold and bought the land he now owns and operates, 160 acres on section 27, Coon Creek township. He worked out for several years as a farm hand after coming to Lyon county and then engaged in farming for himself. The land which he now owns was all prairie when he purchased it. He has improved the place and has a very fine home. He raises considerable stock in addition to his general farming. He is a member of the Swedish Mission church and owns stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Russell.

Mr. Lindholm was married in Coon Creek township April 3, 1903, to Olive Anderson, a native of Sweden. She was a daughter of Andrew and Elna Anderson. To Mr. and Mrs. Lindholm were born three children: Reuben, Melvin and Alvira. Mrs. Lindholm died March 5, 1904. Mr. Lindholm was married a second time, to Betty Nelson, a native of Pullman, Illinois. She is a daughter of Andrew F. and Carolina Nelson, of Coon Creek township. Mr. and Mrs. Lindholm were married November 11, 1905.

R. A. RIGHAM (1896) is manager of the Ross Lumber Company at Russell and a man who has taken much interest in the affairs of his village. While his residence in Lyon county does not date back to pioneer times, he was one of the early settlers of Lincoln county and a prominent man of affairs there. He was one of the early settlers of the old town of Marshfield, which is now in existence only in the memory of the older settlers.

The gentleman whose name heads this review was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1853. His parents, both deceased, were natives of Northern Ireland. They were John C. and Mary (Hannah) Bigham. When two years of age R. A. Bigham accompanied his parents to Illinois, lived there one year, and then in 1857, when Minnesota was yet a territory, the family settled in Wabasha county. There young Bigham lived on his father's homestead until twenty-three years of age, and then, in 1876, he set out in life for himself.

That year he settled in the little village of Marshfield, near the present site of Lake Benton, and a few months later he was appointed county treasurer to complete an unexpired term and at the next election was chosen by the electors. He resigned the office in the spring of 1881, moved to Le Beau, Walworth county, South Dakota, and

Biogkaimikal History

Returning to Minnesota, Mr. Bigham began work for a grain company and for several years was so employed, being stationed at Burchard, Verdi and Florence. At the last named place he was manager of a lumber yard for a few years. He then took a position as manager of the W. 11. Curren yard at Tyler and was so engaged until he located at Russell on April 1, 1896, to take the position he has ever since held.

The Ross Lumber Company is the successor at Russell of F. S. Purdy, who was the first to engage in the lumber business in the village and who sold to the Ross company in 1893. The yard at Russell has been built up to one of the large concerns of the county. It carries in stock a complete stock of lumber, coal, lime, cement and building material- The company maintains yards in Minnesota and South Dakota. The general offices are in Minneapolis, but it is a South Dakota concern, organized under the laws of that state. C. H. Ross is the president and treasurer, and H. E. Ross is vice president and secretary.

During his residence in Russell Mr. Bigham has held several local offices. He has been president of the Village Council and village recorder, holding the last named office at the present time. He is also treasurer of his school district. The Masonic, Workmen and Degree of Honor lodges have admitted Mr. Bigham to membership.

The marriage of our subject to Lucinda Hughes occurred at Marshfield on September 23, 1880. Mrs. Bigham was born in Missouri but just before the breaking out of the Civil War, when she was a child, the family moved to Wisconsin, and in 1878 they located in Lincoln county. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bigham: Joseph E., manager of the Ross Lumber Company's yard at Bancroft, South Dakota; and Harold R., who is employed as teller in the Sioux Falls Savings Bank.

JAMES J. HENNEN (1888) is a farmer and land owner of Lake Marshall township who has lived in Lyon county many years. He is a native of Holland and was born April 8, 1871. His parents were Peter A. and Helena (Beckers) Hennen. The first eleven years of his life were spent in the land of his nativity, coming to America with his parents when lie was that age. On their arrival in this country the family went to Ghent, where they stayed about a month and then moved to Brown county, Wisconsin. There they resided until 1888, when they returned to Lyon county and purchased land near Ghent. The father of our subject still resides on that place; the mother died in 1907.

In 1901 Mr. Hennen bought two hundred forty acres of land on section 22, Lake Marshall township, and took up his residence there. In the spring of 1911 he purchased eighty acres more in the same section, so that he is now the owner of the north half of section 22. His land is finely improved. He raises a great deal of stock. He is treasurer of school district No. 6 and is a member of the Catholic church and of the Modern Woodmen lodge.

At Ghent, Lyon county, on March 25, 1897, Mr. Hennen was united in marriage to Annie Vanuden, a native of Holland and a daughter of John and Anne (Hermsen) Vanuden. To this union have been born the following named ten children: Arnold, John, Theodore, Herbert, Hellen, Annie, Christina, George, Joe and Henry.

WILLIAM H. BOT (1886) is a successful young business man of Ghent. He is the proprietor of a pool hall and handles confectionery, cigars and soft drinks in connection. He owns 240 acres of land two miles east of Ghent and 160 acres on the White Earth Reservation, in Northern Minnesota. Mr. Bot is also a shareholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Ghent.

Mr. Bot's parents, William H. and Debora (Schrueder) Bot, were Hollanders, and William was born in Holland December 23, 1880. His father died in 1908; the mother lives in Ghent. William went to school for several years in his native land and accompanied his parents to America in 1886. The father bought 480 acres of land one mile east of Ghent and the family made their home on the farm. The lad worked on the farm with the father until twenty-eight years of age. In July, 1909, he moved to Ghent and purchased his present business from

November 11, 1908, occurred the ceremony which united William H. Bot and Mary Stassen in the holy bonds of matrimony. Mary Stassen's parents were natives of Belgium, and she was born there. Mr. and Mrs. Bot are the parents of two children, Louis and Debora Elizabeth. The Bots are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Bot is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters.

JOHN MATTSON (1883) is one of the older residents of Eidsvold township, having lived on the farm he now conducts nearly thirty years. He is a successful farmer and one of the respected men of his precinct.

The birth of Mr. Mattson occurred in Sweden October 9, 1849, and in that country he lived until twenty-three years of age. He came to America in 1874, worked on a farm in Illinois one year, and then went to Redwood City, San Mateo county, California. There he and a brother, Isaac Mattson, and M. M. Stram engaged in the wood business three years.

Returning to the old country at the end of that time, Mr. Mattson was married and spent six months in the land of his birth. He came again to the United States, lived three years in Denver, Colorado, a few months in Minneapolis, and in 1883 became a resident of Lyon county. At that time he bought the east half of the southwest quarter of section 3. Eidsvold township, and began its cultivation. He set out the grove on the place, erected the buildings, fenced the land, and has made all the improvements on the farm. In 1891 Mr. Mattson purchased the north half of the northwest quarter of his home section and in 1912 he bought the west half of the southwest quarter of the same section, making him the owner of a 240-acre farm in one piece. With the help of his sons, Alfred, Albert and David, Mr. Mattson farms his entire acreage.

The parents of our subject were Magnus and Lena M. (Watterstrom) Isaacson. Both died in 1880, the mother on February 29, the father in March. There were ten children in the family, of whom the following ' named eight are living: Anne Stina Walmon, Isaac, John, Anders. Maria. Magnus, Inga Pearson and Peter U.

John Mattson was married in Sweden May 30, 1879, and his bride was Annie S. Bergerson. Their children are Ernest, who is married and lives in Minneota; Alfred, Albert, David and Bertha, who live at home. All have been well educated.

EDGAR T. MAXSOX (1873) is engaged in the insurance business in Marshall, where he represents the Pacific Mutual Life of Los Angeles, California, the State Farmers Mutual of Waseca, and the Indiana & Ohio Live Stock Insurance Company of Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Our subject was born in Winnebago City. Minnesota, April 7. 1S68, and is a son of William T. and Adelia (Woodruff) Maxson, the former of whom died in 1904 and the latter being still a resident of Marshall. William T. Maxson was a soldier in the Civil War. enlisting from Mankato in Company D. Ninth Minnesota Volunteers, in 1861 and serving throughout the war, being honorably discharged. He was a charter member of D. F. Markham Post, G. A. R., of .Marshall. He and his wife, natives of New York and Vermont, took as a homestead in 1873 the southeast quarter of section 19, Grandview township, Lyon county. They moved to Marshall when Edgar was twentyone years old.

Edgar worked on his father's farm in his youth, and when the family moved to Marshall father and son went into the dray and transfer business together. Edgar ran the first street sprinkler through Marshall's business streets, getting the water from the river. In 1903 the father sold his interest to his son and retired from active work, Edgar carrying on the business three years longer. He then sold out and with his brother William started the Maxson Brothers Bottling Works and put in the deep well which has made the "Silver Springs" soft water so well known. After a few months our subject bought his brother's interest and conducted the plant for two years, after which he sold to A. C. Porter, and has since been engaged in the insurance business.

agent for the Great Northern railway at Corson, South Dakota. Edgar Maxson has two sisters. Mary H. (Mrs. R. F. Laythe), of Hanley, Canada, and .Maud (Mrs. \V. G. Weldoni, of Redwood Falls, and a brother, William, of Marshall.

EDWARD MILLER (1887 > nuts and farms the northeast quarter of section 3, Rock Lake township. He was born in Outagamie county, Wisconsin. July 25, 1866, and is a son of Frederick and Dora (Schroeder) Miller, the former of whom is deceased and the mother being a resident of Marshall. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Miller became Lyon county residents in the nineties and farmed one year, afterward moving to Marshall.

Edward' received his education in Wisconsin, where he went to country school until the age of fifteen, after which he worked for his father on the farm until he was twenty-one. Coming to Lyon county in the spring of 1887, he worked on a farm near Marshall one year and the next year, in company with his brother. Will, rented land near Marshall and farmed four years. He then purchased land in Lake Marshall township and farmed four years for himself. Selling his Lyon county property, Edward moved to the northern part of the state and bought land near Brainerd. He and his wife were postmaster and assistant postmaster at Neutral, near Brainerd, three years, and after six years they returned to Marshall, where he worked as teamster two years, after which he resumed farming near the town four years.

In 1906 Mr. Miller moved to the Forbes farm near Lynd and farmed one year. The succeeding four years he spent on the Schroeder farm in Lyons township, and in the fall of 1911 our subject moved to the place where he now resides. Mr. Miller was married November 25, 1889, to Ella WTunderlich, at W7atertown, South Dakota. His wife was born August 6, 1867, in Wisconsin, and her parents, Wolf and Emma (Graetz) Wunderlich, were for twenty years residents of Lynd township, Lyon county, later moving to Brainerd, where the father still is living. The Millers are members of the Presbyterian church. They are the parents of seven children, as follows: Fern (Mrs. Wilmar Soul i, of Custer township; Iva, Frances, Elva, Roy, Erna and Eugene.

JOHN SXIDAL (1882), who owns and farms the southeast quarter of section 4. Westerheim township, has lived in Lyon county main years. He was born in Iceland October 27, 1848, the son of Sever and Inga Snidal. His mother died in Iceland and his lather in Lyon county in 1910 at the age of ninety-nine years. For twenty-seven years before his death he had made his home with his son.

At the age of thirty-one years, in 1879, John Snidal left his native land and settled in a colony of his countrymen in Canada. Three years later he joined the Lyon county colony and he has ever since been a resident of the county. The first year he worked for Bjorn Gislason, the next two years he farmed school land in Westerheim township, the next year he resided in Marshall. After having farmed rented land several years, in 1890 he bought his- present land. He has made all the improvements on it and has ever since resided on the place.

Mr. Snidal was married in Westerheim township November 6, 1884, to Christine Gislason, also a native of Iceland. Their children are Sarah, Mary, Alfred, Bjorn, Carl, Engie, Oluf, Dena and Lilly. Bjorn, Carl and Alfred assist their father in the management of the farm. The family are members of the Icelandic Lutheran church.

He was born and brought up in England, having been born in 1845. He is the son of Robert and Jane Johnson, who were farmers, and they gave their son his bringing up and his education in the country schools in England. At the early age of fifteen Thomas began to learn the stone mason's trade, and he was employed at that work most of the time until coming to the United States in 1882.

That year Mr. Johnson came to this country and found employment at his trade in Pennsylvania, where he remained four years. He then moved to Lyon county and decided to farm. Accordingly he bought a tree claim right to the south half of the northeast quarter of section 24, Amiret township, which he later changed to a homestead. On that place he has since resided, with the exception of a few years spent in Tracy and other parts of the county, working at his former trade.

Thomas U. Johnson was married in England to Margrette Charlton. To this union five children have been born, named Robert, Annie, Thomas, Margretti and Rachel.

KNUTE RONNING (1872), son of early settlers of Lyon county, is the owner of one of Shelburne township's well improved quarter sections. He lives on the southeast quarter of section 19.

Knute Ronning was born March 10, 1870, in Fillmore county, this state. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Erick Ronning, were natives of Norway and came to this country in 1869. Knute has since 1872 lived in Lyon county. He attended school in Tyler during his youth and from the time he was sixteen until he became of age worked on his father's farm. Later he bought grain for a few years at Florence and continued to help with the work on the home farm for several years, working with a threshing outfit during the falls. After his marriage in 1903 Mr. Ronning worked at the carpenter's trade. A few years ago our subject purchased the quarter upon which he now resides and engaged in farming.

Mr. Ronning was married June 13, 1903, to Olava Olsen, a native of Fillmore county. Mrs. Ronning was born in 1879 and is a daughter of Ole and Mary Olsen. Mr. and Mrs. Ronning are the parents of the following children: Edgar, Paul and Carl. One child, Clifford, died.

Knute Ronning is a member of the Modern Woodmen lodge. For fifteen years he has been township clerk, was justice of the peace six years, and constable four years. He is an ardent sportsman, and every fall when the hunting season opens he takes a "hike" to Northern Minnesota or Wisconsin to spend a week deer and moose hunting.

the owner of 120 acres of land on section 23. Hugh is a native of the Gopher State and was born in Blue Earth county January 29, 1875, a son of William and Elizabeth (Morgan) Edwards.

The subject of this sketch received his early education in the county in which he was born and later attended the Tracy High School two years. He assisted his father on the farm until 1899, when he came to Lyon county, where his father bought land. With his father Hugh made his home until 1905, when he bought the farm which he still owns and operates, 120 acres on section 23, Sodus township. In addition to farming, Mr. Edwards raises stock, including Duroc-Jersey hogs and Buff Wyandotte chickens. He is a member of the M. W. A. lodge and a stockholder of the Current Lake Telephone Company.

Lillie B. Williamson became the wife of our subject in Tracy on June 16, 1902. Mrs. Edwards is a native of Wisconsin and was born in Trempealeau county December 23, 1871. They have one child, Clifford L., born May 19, 1903.

REV. B. B. JONSSON (1894) is the pastor of the Icelandic Lutheran church of Minneota. He is a native of Iceland and was born June 19, 1870, a son of Bjorn and Thorbjorg (Bjornsdottor) Jonsson. The father died some years ago and the mother resides with the subject of this review.

Our subject immigrated with his parents to Canada in 1876 and attended the schools in the Province of Manitoba until fifteen years of age. He then took a course in the Winnipeg Business College, from which he was graduated. Later he attended Gustavus Adolphus College, at St. Peter, Minnesota, taking a classical course. He attended the English Lutheran Theological Seminary at Chicago, where he matriculated in the classics and was graduated in theology in May, 1893.

Rev. Jonsson was ordained the following June, but later took post-graduate work at the same school. He spent one year as traveling missionary for the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Synod of America, in Canada, visiting congregations already established and organizing new ones. His work was in Western Canada.

In 1894 Rev. Jonsson came to Lyon county and located at Minneota, where he has since served as pastor of the Icelandic Lutheran church and more recently of the English Lutheran church, also. He served as secretary of the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Synod of America eight years and was elected to the presidency in June, 1908. He served as chaplain of the State Senate of Minnesota in 1909. Rev. Jonsson has also served as editor and assistant editor of several publications and is still engaged in this work.

DAX HASBARGEN (1895), in partnership with his brother-in-law, John H. Johnson, engages in farming on an extensive scale in Shelburne township. The partners own the northwest quarter of section 25, the southwest quarter of section 24 and the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 23, and they farm the entire tract.

The subject of this review was born in Iroquois county, Illinois, February 6, 1869, and resided on his father's farm in that county until twenty-four years of age. He then left home and for a couple of years was engaged in various occupations. He came to Lyon county in 1895, and for a year was employed as a farm hand and with threshing and hay baling crews. Mr. Hasbargen spent the next year in his old home, but in 1897 he returned to Lyon county with his brother-in-law to make permanent residence. One quarter was purchased at the time of arrival and was improved by the partners; later they added by purchase the other property.

Dan Hasbargen is the son of Kayson D. and Elizabeth (Greenhoff) Hasbargen. The parents were born in Germany, came to America in 1864, were married in Iroquois county, Illinois, and have ever since resided on a farm purchased soon after their arrival. Mr. Hasbargen is seventy-six years of age, his wife seventy-four. Of eight children born to them the following four are living: Henry, Dan, Breke and Maggie.

Rachael Johnson became the wife of Mr. Hasbargen on March 30, 1899. She was born in Iroquois county, Illinois, and is the daughter of Henry Johnson.

Fairview township. His landed possessions consist of 349 acres on section 7, Fairview, and 160 acres on section 8, Grandview. The home place, the northwest quarter of section 7, Fairview, is improved with fine buildings and is an exceptionally fine farm. A flowing well of soft water is on the place and the water is piped to the house and barn.

The gentleman who conducts this farm was born in Belgium October 9, 1846, a son of Engel and Emely (Deroo) Dierickx. In his native land he received his schooling and grew to manhood. At the age of twentyfive years, in 1S71 Mr. Dierickx came to America and spent many years in Henry county, Illinois. The first five years he worked as a farm hand and then engaged in farming for himself. From Henry county, Illinois, he came to Lyon county in 1901, bought his Fairview farm at that time, and later added to his possessions by the purchase of the quarter section in Grandview. Mr. Dierickx raises Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs.

The marriage of our subject to Rosa Overmire occurred in Illinois November 29, 1880. She was born in Belgium September 30, 1862. Her parents, Peter and Jane ( Paquer) Overmire, died in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Dierickx have four children: John, Julia, Charles and Edward. The family are members of the Catholic church of Ghent.

GEORGE B. CALEY (1879), a missionary of the American Sunday School Union, has spent all except the first year of his life in Lyon county and now resides in Marshall. He was bora in Dover, Racine county, Wisconsin, May 15, 1878, and the next year accompanied his parents to Lyon county. He resided on the farm in Sodus township until 1895, when the family located in Marshall.

Mr. Caley received his education in the Marshall High School and thereafter engaged in several occupations. He took a home collegiate course and was ordained a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church at St. Paul in October, 1910. He has devoted much time to Sunday School and church work and is now a missionary of the American Sunday School Union, his district embracing the counties of Lyon, Lincoln, Redwood, Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle.

He conducts services at the various churches throughout his district. Mr. Caley holds membership in the Masonic and Modern Brotherhood lodges.

The subject of this review is a son of the late Charles E. Caley and Martia E. (Cady) Caley, who resides in Marshall. The father was born in the Isle of Man. He came to Lyon county in 1879, took a tree claim on section 6, Sodus township, and resided there until 1895, when he located in Marshall. He died in September, 1910, at the age of sixty-six years. There are five children in the family, as follows: H. Delano, of Glenwood, who was formerly a merchant of Marshall; Lottie L. (Mrs. D. W. Harvey), of St. Paul; Harry E., of St. Paul; George B. and Edith Joyce (Mrs. Frank W. Case), of Marshall.

The marriage of our subject to Nettie S. Bates occurred in Marshall September 19, 1900. She was born in Grandview township, Lyon county, March 17, 1881, and is the daughter of Lewis Bates, who came to the county in the early seventies. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Caley, as follows: Evelyn M., Marjorie R., G. Burdette and Millicent E. The last named died April 4, 1907, at the age of two and one-half years.

KAY C. HUMPHREY (1900) is a Sodus township farmer and land owner. He was born in Green county, Wisconsin, December 9, 1869, the son of Albert N. and Lina (Baldwin) Humphrey. The parents were born in New York State and settled in Wisconsin in an early day.

When Kay was four years of age the family moved to Monroe, Jasper county, Iowa, and there our subject received his schooling and spent his boyhood days. In 1882 his father died, and Kay and his mother returned to Wisconsin, to the village of Broadhead. That was Kay Humphrey's home for the next fifteen years, during which time he was engaged as a store clerk and at farm labor. Two year were spent with an uncle in Grundy county, Iowa, and then in 1900 Mr. Humphrey became a resident of Lyon county. »

Upon his arrival Mr. Humphrey purchased his present farm, the southeast quarter of section 16 and the west half of the southwest quarter of section 15, Sodus township. He engages quite extensively in stock raising as well as grain farming. He is clerk of school district No. 84 and has been township clerk for eight years. Mr. Humphrey is a member of the Yeomen lodge.

In his native county in Wisconsin Mr. Humphrey was married on February 12. 1899, to Nellie Hulbert. She is a native of that county and was born on New Year's Day, 1870. Her father. John Hulbert. was born in New York; her mother, Lorinda (Smiley) Hulbert. in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have one child, Helen May, born May 30, 1911.

EDWARD MAERTENS (1883) commenced farming for himself in Grandview township in 1892 with little or no capital to start on. and by industry and intelligent farming he has accumulated 713 acres of the township's best land and made himself one of Grandview's prosperous farmers.

He was born in Belgium October 2. 1864, and is a son of Henry and Anna (DeRuwe) Maertens, now deceased. The parents came to America and located in Lyon county in the fall of 1883, the father purchasing land in Grandview township. Edward received his early education in Belgium and later attended a country school in Lyon county until nineteen years of age. He then worked on his father's farm until 1892, in which year he married, purchased land, and started farming for himself. He moved to his present place in 1899 and is now successfully engaged in farming and stock raising.

Our subject's mother died on the Grandview farm in 1895. The father soon after returned to his native land, where he died June 26, 1908. Edward is one of eight children, six of whom are living, as follows: Clemence, of Belgium; Anna (deceased), Edward, of this sketch; August, of Ghent; Ida (Mrs. B. F. Claeys), of Grandview township; Henry (deceased), Julia (Mrs. Regnier Bot), of Grandview township; and Hippolet, of Ghent.

Edward Maertens was married June 29, 1892, to Theresia Bot, the ceremony taking place at Ghent. Mrs. Maertens was born November 29, 1870, and died August 21, 1907. She was a daughter of William H. and

Debora (Schrueder) Bot, of whom the former is deceased and the latter is a resident of Ghent. Her parents were early settlers of the township. To Mr. and Mrs. Maertens \ ire born the following children: Gustave Joseph, born May 22, 1S94; William \1- phonse, born October 26, 1896; Hero Joseph, born May .">, 1S9S; Henry Edward, born July 25, 1900; and Bernard Edward. born June 2, 1905. Another child died in infancy.

Mr. Maertens served six years as chairman of the Township Board and several terms as road overseer. He was one of the organizers of and is a stockholder and secretary of the Farmers Elevator Company of Ghent. He is a member of the Catholic church of Ghent and was formerly one of its trustees.

GEORGE D. TRACY H903) is a wholesale dealer in poultry, eggs and butter at Tracy and carries on one of the largest business enterprises in the city. He handles more poultry than any other house in Minnesota. During 1911 more than sixty car loads of poultry were shipped, representing a cash value of $100,000, and about twentyfive car loads of eggs were handled. A large territory is covered, extending into South Dakota. The business is housed in a threestory 36x56 feet building erected in 1908.

The gentleman who carries on the business was born in Jesup, Iowa, April 5, 1874. At the age of fourteen years he moved to Spencer, Iowa, where he secured his education and grew to manhood. There in 1896 he engaged in the poultry business, which he has ever since followed. From the year mentioned until he moved to Tracy in November, 1903, Mr. Tracy was a member of the firm of Culbertson & Tracy.

Mr. Tracy is a stockholder of the Tracy Garage Company and owns a half section farm in Shetek township, Murray county. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and Workmen lodges.

Albert G. and Angeline P. (Starkey) Tracy, the parents of our subject, were born in Ohio and moved to Jesup, Iowa, in the early seventies. Later they moved to Spencer, where both died. They were the parents of the following children: Addie, the wife of Dr. W. P. Woodcock, of Spencer, Iowa;

George D. Tracy was married March 7, 1900, at Sutherland, Iowa, to Leonora M. Barry, a native of Iowa. They have three children. Margaret, Addison and Donald.

WILLIAM F. HAACK (1899), owner of the northeast quarter of section 24, Rock Lake township, was born in Germany May L8, L865,1 his parents, Joahim and Mary Haack, being now deceased.

Our subject received his early education in Germany, in a graded school, and during the greater part of his teens he worked as a hack driver, continuing at that work until twenty-two years of age. He then enlisted in the German Army and served three years. In the fall of 1889 William immigrated to the United States and made his home for thf next five years in the neighborhood of Redfield, South Dakota, where he worked as a farm hand. Young Haack was ambitious to get into farming for himself and made the first step in that direction when he rented land near Redfield and farmed three years, moving from Redfield to Waterville, Minnesota, and again worked as a farm hand two years.

Lyon county was Mr. Haack's destination after leaving Waterville, and he located in Sodus township, where he rented land and farmed two years. He then purchased his farm in Rock Lake and has farmed there ever since. Mr. Haack raises considerable stock and ships Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs to the markets.

October 1, 1899, in Lyons township occurred the marriage of William Haack and Sophia Klucas, a native of Germany. Mrs. Haack was born October 18, 1878, and is a daughter of William Klucas, of Lyons township. Mr. and Mrs. Haack have eight children, named as follows: Walter, Otto, Helmot, Hannah, Martha, Luther, Elsie and Arthur. Mr. Haack is a member of the German Methodist church.

LEE O. ALEXANDER (1885) is a farmer who resides in the village of Lynd. He is a native of Lyon county and was born in Lynd township on June 8, 1885. He is a

Lee received his early education in the district schools of Lynd township. Later he attended the Marshall High School, from which he was graduated in 1905, and then attended the Mankato Normal School one term. He is a member of the Lynd Methodist Episcopal church. He bought grain for the Northwestern Elevator Company at South Shore, South Dakota, and later at Lynd, working for the company about three and one-half years. He then engaged in the implement business for one year, at the end of which time he sold to O. M. Larson, who still conducts the business. Mr. Alexander was census enumerator for Lynd township in 1910.

He owns and operates what is known as the Gilman quarter (the northeast quarter of section 26), the Morgan Homestead (the northeast quarter of section 34), and the Judge Rice Grove, consisting of eleven acres, which was an Indian camping ground when the first white settlers came to Lyon county.

On July 8, 1908, Mr. Alexander was united in marriage to Susie G. Oliver, a daughter of Henry and Susan G. Oliver. Mrs. Alexander is a native of Lyon county and was born October 25, 1886. They have a daughter, Marian S., born January 3, 1912.

HERMAN F. WEIDAUER (1906) is the owner of the southwest quarter of section 18, Lake Marshall township, where he has resided six years. He was born in Saxony, Germany, January 1, 1875, and is the son of August and Dakle (Derckle) Weidauer. When seven years of age Herman accompanied his parents to America, locating near Philo, Illinois, where the father purchased land and farmed until 1892. At that time the father sold his Illinois land and moved to Calhoun county, Iowa, where he purchased land and has resided since.

Herman resided with his parents until he reached his majority, when he married, bought land, and started farming for himself. In 1904 he sold his Iowa land and rented for two years. In 1905, while living in Iowa, Mr. Weidauer purchased the southwest quarter of section 18, Lake Marshall township, which he still owns and operates.

In 1906 he moved with his family to this place. Mr. W'eidauer is a member of the German Evangelical church and is treasurer of school district No. 94.

In Calhoun county, on March 11, 1896, Anni R. Hout became the wife of Mr. Weidauer. She is a native of Princeton, Illinois, and a daughter of Henry and Matilda (Caskup) Hout, the farmer born in Germany and the latter in Illinois. Mrs. Weidauer was born October 15, 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. Weidauer have been born the following named children: Matilda, born December 30, 1896; Bertha, born May 28, 1898; Laura, born September 19, 1899; Emma, born October IS, 1900; Henry, born May 9, 1902; August, born October 16, 1905; Joseph, born March 31, 1909.

ERNEST SMITH (1893) is manager of the Willmar Milling Company's Elevator at Russell. He was born in the Wolverine State,- in Allegan county, October 10, 1868. When he was a child the family moved to Montcalm county, Michigan, where they resided until 1886. During that time our subject attended school and grew to manhood. In 1886 he moved to Brown county, South Dakota, where he farmed two years, and then engaged in the grain business at Port Emma, North Dakota, and at Yale, South Dakota, until 189::.

In the last named year Mr. Smith came to Lyon county and located at Russell, where he entered the employ of the Northwestern Elevator Company. He worked for that company five years. The next four years Mr. Smith was out of business, and in 1902 he entered the employ of the Willmar Milling Company.

The elevator now owned by the Willma.' Milling Company was built in 1900 by An drews & McGandy, who conducted it two years and then sold to Reinke Brothers, of Iona Lake. Reinke Brothers operated it three years and sold to the present owners. The home office of the Willmar Milling Company is at Willmar, Minnesota. Marcus Johnson, of Minneapolis, is president of the company. Their house at Russell has a capacity of 15,000 bushels. They handle grain, fuel, flour and feed. Mr. Smith has had charge of the elevator since it was purchased in 1902 bv Reinke Brothers.

The parents of our subject were Stephen J. and Charlotte J. (Everest) Smith, natives of New York State. They came West when young and located in Michigan, where they were married. In 1886 they moved to South Dakota. Mrs. Smith died in 1895 at West Superior, Wisconsin, and Mr. Smith in Russell September 8, 1909. Ernest Smith is the only child.

Our subject is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and the A. O. U. W. lodges. He was one of the first members of the Village Council and served one term as village recorder.

WILLIAM LA VOIE (1892) owns the southeast quarter of section 32, Amiret township, and - rents and farms the northwest quarter of section 16 of the same township, on which place he makes his home.

William La Voie was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, March 1, 1872. He is a son of Cyril and Sarah (La Rue) La Voie, natives of Canada, who came to the United States and located in Illinois during the Civil War. Cyril La Voie served in the Union army during part of the war, and afterwards the parents resided on their farm in Kankakee county until their deaths. William's boyhood was spent in Kankakee county and there he went to the country school and helped his father on the farm, and when his education was completed he assumed his share of the farm work until 1892.

Our subject had then reached his twentieth year, and he left home to make his own way in life. He located in Lyon county and was employed on John Craig's dray line for some months and worked on a threshing rig in the fall. M. D. Hahn then obtained his services for one year on his farm. Since that time Mr. La Voie has been farming for himself, having rented at different times farms in Amiret and Monroe townships. In the spring of 1911 he purchased the quarter on section 32, but he continues to farm his rented place on section 16. Mr. La Voie is devoting much of his time to stock raising and favors the Shorthorn cattle and the Duroc-Jersey and Poland China hogs. He is

The marriage of William La Voie and Mary Van Dusen took place in Monroe township February 24, 1895. Mrs. La Voie is a native of Rice county, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Charles and Fannie (Staley) Van Dusen. They were pioneer settlers of Lyon county, having located here in the spring of 1878. The former is deceased; Mrs. Van Dusen is a resident of Monroe township. To Mr. and Mrs. La Voie the following children have been bora: Marie, born April 8, 1896; Mark, born September 2, 1897; Lawrence, born August 5, 1902; William, born January 6, 1906; Van, born October 31, 1907; and Kenneth, born January 20, 1911. 'All the children are at home with their parents.

MIKE STASSEX (1891) conducts a hotel and saloon in the village of Ghent. Mr. Stassen was born in Belgium March 27, 1873, and came to the United States in 1891. settling in Fairview township on his father's farm, where he resided until 1906. That year he moved to Ghent and purchased a half interest in his brother's saloon and hotel.

The subject of this review is a son of Loui and Elizabeth Stassen1, who came to the United States in 1891 and located in Fairview township, buying land on section 19, where they still reside. They have the following ten children living: Jacob, Catherine, John, Theodore, Mike, Joe, Mary, Mattie, Loui and Milline.

At Minneota, May 29, 1907, Mr. Stassen was married to Elizabeth Bankers, a native of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Stassen are the parents of the following named three children: Helen, Louise and Loui.

LAWRENCE McDOXALD (1882) owns a farm of 400 acres in Eidsvold township and has a well-improved place. He is rated as one of the substantial men of his precinct, in which he has resided thirty years. His home place is the south half of the southwest quarter of section 28.

Mr. McDonald was born in County Carlow, Ireland, February 5, 1842. His parents are Michael and Bridget (Breen) McDonald, both of whom died in the old country. Lawrence lived at home until fifteen years of age and his next three years were spent on the sea, as a hand on a sailing vessel. He landed in New York City June 3, 1860, and has ever since resided in America. Mr. McDonald worked as a farm hand in New York State until 1874, and thereafter until 1882 hew as foreman of a large farm in Essex county, Massachusetts.

While living in Massachusetts, Mr. Mc- Donald came in contact with literature sent out by Bishop Ireland, advertising the opportunities to be found in the West and in that gentleman's colony in Lyon county in particular. Mr. McDonald was impressed and in February, 1882, he left his employment in the East and came to Lyon county. At that time he purchased a homestead right to eighty acres in Eidsvold township for $625, sent for his family, and began farming on his own account. He experienced hardships incident to life in Lyon county in the early eighties, but he overcame all difficulties and has prospered.

Mr. McDonald and his family are members of the Catholic church of Minneota and he was one of the first members of that church. Several years he was road overseer of his district. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers Elevator Company of Minneota and he still has stock in the company.

At Lowell, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1874, Mr. McDonald was married to Rose Ann McGovern, also a native of Ireland. They have five children: Lawrence, Joseph and Margaret, who reside at home; John, of Hopkins, Minnesota; and Edward, of Pocatello, Idaho.

He was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1858, and is a son of Homer C. and Samantha (Wicks) Swift, natives of Connecticut. The former is deceased and the latter is now a resident of Waseca, Minnesota. The father came to Lyon county in the early seventies and traded his team and wagon and $100 in cash for a quarter section

Homer Swift received his early education in Pennsylvania, where he attended school until eighteen years of age. He then moved to Summit county, Ohio, and worked in factories in Akron several years. He was married in 1S78 and bought land and farmed near Akron until the spring of 1889, when he moved to Lyon county and purchased his present land from the Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company. He has been a continuous resident of the county ever since. He is at pi-esent engaged in stock raising in addition to his general farm work. Mr. Swift was a member of the Amiret Township Board of Supervisors one term.

August 4, 1878, Homer Swift married Sarah A. Snyder at Akron, Ohio. She is a native of that state and was born February 1, 18 62. To this union have been born the following children: Mrytle (Mrs. Oliver Swift), of Minneapolis; Fay Arthur, May and Jay, at home; and Pearl, of Marshall. Mr. Swift has two brothers and three sisters living: Arthur, of Raymond, Minnesota; Frank, of Copley, Ohio; Rose (Mrs. Charles Whipple), of Waseca; Hattie (Mrs. Lobal), of Oil City, Pennsylvania; and Flora, of Chicago.

MICHAEL E. GRANNAN (1895), sheriff of Lyon county, was born in Livingston county, Illinois, November 3, 1869. He resided on a farm in that county until seventeen years of age and received a common school education. He lived in Streator, Illinois, one year, and then made his home in Chicago until coming to Lyon county in 1895. In Chicago he was engaged in several different occupations, being on the police force two years.

Upon his arrival to Lyon county in 1895, Mr. Grannan took employment by the month on the farm of Peter White. The next year he engaged in farming in Lynd township and was so engaged four years. He located in Marshall after quitting the farm, and that city has since been his home. He conducted a saloon one year and then formed a partnership with Peter White and engaged in buying and shipping stock, the firm being styled White & Grannan. He was so engaged two years, and for the next two and one-half years was chief of police. He resigned that position to engage in the campaign for election to the office of sheriff, to which he was elected in the fall of 1906. He has been twice re-elected.

Sheriff Grannan was married in Marshall February 16, 1904, to Henrietta Riley. She was bora near Dodge Center, Minnesota, and is the daughter of John Riley. Mr. and Mrs. Grannan have two children, Ethlyn Mary and Stephen Vincent. Mr. Grannan is a member of the Modern Woodmen and Knights of Columbus orders.

The subject of this biography is a son of Bernard and Katherine (Conroy) Grannan. They were born in Ireland, came to America in their youth, and were married in New. York. They settled at Morris, Grundy county, Illinois, about 1859 and later moved to Livingston county, where they died. There are seven living children in the family, as follows: John, of Chicago; Stephen, of Streator, Illinois; Ellen, of Livingston county; Mary (Mrs. Bernard Kelley), of Livingston county; Bernard, a police officer of Chicago; Daniel J., deputy sheriff of Lyon county; and Michael E. The oldest son, Joseph W., died in 1906.

LEON CARON (1883) has resided on the southeast quarter of section 4, Grandview township, ever since coming to the county twenty-nine year ago. He is the owner of 560 acres in the township and rents out all the land except the home quarter, which he conducts himself.

Theodore and Julia (Constantine) Caron, parents of our subject, were born in Canada and moved to Kankakee county, Illinois, in the early days. In 1883 they moved to Lyon county and the father bought the quarter where he now lives with his son Leon, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. His wife died several years ago. There were seven children born to Theodore and Julia Caron, as follows: Cecile Regnier, Lizzie Regnier, Bertha, Patriode, Maria, Leon and Phil. Maria and Phil reside on the old home place with their father and their brother Leon. There were two other children: Peter, who died in 1899, aged forty-four years, and George, who died in 1879 at the age of eighteen years.

Bourbonnais, Illinois, May 15, 1876. He came with his parents to Lyon county in lss::, has always lived at home, and of late years has had charge of the home farm. The Caron family are members of the Catholic church.

THOMAS F. WALSH (1880) is the proprietor of a blacksmith and repair shop in Minneota. He is a native of Illinois and was born in Bloomington March 6, 1S72. His parents were- Walter and Bridget (Donovan) Walsh, natives of Ireland. They were married in Illinois and came to Lyon county in the spring of 1880. The father died in 1907 and the mother in August, 1901. They were the parents of the following children: Nellie, Maggie, Bessie (deceased), Annie, Walter, Cornelius and Thomas F.

Thomas accompanied his parents to Lyon county in 1880 and has resided in the county since, with the exception of four years spent in North and South Dakota. He attended school and grew to manhood on his father's farm in Westerheim township, where he resided sixteen years. He then moved to Marshall and learned the blacksmith's trade, after which he worked at Watertown, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota, four years. In 1896 he went to Taunton, where he conducted a blacksmith shop five years; then he went to Minneota and has since conducted a shop there. Mr. Walsh is a member of the M. W. A. and K. C. lodges. He was a member of the Minneota Village Council one year.

Mr. Walsh was married at Taunton November 4, 1902, to Nellie Ahern, a native of Springfield, Illinois. She is a daughter of Garret Ahern, an early settler of Taunton. Mr. and Mrs. Walsh are the parents of two children, Thomas W. and Garrett F.

HANS J. BREDEVEIEN (1884) is the proprietor of the Garvin dray line and an early settler of Lyon county. He is a native of Norway and was born December 29, 1841, a son of John and Annie (Peterson) Larson, both of whom are deceased.

Our subject received his education in the land of his nativity, where he attended school until fourteen years of age. He then engaged as a farm hand. His first year's compensation was three dollars in cash and a suit of clothes, and the highest wages he received in the old country was fourteen dollars a year and a suit of clothes. In 1867 Mr. Bredeveien came to America and located in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he purchased land and resided until 1884.

At that time our subject came to Lyon county and purchased land in Custer township, buying 240 acres, which he later sold. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Bredeveien moved to Garvin, where he has since been engaged in the dray business. He is the owner of several lots and a fine residence and is the possessor of 160 acres of land in Northern Minnesota.

Mr. Bredeveien was marred July 15, 1868, to Annie Knutson, a native of Norway. She died in March, 1911. They were the parents of the following children: Annie (Mrs. Carl Holden), of Garvin; Betsey (Mrs. Evon Roiling), Lena (Mrs. Ole Peterson), Lizzie (Mrs. L. Coburn), Julia and Christine, all of whom reside in or near Garvin.

GEORGE MOPFATT (1890) is manager and grain buyer for the E. S. Mooers Elevator Company at Lynd. He has held the office of justice of the peace in that village for three years and is a land holder in Lyons township and a property holder in the village of Lynd.

George is a native of Scotland and was born in Glasgow on November 22, 1872, a son of George Moffatt, a stock broker, and Isabella (Morton) Moffatt. The former died in 1905; the mother lives in Scotland. The other children of the family are Rev. James Moffatt, Annie, Ella, Winifred, all of Scotland. George received his schooling in the land of his nativity, attending school until seventeen years of age. He attended Glasgow Academy and Glasgow University. When seventeen years of age he took a position as bookkeeper for a firm of East Indian merchants and worked for them two years.

At nineteen years of age George Moffatt came to America and to Lyon county for a visit and, liking the country so well, he stayed with friends in Island Lake township, for whom he worked several years. Later he farmed for himself in Lynd township several years and then moved to the village of Lynd and entered the employ of the New London Milling Company as grain buyer, serving as such two year?. The firm sold to the E. S. Mooers Elevator Company, and our subject has worked for the firm since as manager and grain buyer. Mr. Moffatt is a member of the following lodges: Blue Lodge of Masons, Modern Woodmen and the Knights of the Maccabees. He was clerk of the Modern Woodmen lodge at Lynd six years.

JOHN F. DE KIERE (1888) is manager of the Philhower Implement Company at Marshall. He was born on Faroe Island, Denmark, March 31, 1869, and came to America in 1881. He spent four years at Alpena. Michigan, and three years in the city of Detroit, where he attended school.

Mr. De Kiere came to Lyon county in 1888 and in the vicinity of Minneota engaged in farming until 1890. The next five years were spent in the employ of the E. I. Leland Grain and Implement Company. Mr. De Kiere then returned to Detroit and there enlisted in the United States Infantry and saw service in Arizona. After his term of service expired he re-enlisted in the regular army and in June, 1898, went with his regiment to the Philippine Islands, where he had an extended service in the campaign against the Insurrectos. He was discharged at San Francisco with the rank of sergeant on February 15, 1901.

After his army service Mr. De Kiere returned to Lyon county. For two years he had charge of the Marfield elevator at Burchard and then for three years was in the employ of the Western Elevator Company at Marshall. From that time until March, 1911, Mr. De Kiere lived at Ceylon, Martin county, Minnesota, employed by the Mutual Elevator Company. On the last named date Mr. De Kiere entered the employ of L. H. Philhower as manager of the implement business in Marshall.

At Balaton, on June 5, 1903, Mr. De Kiere was married to Annie M. Peterson, of Burchard. Four children have been born to them, Leona, Irene, Irvin and John. Mr. De Kiere is a member of the Masonic, Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen lodges.

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was born at Roulers, Belgium, and died in this country. The mother, Amelia (Paulson) De Kiere, was born on Faroe Island, Denmark, and now resides at Minneota. There are four children in the family, Mary, Virginia, Gertrude and John F.

JOHN A. KARLEN (1S92), Coon Creek township fanner, was born September 2, 1857, in Goteborg, Sweden. His parents were Andrew and Brigita Manson, both of whom are deceased. John received his schooling in the land of his nativity, where he attended school until fifteen years of age. He then worked at the carpenter's trade with his father, who was a contractor, until twenty-three years of age. In 1881 he came to America and located in Chicago, where he was employed by the Pullman Car Company eleven years.

In 1892 Mr. Karlen came to Lyon county and purchased land in Coon Creek township, which he farmed three years. Then he returned to Chicago, where he again worked for the Pullman Company, this time for eight years. He then moved to Langlade county, Wisconsin, where he purchased land and farmed until July, 1910. He sold out at that time and the following October purchased the land he now owns and operates in Coon Creek township, the southeast quarter of section 12. In addition to grain farming, Mr. Karlen raises considerable stock, including Duroc-Jersey hogs, Shorthorn cattle and Plymouth Rock chickens. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and of the Independent Order of Svithiod of Chicago. Mr. Karlen was a member of the Town Board of Supervisors one year and is a stockholder of the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company.

On October 1, 1888, Elida Danielson became the wife of our subject. She is the daughter of Daniel and Annie (Anderson) Olson, both deceased, and was born March 19, 1863, in Wermland, Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Karlen are the parents of two children: Arthur, born September 27, 1889, and Cecilia, born March 13, 1892. Both reside at home.

Mr. Karlen has two brothers and foursisters, namely: Otto, of Chicago; Albein, Ida, Annie, Tekla and Alma, all residing near Goteborg, Sweden. Mrs. Karlen has three brothers and two sisters: Edward, of

EDWIN C. STILWELL (1905) is the proprietor of the Tracy Sheet Metal Works. He is a native of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, and was born August 17, 1844. When a young man he moved to Dowagiac, Michigan, where he grew to manhood and learned the tinner's trade. He enlisted from that' place in Company C, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, in 1861 and served four years and three months in the service. He participated in the following battles: Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, and many minor engagements.

After the war Mr. Stilwell returned to his home and was engaged in the tinner's trade several years. Later he was engaged in the business in several Ohio towns. He returned to Michigan and conducted a hardware and tin store in Schoolcraft ten years, after which he went to Clark, South Dakota, and engaged in the same business ten years. He then moved to Minneapolis and was engaged in the business there fourteen years.

In 1905 Mr. Stilwell came to Lyon county and located at Tracy, and in October, 1910, he started his present business. He does all kinds of tin and furnace contract work. Our subject is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge and the Grand Army post.

The parents of our subject are Foster and Mary Ann (Townsend) Stilwell, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Pennsylvania. They are the parents of the following children: James T., George H., Edwin C, Amanda E., Lydia A., Ida, Emma, Mertie.

Mr. Stilwell was married in Oxford, Ohio, in 1868 to Mrs. M. E. Olds, a native of that place. To them were born the following children: Newton H., of San Francisco, California; Abbie M. (Mrs. T. P. Hopp), of Bridgeport, Washington; and Maud E. (Mrs. R. E. Crosby), of Minneapolis. Mrs. Stilwell is deceased. Mr. Stilwell was married a second time, to Mamie Noss, in January, 1895, at Minneapolis.

James Egan's parents are natives of Ireland. Patrick S. and Johanna (Houlihan) Egan came to America and were early settlers of Illinois. James was born in Manteno, Kankakee county, December 9, 1865. His father is dead and his mother still resides in Manteno. The young boy received the customary country school education of the farmer lad, attending until the age of eighteen years; then he worked at home on the farm until 1895. In the latter year he started out for himself, rented land in the vicinity of his home, and farmed for himself four years. During the fall of his last year in Illinois he bought his Lyon county land and moved the next spring.

Mr. Egan has prospered on his farm. Besides farming he devotes considerable time to the raising of Shorthorn cattle, Poland China hogs and Percheron horses, specializing in the latter. He is the owner of "Pap," a registered Percheron stallion which he raised himself. Mr. Egan is on the board of directors of the Farmers Elevator Company of Balaton. He is a member of the Catholic church of Tracy.

February 13, 1895, James Egan was married at Manteno, Illinois, to Susanna Moat, a native of Kankakee county. She was born November 17, 1868, her parents, William and Mary (Story) Moat, being natives of Ireland and pioneer settlers of Illinois. Both parents are now living in Manteno. Mr. and Mrs. Egan are parents of six children. Their names are Marie Anita, James Harold, Lawrence Merrill, Elizabeth Lucilla, Gladys Helen and William Edward.

HERMAN ANDERSON (1884) is manager of the C. M. Youmans Lumber Company's yards at Marshall and is an old resident of Lyon county. He was born in Sweden January 8, 1855, and that country was his home until 1880. There he was educated and there he worked as a farm laborer, at the carpenter trade and as a coachman. Upon his arrival to the United States Mr. Anderson* located in Winnebago county, Illinois, resided there four years, and then came to Lyon county.

the county Mr. Anderson farmed; then he entered the employ of M. Sullivan, the pioneer lumber dealer of Marshall, and he has been identified with the one yard for the past twenty-five years. The yard was established by Mr. Sullivan in 1879. Under the latter's proprietorship Mr. Anderson had practical charge of the yards and the stock, and since 1905 he has had the management of the entire business. The present owners purchased from Mr. Sullivan in May, 18 99. The yard is the oldest and largest in the county.

Mr. Anderson is one of a family of three children living and he is the only one in America. The two children residing in the old country are Victor and Clara. Our subject is a member of the Methodist church and of the A. O. U. W. and M. W. A. lodges.

In Marshall, on the sixth of March, 1889, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Sophia Carlson. To them have been born the following named children: Emory, Selma, Ellis and Violet.

BEN F. VAN BREASEN (1904) is the owner of the west half of the northwest quarter of section 10 and the northeast quarter of section 9, Lyons township, which he purchased in company with his brotherin-law, I. Eben, in 1904. He is a native of Germany and was born June 29, 1867, a son of Fred and Himke (Daniels) Van Breasen. Ben received his schooling and grew to manhood in the land of his nativity. He served six months in the standing army and then worked at day labor until twenty-seven years of age.

In 1894 Mr. Van Breasen came to America, locating at George, Lyon county, Iowa, where he worked one year at farm labor and the next three years on the section for the Illinois Central Railroad Company in Hamilton county, Iowa. He then returned to Lyon county and rented land near George, which he operated seven years, after which he came to Lyon county, Minnesota, and purchased the land above described. Mr. Van Breasen raises a great deal of stock and is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Lynd. He is a member of the Methodist church.

a daughter of F. and Rixke (Dierks) Van Hoorn. Mrs. Van Breasen was born June 19, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Van Breasen are the parents of the following named children: Hattie, born August 16, 1893; Tina, born September 4, 1895; Fred, born September 14, 1897; Annie, born May 12, 1900; Freida, born November 18, 1902.

CHARLES L. DE REU (1887), junior member of the firm of Williams & De Reu, attorneys, is a rising young professional man of Marshall. Besides his legal work Mr. De Reu is actively interested in an effort to improve the farming conditions of the county in respect to its stock and industries. There is a large Belgian population in and around Marshall, and Mr. De Reu, owing to his splendid education and natural qualities, is prominent in Belgian circles, its societies, churches, etc. In December, 1911, he was instrumental in the organization of the Belgian Netherlandish Association, of which he is president. He is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and is agent for the Belgian newspapers in Marshall. He is a member of city and farmers' clubs.

Charles De Reu's parents, Felix and Mary (Steyaert) De Reu, natives of Belgium, came to the United States in 1882 and settled in Westerheim township. They now reside in town. In July, 1890, their Westerheim farm was visited by a tornado, and everything in the way of buildings and equipment was destroyed. The oldest son, Cyril, was killed. A sister, Bertha, and the mother were so severely injured that their lives were despaired of for a time, and another son, Julius, suffered a broken leg. The family could not bring themselves to resume farming on the place, and they rented a farm of James Williams for three years. During that time misfortune again visited them, three children dying from diphtheria. After three years on the rented farm Felix De Reu bought section 35, Fairview, and the family made that their home until moving to Marshall several years ago. In the family were thirteen children, three of whom only, Charles, Bertha and George, are now living.