Belvidere Township

Belvidere Township

The town of Belvidere, was settled in the year 1855, mainly by Americans from the Eastern States, and was organized as an independent election district in 1858.

The first town board was appointed by the county board as follows : Supervisors, Mason O. Egleston, chairman, William Thomas, G. D. Post ; town clerk, Hubert Eggleston; assessor, B. F. Chase; tax collector, J. S. Thompson ; justice of the peace, Marcus Eggleston ; constables, James Loan and George Gay.

The first town meeting was held on the 5th day of April, 1859, and the following officers were elected : Horace W. Twitchel, chairman of the board of supervisors, Marcus Eggleston and Mason O. Eggleston, supervisors; town clerk, Hubert Eggleston; assessor, G. D. Post; collector, J. S. Thompson ; overseer of poor, Nelson B. Gaylord ; constables, Jacob Church and George Gay; justices, Marcus Eggleston and B. R. Prince.

In the year 1860, Horace W. Twitchel was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, George Gelords and Knut Knutson, -supervisors; Hubert Eggleston, clerk ; Marcus Eggleston, assessor ; N. B. Gaylord, town treasurer and poor overseer; Marcus Eggleston and B. R. Prince, justices of the peace; assessor, Star Dennison ; justices, Star Dennison and H. N. Eggleston ; constables, Wm. Kinney and B. R. Prince. 1870, all the old officers held over except Mason O. Eggleston, who was appointed chairman of the board of supervisors, John Alley resigning.

In 1872, John C. Johnson was elected chairman of the board of supervisors, and J. S. Thompson and Stephen Redding, supervisors ; clerk, Peter J. Hilden ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; assessor, Walter Brown ; justices, Walter Brown and George Stace ; constables, Wm. Lane and S. Mageras. In 1873, John C. Johnson was re-elected chairman, as well as J. S. Thompson and S. Redding, for supervisors; clerk, T.J. Hilden; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord; assessor, George Stace ; justices, George Stace and Walter Brown; constables, James Arden and E. Fountain. In 1874, the same town board was re-elected, with the exception of A. W. Fountain being elected justice of the peace, Walter Brown not qualifying. In 1875, William Thomas, Perry George and Martin Johnson were elected supervisors, William Thomas being elected chairman; clerk, T. J. Hilden ; assessor, George State ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; justice, John C. Johnson ; constable, R. Mallan. In 1876, William Thomas, Perry George and George Stace were elected supervisors, William Thomas being elected chairman; clerk, Peter J. Hilden ; treasurer, C. C. Roberts ; assessor, John C. Johnson; Stephen Redding, justice of the peace ; John Mageras, constable. In 1877, Perry George was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Martin Johnson and John Shafer, supervisors ; clerk, T. J. Hilden ; assessor, John C. Johnson ; treasurer, N B. Gaylord; justices, John 0. Johnson and Peter Krall ; constables, C. A. J. Hanson and Hubert Mageras. In the year 1878, Perry George was re-elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Stephen Redding and Olaus Johnson elected supervisors ; clerk, P. J. Hilden ; assessor, George Labbitt appointed; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord; John C. Johnson and P. Krall, holding the justice office ; C. A.J. Hanson and S. Mageras, constables. The town has always been very patriotic, and when the war broke out the men enlisted as one man, all that conveniently could leave their homes, and when President Lincoln called for 300,000 more they enlisted, whether they could leave their homes or not ; but besides this private subscriptions were made to bounties in the sum of $3,500. The following named men enlisted from time to time during the war : Hubert Eggleston, William S. Kinney, John Arden, James Arden, Michael Corcoran, T. Erickson, John E. Olin, James N. Wood, Peter J. Lotty, F. Snidert, R. J. Daniels, Bent E. Olin, Benjamin Chase, B. R. Prince, Walter Brown, William Parsons, John Alley, Cyrus Klingenschmidt, Ole Syverson, Timothy O'Regan, Timothy Houson, John Wayze, W. S. Williams, Svenom Hendrickson. A. C. Amundson, John Amundson, John C. Johnson, Jacob Wohlers, Peter J. Hilden, John Bomback, Fred. Bomback, Joachim Hoist, Jacob Hoist, Claus Hoist, John Hoist, William Buckholst, N. B. Gaylord, George Gaylor, John

Arden, Thomas Booth, Peter Swetchser, William Suckhaa, Fredrick Luchan, James T. Bowker, William Berley, Ole Nelson, John Nelson, Watson Devore, Frank Lane, Peter Wagoner, Nioolaus Lippert, R. Kolby, Andrew Baker, Ammond Larson, and Samuel Church. Some of those died in the army, and at the time the town was almost depopulated of able-bodied men ; but the town is now in a flourishing condition and at present pretty well settled, mostly by Germans and some Norwegians and Americans. We have five churches - one Catholic, two Methodist and two Lutheran, and seven schoolhouses, all in good condition.

In 1861, Horace W. Twitchel was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; William Thomas and Mason Eggleston, supervisors ; Reuben Ward, clerk; Marcus Eggleston, assessor; Nelson B. Gaylord, treasurer and overseer of the poor; Marcus Eggleston and Ben. Prince, justices.

In 1862, J. S. Thompson was elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; and George Stace and William Perly, supervisors ; Halvor Knutson, clerk ; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, B. F. Chase ; justices, Peter J. Hilden and Marcus Eggleston ; constables, John C. Johnson and Frank Lane. Joseph S. Thompson was then re-elected five years in succession, and held the chairmanship six years successively. The other supervisors under him in that time were:

In 1863, William Perly and George Gay ; clerk, Oliver Knutson ; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, Marcus Eggleston ; J. S. Thompson, overseer of the poor, which office he held till the county took them in their care; Peter J. Hilden, justice of the peace, which office he held till the year 1875, when he enlisted in the army.

In the year 1864, C. C. Roberts and Halvor Knutson were elected supervisors; J. S. Thompson, chairman; town clerk, Reuben Ward; treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; assessor, Julius Munger; Constables, Caleb Reynolds and William Thomas ; justices, G. H. Gaylord and P. J. Hilden.

In the year 1865, J. S. Thompson was elected chairman ; Wm. Thomas and Daniel Mallan, supervisors; clerk, Oliver or Halvor Knutson; assessor, George Stace : treasurer, H. W. Twitchel ; justices of the peace, Marcus Eggleston and John Alley ; constables, Ole Knutson and John Lucham.

In 1868, John Alley was elected chairman of the board of supervisors; George Stace and E. Northfield, supervisors ; clerk, Stephen Roberts ; treasurer, 0. C. Roberts; justices, H. N. Eggleston and Edwin Bullard; assessor, Star Dennison ; constable, Albert Pratt. In 1869, John Alley was re-elected chairman of the board of supervisors ; Walter Brown and John C. Johnson were elected supervisors ; Stephen Roberts, clerk ; treasurer, N. B. Gaylord.

Source changes here: from Goodhue County, Minnesota, Past and Present, by [Hancock, Joseph Woods], published 1893; 444 words in this source stream.

Belvidere Township

This is a full government township situated in the eastern part of the county - No. Ill north, range 14 west. Wells creek rises in the northwestern part of the town, running north and east, is fed by Clear and Rock creeks, afterward crossing the northern boundary into Hay Creek township.

The northern part of Belvidere is somewhat broken by these streams, but the soil is good and the streams afford excellent facilities for raising stock. The southern part is gently rolling prairie.

This town was settled in 1855. Mr. N. B. Gay lord, and his brother George, coming early in the season, first settled on Rock creek. Mr. J. S. Thompson settled on Wells creek in August the same year. Mr. Gaylord soon after removed to Wells Creek and settled near Mr. Thompson. Both these men are now residing there and are well known citizens. In the fall of that year Claus Hoist and several other Germans, with their families, settled near the head waters of Wells creek. The following year a large immigration poured into different parts of the township. The first marriage was the union of Mr. George Steel and Miss Junia Pingrey. The first child born was Ida Thompson, June 13, 1856. The first death was Etta Gaylord, in 1858, two years old.

Mr. Gaylord, having a good water power on his farm, put in operation a large hand coffee mill and ground for himself and neighbors wheat, corn and other grains. Having used up two such mills, he next procured a small burr-stone mill, and gradually improving his primitive enterprise until he became the proprietor of a mill with two run of stone and a capacity for grinding 120 bushels of wheat per day. This coffee mill enterprise began in the year 1858.

Rev. John Watson held the first religious services in the house of N. B. Gaylord, in the summer of 1856. Miss Delia Eggleston taught the first school in a room of her father's house in 1857.

A cosy log church was built by the German Methodists near Gaylord's mill in 1862 at a cost of S300. This society now has a large frame church. In 1865 the Catholics erected a good frame church in the southern part of the town. The Norwegian Lutherans built a large church in the western part of the town in 1867. A German Lutheran church in the eastern part of the town was built in 1872. Belvidere has now five fine churches, an adequate number of good school houses, a thrifty population, engaged chiefly in farming and raising stock. Large barns and fine houses can be seen on nearly every farm.