Polk County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches, 1916 (part 5 of 15)

Ole Edevold

Ole Edevold, for many years a successful farmer and well known citizen of Eden township, was one of the pioneer settlers of that section and prominently identified with the development of the agricultural and social interests of the comunity. He was born in Norway, April 23, 1865, the sou of Ole and Maret Edevold, who later brought their family to the United States and lived for a time at Starbuck, Minnesota. They subsequently took land in Dakota, where they resided until the region of the Thirteen Towns was opened for settlement, when they removed to Polk county and located on section thirty-three of Eden township, Ole Edevold and his son Ole each taking claims on adjoining quarter sections. None of the members of the Edevold family are now living; the father died in 1899 and his wife survived him but six years. Of their children, one son, Martin, died when a lad of sixteen years ; Elnie Maria, who was married to Ole Tonten, a neighboring homesteader, later removed to Wisconsin, where her death occurred, and the other daughter, Anna Marie, died in Polk county, the wife of Hans Eggen, a former resident of Brandsvoid township, now living in Canada. The greater part of the laborious task of clearing the half section belonging to himself and father was accomplished by Ole Edevold, and after the death of his father he l>ecame the owner of the entire tract, which he developed into one of the finest and most productive farm properties in the county. During the first years he was compelled to divide his attention between the cleai'ing of the land and employment which would provide ready funds, and worked in the harvest fields and in a sawmill, but with thrift and hard work he was soon able to advance his farming enterprises to a profitable condition and continued to meet with steadily growing prosperity and success in all his interests. He engaged in general farming and gave particular attention to the dairy business, keeping a large herd of dairy cows and breeding thoroughbred cattle. Mr. Edevold was a man of broad interests and that type of progressive citizen who through years of active service in promoting the public welfare leaves at the close of his career memorials in the institutions of the community. He was the organizer of the cooperative creamery at Olga, where his farm was located and was the first postmaster of that place.

with the office in his home until the erection of a store a short distance away when it was installed there. With his father he was influential in the organization of the Synod Lutheran church, one mile north of his farm. He also sei'ved in township offices, capably discharging the duties of township clerk for many years. Mr. Edevold died March 27, 1915, in his fiftieth year. He was married to Thea Hoff of Queen township, August 15, 1897. She was horn in Ottertail county, the daughter of Thore and Torgen Hoff, natives of Norway, who were married in Ottertail. Thore Hoff is still living in Queen township, having survived his wife many years. Seven children were born to Mr. Edevold and his wife: Mabel Estelle, Oscar Theodore, Marie Theresa, Martin Hjalmar, Arthur Edwin, Elmer Eugene and Lloyd Ernest, all of whom make their home on the farm with their mother, who since the death of Mr. Edevold has assumed the management of the estate which she is conducting with eminent success.

Ole Hoven

Ole Hoven, a prominent citizen and successful farmer of Eden township, has been a resident of the county since 1891, when he located on the land which is his present home, ten miles northeast of Fosston. He is a native of Norway and came to this country in 1881, making his first residence in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. For a number of years he was employed in the lumber woods of that state, working on the river drives and also in railroad construction crews, meanwhile clearing out about twelve acres of timber land for cultivation. During this time, by thrifty management, he saved some twelve hundred dollars from his earnings and with this capital determined to embark upon farming enterprises in Minnesota. After spending a year in Norman county he came to Polk county, where he tiled on a homestead and boiight a preemption claim, paying three hundred dollars for the latter. Only two acres had been cleared and a small shanty was the only building upon the tract. He at once erected a house, which has since been incorporated in the present modem home, and engaged upon the development of the land. He continued to add steadily to his property, building up his prosperous estate with careful and judicious investments, putting his faith and money in the future agincultural productiveness of the country. His second purchase was a quarter section of section twenty-five of Hill River township, a little over a mile distant from his homestead. This was all wild land for which he paid the same price as for his first land, but was later compelled to buy off another claim in order to clear his title. He then bought two hundred acres in section thirty-six of Hill River township, paying two thousand dollars, eighty acres having been cleared. His land interests now include five hundred and twenty acres, of which over foiir hundred are in cultivation, nearl.y all of the one hundred and sixty acres in the home place having been developed into fine farm land. Mr. Hoven also bought an improved quarter section which he gave to his son, Carl Hoven. In all his business pursuits and entei*prises Mr. Hoven has met with unvaried success. He engages extensively in dairy farming and keeps a large herd of cows, selling the produce to the cooperative creamery at Olga, and is a breeder of short horn cattle. Mr. Hoven is that type of successful man whose able and sturdy qualities are freely devoted to the best interests of the community in which he lives, and he has been largely influential in every matter which would promote tlie general progress and welfare. He is associated with the business activities as stockholder in the cooperative creamery at Olga and in the Farmers Elevator company at Fosston. He is a member of the Republican party and a faithful supporter of the Zion Lutheran church. Mr. Hoven was married in Wisconsin to Carrie Kolden, who was bom in Norway. They have seven children : Elsie, the wife of Albert Bakken, of Alberta ; Lena, who married Soren Oistad and lives ill the state of "Washington; Albert, associated with Olga ; Carl, \vho makes his home with his parents and his father in the management of his farms; Lucy, who is a farmer; and Elmer, resides in Jlontana. the wife of James Shandorf;

John A. Newton

Joliu A. Newton, of Rosebud township, well known farmer and proprietor of Oak Dale farm, was born at Newcastle, Penns3'lvania, December 25, 1859. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his native state. He taught in the schools for a time and then went west and spent the next five years traveling through Montana and South Dakota, employed during part of the time in teaching. He came to Minnesota in 1883 and decided to locate in Polk county, taking a claim on the southeast quarter of section ten in Sletten township. In the fall of 188-t a school supported by subscription was established in the i-esideuce of Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Newton was appointed the teacher. This was the beginning of twelve years of able and eificient service in the schools of this vicinity. The settlers, realizing the importance of a competent school system, took a deep interest in the development of the local educational advantages and gave their earnest support to the project. The attendance of pioneer schools includes a variety of ages among the scholars, and during the first term taught by Mr. Newton twenty-eight pupils, young and old, but all seriously bent upon securing the privilege of the school, were enrolled. Mr. Newton also taught for a number of yeara in Rosebud township, in school number III, which had sueeoeded the first school in the township, on Mr. Plesch's farm. As a teacher and a member of the school board for over twenty years he has been notably associated with the growth and progressive administration of the educational interests of the county. He sent out a number of county teachers from his class rooms, one of whom, Henry "Welte, is the present county auditor. Mr. Newton lived for nine years on his homestead in Sletten township, putting all the land under cultivation. After selling this place he bought a farm on section twenty-one of Rosebud townshij), where he remained for eleven years, engaged in developing the property, erecting new buildings and improving the land. In 1901 he removed to his present home, the old Flesch homestead of two hundred acres, five miles southwest of Fosston. This place was settled by John Flesch, a sketch of whom is found in this work, in 1878, and was the first claim filed in the Thirteen Townis. Mr. Newton has successfully conducted the management of his agricultural interests and devotes his attention to the raising of grain and hay and dairy farming. His farm is equipped witli modern buildings, the pleasant farm home having been erected in irtll on the site of the first Fosston postoffice, later known as the llansville postoffice. Mr. Newton is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Fosston. His favorite recreation is hunting and he enjoys an occa-sional deer hunt as an outing. lie was married, in 1894, to IMary Flesch, daughter of John A. Flesch, pioneer of Rosebud township. They have four daughters, Jessie, Elizabeth, who is a teacher and is at present continuing her professional studies in a training school. Pearl and Jennie.

Lane R. Fishbeck

Lane R. Fishbeck, well known and successful farmer of Sletten township, was bom near Oshkosh, "Wisconsin, December 16, 1859. His parents were natives of that state. The death of his father occurred in his eai'ly childhood, and his mother, Betsy (Stokes) Fishbeck, married Freeman D. Dowd. "When he was six years of age he accompanied his mother and stepfather in their removal to Mower county, Minnesota. In 1881 Mr. Dowd brought his family to Polk county, and two years later took a soldiers' homestead in section eighteen, Sletten township. This farm remained his home until 189G, when he removed to Bermidji, settling on land elo.se to the town, which has since included part of his property within its corporation limits. Since his death there in 1910, in his seventy-second year, his wife has made her home in Bermidji. Lane R. Fishbeck was the only child in his step-father's home and continued to make his home there until 1883. In March of this year he was married at Jane-sville, Minnesota, to Julia Seha, the daughter of a pioneer family of Lcsueur county, Minnesota. Two years after his marriage he located on a preemption claim of eighty acres in section thirteen of Sletten to\\aiship and soon after he bought an adjacent quarter section, with forty acres of improved land, the former claim of James E. Vanworth. He continued to add to his farm, buying for the most part improved land. His present property includes fi\'e hundred and twenty acres, all of which is under cultivation with the exception of the pasture land. Very little ditching has been necessaiy as he has required the low land tracts for pasturage. With capable management he has developed a notably productive and prosperous farm, raising grain and hay and engaging extensively in the cultivation of the latter, harvesting about two hundred tons annually. In 1903 he erected the pleasant farm home, which is delightfully situated in a grove. He is a shareholder in the cooperative creamery. ]\Ir. Fishbeck is a member of the Republican party and voted at the first township election in Sletten township. He has a family of three sons and four daughters: George, Lillian, Mabel, Alfred, Etta, Victor and Winnie, all of whom are at home with the exception of the two older daughters. Lillian became the wife of Peter Klein and lives on an adjoining farm, and Mabel is the wife of Wilfred Raboin of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Mr. Fishbeck 's family are members of the Catholic church at Hansville.

This enterprising gentleman, who is one of the pioneer merchants of Crookston and prominent in the farm implement trade throughout Polk county, was bom on a farm in Wabasha county, Minnesota, September 11, 1860. He is the son of Jorgen and Annie M. (Sobije) Larsen, the former born November 19, 1826, on the Island of Fyen, in the Great Belt, off the coast of Denmark, and the latter also a native of Denmark. They came to the United States in 1854, and for four years lived in the state of New York. In 1858 they located at St. Paul, Minnesota, and the next year moved to Wabasha county, where the father took up a homestead and improved it into a good farm. In 1880 they moved to Wisconsin, and there the father died. The mother returned to this state and passed the rest of her life in Crookston, where she died January 22, 1901. They had three sons and

L. W. Larsen grew to the age of seventeen on his father's farm in Wabasha county, and during the next three years worked on lumber rafts and steamboats on the Mississippi. Life on the river then was M'ild and daring, and the adventurous youth had many thrilling experiences. In 1882 he came to Polk county and took up his residence on a farm in Andover township near Crookston. He followed fanning until 1886, when he moved to the city, and during the next six years he was employed by several firms in the implement trade, serving them as a salesman.

In 1892 he went into partnership with George F. Carpenter in the same line, and until 1907 the business was conducted under the firm name of Larsen & Carpenter. In the year last named Mr. Larsen be- fame its sole owner, ami since then he has carried on the enterprise himself. He was one of the founders of the Polk County State Bank and is now its vice president and one of its directors, and he takes a serviceable interest in other business institutions in the city and county. He also erected the Larscn block, one of the best business and office buildings in the city.

In political faith and allegiance Mr. Larsen is a Republican and an energetic and effective worker for his party. He has served as alderman at large in Crookston, and always manifested deep and productive interest in the growtli, improvement and prosperity of the city. Fraternally he is a Freemason of the Knights Templar rank and also a member of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and takes an active part in the work of the fraternity.

Mr. Larsen was married in 1890 to Mrs. Christine (Andereon) Larsen, who was born at Lillehammer, Norway, and brought to the United States in her childhood. They have four children : Roy W., who is assistant cashier of the Polk County State Bank; Clarence M., who is a student at the University of Minnesota ; Lawrence Howard, who is living at home, and Helen M., who is also still a member of the parental family circle.

E. M. Hauge, superintendent of tlie schools at Fertile and one of the i)rogressive educators of the county, is a native of the state, born at AVinona, September 9, 1886, the son of Reverend A. Hauge, a member of the Lutheran clergy in Minnesota for over thirty-three years. E. M. Hauge received his early education in the Normal school at Winona and then attended a private academy, which is conducted in connection with St. Olaf college at Northfield, Minnesota. After completing his preparatoiy studies he entered St. Olaf college for a collegiate course and graduated from that institution in 1909. In the fall of the same year he came to Fertile as principal of the high school during the superintendeney of H. R. Tonning, and after two years' of effieient service in that position was promoted to the office of superintendent. During the four years under his direction the school has made rapid advance in educational efficiency and has witnessed notable accomplishment in the educational field. Mr. Hauge conducts the school along the modern lines of pedagogical theory. The mea.sure of his success and the intere.st accorded the school bj' the citizens appears in the almost unanimous vote cast on the bond issue for the new school building, which is being erected at the cost of some forty thousand dollars. The school district includes eight sections of Garfield township and has an enrollment of two hundred and forty-nine pupils, with a teaching force of eleven. The high school was established in 1900 and is a commissioned state high school, with an attendance of forty-nine and a faculty of five instructors. The school graduated eleven students in 1915, which is the average number of graduates for the last four years and has ninety-nine members in its alumni association. Reverend A. E. Strom is the president of the school board, with J. A. Gregerson, clerk, and Norman Hanson, treasurer. The other members of the board are A. P. Hanson and Rev. J. il. Sundheim.

0. Edward Bratrud, M. D., of Fertile, an able November 7, 1888. He is the son of Hon. 0. C. member of the medical profession in the county, is Bratrud, a prominent pioneer citizen of the state, a native of Minnesota, born in Fillmore county, who was among the first of his countrj'men to emi- grate from Norway to the United States, he having settled in Wisconsin in 1848. In 1855 he removed to Fillmore county where his death occurred after a useful and notable career. He was elected to the state legislature, as a Republican, in 1870 and served as a member of that body for two years. Dr. Bratrud was reared in Fillmore county and there received his early education. After completing his studies in the high school, he entered the state University and received the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1910. He enrolled as a medical student in the same institiition and graduated from the medical college in 1913. He continued his professional training after graduation and became a resident house physician in the city and county hospital at St. Paul, serving for a year in this capacity and then secured further training and experience in post graduate work in the eastern clinics. He began the practice of his profession in Fertile in September, 1914, where his thorough qualification and efficiency have brought him a successful practice. He is a member of the District, State and American Associations and a member of a medical fraternity. Dr. Bratrud is an enthusiastic out of door sportsman and is allied with the Gun club of Fertile. He was married at Litchfield, Minnesota, in August, 1914, to Hazel A. Parsons, who was a student of the University of Minnesota.

Gilbert H. Hoyne

Gilbert H. Hoyne, for many years a prominent farmer of Polk county, was a native of Minnesota, bom in Freeborn county, December 18, 1863. His parents, Hoven and Dorothy Hoyne were born in Noi-way and came to this county before their marriage, which occurred in Iowa. They came to Minnesota in 1859 and later spent several years in Dakota but preferring the Minnesota region, returned to Albert Lea and settled in Hayward township. Subsequently they removed to a farm six miles south of Albert Lea, which became the permanent home of the family and is still owned by one of the sons. The mother of this pioneer home is now living at Albert Lea, at the advanced age of eightythree years. Gilbert H. Hoyne grew to manhood on the old homestead and received his early education in the schools at Albert Lea and then pursued his studies at Northfield and in the normal school at Mankato. For a short time he engaged in teaching and then became apprenticed to the tinners trade and was employed in that work until taking charge of his father's farm which he operated for three years and from that time continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits. In 1892 he took a homestead in Pine county, fifteen miles from Hinkley, Wisconsin, and two years later suffered serious losses through the disastrous fire which destroyed Hinkley and swept over that section of country. A brother of Mrs. Hoyne, K. E. Flaskerude, was then living in Polk county and in 1895 Gilbert Hoyne brought his family to this county and bought a farm in Rosebud township, where he engaged in successful farming operations for eight years and then removed to King township and bought a quarter section of land four miles southwest of Mcintosh. No buildings had been erected on the tract and the land had been but partially improved. Mr. Hoyne gave the zealous efforts of the remaining years of his life to the development of this place, building up a fine farm property through his experienced and able management. He engaged in the various farming activities, raising grain and stock and was also interested in dairying, meeting with success in all his enterprises. His death occurred in his country home, April 8, 1909, after several years of failing health, and the interment was made in the cemetery of the Gosen United Lutheran church in Knute township, of which he was a member. Mr. Hoyne was that type of man whose influence is felt in every phase of community life and his many worthy services live in the memories of his frieuds and associates. As a farmer and citizen, his career was marked by successful accomplishment and he was honored by his fellow citizens with various offices of public trust and was particularly active in school and township affairs in P^rceborn, Pino and Polk counties. In the political arena, he was an enthusiastic and loyal supporter of the principles of the Republican party. His marriage to Carrie E. Flaskerud, was solemnized at Albert Lea, on February 5, 1888. She was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, and is a sister of K. E. Flaskerud, a well kno\ni farmer of Brandsvold township. Mrs. Hoyne, like her husband, enjoys a wide circle of friends and is actively a.ssociated with the interests of the locality in which she lives, as a member of tile women's clubs and church organizations of Mcintosh. Three children were born to 'Slv. Iloyne and his wife, two of whom are now living, Hattie Ellen and George Daniel, who assumed the management of the farm after the death of his father and is now a student in the Aakens Business college at Grand Forks, Nortli Dakota. Hattie E. Hoyne has been a teacher in the schools of Polk county for five years and has met with eminent success in her profession. She was educated in the high school at Mcintosh and in the normal school at Moorhead and has also been a student at summer schools, the measure of her qualification appearing in her attainment of a first grade certificate as a teacher. In 1915, the Hoyne family removed from the farm in King township to Mcintosh, where they have erected a pleasant home.

A. F. Cronquist, of Erskine, an eminent citizen and cashier of the Scandinavian State bank, has been a resident of Knute township since the early daj's of its settlement. He is a native of Sweden, born on March 10, 1866, and came to the United States when sixteen years of age. He lived for a time at Minneapolis and later at Ellsworth, Wisconsin, where he attended the public schools. In 1884 he came to Polk county and two years later was joined by his mother, who took a homestead in Knute township, two miles west of the present site of Erskine. This farm remained her home until her death in 1913 and then became the property of her son. When thej' located in the township, it was in the early stages of development, before the establishment of any postofifiee or business enterprise in its precincts. Two years later, in 1888, the railroad was built through the region and George Q. Erskine, who was then president of the National bank at Crookston, purchased the homesteads of Martin Rathstock, Mr. Mitchell and Daniel Cameron, a pioneer whose name is given to one of the local lakes, and platted the village of Erskine, selling the lots privately. Commercial activity immediately started ou the town site and one of the first projects was a general store opened by Eber Cameron on what was formerly the Cameron land and is now the location of the variety store on the corner of Vance avenue and the railroad right of way. Other enterprises were the hardware store of Gilbertson & Espeseth Co., where the first postoffice was kept, with H. T. Gilbertson as postmaster, and the general stores operated by 0. T. Berge and Tollof Torgeson. A hotel was opened by G. T. Torgeson and about a year later a second one was erected on the present site of the Merchants hotel by 0. T. Rovang. Mr. Cronquist entered upon his business career in early manhood and .spent eight years in Mcintosh, employed for a time as clerk in the J. P. Johnson store and then working for the Southmayd & Balstad company. In May, 1899, he returned to Erskine and embarked upon his successful career in the financial world, establishing a private bank, with L. Ellington, of Crook.ston, president, and Halvor Steenerson, vice-president. A bank had been started two years previous by Frank Drew and Ed Drew of Mcintosh and had proved an unprofitable venture and had been closed, but the Bank of Erskine, organized by Mr. Cronquist, met with steady prosperity! and growth and became one of the successful banking institutions of the county, ilr. Cronquist was prominently identified with its management and the business interests of the township as cashier for thirteen years. The bank had, at first, occupied the building vacated by the first bank and was later removed to a building erected by the directors, and had been reorganized as a state bank. Under the able management of Mr. Cronquist it had grown, to the time of its sale in 1912, to a capital stock of $10,000, with deposits of $170,000 and loans aggregating $150,000. During the years of his association witli tliat institution his able services as cashier had won him a wide popularity in the section and soon after selling the bank, upon the urgency of his many fonner patrons, in 1913 he organized the Scandinavian State bank of Erskine, with a capital stock of $15,000 and deposits of $85,000. Mr. Cronquist assumed the responsibilities of the position of cashier and has been largely influential in its rapid gro\vth and success. Julius Bradley is the president of the board of directors, with Carl Christianson, vice president; A. F. Cronquist, cashier, and I. I. Steenerson, assistant cashier. The other stockholders are D. W. Wheeler of St. Paul and Carl Paulson. Aside from his financial activities, Mr. Cronquist devotes his attention to the direction of his farming interests, giving the same keen business ability and careful study to all phases of agricultural enterprise, that have brought him success in commercial circles. One of his successful experiments in seeking to advance the efficiency of farming methods is known as the cheap man's silo, his demonstration showing that the stacking of green corn in the .same manner as in silo use produces an ensilage equal to the more complicated and expensive method. The novelty and simpleness of this idea has been given much favorable comment in a number of farm publications ajid enthusiastically received on its presentation at various conventions. He conducts his farming operations on the old homestead, to which he has added, making an estate of three hundred and eighty acres, which he has equipped with good modeim buildings. He engages in diversified farming but gives particular attention to the raising of stock and dairying and has stocked his place with Red Polled cattle, Poland China hogs and Shropshire sheep. He has taken an active interest in advancing the prosperity of the district through the promotion of dairy and drainage projects and has reclaimed some fifty acres of valuable meadow land from the small ponds which were on his land. He was the first treasurer of the local cooperative creamery and continued to serve as treasurer and director for twelve years. And for the same length of time gave competent service as a member of the board of education and was actively identified with the progress of school organization and the erection of the present building. He has been twice honored by his fellow citizens with the ofBce of mayor, his election effecting the elimination of the liquor traffic in the village. Mr. Cronquist was married in September, 1889, at EllsM^orth, Wisconsin, to Nellie Robbins, a native of that state, and four children were born to them, one of whom, a daughter, died in her infancy. The family are Floyd Clark, Ruth Marie, Vera Irene and Bernice Audria. Mr. Cronquist and his M'ife are active supporters and faithful members of the Rodness Congregational Lutheran church, five miles west of Erskine.

Martin G. Peterson

age to the new home, on May 17, 1854, that Martin Peterson was born. A brother of his father was then living in Dane county, Wisconsin, and Gilbert Peterson set out with his family for that place. At Whitewater they reached the end of the railroad and the father continued his journey on foot and on arriving in Dane county, dispatched Knute Nelson, now U. S. Senator, with a wagon to convey his wife and four children. This wagon was of home manufacture, the wheels constructed from section of logs and was drawn by an ox team. A most interesting account of the trip has recently been recorded by Peter Peterson, the eldest son, in his recollections of the early days. Peter Peterson and Knute Nelson became close companions and schoobnates in Wisconsin, a comradeship which was further strengthened during the troublous times of the Civil war, and has continued throughout the various experiences of their busy careers. Peter G. Peterson was a member of Company H of the Fourth Minnesota regiment and active service in important campaigns under Grant and Sherman. In 1856 the Peterson family removed from Wisconsin to Minnesota, making the trip in a lumber wagon with oxen, there being but one span of liorses in the party which included seven families. They located in Nicollet county, where Gilbert Peterson took a preemption claim, four miles north of the village of Nicollet and here experienced the hardships and triumphs of pioneer life. In 1862, at the time of the Indian outbreak, all the settlers in this region were compelled to desert their homes and crops and seek refuge at St. Peter. Dui-ing the days of organization and agricultural development, Gilbert Peterson took an active part in public affairs and served in various offices. His death occurred on his eighty-fifth birthday, on the old homestead which has since been operated by Peter G. Peterson, who like his father, is widely known in the public activities of the county and served as township clerk for many years. IMartin G. Peterson grew to manhood on the farm and received his early education in the countrj' schools and later spent two years studying in a school in Illinois and in Luther college at Decorah, Iowa. His marriage to Emily Baker, who was born in Norway, occurred in his twentyfifth year and for three years they made their home on the Peterson farm. In 1882 he came to Polk county and took land on the northeast quarter of section seventeen of Garden township, eight miles east of the present site of Fertile, being one of the early homesteaders to settle in that town.ship. For the ensuing ten years he gave his attention to the l)uilding up of his farm. In 1892, failing health demanded the cessation of such arduous labor and he sought recuperation during the winter months in Norway, enjoying the mild climate of the west coast. He returned to his farm the following summer and again resumed his agricultural pursuits until 1898 when he was summoned to public service by an appointment from the county commissioners to the office of county treasurer, filling a vacancy occasioned by defalcation. Mr. Peterson had previously served as township clerk and chairman of the township board and this appointment received the hearty approval of his fellow citizens as was evidenced in the next two elections when he was returned to the office, serving for five years as county treasurer, and discharging the duties of the office in the notably capable and conscientious manner which has characterized the many services in public interest of his busy career. At the close of his second term, in January, 1903, he located in Fertile and entered the commercial circles as a member of the firm of Nesseth & Peterson, dealers in flour and feed and agricultural implements and engaged in that business for three years when he returned to his farm. In 1905 he again took up his residence in Fertile a.s the secretai-y of the Farmers Mutual Insurance company. This compan.y, which is one of the most thriving co-operative enterprises of the northwest was organized in 1891 in the interests of the farmers of Polk and Norman counties, by O. P. Renne, Hans Nelson, T. H. Nesseth and Martin G. Peterson and has exceeded all expectations in its rapid growth and prosperity. It has now some nine hundred policy holders, with over one and a half millions of insurance in force. The men who have directed its affairs so successfully have demanded no large remuneration for their work and since the first j'ear, the fees on policies have met all the expenses of operation. I\Ir. Peterson has been prominently identified with the company since its incorporation, when he drafted the constitution and by-laws and was made treasurer. He has served almost continuously on the board of directors and became secretary as the successor of Mr. Nesseth, who held that position until his death. Mr. Peterson retains his farm interests and has added forty acres to his original quarter section in Garden township and is further associated with the business activities of the community as a director in the Farmers State bank at Fertile. His influence has always been a potential factor in the broader interests of the town and county and his many seiwices have been recognized by important appointments of public trust and as a business man, public official or private citizen, his career has been mai'ked by honorable achievement and disinterested enterprise. He is now serving, as a director of the Batesta Hospital association, having been active in the raising of funds for the erection of the new hospital building at Crookston, and as vice president of the board of five commissioners appointed by the county commissioners to build and operate the Polk and Norman counties Tuberculosis sanitarium, which is now under construction. He has ever been a leader in the political arena and has given particularly forceful support to the temperance cause. As vice president of the Minnesota Total Abstainers society and aa an active worker in the educational movement fostered by that organization. Mr. Peterson is a member of the United Liitheran church.

Ben Tyndall

Ben Tyndall, a successful farmer of Rosebud township, was born in Wicklow, Ireland, May 8, 1844. At twelve years of age he went to sea on a sailing vessel that traded between England and Guiana. He remained for several yeai-s on merchant ships, touching on many coasts and sailing around Cape Horn. When he was fifteen yeai*s old he enlisted in the British navy and for four years served in the Mediterranean fleet. The years spent as a sailor were years of wide experience; he became familiar with the seaports of the world and acquired the hardy training and love of adventure which finally sent him into the western world to win a home from the wilderness. He came to the United States in 1867 and worked in the lumber district near Chippewa river in Wisconsin for a year and then removed to Dodge Center in Dodge county, Minnesota. Here he was in the employ of T. B. Walker as a lumberman, working on the spring drives on Clearwater river and driving freight from Detroit, Minnesota, to the Walker camp. After living for in Rosebud township in 1883, filing a claim on a quarter section which is in both section ten and section three. The land was covered with light timber and has proven exceptionally fertile, some fields having produced wheat for twenty-seven seasons that have been very rarelj^ successive. Mr. Tyndall has developed a fine farm with about one hundred and forty acres imder cultivation and has erected good buildings. He has taken interest in providing his place with pleasant groves of box elder and jack pine and the spruce trees which date their growth from the 4th of November on which McKinley was elected president. The farm is conveniently located just one mile east of Fosston. Mr. Tyndall has engaged in the raising of grain and hay and is now devoting some attention to the breeding of Guernsey cattle. Mr. Tyndall is not affiliated with any political organization and maintains a liberal and intelligent outlook on questions of public import and was one of the first voters in Rosebud township. Like most of the men who have spent the greater part of their lives in the great out of doors, he is a huuter and fisherman. Mr. Tyudall was married at Dodge Center to Susan Digby, who is a native of England. Nine children have been bom to them, six of whom are now living: Susan, who married William Kent, an attorney in Chicago; Ben, residing in Montana; John, living in Canada, in Saskatchewan; Arthur, who is employed as an electrician in Alaska by a big power company of British Columbia; Martha, the wife of John Dorsey, who is the present manager of Mr. Tyndall 's farm ; and Fred, who is located in Canada. Throe of the children died at early ages, one in infancy ; a son, William, at Thief River Falls, in his 30th year, and another son at the age of fourteen.

0. T. Nelson, a well known business man of the county, has been engaged in the furniture and hardware business at Gully since 1910. He was born in Norway, May 1, 1882, the son of Torger and Mary Nelson, and was brought by his parents to this country in his early infancy. Torger Nelson came directly to Crookston from his native land and in the same year, 1882, took a homestead near Woodside, in Polk county, and as a worthy pioneer citizen his career has been identified with the privations and failures, the steady development and ultimate prosperity of the frontier country. On the claim in the wilderness he sturdily encountered all the hardships of the times, with one particularly harrowing experience, when his wife was lost for two days in the surrounding forests, the sound of his signaling shots finally reaching her in her wanderings. After about six years spent on this tract he removed to Badger township, locating again on wild land. In 1892 he sold his farm and went to Crookston and invested in the hotel business, and in the following year suffered the total loss of his property by a fire, from which his young son, O. T. Nelson, narrowly escaped, being rescued by a fireman. For a time this disaster brought the family to most straightened circumstances, from which enterprise and ambitious efforts .soon rescued them. They made their home in a shed which stood at the rear of the former hotel structure, and Torger Nelson secured work in a sawmiU, and his wife assisted in the rebuilding of their resources. With thrifty management in a few years he accumulated some capital, and, in partnerehip with Severt Henson, started a general store at Erskine, in Polk county, meanwliile continuing to work as time keeper in the sawmill at Crookston, his son, 0. T. Nelson, looking after his mercantile interests in Erskine. This enterprise proved eminently successful and enjoyed an extensive patronage, dra,wing trade from fifty miles or more. Torger Nelson later removed to Erskine, and through his management of the business became widely known throughout the county. He remained in charge of the store for fifteen years and then retired froju commercial activities, but continues to reside in Erskine, where he has been associated with public affairs as township assessor and member of the school board. Of his five sons four are now living and two reside in Erskine; Anton, who was employed for a time in a sawmill and is now rural mail carrier, and Theodore, who is cashier of the First State bank at Ei'skine. Oscar Nelson, the youngest son, has held the position of teller in the Northern National bank at Bermidji for several years. The death of William Nelson occurred in his twenty-second year, September 10, 1911, at Gull}'. He was a graduate of the University of North Dakota and was a student in the second year of the medical course at the state university. 0. T. Nelson attended the high school at Erskine^ meanwhile giving his attention to his father's business interests in that place and spending his vacations at work in the store. He then became tower operator on the Soo railroad and after four years in this position made his first independent venture in the business world, opening a store at Pierz, Minnesota, in Morrison county, in 1907. This was one of the older towns of the region but had just been reached by a railroad and he operated the only exclusive hardware business in the town for three years. When the Soo road was built to Gully, in 1910, he established his present hardware and furniture business, being the first merchant to sell goods on the new townsite. He was also the first to bring lumber to the site and in September of that year began the erection of a warehouse in a wheat field on one of the streets of the future village. All the previous building at Gully had been about a half mile distant near the location of the Ohm mills. His first business operations were with a small stock and meager equipment, it being late in November before he could occupy his atore building. The I. 0. Manger Lumber company had brought lumber to the place and several other merchants were engaged in building. Mr. Nelson has built up a prosperous and steadily growing trade and also conducts an undertaking business. In his hardware department he employs a competent tinner and handles contracts for roofing and cornice work, beside general repair work. As a successful business man and respected citizen Mr. Nelson is and lias always been associated with the promotion of the best interests of the county and is well known as one of the j'ounger and a1)le members in business circles. He is a member of the school board and secretary of the Commercial club of Gully. Mr. Nelson was married January 30, 1907, to Margaret Brogan, who was bom at EIroy, Wisconsin. Her parents died in her infancy and she was reared by a sister, receiving her education in the high school at Ontonagon, Michigan. She entered the teaching profession and pursued a successful career as a teacher for some time and was employed in the schools of Clearwater county, Minnesota.

Tom 0. Solberg

Tom 0. Solberg, a prominent fanner of Rosebud township, has been a resident of Polk county since 1885. In 1884 he filed on a homestead claim and on July 4th of the following year he moved on this land. Since then he has added to the original tract, buying the adjoining uncultivated land at a maximum price of six dollars and a half an acre, and eighty acres of which he has sold for twenty dollars an acre. His present valuable farm property of three hundred and eighty-five acres attests to the thrifty management and unfailing industry of Mr. Solberg, who possesses all the sturdy charactei-istics of the men who wrestle with the wilderness and claim it for civilization. His has been the laborious task of clearing this tract of land and developing it into productive fields. He has engaged principally in the raising of grain and cattle, breeding blooded stock. He keeps a number of dairy cows and finds this a lucrative enterprise. Some low land has been reclaimed by ditching and the farm is equipped with good buildings, the pleasant home being rendered the more attractive by its well chosen situation. Mr. Solberg was married at Fergus Falls, Minnesota, to Julia Nelson, and they have eight children : Fred and Arthur, who are farmers near Max, North Dakota ; Tillie, the wife of Martin Hanson of Stanley, North Dakota; Bertha A., who is a teacher in the Polk county schools, and Elmer, Clifford, Mabel and Walter, who remain in the home.

Oscar Thor

removed to Polk county and continued to be employed as a butter-maker in Polk county, Todd county and other localities for some years. Wlicn the Soo railroad was built through Gully, J. F. Thoreen handled the contract for the construction of several miles of the road bed and became interested with H. H. Melbo, a pioneer merchant of that region, in the organization of the Melbo Mercantile company and persuaded Mr. Thor to become a stockholder and to become active in its management as the representative of both their interests. The company was incorporated in 1910, and in the same year Mr. Thor located in Gully and has since been identified with the extensive and prosperous operations of the corporation as secretary and treasurer. Though .still in the inception of his business career, he has proven himself eminently fitted for successful accomplishment as an enterprising and progressive merchant. He has been associated with the growth and general welfare of the town in which he lives through able and public spirited co-operation in community interests, and as clerk of the school board was actively identified with the erection of the new school house at Gully. Mr. Thor was married February, 1906, to Nellie 0. Ramstad of Todd county, Minnesota, and they have one son, Clifford Thor.

Bert D. Keck

This gentleman, who is the leading architect in Polk county and resides in Crookston, has erected many monuments to his .skill and excellent taste and judgment in the Northwest and is still carrying on an extensive business in his chosen profession. He is a native of Louisa county, Iowa, where his life began in 1876. In the year 1877 his parents moved to Mercer county, Illinois. His parents, Frederick and Susana (Harvey) Keck, were pioneers in Iowa, the father having driven from Ohio to that state by ox team about the year 1850 and entered a homestead in the wilderness. He was born in Germany and came to the United States with his pai'ents in 1838, his father having been the progenitor of the family in this country. The mother of Bert D. Keck was born of English parentage. She and her hu.sband died in Illinois, where they lived for many years.

Bert D. Keck grew to manhood in Mercer county, Illinois, where he obtained his elementary education in the common schools and higli school at Aledo, Illinois. He afterward pursued a course of special and more advanced instruction under the tutorage of prominent architects of the country and by his studious efforts completing his preparation for his life work through post gi'aduate courses in special lines of architectural teaching. In 1902 he became a resident of Crookston, where he at once opened an oflSce and l>egan the active practice of his profession. To this he has ever since been sedulou,sly devoted, doing his work in a way to win general commendation and getting plenty of it to keep him steadily occupied.

Mr. Keck designed the Carnegie Library, the new high school building, the Franklin school building, the First Presbyterian church and the new armory, in Crookston, the Cathedral of the Emaculate Conception, the parochial school, many stoi'e and office buildings and fine residences which are among the most modem and satisfactory structures for their several purposes in the Northwest. He has also designed and superintended the erection of many school buildings, lianks, residences and stores in North Dakota, and a number of school and other buildings in parts of ilinnesota outside of Polk county.

In fraternal life Mr. Keck is a member of the ]\rasonie order, including the Mystic Shrine, and holds the rank of past commander in the Knights Templar branch of the fraternity. He is also a member of the Order of Elks and the Order of Modern Woodmen of America. In religious affiliation he is connected with the Jlethodist Episcopal church, and socially he is president of the Crookston Automobile club. Politically he is a Republican but not an active partisan, and has never held, sought or desired a public office. He was married in 1901 to Miss Elsa M.

A. Stark

A. Stark, cashier of the First State bank at Gully and an influential citizen of that place, is a native of Sweden, born September 12, 1883, and was brought to this country in his eai'ly childhood by his parents, who located in Mille Lacs county, Minnesota, which continues to be their home. Mr. Stark was reared in that county and was educated in the public schools. He then engaged in the teaching profession and after three years came to Polk county, accepting a position in a school near Mentor which he shortly after resigned to enter upon his successful business career as assistant cashier in the bank at Mentor, of which A. D. Stephens of Crookston Avas president. Since that time Mr. Stark has continued to be associated with the banking institutions of the county, his able achievements in this field earning him rapid promotion and recognition. After two and a half years in the bank at Mentor he was employed in banks at Hallock, Minnesota, and in Bottineau county, North Dakota, spending a year in each place and in September, 1910, came to Gully. The First State bank was incorporated in that year, with L. C. Simons as president and Mr. Stark was made cashier, and in this capacity has been identified with its notable progress and prosperous activities and has devoted every effort and interest to the promotion of its enterprise. He is now the only one of the original stockholders actively associated with the bank. A. D. Stephens is president of the insrt;itution. Aside from his business operations Mr. Stark takes an active interest in every matter of public import and is an enthusiastic promoter of the general welfare and growth of the town in which he lives. As a member of the school board he has given valuable service and was largely influential in securing the new school building, in which two teachers are employed with eighty pupils in attendance. Mr. Stark was married at Middle River, Minnesota, on September 21, 1910, to Elvina Olson.

James E. Campbell

James E. Campbell, a successful business man of Fosston and senior member of the livery firm of Campbell & Son, was bom in Portage county, Wisconsin, November 10, 1855. His father, James V. Campbell, was for many years a well known citizen of Ada, Minnesota, where he was a dealer in agricultural implements. He was actively interested in political affairs as a member of the Republican party and served as postmaster during the presidential teimis of Harrison and Roosevelt. He retired from the office in 1906 and removed to Crookston, and in March of the following year his death occurred in Ada. James E. Campbell came to Minnesota in 1878 and engaged in the livery business in Ada for a number of years. For thirty-seven years he has been extensively identified with the lively and horse trade of northern Minnesota, shipping many carloads of horses annually and doing his buying for the most part in South Dakota. In 1889 he located in Fosston, where he has operated a profitable livery business, to which he added, in 1909, a garage and automobile service. In 1915 he erected the present garage, which is constructed to accommodate every modern improvement and ample equipment. It is a large cement building with a pressed brick and plate glass front and a tru.ss roof which leaves the interior free of impeding sup- ports. He transacts a large business and canies a full line of automobile supplies and is local agent for the Ford and Buick companies. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Republican party and a zealous supporter of its interests. He has been actively associated with public affairs in official capacity, serving as deputy sheriff of Norman county for twelve years ; four years under E. T. Salverson, who was a county commissioner in Polk county before the organization of Norman county, and for two terms under Knut Lee. Mr. Campbell is a member of the city council and has been elected to the office of mayor a number of times. As mayor he rendered the city valuable service in promoting and capably managing the installation of the city water works and electric light plant. His marriage to Helen M. Richmond occurred in Portage county, Wisconsin, and they have one son, Frank Raymond, who has been associated with his father in the livery and garage business for eight yeai-s. Frank R. Campbell was born at Ada, Minnesota, in December, 1886, and reared in Fosston, where he attended the public schools. After graduating from high school he entered the business college at Fargo, North Dakota. He was married to Alice Corson of Ada, Minnesota, and they have two children, James and Helen Elva. He is one of the popular young business men of Fosston and unlike his father is an ardent sportsman and hunter.

John A. Flesch

John A. Flesch, a pioneer farmer and eminent citizen of Rosebud township, was one of the first settlers in the Thirteen Towns in 1878, and has been prominently and actively identified with the history of the development of this section of the county. He was born in Germany, December 12, 1838, and when twelve years of age accompanied his parents to the United States. After a number of years .spent on their farm near Fond du Lac, "Wisconsin, he came to Steams county, Minnesota, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted in Company G of the Ninth Minnesota regiment and gave valiant service during three years of the great struggle. He was made a corporal in his company and received his honorable discharge in 1865. When the Thirteen Towns was first opened for settlement in 1878 he was one of the eight men who took claims at that time. For several years previous he had been living in Douglas county and he was accompanied from there to Polk county by Herman Eikens and Edward La Bree, who located on land adjoining his. Mr. Eikens is still living on his homestead, which is separated from the Flesch farm by a small lake, small enough' to carry across the sounds of friendly voices in the pioneer days of wilderness and few settlers. Mr.

Flesch located on sections nineteen and twenty of what is now Rosebud township, five miles southwest of Fosston, and was the first homesteader to file his claim at Detroit City, which was over fifty miles distant and was the nearest trading place for this region. In the same year the land was withdrawn from the market and was not reopened until 188.3, when it was rapidly settled. Although it was uncertain that the land would again be opened, Mr. Flesch set about the clearing and improving of his farm and forsaking the temporary shelter of the pioneers in tents and wagons, erected the first house in the Thirteen Towns, on section nineteen. This house played an important part in the early histoiy of the township, sheltering the first store, the first school house and first postoffice in the Thirteen Towns. A small store was started here by a half breed and he was succeeded by Mr. Foss, who operated a store and the postoffice of Fosston until 1884, when he removed to a location on the railroad, the present site of Fosston. Mr. Hansen then had the store on the Flesch farm, and the postoffice of Hansville. With the high ideals and native culture of the men who founded our western civilization, Mr. Flesch gave every effort to the early establishment of educational and religious activities.

In 1883 a school was organized and housed on his land with A. D. Wishard as teacher. John Newton next presided over the school and it was later made a district school and a log school house built two miles distant. Mr. Flesch did not allow the laxity of frontier life to affect the strictness of his religious observances, and he was instrumental in the building of the Catholic church at Hansville, where Father Simon officiated for a number of years, the settlers bringing him for the services, in the early days, from his mission church on Rice river. He is now in Cloquet and since 1908 the church at Hansville has been served from Crookston. Mr. Flesch has devoted the best part of his life to the building up of the community in which he lives and has given his faithful and generous support to the advancement of its welfare. At the time of the second opening of the land he located a number of the permanent settlers and has always been active in the administration of township affairs and a member of the township and school boards, although he has avoided county offices and political honors, preferring the unobtrusive service of responsible and intelligent citizenship. At the organization of the township it was he who gave it the name of ' ' Rosebud, ' ' prompted by the thought of the wild flowers which had adorned the native wilderness and by the name of the first child born in the township. Rose Eikens. In 1897 he retired from his farm, and it is now owned by John A. Newton, who married his daughter, Mary. Mr. Flesch was married in Stearns county, at the close of the Civil war, to Susanna Rodstine, who, like her husband, was a native of Germany. Her death occurred in January, 1910. A family of one son and five daughters were born to this union: Barney; Lena, the wife of Matt Brink, of Frazee, Minnesota; Mary, who married John Newton and lives on the old homestead ; Kate, who now resides at Funkley, Minnesota ; Libbie, the wife of Dick "Walker, of Floodwood, Minnesota; and Laura, the wife of Pete Stotrun, of Funkley, Minnesota. Despite the restricted advantages of pioneer life Mr. Flesch reared a family of charm and culture and marked intellectual ability. Mr. Flesch is that type of man and citizen whose influence and efforts are largely interwoven into the life of a community. Possessed of great natural ability and strong personality, alert and progressive in all his views, he enjoys the high esteem and regard of all and still exerts the attractive companionability which made his home the social gathering place of the district.

Emanuel Pederson

Emanuel Pederson, a successful farmer of Brandsvoid township, was born in Norway, May 20, 1855. When he was fifteen years of age he went to sea on a ship carrying a cargo of coal and grain from Holland to England. He was seven months on his first voyage, sailing into the Baltic before returning to Holland. He next served on a Norwegian vessel engaged in the Baltic lumber trade, loading lumber from Scandinavia for Russia. For ten years he worked as a sailor, sailing on a number of different ships and visiting many ports, crossing the ocean several times to New York and Baltimore. During these years of hard and continuous labor he did not share in the improvident, adventuring spirit of the average sailor but saved his earnings and centered his ambitious upon acquiring land of his own in some good agricultural region. He came to Minnesota to join an uncle living in Ottertail county, who had sent for him, offering to make him his heir. After two years in Ottertail county he went to Polk county, and in the fall of 1883 filed his claim on the southeast quarter of section eighteen in Brandsvold township. In the following year he began to develop his farm ; his first house was a small shanty, but was soon replaced by a comfortable dwelUng place. He has built up a good farm by thrifty and able management, with one hundred and twenty acres under cultivation, and engages in diversified farming. His farm is well stocked and he keeps a herd of dairy cows, selling cream to the cooperative creamery at Mcintosh. The Pederson place is conveniently located four miles west of ilclntosh and a little over six miles northwest of Fosston. Mr. Pederson spent three years in Canada, leaving his farm in charge of his sons, and took a claim there, which he now owns. He also assisted his sons, Ingewald Pederson and Edward Pederson, to secure Canadian land. Since the first election held in Brandsvold to\vnship he has been actively identified with the public interests and gave efficient service in the oftice of supervisor for twelve j-ears. His marriage to Maria Wick took place in Ottertail county in 1885. She is a native of Norwaj', born in 1867, and came to this country in the same year that her hu.sband did. They have nine children : Cecilia, wife of Ben Norgaard, of Eden township; Ingewald and Edward, who are farmers in Sa.skatchewan, and also in charge of their father's land there; luga, who keeps house for her brother Edward ; Conrad and Melvin, who assist their father in the management of the home place; Elmer, living with his brothers in Canada ; Hjalmar and Hilda. Mr. Pederson is a faithful supporter and one of the charter members of the Kingu Lutheran church at Fosston.

Richard Ohm

Richard Ohm, of Gull}', a well known miller and citizen of that township, is one of the pioneer business men of the county, having been employed in milling operations here since 1881. He is a native of Germany, born in Brandenburg, December 3, 1861. He was apprenticed to the miller's trade and lived in tlie fatherland until he was twenty years of age, when he came to the United States, arriving in Crookston, Minnesota, August 15, 1881. His first position was with his uncle. Otto Kankel, in the construction and equipment of a buhrstone mill at Fertile, which Mr. Ohm operated after its completion. After about a year and a half there he went to Norman count}' and operated a mill for Mr. Sohler and Mr. Kankel, and after running it for a time rented it until 1885, when he bought it, paying $6,000 for the plant. During the five years of his able management of this investment he cleared the property of the debt incurred by the purchase and then returned to Polk county, bouglit a mill at Thief River Falls, in partnership with R. R. Jacklin ; this was a small steam mill. The railroad had not yet reached the town and the business portion consisted of a hotel and a few stores, and after two years here Mr. Ohm moved his machinery to Terreboime, also in the first days of its development. He had previously dissolved partnership with Mr.

Jacklin and was associated in the new project with two cousins, conducting a profitable business here until 1899. Meanwhile, on a trip over the county, he liad passed through the old reservation land opened for settlement in 1896 and had noted the prospective agi'icultural activity as contributing to an advantageous location for a mill, and in 1899 sold his former interests and located in Gully township. He had a capital of $6,700 to promote the new enterprise, but expended $9,500 in the ei-ection and equipment of his mills, a custom and merchant mill, with full roller process and a capacity of seventy-five barrels. His excellent modern equipment and marked business ability have won the Gully Flour Mills a large patronage and steadily growing prosperity. He handles only home grown wheat. When the Soo railroad was built through this section he gave his support to the organization of a town and sold forty acres of land to the town site company and has continued to be interested in the growth of Gully, although ho does not live in the village, his home being near the mills, about a quarter of a mile from the village. He has cleared some thirty acres of his land. Mr. Ohm has taken an active part in public affairs since his residence in the township and gave valuable service as treasurer for a number of years, and for eight years was the clerk of the school board. He holds membership in the fraternal order of Modern Woodmen at Red Lake Falls. He takes his occasional recreation in his favorite out-of-door sports, enjoying fishing and hunting. Mr. Ohm was married in 1883 to Lena Norby of Faith, Norman county, Minnesota, and eleven children have been bom to them : Pauline,

M'ho married Elmer Goodrich and lives in Canada ; Otto; Walter, associated with his father in the mill; Clara, now residing in Canada ; Hattie, who was in the employ of the Central Telephone company for several years and is now at the home in Gully; and Richard, Ruth, Charley, Roy Eveline and Florence, all of whom are living with their parents.

A. P. Hanson, of Fertile, cashier of the Citizens State bank of that place, was born in Denmark, March 31, 1855, and came to the United States in 1869 with his parents, who were pioneer farmers in Ottertail county, Minnesota, where their homestead was located near Fergus Falls. Mr. Hanson remained on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, when he secured a clerking position in St. Paul and was employed in that work for several years, in St. Paul and later in Fergus Falls. In 1878 he came to Polk county, and as one of the substantial and influential pioneer citizens of the county has been actively identified with the development of its resources and the notable progress made within its borders. His first activity in the financial field was as bookkeeper in the Merchants National bank at Crookston. His ability has been recognized by steady promotion through the many successful accomplishments of his career, and after six years spent in the position of bookeeper he became the assistant cashier of the Scandinavian American bank and served in that capacity for sixteen years. He removed to Fertile in May, 1904, and was one of the organizers of the Citizens State bank, in December of the same year becoming its cashier. As business man and citizen Mi\ Hanson enjoys the confidence and esteem of his associates, and as a member of the school board has been actively influential in the erection of the new high school building. He is further identified with the interests of the section as the owner of farm lands near Fertile. In fraternal circles he is allied with the Masonic chapter at Crookston and is a member of the IMinnesota Bankers' association. Mr. Hanson was, in 1869, married to Miss Christine Charlotte Jacobson of St. Paul and they have four daughters : Elene C, who is engaged in teaching in the schools at Sanger, California; Cora E., the wife of L. R. Clements, of Ormond, Florida; Mabel G., who is studying music in Northwestern University, and Gertrude F., at home.

Hans Paulsrud

Hans Paulsrud, cashier of the Farmers State bank at Fertile, is a native of Norway, bora July 8, 1866. He was reared on a farm in his native land, making his home there until he was fifteen years of age, when he went to Sweden and for three years was employed as a clerk in a store. He then returned to Norway and remained there until 1889, when he came to the United States and joined his brother, Anton Paulsrud, in Crookston, where the latter had settled about a year previously. For a time Hans Paulsrud worked on the farm which was owned at that time by Sheriff Paulsrud, meanwhile attending the schools at Crookston and fitting himself for wider activities in his adopted country. In the spring of 1890 he came to Fertile and secured a clerical position with the banking firm of Mathews & Company and has since devoted his career to the banking business, attaining noteworthy siiccess in all his operations and meriting the eonfi- dence and esteem of all bis associates. When the First State bank was organized as the successor of the old company Mr. Paulsrud was made the assistant cashier and continued to serve in that capacity through the subsequent change in the organization to the First National. In 1912 he assisted in the establishment of the Farmers State bank and was appointed cashier. He has since devoted every effort to the interests of this bank, which has enjoyed marked success and prosperity. The bank was incorporated with a capital of $25,000 and occupies a fine modern building which not only affords every accommodation for its business interests but is a notable addition to the superior architectural possessions of Fertile "s business section, occupying a prominent site on the main street of the town. Mr. Paulsrud is actively associated with affairs of public moment and has given able service as village treasurer. His marriage to Gerda Johnson occurred in Fertile. She is a native of Sweden, the daughter of John Mattson, who engaged in farming in Polk county until his death. Mr. Paulsrud and his wife have a family of three daughters and one son, Anna, John, Hilda and Agnes.

Albert 0. Gullickson

Albert 0. GuUickson, of Fertile, vice president of the Farmers State bank and a prominent business man of the county, was bom in Allamakee county, Iowa, March 24, 1875, and has been a resident of Garfield township since his early childhood. His father, Hans A. GuUickson, was bom in Norway and was brought to the United States by his parents when five years of age, the family being among the first of their countrymen to emigrate to this country. Hans Gullickson was married in Iowa to Mary Christianson, who like her husband was a native of Norway, and in 1880 they came to Polk county and were pioneer settlers in Garfield township, where Hans Gullicksou took a homestead claim in sections eleven and fourteen, some three miles east of the present site of Fertile. Here he experienced all the arduous labor and privations of the farmer in a new country. His entire capital was represented in a team of oxen and a few head of stock and the tract, being covered with timber, required some time in preparing it for cultivation. During the first seasons he worked in the harvest fields and then devoted his attention to his prospering farming operations and put one hundred and twenty-five acres of his two hundred and forty acre farm under cultivation. He became a well known citizen of that section and was active in all public interests, serving on the township board and was prominently associated with the organization of the Lutheran church, which was erected on the homestead of the father of his wife, Ole Christianson, in section fourteen of Garfield township. Mr. Christianson lived on his homestead until his death in 1909, at the age of eighty-three years. His son, Ole Christiansen, is now a resident of Crookston. The GuUickson home was on the land in section fourteen, on the banks of Sand Hill river and here the death of Hans GuUickson occurred in his fifty-eighth year, in June, 1907. His wife survives him and continues to make her home on the farm with her daughter, Viola Gullicksou, and the three sons, Carl GuUickson, Orton GuUickson and Melvin GuUickson, who operate the estate. The other members of the family of nine children are Albert 0., Martin, a former Polk county teacher, who has held positions in a number of Minnesota schools and is now principal of the schools at Atwater, Minnesota; John, who taught for a time in Polk county and is now engaged in the practice of law at Great Falls, Minnesota ; Otto, associated with Albert 0. GuUickson in the mercantile business, and Robert, a farmer in Garfield township. Albert 0. GuUickson grew to manhood on the homestead, engaging in farming until 1904 when he began his commercial activities, forming a partnership with T. H. Nesseth and buying the interests of Martin G.

Peterson in the agricultural implemeut business. After ten years of successful business operations, the firm was dissolved by the death of Mr. Nesseth, Mr. Gullickson buying his interests of the heirs and becoming sole proprietor of the business. He conducts an extensive trade in all lines of farm machinery and implements, handling silos, windmills and engines and also engages in the flour and feed business. His store is equipped with an attractive show room and large storage capacity and is justly popular among its many patrons. Mr. Gullickson is prominently associated with the various interests of that region, l^ing well known in financial circles as one of the organizers and the vice president of the Farmers State bank, at Fertile, and in public affairs has given capable service as a member of the village council and is the present recorder. He has ever recognized the duties of good citizenship and has exercised a potential influence in promoting the general welfare of the community, giving effective and notable assistance in the direction of the campaign against the saloons. In political belief, he is allied with the Republican party and an active supporter of its cause. Mr. Gullickson was married in 1906 to Sophia Sletto, the daughter of Sven and Jorand Sletto, who settled on a homestead in Garden township in 1882. Two sons have been born to them, Solon and MUes. The family are members of the United Lutheran church, in which Mr. Gullickson holds the office of trustee.

Ed Mossefin, of Fertile, president of the Citizens bank and a successful business man of the county, is a native of Minnesota, born at Wilmar, June 5, 1878. His parents. Mads A. and Joran Mossefin, came to the United States from Norway in 1872 and located in Chicago, where Mads Mossefin worked at his trade of tailoring for several years, and in 1876 removed to Wilmar, Minnesota. In 1879 he brought his family to Crookston and engaged in the mercantile business at that place until his death in April, 1914, at the age of sixty-seven years, his son, Norman Mossefin, succeeding him in his business interests. His wife siirvives him and continues to make her home in Crookston. Mads Mossefin was well known in the church circles of Crookston as a trustee and influential member of the Synod Lutheran church and is remembered as a worthy and substantial citizen of that community. Ed Mossefin was reared in Crookston and has been identified in all his interests and activities with the growth and development of Polk county. He attended the common schools and after one year of study in the high school entered the business world as a clerk for Fountaine & Anglin and was employed by that firm for four years. He then took a position aa bookkeeper in the hardware store of J. E. 0 'Brien Co., where he remained until 1901 and then made an independent venture in the mercantile world, opening a general store in Crookston, which he operated for five years, conducting a prosperous and steadily growing trade, which attested to his ability and enterprise in business activities. In 1905 he removed to Fertile, having been one of the organizers of the Citizens State bank in that place in the preceding December. He was appointed assistant cashier of the bank and has since been prominently identified with its notable success and rapid growth, devoting his entire attention to its management. In 1907 he was made vice president and assumed active direction of all the bank affairs, the president, K. J. Taralseth, residing at Warren, and in 1911 became president. The Citzens State bank is one of the most prosperous banking houses in this region, and as president Mr. Mossefin is widely known as one of the able financiers of the county. Mr. Mossefin is also interested in agricultural pursuits and owns two farms near Fertile. He takes great pleasure in out of door sports and is an enthusiastic huntsman, enjoying frequent outings in quest of game in the northeni woods as well as the sports in his home locality. He is a member of the Gun club and an active aud interested participant in all shooting contests and has given his influence to the encouragement of the athletic spirit of the community, faithfully supporting the baseball and other teams in all their interests. He is a member of the Elks lodge. Mr. Mo.s.sefin is that type of bu.siness man and citizen whose interest touches every phase of the life of a community and whose services are given freely in any project which tends to the progress and general welfare. He was married in 1901, at Warren, Minnesota, to Lena Taralseth, the daughter of K. L. Taralseth, who was bom at Minneapolis and is a graduate of Carleton college at Northfield, Minnesota. ;Mr. Mossefin and his wife are memlxTs of the Synod Lutheran church.

Hon. John Holten

Hon. John Holten, of Fertile, an eminent citizen, business man and statesman of Polk county, was born at Sundahl, Norway, September 18, 1849, and grew to manhood in his native land. In 1872 he came to the United States and settled in "Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he spent seven years before coming to Minnesota and taking a homestead claim in Norman county. There he was active in public affairs and in the organization of Sundahl township, which upon his petition, received its name from his old home in Norway and he also served as the first township clerk and assessor. His father, John J. Holten, had come to Iowa in 1873 and joined his son in Norman county, jnakiiig his liome on an adjoining homestead where he continued to reside until his death, February 16, 1910, at the age of eighty-six years. Tlie death of his W'ife occurred some two years earlier, in her ninety -first year. Mr. Holten 's career as a merchant dates from the start of the village of Fertile, when in partnership with Mr. Carlson he engaged in the agricultural machinery business. The usual success and extensive operations of this firm has set a worthy pace for the rapid growth of the town ; from a business started with but capital sufficient for the freight charges on a carload of machinery, it has advanced to a twenty thousand dollar stock and totals the annual sales at forty thousand. In 1886 Mr. Holten had become a wheat buyer at Twin Valley and in December of that year transferred his operations to Fertile and this enterprise continued to receive his attention for a number of years, the majiagement of the store being left to his partner, Mr. Carlson. In 1892 the latter removed to Tennessee and Mr. Holten became sole owner of the business, two years later adding a stock of general merchandise. Mr. Carlson returned to Fertile in 1897 and the old relation was again resumed and the firm has since continued as Holten & Carlson. They are the owners of the attractive business block which they occupy, one of the largest in Fertile, and the adjoining building which was formerly utilized for farm machinery, a department which was discontinued in 1915, the firm interests now being directed solely to a general mercantile trade. Mr. Holten is still the owner of his Norman county homestead which comprises 220 acres and, in partnership with Mr. Carlson, owns a quarter section of land four miles north of Fertile. Mr. Holten 's achievements have not been confined to the private interests of the business world but his talent and attention has been given freely for the benefit of the public welfare and progress where the worth of his service has marked him as a leader in the activities of the commonwealth. His influence has been prominent in the furthering of all civic improvements and as president of the Fair association, he has assisted in putting the Fertile fair on equally notable basis with the County fair at Crookston. In local offices he has filled the positions of village treasurer, village recorder, and a member of the board of education for fourteen years, the last six of which he was president of the board and for three terms has been president of the town council. In 1907 his field of service was widened through his election to the lower house of the State Legislature as representative from the sixtysecond district. An issue of that election was the county option law and he made his stand as a staunch defender of temperance, in which cause he has always been a valiant fighter. He was re-elected for a second term and in 1911 without making a personal campaign for favor, and was again returned to office, receiving a larger majority from his fellow voters than in previous elections. His activity and ability as a legislator brought him a wide reputation and the confidence and high regard of his constituents. During his membership in the House he sei-ved on numerous important committees, on the State Prison and Reform committee, the several committees regulating commerce and retail trade, public lands and the state fair and in 1911 was chairman of the drainage committee and was appropriation commissioner for roads and bridges. He also sat in the special session of 1912. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1913 and has given his attention to his business interests. Mr. Holten is a member of the Sons of Norway and of the United Lutheran church and has given faithful service as a trustee in that congregation for many years. His favorite recreation is found in out of door life and he has collected many trophies which attest to his skill as a hunter and fisherman. Mr. Holten was married in 1892, to Elina Hofif, of Battle Lake, Ottertail county, and they have a family of two sons and five daughters, John Chester, who is associated with his father in the mercantile business; Melvin Stanley, employed in the Citizens State bank ; Frances, who is a student in the Normal school at St. Cloud; Esther and Agnes, members of the high school classes of 1916 and 1917, and Lillian and Ena.

B. E. Bearson, of Fertile, well known i-eal estate man and proprietor of the Bearson & Son garage, has been actively associated off and on with the business activities of that place for some twenty-five years. He is a native of the state, bom in Fillmore county, November 20, 1864, and grew to manhood in a pioneer farm home. When eighteen years of age he embarked upon his commercial career as a dealer in horses, meeting with steady success in his venture and within a few years began to ship into the northei'n pai't of the state. He came to Polk county in 1890, locating at Fertile and continued as a horse dealer for several years, buying in southern Minnesota and shipping to Fertile and Fargo, North Dakota, and the adjacent agricidtural districts. Subsequently he made Britton, South Dakota, his shipping point for several years and then returned to Polk county and opened a general store at Mentor in 1903 and during the three years of mercantile operations began his activity as a real estate dealer, having previously invested in farm lands near Fertile and

Mentor. In 1904 he removed to Fertile and bought land adjoining the town, where he has made a spacious and attractive country home, situated on a forty acre tract. He began his business operations in the county with a capital of $2,000, and the success to which he has attained and the steady prosperity of his efforts, attests to his marked ability as a business man and to his worth as a citizen. He continues to engage in the shipping of horses in Polk county but devotes the most of his attention to the real estate business and now owns some twelve hundred acres of land in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas and is interested in town property and business buildings in Fertile and other places. His land includes both wild and cultivated tracts and through his policy of improving every piece of property in which he invests, he has signally contributed to the progress and development of the country. He has recently extended his interests to the automobile business and has erected a modern garage in Fertile and operates a repair shop and automobile agency; his son, Edwin

Bearson, being in charge of this business. Mr. Bearson has ever given his active co-operation in affairs of public moment and has given able service as a progressive and public spirited citizen but has always avoided political activity. He enjoys the hunting and fishing in which his native state abounds and makes these out of door sports his favorite form of recreation. Mr. Bearson was married at Bi-itton, South Dakota, August 7, 1893, to Eli7>a Bundrock, who was born in Wisconsin in 1874 and accompanied her parents to Dakota in her early childhood. Two children were bom to them, Edwin, the manager of the garage of Bearson & Son; and Gertrude, who graduated from the Fertile high school in 191.5 and is now engaged in the study of music. Mr. Bearson and his family are members of the United Lutheran church. Mr. Bearson 's parents were Engebret and Guneld (Cresthaug) Bearson. They were natives of Norway and were among the pioneers of Fillmore county. The father died in that county and mother in North Dakota. They were farmers. They have five sons and three daughters living.

Hogen Merrill Hogenson

Hogen Merrill Hogenson, of Fertile, rural mail carrier and well known citizen, was bom in Rock county, Wisconsin, November 29, 1857, the son of Peter and Sonva Hogenson, who had made the long trip across the waters from their native land of Norway to this country in a sailing vessel, taking several months to make the voyage. In 1863, when Hogen Hogenson was a lad of six years, the family removed to 01mstead county, where Peter Hogenson located on laud and devoted his attention to the development of a fann. The parents made their home on the homestead during the remainder of their lives. H. ]M. Hogenson resided there until 1880, when he took a homestead claim in Clay county, Minnesota, and proved up on the tract, acquiring the title within two years, with a cash payment for the land. In 1886 he came to Polk county to secure more land and preempted a claim in Garden towiiship, filing one of the last preemptions permitted under the law. Here he engaged in the arduous labor of clearing and cultivating the wild land, working during the first years wnthout a team and then became the owner of a yoke of oxen. For seventeen years he gave his attention to agi-icultural pursuits and built up a prosperous farm property which he left in 1903 to remove to Fertile, where he has since made his home. For a time he was employed in draying and other occupations and in October, 1905, secured his appointment as rural mail carrier and for ten years he has continued to capably discharge the duties of this position, which entails the responsibilities of a twenty-eight mile route, through Garfield, Woodside and Godfrey townships, with some eighty patrons, the number of deliveries each month passing the six thousand mark. Jlr. Hogenson is still interested in farm land near his old place in Garden township and on coming to Fertile, bought his present home which is one of the attractive residences of the town. As a progressive and public spirited citizen, Mr. Hogenson has always been identified with public activities and has earned the confidence and respect of all his associates for his integrity and ability in all phases of his career. He is widely known through his service in official capacity, having filled the various offices in Garden township, and the office of constable in Fertile, from which he resigned to accept his position as mail carrier. He is a member of the order of the Sons of Norway. Mr. Hogenson has been three times married. His first union was with Christine J. Grimsrud, who is survived by three children, Peter E., employed as a motorman on the railway in St. Paul ; Serena, who married Kittle Moen and resides in Dodge county, Minnesota; and Anna, who is married and resides at Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Mr. Hogenson 's second marriage was with Martha Johnson. His present wife, Bertha Souders Hogenson, is a native of Ohio and of German pajentage. She is prominently associated Mrs. Hogenson is the bonded substitute for her huswitii the social life of the community and takes an band on the mail route and has ably served as such

Hon. Halvor Stbenerson

A strong man, verily, is Halvor Steenerson - strong in physique, strong in mental power, strong in moral force and strong in the influence he wields in public life. For a member of the National Congress is he, and, as such, has rendered such valiant service that he has been re-elected by his constituents no less than six consecutive times, having thus been a member of the 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd and 64th Congresses.

As his name would indicate, the Honorable Halvor Steenerson is of sturdy Norwegian stock. His father, Stener Knudson, was an educator of no mean ability. A biographical sketch of him appeal's elsewhere in the volume.

Halvor, when about seventeen .years of age, was entered as a student at Rushford High school, and after attending that institution for two j-ears was licensed to teach. By teaching and doing farm work he was enabled to pay his way at school for another year, and he then entered a law office as a clerk and law student. In 1878 he went to Chicago and entered the Union College of Law where he pursued his legal studies for two terms. He then essayed the bar examination, passed with distinction and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Illinois in June, 1878. Returning to Minnesota, he was admitted to practice there, opened an office at Lanesboro, Minnesota, in which city he remained till spring, 1880, when he moved to Crookston, Minnesota, which is still his home.

Such was the native ability and thoroughness of the work of Mr. Steenerson that, within six mouths after locating in Crookston, he was elected County Attorney. As a prosecutor he was markedly successful and he began to be at once recognized as a rising lawyer of ability. Two years later he was elected State Senator, being the youngest member of that body. He served on the Judiciary Committee and helped to frame the law creating the Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners of 1885. This was the first attempt at railroad and warehouse regulation in Minnesota, and was two years before the Congress of the United States passed the Interstate Commerce Act. He served four years, his term ending in January, 1887. He then, for fifteen years, devoted himself to general practice, his reputation extended throughout the Northwest, and he took part in some of the most noted trials of those days. Before his election to Congress he was twice sent as a Delegate to the Republican National Conventions (1884- 1888). His success as a lawyer may be said to be due to natural talent and great industry, his tact and skill in the management of his case, and his ability to command the respect and confidence of court and jury. Though not unskilled in the arts of advocacy, he rarely resorted to appeals to the emotions, but mainly relied on the logic and reason of his position. These traits have also marked him as a political speaker and debater.

In 1893, Mr. Steenerson brought a proceeding under the laws of the state of Minnesota to force a reduction in the transportation rates on grain. This important litigation he conducted, refusing all compensation therefor, and, through his masterly presentation of the facts carried to a successful conclusion, the ' ' Steenerson Grain Rate Case," as it is known, which has since been cited in nearly every important case involving the regulation of the cliarges of pubUc utilities.

The state of Minnesota in 1901 adopted a direct priniai-y law for the nomination of Representatives in Congress, and Mr. Steenersou was nominated and elected by a large majority. As already stated, he is now serving his seventh consecutive term, and is the ranking Republican member of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, one of the most important Committees in Congress.

During the sixtieth and sixty-first Congresses he was also Chairman of the Committee on the ]Militia, and was largely responsible for the enactment of the "Dick-Steener.son Militia Law," an act, "To promote the efficiency of the Militia," approved May 27, 1908. The merit of this law is being more and more recognized as tlie years go by.