Renville County, Minnesota - Biographical sketches (1 of 2 so headed), 1916 (part 3 of 10)

1866, Mr. Oaffney located a homestead of 160 acres in section 3, Flora township, where his son, Edmund, now lives. It was all wild prairie land. Here he built a log building, made out of 1ml- Low logs called scoop logs. Later he built another log house which had a shingled roof. The first township election of Flora township was held in the first of these log houses. At that time there were about fourteen voters in the township. Mr. Gaffney began to break up the land with his ox team and improve the farm. He was a member of the Catholic church. He died in 1884, at the age (if eighty years. He was married in Illinois to .Mary Powers, daughter of John Powers, a native of Ireland. Mrs. Gaffney died in 1870, at the age of thirty-seven. Ten children were born to these parents: Anna, George, Catherine, Ellen, John. .lames, Mary, Joseph, Frank and Edmund.

Edmund F. Gaffney, a prominent man of Flora township, was born in Waseca county, Minn., Feb. 16, 1859, son of James and .Mary (Powers) Gaffney. He came to Flora township as a small boy, grew to manhood on the home place, and has since continued to live there. In 1892 he acquired the place, and since then he has added 40 acres to it. He, has taken his share in the progress of the community and is an industrious and progressive citizen, widely esteemed by all who know him. Mr. Gaffney was married Jan. 11, 1899, to Mrs. Amelia (Schaffer) Smith, born in Flora township. April 27, 1873, daughter of John and Caroline (Krup) Schaffer. Mr. and Mrs. Gaffney have had three children, Mabel, Kenneth and Leland E. Mabel was born Sept. 24, 1892, was married Oct. 29, 1912, lives with her husband on a homestead near Saco, Montana, and has two children. Kenneth was born Jan. 26, 1906. Leland E. was born Jan. 31, 1900. and died Feb. 23, 1910.

John Schaffer was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, March 17. 1831, and died in 1885. He was twelve years old when he was obliged to earn his own living, his parents having died. He came to the United States and served four years during the Civil war.' After the war he located in Flora township, Renville county, where he had preemption claim in section 1. He secured 160 acres and later added 40 acres more. He built a log house and used an ox team to' break up the land. Shortly afterwards he married Anna Larson, a native of Norway. She died, leaving two children, Louisa and John. Then he married a second time. to Caroline Krup, born in Germany, Dec. 5, 1841, who is still living at North Redwood. Mr. Schaffer helped organize the township and served on the board of supervisors. The children by this second marriage were : Amelia, Emma, Ida and Amanda.

John Zimmer, a farmer of Flora township, was born in Germany, September 26, 1864, son of Peter and Gertrude Zimmer. His parents were married in Germany and left for America.

when Joliu was one and a half years old, coming by sailing vessel and spending four weeks on the water. His father first settled in Wisconsin and farmed there for a time and then left for Minnesota, coming to Renville county, to which place he drove with ox team. He located on a farm here and began farming, using oxen to break up the land. He suffered much from the grasshoppers which destroyed his crops. There were nine children in the family : William, Peter, John, Louie, Michael, Nicholas, Kate, Mary and Anna. He died in 1880 at the age of forty years. His wife married again, to August Olich, there being one child, Adolph, by this union. Adolph and his mother reside at Glencoe, McLeod county.

John Zimmer grew to manhood in Renville county and began to work for himself at the age of twenty-seven years. He worked out among the farmers for about a year and then located 160 acres of land in Flora township. It was all wild prairie land with no buildings nor hedge. He has improved the farm and built modern buildings and a modern house with steam heat and electric lights. He raises a good grade of stock.

Mr. Zimmer was married April 29, 1892, to Anna Brandt, born in Germany, Oct. 3, 1874. and came to America when she was an infant. Her parents, Charles and Amelia (Manthei) Brandt came in 1875. They settled in Nicollet county and later in Renville county, locating in Troy township, where he lived until his death in 1913, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife is still living at the age of sixty-two years. There were ten children in the family : Anna, William, Amelia, Herman, Charles, Frank, John, Mary, Esther and Clarence. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmer have three children : Elsie, born Jan. 15, 1894 ; Selma, born March 5, 1897 ; and Clifford, born Sept, 20, 1898 ; all at home.

John Larkin, Sr., now deceased, was one of these early pioneers of which Renville county can well be proud. He was born in Cloan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1825, and there received his education and grew to manhood. At the age of eighteen years in 1843 he set sail for America and located in Massachusetts, where he was married Sept. 6, 1852, to Mary DArcy, who was born at Tullow, County Carlow, Ireland, Nov. 25, 1830. In the fall of 1867 Mr. Larkin and his wife came to Minnesota, living for about three weeks at St. Peter and then coming to Renville county, where they arrived in December. He secured a homestead of eighty acres in section 18, Flora township. It was all wild land without any improvements whatever. He at once set at work to improve his new home, built a log cabin to live in and a rude shed to shelter the stock. The hard winters and heavy storms, together with the grasshopper plague, were severe drawbacks, but by undaunted courage and hard work, Mr. Larkin in time prospered and became one of the leading representa- tive farmers of the community. He built up a good home and a fine farm. He served as justice of the peace and for a time the postofSce was kept in his residence. He died Sept. 6, 1892. Mrs. Larkin remained on the farm until 1912, when she removed to the city of Renville where, despite her advanced age of eightyfive years, she is still hale and hearty, and enjoys telling of the early days' happenings in Renville county. Mr. and Mrs. Larkin were the parents of eleven children : Joseph L., born July 4, 1852, died May 16, 1854; Henry, born Dec. 6, 1854. died April 17, 1857; Edward, born Nov. 4, 1856, now of Graceville, Minn., married Nov. 24, 1887, to Marry Powell, and father of ten children : Edward, Edna, Nellie, Anna, John, Prank, William, Henry, Rose, and one who died in infancy ; Mary, born Oct. 28, 1858, now widow of William Foster, and now residing at Foley, Benton county, Minn., and mother of seven children: John, Mary, Margaret, William (deceased), Charles, Robert and Helen W. ; John, born August 25, 1860, a farmer of Flora township, married to Margaret W. Garvey, and has eight children: Wilfred (deceased), Francis, William, Richard, Bernard, John, Helen and Joseph ; Margaret Clara, born Oct. 9, 1862, a successful teacher of Redwood Falls ; Lawrence H., born Nov. 9, 1864, now of Renville ; Ellen H., born July 31, 1867, now a bookkeeper at Princeton, Minn. ; William P., born Nov. 11, 1869, a farmer at Castor, Alberta, Canada ; Joseph H., born April 14, 1872, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; and Kate, born .lime 27. 1875, and died June 30, Ls75. The family church is the Roman Catholic.

Joseph H. Larkin was born on the old homestead of his father in section 18, Flora township, April 14, 1872, son of John Larkin. He grew to manhood there, receiving his education in the district school and the high school at RedwTood Falls. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching at Redwood, where be taught for three months. The next six years were spent in teaching in his own district, No. 18, in Flora township. Then he began farming on his father's farm and also across the road in the same section. There were 157 acres in this tract, to which he added fifteen acres more. He farmed here for several years and then became a thresher, having two outfits and crews, and for thirteen years traveled all over Renville county during the harvest season. He is a member of the Farmers' Elevator Company at Renville, having been a director for the past two years. and held the position of vice-president the two years previous.

Mr. Larkin has held the office of township assessor and has served on the school board for three years. He is a member of the Catholic church and for the past three years has served as trustee of that church. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Peter Binger, a thrifty aud industrious farmer of Flora township, was born in Germany, Nov. 6, 1840, son of Valentine and Dorothea (Laubel) Binger. There were three children in the family : Adam, Andrew and Peter. Andrew and Peter left Germany in 1866 and reached New York after a nine days' voyage. They remained in New York until 1868, when they went to Minnesota. Peter had learned the trade of a cabinetmaker in Germany and had followed that trade in New York. He located a homestead of 80 acres in section 20, Flora township, in 1868, where his home now stands. The land had been broken and there had been an old shanty on it, but it was burned at the time of the Indian uprising in 1862. He made a rude barn by driving stakes into the ground and covering the roof with straw. He had one ox team and at first borrowed a government wagon at St. Peter, but finally made one with wooden wheels. Beaver Falls was the nearest market and the grain was taken there to lie ground. He now has three 80-aere tracts and has erected new buildings and raises good stock. He is a member of the school board and of the German Lutheran church. He helped build the church and was one of its trustees for several years.

Mr. Binger was married to Sophia Masemann in New York, and they have had ten children, eight of whom are living : Louis (deceased) ; Edward (deceased) ; William, a farmer of Emmet township; August, a farmer of Flora township; Dora, now Mrs. Gustave Mack, of Flora township; Bernhard, a farmer of Flora township; Henry, of Spokane, Wash.; Pauline, now Mrs. Thos. Zapf. of Spokane, Wash.; Herman, at home, farming with his father; and Marie, at home.

Charles F. Schafer was born in Indiana, Jan. 9. 1862, son of Henry Schafer, a pioneer of Renville county. He was five years old when his parents came to Rice county and eight years old when they moved to Renville county. Here he grew to manhood, attending the district school in the log house, and at the age of nineteen began working on the farms of the neighbor. Then lie went to Rice county, where lie remained for about one year, and then lie came back to Renville county, where lie worked out on the farms for about nine months. Then he bought his present place, a tract of 80 acres in section 23, in Flora township. He improved his land, built a granary with a hay roof, and also a barn. He lived in the barn for about two months before his house was completed. He has now increased his farm to 120 acres and also owns another farm of 120 acres in section 25, and 40 acres in section 13. He raises a good grade of stock and has some fruit. Mr. Schafer was married March 22, 1889, to Minnie Ukert, born in Germany, July 16, 1860, and brought to America by her foster parents in 1862. They were four weeks on the ocean ami came to Wisconsin, where they remained until 1S83, when they came to Minnesota and located in Flora township, section 22, where they secured 80 acres. Here the father died at the age of sixty-six in 1902, and his wife in 1913, at the age of seventy-six. Mr. and Mrs. Schafer have four children : Laura, born Nov. 22, 1889, graduated from the Renville high school, and is now a teacher; Walter was born Sept. 7, 1892; Earl was born Oct. 7, 1897, and Florence was born Feb. 8, 1904.

L. L. Palmer, hotel man and cattle dealer, was born in Switzerland, May 5, 1859, son of Jacob P. Palmer, who died Oct. 19, 1897. His mother, Anna Palmer, died Feb. 23, 1906, at the age of eighty-six years. He came to this country in 1865 and located six miles from New Ulm. He started his career as a cattle buyer at the age of sixteen, and in the forty years that have since passed has engaged more or less in that line. His first exprrience was in the employ of Peter Orth, of Redwood Falls, Minn., for whom he worked two years. Then he worked in a similar capacity for five years for M. Epple, of New Ulm. Next he operated a roller skating rink at Lake Benton for a year. Then, tor several years, he engaged in cattle dealing at New Ulm in partnership with his brother, Jacob. In 1889 he came to Fairfax and started a hotel career which lasted over twenty years. He found his quarters too small and later purchased the "Windsor Hotel, which he operated for many years. The hotel is a homelike place, has eighteen rooms, steam Heat, electric lights, bath and other conveniences and is well patronized. Mrs. Palmer owns 320 acres of land near Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Mr. Palmer was married Oct. 21, 1886, to Minnie Vogelpohl, who was born Sept. 25, 1862, daughter of Herman and Louisa (Schroer) Vogelpohl, farmers of Brown county. The father died in 1901 at the age of seventy-two. The mother is now living at New Ulm. It is interesting to note that Mrs. Palmer has taught sewing school for thirty years, and in that time had 648 pupils in New Ulm and Fairfax. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have had four children : Lunita, now Mrs. David Rondahl, born Nov. 20, 1889 ; Viola, a teacher at Searles. Minn., born Aug. 2, 1891 ; Roman, born Sept. 20, 1901, a student at the Dr. Martin Luther College, at New Ulm ; and Arthur, a twin of Lunita, who died at the age of four days.

David Rondahl, proprietor of the Topic Theater, Fairfax, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He came to this country in 1909. In 1912 he reached Fairfax, worked a time in a mercantile establishment, and later opened the Topic Theater. He has worked hard, has built up a splendid business and conducts a creditable place. Mr. Rondahl was married Feb. 2, 1915, to Lunita Palmer, daughter of L. L. and Minnie (Vogelpohl) Palmer.

arid Rebecca (Fitz) Schlueter. The father died in Germany, and the mother came to America, bringing her son, John, in 1857. She was married at Buffalo, N. Y., at once upon her arrival to Francis Schumacher, later known as Francis Shoemaker. John Schlueter spent his early boyhood in Le Sueur county, this state, and came to Renville county with his family in 1S66. As a young man he worked as a farm hand. In 1882 he went to North Dakota and took a claim of 160 acres in Sargeant county, where he proved up and remained for two summers. In 1878 he located in Henryville township, this county, and bought 160 acres of wild state land in section 6. He put up a shanty, broke the sod with the aid of an ox team, and gradually erected substantial buildings and brought the farm to a high stage of cultivation. In 1902 he sold out and bought a farm of 395 acres in Flora township, a part of which was the old homestead. He has remodeled the house, erected a barn and a machine shed, and made many other improvements. He now carries on general farming and stock-raising. While in Henryville township, Mr. Schlueter served on the town board. He is now a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator at North Redwood, and in the Redwood Falls Rural Telephone Co. The family faith is that of the Evangelical Association.

John Schlueter was married May 7, 1885, to Christina Antonsen, born in Le Sueur county, this state, Dec. 26, 1862, daughter of John and Louisa (Kahle) Antonsen, natives respectively of Denmark and Germany, who came to this country, were married in Missouri, and settled in Le Sueur county, where they engaged in farming. In the Antonsen family there were nine children : Caroline (deceased); Mary, of Le Sueur county; Minnie, of Anoka county; John (deceased); Louisa (deceased); Rachael, of Colorado; Peter, of Sibley county; Fred, of Buffalo Lake, this county; and Christine, of Flora township, this county.

Elias H. Anderson, a progressive farmer of Wang township, was born Aug. 13, 1838, in Norway, son of Andres Evenson. He received his early education and training in Norway. At the age of twenty he became a teacher, and after four years of this work he took a two-year course at a seminary, after which he resumed his work as teacher at the place where he had been be- fore. After four years he moved to another district and here, in addition to his work, he was also the choir leader of the church for several years. He was always a very strong politician and held a position similar to that of judge of probate in America. On two occasions he was a candidate for the Storthing or Parliament, but was defeated by a very close margin, and at one time this caused a rejection of the election, and as it was too late for a new election no representative was sent from that district that year.

Being a progressive man and not finding conditions as congenial as he wished, he decided to locate in America, where he had been before and where the opportunities for his progress were more numerous. He came to America in 1SS9 with his two boys, his wife having died. His oldest son was sent to college and his youngest remained, with his father. In 1890 he bought 40 acres of land in section 35, in Wang township, for $600. There were no buildings on this place. Adjoining his forty acres of land there lived a young widow who had VU acres of laud. An agreement was made between the two to work the 120 acr< - gether. the result of this agreement being that she became his wife.

Mr. Anderson has been president of the Hawk Creek Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, of Sacred Heart, which include> six townships. He has been the secretary of the Farmers' Elevator Company, of Sacred Heart, and treasurer for the school district for the past fifteen years. While connected with the elevator company, he also had charge of the ordering of the supplies needed by the farmers. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and has been the deacon ever since he came to this township. He is also a member of the school committee of that church and of the revision committee.

His first wife was born May 7. 1^-U. and died Sept. 28, lv"7. She was one of the pupils attending his first school. She left the district and engaged in the study of dressmaking and housekeeping and. after perfecting herself in those branches, she went to Bergen, where she entered the state school for nurses. Here she completed the course for nurses and returned to her home a professional nurse and expected to work as such. However, when she returned she found her former teacher still there, and after a short time they were married. To this union were born several children, only two of whom grew to manhood. They are Ingvald Legnus and Berner Legnus. Ingvald is cashier in the bank in Brieelyn. Faribault county, Minnesota, and Berner is cashier in Russell, Lyon county, Minnesota.

His second wife was Mrs. Olaus Rude, formerly Margout Arons. She was born in Norway and had one child by her first marriage. By Mr. Anderson's second marriage there are five children: Olaf, born May 21. 1891: Anna Pauline, born June IS. 1893: Ed-

Hans Berg1, a well-known farmer of Want;' township, was born March 11. 1837, in Norway. He left Norway in 1867 and came to America in a sailing vessel, landing at Quebec, and from there went on to Rochester, Olmsted county, where be bad friends. He began working on farms, and after about two or three years lie also worked on the railroad for a time, but finally came to Renville county, making'the journey with an ox team. Here he secured a homestead, locating across the road from where he is now living, in section 4, Hawk Creek township. On this tract of 80 acres he built a log house, 14 by 16 feet. Meetings were often held in this log house. He also built a barn of sod and logs. He had two steers, and when one of them died it was a lone' time before he could get another. Times were not very prosperous and two years passed by before he felt that he could afford to have a cow. After four or five years the log house was replaced by a small frame building, 12 by 14 feet, which is now a part of the present house, additions having been made. He also boughl 80 acres more across the road in Wang township, section 34.

Mr. Berg carries on general farming and raises good stock. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company at Sacred Heart. He has served on the school board and is a member of the Norwegian Hawk Creek Lutheran church, which he helped build.

In 1873 Mr. Berg was married to Marit Stavne, born Jan. 28, 1836, in Norway, the daughter of Ole and Marit (Baukal) Stavne, who both died in that country. She came to America with her brother and sister in 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Berg have had two children. George 0., horn Feb. 13, 1875, is now professor in Greek at St. Olof's College, Northfield, Minnesota; Annie, born Sept. 15, 1876, has been a teacher, hut is now at home.

Christian A. Evenson, a venerable and respected farmer of Wang township, was born in Norway, Sept. 29, 1843, son of Anders and Pauleta (Elarson) Anderson. The family name in Norway was Anderson, but on coming to the United States he took the name of his grandfather, who was named Even, thus making Evenson. His parents died in Norway. They had five children: Hogan, Elias N., Christian, Thomas and Lena. Christian A. was the first to come to America, in 1S67 : Elias, in 1SS2, and Lena in 18S7. The other two children died in Norway. In the spring of 1867, Christian Evenson left Norway in a sailing vessel, landing at Quebec after a twelve week voyage. From there he went to Lansing, Michigan, not being able to go further on account of lack of funds. While on the boat, running between Quebec and Michigan, a fire broke out, which greatly frightened the passengers. At the time, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but a long time afterward it was discovered that it was caused by whiskey. At Lansing, Mr. Evenson decided to find work on a farm and started out into the country. On the road he met a farmer who needed help. As Mr. Evenson could not speak English and as the farmer was German, they had rather a hard time understanding each other, but finally came to an agreement and Mr. Evenson worked there for three months. The next spring he went back to Lansing because he wished to be near the water. In March he worked about two weeks on one of the steamers. Then he took charge of a raft of logs and for some time made several trips even as far as St. Louis. This was during the springs, and during the summers he worked in the harvest fields. He planned to go to Texas, but one day me1 a fellow countryman who advised him to go to Indiana, which he did. On his arrival he was hired by an Irishman to work in the harvest fields. The next year he worked in the harvest fields in Illinois, and the next in Iowa. Then he took passage up the Mississippi river as far as Winona and from there went by rail as far as Rochester, where he worked in the harvest fields. He returned to Iowa and remained there for five years, and then be came to Minnesota again and located on a homestead in section 31, in Wang township, of SO acres. There was a little log house on the place. He paid $500 for the land and also paid the expense of having the claim filed at the land office, as this had not been properly filed before. lie was not able to have a pair of steers for about a year, and then he began breaking up the land. He has now increased his farm to 220 acres and has built a fine modern house and barn. He raises a good breed of stock.

Mr. Evenson has been one of the supervisors of Wang township for three years and has been chairman of supervisors for two years. He has also been township assessor for two years, and has served on the school board for nineteen years. He is a member of the Farmers' Elevator Company and has been on«, of its officers for many years. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers ' Telephone Company, and has been public auctioneer for tw7enty-five years. Mr. Evenson is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and was one of the organizers of this church and helped build it. He has been a deacon for the past twenty-five years and is now the choir leader, a position in which he has served for forty-three years past. During his first year in Minnesota he was married to Pernilla Thoreson, who was born in Norway. Eleven children have been born to these parents. Those living are : Thomas. Carl, Otto. Sigvert, Amel, Harold, Anna, Marie and Clarissa.

Ferdinand H. Breitkreutz, a prosperous farmer of Flora township, was born Nov. 22, 1865, in Germany, son of Ferdinand and Anna fStrauch) Breitkreutz, who came to the United States by a sailing vessel with their two children, Ferdinand and Matilda, in 1867, being sixteen weeks on the ocean. They landed at New York and went to Wisconsin, where they stopped a few weeks and then moved to Le Sueur county. Minnesota, where they settled on a farm of 40 acres. In 1870 the family came to Renville count3', coming in a covered wagon drawn by oxen. The father had been to Renville county the year before and had located a homestead of 80 acres and a preemption claim of SO acres in section 28, Flora township. They lived in the wagon until the cabin was built, 1-4 by 20 feet, made of logs, and began breaking up the land with the oxen. The early meetings of the German Lutheran church were held in this cabin, and Mr. Breitkreutz was an active worker in the church and Sunday school. When in Le Sueur county, he had taught in the German parochial school during the winter. He helped organize, and was a trustee of the Middle Creek Lutheran church of Flora township. He improved his farm and built a good substantial frame house, the frame house and log cabin still standing across the road from the fine modern house erected by his son on the farm. He prospered and added to this farm until he had 600 acres of land and kept a good grade of stock, having brought his hogs, cows and sheep with him from Le Sueur county. In those early days his wife spun the wool into yarn and wove cloth. He died in 1891 at the age of fifty-four years, and his wife is still living at the age of seventy-five years. They had six children : Matilda, Ferdinand, Emma, Hulda. Paul and Anna. Ferdinand H. Breitkreutz grew to manhood on his father's farm. He took charge of 210 acres of the home farm and has gradually enlarged it. until now he has 870 acres. He has built a modern house and barn and raises excellent stock. Mr. Breitkreutz has been supervisor of the township for the past twenty years and has also held the office of treasurer. He is a member of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Breitkreutz was married in 1905 to Augusta Schmidt, daughter of Christian Frederick and Johanna Wilhelmina (Heimke) Schmidt, pioneers of Renville county, who left Germany in 1862, first coming to Wisconsin, then, in 186S, located in Flora township, Renville county. They came to the county by team and brought three children with them. Mr. Schmidt secured a homestead of SO acres in section 24, where he built a log cabin and improved the place, at his death having 480 acres of land. He was horn Nov. 17, 1836. and died March 11, 190S. at the age of seventy-one, and his wife was born Nov. 15, 1839, and died May 25, 1911, at the age of seventy-one years. Their children were: Herman, Richard. Ida. Reinhold, Martha. Anne Bertha, Arnold, Frederick (deceased), and Augusta. Mr. and Mrs. Breitkreutz have five children: Herman, Alfred. Rhenhart. Herbert and Gerhart.

Adolph Kaiser, a progressive farmer of Winfleld township, was born July 12, 1863, in Clinton county, Iowa, son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Green) Kaiser. His parents were natives of Germany, coming- from Prussia, in 1 Still. They moved to Clinton county, Iowa, with their two children. Gus and Emma, and located on a farm of SO acres in that county. The father was a tailor by trade and knew very little about farming. The farm he secured was an old one and there was only an old shanty on the place. The family lived here for eight years and then moved to Johnson county. Iowa, where they bought 120 acres of prairie land in Lincoln township. Here they built a frame house and began to break the land, using an ox team, living here till the father's death, in 1886, at the age of sixty-four. His wife died at the age of fifty-seven. They were both members of the Presbyterian church. There were six children: Emma. (Jus, Hermiua, Minnie. Adolph and Agnes.

Adolph Kaiser was educated in the country schools of Johnson county. After a time he began farming and continued in this work in Johnson county for three years, then he moved to Minnesota, locating in Renville county, in Bird Island township. He bought a prairie farm of 120 acres in section 29 in 1888, which was entirely wild land and had no buildings. Here he built a house and, in a short time, bought 80 acres more and still later 91 acres more, living on this farm until 1899, when he sold out and came to Winfleld toAvnship, buying 160 acres of land. There were no buildings nor improvements made upon this land, so Mr. Kaiser put up buildings and made fine improvements. He keeps a fine grade of stock, raising Shorthorn cattle, and does general farming. While in Bird Island township, Mr. Kaiser served for three years as a member of the school board, and as member of the township board. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator at Danube and helped organize it. being at one time one of the directors. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' Co-operative Telephone Co. Since his coming to Winfleld township he has held several township offices. He is also a member of the Presbyterian church. Feb. 8, 1S8S, Mr. Kaiser was united in marriage to Sadie Kile, born in Muscatine county, Iowa, April 10, 1864. She was the daughter of Jerry and Elizabeth (Lee) Kile. Her father was born Oct. 30, 1817, in Pennsylvania, his father being one of the early German settlers of that state. He died Nov. 28, 1888. Her mother was born in Ohio, Dec. 20, 1834, the Lee family being one of the early families of Ohio. After five years of married life, Mr. and Mrs. Kile left their home in Ohio and moved to Iowa, taking up a prairie farm in Muscatine county. Here they built a frame house and spent their remaining days. They had eight children : Madison. Mary, George, Sadie, Lydia. Minnie, Callie and Louis.

Ernest J. Miller, son of Henry and Augusta (Prehl) Miller. was born in Steele county, Minnesota, Feb. 11, 1874. Henry Miller was born in Germany and came to America in 1845. He came to Renville county in 1897 and engaged in farming, locating in Norfolk township, where he remained until his death, in 1908, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife is still living at the age of seventy-five years. Ernest -I. .Miller began renting a farm in Norfolk in 1898. In 1905 he bought 80 acres in section 18, the western half of the northeast quarter, Norfolk township, where he still lives. He has built a fine eight-room house and a barn, 24 by 40 by 14, both buildings being erected in 1912. He raises Holstein cattle and does dairying. Mr. Miller is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company at Olivia and also of the Luce Electric Line. He served as postmaster for one year and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and Modern Woodmen of America at Olivia. Mr. Miller was married Feb. 2, 1898, to Selma Fogelquist, born March 3, 1880, daughter of John Fogelquist, a farmer of Saskatchewan, Canada, aged seventy years, well known as one of the pioneers of Waseca county, Minnesota. They have four children: Le Roy, born July 29, 1899; Homer, born April 28, 1906: Ivan, born April 28, 1911; and Dale, born March 28, 1914.

Frank H. Manderfeld, Kingman township, was born May 22, 1871, in Brown county, Minnesota, son of John and Katherine (Thrach) Manderfeld. When twenty-three years old, Frank left home anil went to Brown county, where he rented a farm and remained I'm- four years. He then purchased 124 acres in section 3, Kingman township, where he now owns 408 acres. In 1913 he built a modern eight-room house. He is an enthusiast oil the subject of blooded stock and owns nineteen head of registered Shorthorns and 125 registered Duroc Jersey hogs. For three years lie was on the township board and for six years has been ;i director of School District No. 82. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator of Bird Island. He is a member of the Catholic church and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Mr. Manderfeld was married Feb. 25, 1894, to Caroline Manderfeld, born Jan. 12. 1872, the daughter of Anton and Annie (Holm) Manderfeld. They have six children: Lydia, Roman, Elsie, Eklen, Loretta, Anthony. John Manderfeld, born in Germany, came to America with his parents in 1855 and settled in Brown county. His wife. Katherine (Thrach) Manderfeld, died in 1877 at the age of twenty-six years. Mr. Manderfeld is a retired farmer, aged seventy-two years, and is living at New Ulm. Anton Manderfeld was born in Germanv and came to America in 1855. He married Annie Holm and made his home in Brown county, where he resided until his death, in 1897, at the age of 52 years. His wife died in 1896, at the age of 42 years.

Francis Shoemaker, one of the earliest pioneers, one of the first county commissioners, and for many years the leading resident of Flora, was born in Holstein, Germany, Dec. 22, 1817. At the age of fourteen years he set out as a sailor and continued for about fifteen years, touching at many important ports in various parts of the world. For a while he was first mate of the vessel "Northerner." Then he decided to go to the mining camps of California and become a gold digger. After spending six years in California he went to New York by way of Cape Horn, and from there came to Minnesota, where he obtained ;i preemption claim two and a half miles east of what was known as Le Sueur Center, walking to the place from Faribault. He knew nothing about farming and went back to Germany to get some of his relatives to come and help him. He brought back with him twenty-two people, most of whom were relatives. Among the number who came from Germany was his future wife, whom he married at Buffalo, New York. As the Civil war broke out at this time several of them enlisted in the Union army. Mr. Shoemaker built a log house and cleared 40 acres. In 1865 he came to Renville county and located a homestead in sections 1 and 2, 80 acres being secured in each, in Flora township. As the Homestead Act was not yet decided upon, he took a preemption claim, afterwards relinquishing it and taking the land as a homestead. He drove over from Le Sueur with a horse team, bringing his wife and six children, John Schlueter, a step son. by his wife's former marriage, Francis, Herman, Celia. Martha and Elsby. In Flora township two more children were born. Henry and Minnie. He had located this land a year before the family came and had built a rude shack into which they moved, ami where they lived until the next summer, when he built a log house, one of the . first to be built in the county after the Indian massacre. It is still standing. It was 16 by 22 feet, with a board floor and clapboard roof, made of native lumber worn down instead of being planed. Here he lived until 1890. when he moved To North Red wood, where he died. He owned 400 acres of land at tin- time of his deatli and had built a modern frame building on his farm and improved it in many ways. Mr. Shoemaker was greatly interested in public affairs and held many public offices. lie helped organize the township, school and county, and w;is one of the first county commissioners of the new county. He was judge of probate one term. He held the office of township clerk for about twenty years and served on the school board. He was one of tin organizers of the old Grange and was also a member of the I. O. O. F. of Redwood Falls. He was a member of the German

Evangelical church and helped to organize it. He died at North Redwood, Feb. 26, 1901, at the age of seventy-four years, two months and four days. His wife is still living at North Redwood, at the age of eighty-two years.

Francis M. Shoemaker, one of the prominent and progressive men of Flora township, was born in Le Sueur county, Minnesota, Oct, 14, 1858, son of Francis anil Rebecca (Fitz) Shoemaker. He was about eight years old when his parents moved to Renville county and here he has since remained. He learned the trades of carpenter and engineer, but has devoted the greater part of his life to farming, coming from the home place directly to his present farm. When he located on this place it consisted of a tract of 180 acres in sections 2 and 3, Flora township, forty of which were preempted and forty purchased. He has greatly improved and developed the place and now has a splendid estate of 250 acres on which he has erected a modern home and many suitable and commodious buildings. In addition to this he owns land in Dakota. Mr. Shoemaker carries on general farming on an extensive and successful scale and makes a specialty of raising good Belgian horses and Holstein cattle. Being interested in agricultural progress, he is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company, of Delhi, and the present president and one of the charter members of Flora Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which covers a territory of sixteen townships. He is at present supervisor of Flora township and served for ten years as township assessor and as clerk for seven years. He has also held office of school clerk for twenty years. Mr. Shoemaker is a member of the A. O. U. W. He is a prominent communicant of the Evangelical Association church and was on the building committee of the church, built in 1911, which is said to be the finest church of that demonination in a country district in the state.

Mr. Shoemaker was united in marriage April 5, 1888, to Regina Dryer, born in Flora township, April 30, 1867, daughter of Henry and Regina Dryer. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker have three . children : Francis H., of New London, Wis., a traveling salesman ; Vern W., who is at home ; and Crystal, a student at the Redwood Palls high school. The children have all received a good education. Vern completed the four years' course in the Northwestern College at Naperville, 111., in three years. Crystal has been especially interested in local history and is a fluent writer. When prizes were offered in 1912 for the best essays on various phases of Renville county history, she won the second prize of $10. She is the author of the article on Flora township, which appears in this work.

Henry P. Serbus, a successful farmer of Henryville township, was born in Brown county, Minn., Aug. 29, 1873, son of John and Rosa (Bertek) Serbus. Henry Serbus remained on the home farm and after his father's death in 1897 took charge of the farm, remaining there until 1899, when he bought 160 acres of land in the northeast quarter, section 26, of Henryville township. He has developed this farm and has erected a fine monolithic concrete silo, a good barn, chicken house and hog house. He raises the large type of Yorkshire hogs which are registered, and feeds one car each of cattle and hogs for the market every year. He has served as township constable for five years and is a member of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Association and township director of same. He is of the Catholic faith. Mr. Serbus was married Nov. 24, 1896 to Mary Kubesh, born Aug. 15, 1875, daughter of John and Josephine (Moravitz) Kubesh. Mr. Kubesh, a retired farmer of Olivia, came to America in 1855, moved to Le Sueur county, in 1882 came to Henryville township and then moved to Olivia in 1911, where he has lived ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Serbus have the following children : Henry, Jr., born June 11, 1898; Anton, born March 15, 1900; Beatrice, born Nov. 1, 1902; Angela, born Oct, 8, 1905; Peter, born April 1, 1908; Bessie, born March 6, 1910; Helen, born Aug. 21, 1912, and also her twin, Hattie ; and Mildred, born Oct. 29, 1914.

Timothy Hurley, the real estate and insurance man of Bird Island, was born March 26, 1879, in Brandon township, Renville county, the son of James and Johanna (Farrell) Hurley. He remained at home until he was. of age then entered the grain business. He now deals in land and sells insurance. He is secretary of the Democratic county committee and a member of the Commercial Club.

James Hurley, born in Ireland, married Johanna Farrell, who was also born in the Emerald Isle. She died in 1909 at the age of 69. Mr. Hurley came to America in 1852, coming to Minnesota in 1865, when he located at Rochester where he remained five years. He then homesteaded on the northwest quarter of section 18 in Bandon township. From time to time he purchased other land until he owned 1,000 acres. He did a land business and general farming until 1900 when he retired to Bird Island where he now lives.

William Jungers was born in Germany in 1827, and at the age of eighteen came to America with his parents and located in New York. He married in New York and came to Goodhue county, Minn., in 1865. His wife died in 1868 at Red Wing. They began life in this new county in a log cabin on Hay creek and with their oxen carried on farming. The land was covered with timber when he came and there were no roads. He cleared up the place and lived there seventeen years, when he moved to Nicollet county where he spent the rest of his life. He was married three times. By the first wife there were the following children : Adam, Kate, Mary, John, May, Helen and Michael.

By the second wife there were Teresa and an infant who died. By the third wife, who is still living there were the following : Peter, Christian, Anna, Charles, Joseph, Frank, Benjamin and Elizabeth. He was a member of the Catholic church.

Michael Jungers was born in New York state, April 17, 1864, son of William and Mary (Redding) Jungers. He received his education in Goodhue county and later located in Renville county. For a time he rented a farm and then purchased the present place of 160 acres, there being no improvements. He has since erected modern buildings, and raises good stock and has added 40 acres to his farm. He has been chairman of the township board for twelve years and secretary of the Farmers' Insurance Company for eighteen years. He is president of the Farmers' Elevator Company at Bird Island and school clerk and is also a member of the Stock Breeders' Association. He is a member of the Catholic church. He was married Oct. 26, 1887, to Catherine Lafontaine, born at Lake Superior, April 30. 1864, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Klass) Lafontaine. The father was a native of Belgium and came to America at the age of fifteen, being a poor boy, and went to Washington county, Wisconsin, where he worked on the farms and in the mines. He now lives in Mankato. He was married in Wisconsin shortly before coming to Minnesota, and in 1869 located in Nicollet county on a farm. The children born were Nicholas, John, Anna, Mary, Liza. Margaret, Jennie and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Jungers have the following children: William, born Aug. 1. 1888, who married Tillie Girg and lives on a farm at Sleepy Eye, having one child. Myrlin; Edward, bom Nov. 7, 1S91 : Leonard, born Oct. 13, 1904.

Alex. J. Richardson, a leading public man of Bird Island, was born in Rochester, New York, son of Joseph and Lydia B. (Reed) Richardson, Dec. 23, 1865, was brought to Glencoe, this state, in 1872, and in 1884 to Bird Island, where two years later he became manager of the Richardson & Co. store. Though not a seeker of public office he has been called to serve on the village council of Bird Island for six years and as its mayor for two years. For ten years he was clerk of the Bird Island school board. He is now a director of the Renville County State Bank, at Bird Island. Aside from his prosperous business interests and Ins holdings in the village he owns several valuable farms scattered throughout the county, and is in every way regarded as a successfid man. Mi'. Richardson was married June 16. 1896, to Jessie E. Burlingame who was born June 16, 1S79. Her father, Anson Burlingame, died in Martin county this state at the age of sixty-six. Her mother, Maria A. Hill, after his death married G. S. Livermore, upon whose decease she took up her home with Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, with whom she now lives. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson have one daughter. Lucile, born Oct. 14,

1907. Joseph Richardson, successful business man and organizer, was born in Maine, June 4, 1822, and there lived until the age of twenty, when he went to Boston, Mass., and engaged in the produce business a few years. Then he went to Rochester, New York. There he organized and for ten years served as president of the Vacuum Oil Co., now merged in the Standard Oil Co. In 1872 he came to Glencoe, Minn., and engaged in the general merchandise and grain business in the firm of A. H. Reed & Co. In 1884 he organized the firm of J. Richardson & Co., with headquarters at Bird Island, though ho himself continued to reside in Glencoe until his death, June 3, 1905. His wife, Lydia B. Reed, was born Nov. 11, 1828, and died in January, 1897. The firm has continued to grow and prosper. When it was organized Joseph Richardson was president ; W. J. Richardson, M. D., of Fairmont, Minn., vice president ; and C. M. Tift't, of Glencoe, Minn., secretary. The presidency is now vacant and Alex. J. Richardson is the treasurer. Originally the firm owned a grain elevator, a store, and two creameries, but now confines its activities to the store at Bird Island, where they have a large business which is constantly increasing in importance.

James O'Neill was born in Ireland in 1831. Here he grew up to manhood and married Catherine Flanagan. This marriage resulted in ten children: John, James, Charles. Stephen, William. Patrick, Ellen, Margaret, Catherine and May. He and his family came to Quebec where he remained a few years and then moved to Rochester, and later to Northfield in 1859, where he engaged in farming. The oldest sons, John and James, served in the Civil war returning home in 1865. The family moved to Henryville. Renville county. Minn., where the father and sons took a homestead and farmed until the winter of the "Big Blizzard." Jan. 7, 1S73, a journey was made to Willmar with loads of wheat by John. Charles and Stephen O'Neill in company with Thomas and Michael Holden. A terrible snow storm came up and the men lost their way and of the five, Michael Holden was the only survivor. William and Patrick remained on the farm until a few years ago when both retired and moved to Olivia. James went west and engaged in- the mining business until his death in 1905.

Patrick O'Neill was born in Quebec, Canada, Jan. 29, 1850, son of James and Catherine (Flanagan) O'Neill. He attended the common school of his neighborhood and grew up on the farm. He was married to Catherine Noonan, Sept. 5, 1871. born in Albany, New York, May 14, 1850. She came with her parents William and Bridget Noonan to Stillwater, Minn., where she was married. Eight children were born to this marriage : Mary E., James P., Agnes, John B., William J., Stephen F., Charles E., Arthur T.. all residents of Renville county. Mary E., the oldest was born June 22, 1872, in Henryville township on the old homestead and remained with her parents until her marriage, Sept. 8, 1897, to Thomas J. Kelly. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly still live on the old homestead.

Thomas J. Kelly, a well-known farmer of Henryville township, was born April 16, 1861, in McHenry county, Illinois, son of Thomas G. and Ann (Corcoran) Kelly, both native of Roscommon, Ireland, and married in Baltimore, Maryland. Thomas G. Kelly had come to America with his two brothers when a young man in 1842. The father had died in Ireland when the children were young and after four years the mother came to America, accompanied by her daughter Catherine. She was seventy years of age when she died. Thomas G. was a blacksmith and followed that trade till thirty-three years ago when he took up farming in McHenry county, Illinois, where he had a tract of 240 acres of land. This was in 1860. He spent eight years on tins farm in Illinois and then moved to Minnesota, to Renville county, and located on section 1, Henryville township. Half of the section was wild prairie land. The son, Thomas J., came first and located the land before the rest of the family came. A frame building was erected and they had only one team at first, but in time good buildings were built on the farm. Here the parents lived until their death, the father dying in 1897 at the age of sixty-six and the mother in 1901 at the age of seventy-six. They were faithful members of the Catholic church and the father helped build the Catholic church at Olivia. There were ten children in the family : Mary, Katie, Sarah. Thomas J., Ellen (deceased), Rebecca, Elizabeth (deceased), William, Edward and Julia (deceased). Thomas J. Kelly has held several school offices and was one of the founders of the handsome school house in District 137. He has been the director of the Farmers' Elevator of Olivia for the past four years. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a member of the Catholic church. The subject of this sketch lived with Ins father until his marriage in 1897 to Mary O'Nell, born in Henryville township. There are seven children all living at home, Leo, Hazel. John, Gladys, Gordon, Charles and Francis.

Ole H. Docken, a successful farmer of Ericson township, was born in Norway, April 23, 1850, son of Hans and Emjor (Docken). The parents were farmers in Norway and died there, both being nearly ninety years of age. The father was born in 1813 and the mother in 1807. They had six children, Hans, Ingebret, Anna. Carrie, Ole H., and Emma. Four of these came to the United States, Ingebret coming first in 1866 and Ole H. in 1867. Anna and Emma came later. Ole H. Docken was a lad of seventeen when lie left his home in Norway and came to America, coming to Quebec in a sailing vessel, the voyage taking nine weeks. From Quebec be journeyed on to Rushford, in Fillmore county, where his brother Ingebret had arrived the year before, this trip taking one week. He went by way of the Great Lakes, across Wisconsin to La Crosse and overland to Rushford. At Rushford he began work on a farm in Pilot Mound township, receiving $30 per month during the harvest season. He also operated a threshing machine that first fall. That winter he attended school in the log school house at Pilot Mound, making his home with John Hall, working for him all the next spring and summer. The following winter he worked near Preston and the next year he and his brother, who had now come to the LTnited States. rented the John Hall farm. The next summer was spent in work on Ole Wilson *s farm near Preston. During the next six or seven years he worked for Andrew Hamilton of Winona. He then returned to Pilot Mound township where he .remained about a year. After his marriage he and his wife, in the spring of 1879, moved to Renville county, making the trip with a team of horses and a covered wagon. His brother had already located on HaWk Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Uocken located on section 8. Ericson township. There wrere no buildings and all was prairie as far as the eye could see. He built a rude hut, putting posts into the ground, nailing boards on the sides of them and covering the room with sod, also laying sod along the sides of the hut. The floor was of boards. When he settled here he had two cows and 80 acres of land. Since that time he has increased his farm to 250 acres and after five years in the sod hut built a good modern house which was burned in 1904. Another modern house has been elected since and also a fine barn. Mr. Docken has been chairman of supervisors and treasurer of Ericson township for many years. He has also seiwed on the school board several years, and is a member- of the Sacred Heart Lutheran church. He is a stockholder of the Sacred Heart Farmers' Elevator Company.

November 29, 1878. Mr. Docken was united in marriage to Martha Hanson of Pilot Mound, born in Fillmore county, Sept. 7, 1861, daughter of Hans and Bertha Hanson. Her parents were both born in Norway and came to America, first locating in Wisconsin, then in Pilot Mound township, Fillmore county. They had seven children: Hans, Anna, Erick, Martha. Rena and Mary (twins), and Hannah. They secured a homestead and built a log cabin, their nearest market being Winona, which they reached by ox team. Here they lived the rest of their lives, the father dying in 1905 at the age of seventy-four and the mother died twenty-three years ago at the age of sixty-two. They were members of the Lutheran church. During those days school houses were very few, and school was held for a time in their

William A. Schneider, who lives on the rural delivery route No. 1, Renville, where he owns 480 acres, 320 in section 25, and 160 in section 36, was born January 11, 1871, in Germany, the son of August and Christina (Leis) Schneider. He obtained his education in Kankakee county, 111., remaining with his parents until their death. He devoted his time to assisting his father on the farm which he still owns. He also owns three farms of 80 acres each in Sacred Heart township. He votes the Republican ticket and is now serving his second term on the school board. He is also a township supervisor and is serving his second term in that capacity. All of the improvements on the home farm were made by himself and his father, it having been unimproved at the time of its purchase. He is a member of the German Presbyterian church, a stockholder and director of the Farmers' Elevator at Renville.

Mr. Schneider wedded Johannah Karthuis in 1893. She was born in Holland, March 18, 1874, daughter of Klaus and Johannah (Dervick) Karthuis. She came to America with her parents in 1884. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schneider : Christina, born Dec. 4, 1893, the wife of A. Dannen, now living on a part of his father's home farm; Herman, born Sept. 5, 1895, who departed his life July 20, 1906 ; Willie A., bom March 29, 1897 ; Annie, born Dec. 8, 1898; Clarence, born Nov. 8, 1900; Arthur born June 28, 1902 ; Frank, bom Dec. 6, 1904 ; Herbert H., born March 7, 1908 ; Theodore U., born April 29, 1912 ; Eveline Mary, born April 4, 1914.

Augnsl Schneider, born Feb. 13, 1830, died June 25, 1911, in Erickson township. He married Christina (Leis), born March 29, 1838, in Germany. She died March 3, 1907, in Erickson township. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider came to America in 1882 and settled in Kankakee county, 111., where they lived on a rented farm eight years. They then removed to Renville county, where Mr. Schneider bought 160 acres in Erickson township, this being the farm William is now living on. They had four children : Christian, Gustav and Henry, who are dead, in addition to William. Klaus Karthuis, born in Holland Sept. 14, 1839, married Johannah Dervick, born Sept. 24, 1836, in Holland. They came to America in 1884, and settled in Butler county, Iowa, living on a rented farm for seven years. Moving to Crooks township, Mr. Karthuis bought a farm which his son John now manages, his home now being with Mr. and Mrs. Schneider. His wife died in April, 1907. They had eight children : Hannah, Ellie and Dean, who are dead ; Maggie, now Mrs. L. Mulder, of this county ; Harm, of Lisbon, North Dakota; John, on his father's farm; Joseph, of Pipestone, Minn.

Gunerius Melsness, a retired tanner of the village of Sacred Heart, was born September, 1830, in Norway, son of Severt and Olene Melsness. The mother died in Norway, but the father came to America and died in Renville county. Gunerius Melsness came to America in 1866, the trip from Christiania to Minnesota taking one month. He came by way of Quebec, Chicago and Winona and Northfield. He was a carpenter by trade and followed that trade in Northfield. He next went to Goodhue county and after a while came to Renville county in 1868 to get land. He secured a homestead in Sacred Heart township in section 32. There were no buildings on the land so he built a log house 14 by 14. He had an ox team and two cows. Here he lived until 1902 when he retired from farmiug and moved to Sacred Heart village. During this time he replaced the log house with a modern building and improved and increased his farm to 460 acres, having had only 160 acres when he began. He also owns a tract of 40 acres in South Dakota. In Sacred Heart he has erected a modern house for himself and also one for his son.

Mr. Melsness is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and helped build the' first church. He was united in marriage in 1870 to Maria Larson, born in Norway, Jan. 9, 1853, daughter of Barron and Martha (Mortenson) Larson. Her parents came to America in 1861 by a sailing vessel, the trip taking nine weeks and a half. They landed at Quebec and started for Minnesota, coming to Dakota county. The father worked for the farmers for four years and then, in 1866, the family moved to Renville county where he located in Sacred Heart township on the same section as Ole Melsness did. They drove to Renville county in a covered wagon and as there were no buildings on their farm they lived in the wagon until a cellar could be made. Later they built a log house. There were many Indians in the neighborhood and they passed the place by the hundreds often stopping for something to eat. The nearest market was at New Ulm. They had one cow and two steers. They ground their flour in the coffee mill and used parched wheat for coffee. Mr. Larson later moved to East Grand Forks county, where he was the first settler and lived there until 1902. He died at the age of eighty-two years. His wife is still living at the age of eighty-four years at East Grand Forks. Mr. and Mrs. Melsness have seven children: Olena, Minnie, Bertha, Sophia, Geidiard, Martin, who is on the home farm, and Henry.

Berge T. Birk, jeweler, of Sacred Heart village, was born in Norway, June 1, 1856, son of Targus and Elizabeth M. (Sudno) Birk, both of whom died in the old country. He came to America in 1884, lived in Illinois ; from there went to Day county, South Dakota, there farmed for a while and later learned the jewelry trade, then engaged in the jewelry business in Hanley Falls, this state, until 1901, when he came to Sacred Heart and opened his present store. He has been successful, is a skilled workman, and has built up a large trade. He has been justice of the peace for the past twenty years, serving both in Hanley Falls and Sacred Heart. He is secretary of the Sacred Heart school board, and for three years has been president of the Sacred Heart Telephone Exchange.

Mr. Birk was married April 20, 1893, to Selma Dale, born in Murdoek, Swift county, Minn., Oct. 2, 1875, daughter of Iver and Inga Dale, natives of Norway. The father died in 1913 at the age of sixty-seven. The mother still resides in Murdoek. Mr. and Mrs. Birk are the parents of seven children : Blanche, born Sept. 4, 1894; Irene, born Nov. 2, 1896; Francis, born Jan. 23, 1901; Zeberg, born March 1, 1905; Theodore, bom Nov. 11, 1907; Carl, born March 15, 1910; Ingvald, born Oct. 11, 1912.

William H. Burghart, a progressive farmer of Norfolk township, was born in Brown county, Minnesota, Jan. 26, 1880, son of Daniel and Elenora (Adney) Burghart. The father was born Nov. 24, 1844, in Milwaukee, Wis., and came to Minnesota in 1868, spending most of his life in Brown county. The mother was born Oct. 24, 1 855. In 1902 William H. Burghart began renting a farm in Birch Cooley township and lived there for eight years. In 1910 he purchased 197 acres in sections 18 and 7 in Norfolk township. He built a silo in 1910 witli a capacity of 100 tons and feeds fifty cattle. He raises Percheron horses and Durham cattle and Chester White hogs, having forty brood sows and feeds one carload of hogs per year. He has built a large eightroom house and a barn 34 by 40 by 12 feet. He has also built a fine granary and shed 30 by 38 feet which was completed in 1912. Mr. Burghart was married April 25, 1906, to Amelia M. Kern, born Sept. 7, 1886, daughter of John and Christina (Prehn) Kern. Mr. and Mrs. Burghart have three children : Clinton, born Feb. 2, 1907; Mayme lone, born Dec. 17, 1909, and Helen Merle, born May 10, 1915.

Frank Weyer, born in Luxemberg, May 5, 1865, the son of John and Elizabeth (Siegfried) Weyer, came to America in 1875 with his parents and remained at home until he was twenty-six years old. He then rented a farm in Winona county and remained on it for two years when he purchased 80 acres in section 23 Norfolk township, moving there in 1897. This farm he sold later and bought 196 acres in section 17, Norfolk township, where he now lives. He has a modern eight-room house and a good barn. For six years he has been school director in district No. 36. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company of Olivia ; and the Bddsville Creamery. He is also a member of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Association. Mr. Weyer was married June 19, 1894, to Catherine Gloden, bom May 11, 1872, daughter of Michael and Catherine (Siegfried) Gloden. They have three children: Edward, born Aug. 26, 1898; John, born June 7, 1903; Frances Catherine, born May 22, 1912. The family worship in the Catholic tmurch.

John Weyer came to America in 1875 from Luxemberg and settled in Winona county, where he remained until his death in 1905 at the age of 73 years. His wife, Elizabeth (Siegfried) Weyer survived him and is now 86 years old. Michael Gloden married Catherine Siegfried who died in 1892 at the age of 47 years. Mr. Gloden was 66 years old when he died in 1908.

Frank Hagen, a prosperous farmer of Norfolk township, was born in Germany, August 14, 1867, son of Michael and Mary (Beyer) Hagen. Michael Hagen was a farmer in Germany and died in 1910 at the age of seventy-seven years and his wife died in 1872 at the age of thirty-four years. Frank Hagen came to America in 1882 at the age of fifteen years and engaged in bricklaying, which trade he followed in Mankato for eighteen years. Then he rented a farm for three years in Norfolk township and bought 200 acres in section 36 in 1900. He still lives there and has improved the farm and raises Chester White hogs and has been a heavy hog feeder in the past. He raises Belgian horses and is also quite a fancier in driving horses. In 1911 he built a nice brick house with a cement basement. The house is a six-room building, all modern, costing $5,000. He did all the construction work himself. At present he is planning to build a large barn of cement blocks, 60 by 100 feet. Mr. Hagen is a stockholder in the Citizens' Milling Company in Franklin and in the Farmers' Telephone Company of Bird Island, and also in the Farmers' Elevator Company of the same place. He is a member of the Catholic church, and the ( '. O. F.. and also the St. Joseph's Society of Bird Island. Mr. Hagen was married Nov. 19, 1889, to Elizabeth Schulte, born June 12, 1869, a daughter of Peter and Clara (Eikler) Schulte. Mr. Schulte was a farmer of Blue Earth county and came there from Germany. He died in 1895 at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife died in 1904 at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Hagen have seven children : Rosa, born Aug. 19. 1890; Hubert, born July 2:!, 1892; Julia, born Aug. 8, 1894. married to Edward Schumer, a fanner in North Dakota; Frank, born Sept. 11, 1896; John, born Jan. 23. 1903; Agnes, born April 23. 1906; and Albert, born Jan. 3. 190S.

was born in Norway, Dec. 4, 1848. His parents, Ole Peterson and Christine (Dosseth) were farmers. His mother died when he was one and a half years old and he was taken by his grandparents and brought up by them, and took their name of Dosseth. He received his education in Norway and left for America in the spring of 1869, landing at New York. He traveled on to St. Peter, in Nicollet county, where he hired out to the farmers for $15 per month and his board, which consisted mainly of bread and molasses. He remained there until the next winter when he engaged in railroad work on the Winona & St. Peter railroad. The next spring he went to Minneapolis and worked on the railroad until harvest time when he went back to Nicollet county. In 1871 he came to Renville county and located at Hawk Creek township, where' he began to improve some railroad land. In 1872 he went back to Nicollet county to work and stayed there until spring, going from there to Waseca to see if he could earn any better wages. The best offer he received was fifty cents a day. He worked a few months in Freeborn county and then moved on to Mankato and Lake Crystal. After doing a little railroad work he and four others lived on his section in a dugout. When winter came he went to St. James, New Ulm and Beaver Falls. He sold his improvements for $100 and bought an ox team. In the spring of 1872 he went north and took a claim of 160 acres in section 18, Ericson township. He put up a board shanty and planned to live here, but two men jumped his claim and he had to look elsewhere. He finally located on 80 acres in section 30, in Ericson township. There were no buildings on the land. He hauled material to build a house, in the meantime living in a dugout in the ground. He had one cow, one pig, a calf and a team of oxen. He did not have a wagon and when he wished to use one he would borrow his neighbor's, using it at night. Here he remained until the spring of 1912. when he retired and moved to the village of Sacred Heart. During these years he improved his farm, bought more land and erected tine buildings.

He was united in marriage to Martha Ericson, born in Norway, and wdio came to America on the same steamer he did. There are five children : Eric. Ole C. Martin. Marcus and Maria (deceased).

Joseph Schmoll, a proficient farmer of Norfolk township, was born in Germany, May 16, 1858, son of Casper Schmoll, who was a farmer in Germany, and died in 1885 at the age of sixty and Anna (Kuehner) Schmoll, who died in Germany in 1SS0 at the age of fifty-eight years. Joseph Schmoll came to America in 1882 and worked out for three years at Mankato. In 1884 he purchased 40 acres in section 19, Palmyra township and began farming with a yoke of oxen, a plow and an old wagon. In 1885 lie bought 80 acres more and in 1S89 sold this farm and bought 160 acres in section 16 in Norfolk township in 1891. He is still living there and qow owns 600 acres. His farm is well improved and lie raises Duroc hogs. He makes a specialty of feeding cattle for the market ami feeds about a carload each year. When he acquired the farm in 1891 it was all wild prairie. The present condition of the place is a splendid example of what may be accomplished in twenty-five years. Trees have been planted, a pleasant home erected, commodious barns and outbuildings provided, and suitable equipment of tools and implements purchased. Over 500 rods of the farm have been ditched. Mr. Schmoll has served us township treasurer for fourteen years and was a member of the school board for sixteen years. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company and also in the Farmers' Elevator at Bird Island and in the Eddsville Creamery. He is a member of the Catholic church, the C. O. F. and St. Joseph's Society in Bird Island.

Mr. Schmoll was married March 5, 1S89, to Katie Glesener, born May 24, 1861, and died August 24, 1913. Five children have been born to .Mr. and Mrs. Schmoll: Henry, born May 8, 1892, is a farmer in Norfolk township. He married to Sophia Amberg and has one child, Cecelia. Joseph was born July 11, 1893; Peter Casper and Paul John (twins), May 27, 1895; and Karl Wilhelm, July 30, 1899.

Henry T. Rauenhorst, a prosperous Bird Island township farmer, was born Feb. 5, 1880, at Easton, Faribault county, Minn. His parents were Theodore and Frances (Koonze) Rauenhorst. Since twenty years of age he has lived on the home farm in section 14, Bird Island township, purchasing it in 1911. He has improved the place with good buildings and now has an up-todate farm. In 1911 he erected a stave silo. 16 by 30 feet, and in 1914, a swine house. 24 by 48 feet. He specializes in raising and feeding stock for the market, shipping about 150 swine, and from forty to sixty cattle every year. He raises Chester White swine and Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus cattle. He is a director of the Farmers' Live Stock Shipping Association and the Canning Factory and also owns. stock in the Farmers' Elevator Company.

Mr. Rauenhorst was united in marriage June 27, 1907, to Marguerite Keltgen, born August 14, 1866, in Norfolk township, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Steinbach) Keltgen. Mr. and Mrs. Rauenhorst have three children : William Cletus, born April 26, 1908 ; Murial, born Dec. 15, 1910, and George, born July 23, 1912. The family are members of the Catholic church.

Theodore Rauenhorst, born Sept. 26, 1838, in Germany, came to America when twenty years of age and made his first venture in Wisconsin. After a time he moved to Barber township, Fari- bault county, Minn., where he took a homestead and farmed until 1900, when he removed to Bird Island township. He bought 320 acres of land in the western half of section 14 and also purchased the eastern half of the northeast quarter of section 15, and the southern half of the southwest quarter of section 10. He lived here until his death, April 20, 1905, aged sixty-six years. He was married to Prances Koonze, born July 16, 1842, in Germany, who survives him.

James Power, a prosperous farmer of Norfolk township, son of Michael and Honora (Williams) Power, was born Jan. 10, 1859, at Quebec. His father was a farmer and died in 1880 at the age of sixty-six years and his mother died in 1908. at Wadena, Minnesota, at the age of seventy-nine years. James Power remained at home until twenty years of age. After working out for two years, he set out for Minnesota and from Montreal to Milwaukee, and by train from there to St. Peter, Minnesota, going by stage from St. Peter to New Ulm. The rest of the journey, from New Ulm to section 26, Norfolk township, was made on foot and here he homesteaded 80 acres of land on the eastern half of the northwest quarter of the section. He is still there and now owns 240 acres. Seven winters were spent in the pineries in the northern part of the state and the summers on his homestead. He walked from Minneapolis to his homestead and back again three times. A frame house 16 by 20 feet was built and the lumber hauled from New Ulm. In 1906 he built a fine eight room house. He raises fine stock, specializing in Holstein cattle and Duroe swine and has also very fine Percheron horses. He was one of the organizers of the Norfolk and Palmyra township creamery at Eddsville and was the secretary for several years. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Company at Bird Island and in the Citizens' Milling Company of Franklin. Mr. Power has served as school clerk for six years and is a member of the Catholic church at Birch Cooley and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Bird Island. Jan. 16. 1878, Mr. Power was married to Ellen Hogan, who was born. 1859, daughter of Daniel and Ellen (Fallon) Hogan. Daniel Hogan was a farmer, born in Ireland, and came to St. Paul, where he lived from 1S55 to 1860. Then he moved to Rice county, where he lived till his death. 1912, at the age of ninety-five years. His wife died in 1892 at the age of seventy years. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. James Power : Honora, born Dee. 14, 1879, a trained nurse in .Minneapolis: Daniel S., born Oct. 28, 1882, a retired farmer, Beaver Falls, Minnesota; Michael J., born August 13, 1884, who works in the pineries in California; Thomas E., born August 14, 1886, a farmer of Norfolk township; Mary M., born March 13, 1888, and died Sept. 17, 1888; Mary E., born May 26. 1889. at home; Margaret A., born

Haakon Haug was born in Norway, August 27, 1853, son of Christian and Anna Sophia (Halverson) Haug. His parents were farmers, the father died in Norway at the age of sixty-fwo and the mother is still living at the old age of ninety-two. There were eleven children: Olivia. Liza. Ole, Haakon, Olaf, Arne, Anna deceased . (ail (deceased), Lars. Emma and Caroline. Haakon was tin- only one of the family who came to America, coming in 1880 to Quebec and then going to Minneapolis where he worked for one year. Then he went to Renville county, working around for the farmers until he bought 80 acres of land in section 2, Sacred Heart township. There were some old buildings on the farm. In time he improved the place and gradually increased his farm, now owning 350 acres. He does general farming and raises Percheron and Belgian horses and Durham cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He has been connected with the Farmers' Elevator at Renville ever since its organization and has been on the board of directors for a long time. He is also a member of the Farmers' Teh-phone Company. He has served on the school board as its clerk. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Renville and has held the position of trustee in that church several times.

Mr. Haug was married in 1882 to Emma Liete, who was born in Norway Jan. 25, 1858, and died in Renville county Nov. 20, 1902. She came to America with her parents when she was eight years old. Her parents, Gulliek and Rachel Liete, came to America with their four children in 1858. The voyage took twelve weeks. They settled on a farm in Goodhue county, Minnesota, and in 1874 moved to Renville county. Mr. Liete was one of the pioneers of Goodhue county. They secured a homestead in section 2, in Sacred Heart township, where they lived the remainder of their days. The father died at the age of eighty-two and the mother at the age of seventy years. They were members of the Norwegian Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Haug have eight children : Carl G., Anna S., Nellie R.. who is a teacher, Henry I., Ole, Lauritz. Emma and Arnald.

John Turner, manager of the Sacred Heart yards of the Central Lumber Co. for the past two years, was born in Sweden, Oct. 27, 1873, son of John and Hannah Swanson, who spent the span of their years in Sweden, he dying in 1892, at the age of 68, and she in 1897, at the age of 73. John Turner came to America in 1893, worked at carpentry in Sacred Heart a few years, and then took up the duties of his present position. He has been a member of the village council for three years, and is highly esteemed throughout the community.

Ole Torbenson, one of Minnesota's sturdy pioneers, now deceased, was born at Sandsver, Norway, Oct. 6, 1852, son of Torbjorn and Maria Hellebec, who were born in Norway, came to America in 1853, settled near Iola, Wis., took a claim and died in 1855. The children in the family were: Grace (deceased), wife of Elling Olson (deceased) ; Catherine, widow of Fred Selrner, now living at Iola, Wis.; Christian, deceased; Andrew, deceased; Ole, deceased. After the death of the parents the children continued to operate the home farm. Ole Torbenson remained with his brothers and sisters until about sixteen years of age. Then he started out in life for himself. Among other things he took a good course in a business college at Milwaukee. In 1875 he came to the home of Ole Reishus, in Sacred Heart township, this county, erected a small building, and operated a general store for a time. Then, the C. M. & St. Paul Ry. having been built through the county, he moved to Sacred Heart village and star-ted the first store there. In 1887 he sold his business and moved to Chamberlin, South Dakota, near which village, three years later, he moved onto a homestead, the property being still owned by the family. While on this farm a sad catastrophe overtook the family. A prairie fire surrounded the house, and a servant girl endeavored to find safety in a nearby pond for two of the children, Hubert and Helen. But the fire overtook them, and of the three, Hubert was the only one who recovered, the other two dying in a few hours. In 1898 the family returned to Sacred Heart, and Mr. Torbenson was employed in various stores until his death, Feb. 8, 1915. His widow now occupies the home in Sacred Heart. Mr. Torbenson was highly esteemed by his associates, and did good service for two years as clerk of the village. He lived and died in the faith of the Synod Lutheran church.

Mr. Torbenson was married Dec. 26, 1880, to Hannah Field, born Jan. 8, 1862, in Brandvold, Norway, daughter of Hans and Martha (Bingen) Field. This union has been blessed with nine children. Matilda M. was born Nov. 8, 1881, and is now Mrs. H. R. Baker, of St. Paul. Hubert T. was born Aug. 24, 1886, and is now the railroad agent at Sacred Heart. Helen was limn Nov. 19, 1888. and was burned to death March 28, 1892. Otelia II. was born Feb. 3. 1891, and is now teaching school in St. Paul. Henning S. was born March 24, 1893, and is now a telegraph operator at Minnesota Falls, Minn. Helen S. was born March 23, 1895; Cora A. was born July 12, 1897; Clarence A. was born Feb. 4. 1900, and died July 3, 1900; Verdie L. was born Feb. 27, 1905.

Hans Field was born in Norway in 1831, learned the blacksmith trade, was married, came to America in 1866, settled at Beloit, Wis., remained there seven years, came to Renville county in 1873, took up forty acres in section 8, Sacred Heart township, later sold out, moved to Sacred Heart, opened a blacksmith shop and conducted the first hotel, was elected sheriff in 1888, and served two terms, after which he resumed his blacksmith business until he sold out iu 1896. He then went to Audubon, Minn., until 1908, and since then has been engaged in the boot and shoe repair business in Sacred Heart. His wife was born in 1822 and died Nov. 29, 1898. There are three children : Olive, now Mrs. P. B. Olson, of this county; Inga, now Mrs. J. A. Glessner, Minneapolis; and Hannah, the widow of Ole Torbenson.

Martin Frederickson, a prosperous farmer of Hawk ('reek, was born in Norway. Sept. 29. 1844, son of Frederick 0. and Mary (Larson) Balka, farmers living in Norway. In 1866 the family moved to the United States, coining over in a sailing vessel, the trip taking a little over six week. There were four children in the family. Martin, Lars, Mary and Ole. Ole had already come to America. He had come before the Civil war and had enlisted in the Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteers and had served in the war. Hi' now lives in Lengby, Polk county, Minnesota. The family came to Montreal and from there traveled on to Dane county, Wisconsin, by way of the lakes. Here the father worked out on the farms earning money to return the loan made in order that he might bring his family to America, In 1871 he drove by horse team to Renville county, Minnesota, on the way stopping a few days at St. Peter, .Minnesota. He located on a homestead in Sacred Heart township, section 10, securing a tract of SO acres. Here he made a dugout. When he stopped at St. Peter he had traded his horses for an ox team and a couple of cows and this was what he had to begin with in Renville county. All was wild prairie and there was no road past his place. Here he lived the greater part of the rest of his days, spending his last days with his son Martin. He was a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church of Sacred Heart and helped to build the first church. He died at the home of his son, Sept. 27, 1902, at the age of eighty-four years, and his wife died in 1900 at the age of seventy-seven.

Martin Frederickson received his education in the schools of Norway and came to the United States when he was a young man. In 1871 he secured a homestead on section 10, in Sacred Heart township. He began proving up the land and built a small long cabin, 12 by 14 feet, with a sod roof. They had one cow and a team of horses. Later he sold this place and located on section 5, in Hawk Creek township, obtaining a tract of 160 acres. There was a small frame house on the place and a rude barn. Here he lived for ten years and then he bought more land in section 6, Hawk Creek township; here he also bought 160 acres and moved his family to this farm, still keeping the old farm. There were poor buildings on it when he canie into possession of it. but they have been replaced by modern buildings. He also owns a farm in section 18 of 200 acres. Mr. Frederickson is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church.

About three or four years after Mr. Frederickson moved to Renville enmity, he was united in marriage to Lena Lee, of Norway. She was born April 22, 1852, and came to America with her parents, John and Carrie Lee. An older son, Gunder, had come first and located at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and later some of the sisters had come. The whole family all met together at Chippewa Falls, and in the spring Gunder took his parents and the two younger children to Minnesota, where they located on a homestead one and a half miles east of where the city of Renville is now located. This farm has ever since been known as the Lee farm. Mrs. Martin Frederickson died in 190-1 at the age of fifty-two years. Six children were born to these parents. John, who now conducts the home farm, married Selma Mathison, and they have one son, Morris. Hilda is Mrs. J. C. Hanson, of Hawk Creek township, and has one son. Henry, Miller, of Hawk Creek township married Cora Seim and this union was blessed with one child, Margaret. Anna is Mrs. Carl Moore of New Vienna, Ohio, and has a daughter, Margaret. Fred and Mary are deceased.

Andrew Anderson Wigland, a pioneer, was born in Sweden, April 24, 1846, there attended school, and there grew to manhood. It was in 1868. at the age of twenty-two. that he came to America and took up his home in Carver county, this state. In 1869 he came to Renville county and spent the first winter in a dugout in Hawk Creek township, after which he took a homestead of eighty acres in section 18, Sacred Heart township. Here he erected a log cabin for his family and rude shacks for his stock. Like the other pioneers he endured many hardships. The land was wild and had to be broken, the nearest market was at Willmar, forty miles away, and provisions were scarce and high priced. But he set at work with a will and overcame all difficulties. To his original tract he added another eighty in section 19, this making him 160 acres in a square block. Here he successfully carried on general farming for many years. In 1890 he went to Polk county in this state and bought 160 acres of land which he still owns. There he farmed for five years but then returned to his farm in Sacred Heart township where he remained until 1903, when he rented the farm and purchased a pleasant home on Main street in Sacred Heart village where lie now resides.

Mr. Wegland was married in Sweden to Eli Olson, who came with him to America. She shared his hardships and proved a faithful wife and loving mother. She died on the farm in Sacred Heart township in 1899. They were the parents of eight children : Henry, of Ericson township, this county: Albert, of Bag- ley, Minn.-. John of Rochester, Minn.; Anna, wife of B. C. Thorngaard, of Bagley, Minn.; Alfred, on his father's farm in Polk comity; and Andrew, Bernard and Christina, deceased. Feb. 15, 1900, Mr. Wigland married Bertha (Erickson) Oppegaard, the widow of Ole Oppegaard, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work.

Like the other pioneers, Mr. Wigland had many interesting adventures in the early days. One autumn, in pioneer times, Mr. Wigland and John Peterson drove to Beaver Palls for provisions. After buying salt and a little Hour they found that they had but cents won hi pay for lodging for but one. Wigland therefore told Peterson to get lodgings while he would sleep in the wagon box. Peterson would not listen to this so they both slept in the wagon box with only two thin blankets to cover them. The weather was very cold and during the night Wigland got up and walked briskly about to keep his blood in circulation. Then he returned to his snoring companion in the wagon box. In the morning they were covered with three inches of snow, but they reached home in safety and suffered no ill effects from their adventure.

In the winter of 1872, Mr.. Wigland had another adventure with the cold. He was in the woods chopping when there came up a very bad snow storm. The wind blew a gale and he was illy protected from the cold with a jacket and a thin pair of trousers brought from the old country. He had no underclothes. The trousers were loose and the drifting snow worked up under them until they were packed with snow clear to his body. He started for home but when within about a mile of his cabin he found that he could go no further. So he sought shelter in the home of a neighbor, nearly frozen and suffering severely from his experience. The neighbors finally succeeded in helping him off with his trousers and gave him other clothes, warming him meantime with a few cups of hot coffee and a hot sling. When he felt better he started on his way but found that his limbs were still paralyzed with the cold. It was two days before he could again start for home and after reaching his own cabin he was confined to his bed eight days more and it was nearly a year before lie recovered entirely from the effects.

In the winter of the big storm, Mr. Wigland and Ole Rice started for Willmar with a load of wheat. The weather was mild and warm, and a pleasant journey was anticipated. The runners slid easily over the snow and the men were enjoying themselves greatly, sitting on their loads, smoking their pipes, and enjoying the winter landscape. Suddenly the storm broke. They were compelled to leave their loads on the prairie, and with their oxen they started back toward home. After going several miles they came to the stable owned by Magloire Robi- deaux in Ericson township. In this stable they found two feet of snow. But they cleared a space to lie down in, and in that stable they stayed three days and three nights until the storm was over. Then Rice wanted to go home, but Wigland insisted on continuing the journey. He had not gone far when Rice joined him. They found their loads, hitched on their oxen and went on to Willmar. Mr. Wigland had left home on a Sunday night and did not get back until the Sunday night following. It was a happy reunion when he reached his home and father and mother and children were united.